First Steps After An Injury

Getting injured can turn your life upside down and, depending on the severity of the injury, it can be a struggle to get back to normal. Protecting your legal rights is not usually the first thing you think of in the days following an injury. However, following some simple steps can save a substantial amount of time and effort if you later decide to sue someone for your injuries. Check out these steps which provide information about what you should do after you have suffered an injury. In this section, you can find information to help you gather the information you need to help build your claim and get prepared to meet with an attorney.

  • Claim: begin by collecting evidence and documenting your injuries. Here you want to write (claim) what happened to you.
  • Take incident and injury notes: you should begin collecting information as soon as possible after being injured in an accident.
  • Preserve evidence and take photos: a successful personal injury suit requires a substantial amount of evidence, including police reports, medical records, and photos of the scene.
  • Obtain and use a police report: a police report can be important evidence of fault in a personal injury case.
  • Meet with an attorney: call us today to schedule a consultation to learn how we can help you.

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.

Proving Fault in Slip and Fall Accidents

FindLaw –

It is sometimes difficult to prove who is at fault for slip and fall accidents. Thousands of people each year are injured, many seriously, from slipping and falling on a floor, stairs, or other surface that has become slick or dangerous. Even ground that has become uneven to a dangerous degree can lead to severe injuries. However, sometimes it may be difficult to prove that the owner of the property is responsible for a slip and fall accident.

  • Could the Property Owner Have Prevented the Accident?

    If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, it may be tempting to seek out justice in the form of a lawsuit as soon as possible. But stop and ask this question first: If the property owner was more careful, could the accident have been avoided?

    For example, even if a leaking roof leads to a slippery condition that you slip and fall on, the property owner may not be responsible for your injuries if there was a drainage grate in the floor designed to limit slippery conditions. In addition, property owners will not always be responsible for things that a reasonable person would have avoided, such as tripping over something that would normally be found in that location (like a leaf rake on a lawn in the fall). Every person has a responsibility to be aware of their surroundings and make efforts to avoid dangerous conditions.

    Property Owner’s Duty to Maintain Reasonably Safe Conditions

    However, this is not to say that property owners are never held responsible for the injuries of others that slipped and fell on their property. Although there is not a cut-and-dried rule, property owners still must take reasonable steps to ensure that their property is free from dangerous conditions that would cause a person to slip and fall. However, this reasonableness is often balanced against the care that the person that slipped and fell should have used. What follows are some guidelines that courts and insurance companies use when determining fault in slip and fall accidents.

    Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents

    If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property because of a dangerous condition, you will likely need to be able to show one of the following in order to win a case for your injuries:

    • Either the property owner or his employee should have known of the dangerous condition because another, “reasonable” person in his or her position would have known about the dangerous condition and fixed it.
    • Either the property owner or his employee actually did know about the dangerous condition but did not repair or fix it.
    • Either the property owner or his employee caused the dangerous condition (spill, broken flooring, etc.).

    Because many property owners are, in general, pretty good about the upkeep on their premises, the first situation is most often the one that is litigated in slip and fall accidents. However, the first situation is also the most tricky to prove because of the words “should have known.” After presenting your evidence and arguments, it will be up to the judge or jury to decide whether the property owner should have known about the slippery step that caused you to fall.

    See Economic Recovery for Accidents and Injuries to learn more about the types of damages you may be able to claim in a slip-and-fall lawsuit. To get a ballpark figure of what your case may be worth, take a look at our Worksheet: Damage Estimate.

    Reasonableness

    When you set about to show that a property owner is liable for the injuries you sustained in your slip and fall accident, you will most likely have to show, at some point, the reasonableness of the property owner’s actions. See Standards of Care and the “Reasonable” Person to learn more. In order to help you with this situation, here are some questions that you or your attorney will want to discuss before starting a case:

    • How long had the defect been present before your accident? In other words, if the leaking roof over the stairwell had been leaking for the past three months, then it was less reasonable for the owner to allow the leak to continue than if the leak had just started the night before and the landlord was only waiting for the rain to stop in order to fix it.
    • What kinds of daily cleaning activities does the property owner engage in? If the property owner claims that he or she inspects the property daily, what kind of proof can he or she show to support this claim?
    • If your slip and fall accident involved tripping over something that was left on the floor or in another place where you tripped on it, was there a legitimate reason for that object to be there?
    • If your slip and fall accident involved tripping over something that was left on the floor that once had a legitimate reason for being there, did the legitimate reason still exist at the time of your accident? For example, tripping over a can of paint in a living room is probably not reasonable if the last time the room had been painted was over 2 years ago and the owner had no immediate plans to repaint the room.

