April 28, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Wrong Way Driver Kills Two and Injures Two More

You have to wonder how someone can drive the wrong way on a street or ramp. Drugs or booze are often involved.

The news is filled with far too many deaths as a result of wrong-way crashes. There was yet another one in New York, involving a Nissan Maxima and a Dodge Caravan. All reports, police and eyewitness, indicate the Maxima was heading north in the southbound lane. The inevitable happened. It creamed a Dodge Caravan, causing a Mazda to rear-end the Caravan.

Needless to say, given the rate of speed, the male driver of the Nissan and the Caravan’s driver were killed instantly in the carnage. The two occupants of the Mazda made it to the hospital in fairly stable condition but with serious injuries.

There is a lot of clean-up work to do in cases like this. The Nissan only had one occupant, who died at the scene, so the investigation will require autopsy findings to determine why the 26-year-old man was driving the wrong way that night. The police suspect alcohol and/or drugs may have played a factor in this senseless accident. Two were killed ostensibly because someone wanted an extra drink or was driving high.

What will the victims do in this case? It’s highly likely the family of the 53-year-old Caravan driver will file a wrongful death lawsuit. The two surviving individuals in the Mazda will want to talk to a personal injury accident lawyer, and find out how to recover compensation for their injuries. This group of people will have enormous bills and no way to pay them from their regular incomes. What can they do as they wait for justice? They can apply for lawsuit funding.

Litigation funding, also referred to as lawsuit financing, is an emergency loan to an approved plaintiff, to help them handle all of their expenses until their case is resolved. All a plaintiff needs to do to apply for lawsuit settlement funding is to contact a litigation funding company. The case is reviewed and once it is approved, based on the chances it will win, the pre-settlement funding is sent directly to the plaintiff’s bank account.

A lawsuit loan helps the plaintiff get back on their feet financially, and once those pressing necessity bills are paid, they can just wait until their case is decided. There is no pressure to deal with insurance companies, and should the case lose in court, and that does happen sometimes, the plaintiff walks away, keeping the lawsuit funding without any strings attached.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.

April 27, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Defective e-cigarettes cause severe harm when they explode

Those who feel the need to smoke, but want to quit are trying e-cigarettes. Yet this is a product that is not without serious issues.
One could see this incident coming, just knowing how the electronic cigarettes are put together. In this case, a defective, exploding battery seriously injured the smoker. Will there be more?

The accident happened to a Florida man, who was smoking in his study, enjoying his e-cigarette, when all of a sudden it was like being hit by lightening. The cigarette blew up, sounding like a Fourth of July firecracker. The man sustained serious mouth damage. He lost part of his tongue and all of his teeth. A fire also started in the room; all of this mayhem caused by something as small as a cigarette?

Investigators on the scene are pointing fingers at a faulty lithium battery, brand unknown, as nothing was left of it after it exploded. All that remained was evidence of a recharging station near the 57-year-old man’s chair. While these portable and smoke free little electronic cigarettes are the latest trend to help smokers quit inhaling tobacco, tar and other carcinogens, they may be in their own way just as deadly. This explosion makes that quite clear.

End result? This victim may not be able to speak properly, will likely require either dental implants, dentures, or expensive dental surgery to remove any roots left behind after the explosion. It will be a long, painful process for him, and an incredibly expensive one. How will he pay for all these bills and his regular financial obligations?

After consulting his personal injury attorney, he may wish to investigate whether he qualifies for litigation funding. This is an emergency lawsuit “loan” designed to help plaintiffs like the unfortunate e-cigarette victim get out of the money pit of medical expenses while waiting for a personal injury case to be resolved. Pre-settlement funding takes care of all of the important expenses and allows the victim to wait for justice without worrying how day-to-day bills and expenses will be paid.

Lawsuit funding can be used for medical expenses, home, car or other bills, as well. All a victim needs to do is call a litigation funding company, provide his lawyer’s name and case details, have his case reviewed, approved and receive his money by wire within 48 hours. Litigation funding is the backup the victim needs in a lawsuit.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

March 13, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Mysterious Wrongful Death Under Investigation

Sometimes people wind up dead and no one knows how it happened. This case is a good example.

