May 2, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Trucking Accidents are not only Deadly but the Victim may be Intimidated by the Trucking Company’s Lawyers

If you have been in an accident involving a big rig, you will be swarmed by lawyers for the trucking company. Do not settle or sign anything until you speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer.

Big rig accidents are possibly the worst types of wrecks, largely because of the devastation they cause. Very few people survive a crash, and those that do are never the same again. Many face living the rest of their lives in pain, disabled and in some instances, not even cognizant of their circumstances, requiring 24/7 care. This is one of the main reasons you need to speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer about obtaining sufficient damages to care for yourself for the rest of your life.

When accidents like this happen, it is crucial to conduct a post-crash investigation. Seeing the scene, examining the debris, searching for skid marks or defective parts is a large part of mounting an effective personal injury case. You need your attorney to get to the scene as fast as possible. This is because the insurance carrier for the trucking company will already have someone on the way to the crash scene; sometimes within an hour.

They have someone on the scene that fast because truckers who have been in an accident know to call their employers immediately. The employer in turn calls their insurance company, who dispatches an agent quickly. Sometimes they arrive so fast, the victims wonder how on earth they could have done that, and not only that, they usually bring an accident reconstructionist with them.

On scene, the lawyer immediately tells the trucker to keep his mouth shut and say absolutely nothing. In the background, the accident specialist starts measuring the site and constructing a back story. This typically happens before the seriously injured victim has a chance to get a grip on what happened to them. They may not even have come to grips with having been involved in an 18-wheeler wreck and are stunned into shock with their injuries. They usually don’t think about the fact they will need a lawyer to defend their rights, and obtain compensation for their injuries.

Obviously, in the above scenario, the defense has an enormous jump start on the case. When your own Austin personal injury lawyer asks for an account of what happened, they get a well rehearsed story. When they demand the log books for the truck, or the onboard black box, it has sometimes magically gone missing. All of these things are serious disadvantages for the plaintiff. The injured needs protection because the trucking company, their lawyers and its insurance company will not help them, even if they were in the wrong.

While it is true that there are rules and regulations in place for truckers to follow that does not mean that they do follow the rules. It’s well known that many will bend the rules to get their load to their destination fast, even if that means driving overtime. Trucking companies often look the other way when this happens, or conversely, quietly encourage it to be done. Why? It affects their bottom line, and money is what makes the world go around. Thus, they will fight any lawsuit that has the potential to cost them money.

An Austin personal injury lawyer knows where to look for the information they need to prove the trucker and/or the trucking company was negligent. That may involve the driver being on the road too many hours, driving while distracted or driving a poorly maintained vehicle. No matter what the reason for the accident, your lawyer will find a way to ensure justice is done in your case.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

May 1, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Drowning Wrongful Death Occurred While Trained Medical Personnel Were Prevented from Assisting Boat Racer

This bizarre case ended in the needless death of a powerboat racer. The wrongful death suit alleges gross negligence.

This case happened during a world championship for powerboats, and resulted in the drowning death of a well known, long time racer, who was experienced when it came to this kind of sport. The man was at the helm of his race boat with the boat’s owner when it overturned during the final lap of the second race. The owner was able to climb through an escape hatch in the cockpit, but the race driver was trapped in his seat.

The driver was alive and not injured immediately after the accident, and tried desperately to free himself from his safety harness. He was able to breathe using an emergency air tank. Overhead, there was a crew of certified dive paramedics waiting to deploy. However, for some strange reason they were not given the okay signal to go ahead. Instead, the Association’s president designated two other untrained individuals as rescuers. He evidently wanted to save money and not use the trained rescue team.

The delay in appointing two other inexperienced people to perform a rescue resulted in the boat starting to ship and sink, shutting the hatch. The race driver ran out of air and drowned. The wrongful death lawsuit filed stated if the defendants had followed the specified rules, regulations and protocols for a situation like this, the driver would have still been alive. The suit further suggests that the president would not allow rescue personnel to perform pre-race safety checks to get to know the features on the race boats.

This is likely to be a complex case, fraught with he said/they said moments. In situations like this, that is virtually inevitable when so many people are involved and have so much at stake. Will this case win? It may. That will, in large part, depend on the kind of proof there is relating to the president choosing to use inexperienced people to attempt a rescue. This is where there may be a credibility issue that the court will have to weigh.

