Personal Injury & Auto Accident Info

Car Accident Attorney

Q: Should I release my medical records to another driver's insurance adjuster?
A: Definitely not without discussing it first with your Car Accident Attorney. Medical record releases should only be signed under limited circumstances and after consulting with a qualified Car accident attorney. If your medical information gets into the insurance adjuster's hands, it could hurt your case.

Personal Injury - What To Do if You Are in a Car Accident

Before leaving the scene of a car accident - regardless of who is at fault - it is important to collect the following information. Your personal injury lawyer will need this data to help build an effective case:

• Names and addresses of drivers, driver's license numbers
• Names and addresses of passengers
• Names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses
• Names and addresses of registered owners of the vehicles
• Names of insurance companies, policy numbers
• Location of the car accident
• How the car accident occurred
• Whether or not any of the drivers seem to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
• Injuries
• Damages to vehicles
• Names of police officers that responded to the scene
• Whether or not anyone admitted fault (Do NOT admit fault)

Personal Injury Attorney: Statute of Limitations

Q : Does a personal injury lawsuit have to be filed within a certain amount of time?

A : Every state has certain time limits, called "statutes of limitations," that govern the period during which you must file a personal injury lawsuit. In some states, for example, you may have as little as one year to file a lawsuit from an automobile accident. If you miss the statutory deadline for filing a case, your case is thrown out of court.  It is recommended to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as you receive or discover an injury.

Personal Injury Attorney - what is a tort

When someone or something causes an injury to another person or thing, the legal profession calls such an act a "tort." A tort is committed when one person is harmed because of the wrongful act of another. The purpose of tort law is to assign responsibility to the individual, group or company responsible for causing such harm. The term "personal injury" encompasses a wide variety of circumstances ranging from a stubbed toe, to an amputated limb, to death, and everything and anything in between.

Personal Injury Lawsuits Down 95%

Personal Injury claims down by 95% in Australia
Mark Dunn - Herald Sun
28mar05

PUBLIC liability lawsuits have fallen by 95 per cent since the Australian Government ended Victorians' rights to sue for pain and suffering in many cases.

Only 40 public liability lawsuits were lodged in the County Court in the year after October 2003 when the laws changed -- compared with 1734 writs the previous year.

The number of lawsuits seeking damages for sexual assault has also fallen, from 79 to nine; school accident suits dropped from 94 to two; dog bites from 42 to none and so-called slip and trip claims have gone from 553 to 13.

Coloroado Personal Injury Attorney against Colorado Ski LAW

The first major law that offered a broad layer of protection was the Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1979. The law established that, in some instances, resorts were responsible for the safety of their guests -- for example, placing appropriate signs warning of hazards such as man-made and terrain features.

Yet the law also advised skiers that they were undertaking a risky endeavor and protecting the resorts against personal injury lawsuits. A warning appears on the back of every lift ticket in the state, informing skiers that they should be mindful of the "inherent dangers and risks of skiing."

Since 1979, the law has been amended twice, both times to the advantage of resort owners. The changes in 1990 capped damages that aggrieved riders could be awarded if their lawsuits were successful. In 2004, legislators again gave resorts more protection from being sued by skiers. Last year's amendments eliminated the requirement that so-called extreme freestyle terrain be identified as dangerous. The new provision also lumped all ski-area property -- not just slopes -- under the protections of the Ski Safety Act.

Naturally, colorado personal-injury attorneys loathe the measure. "It's really the Colorado Ski Area Immunity and Resort Relief Act," complains Chalet. Even he, however, says that countersuing an injured skier for violating a waiver takes chutzpah.

Michigan Vioxx Victims Unable to File Lawsuit

by foxnews
Dr. David Cox is a stay-at-home dad, but not by choice. Cox is recovering from a stroke — a condition he blames on Vioxx.      

"They found a blood clot in one of my arteries of my brain and I subsequently suffered a stroke to my brain stem," said Cox, who now must shade his eyes with dark glasses. "The light sensitivity causes intense migraines."

     

Cox was taking Vioxx at the time of his stroke, and claims the controversial painkiller — which drugmaker Merck pulled from the market in September due to serious safety concerns — triggered the stroke.

     

He is not the first Vioxx user to blame Merck for health problems related to the drug; more than 1,500 Vioxx related personal injury lawsuits have been filed against Merck. But Cox's case won't be among them because Michigan law doesn't permit the lawsuit. A 1996 state law prohibits lawsuits against drug makers if the drug in question is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

     

"The residents of Michigan, unlike the rest of the 49 states, are unable to hold drug companies accountable," said attorney David Mittleman.

       

Chuck Hadden, a spokesman for the Michigan Manufacturers Association, said it makes good business sense to protect pharmaceutical companies whose products are already subjected to extensive federal testing.

     

"You have to protect those companies so that they can continue to re-invest and find more drugs and help more people," Hadden said. "No other business goes through the same type of regulatory detail that the FDA goes through approving a drug. It is anywhere from an eight to 18 year process."

     

But for Michigan residents like Cox, the fact that Vioxx was approved by the FDA is little consolation.

     

"I am lucky: I lived," Cox said. "What about the people who die?"

     

Meanwhile, it's just not Michigan offering to shield drugmakers from lawsuits. Medical liability reform has been introduced in Congress. A bill in the house would limit a pharmaceutical company's liability for FDA-approved medications — though it doesn't go as far as Michigan's law in banning outright lawsuits.

Auto Crash Personal Injury Claims

Brakes put on auto crash personal injury claims - Massachusetts Personal Injury
By Thor Jourgensen February 17, 2005

LYNN-Insurance investigators hope a reduction in fraudulent accident claims in Lawrence and surrounding communities is duplicated in Lynn.

     Auto accident claims are down significantly in Lawrence and several other Merrimack Valley communities after a 16-month crackdown on auto insurance fraud.

     The Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts forecasts $25 million in savings for 2004 in Lawrence alone, based on lower claims for personal injury, property damages and other claims for the first nine months of last year, compared with the same period in 2003.

     Working with the Fraud Bureau beginning last year, Lynn police and the Essex District Attorney's office began cracking down on local auto accident and pesonal injury fraud cases in 2004.

Personal Injury Attorney

If you are considering pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, you should definitely find and a personal injury attorney who has the legal expertise, experience, and skill needed to help you build your case and win the compensation you deserve. However, be aware of the statute of limitation of laws in your state. Every personal injury claim must be filed within a certain amount of time or it will expire; if a claim expires, it will be barred forever and you will lose your chance to collect compensation.

Personal Injury Attorney

Choosing a Personal Injury Attorney

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a personal injury attorney. Simply attending law school and passing the bar does not necessarily qualify an attorney to handle your personal injury case.

1. How long has the attorney been in practice?
2. Does the attorney have experience in similar cases?
3. How successful has the attorney been at recovering damages for clients?
4. Does the attorney take cases on a contingency basis, and does his personal injury attorney firm have the financial resources necessary to do so?