Entries in the 'Accident Settlements' Category ↓

Automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, accidents involving trucks and railroads, construction accidents, medical malpractice, and workplace accidents, which are caused by acts of negligence or willful misconduct, are litigated in civil court. If the accident involves a criminal activity such as DUI, the case may also be investigated by the federal government. A personal injury attorney practices accident injury law and would be the most-suited to negotiate a settlement on your behalf. Damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses, property damage, and loss of earnings can be awarded to an individual injured in an accident.

Louis N. “Mike” Joynes, II

Managing Partner

www.joyneslaw.com

1-866-943-8612

Profile

Born: 1958, Norfolk, Virginia

Education:

• The College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, VA, 1985, Masters of Law (Taxation)
• Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, GA, 1984, Doctor of Jurisprudence
• Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia, 1981, Bachelor of Arts, Economics

Practice Areas:

Memberships:

• Norfolk Bar Association
• Portsmouth Bar Association
• Virginia State Bar

Admissions:

• Virginia, 1986
• U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1986

Keywords:  Norfolk injury lawyer, Norfolk Bankruptcy Laws, auto accident lawyers in Norfolk

The majority of personal injury in Hawaii involve some form of physical pain. If you are injured because of a negligent person, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit in Hawaii. In some cases, physical injury is not required for you to file a claim.

Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED)

Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) is based on the concept that an individual has a legal duty to not cause emotional distress.  While California was the first state to allow compensation for emotional distress alone, the Supreme Court of Hawaii is credited with the introduction of negligent infliction emotional distress as a separate tort. If you believe that you are a victim of NIED, contact an attorney who is experienced in personal injury lawsuits in Hawaii.

Examples of NIED include the following:

• A funeral home that wrongfully disposes of a body
• The negligent and incorrect diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease that causes the breakup of a marriage
• A plaintiff who witnesses the death of loved one at close distance
• In the case of Rodriguez v. State, the plaintiffs claimed they suffered emotional distress as a result of flood damage to their home

The zone of danger

This term refers to the area of peril created by the negligent action of another person. You may be able to file a Hawaii injury lawsuit if you were in the zone of danger as a result of another party.

For your zone of danger claim to be credible, the following elements must exist:

• The defendant put you in danger of injury or death through their negligence
• You were aware of the death or injury of an immediate family member
• You show signs of emotional or physical injury as a result of witnessing the accident

If you were injured in any way as the result of another person’s negligent action, contact The Law Offices of Michael Jay Green today for help with your Hawaii injury lawsuit.

Tallahassee Personal Injury Lawyer William Waters law firm Waters & Associates, P.A. has won a settlement for $100,000 policy limits received within thirty (30) days of accident for a knee injury caused by a truck/auto crash for one of his clients.

When looking for an experienced truck accident attorney in Mobile, it is important to find out their litigation history. Ask if they have how many truck accident injury cases and have developed intimate working relationships with some of the nation’s top experts in various fields such as:

• Accident Reconstruction
• Occupant Kinematics
• Tire design and manufacturing defects
• Truck driver qualification and training
• Duties of inspection and maintenance of big trucks
• Safe driving practices for commercial vehicles
• Federal Motor Carrier Regulations

Expert testimony is crucial for Mobile truck accident litigation in order to explain to the jury any complicated industry details or to recreate the scene of the accident. However, it is extremely expensive to retain these experts; thus, the law firm representing the injured person must be committed to advancing the money necessary to properly and professionally represent the injured person.

Blackman Legal Group handled the elevator accident case of Dennis Koepnick from intake through trial and appeal resulting in a total collection of $6.48 million.  In the process, BLG prevailed over the top defense appellate firm in the state, Horvitz & Levy, to strengthen and maintain an important caveat to Proposition 51.

Dennis, 62, was a delivery man who arrived at an office building owned by Kashiwa Fudosan America, Inc. to deliver air conditioning registers to the second floor.  He was instructed by one of the property manager’s engineers to use a particular elevator.  The elevator made a lot of noise but Dennis didn’t know anything was wrong.  On his final descent, the elevator came to a very violent and abrupt stop causing his knees to buckle and he fell.  Though he walked away that day, his treating orthopedist would later opine that the event tore his lumbar discs resulting in his eventual spinal reconstructive surgery.  Diligent discovery, including a successful motion to compel, found a log kept by the security company that noted reports of shaking and banging noises from the elevator the previous night.  The nighttime building engineer had ordered that the elevator be taken out of service but the morning engineer, who instructed Dennis, was not aware of the order.  No one had called the elevator company before putting the elevator back into service.  After the incident, photographs in the machine room showed a cable that was off its sheave.  The cable flaying had caused the loud bangs and the next morning, when the cable finally caught on the machine, the elevator car, with Dennis in it, was brought to the abrupt injury producing stop.  The cable had come loose because a liner in its groove on the sheave had worn, and not been replaced despite periodic inspections by the elevator company, until it eventually broke.  Dennis had past medical expenses and past loss of earnings of approximately $130K each.     
 
