Personal Injury
Fast Moving Car Crashes Into Amish Buggy Causing Fatality and Injuries
Many wrongful deaths are the result of car accidents. This case was unusual as it involved a buggy.
There are many kinds of vehicles on the road today, and that includes a horse and buggy. More often than not, the horse and buggy transportation is usually found near areas where the Amish live. It is then not so unusual to expect to see them on the road and get around by this mode of transportation.
In this reported case, the driver who slammed into the back of a buggy came up over a hill and could not slow down. That begs the question of how fast the man was going, which is something the police are looking into further. The fact that the buggy was dragged so far down the road is a pretty good indication that the car was moving rapidly.
The accident happened when three young people were heading east on the highway. The driver of the car that hit them was also traveling east at a good rate of speed and ploughed into the slow moving buggy. While the car driver indicated that there was no slow moving vehicle triangle on the back of the buggy, you cannot miss a horse and buggy on the road in broad daylight at noon, which is when the accident happened.
As a result of being rear-ended, the buggy driver and his two passengers were ejected onto the road after being dragged several hundred feet. A 17-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene by responding emergency crews. The other two were taken to the hospital with the second female passenger being flown to an experienced trauma hospital. She has life-threatening injuries. The car driver did not sustain any injuries.
This will most likely become a wrongful death case. While there may be some question about the speed the car was going, ultimately the driver was handling the vehicle negligently or he would not have rammed into it. There are also two victims in this fiasco that will want to discuss their cases with a personal injury lawyer. Medical expenses these days are extremely high and both the victims that survived will have enormous bills and not have any way to pay them without suing the driver of that car.
In a personal injury case, the victims are entitled to recover compensation for their injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of consortium, and medical expenses. In a wrongful death action, the victim’s representatives may also recover expenses for things such as funeral and burial expenses, loss of wages and loss of inheritance. In both types of cases, there must be an element of negligence present and that negligence needs to have a direct link to the injuries sustained by the victims.
If you have been in an accident like this one, you will need compensation to pay your medical expenses and for other things such as therapy. Do not waste time dealing with an insurance company, whose only goal is to get you to reduce the amount of your claim. Call a skilled Arkansas injury lawyer and start asking questions. That is their job to get you the compensation you deserve.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Fractured Femur Leads to Medical Malpractice Suit
Some days it doesn’t just rain, it pours. This medical malpractice case is a prime example of what can go wrong when you least expect it.
This reported case is one of those instances where you have to wonder if the defendant involved really knew what he was doing. Certainly accidents do happen, but when the defendant is an occupational therapist, the last thing you would expect to happen when you are at your appointment is for the therapist to fracture your femur. That is what happened to the 68-year-old man in this case. What further complicates this story is that the man is a paraplegic.
As a result of the fracture, the man needed surgery to repair it, and was then faced with the choice of also needing to have a colostomy, because he couldn’t do transfers from his wheelchair due to his broken leg. This is not a great choice to be faced with when what little independence you had was shattered thanks to the negligence of an occupational therapist. His quality of life went downhill and he tried to cope as good as possible as his medical costs skyrocketed.
The jury at the man’s trial agreed with the plaintiff that his damages were shockingly awful as the result of the therapist’s negligence and awarded him $1.05 million. The fact that the man would need full-time care from the point of his accident onward was certainly a consideration when the jury was deliberating. The defendant made no attempt to settle prior to trial. Was the amount of the jury award fair – most definitely.
Medical malpractice does not just involve a doctor. It can happen at any time, and to anyone if they are dealing with a medical professional who does not perform to the standards of the medical profession. Medical professionals need to be held accountable for their actions. If you have been in a similar situation, make your first call to a skilled Arkansas injury lawyer and find out what is involved in filing a medical malpractice case. Not all instances with a bad outcome by a medical professional are considered to be negligence. An Arkansas injury lawyer can outline what constitutes negligence and help you make an informed decision about moving forward with any potential lawsuit.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Give Bigger Vehicles More Room on the Highway
A good rule of thumb to drive by on the highway is if you are traveling close to a big rig, give it room. It could save your life.
