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Simple Guide to Optimizing Your Personal Injury Claim

Posted by David Brown 
· January 9, 2020 

You work hard day in and day out to create the life you can be proud of. Don’t let someone else’s negligence destroy your hard work and derail your vision. If you’ve been injured, you owe it to yourself, your family, and those you care about to be justly compensated for your losses. And here are a few quick tips you can use to optimize your settlement and not sell yourself short.

See the Big Picture

It’s vital you see the bigger picture, consider all current damages and future damages you’ll incur because of the accident. An experienced personal injury attorney will help you step back and take a holistic view of the entire event. Of course, the insurance adjuster will do their best to close the case for as little as possible. However, it’s up to you to have a clear indication of what you need and what you’re willing to accept.

Types of Potential Damages

Your personal injury claim will hinge on a variety of factors that can directly impact the amount you receive. Some of the most common factors can include:

  • Current medical visits
  • The medications required following the injury
  • Pain and suffering
  • Permanent alteration of mobility and life, such as severe scarring, paralyzation, amputations, and reduced range of motion.
  • Current and future wages lost
  • Impact on potential earnings
  • Severe injuries, such as bone spinal cord, neck/head/brain, and internal organ injuries

A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Words

Sometimes, an image can speak volumes. When you have images of the road conditions, images of your injuries, or images of any illicit substances in the vehicle of the driver who is at fault, you significantly strengthen your case. In these instances, images can lead to higher settlements.

It’s Not Just About You

When you are injured, you’re not the only one who hurts: your loved ones suffer as well. At the same time, your company or business could suffer. The stress an injury has on your marriage, ability to parent, or ability to grow or manage a business can all be emphasized to highlight the butterfly effect of the negligent actions of the individual at fault.

Contact An Experienced Personal Injury Attorney

If you’ve been hurt in a personal injury incident, it’s critical you understand the other party’s insurance company doesn’t work for you. On the contrary, their goal is to offer you as little as possible, which is often in direct conflict to your best interest. In fact, they have teams of adjusters and attorneys working around the clock to minimize their losses.

With this in mind, it only makes sense to have an experienced ally in your corner. A personal injury attorney will go to bat for you, defending your rights and working in your best interest. So when it comes to getting the best personal injury settlement, it starts and ends with finding the right personal injury attorney.

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Revel: New Transportation Mode or Public Health Hazard?

Posted by David Brown 
· January 7, 2020 

While most people consider scooters and mopeds to be a safer mode of transportation, residents of Brooklyn and Queens have an entirely different experience thanks to Revel — the new moped-rental service. With a valid driver’s license, $5, the Revel smartphone app, and no training; users can rent one of the 1,000 electric-powered scooters and carouse through the boroughs. To the start-up company’s dismay, however, Revel has hit several speed bumps — primarily due to poor training and faulty parts. The result has been an onslaught of personal injury lawsuits by drivers as well as those injured by scooter drivers.

A Moped Gange of Personal Injury Lawsuits

Among those bringing lawsuits is Paul Dicesare who was a bicyclist that suffered a broken ankle in June allegedly due to a Revel rider. Dicesare’s attorney claims Revel was “vicariously liable” for the negligent, careless, and reckless acts of its driver. At the same time, Revel rider Afadikwei Reyes filed a lawsuit claiming the moped locked up and caused him to wreck, which left him with two leg fractures. Together, Reyes and Dicesare are among seven different people who have filed personal injury lawsuits against Revel. This amounts to an astronomical rate of one lawsuit per month since Revel expanded its offering to 1,000 back in May 2019.

Speeding Toward Danger Under 30 MPH

Currently, a motorcycle license isn’t required for mopeds that do not exceed 30 MPH. As an obviously low barrier, many experienced motorcycle drivers suggest this loophole is a fast track to disaster. Nick Trocano, manager of Brooklyn motorcycle shop Union Garage, says he has consistently witnessed inexperienced Revel riders circumvent laws and engage in aggressive driving practices, such as speeding along areas that are designated off-limits to scooters and cutting against traffic through bike lanes. He said he has also witnessed Revel riders driving without helmets, which are required by law. And when drivers engage in such reckless practices in densely populated areas, everyone is in danger.

