Archive for March, 2009
A Personal Injury Means Actually Being Hurt
While it might seem like it is obvious that a personal injury actually means being physically harmed, there are a fair number of people who think just because they “may” have been harmed they are entitled to damages.
“Almost being hurt does not count in a personal injury case,” explained Arkansas super lawyer Michael G. Smith of Little Rock. Only an actual injury is capable of being the foundation for a personal injury lawsuit that claims damages for the particular injury in question. To be perfectly clear about what constitutes a personal injury, the true definition is when a person is actually injured and someone else caused the injury (was at fault.)
What personal injury cases really boil down to is that an actual injury has to have taken place. “People are not entitled to damages just because they might have been injured. Could have, should have, would have just won’t cut it in court,” added Smith. And, as a matter of fact, not every case will result in compensation being awarded. While this may come as a surprise, since the plaintiff may have been expecting an award, the fact is that some states give the nod to the doctrine of contributory negligence, while others follow the rules of comparative negligence.
“The doctrine of contributory negligence means that if the plaintiff is even slightly at fault in the case before the court, in other words contributed towards the accident that caused their injury, they are not entitled to compensation,” outlined Smith. If the plaintiff lives in a state that follows the rules of comparative negligence, then fault may be apportioned according to fault assessed in the case. For instance, if a plaintiff were assessed as being 60% at fault for their own injury, they would be able to recover 40% of the total assessed damages.
This next interesting factor is one that a lot of people tend to ignore at their own financial peril. A plaintiff has to get to the point in his or her healing called the maximum medical healing, before settling a personal injury claim. Here is why not settling immediately is the best way to handle a personal injury case.
Insurance companies are notorious for approaching a victim right after an accident and offering them a settlement. Many of them are downright aggressive about it and some people do settle, then discover later that their injuries were worse than they appeared. “They now have no way to claim damages in court and may wind up having to pay for therapy and other medical expenses out-of-pocket because they settled too soon,” commented Smith, who has seen this happen in many instances.
If a victim of an accident is approached by an insurance company and offered a settlement immediately after an accident, the best advice is to not settle the case without speaking with a highly qualified personal injury lawyer, like Little Rock injury lawyer, Michael Smith. Settling too soon may be one of the worst decisions ever in terms of the potential compensation that may be available from the courts.
To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer,Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney visitArkansaslawhelp.com.
Brokerage Fraud
Investment fraud by any other name is called brokerage fraud and it is a rather unique crime in which many attorneys do not specialize. If you have been a victim of this form of fraud, track down a highly qualified investment fraud attorney to handle your case.
Investment or brokerage fraud is usually the result of an advisor, a stockbroker or even the brokerage firm in question offering advice to a client that goes directly against the guidelines laid out by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Will you know if you have been scammed? Not necessarily, however there are some things for you to be on the lookout for when dealing with brokerage firms, etc.
A word of advice to older Americans who have sizeable savings accounts and are looking for places to invest – avoid deals that look too good to be true. Many unscrupulous investment brokers looking to pull a fast one on their clients will target seniors, as they have a tendency to be more trusting. It’s usually best if you do your investing directly with trusted banks and stay away from online trading schemes as well.
In you’re considering making an investment, then make it a point to hire a lawyer to read the fine print in the brokerage contracts. That is where fraudulent companies and brokers tuck the tricky legalese away, hoping you won’t understand what you are reading. Once that contract is signed it’s hard to do anything about it. So before you invest, consult with a highly skilled investment fraud attorney who has seen just about everything and knows what a genuine contract should say.
Generally speaking, the most common investment fraud scheme centers on Prime Bank Instruments. This is where the scammer throws around the names of some of the world’s most well known banks to get you to invest
your money. Here is how that scheme works: you will be told your money is pooled with other investors and you will likely get good returns to start with so that you invest more. The returns are really funds from other victims. This scheme usually folds quickly, leaving you holding an empty bag of money.
For this reason alone — the chances of brokerage investment fraud – take the time to thoroughly investigate any company in which you are considering investing. While this may seem like a pain, it will be worth it in the long run if you not only get to keep your initial investment, but also get a good rate of return on it legitimately.