It pretty much goes without saying that if you spend any time on the highway in the presence of huge tractor trailers, you will want to go out of your way to give them lots of space. And why wouldn’t you, given the size, velocity and potentially fatal impact if one of them hits you? The end result of a big rig versus car collision is a foregone conclusion and usually fatal. If it isn’t a crash where the survivors come out of it with life-altering catastrophic injuries, it will be a killer wreck.
Unfortunately, a good number of people out there in traffic and mingling with the semis, don’t realize the dangers they face should something go wrong. Many also don’t realize that the big boys have blind spots on all four sides of the truck and if you travel in those spots, you’re asking for trouble. If they can’t see you, they could turn right in front of you and you would have no place else to go, but straight into the side of the rig.
This has been said countless number of times, in numerous settings, but it still bears repeating – 18-wheelers cannot and do not stop like other vehicles. It takes them up to 40 percent longer to come to a halt than passenger vehicles. The wake of destruction left in the path of a hurtling semi is not a pretty sight. If you are trailing too closely behind them and they do come to an unexpected stop, you may wind up as an underride accident. Those generally see many victims decapitated.
There are two types of big rigs trolling the roads today; the single and double-wide 18-wheelers. The double-wides pack up to 80,000 pounds and expecting them to stop “right now” is like trying to stop a killer tornado. There just isn’t anything you can do about it.
The reality these days is that semis are not always loaded in a correct and safe manner. The load isn’t secured in a way that will prevent it from shifting during its journey from point A to point B. If this isn’t done the right way, the load may end up on the road or on another vehicle. Doing highway speeds when something comes off a semi is virtually guaranteed to result in a horrific crash.
For your own safety and that of your family, avoid the big guys on the highways, and stay safe. If you ever need the services of an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer, as the result of an 18-wheeler accident, you will be in good hands as they step up to bat to ensure you get justice and fair and equitable compensation. Your Arkansas accident lawyer has years of expertise to draw on and an in depth understanding not only of your injuries, but how they will affect you for the rest of your life. Want justice? Then make your first call to a skilled Arkansas injury lawyer.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Pogo Sticks the Cause of Personal Injuries for Children States Arkansas Injury Lawyer
Most slip and fall accidents happen when someone slips on something and hits the ground. Bravo Sports has turned that concept on its head with failing pogo sticks.
“It had to happen. Someone creates a product that kids, and adults who feel like kids, use for the fun of it, and that defective product causes them to fall, putting them at risk for serious lacerations, head and spinal cord injuries and broken bones,” said Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas.
Over 169,000 pogo sticks have been recently recalled when it was revealed that the bottom of the stick’s frame may break or come apart, and that the spring holding it in place can break. When that happens, the user generally hits the ground.
“Who inspects these things before they get to market anyhow? And why don’t they catch things like this before someone is hurt? These are questions I hear quite a bit from those injured in accidents involving defective/recalled products. These are personal injury accidents and the maker of the product is liable for any harm caused a consumer. When that harm comes to a kid, that is reprehensible,” Smith said.
The pogo stick maker only knew about the problem with the sticks when they started to get calls about children being hurt. As a result of those reports, which thankfully did not initially involve very serious injuries, the sticks were called back. The recall affected Twin Stick Pogo, Monster Stick Pogo, Pop Stick Pogo and Rocket Stick Pogo.
Consumers could get a complete refund for the product, which is nice, but if someone did not hear about the recall, as does happen in many cases, anyone harmed, despite the recall notice, would be able to sue the maker of the product and possibly the product’s seller.
“Sometimes people buy a product, experience problems with it and just toss it out. Those are the lucky ones. For those who get a product that is capable of doing serious harm, such as a chainsaw with a faulty finger guard, this is another matter. These pogo sticks have the potential to really cause bad injuries, as odd as that may sound. But consider what happens when a young child falls off a pogo stick and happens to hit their head on the ground. If you have any questions about a similar situation, don’t hesitate to call a personal injury lawyer. It’s your right to do so,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Tiny Sewing Needle Results in Lawsuit Reports Arkansas Injury Lawyer
Truth is stranger than fiction. That was certainly the case when a woman found a 2-inch long needle in her food while eating at a restaurant.
