THE INJURY LAWYER DIRECTORY BLOG

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently ruled that the widow of a millworker who was killed in an unsolved homicide at his place of work was not entitled to any death benefits. The court’s argument was based on the fact that “the injured employee always has the burden of proof in worker’s compensation cases.”

When the shop’s owner arrived one morning, he found his employee’s body lying near the back door with four gunshot wounds and a pipe across his body. After it was determined that nothing had been stolen, the homicide case went unsolved.

Meanwhile, the widow argued that her husband was clearly killed during a burglary gone wrong, and that his death was directly tied to his work. The court, however, rejected her argument, stating that there was no evidence of an effort to break into the business. The judge maintained that he must have been killed in a random assault.

Following that line of thinking, the widow further argued that “street risk” doctrine therefore applied to her husband’s case. Street risk doctrine states that if a person’s employment requires the employee’s use of the street, then “the risks of the street are the risks of employment.” Yet again, the court decided this doctrine did not apply, since the shop was secured with a burglar alarm and locks, and the business wasn’t frequented by the public.

Finally, the widow asserted that workers injured in neutral force assaults must be entitled to compensation unless the employer can prove the death arose from the employee’s personal activities. But the court would not budge from its position that the burden of proof rests with the injured employee – and since no evidence had arisen pointing to one cause of death over another, the unsolved case doomed the unfortunate widow to receive no compensation for her husband’s untimely death.

If your loved one has been the victim of a wrongful death due to an accident or assault at their Tennessee workplace, you owe it to them to uncover the truth, and you owe it to yourself and your family to obtain adequate compensation when going through one of the most difficult periods of your life.

Please contact experienced worker’s compensation attorney Herbert Thornbury today to discuss your case.

A woman in Texas recently filed a lawsuit against a physician for failing to remove a surgical sponge from her abdomen during a November 2004 surgery. The woman wasn’t even aware that the sponge was still in her body until January 2010, when she sought medical attention for problems with her pelvis and abdomen. Doctors then discovered that the lower quadrant of her abdomen contained a lap sponge marker that had to be surgically removed.

The lawsuit accuses the doctor not only of the surgical error, but of performing the procedure without assistance, as well as neglecting to disclose that the treatment involved risks and hazards which would have “influenced a reasonable person in making a decision.” Additionally, the woman is suing the hospital for severing the doctor-patient relationship without notice when she was still in need of medical care.

Surgical errors can result in serious and sometimes fatal consequences. When foreign objects, like a surgical sponge, are left inside your body, infections and internal bleeding can occur that might not be identified until it’s too late. Meanwhile, cutting off care from a patient still in need of attention is a form of medical malpractice – which is more common than anyone realizes.

If you or one of your loved ones has suffered from a doctor’s negligence or wrongdoing in Texas, you deserve to be compensated. Please contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Polewski & Associates today for a free consultation.

Earlier this month, a fire broke out on the water ride “Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls” at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando. One of Universal’s employees noticed the smoke and successfully evacuated all visitors and staff members before flames engulfed one of the ride’s housing structures. Black, billowing smoke could be seen from outside the park.

Some of the guests were checked in at the park’s first-aid room, but none were reported as needing hospitalization. The ride has been shut down indefinitely while the cause of the fire is under investigation. So far, authorities suggest that an electrical problem from an air conditioner or ride controller may have been the source of the theme park accident.

Universal’s spokesman, Tom Schroder, would not say whether compensation has been made available to park guests who were endangered by the ride and surrounding areas.

While this incident did make the news, theme parks in many states are not legally required to report accidents – even if they result in injury to park-goers. Many amusement parks tend to downplay accidents as much as possible in order to protect their reputation and ensure incoming revenue from daily visitors.

If you or one of your loved ones has been injured in a theme park accident in Florida, you have a right to collect compensation. Please contact the experienced amusement park injury attorneys at Best & Anderson, P.A. today to set up a free initial consultation.

On January 12^th, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a product liability recall on approximately 1,500 baby rattles produced by New Jersey-based company Kid O Products, after it was discovered that they pose choking hazards to infants and young children.

The baby rattles went on sale at specialty children’s stores nationwide between November and December 2010, costing around $12. The apparent danger is that the rattle’s beads can easily detach when the rattle is forcefully pulled or twisted. CPSC identifies the specific problem models as “the Prisma and Duo style wooden baby rattles with multi-colored beads” – style numbers 10331 and 10333, respectively.

Parents that bought these rattles between the posted dates are urged to return them to the store of purchase to obtain a full reimbursement.

If product safety recalls are unsettling in general, they are all the more disturbing when they involve products marketed for our children. We automatically assume that a high standard of product safety is being observed when children’s toys are developed, and when that trust is broken, the consequences can be devastating.