After a six figure settlement with the elevator company, BLG rejected a substantial six figure offer on behalf of the building owner and proceeded to trial.  The case at trial included a probable future surgery and loss of earnings until age 70.  The jury awarded over a million dollars in special damages and $4.25 million in general damages.  On liability, the jury apportioned fault 75% to the building owner through their property managing agent and 25% to the independently contracted elevator company.  The comparative fault claim was rejected.  Republican appointee Hon. Diane Wick (ret.) entered judgment against the building owner for 100% of Dennis’ damages, including the portion of non-economic damages caused by defendant’s independently contracted elevator company, and rejected defendant’s motion for new trial based on excessive damages.  The court ruled that because the property owner had a non-delegable duty, Proposition 51, which normally pertained to damages caused by an independent contractor, did not apply.

In Dennis Koepnick v. Kashiwa Fudosan America, Inc. (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 32, Kashiwa, represented by Horvitz & Levy, asserted that new elevator regulations required them to hire a certified elevator company and that therefore Restatement of Torts 2nd section 422(d) provided an exception to the non-delegable duty rule.  If required by law to delegate, and prohibited from performing the work on their own, Kashiwa claimed their legal duty must be deemed delegable.  Without the non-delegable duty exception, Proposition 51 would apply to reduce the judgment by 25% of the non-economic damages, over a million dollars.

The court rejected Kashiwa’s assertions, refusing to recast the property owner’s duty as delegable and thereby removing an important avenue of recovery for injured victims.  The published opinion held that a property owner has ultimate responsibility for the safety of their land whether work is performed by their agent, their independent contractor, or on their own, irrespective of regulation compliance.  Blackman Legal Group not only prevailed on appeal, setting a valuable precedent to protect the rights of injured persons to a full financial recovery against a negligent building owner, but collected every penny for their client, including over a million dollars in interest.        
 
Biographical Sketches

Stephen Carr is an engineer, with Technology Litigation Corporation, who specializes in elevator and escalator accident investigation and has analyzed over 230 cases in 37 states over the past decade. Dr. Carr can be reached at C.Stephen.Carr@gmail.com.

Jacob Shapiro and the Blackman Legal Group have successfully handled numerous vertical transportation cases and practice in California.  They are available to associate in other states with assistance of local counsel.  Mr. Shapiro can be reached at js@blackmanlegal.com.

Clifford Blackman is the senior partner of Blackman Legal Group and is lead counsel on the many trials which the firm handles for personal injury and wrongful death across California, as well as in other states (together with local counsel).  Mr. Blackman can be reached at cb@blackmanlegal.com.

The personal injury attorneys at Blackman Legal Group have been handling accident injury cases since 1976.  The personal injury and brain injury lawyers at The Blackman Legal Group are available to review cases from around the US 24/7, and can be reached toll-free at 1-888-395-3551, or at www.brain-injury-lawyers.com.

Bhaggy v. Piccirillo. Docket # PAS-L-12-08. Passaic County Court House. Honorable Garry Rothstadt. February 16 – February 18, 2010.

On November 21, 2006, Patrice Bhaggy (plaintiff) made a legal left-hand turn at a traffic light in Clifton, NJ. At the same time, Piccirillo (defendant), unable to stop in time, collided with Bhaggy, resulting in injuries to Ms. Bhaggy’s neck and back. Although her property damages were limited, her physical injuries included disc bulges in her cervical and lumbar spine as well as a herniated cervical disc.

After two days, the jury returned the verdict for Ms. Bhaggy in the amount of $100,000 with a 90/10 liability split, in favor of Ms. Bhaggy. According to Judge Rothstadt, this was the first Verbal Threshold verdict in favor of the plaintiff in Passaic County in the last three years.

For help with your personal injury case or medical malpractice lawsuits in NJ, contact the NJ personal injury lawyers at The Law Offices of James C. DeZao.

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Faust v. Bellingham Moose Lodge No. 493, Wash., Whatcom County Super. Ct., No. 03-2-00859-8, Oct. 21, 2005

In a dram shop case resulting in death, broken bones and permanent spinal fractures, ATLA member and NJ personal injury lawyer, James C. DeZao, helped the victim’s family reach a settlement total of $14.01 million.

When Hawkeye Kincaid’s vehicle collided head on with Chris Faust’s vehicle, Kincaid’s BAC level had been close to 0.32. Kincaid died shortly after the accident. Chris Faust, his mother Bianca, and sister, Biana Mele, suffered injuries ranging from broken bones to spinal fractures. All three required several months of hospitalization, rehabilitation and multiple surgeries.

With the help of ATLA member, Steven  J. Chance, as local counsel and an additional private investigator, DeZao was able to get justice for Chris’s family. The jury ruled against the lodge for serving alcohol to Kincaid while he was drunk and for letting him get into the car. DeZao successfully pieced together the events of the night by following through with leads, tracking down outside sources and countering potentially damaging testimony with evidence of witness inconsistencies.

According to James C. DeZao, “Bars should be more careful in their service of alcohol because it can be a dangerous instrument…I hope this case sends a message in that regard”.