If you have lost someone you cared about and need information about filing a wrongful death lawsuit, do not hesitate to call an Austin personal injury lawyer. It is their job to assess the case and explain how a wrongful death lawsuit differs from criminal charges, and what to expect should a case go to court. For justice and equity, hire an Austin personal injury lawyer. It’s the best investment you could make.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

May 1, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Sorry Does Not Cut it After the Fact in the Wake of a Drunk Driving Death

The drunk driver in this case was very sorry for his actions. Sorry does not even begin to make reparations for a death.

This case is disturbing as the drunk that killed another person was a 32-year-old son of a cop. He was totally drunk and driving his Jeep Cherokee down the highway at 73 miles per hour. Inevitably, he lost control, swerved across several lanes of traffic, careened off a guardrail and rammed into a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup. The force of the impact flipped the pickup over the guardrail, where it burst into flames. The driver was partially ejected and killed instantly.

As it happened, there was a police car on patrol in the vicinity of the wreck, and it made it to the scene within minutes. The police captain driving the cruiser was stunned to see the Cherokee driver trying to yank the truck driver out of his vehicle. The man was a family friend. His father was a cop too. On closer inspection of the scene, the captain noticed the Cherokee driver had difficulty talking, his eyes were bloodshot and he could not keep his balance.

The man failed a field sobriety test with a blood-alcohol content of .197, just about 2.5 times the state’s legal limit. The man admitted he had been drinking beer before he got behind the wheel of his Cherokee and killed someone. The driver eventually pled guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, and was handed a four year sentence along with a license suspension for three years to life. In court, the man offered sincere apologies to the dead man’s family.

While this was a gesture of contrition, it does not bring back the dead man to his family. His death will always leave a gaping hole in their lives. But for the stupidity of drinking enough beers to be 2 .5 times over the legal drinking limit, the deceased would still be alive. If the man could not talk, walk or see very well, what on earth possessed him to drive? Many others in the same condition think they are invincible and invulnerable, when in reality they are mobile accidents, looking for a place to happen.

If you have been involved in a collision with a drunk driver, do not second guess what your legal rights are. Find out by immediately calling an Austin personal injury lawyer that is trained in dealing with egregious accidents like this one. They know how to get you justice. An Austin personal injury lawyer will protect your rights.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

April 30, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Wrongful Death Lawsuits are Often Filed as a Result of a Crash involving a Negligent Driver

Big rigs do an enormous amount of damage when they hit another vehicle. This accident killed four.

This case did not have to happen, but for a trucker who ran a red light because he was in a hurry. That decision cost four women their lives. They were on their way home from a birthday party, when they were broadsided in the middle of an intersection – despite the fact they had the right of way and the green light. Four families were left in shock. Relatives of one of the deceased women chose to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucker and his employer.

The statement of claim alleged that the trucker showed a wanton and willful disregard for the safety of others on the road. But more than that, the lawsuit outlines the trucking company had a history of leaky brakes on their rigs and a whole host of other mechanical issues that indicated poor and slipshod maintenance. In fact, the trucking company’s record for unsafe driving was cited as being far worse than 64.1 percent of all federally authorized trucking companies between 2009 and 2011, and its vehicle maintenance violations were worse than 71.4 percent.

The rig being driven that day was an accident looking for a place to happen. Whether or not the trucker did not stop because he wanted to get to where he was going sooner, or whether he elected not to stop because his brakes were not working, is a moot point. The decision to run the red light was negligent. The lawsuit seeks damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, loss of guidance, affection, support and companionship.

Will this case be successful? Chances are it will. The evidence is clear and compelling. The man ran a red light and was driving a poorly maintained truck with questionable brakes. He knew the rig was in poor shape, yet still drove it. His employer was also aware their semis were not properly maintained, and yet let them out on the road. It doesn’t much matter what the reasons were for why the trucker ran the red light. The fact is he did and that the resulting crash killed four innocent people.

Cases like this one are as near as one can get to being open and shut. The evidence speaks for itself and the Austin personal injury lawyer that handles this case knows precisely how to ensure the family gets justice. They have lost someone they loved and they don’t need to lose anything more, or be left in economic desperation by that loss. If you have been in a similar situation, do not hesitate to call a veteran Austin personal injury lawyer. That is their job, to help victims find some sense of closure and justice.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

April 30, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Children with Birth Injuries May Not Show Symptoms Immediately

It is difficult to know what to do when a parent suspects something went wrong in the delivery room, but a good first step is to understand the causes and symptoms of birth injuries.

Birth injury symptoms often do not appear in the delivery room and sometimes they do not show up for weeks or months. Late-showing symptoms include delays in reaching milestones of child development like sitting up, standing and walking.

