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 […]
Featured
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 […]
Lawsuit Filed over Colorado Theater Shooting
Cinemark USA, headquartered in Plano, Texas, has been named in a lawsuit filed by some of the victims of the July 20, 2012 shootings that took place at one of their theaters in Aurora, Colorado. These shootings were big news, with 12 people having lost their lives and 58 other people having been injured by a shooter who managed to get into the theater with weaponry. The shooting took place during what was slated to be the midnight premiere of the new Batman movie.
Cinemark has requested that the lawsuit be dismissed and that it would be unfair for the company to have been expected to have foreseen the shooting. While this particular case is obviously going to be a high-profile one due to the circumstances and the already infamous shootings, it does speak to the question of a premise owner’s liability when they do not provide adequate security in certain situations.
Dangerous Places
Most of the time, if you read about premise liability lawsuits, they have to do with things like slip and fall injuries on dangerous flooring, people being injured by products left out in the middle of a high-traffic area and so forth. Security, however, is another area where premise owners are sometimes held liable for injuries and deaths that are suffered at their establishment.
One example of this that has happened many times involves concerts. There have been concerts where people have been trampled to death due to crowds getting out of hand and where people have been burned to death due to pyrotechnics misfiring and creating fire hazards.
Some establishments have a need for security that should be obvious to any reasonable person. For example, bars typically have bouncers because it is a given that some people are going to become violent or aggressive after having had too much to drink and, therefore, the bar provides for its patron’s safety by having qualified security people on hand to deal with the situation.
Premise liability lawsuits can be very complex and require a good lawyer to argue successfully. There are certain situations where you will want to consider speaking to an attorney about filing such a lawsuit in cases where the premise owner’s liability is not as obvious as it would be if you had slipped and fell on their floor and injured yourself.
Talking to an Attorney
A qualified personal injury attorney is the only person who can really give you advice on whether or not you should file a lawsuit for premise liability. If you were injured or somebody in your family died, however, because a property owner was negligent in providing adequate security for an event, you should speak to an attorney as soon as possible.
Call us for a FREE consultation at 713-771-5453
Driver Takes Plunge into Sinkhole
According to a report by ABC news, a college student in West Palm Beach, Florida drove into a sinkhole while trying to make a turn in a fast food restaurant’s parking lot. The student wasn’t injured. He also wasn’t the first to fall prey to the sinkhole. The story also details that the driver of an 18 wheeler also got stuck in the sink hole, but his vehicle was large enough to prevent him from falling in completely.
Unexpected Hazard
The driver, who happened to be a law student, was driving into the parking lot to turn around. He couldn’t see the hole, as the caution signs and tape that had been installed after the semi had gone in the hole had blown away overnight. The driver was driving a vehicle that was low to the ground, making it even harder to see.
It took a tow truck to get the vehicle out of the sinkhole. The report claims that the sinkhole was a whopping 8 feet deep.
Premise Liability
Not every premise liability claim involves a physical injury to the victim. As is the case in this story, the victim sometimes ends up suffering property damage. There are no reports as to whether the driver of the vehicle intends to sue for damages or not but this is a case where you would definitely want to speak with an attorney, whether or not you were injured.
Commercial establishments are responsible for the safety of the people they invite on their property. In a case such as this, it might not make any difference that the hazard was flagged initially. It wasn’t flagged at the time and, depending upon what an attorney thought of the matter upon review of the situation, there might be an opportunity to file a lawsuit for damages in a case such as this. Even though there are no physical injuries reported in the story, the driver’s car would certainly need a lot of work after falling into an 8-foot deep hole, if it was repairable at all.
Talking to a Lawyer
If you’ve suffered property damage or a personal injury on a commercial property, the time to talk to a lawyer is always right away. There are limitations on how long you have to file a lawsuit in such cases and the more quickly you report the incident the better.
An attorney who takes cases like these usually works on contingency. This means they don’t get paid if you don’t win via settlement or jury award. There’s no risk in talking to an attorney and, if you have a good claim, you may end up being compensated for your losses that resulted from the property owner’s negligence.
Call us for a FREE consultation at 713-771-5453
Premises Liability and Event Venues
Summer always means that a lot of big events will be held around the Houston area. Music concerts, fairs and other activities can sometimes draw thousands – or even much larger crowds – to get in on the fun. Premises liability law sometimes becomes relevant because of how people are injured at these activities. Here are some things to consider if you were injured at a venue where an event was being held.
Negligent Security
When you go to certain types of concerts, you are taking risks. For example, some concerts traditionally have what are called “mosh pits” in the audience area where people routinely slam into each other, throw each other on the floor and engage in other rather extreme forms of dancing.
When you’re at such a venue, however, and when you’re injured by somebody who should have been stopped by security, you may want to speak with a personal injury attorney. There are obviously situations at certain concerts where you’re going to be more likely to be injured than you would be at other types of concerts. The security, however, still does have an obligation to provide a safe environment and a good lawyer may be able to help you go after the venue owner if they did not provide adequate security for the safety of their guests. If you were seriously injured – such as in a trampling incident – be sure to speak with an attorney right away.