The Law Offices of James C. Dezao have successfully handled personal injury, auto accidents, medical malpractice in NJ and other injury litigation cases in New Jersey and Morris County. Contact the NJ personal injury attorneys for a free consultation at 800-675-2604.

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There are more personal injury claims filed related to car accidents than any other type of personal injury. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, someone is killed in a car accident every ten seconds.

Negligence is a key factor in proving liability for a car accident. A person who negligently operates a car, or other vehicle, may be required to pay any damages caused by their own negligence, whether damages of injuring someone or for damaged property.

A number of factors considered to be negligent may include, but are not limited to the following:

A driver may be liable for damages caused by his or her intentional or reckless actions. A reckless driver is one who drives unsafely with willful disregard for the likelihood that he or she may cause an accident.

In some cases, accidents are caused through no fault of any particular driver. For example, an automobile manufacturer or supplier may be responsible for injuries caused by a defect in the automobile, or a component of the automobile. A product liability suit is a lawsuit brought against the manufacturer of a product for selling a defective product that caused injury to a consumer or user. The manufacturer is liable for any injuries caused, regardless of whether or not the manufacturer was negligent.

If a mechanic fails to properly repair a vehicle, and the failure causes an accident, the person who improperly repaired the automobile, and the repair shop, may be liable for any injuries that occurred in the accident. Other factors that may contribute to causing car accidents include, but are not limited to the following:

How has Personal Injury Litigation in Illinois Changed Over the Years in Illinois?

As any society changes, the laws that govern that society must also change.  Naturally, greater shifts in the attitudes of a society lead to greater shifts in its laws.  The laws surrounding Illinois personal injury litigation are no exception to this rule.

Technology and injury litigation in Illinois

Like the rest of society, law is influenced by technology.  One such example of this is the role played by personal electronic devices in accidents. Litigators across the nation are working to define how cell phones and other such devices cause accidents, in ways that can be enforced and scrutinized by courts.

Chicago in particular has chosen to focus on driver impairment in its cell phone and texting laws, meaning drivers will be found liable for accidents caused by their distraction while talking or texting behind the wheel.

Public opinion and personal injury settlement in Illinois

Sometimes, specific and notorious news events lead to changes in the law.

Since the nineteenth century, a dram shop law in Chicago extended liability to owners of establishments that served alcohol to a person whose drunkenness later led to the injury of a plaintiff.  However, this law did not extend to private social functions.

In 2003, when a drunken high school brawl led to a public outcry, the issue was revisited.  The Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act makes an adult who intentionally provides drugs or alcohol to minors strictly liable for any injuries caused by the intoxicated minor.  Furthermore, this act allows almost unlimited damages in an injury settlement in Illinois.

If too many lawsuits lead to excessive personal injury settlements in Illinois, public reaction can sway against personal injury attorneys.  For example, in 2004, such opinions led the Illinois State Assembly to cap non-economic damages for medical malpractice at $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals.

Sometimes, the law responds to a long-term problem that was recently revealed.  Accusations of abuse against Roman Catholic priests and the discovery of many adults claiming such abuse led to such a change in Illinois personal injury litigation.  Illinois law recently suspended the age limit in select circumstances with regard to people levying accusations of child sexual abuse.  This allows more lawsuits, since the law now allows time for accusers to remember and recognize abuse from their youth.

Personal injury lawyers in Illinois

Clients need lawyers, because no layperson can keep abreast of the constant changes in civil law.  But if the law itself is complicated, the changes in our society increase the complexity of personal injury law.

If you need an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney, contact the Illinois injury lawyers at Sam C. Mitchell & Associates today at 1-618-932-2772 and start down the road to recovery.

Sam C. Mitchell & Associates
115 1/2 East Main Street
West Frankfort, Illinois 62896
888-899-1458

What should I do if I have been in an accident?

If you have been in an automobile, bus, truck, tractor-trailer, or motorcycle accident, there are some initial steps you should take to protect your rights, such as the following:

• Contact the police
• Get necessary medical attention
• Get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the other drivers, vehicle owners, and potential witnesses involved
• Obtain insurance policy information from the other drivers involved
• Take photographs of the accident scene, such as the road conditions, position of the cars, damage to your vehicle, and any weather and lighting conditions
• Notify your insurance company of the accident, particularly if there was significant property damage or you had to seek medical attention

If I suffer a serious injury from an accident, are my medical expenses covered?

Illinois requires motor vehicles registered in the state to have minimum amounts of liability insurance in the following amounts:

• $20,000 in bodily injury coverage per person per accident
• $40,000 in bodily injury coverage for two ore more persons per accident
• $15,000 in property damage coverage

If your expenses exceed the policy’s coverage amounts, you may be able to sue if the other driver was responsible for causing the accident. A qualified personal injury attorney can meet with you, evaluate your case, and advise you whether you should file a claim against the other driver.

Sam C. Mitchell & Associates
Illinois personal injury law firm
115 1/2 East Main Street
West Frankfort, Illinois 62896
888-899-1458