Spotting birth injury symptoms often is a result of knowing what is not happening in the child’s development. Each developmental stage has its own milestones that a growing baby should be meeting for movement, visual cues, and hearing.

A one-month old should be able to bring its hands up to its mouth, for example, and turn toward familiar sounds and voices. A three-month-old, on the other hand, should be able to follow moving objects with its eyes and support its upper-body with its arms when lying on its stomach. There are more milestones for seven-month old children and still more for children at 12 months. Keeping an eye on where children are in their movement, visual and hearing milestones can be an important part of understanding whether a child may have a birth injury.

The next step is to understand the causes of birth injury. There are many natural movements that happen in a woman’s body when she delivers a baby and occasionally the contortions and contractions can be hard on an infant. Other times an infant can be injured during birth because of an error or negligence by the doctor, nurse or midwife in charge.

There are several factors that can potentially contribute to an injury to the infant in the delivery room:
• Negligence or improper care
• Lack of oxygen to a baby’s brain during delivery or labor
• Baby’s shoulders get stuck behind mother’s pubic bone and proper techniques are not used during delivery to free the shoulder
• High birth weight babies can be injured during a vaginal birth
• A fetus with a large head can prolong delivery
• Exposure to dangerous birthplace chemicals
• Incorrect use of surgical instruments
• Baby presents in a way other than headfirst

Any of these problems can occur in a delivery room. Oftentimes a parent will not even know that anything went wrong during the delivery. Since it may be months before the baby shows any symptoms, parents need to get legal advice when they are concerned about birth injuries

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer and Chicago birth injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit BriskmanandBriskman.com/.

April 30, 2012 in Criminal Defense, Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Beware Florida Medical Malpractice Legislation that Skewers Innocent Patients

For some reason, politicians in Florida want to stick it to medical malpractice patients. They want to pass a bill limiting doctor liability.

If you have ever been the victim of medical malpractice, you will know how passionate you have become about making sure the medical professionals who harmed you are held responsible. It becomes a quest for many patients that have been victims of medical malpractice, and they hope what happened to them will never happen to someone else.

If the Florida Legislature gets its way, holding doctors accountable for medical malpractice will become a virtual impossibility. This is not good news for any state, not just Florida, for what passes there, may well be passed in other jurisdictions like Ohio. As a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, this type of Draconian legislation makes the blood run cold.

The Florida Bill is supposed to reduce the medical malpractice liability of medical professionals in that state. It is deeply disturbing for many reasons. It acts as a shield for doctors from liability for harming a patient. For example, if a physician is negligent in not ordering necessary tests, the result could seriously harm or kill a patient. If there is a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, a patient may not survive. This bill states the patient needs to show clear and convincing evidence that the doctor was negligent in not performing other tests.

Most patients are not doctors. Putting them in the position of having to clearly prove the doctor was negligent is like handing a stick of dynamite to a toddler and telling them not to play with the matches sitting on the table in plain sight. No one in their right mind would risk a child’s life like that, but the state of Florida is willing to risk an innocent patient’s life to continue to let a negligent doctor practice. What is wrong with that picture?

Patients went to the doctor because they trusted them, needed care and expected, because of the doctor’s higher standard of training, that they would be helped. If they are seriously harmed or killed by the very person they trusted, they would be hung out to dry by this proposed bill. Patients just do not, and in most cases never will, have enough evidence to satisfy such a high legal burden.

If this bill passes, they will not be able to receive the compensation they would deserve if they were harmed by their medical doctor. That means patients may face catastrophic injuries, at the hands of a doctor, that they have to pay for, for the rest of their lives. How is this fair?

A serious warning note is being sounded by another provision in this same bill; the drive to discourage doctors from ordering tests that would pinpoint grave illnesses before they got to the point of no return. If doctors are being encouraged to not order tests that could prevent a needless death, more people will die for no good reason. It makes you wonder what legislators regard as good medical care and if they needed tests, would they expect them? Likely they would, but they don’t want you to have them.

If it isn’t bad enough that the bill wants to rip away patient’s protection against medical malpractice, it also invades their privacy. It proposes letting a doctor’s lawyer interview the patient’s other doctors without the patient or the patient’s lawyer being there at the same time. This is a clear violation of patient rights. It gives defense unfettered access to health information that is not relevant to a lawsuit, and provides defense attorneys with an unfair advantage. It is the patient, harmed by the doctor that is to be protected, not the doctor who negligently committed medical malpractice. Attacking tort victims as if they were the enemy makes no sense. Hopefully Florida comes to its senses before passing something that will set patient’s rights and protections back to the Dark Ages.