When asked to comment on the trend, the company asserted they do not comment on pending lawsuits. However, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn-based startup explained that Revel offers free, in-person lessons to new riders who are looking to practice and learn more about the vehicles in a supervised, comfortable setting.

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Can You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit for Marijuana-Related Accident?

Posted by David Brown 
· January 2, 2020 

While the side effects of marijuana usage have always been hotly contested, a nine-month-old baby’s injuries tell a completely different story. On Feb 7, 2020, at approximately 9:30 a.m., a 19-year-old woman was leisurely pushing a stroller through a crosswalk. All of a sudden, 28-year-old Ashley Bowman failed to yield to a pedestrian and plowed her Honda Civic into the stroller, causing it to flip over. Fortunately, the 9-month-old baby only sustained facial injuries.

Following the incident, Bowman briefly spoke to the 19-year-old victim and fled the scene. Ironically, Bowman was driving with her own 6-month-old daughter. She was later apprehended and arrested on three different felony charges:

  • Hit-and-run resulting in injury;
  • Causing bodily injury while driving; and
  • Willful cruelty to a child.

Fleeing the scene of an accident

Based on preliminary reports, Ms. Bowman’s liability is inherently clear because she was operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana and fled the scene. And leaving the scene of an accident is a crime.

However, this scenario isn’t entirely unique. Many motor vehicle crashes and accidents involve a hit-and-run scenario. Typically, suspects choose to flee the scene of the accident because they are concerned about being arrested, are intoxicated, or are driving without a license.

Marijuana Legalization and DUI

In California, the legalization of marijuana has resulted in a spike in accidents, which was the case illustrated by Ashley Bowman’s severely impaired judgment. However, just because marijuana is legal doesn’t mean it’s legal to drive under the influence.

If you’ve been injured due to a driver operating a vehicle under the influence of any type of substance, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your losses. An experienced personal injury attorney can guide you through the process and file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. Your attorney will work closely with you to lead an independent investigation of the accident to determine all factors at play.

Should I Take the Settlement Offered by the Insurance Company?

Far too often, insurance companies pressure victims into accepting a quick payout for significantly less than the case is worth. Because of this, it’s always a good idea to speak to an experienced personal injury attorney to ensure you are justly compensated. Your attorney will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and advocate for you.

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Victims of Wawa Data Breach Pursue a Class Action Lawsuit

Posted by David Brown 
· December 19, 2019 

The Christmas season is normally a time for shopping, celebrating, and exchanging gifts with loved ones. Instead, customers of Wawa convenience stores got a not-so-merry surprise just before the holidays. On December 19, 2019, the nationwide chain announced a massive data breach that compromised the credit and debit card data of thousands of customers. In the aftermath of the breach, several customers are suing the chain for negligence, claiming the company failed to take suitable security measures to protect sensitive data from cyberattacks.

Wawa is the latest in a string of major companies targeted by hackers who install malicious software to gain ongoing access to payment data. According to CEO Chris Gheysens, hackers used malware to breach the payment processing systems at in-store terminals and fuel stations across 850 locations. For unsuspecting customers who swiped their credit or debit cards, the breach potentially exposed their names, card numbers, and expiration dates — the only details needed for many online purchases. While the company isn’t sure which of its stores were affected, Gheysens assured the public that debit card PINs, CVV security codes, and ATM transactions weren’t compromised in the cyberattack.

In an apology letter on behalf of Wawa, Gheysens stated that the malware was introduced sometime after March 4, 2019, and wasn’t detected until December 10. With the help of forensic specialists and law enforcement, Wawa was able to contain the breach by December 12 and narrow down the nine-month timeframe when the intrusion likely took effect. Gheysens also announced that the company is offering one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to safeguard customers from further threats. Unfortunately for some customers, the company’s efforts didn’t come soon enough.

