Automakers recall millions of vehicles every year. A recall seeks to reach out to consumers to return faulty products, mistakenly put in the marketplace, for repair. In 2014, more than 60 million vehicles were recalled, nearly doubling the previous record set in 2004. These automobiles all had some sort of defect. Some of the defects, while annoying, were not of serious concern, such as a faulty air conditioners, while others resulted in significant safety issues, like problems with the ignition switches, brakes, or steering. Honda issued a recall of 14 million vehicles because its airbags might shoot sharp pieces of metal into the car when deploying.

Of the 60 million cars that were recalled in 2014, less than half were actually repaired. Consumers may not be aware of the recall. Cars change hands several times, and dealers have trouble reaching out to everyone who might have the car. Several major car manufacturers have been caught purposely misleading regulators and consumers about recalls to save money. Toyota recently paid a $1.2 billion fine for this improper action. Even when everyone is aware that a recall has been issued, a consumer may not prioritize it. When consumers are able to bring their automobiles in for the recall, the part necessary for the repair may be unavailable, especially on older model cars that are no longer in production.

This leaves millions of automobiles on the road every year that may pose significant safety issues. Wiring issues can increase the risk of car fires. Vehicle components could break resulting in loss of control of the vehicle. Seat belts might be defective. Windshield wipers might not work properly. All of these problems make the roads less safe for drivers of these vehicles and everyone else on the road.

If a consumer is injured as a result of an issue caused by an automobile defect, he or she may have a substantial claim against the auto manufacturer. If the defect has caused a collision, the car company may be responsible for all injuries. A consultation with an experienced attorney is necessary to determine whether or not a claim is viable in a particular situation. 

Punitive damages are a special class of damages paid by a defendant in a lawsuit.  They are not designed to compensate the injured party for any damages suffered, but instead to punish the defendant for some egregious action and to discourage others from enaging in that specific behavior.  Punitive damages are reserved for special cases where a defendant’s behavior is extraordinarily bad. 

In order for a case to be considered for punitive damages, the defendant had to have acted willfully. For example, if a company decided to take a product to market, knowing that it had a dangerous defect, it could be held accountable for punitive damages.. It does not make sense to allow punitive damages in a case where only negligent behavior is alleged because, presumably, a negligent action was an accident and there is little need for deterrence.

When a court decides on a punitive damage award, it will consider how bad the conduct in question really was, as well as the wealth of the defendant.  After all, being forced to pay $10,000.00 is a much greater punishment for a person earning $50,000 a year than someone earning $50,000,000 a year.  Even though their purpose is not to compensate a plaintiff for injuries, usually punitive damages are paid to the plaintiff, leaving him or her in a much better position than he or she was in before a lawsuit was filed. 

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that permits punitive damages.  They are also common in China, Australia, and New Zealand.  In parts of the United Kingdom, they are available in very limited circumstances.  In Japan and most of Europe, it is nearly impossible to get a punitive damage award.

The first question an attorney must ask when filing a lawsuit is who is responsible for the damages to his or her client. A lawyer must figure out who to name as a party in the lawsuit. This is incredibly important, because, if the wrong parties are named, the victim may be left with no way to recover for the injuries suffered. This would be a travesty of justice and is unacceptable.

It is prudent to name every party that might be responsible when filing a lawsuit. Only an attorney can make the determination as to who might be liable for an individual’s personal injuries. It is particularly important to make sure that the parties who are named are capable of contributing to the damages, either through wealth or insurance. For example, if a person who does not normally drive and has no insurance is borrowing a friend’s car, and causes a car accident, that person is likely to be unable to pay for the damage he or she caused. Similarly, if a person makes a mistake while working and causes personal injury, that individual may be the one who caused the injury, but the individual is not the only one who can be held accountable for the pain and suffering.

The legal doctrine of Respondeat Superior is Latin for “let the master answer.” It places vicarious liability on any third party that had the right, ability, or duty to control the individual who caused a personal injury. Respondeat Superior is one of the oldest traditions in the practice of law. It predates our Constitution and goes back to English Common Law. Without it, corporations and municipalities would have little reason to enforce standards of care among their employees. Employers would avoid liability for their employee’s negligence, but injured people would have no way to collect money damages for their pain and suffering. Respondeat Superior is an integral part of American jurisprudence. The most common uses of this doctrine are to hold employers liable for the actions or omissions of their employees, to hold owners of property liable for the negligence of those allowed to use that property, and to hold parents liable for their unsupervised children. 

Over the past few decades, the number of women entering the workforce has increased dramatically.  With both parents working outside of the home, more children are being cared for at local daycare centers starting at a young age. When parents send their children off to daycare, they expect them to be kept safe and engaged. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case; each year, thousands of children are injured at daycare facilities across the country. If your child has been injured under the supervision of a child care provider, you may be wondering what steps you should take after the accident.

Following any injury, medical treatment should be your first and foremost concern. Be sure to keep an account of all doctors’ appointments, medications, procedures, and medical records.  You should also keep a log of complaints of pain from your child and retain the results of any tests performed. If there are visible injuries or if the unsafe condition which led to the injury can be seen, be sure to take photos.