“When you hear about this kind of story, it makes you think twice about eating out. Sure, these days you potentially deal with contaminated, poorly cooked or spoiled foods, along with other cooking disasters, but no one would have ever dreamed they would find a 2-inch sewing needle in a plate of mashed potatoes and ribs,” said Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas.
In a story right out of a bad horror movie, a woman went out for an evening meal at a local restaurant and was mid-way through a plate of ribs and mashed potatoes when something sharp pierced her tongue. It turned out to be a 2-inch, razor sharp sewing needle. “Certainly not something you would ever want to experience for any reason,” Smith said. “On pulling the needle out of her tongue, the workers at the restaurant whipped it out of sight. Later, when the family went back to get the needle to get it tested, the management refused to turn it over.”
The woman eventually filed a lawsuit when it took the restaurant 52 days to send the needle to a lab to be tested. “Thankfully, it was clean for hepatitis, HIV and other potential infections, but the nursing mother had to stop giving her baby breast milk in the meantime, just in case,” Smith said. “Not to mention spend 52 days or longer with the anxiety of wondering if she had contracted anything as a result of having her tongue involuntarily pierced by the needle.”
The twist to this story is that it is believed that the needle belonged to one of the chefs on staff and he used it to clean his marijuana pipe. And, not only that, but that it appeared that the rest of the staff and management were aware of the chef’s ongoing use of the drug. Talk about a bizarre twist to a personal injury story.
“Would this woman get compensation in a court? Likely, given the nature of the event and the concern about having contracted an infectious disease. Would the restaurant be held liable for negligence? Possibly, yes. Would the chef be held liable for negligence? Most definitely, unless he could prove that it was not his needle and that someone else used it. Really, who smokes marijuana and cleans their pipe out while they are cooking?” Smith asked.
Personal injury cases are not always straightforward, as this one clearly demonstrates. What is clear is that any negligent action that one person engages in may have an impact on another. For those serving others, in any capacity, they must offer their product in a safe manner and if they do not do so, there are typically consequences that they must take responsibility for in the final analysis.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Car Wrecks may Result in Apportionment of Liability Explains Arkansas Injury Lawyer
On the surface, some car wrecks look like only one person caused the crash. In reality, the liability may be apportioned.
“In Arkansas, there is comparative negligence. While it may seem like this is a distinction without a difference, there is indeed a distinct difference. Comparative negligence lets victims demand compensation for injuries that were not their fault. A good example would be if you were in a wreck and were deemed partially at fault. That means you many still ask for damages from the other party, also at fault, based on a percentage of fault,” said Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas.
While this may seem about as clear as mud, there is method to what appears to be madness. The method is the legal equivalent of fairness prevailing, if more than just one person was responsible for an accident and that leads one to the explanation of contributory negligence, if the state a victim lives in has it. Arkansas does not have that system.
“This is a defense that may prevent victims from getting any compensation for an accident that they are in any way responsible for. I should add that there is pure contributory negligence in some states and pure comparative negligence in others. It’s important to know the difference and that is something legal counsel will explain,” Smith said.
In Arkansas, modified comparative negligence is what is used to determine responsibility in cases where more than one person was at fault. It means that if a driver is 50 percent or more at fault, they are not able to collect damages for any injuries they may have. If they are 49 percent or less at fault, they may still ask for compensation for personal injuries.
Consider the case of John Doe, who was in a car wreck when another man hit him. Doe’s judgment was reduced by 40 percent as a result of comparative negligence, but he was still able to win a decent award to pay the medical expenses for his spinal cord injury and subsequent surgery. The court judgment was for $257,000.
Many people do not understand why they cannot collect in full for their injuries if they have been involved in an accident. If they were partially responsible for that accident and live in Arkansas, they are subject to the modified comparative negligence doctrine.
“Yes, it’s confusing, but it does end up being an equitable resolution to accident cases where both parties were at fault. If you have been in an accident like this, give me a call and we can discuss how this works in greater depth,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
In the Blink of an Eye the World Exploded in Car Versus Pickup Truck Wreck
Traveling the highways in the winter is an adventure – one that may have a fatal outcome if one driver has been drinking.
