Blog Posts
Injury Claim Handling: Hidden Pieces, Unknown Dynamics
Injury claim preparation requires piecing together many elements, some of which aren’t immediately obvious. Imagine a puzzle, but some pieces are hidden. Think about it. The furnace makes loud noise. Most homeowners won’t attempt to fix it. You need to fly cross country. Will you tune up the jet engines and pilot the aircraft yourself? Many jobs require expertise. […]
Burden of Proof: How Much Evidence is Enough?
Burden of proof measures the level of evidence that must exist to prevail in a legal matter. Anyone making a claim bears the burden of proof. People bringing personal injury claims may have been injured, but in court they bear the burden of proof. Prosecutors seeking to convict those charged […]
Court Papers – Always Answer Complaints and Other Legal Documents
Court papers, sometimes served by a sheriff or process server, other times arriving by mail, should never be ignored. Failing to respond will result in a default judgment. Always answer a summons within the time limit. When you are served with a law suit, the papers will tell you the […]
Necessity: Defense in Criminal and Civil Cases
Necessity as a legal defense in either criminal or civil cases presents challenges. Why? Let’s look at one actual case. Ken and his girlfriend Heather drank a few adult beverages. Heather fell and started bleeding profusely. This happened in a remote area, without cell or other phones. Ken put Heather […]
Negligence, Gross Negligence & Willful, Wanton Conduct
Failing to use reasonable care causes negligence. But, negligent conduct comes in degrees. Different levels of harmful conduct can make a difference. Ordinary Negligence The “reasonable person” standard requires people to conduct themselves as a reasonably careful person would under like circumstances. Ordinary negligence occurs when someone does something that a […]
Texting and Driving: Deadly Combination with Legal Consequences
Like never before people communicate by text. Widespread wireless service expansion and increasingly affordable smart phones bring texting into the hands of nearly everyone. But when texting moves into the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle the distraction is disastrous. Pedestrians face their own dangers. The U.S Consumer Product Safety […]
Damages – Compensatory & Punitive Damages in Products Liability Case
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a $20 million verdict awarded after a 29 year old woman died as a result of sliding down a defective swimming pool slide which collapsed, causing her to strike the concrete deck of a swimming pool fracturing two vertebrae. Toys R Us, […]
Spoliation of Evidence: Penalties Available in Civil Law
Spoliation of evidence occurs when a relevant document or physical evidence is destroyed, altered or intentionally withheld. Courts can impose punitive sanctions against those who damage or destroy evidence. The legal theory holds that a party’s destruction of evidence shows consciousness of wrongdoing or motive to avoid evidence. Spoliation of […]
Comparative Fault: Contributory Negligence & Apportioning Liability
Comparative fault law allows apportionment of negligence among multiple parties who may share liability for one injury. Suppose a pedestrian runs across the street. A car runs a red light, striking a second car which, while going through a green light, is speeding. The impact pushes the speeder into the pedestrian, who is pushed into a […]
Parking Tickets and Bankruptcy – Discharged?
Parking tickets – one of the nightmares of having a car in the city. People filing chapter 7 bankruptcies find tickets can be like a bad movie, they just won’t go away. Here’s the problem: The U.S. Congress enacted the bankruptcy code, so we can’t be surprised that the law […]
