Injury Checklist: What to Bring to Meet Your Lawyer

FindLaw –

Before you meet with your personal injury lawyer for the first time after you’ve been injured, collect any documents you have relating to your accident and injury and place them in a folder or large envelope. Here’s an injury checklist of some of the documents and other pertinent information to take with you to your lawyer, if applicable to your case.

Information
____ Name and address of ambulance service
____ Name and address of the emergency room where you were initially taken
____ Dates you were admitted to the emergency room and the hospital
____ Names and business address of all doctors who have examined you
____ Names and addresses of chiropractors you have consulted
____ Names of all people who were involved in the accident
____ Names and addresses of witnesses to the accident
____ Dates you missed work because of the accident
____ Name and telephone number of each insurance adjustor you have talked to
____ List of people you have talked to about the accident or your injuries
Documents
____ Accident report
____ Copies of any written statements
____ Your automobile insurance policy if you were injured in a car accident along with the “declarations” page or “coverage certificate” that sets forth what kinds of coverage you have purchased and what the policy limits are
____ Your homeowner’s or renter’s policy, along with the declarations page or coverage certificate
____ Medical or disability insurance policy or coverage certificate
____ Other policies, including major medical, hospitalization, veterans insurance
____ All correspondence you have received from any insurer about the accident or your injuries
____ Medical bills
____ Receipts for things you have had to buy because of your injury
____ Receipts for things you have had to fix because of the accident

The First Meeting: Questions to Ask a Lawyer

You want a lawyer who is right for you. While every lawyer has their own style and method of practice, there are some basic things you may want to know before hiring him/her.

In addition to having the proper documents to show your future lawyer, it’s a good idea to prepare a list of questions to take with you to your first meeting. Some questions you might ask an accident and injury lawyer would include:

  • How many personal injury trials has he or she handled? Of those, how many did he or she win?
  • What percentage of his or her practice is in the personal injury area of expertise that you need?
  • How long has he or she been in practice?
  • Would the lawyer handle the case personally or would it be passed on to some other lawyer or support staff in the firm? If other lawyers or staff may do some of the work, could you meet them?
  • What problems does the lawyer foresee with your case?
  • How would the lawyer go about handling your situation? What is the process?
  • How long will the case take?
  • How would the lawyer charge for his or her services? Fixed, hourly rate or contingency fee?
  • What types of experts would the lawyer use to prove your case?
  • Is there a time limit by which you must settle the case or file a lawsuit?

Original article.

American Airlines Sued by Double Amputee for Mistreatment

By George Khoury, Esq. – FindLaw on June 5, 2017 6:00 AM

American Airlines is facing a lawsuit over its allegedly deplorable treatment of a man with no feet. Michael Mennella, who lost both feet due to an auto accident over five years ago, was removed from an American Airlines flight, for allegedly being intoxicated. Mennella alleges he was removed as a result of discrimination and negligence.

The flight was diverted, and made an emergency landing in Texas, where Mennella was removed from the plane by officers. Although American Airlines claimed Mennella was intoxicated, law enforcement found no evidence of intoxication whatsoever. He was told that he would be arrested on felony charges, but was released once officers starting talking with him. He was not booked, nor charged. Fortunately, Mennella was able to catch a flight to his final destination on another airline. However, being removed from the flight was the final straw to an already aggravating experience.

More Deplorable Details

Mennella’s flying experience was anything but pleasant. On August 28, 2016, when he arrived to check in for his flight, he discovered that his wheelchair reservation had been lost. For someone with no feet, that’s a real problem. What’s worse is that the airline was unable to secure any other wheelchair for Mennella. This meant that he would be forced to hobble on the ends of his amputated legs to board the plane, which he described as a painful experience.

Under the Air Carrier Access Act, which is almost like the Americans with Disabilities Act (but much much weaker), airlines are required to provide boarding assistance to individuals with disabilities. Unfortunately, unlike other public accommodations and businesses, airlines are not required to comply with the ADA, but rather the ACAA (which does not allow aggrieved individuals to file lawsuits).

Mennella was denied that assistance. To make matters worse, once boarded, Mannella requested water so that he could take medication. After his requests were ignored by a nearby flight attendant, he walked to the back of the plane to request water from another flight attendant. Unfortunately, he was again ignored.

How to Sue an Airline?

Suing an airline after an injury can be rather complicated due to the fact that the entire industry is so highly regulated. Frequently, the federal regulations will make even simple negligence claims into needlessly complex cases. If you believe you have a case or claim against an airline, airport, or an employee of either, contact an experience aviation attorney as even small injuries can sometimes result in large awards when airlines violate consumers’ rights.

