If you’re planning on filing a lawsuit, you probably have what you believe to be evidence that you were wronged in some regard. Understanding evidence, however, does take some real legal knowledge. In fact, you may find that, upon meeting with your attorney, they don’t really believe that the things you consider to be evidence […]
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Police Sued Over Privacy Violations
CNN reported that a police department in Washington is facing a lawsuit over violating the rights of inmates. The reporting details that 11 women and 1 man are suing a police department over alleged instances where the inmates—who were all arrested on suspicion of drunk driving—were recorded while they were undressing and using the toilet. […]
Frivolous Lawsuits Get too Much Publicity
The idea behind a lawsuit is to give a person who was wronged because of another person’s negligence away to get compensated. This can include suing manufacturers for putting dangerous products out on the market when they should’ve known better, suing motorists who are prone to driving dangerously and end up hurting or killing someone […]
Dog Bites and Liability
Unfortunately, many dog owners are not responsible with their animals. In fact, it’s quite reasonable to argue that the biggest cause of dog bites has nothing to do with dogs, but with the people who are in charge of taking care of those dogs. There are differences on a state-by-state basis as to how much […]
Daycare Worker Arrested for Raping Children
For parents with children in daycare, a nightmare scenario seems to be unfolding in Ohio. According to NewsOK, a daycare worker has been arrested on two counts of rape. The woman, according to the article, had engaged in sexual conduct with an infant and made a video of herself doing it. Police claim that they […]
Class Action Against LinkedIn Reveals Importance of TOS
If you’ve gotten emails that appear to be from a friend of yours but that were actually from LinkedIn giving a pitch for the website, you’re not alone. In fact, a lawsuit has been filed against the business social networking website alleging that the company breaks into email accounts, uses the contact list to send […]
Can You Sue a Company for Mishandling Your Information?
Today, it’s not uncommon for companies with whom people do very casual business – cellular phone companies, Internet service providers, etc. – to have some very sensitive information about their clients. For example, Social Security numbers are routinely used as forms of identification and many companies require that information in order to open an account. […]
Why Do Personal Injury Attorneys Turn Down Cases?
There are instances when a personal injury attorney may turn down your claim. This may leave you wondering if there is any hope for justice but, keep in mind the fact that civil lawsuits are not really about justice; they’re about compensation. If you’ve been turned down as a client by an attorney, some or […]
How Do You Sue on Behalf of a Child
Some of the largest jury awards are actually handed out to children. These occur in cases involving medical malpractice during birth, car accidents that permanently damage a child and in other cases. Obviously, a child cannot enter into a contract or take any other legal action of their own accord. Parents are the ones who […]
Why Do Personal Injury Attorneys Turn Down Cases?
There are instances when a personal injury attorney may turn down your claim. This may leave you wondering if there is any hope for justice but, keep in mind the fact that civil lawsuits are not really about justice; they’re about compensation. If you’ve been turned down as a client by an attorney, some or […]
Can You Deduct Your Legal Fees?
If you have to pay a lawyer for their services, you’ll likely be interested making it less expensive in most any way you can. There are some legal fees that are tax deductible, but these types of legal fees tend to have to do with taxes themselves and finance, rather than with personal legal bills. […]
What to Keep in Mind About Documenting Personal Injury Accidents
Believe it or not, you have tools on you – in all likelihood -that can make it a lot easier to ensure that a personal injury lawsuit wins if you end up being injured. Here are some of the common tools and how you can use them. Your Phone Your phone probably has a camera […]
Negligent Drivers and Car Maintenance
Sometimes, a driver’s negligence comes down to them not taking care of their vehicle properly. For example, in California, a driver can have points deducted from their license if they have certain mechanical violations that make their vehicle unsafe to drive, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Other states have similar laws. In […]
Handling the Aftermath of a Car Accident
If you’re in a car wreck, you’ll stand a much better chance of being able to sue and get compensation from a negligent driver if you adhere to the following advice. Some of it might seem obvious, but the aftermath of a car accident is one of those times when you won’t be thinking clearly, […]
Is It Worth The Effort To Sue?
If you are certain you are entitled to damages because somebody’s negligence brought you to harm, you may find yourself very disappointed if none of the attorneys you talk to are willing to take your case. It’s important that you understand that filing a lawsuit isn’t always going to do you any good, even if you are entitled to compensation from the individual you want to sue by any rational measure.
In order to collect on a judgment, you have to be suing somebody with the financial capability to pay that judgment. Here are some situations where you may find an attorney telling you what you don’t want to hear and some information to help you understand why.
The Person Is Broke
In some cases, a person may not have any substantial amount of money in the bank or any assets that can be used to pay off the judgment, but they will have a decent job. In such cases, the court may order that their wages are garnished to pay the judgment that they owe you.