No one knew how their co-worker got tangled up in a press machine. No one apparently saw what happened the night the man was killed, and the police will spend time trying to find out if something was wrong with the machine as well.

Brady Perkins worked a late shift at a sign making company. Somehow, he managed to get stuck in a press machine and was crushed to death. The pickup truck sized machine was known to be dangerous, and workers were trained to handle it with care. How Perkins got into the machine and got crushed without someone hearing him is still unclear.

What is clear is that the man is dead and his family is in serious shock over the incident. How could it have happened? What was he doing that would make him climb into the machine? Was there something wrong with it? A mechanical failure of some sort? Was he cleaning it? Servicing it? Did someone come by, not see him in the machine and turn it on? For sure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be onsite to conduct their own investigation into the death.

This man’s family will need expert counsel from a competent personal injury attorney with a track record in representing families in wrongful death cases. Something went wrong here, and once it is figured out, the family will likely opt to file a lawsuit. They just lost their major breadwinner and will be desperate for money to pay bills, burial and funeral expenses. It will be a nightmare for them.

In order to deal with their death expenses, the family might want to find out more about accessing litigation funding. It is not unusual for them to find themselves facing a major crisis financially speaking, and waiting for a lawsuit to be settled or make its way through court might take a very long time. Over time, financial difficulties will get worse. The good news is pre-settlement funding can help.

A litigation funding company offers a lawsuit cash advance. It is funding for the plaintiff and if they are approved, they will get it in advance of a pending settlement or jury verdict. With a lawsuit loan in the bank, the victim may pay medical bills for any necessary surgeries, medications and any other financial obligations. They do not need to suffer economically when litigation funding is accessible for eligible plaintiffs.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

March 12, 2012 in Business, Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Decapitation May Have Been Due to Improperly Maintained Wood Chipper

No matter what way you look at this case, it’s gruesome. If there was mechanical failure involved, a wrongful death case could be filed.

This is one of the worst types of accidents on record due to death by decapitation that was caused by a wood chipper. It’s difficult to imagine that kind of a thing happening, but it did, much to the shock and horror of the man’s family. Evidently, the man was handling various types of debris and tree branches while feeding them into the wood chipper. On the surface, this is a fairly straightforward job, but one that needs to follow safety precautions.

The man operating the wood chipper was guiding a very large piece of wood through it when it appears the guide rope got stuck during the process. The rope wrapped around the man’s neck, slicing his head off. He had no chance to save himself, as his hand was nowhere near the shut-off switch.

Police at the scene feel that the rope was tangled in the brush being chipped, got caught on one of the tines and yanked him off his feet with such force he could not get untangled or reach the off switch. It appeared that the machine was a chuck-and-duck chipper, referring to the speed materials were processed through and dropped into the drum. These wood chippers are noted as having major safety issues, such as operators getting snagged on material being fed into the machine.

The initial assessment of the death was that it was an accident. Further investigation will reveal if it was or not. Consider if the wood chipper was faulty and this accident was as a result of an improperly maintained machine, an imbalance in the internal feeder mechanism, or lack of proper safety training. There are a number of explanations for the death, other than by misadventure on the part of the deceased. Should that be the case, the manufacturer of the chipper would be named in the lawsuit and perhaps the company that owned the chipper and employed the dead man.

For the family left behind in the wake of this shocking event, their first course of action should involve contacting a wrongful death lawyer and discussing their options. Should they be able to file a wrongful death action, they will need to know where they may source funding to allow them to wait until their case is handled by the justice system.

They might want to start their search by contacting a litigation funding company; a firm that specializes in lawsuit loans, approved in advance of an expected court settlement. Pre-settlement funding is designed to help victims (and their families) move forward in a financially secure way to deal with their bills. Lawsuit loans are often used to pay medical expenses, but they may be used to pay for anything such as student loans, mortgages or car loans.

Litigation funding is considered to be an emergency loan to help the plaintiff deal with their financial situation and give them breathing room while their lawyer deals with their case. If the case is lost, the plaintiff does not pay the legal funding back. It’s a good deal for plaintiffs, and worth checking out.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

February 29, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Possible Distracted Driving Seriously Injures Passenger

Any time a vehicle leaves the road and no one else is in sight at the time, you have to wonder what the driver was doing.