As of December 29, 2019, Wawa is facing six lawsuits that may develop into a class action complaint. One data breach plaintiff, Tabitha Hans-Arroyo, says she lost access to her Capital One credit card funds on Christmas Eve when the company blocked a suspicious $2,535.15 charge. Like other victims of cyberattacks, Hans-Arroyo has to deal with the inconvenience of an account freeze during the holidays, as well as the lingering uncertainty about other data that could have been exposed.

The suit seeks to hold Wawa accountable for falling short of consumer protection laws and taking a “cavalier” approach to cybersecurity. In the meantime, other retail chains should learn from this recent data breach and be vigilant about conducting routine security checks and keeping up with the latest risk prevention recommendations from the Federal Communications Commission.

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Common Failure to Diagnose Personal Injury Cases

Posted by David Brown 
· December 17, 2019 

When physicians and other healthcare providers fail to accurately and correctly diagnose a life-threatening medical condition, it can have dangerous consequences. Mistakes and misdiagnoses may leave many patients and their families with no other option but to file a personal injury lawsuit in order to get the financial assistance and compensation they now need. Issues such as a stroke or heart attack can result in permanent disability and death in the event that they are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed in time. There are some conditions that are misdiagnosed more commonly than others.

Pulmonary Embolism: This is a condition caused by a blood clot that obstructs the flow of blood through the lung arteries. This embolism is a serious health issue since the lack of blood flow causes damage to the lung tissue, as well as other organs in the body. Prompt care is essential in order to help with the chances of a successful recovery. The symptoms of a pulmonary embolism are usually confused with other medication conditions, which delays treatment. Patients that do manage to survive a pulmonary embolism after a misdiagnosis usually suffer permanent disability.

Mental Illness and Depression: Mental illness and depression are more common than most people realize and the conditions are hard to correctly diagnose. Those who suffer from mental illness may be more likely to harm others around them or themselves, especially in a situation where an incorrect diagnosis leaves them unable to get proper care and supervision. It’s rare for mental illnesses to pose a direct physical threat to a patient but a psychiatric emergency can still be life-threatening. A healthcare provider that doesn’t have the right experience can miss the signs that a patient can be at risk for violence or self-harm.

Heart Attack or Stroke: Despite their prevalence, heart attacks still go undiagnosed regularly. Confusing symptoms of a stroke or heart attack with another medical condition means that treatment can be delayed until it is too late. Patients may not get the surgical procedure or anti-coagulates that could end up saving their life.

While healthcare providers do everything in their power to accurately diagnose an illness, failing to properly diagnose a condition is one of the leading causes of healthcare providers getting sued for medical malpractice. Those who suffer due to improper care can be entitled to compensation.

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Sex Trafficking Using Facebook Sets Off a Lawyer’s Unique Argument

Posted by David Brown 
· December 12, 2019 

Tech companies have avoided a lot of legal consequences, due to a 1996 law that protects them from lawsuits. However, Houston personal injury attorney Annie McAdams is hoping to change all of this.

McAdams is starting a legal fight against Facebook and similar tech companies and accusing them of helping facilitate the sex trafficking of minors. In a series of different lawsuits in Texas, Missouri, Georgia, and California, McAdams is using this new argument to fight the law and is finding some success early on. This year, a judge in Texas has denied Facebook’s attempts to dismiss the lawsuits.

This law says in Section 230 that Internet companies, just like Facebook, aren’t liable for what users post. McAdams’s argument is that in the case of pimps using social media in order to lure children into prostitution, there should be separate laws that require the tech companies to warn users of the risk and do more in order to prevent it. She says that there isn’t another industry that has the luxury of protection and isn’t held accountable for anything they have caused.

McAdams’s lawsuits are also part of a boarder effort to use the courts to end this law that governs the Internet. This law has been debated on the campaign trail and in Washington but there isn’t legislation that is expected anytime soon in order to weaken it. Instead, there are lawyers that are pushing ahead with lawsuits in order to challenge the protection of Internet companies. In the years past, the rulings have actually strengthened the law but now the cracks are beginning to show. For example, in 2016, a federal appeals court ruled that the law didn’t protect a modeling website that was used by two men to lure women they subsequently drugged and sexually assaulted. It was ruled that the site’s owners knew of this threat and failed to warn women.