The daycare center may have an accident report procedure that you must follow. This will generally consist of a number of forms; be sure to complete these in their entirety and follow the submission guidelines. Following the injury, you should also consult a personal injury attorney to ensure you protect and preserve your rights under the law.  A personal injury attorney can help you to establish that the childcare provider failed to exercise due care to prevent injury to your child. This will require the attorney to assess the circumstance leading up to the injury and how it could have been prevented with proper precautions. All too often, injuries are caused by a lack of supervision or a poorly maintained facility.

An experienced injury attorney can help you file a claim with the facility’s insurance carrier and review any settlement agreements to ensure you are getting the full compensation that you deserve. If the settlement offers are not adequate, your attorney may advise you to proceed with a lawsuit against the negligent care center.

Our law firm will work diligently to ensure your child receives the treatment he or she needs to make a full recovery in addition to helping you obtain the financial means you need to support your child for years to come. 

A person who has a pool, trampoline, swing set, or other similar structure in their yard is usually required, by their homeowner’s insurance, if not by law, to also have a fence. This is because these structures are seen by the law as attractive nuisances. This means that a child who sees a such structures, and who may not appreciate the danger they present, is likely to trespass on the property to play in, on, or with them and injure him or herself. The doctrine of attractive nuisance puts an obligation on a homeowner to protect these children who are incapable of protecting themselves. 

The law does not limit liability to instances where the attractive nuisance is a pool or another type of recreational device. Children’s imaginations are vivid enough to turn any sort of dangerous structure or equipment into a playground. Piles of loose lumber and abandoned cars have been found by courts to qualify as attractive nuisances. An attractive nuisance must: 

• Be an artificial hazard in a place where children are likely to trespass
• Create unreasonable risk of harm to children incapable of understanding that risk
• Be a greater risk to potential victims than the utility of the hazard and the burden of its maintenance 

Determining when a child is innocent enough to qualify for protection under the attractive nuisance doctrine is also unclear. A person with diminished mental capacity may be considered a child for these purposes even if he or she is over the age of 18. The determination of who qualifies as a child is made on a case by case basis. 

Using a fence is a good way to make sure that a child passing by is not intrigued by a potentially dangerous condition. Even if the child is able to see over the fence, he or she will have trouble climbing over it, sufficiently discouraging the trespass in order to avoid liability for injuries sustained. A sign warning individuals of danger may be enough to protect a homeowner from liability, except when a child is unable to read the sign. Regularly inspecting property for potentially dangerous conditions and making sure trespassers stay away from your property are the best ways to avoid liability under the attractive nuisance doctrine.

Slipping and sliding around on the snow and ice is part of dealing with winter. If you were injured during a fall caused by poor weather conditions, however, there may be someone to blame other than Old Man Winter.

Property owners have a duty to exercise reasonable care when it comes to maintaining the areas of their property that are open to the public. That duty does not end when winter w

eather arrives. Property owners are required, often explicitly by local law, to promptly remove snow and ice from the public areas of their property in order to reduce the risk of falls and injuries.

Property owners can meet their duty by removing the snow and ice themselves or by hiring a contractor, such as a plow company, to do so for them. No matter who does the snow or ice removal, if you are injured because you slipped and fell on poorly maintained property, you may be able to seek compensation from the owner.

This does not mean that you are exempt from exercising caution when getting around in bad weather. Members of the public also have a duty to use reasonable care when walking in an area known or reasonably expected to be snowy or icy. Failing to do so may reduce your recovery in any potential lawsuit.

Slipping and falling is so common, particularly in winter, that some people are embarrassed by their injury or think asking someone else to pay for it would be wrong. However, injuries caused by slipping and falling due to snowy or icy conditions can be quite serious, and the party responsible for your injury should be held accountable.

If you have been injured after slipping and falling on snow or ice, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you seek compensation.

An individual who causes a injuries to another person can be held economically responsible for those injuries by a court of law. Anticipating this, the law requires that those participating in potentially dangerous activities, such as driving, carry liability insurance to cover costs in case such an injury occurs. These insurance policies are meant to cover the damages suffered by a potential victim in a personal injury case. There are limits to what these policies cover, though they vary based on how much an insured person is willing to pay as a monthly premium. 

If a person is insured for up to $100,000, that individual’s insurance company will pay out up to $100,000.00 for substantiated damages suffered by the victim. If that victim’s injuries are more substantial, that is, if a jury awards more than $100,000, the balance of the money must be paid by the individual who is at fault instead of by the insurance company. 

An individual without insurance is often referred to as “judgment proof” meaning that, even if a jury awards a verdict against that person, the judgment that results cannot be enforced against him or her. As the saying goes, “you cannot get blood from a stone.” If a plaintiff in a personal injury case attempts to enforce a judgment against a defendant who lacks insurance coverage, the defendant may avoid paying by crying poverty and filing for bankruptcy. Such action may discharge the debts depending on the nature of the injuries and the accident. Similarly, any portion of a judgment owed by an insured individual without personal funds will be nearly impossible to collect. 