This case involves yet another baffling single vehicle accident ramming into a tree. That is hard to do if you are paying attention to your driving. It appears that in this case, the driver of the UPS truck involved in this wreck may well have been driving while distracted. The police investigation will reveal more.

Here is what happened. The UPS truck went flying off an embankment, went airborne and rammed into a tree. As it was airborne, a passenger was ejected, who became pinned between the truck and tree for over 30 minutes as rescue crews worked to get him freed. The passenger was taken to the nearest hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver was treated at the scene with minor injuries.

While police do not think the UPS driver was drunk, there are questions remaining about how the vehicle happened to go off the road that need to be cleared up. The seriously injured passenger will need the answers to those questions in order to help build a personal injury case to obtain damages for his injuries. Depending on how severe the trauma was, the passenger may face life in a wheelchair, or worse. This would mean the damages awarded may be high, to reflect how the individual’s life was ruined because of an accident.

The long road to recovery for the passenger will begin by filing a personal injury lawsuit and trying to find enough cash to make it until trial. Cases like this often take a long time to be settled, and the plaintiff will need funds quickly to handle hospital bills, possible therapy, lost wages and other important bills like the mortgage, car payments and/or student loans.

Where is the plaintiff going to be able to find the kind of money needed to handle the hospital bills and everything else? The victim may wish to pursue lawsuit funding, which is a non-recourse cash advance against their pending lawsuit. This funding assists a victim who is waiting for compensation from a personal injury lawsuit and who needs cash right away. Litigation funding is fast cash and is not like a traditional loan as there are no upfront fees or payments to be made every month. You only repay the pre-settlement funding when you win your case.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

February 28, 2012 in Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Brain Trauma Case Nets Plaintiff $10 Million

John Ezzo sustained a serious brain injury during a demonstration of a vehicle for the company that employed him.

This case will likely cause a few raised eyebrows, especially when you get to the part that says the plaintiff, John Ezzo, was blindfolded and riding without a helmet on a Segway vehicle. He worked for Segway, Inc., based in New Hampshire and was tapped to help out in a company demo of their two-wheeled vehicle in 2009 at Southern Connecticut State University.

It sounded harmless enough; demonstrating one of the Segways, but company workers got the bright idea to build an obstacle course, thinking that would highlight the vehicles agility. Again, that would likely have been fine as well. However, Ezzo was blindfolded and sent off on the course without a helmet. While attempting to navigate the course, he fell and seriously injured his head.

Ezzo consulted with a personal injury attorney and chose to file a lawsuit, which was just recently settled in December 2011 for $10 million. It will allow the 23-year-old man to get on with his life, such as it is now. In his statement of claim, he said he had been forced to drop out of the university and could only do work as a handyman.

Waiting for this case to go to court would have been incredibly difficult for the young man, even if he may have lived at home and had some help from his family. He would have significant medical bills to pay, therapy, medications to pay for and his future would be forever altered from a bright student aiming to complete college to a handyman with difficulty coping with daily tasks.

In order to pay his bills, he may well have been able to turn to litigation funding. This is also known as pre-settlement funding and is advanced to a qualified plaintiff ahead of their expected settlement or verdict. It is an emergency loan and the legal funding will help victims deal with the expenses incurred as a result of their accident.

If you have been involved in an accident and have serious financial issues facing you while you are waiting for a settlement or for your case to go to court, make it a point to find out about lawsuit funding. They have a lightning fast application and approval process, and you could access your fund within 24-48 hours. Many plaintiffs like the fact that pre-settlement funding is non-recourse as you do not pay it back unless you win your case.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

January 31, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Clothing and Footwear Manufacturers Should Pay Attention to Child Safety More

In yet another choking hazard recall, thousands of kid’s slippers have been recalled.

When today’s older Americans were kids, they certainly did not have as many toys made that were a serious choking hazard. Not to say that there may not have been a toy or two that had some issues, but by and large, when we grew up, we did not have to be afraid of chewing our slippers and choking. Every time you turn around, there is yet another recall for something that could either seriously harm a child or kill them. There is something very wrong with that picture, and usually it relates to money.