Facebook has asked a judge in Houston to dismiss two of McAdams’s lawsuits due to the immunity offered under Section 230. However, the judged denied the motions. Facebook then responded to this decision with a 50-page petition. The approach of McAdams could prove significant and if the Texas rulings hold up, it could persuade other judges and even draw the Supreme Court to weigh in.

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Lawsuit Filed by Special Education Teacher Dismissed by State Supreme Court

Posted by David Brown 
· December 10, 2019 

Recently, it was announced that the state dismissed a lawsuit filed by an Irvington School Board teacher against the local school district. The lawsuit was filed by a special education teacher who claimed she sustained grievous injuries in an attacking leveled by one of her students several years ago. Special education students are often bused into Irvington School District in an effort to improve the education of children with special needs. Often, these students are prone to expressing extreme outrage and temper tantrums that place both students and staff at risk.

According to documents that were filed, that is exactly what happened to this special education teacher. The teacher claimed that she suffered an elbow injury at the hands of one of her students. According to her, this injury caused not only physical distress but also emotional and psychological trauma as well. The lawsuit claimed that the school district was liable for her injuries and was seeking compensation for the trauma she endured.

In extensive court filings, which included emails between this teacher and the school board, the teacher warned the school district about the temper tantrums this student was prone to expressing. The teacher also expressed fear for both the safety of staff and students because of this one student’s emotional lability. She claims that, despite the extensive email warnings, the school failed to take sufficient action to protect its students and staff from harm.

In contrast, the school district attorney claimed that the district was not liable for the injuries and further distress suffered by the teacher because the injuries and any complications stemming from the injury were related to work. Therefore, they were covered under the worker’s compensation agreements and statutes that this teacher presumably sought. In his decision, the state Supreme Court judge expressed his agreement with the argument put forth by the school district, saying the case was not properly before the court and would be dismissed.

The legal counsel for the teacher expressed his disappointment. He stated that he had hoped the court would see the case his way but that he was not done yet. He was discussing other options with his client, who continues her pursuit of compensation.

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When a Workplace Injury Requires Filing a Lawsuit Against a Negligent Third Party

Posted by David Brown 
· December 5, 2019 

If you have suffered a workplace injury, workers’ compensation may not cover all of your expenses. However, in limited circumstances, an employee who suffers a workplace injury can file a lawsuit against an employer or a negligent third party.

An example would be if there was a safety violation, a dangerous condition, or a toxic substance that caused the injury. Often, these claims occur when there is a negligent third party. You could also sue your employer if they intentionally hurt you or if they don’t carry workers’ comp insurance.

Third-party claims

In the event that an employer doesn’t maintain adequate safety controls, workers’ compensation doesn’t provide punitive damages. That is why is important for injured workers to know their rights and potentially bring a personal injury lawsuit against a third party.

Toxic Substances

If a worker is exposed to a toxic substance such as asbestos, a lawsuit can usually be brought against the manufacturer of the substance. Also, if a worker used safety equipment that didn’t adequately provide protection against the toxic substance, the manufacturer of the equipment can also be held liable for the worker’s injury.

Some injuries caused by toxic substances are immediate, such as a chemical burn. But many times, injuries caused by toxic substances do not appear for a number of years. But even if there is a time delay, injured workers can succeed in winning lawsuits and receiving monetary damages for their injuries.

Hazardous Conditions

Jobs in factories, transportation, and construction are where workers are most likely to be faced with hazardous conditions that could result in an injury.

A factory worker could bring a product liability lawsuit against a manufacturer if the worker suffered an injury caused by machinery that was defective or didn’t work properly. If the manufacturer knew that the equipment or machinery was dangerous, they could be required to provide the injured worker with compensation.

Similarly, a truck driver can bring a lawsuit against a manufacturer of a truck part that is determined to be defective and caused the driver to be injured. If a construction worker is injured on a job site, a claim could be brought against a negligent party, such as an engineer, architect, general contractor or equipment manufacturer.

