Articles Tagged with personal injury lawyer

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Anytime personal injury lawsuits are settled, there may be terms and conditions that must be read carefully. There are some situations wherein the language could prohibit any and all future claims against other potential defendants – and that may not be a scenario you want, depending on the circumstances. 

In a recent appellate case out of California, the language of an earlier settlement agreement became an issue in a subsequent personal injury lawsuit filed by a mechanic against a property owner. The question before the appellate court was whether plaintiff’s claim against these entities was barred because of a settlement with one defendant

Here’s what happened: In 2011, plaintiff, a mechanic, was hired by the auto sales company to figure out why a vehicle owned by the sales firm wouldn’t start. Unbeknownst to plaintiff, the towing company had recently towed the vehicle to the site and disconnected the transmission shift linkage when it did this. However, the towing company employee did not reconnect the shift linkage. Plaintiff said he put the vehicle in park and climbed underneath to troubleshoot. When he went to test the electrical connection to the starter, the vehicle ran over him and dragged him through the parking lot.

Plaintiff’s spine was crushed.  Continue reading →

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You may recall back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was an avalanche of litigation stemming from leaking breast implants. These silicone implants did not last as manufacturers promised they would, and there were also accusations that companies failed to warn consumers of the possible hazards caused by ruptured implants. These included pain and soreness, change in breast size or shape and may be connected to joint problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

All this led to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration banning manufacture of silicone breast implants for nearly 15 years. That ban was lifted in 2006, with the FDA agreeing to authorize just three companies to sell silicone implants in the U.S. Last year, the breast implant market generated about $635 million – and 8 out of 10 customers opted for silicone implants.

Now, one of those companies, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is the target of litigation that some are saying could be the “tip of the iceberg” for a new onslaught of personal injury claims. Continue reading →

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Jurors in Georgia awarded $5 million to a woman who suffered a paratransit van fall that caused her to lose her left arm and rendered her right arm useless. 

Deliberations lasted about 7 hours before finding the company that operated the non-emergency transport van was partially responsible for the 2012 accident that prompted the lawsuit, Smith v. Logisticare.

At the time of the incident, plaintiff was a left leg amputee and she was traveling in defendant’s van to get to a dialysis appointment. She reportedly was not properly secured into the van, and fell out of her wheelchair when the van hit a pot hole. Because she was not properly belted into position. Crush fractures suffered to her arms necessitated her left arm be removed and her right arm no longer functional.  Continue reading →

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Waivers of liability can be difficult to overcome in personal injury cases. Often, proof of simple, ordinary negligence will not be enough. Instead, what must be shown is proof of gross negligence.

Gross negligence occurs when there is some kind of blatant violation of or clear indifference to a legal duty toward the rights and protection of others. It’s a kind of flagrant and conscious disregard for the use of reasonable care. It doesn’t mean showing the accident/ injury was intentional, but rather showing an extreme lack of care that is likely to cause foreseeable, serious harm to someone else. In some cases, an assertion of gross negligence will support a recovery of punitive damages too, though there usually needs to be evidence of willful, wanton misconduct.

In the case of Anderson v. Fitness International LLC, the question was whether plaintiff had sufficiently proven gross negligence to overcome the protection that his signed waiver of liability had afforded the defense. A California appeals court ruled: No. Continue reading →

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A habit for fitness is supposed to be a good thing. However, an increasing number of brain injury cases are cropping up at gyms across the country, particularly involving falls from treadmills.

You may recall the headlines last year when Dave Goldberg, the 47-year-old chief executive of $2 billion company SurveyMonkey, died unexpectedly after falling off a treadmill on vacation. The husband of Facebook’s CEO Sheryl Sandberg, Goldberg suffered massive head injuries.

The case of 60-year-old Etelvina Jimenez was far less high-profile, though it was highlighted recently in the Sacramento Bee. In 2011, Jimenez reportedly fainted while on a treadmill at a 24 Hour Fitness location. She fell backward and hit her head on equipment, suffering numerous skull fractures. Although the facility may not have been able to prevent her fainting or protect her from all injuries, improper placement of other equipment too close to the rear of the treadmill is a real problem at many facilities, who try to pack as many pieces of equipment as they can into a space – despite manufacturer instructions. Continue reading →

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Disney World is facing a serious liability after a fatal alligator attack at one of its resorts that claimed the life of a 2-year-old boy. The toddler had been splashing in 6 inches of water along the shore of a man-made lagoon, where the resort invited guests to gather that evening to watch an outdoor movie.

Posted alongside of the shore were a number of “No Swimming” signs, but nowhere did it mention the threat of alligators – despite the fact that alligators were known to live in the water and further, staffers had complained to management that guests had been feeding the gators and they feared there would be an incident.

Legal analysts and personal injury attorneys reviewing the known facts of the case have largely concluded that those “No Swimming” signs probably weren’t enough to issue an adequate warning for a serious risk that was foreseeable. The park, which attracts 55 million visitors annually, cooperated with wildlife officials and law enforcement in terminating six alligators on the premises and have also created additional barriers to the site. However, these actions will not be enough to shield the company from liability. Continue reading →

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Vacationers and thrill-seekers know that Florida, with its seemingly endless coastline, is the perfect location for parasailing. Summer is when the activity really takes off.

While it can be an amazing experience, the problem, as noted by a special investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is that it is largely unregulated. In fact, serious parasailing accidents are mostly the result of faulty equipment.

It’s estimated that each year, approximately 5 million people across the U.S. participate in parasailing. The safety of each of these trips is dependent almost solely on the skill of the operator and the condition of the equipment, there are:

  • No federal guidelines or regulations that set specific training or certification for parasailing operators;
  • No federal mandate for inspection of parasailing equipment;
  • No requirement that operators halt operations during unsafe weather.

Continue reading →

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A bouncer at a popular Key West bar is suing former Backstreet Boy Nick Carter after the pop star allegedly attacked staffers and tried to choke the plaintiff for kicking him and his friend out of the establishment for being unruly and disrespectful.

According to The Daily Mail, the bouncer claims the singer physically assaulted him while he was escorting the pair out of the bar, Hog’s Breath Saloon. This was after he reportedly attempted to headbutt the manager of the bar after the staff refused to serve him or his friend any drinks, as they had arrived inebriated. He allegedly became irate and refused to leave after being asked to do so 10 times, staffers said.

Carter, who was recently the runner-up on the popular show, “Dancing With the Stars,” reportedly apologized for his actions, saying he was finding it difficult to “balance a healthy lifestyle” and he is “not perfect.” At the scene, where he was arrested for misdemeanor battery, Carter reportedly told the officers staff at the bar, “acted like Navy Seals.” Continue reading →

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