Tag: personal injury
One Person’s Trash – Another Person’s Evidence
Q: How do I keep my trash private? I’m involved in a court suit and my trash disappeared before the trucks came and I don’t think that’s right. A: Get a paper shredder. Once trash is placed outside, there’s no reasonable expectation of privacy. It’s not a pretty picture, but […]
PERSONAL INJURY – Rules of Evidence
Evidence never gets into court without passing the rules of evidence. Courts admit evidence only when it complies with rules, statutes and case law comprising evidence law. Winning a case requires mastery of the rules of evidence. Rules vary from state to state and even from court to court. One reason to have a lawyer, among others, is […]
PERSONAL INJURY: Do-It-Yourself Follies
Do-it-yourself in court and you may be in for a shock. Even a fool wouldn’t perform their own dental work with a handy man’s drill. Yet, every day, people represent themselves in court, often with disastrous results. Especially in personal injury claims. Here’s an actual case: “Buyers”, we’ll call them, […]
Personal Injury: Statute of Limitations
Bars usually go with criminal law, as in “behind bars”. But, in civil law, statutes of limitation bar cases forever if not filed on time. When the doors slam shut, there’s no going back. The “Statute of Limitations” is a legal deadline requiring a case be filed within a certain time after an event […]
Personal Injury: Personal Jurisdiction Out of State
Granite monuments designate boundaries between states at many spots as a physical reminder of state lines. People cross the lines every day with hardly a thought. But, state lines pose barriers to residents of one state, attempting to bring a resident of another state into the local court. Bringing a […]
Personal Injury: Emotional Distress
Stress infiltrates our lives. Between bills, demanding jobs, nerve-wracking traffic, getting kids to their activities and other worries, who isn’t stressed? How do courts distinguish every day stress from trauma that crosses the line? For years, courts rejected emotional distress claims. They feared “opening the floodgates”. Foreign Objects in Food […]
Prescription Error, Pharmacy Negligence & Damages
Prescription error unfortunately presents a growing problem. A legal cause of action exists against a pharmacy that negligently provides the incorrect prescription. It may be the wrong medication. Other times the wrong dosage is indicated for the “right” medication. Pharmacy negligence was relatively unheard of at one time but has actually become […]
Personal Injury: Expert Testimony
Heavy impact on the human body can fracture bones. This seems obvious. But, in a court of law, cause and effect and the extent of damages must be supported by expert medical testimony. For example, a passenger in a motor vehicle breaks an arm when the driver looks down to change the […]
Slip and Fall Accidents – Open and shut case?
Slip and fall accidents never present ‘open and shut’ cases. The person injured must have facts that, when applied to premises liability law, show that the owner of the property where the injury occurred either did something they should not have done, or failed to do something that they should […]