This brutal accident came as a complete surprise to all of those involved. It happened in the blink of an eye and the consequences were utterly devastating. This case happened in early December, near Salt Lake City, Utah and it serves as a reminder to all of us that anything can and does happen when we least expect it. One minute things on the roadway were business as usual, and the next minute, three people were killed and many more injured as several cars wound up in a tangled heap on the highway.
It had been snowing lightly and the roads were not in the best condition. To top that off, the police report of the accident indicated that alcohol and drugs played a role in this fatal accident. The three dead were riding in a green GMC Jimmy. The fourth passenger was taken to hospital in critical condition.
The driver of the Jimmy lost control of the vehicle and it started to spin, sideswiping a car carrying a mom and two kids. Shortly after that, the Jimmy was T-boned by a pickup truck. One Jimmy passenger was completely ejected, one partially ejected and one trapped in the back seat. It was a gruesome accident scene.
Police found beer cans in the Jimmy and called for further testing for drugs. This four-car pileup involved 11 people, hurt because someone was drinking and driving and likely on drugs as well. It is a case that may resonate with anyone who has ever been involved in a DUI accident. It is an example of how easy it is to lose control of a deadly vehicle while under the influence and just what the consequences may be for doing something that stupid.
For those seriously hurt in accident like this, the only way to make sure you get fair and equitable compensation for your medical bills and other expenses is to discuss your case with a skilled Arkansas injury lawyer. Without their help, you will be stuck in an insurance nightmare trying to battle it out with insurance adjusters; adjusters whose sole goal is to settle as low and as fast as possible.
With effective legal representation on your side, you will not need to deal with adjusters who want to minimize your injuries or pretend they are not as serious as they actually may be. You do not need the indignity of dealing with people who will try and twist your words and use them against you, so their company can save money. When you need help after a wreck, seek experienced counsel from an Arkansas injury lawyer who will make sure you get justice.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Watch Your Back When It Comes To Insurance Companies
Insurance companies are not your friend in an accident. Never volunteer information to an adjuster without first talking to an Arkansas injury lawyer.
Although you may be conscientious and pay all of your car insurance every year, drive carefully and safely and have a stellar driving record. If you are in an accident, even if it was not your fault, you have no friends at the insurance company. The hard truth is that an insurance company is a business and any business that wants to stay in operation and make money, not hand it out to people who get into accidents.
Most, if not all, insurance adjusters will kick into “minimize” mode the minute you report your accident and any injuries you may have sustained. Why do they do that? Insurance companies need to keep their bottom line profitable. If they paid out full dollars to victims, based on what they truly deserve, they would go broke. To that end, once the adjuster knows you have been injured, they try to make it sound less serious than may actually be the case.
Don’t be surprised when the insurance company tries to get you to settle fast and low. Expect them to put words in your mouth about your accident and how it happened, no matter what you say. They are masters at coming up with things to throw you off guard and make you say things that could be used against you later. For this reason, seriously consider not speaking to the adjuster until you have consulted with a lawyer.
Think that might be overreacting? Consider this. You were in a car wreck that involved six vehicles and four of them were totaled, including yours. What if there was one person deemed at fault for the whole event? What if that person didn’t have enough insurance to pay for the carnage and your insurance had to pay the bill?
Let’s say you lost a lot of time off work and your medical bills were close to $59,000 and your research indicates you should be entitled to about two times the amount for pain and suffering and money for your medical bills. Let’s also say the insurance company flatly tells you that you will only get a one-time settlement offer despite your horrific injuries, astronomical medical bills and totaled car.
If you went with the insurance company’s one-time settlement, you would be short changed out of a lot of money. If you sign anything in addition to taking their offer, you will not be able to sue later if your injuries get worse. This is one of the major reasons you need to talk to a seasoned Arkansas injury lawyer, because if you want justice, want what is fair, want what you deserve, you need a lawyer representing you. No one else will look out for your rights, not when money is involved.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
America Runs Thanks To The Trucking Industry But Fatalities Are Often The Price For Commerce
It is inevitably a fact of life that with large rigs on the roads, accidents happen. When cars and 18-wheelers tangle, the results are nasty.