Michael G. Smith is a Little Rock injury lawyer and Little Rock accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Little Rock Arkansas. To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer, Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney visit Arkansaslawhelp.com.
Longer Lives More Nursing Home Abuse
Modern medicine and medical technologies have increased our life spans and by doing so have guaranteed most of us will spend a portion of our lives in a long-term care home or nursing home facility.
If you doubt the precipitous increase of the numbers of senior Americans in nursing homes and long term care facilities, then do some homework on the Internet. You will find that there is a staggering number (over 1.6 million) seniors being cared for every year in the U.S. In addition to that, close to one quarter of the total U.S. population will be checked into one of these facilities.
Now you’d think that because this is a rapidly growing area which has the advantages of the latest in medical technologies and medicines, that residents would be treated with genuine care, respect and dignity. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case, and in fact there are many instances of nursing home abuse and negligence uncovered every day. This is an outrage perpetrated on some of the most vulnerable citizens in the nation and there is absolutely no excuse for it.
Nursing home abuse has become so prevalent that the federal government even did studies dealing with the quality of care for the elderly in these institutions. The results were dismal, to say the least. Did you know that roughly 30% of all nursing home and long-term care facilities are guilty of some form of nursing home malpractice? The areas of malpractice include mental, physical and psychological harm.
The most common forms of abuse range from emotional abuse to dehydration/malnutrition and from medication errors to untreated pain. Untreated pain is one of the highest rated areas of abuse in most nursing homes meaning that close to 50% of all patients in such homes are not being given adequate or any meds for pain. If you were in that kind of a situation at home, would you stand for it? Of course you wouldn’t and neither should our seniors who have no voice of their own when they are in circumstances like this.
If you suspect nursing home abuse involving your loved ones, then immediately contact a qualified nursing home abuse attorney. It’s up to you to stop the cycle of abuse and find justice for your loved ones.
Michael G. Smith is a Little Rock injury lawyer and Little Rock accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Little Rock Arkansas. To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer, Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney visit Arkansaslawhelp.com.
Personal Injury Lawsuits May Be Tricky
“Personal injuries come in many forms, and all of them cause harm to the actual physical body of the injured party, not to a person’s property,” stated Arkansas super lawyer Michael G. Smith of Little Rock.
Where does a personal injury claim originate? This is an interesting question and one that actually has a whole list of sub-categories that qualify as personal injuries. However, first of all, a personal injury is usually physical in nature, but may also be a mental injury. The distinction here being that mental personal injuries are somewhat harder to prove than physical ones which can actually be seen.
In most instances, personal injury cases arise as a direct result of car crashes, but they may also come in the form of medical malpractice, negligence, on the job accidents, assaults, slip, trip and fall accidents, defective products, defective drugs, defective medical devices, dental negligence, and exposure to hazardous materials at work, etc.
The list is endless and the ways of obtaining settlements in each of these cases vary as well. This is why it is critical to consult with a highly skilled personal injury lawyer, familiar with all these areas. One such lawyer is Arkansas super lawyer, Michael G. Smith of Little Rock, who has handled numerous personal injury cases over the course of his prestigious career.
“Workplace exposure to hazardous materials are very complex cases and usually involve industrial health hazards like asbestosis and mesothelioma, etc.,” he explained. The bottom line in all the examples mentioned here is that in these personal injury cases an accident was caused by someone else’s negligence. If that is the case, then the injured party is usually eligible for compensation for those damages. This doesn’t happen without the intervention and representation of a knowledgeable such as Little Rock personal injury lawyer, Michael Smith.
A qualified attorney guides clients through filing the claim for damages, through the hearings in court and also takes the lead in dealing with insurance companies who want to hassle the plaintiff to settle early to avoid any greater liability. While it may seem like a great expense to hire legal representation, take heart that most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. Working on contingency means they don’t get paid unless and until a case is settled.
In most instances, having a competent personal injury lawyer on retainer is the smartest thing to do when facing a long court battle trying to collect damages for a personal injury. Many cases in this area may take months to resolve, and without a lawyer, may not go anywhere. A good personal injury lawyer will win the day.
To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer,Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney visitArkansaslawhelp.com.
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