Manufacturers are in such a rush to get toys and clothing to market to rake in cash, that the safety of the end user often falls by the wayside. If the individuals who designed some of this stuff stopped and honestly thought about what they were doing, they would get it that you do not make toys or clothing with items that detach and can choke and kill.

Take this latest recall for example. Who in their right mind would make kids’ slippers with detachable rolly eyes? Of course a kid is going to put that into their mouths. Everything goes into a kid’s mouth, whether it is a slipper or something else that catches their eye. If the clothing industry wants to put eyes on slippers, why don’t they just embroider them onto the existing fabric, and not attach them with a couple of loops of flimsy thread?

The nationwide voluntary recall was for roughly 16,000 Kidgets® Animal Sock Top Slippers. Not so surprisingly, it was discovered that the animal’s eyes pose a choking hazard for young children. The dogs, lions and duck slippers were to be returned to any of the stores they were purchased from to get a full refund, which is a nice gesture. However, here is the problem. Not everyone will hear about this recall.

Someone may even get a pair of these things for the holidays or see them in a bargain bin where someone tossed them without thinking. If a child chokes on these eyes, the company that made them is liable. It is just that simple. Any family faced with a child with serious injuries from choking on a toy eye, or inhaling it and shutting down their airway causing death will likely want to file a wrongful death, defective product lawsuit. While waiting for their case to be decided, the family will need cash to pay their bills.

The family might apply for litigation funding, also known as pre-settlement funding or a lawsuit cash advance. This is money paid in advance of a court verdict or settlement. Litigation funding lets a plaintiff pay all of their bills and then wait for justice. They apply online or by phone, discuss case details, get their case assessed and approved.

The lawsuit loan is wired into their bank accounts, usually within 24 to 48 hours and although they may use the money for pretty much anything they like, they realize it is a smart move to pay their pressing medical bills right away and deal with other expenses too. Lawsuit funding helps plaintiffs get back on their feet when they need help the most.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

January 18, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Truck Hauling Kegs Runs Over Three Women and Causes Wrongful Death

This horror story took place at a football game when a truck hauling beer ran over three women.

This has got to be one of the most bizarre cases we have ever heard about. A U-Haul truck was moving around in the tailgating area at the Yale Bowl, hauling beer. Nothing was really out of the ordinary there, but for the fact that the truck ran over a woman, killing her. For some unknown reason, the truck suddenly accelerated, rolling over the hapless victim and two others, and subsequently smashing into other U-Haul vans in the same lot.

The 30-year-old woman received CPR from emergency responders, and was taken to the nearest hospital for care. Unfortunately, she died shortly after arriving. Both other injured women, hit by the same truck, were also taken to hospital. One victim sustained broken bones and was listed in serious, but stable condition. The third person was treated and released.

Police at the scene administered a field sobriety test to the U-Haul driver and discovered that he was not under the influence of alcohol. Whether he had been texting, talking on a cell phone, not paying attention to where he was going, or the vehicle had a mechanical glitch remains to be seen as the investigation proceeds.

Do the victims have causes of action? Yes. The dead woman’s family may wish to file a wrongful death lawsuit, and the two other victims might want to file personal injury lawsuits. In any of these scenarios, those filing a lawsuit will be cash strapped and wondering what they are going to do to pay their medical and other bills.

It is not unusual for the family of a deceased victim or those injured in an accident to find themselves facing a serious gap in their financial situation. Being without funds is indeed a tremendous financial hardship. Furthermore, waiting for a lawsuit to reach a settlement or conclude in a court verdict may take many months, if not years, making the financial situation even more dismal. The good news is that litigation funding can help.

A litigation funding company offers lawsuit funding. It is a cash advance for the plaintiff that they may apply for, and once approved, receive in advance of a pending settlement or jury verdict. With pre-settlement funding in the bank, the victim can pay medical expenses, therapy, medications and any other financial obligations. There is no need to suffer financial hardship when lawsuit loans are available.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

December 26, 2011 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Florida Supreme Court Allows Uncapped Damages in Case

By letting a malpractice verdict stand and awarding $10.3 million to a victim’s widow, the Florida Supreme Court kept hope alive this fall for those wanting to remove caps on damages for pain and suffering.