Original article.

When to Sue for Asthma Injuries?

By George Khoury, Esq. – FindLaw on June 2, 2017 5:57 AM

Asthma is a rather common form of lung disease that results in difficulty breathing, pain, and other symptoms. Left untreated, it can result in death. Asthma attacks kill thousands every year. Fortunately, asthma sufferers are often able to alleviate symptoms by using inhalers and other medications.

In limited circumstances, an asthma misdiagnosis, or failing to provide asthma medication, can lead to legal liability. Some examples of when a person may be able to sue for an asthma-related injury are listed here:

Asthma Misdiagnosis

Asthma is generally attributed to a combination of genetics and environmental factors, and the symptoms often overlap with chronic bronchitis. As such, asthma is commonly misdiagnosed. Whether this misdiagnosis would rise to the level of legal liability for malpractice will depend entirely on the facts of the particular misdiagnosis.

Product Defect

If an asthma inhaler, or the medication, is defective, a person who suffers an injury as a result will likely have a product liability, defective device, claim.

Environmental Cause of Asthma

Since it is generally accepted that environmental factors can cause asthma, particularly in children, gross polluters and others that cause those environmental factors, can be held liable for causing asthma and other respiratory injuries. These types of cases, often referred to as toxic torts, can be rather challenging and often involve multiple claims linking the environmental factor to the injuries or diagnoses. Famously, the movie Erin Brockovich showed the world how difficult a mass toxic tort case can be.

Institutional Negligence and Inmate Mistreatment

When a person is in an institution such as a prison, school, or hospital, where their access to medication is restricted, the institution can be held liable for failing to provide their medicine in a timely fashion. However, while a school or hospital will be held to a lower negligence standard in these types of cases, prison inmates will generally need to file civil rights claims for the denial of in-custody medical treatment.

Recently, there have been media reports out of Arkansas and California of prison inmates that died because they were denied their asthma medications. These tragic, and easily preventable, deaths are clear violations of an inmate’s right to receive necessary medical care.

Original article.

Supreme Court Tightens Injury Lawsuit Rules

By Christopher Coble, Esq. – FindLaw on May 31, 2017 2:57 PM 

Beyond the decision whether to sue a company or corporation for injuries, there is the decision of where to sue a company or corporation. Is it where you live? Where the company is headquartered? Where the injuries occurred?

Those options got whittled down considerably yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled that a Texas-based railroad company couldn’t be sued in Montana for injuries that were sustained elsewhere. The decision could have a significant impact on future personal injury cases.

The Wrong Side of the Tracks

Two different plaintiffs were suing the BNSF Railway Company on unrelated injury charges: Robert Nelson, a North Dakota resident and former BNSF truck driver, sued the company in 2011, claiming he injured his knee in a slip-and-fall while on the job; and Kelli Tyrrel, of South Dakota, sued BNSF in 2014 alleging her late husband developed a fatal kidney cancer while working for the company. Nelson’s injury occurred in Washington State, Tyrrel claims her husband was exposed to carcinogenic chemicals in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Yet both sued in Montana, ostensibly a friendlier venue to plaintiffs that allowed state courts to exercise jurisdiction over “persons found” in Montana also does not help the plaintiffs. According to the lawsuits, BNSF conducts quite a bit of business in Montana, operating trains on more than 2,000 miles of railroad track, employing 2,000 Montanans, and investing $470 million in the state over the last four years. But that wasn’t enough for the Supreme Court, who ruled that exercising jurisdiction over BNSF must still be consistent with the Constitution’s due process clause, and that merely doing business in-state “does not suffice to permit the assertion of general jurisdiction over claims like Nelson’s and Tyrrell’s that are unrelated to any activity occurring in Montana.” Beyond the specific BNSF lawsuits (of which there are 33 pending in Montana courts), the Court’s ruling means state courts cannot hear injury claims if the companies are not based in the state or the alleged injuries did not occur there.

The Wrong Side of the Law?

The Court’s ruling, the first in which new justice Neil Gorsuch participated, was not unanimous. The lone dissenter, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, described the decision as a “jurisdictional windfall” for large multistate or multinational corporations. “It is individual plaintiffs,” Sotomayor wrote, “harmed by the actions of a farflung foreign corporation, who will bear the brunt of the majority’s approach and be forced to sue in distant jurisdictions with which they have no contacts or connection.”

This will likely make filing an injury claim even more complicated, so if you’re thinking about filing an injury lawsuit against a company or corporation, contact an experienced personal injury attorney first.

Original article.