If the person happens to have a very low income job, however, there is a chance that they will be exempt from wage garnishment. Combine this with the fact that such an individual is unlikely to have any money in the bank, is most likely a renter and not a homeowner and probably doesn’t have any assets to speak of and you have a situation where, even if you do win, the person simply has no way to pay you. Because most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, meaning they don’t get paid unless you actually get a jury award, they’re not likely to take a case against somebody in this sort of a financial situation.
Counterintuitive Elements
You will need to talk to an attorney about such a matter, however, because some parts of this are rather counterintuitive. For example, if you’re suing someone and it turns out that they recently declared bankruptcy, which may lead you to believe that they can’t possibly pay you back. What that actually means, however, is that they can’t use another bankruptcy to get out of the money that they owe you for the judgment. They’ll have to wait until they are eligible to file bankruptcy to do so again and, in all likelihood, you should be able to collect your judgment from them by that time.
Remember that, when an attorney tells you that it might not be worth your while to file a lawsuit, it may simply be because the person you want to sue doesn’t have a way to pay you, and not because you don’t have a valid case.
That is why it is important to talk to a lwayer before making any decisions or coming to any conclusions. Competent lawyers have the expperience behind them to make this type of recommendation.
Man Brought to Hospital on Life Flight Following Crash
KHOU reports that a Harrison County accident resulted in a 23-year old driver being brought to the hospital via Life Flight on November 21. The accident, according to police, occurred at an intersection when the driver was trying to cross traffic after exiting a shopping center. The driver was injured seriously enough to merit the helicopter trip to the hospital, but police also said that it was the driver’s fault that he got hit.
Understanding Fault and What it Means
When you’re at fault for an accident, it means that an action that you took or did not take led directly to the crash occurring. In some cases, these accidents may be negligence related and it’s not always the case that the negligent driver suffers fewer injuries. In fact, if a negligent driver ends up getting seriously injured in an accident they caused -injured worse than you- it doesn’t necessarily mean that you cannot file a lawsuit against them for damages.
Damages
A Houston personal injury attorney can help you seek compensation for damages that occurred due to an injury. These damages usually include the cost of replacing your property, of your current and future medical expenses that related to the accident, the cost of the wages you might have lost due to the accident and pain and suffering and mental anguish. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, these damages sometimes include compensation for a wrongful death, as well.
In some cases, the damages may not be quite as obvious as you think. For example, if a driver happens to crash into your home or yard, you can certainly talk to a lawyer about suing them for those damages. Not every car accident is a simple affair and the driver who is injured the worst is not necessarily the one who was the victim in these situations.
Talk to an Attorney
Your insurance company may be very good about giving you a payment in these circumstances, particularly when it’s cut and dried as far as the other driver being at fault. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t talk to an attorney about the matter. The attorney may well be able to get you compensated more substantially by taking a look at the circumstances of the accident and determining if there was outright negligence on the part of the other driver. If this turns out to be the case, they may want to take you on as a client and go after that other driver so that you stand a chance of getting proper compensation for what you’ve been put through. If the other driver in a wreck was more seriously injured than you, remember that it’s still worth it to talk to an attorney.
Call us for a FREE consultation at 713-771-5453
100-Car Accident Under Investigation
A 100-car pileup over the week of Thanksgiving is still under investigation, according to reports. Currently, Texas Highway Patrol officials are looking into whether fog may have played a role in causing the devastating accident.
The Wreck
The trouble started just before 9 AM on Thanksgiving. In the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10, an accident occurred involving multiple vehicles. Shortly thereafter, a chain reaction crash started to take place, eventually spilling over into the westbound lane, as well. The trouble happened southwest of Beaumont, located in Jefferson County.
According to reporting on WPTV, officials suspect that a dense fog may have contributed to the crashes. Even in video shortly after the accidents, a light fog can be seen. One couple, in their 60s, unfortunately lost their lives during the accident, after a semi truck struck their vehicle from behind.
The accident ended up sending people to the hospital in Houston, which is located approximately 75 miles away from where the accident actually occurred. Officials estimate that anywhere between 80 and 120 people were injured in the accident. The cause of the accident continues to be investigated.
Pile-Ups and Chain Reactions
Accidents where multiple vehicles and a piling up on one another and when one accident turns into a chain reaction are among the most deadly situations that you can be involved in on the highways and freeways. In many cases, inclement weather is to blame for these accidents, though negligent driving on the part of a single driver can set one of these devastating events into motion.
Finding out exactly what happened that led up to such an accident is an extremely difficult task, even for experienced investigators. In the 100-car pileup over Thanksgiving, fog is suspected to be an issue and visibility is quite often what leads the first one or two cars to get into a crash, eventually leading to a multicar pileup.