    Carelessness/Clumsiness

    Most states follow the rule of comparative negligence when it comes to slip and fall accidents. This means that if you, in some way, contributed to your own accident (for example, you were talking on your cell phone and not paying attention to a warning sign), your award for your injuries and other damages may be lessened by the amount that you were comparatively at fault (this percentage is determined by a judge or jury). See Defenses to Negligence Claims for information about comparative negligence.

    Like researching the liability of the property owner, there are some questions that you can ask of yourself to estimate how likely it is that you will be found to be comparatively negligent:

    • Did you have a legitimate reason for being on the property owner’s premises when the accident happened? Should the owner have anticipated you, or someone in a similar situation to you, being there?
    • Would person of reasonable caution in the same situation have noticed and avoided the dangerous condition, or handled the condition in a way that would have lessened the chances of slipping and falling (for example, holding onto the handrail while going down icy stairs)?
    • Did the property owner erect a barrier or give warning of the dangerous condition that led to your slip and fall accident?
    • Were you engaging in any activities that contributed to your slip and fall accident? Examples include: running around the edges of pools, texting while walking, jumping or skipping, attempting to ice skate while in your business shoes, etc.

    If you have been talking with the insurance company about a possible settlement for your injuries, you will probably be asked many questions that are similar to these. Although you will not have to prove to the insurance company that you were extremely careful, you will probably have to show enough so that the insurance company can conclude that you were not acting negligently.

    ance company believes that you and/or some other party bear some responsibility for your own injuries.

  • The insurance company does not believe that you were injured, or that you were injured as badly as you claim.

Original article.

Do You Need to Be Married to File a Wrongful Death Claim If Your Partner Dies?

By George Khoury, Esq. – FindLaw on May 19, 2017 5:59 AM

Wrongful death lawsuits allow surviving spouses and family to recover financially when a spouse or family member dies due to the negligence or intentional act of another. Wrongful death laws will vary from state to state, but will typically only allow immediate family members, or next of kin, to file the claim. This often results in unmarried individuals being unable to recover for wrongful death claims.

The common exception to this involves states that allow registered domestic partners, which used to be common for same-sex couples prior the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. However, frequently, older couples will register as domestic partners rather than re-marry after a divorce, or a prior spouse died, for a wide variety of social and economic reasons.

Being Married Before Death Matters

While wrongful death laws may feel harsh for an unmarried surviving partner, lawmakers and courts have recognized that marriage, or domestic partnership, is a significant step in a couple’s relationship. Until a couple takes that step, legally, they are not considered family members. Since wrongful death statutes are meant to compensate family members of the deceased, only legally recognized family will be able to recover. This means that the child of an unmarried couple would have the right to recover for wrongful death, while the unmarried surviving parent would not.

However, some jurisdictions will make exceptions for individuals that believed they were married, such as California’s putative spouse exception, or if there was a valid common law marriage. These are relatively rare circumstances, but some states will allow an unmarried person who held a good faith belief that they were in fact married to the deceased to bring a wrongful death action.

The Deceased’s Estate and Will

In many states, in addition to the wrongful death claim, a deceased individual’s estate may still be able to pursue a claim for the underlying injury that led up to the death as well as pain and suffering. When this occurs, the estate can recover for the personal injury, and add those funds to those that will be distributed by the estate. If the deceased provided for an unmarried partner in their will, then the unmarried partner may end up with a larger share of the estate as a result of the posthumous personal injury action.

Original article.

Victims of Philadelphia Brick Wall Collapse to Split $227M

By George Khoury, Esq. – FindLaw on May 17, 2017 12:55 AM

In 2013, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an unsecured brick wall on a demolition site collapsed onto the adjacent Salvation Army store. The three to four story brick wall crushed the store, killed seven individuals, and injured 12 others, affecting a total of 19 families. A mass injury, wrongful death lawsuit filed in response concluded earlier this year.

The victims were awarded $227 million by a settlement in February, after a 17-week long trial, while the jury was still deliberating. The jury found the Salvation Army, as well as the demolition site’s owner, and the architect and contractor doing the demolition, liable for the collapse, deaths, and injuries. Of the $227 million, $200 million will be paid by the Salvation Army, while the remainder will be paid by the demolition site’s owner. However, none of the victims or families have been paid yet as the damages were not apportioned.

Dividing the Damages

Generally, juries will divide large awards and decide how much to award each plaintiff. However, parties can also agree to handle the division of the award separately, outside of court. In the Philadelphia wall collapse case, the multi-million dollar settlement award was not divided amongst the victims during the trial, nor as part of the settlement. As such, the survivors and families of the deceased will be going to arbitration to divide the proceeds.