The case resolved whether lawsuits from before the caps were put in place by the Florida Legislature in 2003 would be held to the same restrictions. The court held that since the injury happened before the caps law began, the awards should be left uncapped. The lawsuit was filed after the caps law went into effect.

The attorney for the plaintiff in the case was encouraged that the verdict struck a blow to caps on damages. “This is very positive for throwing out the caps completely,” Stephen Malrove told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The lawsuit was filed two years after the victim, Harvey Raphael, died when the doctor did not give him anti-clotting medication in the hospital after a heart attack in 2003. The doctor’s lawyers had hoped that since the law was in effect when the suit was filed, the pain and suffering damages would be capped.

The Florida law capping damages limits victims to $500,000 a person or $1 million total. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in February on a case that directly challenges the law.

No Florida appellate court has ever taken a case that challenges the law, but the appeals court did recently send a case to the Florida Supreme Court to review for constitutionality. That case concerns a mother who died in 2005 after the delivery of a child because of extreme blood loss due to poor medical treatment, according to the Florida Justice Association.

Groups like the Florida Justice Association have opposed the caps put in place by the Legislature saying that they are unconstitutional and violate the Florida Constitution’s provisions of equal protection under the law, a trial by jury and separation of powers.

And after eight years, the Supreme Court is now scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case that could declare caps on pain and suffering damages to be unconstitutional and overturn the law.

In the Raphael case, the jury award of $10.3 million is still in litigation because the doctor only had a $1 million insurance policy, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Malrove told the paper he would pursue the doctor’s insurer for the full amount claiming that they should have settled the claim before the case even went to trial.

Robert Alston is with Alston & Baker, PA. To contact a Zephyrhills personal injury lawyer, Zephyrhills divorce lawyer, or Zephyrhills social security lawyer, call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.

December 23, 2011 in Legal, Legal Articles, Litigation by jferris

Frog Masks for Kids Recalled for Suffocation Risks

These days, products for kids are not made with safety in mind. Here is yet another product recall for a mask capable of suffocating a child.

We do not know what happened to common sense when it comes to making items for children, but the long, long list of recalls relating to kids products is terminally depressing. Kids cannot fend for themselves and figure out if something is bad for them. They do not stop to think about choking on a button, swallowing a moving part or suffocating in a crib or stroller.

What is wrong with manufacturers that they do not take the care and caution necessary for small ones? Typically the reply is that they are too busy trying to make money and child safety does not matter to them. If it did, you would not see some of the dangerous items being marketed in the name of greed we see on the market today. For instance, this latest recall relates to a children’s frog mask; a mask that is cute, but deadly and could suffocate a child.

It seems the masks do not have proper ventilation and when placed on a child’s face, may pose a serious threat to breathing. If the masks are being made for kids, why on earth don’t the makers make the ventilation cuts larger? How difficult is that? These plush green and red masks have two eye cutouts and the usual elastic band to fasten the mask on the child’s head. The UPC code is 06626491474, in case you bought one for Halloween or a dress up or birthday party for your child.

The recall for this product was voluntary and the mask may be returned to any Target store that sold the mask for a complete refund. That deals with those parents who heard about the recall and did something about it. It does not deal with the parents that did not hear about it and may come across such a mask in a garage sale or silent auction.

Would the mask maker be liable for any suffocation deaths as a result of a child dying from using their mask? It is likely they would, despite the recall, as the product would be considered to be defective. Should a death or serious injury occur, the family would likely be able to file a personal injury or a wrongful death, defective product lawsuit.

What would the parents do to pay medical bills, household expenses and other bills related to the incident? Most families do not have extra money lying around to pay a lawyer, unless they have some financial assistance. The answer to this dilemma is that they may hire a lawyer and then contact a litigation funding company about pre-settlement funding.

A lawsuit cash advance is an emergency lawsuit loan to help a plaintiff get back on their feet financially and deal with all their bills. This money is there to back them up while they wait for their case to be resolved. Legal financing is very easy to apply for, and you must have an attorney working for you before you fill out an application form.

If the lawsuit loan is approved, the money may be used for anything that is important, but typically, it is used immediately to pay pressing medical and other bills. Once financial pressure is handled, the plaintiffs may sit back and let justice take its course.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.