If you or a loved one has suffered personal injury due to an unsafe or defective product in New Jersey, please contact the experienced product liability attorneys at Trief & Olk today to discuss your case.

Early this morning in Hialeah Gardens, Florida, four people in an SUV stopped to assist at the scene of a car accident – and found themselves the victims of another.

When the driver of the SUV saw a car collide with a work truck on the Palmetto Expressway, he pulled over to investigate and lend a hand. One of the SUV’s concerned passengers noticed that the car’s driver was bleeding.

Shortly after the SUV stopped, three motorcyclists came up from behind, driving at what one witness estimated to be “around 150 mph.” Whether or not that estimate was exaggerated, the end result was the same: one of the motorcyclists crashed into the back of the SUV and died shortly thereafter. The other two cyclists left the scene.

The driver of the SUV was seriously injured in the crash. He is currently at Jackson Memorial Hospital in unknown condition, along with the driver in the original car accident.

While these harrowing incidents are never intentional, the fact remains that in many cases, they could have been avoided. On the road, one misplaced glance and one bad judgment call are all it takes to end someone’s life – or your own.

If you live in Florida and have been injured in an automobile or motorcycle accident due to another motorist’s dangerous driving, you deserve compensation. No one should be able to simply drive away and leave you with the consequences.

Please contact the experienced auto accident attorneys at Hardesty, Tyde, Green & Ashton, P.A. today to schedule a free initial consultation.

In the United States alone, there are almost 5 million dog bite victims each year – 800,000 of which require medical attention. Most of the victims in these cases are children, and more than half of them are bitten in the face.

Just this past weekend in Taft, California, a three-year-old girl was attacked by a neighboring English Mastiff, suffering a long gash across her face that went down to the bone and will leave an unavoidable scar once healed. When the panicked family placed calls to local authorities and Animal Control about the dog bite, they received little real resolution. The owner would not respond to knocks on his door from various reporters, and though Animal Control has succeeded in getting the dog chained up, a second English Mastiff puppy on the same property is still loose.

The girl’s parents stated she has had nightmares since the attack, and believe an officer should have come out to follow up on her condition, as well as to confirm that the dog was properly confined.

The repercussions of a dog bite can range from long-term physical damage and disfigurement to emotional stress and burdensome medical bills.

If you, or one of your family members has been the victim of a dog bite anywhere in the state of California, please contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at the Cochran Firm today for a free initial consultation.

Long-standing issues of nursing home abuse and neglect have plagued Illinois residents for years, partly due to the fact that the state provides the lowest reimbursement rates in the nation for government-funded patients.

An investigation led by the Chicago Tribune in 2010 discovered several poorly staffed nursing homes where dangerous psychiatric patients were being housed alongside “more vulnerable geriatric and disabled residents.”

In July 2010, Illinois officials signed a much-needed reform law requiring nursing homes to meet stricter safety standards and develop better care programs for mentally ill patients. But until recently, the state hadn’t provided a way to fund the increased staffing needs this new law created.

Now, under a bill just passed by the General Assembly, Illinois plans to collect an estimated $145 million in annual bed tax – matched by another $145 million from Medicaid. The governor states that these funds will not only allow Illinois to increase staffing at nursing homes, but to hire more state inspectors and finance other key reforms. Only time will tell if the disturbing trend of violence and neglect at Illinois nursing facilities is successfully reversed.

If you or one of your loved ones has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect in the state of Illinois, the experienced nursing home attorneys at Harvey L. Walner & Associates, LTD can help you get the compensation you need and deserve. Contact them today to set up a free initial consultation, or text “Walnerlaw” to 41513.

Wyoming has the highest workplace fatality rate of any state in the nation, with a record 17 deaths per 100,000 workers – over four times the national average. Though the state has hired an epidemiologist to study the issue, the trend seems doomed to continue.

The state’s most recent incident occurred on January 5^th, when a man working on a gas rig in Sublette County was fatally burned by a pipe explosion. The defective manufacturing equipment was contracted by QEP Energy Company, which currently operates around six different drill rigs in the Pinedale Anticline.

While the matter is under investigation by the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), authorities are still unsure what caused the gas explosion, and QEP Energy Company has not come forward with any more specifics.

Companies that store and transport gas are rightfully held to a high safety standard with their equipment and products. Malfunctions and subpar maintenance cannot be tolerated when the potential consequences are so devastating.

If you or someone you know was seriously injured or killed because of a gas fire or explosion, please contact the experienced gas explosion and wrongful death attorneys at Burg Simpson today for a free initial consultation.