Archive for August, 2009
Negligence Causes Car Accidents
Common sense would seem to dictate that when people are asked what causes car crashes, their first answer is usually someone else’s negligence.
Negligence plays a huge part in the accidents that occur daily across the nation that take the lives of at least 110 people everyday. Consider how many others are severely injured and have their lives change in the blink of an eye. When collisions start to become almost as prevalent as the common cold, it’s time to do something.
Bad drivers and what to do with them have occupied the minds of many a law enforcement agency over the years, but as yet, no successful program seems to be in place to combat lousy driving. Some have suggested that if those who drove carelessly were aware of the consequences of their actions – the death of another person – they might slow down. Others propose driving home the fact that negligence costs a lot of money in the form of a jury award for wrongful death or severe personal injuries. Unfortunately, there are many people who figure the law is not meant for them to obey and that nothing bad will ever happen to them – until it inevitably does happen.
Losing a family member is heartbreaking and life altering all at the same time. If there were other family members involved in the same car crash, they may have sustained injuries that left them requiring medical care for the rest of their lives. The total disruption of a family because of the negligence of another driver is absolutely devastating, but the other driver never seems to think of that when they are driving and talking on a cell phone or driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Personal injury law is all about righting the wrongs done to others by the negligence, thoughtlessness and carelessness of others. This is what personal injury lawyers do, help those who were victims recover damages for their losses. Those losses may include punitive and exemplary damages, funeral and medical expenses, loss of wages, pain and suffering, and other more intangible things like loss of companionship.
In the process of fighting for the rights of those who have lost a family member or are dealing with debilitating injuries as the result of an accident, other issues may also come to light that point the finger of negligence in another direction. This isn’t to say that the other driver who may have caused the accident in the first place isn’t at fault, but there may be things like a defective seatbelt or airbag that caused death or injuries.
Personal injury law is never dull and just because a case looks like it is straightforward and a death or severe injuries are the result of someone running a red light doesn’t mean that the accident itself was responsible for the drivers death (but may have contributed to it). This is precisely why a hiring a personal injury lawyer is a critical factor in any car crash case.
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.
Slip, Trip, Fall and Injury
The quick explanation of a slip, trip and fall legal case is a person who fell after slipping or tripping on something like a puddle of water or a raised cement block.
There isn’t too much of a mystery about what a slip, trip and fall case is all about. The definition in this instance lies in the description of the actions that take place prior to a personal injury sustained as a result of the fall. While the definition is reasonably clear, there are certain circumstances that need to happen in order for a person to be able to file a lawsuit for damages against an entity or a person.
The first thing may seem rather obvious, but surprisingly isn’t to a lot of people who have been in the difficult situation of having fallen after tripping or slipping, and then found out they had no case. There needs to be an actual dangerous condition. In other words, the fall must come about as the result of a dangerous condition on private or public property.
The reason the law is exceedingly specific in this instance that a person “must” have fallen due to a genuine dangerous condition is because we all land on our rears or other parts of our anatomy many times over. It’s a fact of life. Obviously, the law would not allow you to recover damages every time you fall. Imagine trying to convince a court that tripping over the cat on the way to the bathroom at 3:00 am in the morning is worthy of compensation.
The law will, however, allow recovery of damages for personal injuries that happened because of a dangerous condition on private or public property with the caveat that the owners or people responsible for that property knew or should have known about the dangerous condition.
Knowing what a dangerous condition is may help a person assess whether or not they may have a valid case to discuss with an attorney. Some examples of hazardous conditions include cracks in sidewalks or other areas where people walk, badly maintained handrails or stairs, wet substances on the floor, uneven stairs, debris on the floor, food or other random objects left on a floor and dangerously slippery surfaces. There are a multitude of potentially precarious situations that have the real potential to cause a slip, trip and fall accident.
Another requirement to file a lawsuit is that the owner of the property where the accident happened, or whoever controls the property must either be aware of the treacherous condition, or in the alternative, known about the risky condition as a result of “reasonable” inspections. If they didn’t know or couldn’t have known, a person is not able to recover against them. To find out further specifics, it’s best to discuss a case like this with a highly skilled attorney.
In many instances, slip and/or trip and fall cases require an expert witness to prove an unsafe condition did exist and the owner, etc., either knew or should have known about it. This would shape up as the battle of dueling experts, as the defendant would also have an expert that states the exact opposite.
If someone has fallen as a result of a perilous condition, then consult with a qualified lawyer to determine if there is a potential lawsuit.