As a result, regardless of how much an individual has suffered as a result of the negligence of another, the amount he or she is able to collect is limited to the size of the defendant’s insurance policy. It is impractical to push a case to settle above the policy when it is nearly impossible to collect additional money. This pushes cases in which an individual has suffered catastrophic injuries to settle for substantially less than they might be able to receive if they were to go to trial. Although this seems unfair,  a lawsuit is the only practical way to resolve these disputes when a defendant’s insurance policy limits are too small to cover the plaintiff’s pain and suffering.

Most of us have told a little white lie; even if we are caught, there are usually no consequences. That is not the case if you are involved in a lawsuit. Lying under oath is a crime called perjury, and it can result in jail time.

Lying or providing knowingly false or misleading information can lead to other consequences as well. You might be subject to monetary fines or lose your professional license. It could also result in your lawsuit being dismissed.

When a lie has been told, the key piece of information the court is going to be interested in is the state of mind behind the lie or misrepresentation. In order to be guilty of perjury, you must have intentionally lied. Having an honest lapse of memory, or only remembering a specific detail after something jogs your memory is not likely to get you into trouble. Telling a lie or purposely leaving out key information in order to mislead is more serious, but even that does not guarantee you are going to end up in jail.

Even if your case has not proceeded to trial, lying about your injury (or leaving out information you should have disclosed) can constitute insurance fraud. This can also lead to criminal charges. Fraudulent claims can result in loss of insurance coverage and being liable to the insurance company for any monetary awards or costs of investigation.

If you realize that you lied, or didn’t tell the whole truth, in a current or past legal action the best thing to do is to contact your lawyer. They can help you figure out what, if any, corrective action needs to be taken.

Although lying is a part of life for most people, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is the only thing you should be telling any time you are under oath or talking with your own lawyer in private.

Whiplash occurs when a person suffers a sudden impact that causes the head to snap forwards, backwards, or sideways. The violent force of this jerking motion causes the muscles, tendons, and ligaments to stretch or tear. Such injuries are sometimes classified as sprains or strains of the neck. Whiplash is most commonly the result of a car accident, but can also be the result of participation in contact sports like football, or from being the victim of an act of violence. Any time the neck is hyperextended or hyperflexed, a person is at risk for whiplash.

Symptoms of whiplash include muscle soreness, stiffness, and tenderness. Victims also typically suffer reduced range of motion. Other common maladies associated with whiplash include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, jaw pain, numbness and weakness in the extremities. Some people with whiplash experience ringing in their ears, blurred vision, and memory problems, though these symptoms are less common. Many people ignore whiplash symptoms which may prolong or worsen their consequences. Those who blame the soreness and stiffness of whiplash  on sleeping in an uncomfortable position and dismiss the pain as temporary often fail to seek treatment in a timely fashion. This can lead to more serious problems, including depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. It is important to seek medical attention and to treat whiplash symptoms as soon as possible after an accident in order to avoid complications. 

Doctors' opinions vary on the best way to treat whiplash symptoms. Different doctors may recommend icing the affected area, using painkillers or drugs to numb the pain, using a neck brace or collar to immobilize the neck, physical therapy and exercises to stretch the sore muscles, acupuncture, massage, or chiropractic manipulation. Many physicians may recommend a combination of strategies. Only a licensed medical professional is qualified to give advice on how to treat whiplash. 

An skilled attorney can handle the legal aspects of the accident to help ensure that the injured party can concentrate on the important work of physical recovery. The lawyer will obtain police reports, witness statements and other evidence to prepare a lawsuit against the individual responsible for the whiplash injury.  The lawyer will also document medical expenses, seek approval for required tests, and file a claim or a lawsuit on behalf of an injured party. The lawyer’s experience in dealing with insurance companies ensures that victims of whiplash-related injuries are reimbursed for their pain and suffering as well as for their medical expenses. 

A person who slips or trips on another person’s property may be entitled to damages for resultant injuries. In order for a slip and fall to be compensable, there must have been an unsafe condition on the property. Unsafe conditions include icy accumulation, wet or slippery floors, badly damaged sidewalks and debris underfoot, among many others.

In addition to the existence of unsafe conditions, in order for the injury to be compensable, the owner must have known that the dangerous condition existed and allowed it to persist.This is the most difficult element for a victim in a slip and fall case to prove. Sometimes, the owner of the property causes the dangerous condition, such as when the floors of a department store are freshly mopped and slippery. At other times, the danger is not caused by the owner, but is obviously apparent, as is the case after a snowstorm. The owner of the property is entitled to a grace period to correct dangerous conditions.  But, while the problem is being fixed, the owner should put up a notice to warn individuals of the possible danger. Yellow boards are commonly used to warn of wet floors, and orange cones are often used to warn of ongoing construction.

If the dangerous condition is obvious enough to a casual observer, it may not be compensable since an individual has a duty to use a reasonable degree of care for his or her own safety. Even if the owner is at fault, if the injury is no more severe than a bruise or a slight sprain, a lawsuit is probably not the best course of action.  Lawsuits are usually reserved for more serious injuries like broken bones or spinal damage.  Only an experienced attorney can advise the individual involved in a slip and fall incident as to whether the case is strong enough to warrant a claim.