Even though the nation relies on trucking to transport goods clear across the country, the accident statistics for the industry give one the chills. The U.S. Department of Transportation indicates that someone is killed in a rig wreck just about every 16 minutes.
If you do the math on that, you get roughly 90 personal injury accidents happening every day. Every day of the year, there are 90 accidents. What staggering numbers to even begin to contemplate; numbers that often are used in court when an Arkansas injury lawyer handles a trucking wreck case on behalf of a client.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that when a behemoth weighing in at about 80,000 pounds hits a smaller vehicle, which may weigh about 3,000 pounds, the big rig completely creams the other vehicle. Often, there isn’t a whole lot of the other vehicle left to pick up at the accident scene. Unfortunately, there often aren’t a lot of people left alive either.
For those who do survive an accident like this, their lives are often changed forever due to the catastrophic nature of their injuries which may include amputations, traumatic brain injury, fractures, crush injuries, spinal cord injury and paralysis. It’s enough to make you want to stay home; enough to make you wonder why accidents like this happen in the first place.
Typically, many of the big rig wrecks are the result of a number of factors which may include poorly trained truckers, negligent driving, driving while exhausted, speeding, traveling with an improperly balanced load, poor or no maintenance, inattention, texting, driving while distracted or driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or being overloaded. Truckers are human and many figure that nothing will happen to them while they are on the road. Many take chances based on that assumption. Unfortunately, sometimes the assumption will kill them and others.
Despite the fact that the trucking industry does have rules in place that are supposed to limit the number of hours a trucker may drive, this seems to be more honored in the breach than in actual practice. This fact has come to light in other cases handled by an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer. Truckers don’t make much money, which drives many to break industry rules to pay their bills. They will either put in more hours to make more money or end up driving faster and further to meet company expectations, whether they are realistic or not.
Given the long laundry list of things that may be going on with truckers in the nation today, can you really expect that the big rig in the lane next to you is being piloted by a sober, rested, responsible trucker that is well versed in road safety? The answer is: Probably not. In light of that, take steps to protect yourself and give them lots of room.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Arkansas Lawyer Michael Smith Advises Investors be on the Alert for Scams
Investment scams are a dime a dozen on the Internet. Skepticism is wise when things look too good to be true.
“If you’ve spent any time online looking at the variety of investments you could make, you likely came away with your head spinning. There are literally hundreds of them, and some of them sound terrific. But, and that’s a big but, you need to carefully scrutinize what you are seeing, as there are so many scams these days, you could easily get taken to the cleaners. We only need to remember Bernie Madoff and how many people lost their shirts because of his shenanigans to want to proceed with caution,” said Michael Smith, an Arkansas business lawyer.
Those new to the Internet and to searching for and finding good investments need to put themselves in the scammer’s shoes and try to think like they do. For instance, most of the deals that scream “scam,” are literally too good to be true. They promise huge profits in a short period of time for very little work. “Frankly, there is no such thing,” Smith said. “If there were that kind of opportunity to make scads of cash without doing much, then we’d all be rich and we definitely aren’t.”
It goes without saying that people love to make money. It makes our lives a lot easier. This is the button that the scam artists push. They know people want to make millions without lifting a finger and that people’s greed often overrides their common sense. The point is that any legitimate and legal investment has risks associated with it because that is the way the stock market works. Remember that one rule and it may be easier to spot frauds online.
“If anyone ever tells you something to the effect that the details of the investment and how it works are kept from others, implying you are special, there should be a loud siren going off in your head. This is a favorite scam tactic to make people feel they have inside information, only for them,” said Arkansas business lawyer Smith.
Can’t get a straight answer for trying? No one will provide details of how the investment is supposed to work? “Run in the opposite direction, as this is yet another clear signal something rotten is afoot,” Smith said.
The bottom line is that if someone does get nicked by a scammer, they do have some options open to them and one of them is seeking legal counsel. While that may work, it may be a long and arduous battle to recover any funds.
“To keep your money safe and sound, keep it in investment vehicles that are safe and well regulated. While they may not be as pretty as some of the other offerings online, they will return money in the long run, not rip you off,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
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