Dangerous Venues
Even though there may be an event going on, the venue is still responsible for providing a safe environment. If you suffer a slip and fall injury, tumbled down a flight of stairs or were otherwise injured because the venue owner did not pay adequate attention to providing a safe environment, you should speak with an attorney right away. There may be nothing you can do about it but, then again, the attorney may find that you have a lawsuit that is very much worth your while to pursue.
Keep Safety In Mind At All Times
If you’re going to attend concerts and other large events this summer, be sure to be safe. Filing a lawsuit against a venue owner who was negligent is generally the best option in the very worst possible situation. Make sure you choose venues wisely, stay out of crowd presses, and pay attention so that you’re aware if something bad is about to happen at the concert or other event or if things are generally going to get out of control for whatever reason.
If you are injured and you believe that there was negligence on the part of the venue owner, it’s best to speak with an attorney right away. There are limitations on how long you have to file a personal injury claim and, because of that, a good attorney will want to speak with you as soon as possible. The meeting is generally without any obligation on your part and provides a way for the attorney to hear your story and to determine whether they want to represent you in court.
Children’s Summer Activities and Liability
Every summer, parents send their children to camps, sporting organizations and give them other opportunities to get outside and enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, some activities and facilities have people who are particularly incompetent at what they do running them. They aren’t always concerned about the children they’re in charge of. In such situations, it’s easy for a child to become injured because of the negligence of the facility or the personnel involved. If this happens to your child, you should speak to a personal injury lawyer right away.
Premises Liability
Premises liability is an area where a personal injury attorney can help you when your child was injured because the facility where they were socializing, working out, participating in sports or attending a camp were not maintained properly and presented a danger. People get injured all the time in seemingly innocuous incidents. For example, people take a tumble quite often without suffering any real injuries. In some situations, however, people end up being severely injured because of a fall. Slip and fall injuries are common reasons that people end up filing a premises liability claim.
Negligent Care
Some facilities take on a lot more responsibility than others where the welfare of children is concerned. For example, some summer camps exist to help children who are overweight to shed extra pounds and get in better shape. If these facilities are run in a competent and intelligent manner, they can really make a difference in a child’s life. If they’re run by people who don’t pay attention to whether or not a child is being pushed too far or too fast, can result in serious injuries and even death.
If your child was injured, and you believe it was because someone in charge of them was specifically negligent, contact a injury attorney right way. Even if there is a wrongful death involved, a personal injury lawyer can help you. You may or may not have a lawsuit worth pursuing but, at least, the attorney can let you know what kind of options you have in front of you.
Bullying and Abuse
Bullying and other forms of physical and psychological abuse can cause serious injuries. If your child was injured because camp counselors, exercise program supervisors or other individuals who were in charge of providing a structured environment, failed to do so, an attorney can help. There may be negligence involved and, particularly if your child was brought to harm, speaking to an attorney may be the best remedy you have.
Remember that the people who provide services for children are taking on a lot of responsibility. When they fail to come through on those responsibilities and when a child is injured or when a family is financially harmed because of that failure, a personal injury attorney may be able to file a lawsuit against them for negligence and to win you compensation for what you’ve been put through.
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The Law Offices of Blaine A Tucker offers FREE consultations to injury victims. Call us at 713-771-5453 to protect your rights.
Serious Injuries, Liability and Landlords
Most of the time, when people think of personal injury law, landlords or tenant law is probably not what comes to mind. There are ways that landlords are liable for their properties, and you may have a personal injury claim on your hands if the negligence of a particular landlord has caused you to come to harm.
Understanding Landlords and their Properties
There are great landlords out there to be sure. They’re the types of landlords that show up to fix things, who inspect their properties if something seems to have fallen out of repair and they keep up with you about the state of their property. Then there are the slumlords, and they sometimes end up causing their tenants real harm.
Landlords do have responsibility when their tenants come to harm, in some cases. A woman in New York City, for example, sued her landlord because she was the victim of a home invasion and an assault after her landlord had failed to repair a faulty lock. The landlord had been told about the problem several times but had failed to act.
If your landlord has shirked their responsibilities to you and you have come to harm, consider speaking with a personal injury attorney.
Corporate Landlords
In large cities like Houston, some corporate landlords may be negligent in their responsibilities. They may own properties all of the city, state or nation and not really take care of any of them. These are the slum lords of the world and unfortunately, it can pay very well. They fail to take care of structural and health hazards in the buildings, and don’t maintain the premises and fail to take care of pest problems. There are health standards that they have to maintain and, when they do not, it’s not rare for someone to be very seriously hurt as a result of their negligence.
Getting Help
Corporate landlords can be very hard to get ahold of, even if they’re located in the same city. Landlords who are just negligent but who don’t work for a corporation can be even worse sometimes. There are many techniques that a lawyer can use to get hold of them.
If you’ve been injured due to a negligent landlord, make sure you speak to an attorney. If they’re a corporate landlord, the attorney will still be able to handle them. Increasingly, people are getting tired of slum lords ruining their cities. City councils, law enforcement, fire departments and, especially, tenants have a lot to gain from holding these people and companies responsible for what they do. A good personal injury lawyer can help you do that.
If you were injured, the attorney will meet with you and try to determine if they can help you out. If they cannot, there’s no obligation. It’s a good idea to ask, however. For most people, the rent they pay is among their highest bills and, unfortunately, it sometimes goes to landlords who don’t maintain the property that everyday people often call home.