Unlike a class action verdict, when there are multiple plaintiffs that must divide a jury’s award, every plaintiff must agree on how the money will be distributed. Sometimes, this can be done via a conversation and mutual agreement. But, when there are nearly 20 different parties, as in the Philadelphia wall collapse, parties will frequently agree to allow an arbitrator or other neutral third party to divide the proceeds.

Arbitrating Damages

When parties go before an arbitrator to divide monetary awards secured via a verdict or settlement, before the process gets started, each individual will be required to sign an agreement to be bound by the decision that gets made. This means that individuals will not be able to appeal the decision in court, absent rather limited, extraordinary circumstances.

After agreeing to be bound, each party that wants to be awarded a portion of the verdict will submit evidence and testimony to the arbitrator about their individual damages. After the arbitrator has heard from all the parties seeking compensation, they will divide the damages based upon the evidence received. Fortunately for the victims and families, this type of arbitration is unlikely to drag on as long as the trial, and could be concluded within the next few months.

Original article.

Driveway Accidents: Who’s Liable When Kids Get Injured?

By Christopher Coble, Esq. – FindLaw on May 12, 2017 10:58 AM

We tend not to think of driveways as unsafe spaces. After all, our cars are generally already parked at home, or pulling in or backing out slowly (hopefully), so our driveways rarely feel like danger zones.

But recent studies have shown that driveway accidents are sadly all-too-common, often targeting younger children and can be fatal. And in a tragic twist, the vast majority of children are injured with their parent or a close relative behind the wheel. So what do these accidents look like? And who might be liable for children’s injuries sustained in driveway accidents?

Driveway Dangers for Children

Driveway accidents involving injuries to children often take one of two forms, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information:

  1. Injuries resulting from a vehicle driven by an adult driver striking a child, like backovers; and
  2. Injuries resulting from a child shifting an idle vehicle out of or into gear.

An NCBI study found that younger children are more severely injured in driveway accidents, and that most accidents involve a truck or sport-utility vehicle going in reverse.

Other research has shown that at least fifty American children are backed over by vehicles every week, and that predominant age of those victims is less than 24 months old.

Driveway Liability

While someone involved in a driveway accident might be opening themselves up for a lawsuit, the person behind the wheel might not be the only person responsible, and he or she might not just be facing a personal injury lawsuit.

Drivers are generally held liable for backover accidents, but the automobile owner or the home owner can also be found liable. If a vehicle is equipped with a backup technology like a camera or sensors, and that technology failed to detect the child, the auto maker or component manufacturer could face a product liability suit, and homeowners that fail to address dangerous conditions could be looking at a premises liability lawsuit.And given the circumstances of the case, a driver or other party involved in a driveway accident might be criminally liable as well. Criminal charges for reckless endangerment, vehicular assault, and, god forbid, involuntary manslaughter could follow a driveway accident.

Original article.

Lane-Changing Car Accident Liability

By Christopher Coble, Esq.– FindLaw on May 10, 2017 6:00 AM

As soon as the dust and tail lights have settled, and we make sure everyone is okay, we want to know whose fault a car accident was. Did someone not use their blinker? Did you check your blind spot? Was the other driver speeding?

Multilane roads and highways normally have higher speed limits, meaning we’re around more cars and switching lanes at a much faster pace. And many different elements can come into play when trying to decipher who is at fault for a lane-changing accident. Here are a few.

Lane-Changing Liability

Fault for any kind of car accident can either be tied to a driver’s negligence or a violation of motor vehicle statutes. A negligence claim following a lane-changing accident would include four primary elements:

  • Duty: Did the other driver owe you a duty of care to drive responsibly?
  • Breach: Did the other driver fail to meet this duty, by changing lanes too abruptly or without looking?
  • Causation: Were you injured as the result of the other driver’s lane change, and were your injuries the fault of the car accident, and not something some other cause?
  • Damages: Can you document your injuries, through medical records, medical expenses, or evidence of emotional distress?

When establishing liability, you could also point to the other driver’s illegal driving as proof they were at fault. Most state have laws governing lane changes, most that require that drivers only change lanes when it is safe and “give an appropriate signal continuously during not less than the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before changing lanes.” Even if the other driver was not charged with a crime in the accident, you may still be able to use evidence of a violation in a civil case.

Proving Liability in Lane-Changing Accidents

Even if it is obvious to you who caused the accident, proving car accident liability in court can still be tricky. You may need to obtain photos of the scene, eyewitness accounts, or police reports in order to prove another driver changed lanes negligently or illegally. And, depending on where the accident took place, you may need to prove that you had no part in contributing to the accident, say by speeding or swerving yourself.

So if you’re thinking about a lawsuit after a lane-changing accident, talk to an experienced attorney first.

Original article.