Christopher Mellino is a <a href=”http://www.christophermellino.com/”>Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer</a> specializing in <a href=”http://www.christophermellino.com/”>Cleveland Medical Malpractice</a> cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com

April 30, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Bring Your Own Booze Party Hosts Not Liable for Underage Drunk Drivers

This case will likely create a storm of controversy. Holding booze parties for underage kids is contentious in the first place.

This case is pretty controversial, largely for the reason that a Massachusetts court has decided that people who play host for bring your own booze partiers are not liable if underage drinkers get drunk and drive. To many that is unconscionable not to make the hosts responsible to watch their guests’ consumption while on their property. Someone needs to step up and be responsible if the kids are not being smart enough. That’s what adults are for.

The Massachusetts high court handed down a ruling that said social hosts cannot be expected to be the booze police if they are not supplying the alcohol for the gathering. However, should they hold a party or get together and supply the liquor they can be held liable for damages caused by drunk guests. Many parents find this ruling an abomination, wondering whatever happened to the concept of social responsibility.

Underage drinkers should not be drinking in the first place, and if they are bringing alcohol to a party that would be considered to be illegal, not to mention the issue of how they obtained it in the first place and how it is acceptable for someone to host a party where there is illegal drinking going on. The world is a strange place, and it’s not made any better by a court suggesting parents may abdicate their moral ethics, parental responsibility, and allow underage drinking on their premises.

The court indicated a social host may be liable for injuries to third parties caused by a drunk guest only in situations where they served alcohol or made it available. In other words, they would only be liable if they have effective control over the booze. Just because an underage drinker brings alcohol to a party does not mean the social hosts should just leave things be and let them get drunk right under their noses. While there may be prior court cases like this, the decision just does not sit right.

What started this lawsuit was an injury accident that happened when two partygoers left the hosts’ home. The male and his 16-year-old girlfriend slammed into a utility pole, resulting in serious injuries for the female. The 18-year-old host was the named defendant. The male driver supplied all the booze at the party and consumed two mixed drinks and up to seven beers. He had hauled in a 30-pack of beer and a bottle of rum, and it is doubtful he would have expected to drink the whole cache.

The lawsuit suggested the host should be considered negligent for letting the male drink on her property. The court said no, the host is not responsible for their guests’ consumption when they do not control the supply of booze. That clearly begs the question that if the male brought all the alcohol to the party, then why couldn’t the host control the supply of booze? It was on her property for others, including the host, to drink. Who’s to say the male did not pick the booze up for the host?

On the whole, this case has too many holes in it to make good social sense. It is plain as day that drinking and driving, especially by underage individuals, is a serious problem and society has a duty to limit or prevent this happening in any way they can. A hands off attitude just does not cut it.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

April 30, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Incredibly Bizarre Accident Results in Man Found Dead in River

The missing driver in this car crash case was found on a sand bar in the river. It’s an accident scene that no one can figure out.

Unusual things happen when a collision occurs. In this case though, not many people had ever heard of a missing driver. When he was found, no one could explain how he got to be where he was in the river, downstream from his vehicle on a bridge. The police have no idea how he died – yet.

Apparently, after the collision, and during the scene being worked by EMTs and the police, they determined there was a missing driver that should have been in or near his Ford F150. The crash happened on a Monday and the man’s body was not found until the following day, about a mile downstream from the bridge where the accident happened, and this was no ordinary accident either.

The best accident reconstructionists have been able to determine is that it was likely slippery road conditions that caused the man’s truck to slam into a guard rail on the bridge. That was the beginning of a series of other crashes. It looked like the man’s truck had come to rest across both eastbound lanes of the highway. What followed was a driver in a 2007 Nissan that once he saw the truck in the middle of the road attempted to swerve to miss it. However, his car hit the bridge and perhaps the truck in the middle of the road.

Mere minutes after the second crash, another truck hit the Nissan, followed by a freightliner semi pulling a box trailer. It slammed into the Nissan and the first man’s truck, shoving both vehicles to the east side of the bridge. By the time rescue crews got to the scene, those present knew a driver was missing. The question was, what happened to him and where did he go?

The initial findings of the investigation were that the missing man, whose name was found on his vehicle registration, was ejected after hitting the bridge, or that he was hit by another car after getting out of the truck, and tossed over the bridge. The driver of the second vehicle involved in this wreck said he did not see anyone at the scene after he crashed into the truck. This may mean the man was ejected on impact.