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.
An Unusual Type of Med Mal
Not many people have heard about iatrogenic medical malpractice lawsuits. Iatrogenic means adverse affects due to medical treatment or advice.
While the vast majority of people have never heard of iatrogenic, it is actually far more common than one would think. In fact there is a rough estimate of 120,000 to 225,000 deaths in the U.S. every year that may be tracked back to iatrogensis. Unfortunately, there is no mandatory reporting system for iatrogenic injuries or deaths. To say that would make it a bit difficult to police and control, or even develop procedures to prevent it would be a major understatement.
Iatrogenic means something caused by accident by a doctor, a diagnostic procedure or medical treatment. In other words, it’s the adverse effects or complications resulting from advice from a health care professional and that includes a dentist, nurse, pharmacist, therapist, doctor, psychologist and as a result of alternative medical treatment and advice.
The causes of iatrogenisis are quite varied and include adverse reactions, medication errors, medical misadventure and noscomial infections.
Adverse reactions are, generally speaking, the result of someone having a bad reaction to a medication, which may be an allergy or a potentially fatal side effect. The American Medical Association estimates at least 108,000 deaths due to adverse reactions. Quite a shocking statistic, isn’t it?
According to the Institute of Medicine, there have been close to 7,000 deaths attributable to medication errors. Another good reason to double check what you are being given when you pick up a prescription or are handed something in the hospital.
Medical misadventure is an injury or other adverse effect that is the result of medical treatment. These misadventures are usually preventable medical errors, which tends to not give people a lot of faith in doctors or other health care professionals.
Noscomial infections originate in a hospital and manifest themselves by causing inflammation, swelling, infection, night sweats and breathing difficulties. This kind of infection may be responsible for the death of 80,000 annually.
Most of the figures discussed in this article deal with patients actually in a hospital. They do not cover outpatient clinics, long-term care home residents, patients not in the hospital or dental patients. It goes without saying that iatrogensis rears its head in those settings as well. Based on just these figures alone it would be enough to give anyone needing medical treatment in a hospital setting second thoughts. Another chilling aspect of iatrogenic diseases is that they are not always easy to identify. E.g. drug interactions.
Proving someone died as a result of an iatrogenic disease is a complex process. If you have lost a loved one and feel their death was the result of an adverse reaction or complication due to medical treatment, get in touch with an experienced medical malpractice attorney and discuss your potential case.
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.
Settle or Litigate Business Disputes
If you’re ever involved in a business dispute, you have a variety of options to settle it.
You don’t always have to sue if you’re involved in a business dispute. However, it is one of the options available if other things don’t work out. Ideally, in a perfect world, the difference of opinion would be resolved amicably and through negotiations. Having said that, sometimes things just don’t go the way you want them to go.
Generally speaking business owners have four different avenues to handle customer, vendor or partner disputes. They each have a different price tag, so it pays to have a working knowledge of them. The four avenues are direct negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.
In terms of saving money, direct negotiation is often the least expensive method to use. This isn’t to say that it’s the easiest, but it is a good place to start. During this process both parties need to make it really clear what they want, why they want it and what will happen to future relations between the them. It goes without saying that both sides in direct negotiations need to look, listen, ask questions and pay sharp attention to the discussions. In other words, make use of good communication and planning skills during the negotiations. If everything holds together, the outcome should be an agreement that works for everyone. It beats the alternative, which may be an all out war.
Mediating is another good solution and only addresses how to fix the problem at hand. Meeting with a neutral third party that acts as a facilitator is often a smart business move. Understand that the mediator doesn’t make decisions but helps both sides come to a solution that works. Anything said in the presence of a mediator and all related documents are not admissible in court, so if mediation doesn’t work out, there are a couple of other routes left to try.
Another route to settle disputes is handing the whole thing over to a neutral arbitrator. In this instance, the arbitrator does make a binding decision based on the facts of the situation. Because arbitration is in essence a fact finding venture, it does take more time and money than mediation, but still doesn’t take as long as litigation.
The last resort is litigation and this involves letting a judge decide which party wins based on the facts of the case and the law. The court would make a determination of who is right and who is wrong. This is applicable “if” the case gets that far, as many of them don’t and wind up being settled out of court. This usually happens if one party doesn’t want to run the risk of losing in court. Frankly, there are a couple of cons to actually litigating a business matter: the negative effect it has on future relations and the cost, time and stress. However, if you have exhausted all other efforts, this may be a viable option for you to pursue.
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.
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