While investigating these accidents is difficult, a personal injury attorney may be able to find out whether or not somebody was negligent and how that negligence may have contributed to the injuries and deaths of other people involved in the accident. If you happen to have been injured in such a crash, it’s a good idea to contact an attorney right away and to figure out whether or not it is likely that there was some sort of negligent action that led to the disaster happening at all.
In chain reaction accidents, you have to be exceptionally attentive and know what to do to avoid becoming hurt or killed. Unfortunately, there are some situations where either of those eventualities is completely unavoidable. If you have survived such a wreck, however, and want to investigate your options, make sure to speak with an attorney.
Call us for a FREE consultation at 713-771-5453
Trucking Companies and Lawsuits
The investigation into the 100-car pileup over Thanksgiving south of Beaumont involves one couple who were killed by an 18-wheeler in the accident. Whether or not the trucking company, the trucker or anyone else was negligent in causing this accident remains to be determined. Investigators are still hard at work trying to figure out how the accident occurred at all. Where 18 wheelers are concerned, however, there are some particular hazards that people should be aware of and some options that they may have available to them if they lose a family member or are themselves injured in such an accident.
Drivers and Fatigue
A frightening number of drivers who make their living behind the wheels of semi trucks find themselves driving long after the point where they are exhausted, according to multiple reports. Studies have also demonstrated that driving drowsy is just as dangerous as driving drunk. When you combine the hazards that a massive vehicle such as a semi truck poses on its own with a drowsy driver, you have a recipe for disaster.
Sometimes, the drivers themselves are to blame for driving when they should be resting, and sometimes the companies they work for push those drivers far too hard. Either way, anyone who is hurt or the family of a person who is killed by a drowsy trucker should contact a personal injury attorney about the matter. There are labor standards that apply to how much rest time anyone driving a commercial vehicle must have and, if the company or the driver violates those standards, an attorney may be able to help.
Unmaintained Vehicles
One of the other major hazards posed to drivers on the highways by semis comes from 18-wheelers that are not properly maintained. Maintaining a semi truck requires qualified mechanics and requires that those mechanics adhere to a very strict schedule. These vehicles need to be inspected each and every time they go out on the road and they need to be fixed according to standards set forth by state and federal authorities when there is a problem.
There are cases where investigations will reveal that a truck was not properly maintained when it was sent out on the road. In such cases, a jury may very well find that the trucking company was negligent in not providing its driver with a safe vehicle and that the negligence directly contributed to injuries or deaths resulting from an accident.
Never take a settlement check from the trucking company without speaking to an attorney first. The attorney may be able to get you enough money via jury award or settlement to pay for your property damage, medical injuries or the loss of a loved one.
Call us for a FREE onsultation at 713-771-5453
Longer Nights Put Pedestrians at Risk
The nights are getting longer and drivers will be relying on their headlights to see hazards on the road. Unfortunately, pedestrians are sometimes hard to see and end up getting injured or killed by negligent drivers. Bicyclists face the same hazard. Here are some ways that you can keep safe during the fall and winter.
Halloween
Most trick-or-treating is done during daylight hours. In fact, the candy industry lobbied hard to get Daylight Savings Time extended to encourage trick-or-treating! Even though this is the case, be sure your child’s costume has the following features, even if you’re going with them to keep an eye out:
· Good visibility for the wearer
· Reflective surfaces if the costume is dark colored
· Allows agile movement
Some trick-or-treaters will be out during the dusk and early night hours, so each year when Halloween comes around, be sure to keep the following section in mind.
Right After Dark
It takes the human eye a long time to adjust to darkness. It also takes under a second to ruin your night vision. Drivers who are on the road just as the sun sets don’t have their night vision yet and their headlights usually aren’t giving a lot of illumination, due to the dusky light. Make sure you’re extra careful of drivers during this period.
Remember that drivers can only see to the end of their headlights. You can see a car coming down the road and the headlights actually may not be reaching you with enough intensity for the driver to see, particularly when night has just fallen.
At Night
When you’re out and about at night, be aware of the fact that it is actually hard to judge the speed of a vehicle when you can only see their headlights. When you’re crossing intersections, even in areas with low speed limits, be extra careful. Take an extra second or two to see how fast oncoming traffic is coming at you. It may be moving faster than you think.
If you’re on a bike, make sure you have a light and at least some reflective clothing. It’s very hard to see bicyclists at night and, even though there may be adequate street light illumination for you to ride safely, other drivers will not be able to see you without a light. Consider getting one of the safety vests available at most discount stores to increase your visibility. You’ll be glad you did when a driver can successfully avoid you instead of slam into you.
If you’re injured by a driver who wasn’t paying attention, contact an attorney. Pedestrians are far too often the victims of negligent drivers and they’re the most vulnerable victims to sustaining serious injuries or being killed. A Houston auto accident attorney can help you with any valid claim involving a negligent driver.