What a truly bizarre event. How would this accident shape up legally for those involved? It needs to be determined if the first driver was speeding, driving while distracted or driving too fast for road conditions – meaning he was negligent. From there on out, each person who hit his truck, or another vehicle because his truck was in the middle of the road, would have a personal injury case to file.

The lesson here? Accidents are not always what they seem to be, and by the time this one is put to bed, there may be other revelations that will affect any cases filed. If you have been in a situation similar to this, do not hesitate to call an experienced Brattleboro personal injury lawyer. Damage recovery for your injuries will depend on the Brattleboro personal injury lawyer doing their job, and sorting out the messy details. They know what needs to be done to get justice.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

April 29, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

OSHA Pushes for Tighter Rules on Texting and Driving While at Work

Advances in smartphone technology have helped improve businesses in countless ways during the past several years. Vendors can use smartphones to charge credit cards on the spot. Investors can check stock prices from the back of a taxi. Purchasing departments can order more of just about anything from just about anywhere.

But when employees try to use those smartphones while driving for their jobs, it becomes a safety issue both for the employee and for the public.

That’s why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is launching a new initiative aimed at stopping workers from texting while driving for work.

OSHA can claim great strides in worker safety over the years. It is a sign of how safe the workplace is becoming that motor vehicle collisions have become the leading cause of death in the American workforce. Distracted driving is part of the reason OSHA has been unable to bring down the numbers of workers killed and injured at work while in the car.

Many industries require some amount of driving for work. Sales representatives have to get out there and chase down leads. Caterers put employees in vans to deliver food across town or across the state. Photographers need to be on the scene for photo shoots and large animal veterinarians have to visit barns throughout their territory. Whether an employee is being paid for mileage while driving for work does not make a difference. If they are doing something work related and using their car to get it done, then it is work.

OSHA is asking all employers to crack down on assignments that require or even encourage employees to text while driving. That means not sending texts to employees while they are driving and ensuring that texting from the road is not a necessary part of the job.

Employers will face more tort claims and worker compensation costs as texting while driving becomes an accepted part of business. OSHA is trying to educate industries to make sure they are aware that they are responsible if their employees feel they have to engage in this dangerous behavior to keep up in their job.

“We want to send a clear message to managers, supervisors and workers that their company must neither require nor condone sending or reading text or e-mail messages while driving,” wrote Dr. David Michaels in his OSHA blog in October.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago workers’ compensation attorney and Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit BriskmanandBriskman.

April 29, 2012 in Legal, Legal Articles, Personal Injury by jferris

Woman Forced to Give Up Her Children as a Result of Medical Malpractice

This is a bizarre case that resulted in a woman suffering permanent brain injuries. She was awarded $23 million by a jury.

When someone goes to the hospital, they expect they will come home in one piece and with all of their mental faculties. What happened in this reported case is just shocking. The woman went to her local teaching hospital in 2006 because she was suffering from unexplained, painful headaches accompanied by other odd symptoms. She was 35-years-old at the time.

Tests revealed she was suffering from a non-bleeding brain aneurysm, which a surgeon operated on, inserting coils into it. The surgery and the insertion went well, but for one major and ultimately catastrophic detail. The team operating on her punctured an artery in her brain. From that moment forward, things went very wrong as a result of many medical errors.

The woman was on a blood-thinner, and after her surgery she had signs of a stroke. A nurse, watching this behavior noted it, but kept giving her the medication. This was a negligent move, and by the time the doctors figured out what was going on, it was too late to do much to help her. Her brain was filled with blood and there was catastrophic damage that paralyzed her on one side, affected her sight and created a whole new collection of medical issues, all of which could not be reversed. In other words, her life would never be the same again, and she would need permanent, around-the-clock care.

Since her surgery, she has been in and out of the hospital numerous times for a variety of infections, is in constant pain and unable to care for her children. Her husband quit work to care for her and the children were placed with relatives. The life the woman once lived no longer existed thanks to medical malpractice of the highest order.

Do you think this is a case to cap medical malpractice damages? Think about that because this could happen to you, and if you live in a state where medical malpractice damage awards are capped, you would be hard pressed to get enough money to live out the rest of your life and get the care you need.
The nurse who kept giving the woman Heparin settled out of court for $1 million and the $23 million she was also awarded will help provide her 24/7 care. It’s a sad case and the devastation it caused will never fade. If you think you have been the victim of medical negligence, do not wait to call a Manchester medical malpractice lawyer. They are specially trained to help you get justice and an award that is fair and equitable.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.