Seek legal assistance

If you have suffered a workplace injury, you may be eligible for benefits beyond what is provided through workers’ compensation. To receive the benefits you deserve, it is important to seek the assistance of an attorney who understands both personal injury law and the workers’ compensation system.

 

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Johnson City advocates new policy for tort medical injury payouts.

Posted by David Brown 
· December 3, 2019 

America’s health care system grows increasingly complex for all parties, and this leads to repercussions even in the Tri-Cities area. At issue are the discrepancies between the prices charged for medical care and the amount usually paid for those charges in reality. It is unusual, to put it mildly, for health care agencies to be paid the full amount they charge. Insurance companies have the tremendous latitude to negotiate the exact amount disbursed, while the insured, to put it bluntly, tend to declare bankruptcy rather than face the staggeringly inflated prices. This disparity between the “sticker price” of health care and the amount paid has led the Tri-Cities to pursue a policy called the “collateral source rule,” which prevents the defendant in a personal injury suit from showing in court that the plaintiff or their insurance paid less than the full rate for their health care.

The city’s position is that, as the instances of injured people ever paying the charged price for medical care are very rare, then it is unfair to tort defendants to force them to pay out for the full amount. After all, a tort recovery is meant to replace precisely what was wrongfully damaged, not more.

The case used as an example was a personal injury suit brought after a city vehicle hit a local resident on Buffalo Road in 2017. Johnson City Medical Center billed that resident $9,728 for emergency room care and $194,468 for shoulder surgery. However, in the end, Ballad Health considered those expenses discharged for a Medicare payment of only $13,443.71. This is less than 10% of the original charge. This is far from unusual.

However, others believe that removing or reducing the role of the collateral source rule serves only the insurance companies. The collateral source rule helps to stop insurance companies from reducing their damage payouts for medical injuries. This decline in medical bill reimbursement, which can confidently be predicted to be a large decline, would primarily affect the defendants directly. The amount they could expect to gain after being wrongfully injured by city property could decrease precipitously, and there is little clarity about how this would affect the insured compared to the uninsured. It would also remove the incentive for attorneys to represent them.

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Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Defamation Lawsuit Against Elon Musk over “Pedo Guy” tweets

Posted by David Brown 
· November 28, 2019 

U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles denied Elon Musk’s request to throw out the case of a British rescue diver who claims Musk called him a “pedo guy.”

Musk and Vernon Unsworth first came to odds when the diver questioned the need for a small submarine the inventor-businessman sent to help in the rescue of a teen soccer team that had become trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.

Unsworth sued Musk after a heated back-and-forth following the successful rescue of the soccer team. It was during that period that Musk called the diver a “pedo guy.”

At first, Musk apologized for accusing Unsworth of pedophilia but then renewed his accusations through emails to BuzzFeed News. Musk added more specific claims, calling Unsworth a “child rapist” who moved to Thailand to find a child bride.

Thailand is known for its sex trafficking and legal child marriage. The country has no minimum age for marriage. Thai children’s rights activist Anchana Heemmina told the Guardian that legal loopholes have made “cross-border marriages” a “big business.”

Musk said in a court deposition released last September he was worried that Unsworth might be “another Jeffrey Epstein.” Court documents show that Musk’s representatives contracted private investigators to “dig up details” in Unsworth.

Unsworth has denied such accusations, but his attorneys have yet to respond. Musk attorney Alex Spiro said, “We look forward to the trial.”

This has been a trying summer for Musk marked by altercations with reporters, the failed attempt to take his Tesla car company private and missed production goals.

The Unsworth case is one of a number of legal actions that Tesla and his companies face. Most notably Tesla is fighting a lawsuit filed by shareholders over the 2016 acquisition of SolarCity and Walmart over Tesla solar panels that caught fire on several of its stores.

Musk told The New York Times that 2018 had been “the most difficult and painful year of my career. It was excruciating.” As 2020 fast approaches, Musk appears set to take the offensive against accusers like Unsworth.

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