Category Archives: Personal Injury Blog

Each year the Bureau of Labor Statistics documents millions of workplace accidents; but even if an employer was grossly negligent in causing those injuries, employees typically cannot sue them. However, there may be other ways for an injured worker to collect damages over and above the benefits covered by his employer’s Worker’s Compensation Insurance policy.

In most cases employees are only entitled to collect Worker’s Compensation benefits for lost wages, medical bills, diagnostic and rehabilitation services, and other related expenses. But if a defective product or other negligent condition contributed to an employee’s injuries, and was caused by someone other than his employer, the injured worker may recover money for pain, suffering, loss of consortium and other damages.

Product Liability Claims

A punch press machine is just one example of a product that has caused numerous workplace accidents. Their metal forming function requires extreme downward force to complete the process. Sometimes workers must manually position the metal for punching or use their hands to keep the press running smoothly. When the machine is manufactured with inadequate guards, altered to remove existing guards, or there is some other potential defect, the human/machine interaction can lead to serious injuries, including finger and hand amputations.

If an employee is injured by a malfunctioning or unsafe machine while working, or even injured by a defective appliance in the employee cafeteria, he may pursue a product liability claim. He or his representative may seek damages from the manufacturer, designer, or anyone who maintained or modified the device that injured him, as long as it wasn’t his employer.

Auto Accidents

Lots of employees must drive while performing the duties of their jobs. When an accident occurs, they would be entitled to Worker’s Compensation benefits. If the accident was due to another person’s negligence behind the wheel, the employee would also be entitled to seek damages from the other driver.

The injured employee’s Worker’s Compensation case would be handled as a workplace injury, but he would proceed against the other driver in the same manner one would proceed against any party who caused an auto accident. If the other party was on his employer’s business and driving a vehicle owned by his employer, the employer would be another potentially responsible party.

Premises Liability

If a person were hurt on their employer’s premises, the possibility of collecting from another party may not be as great, but it still exists. If the employee tripped and fell, or was otherwise injured due to a hazard created by a subcontractor, a contract maintenance crew, a janitorial service, or any other non-employer, the injured person may seek damages from that company. An injured employee may pursue a claim against any party– other than his employer– who may have contributed to his injuries.

Intentional Torts

In some rare cases, employees retain the right to sue their employers for injuries sustained in workplace accidents. If the employer created a hazard by removing or altering safety devices that made an injury substantially certain to occur, an employee may have a right to file a suit for an intentional tort.

It Won’t be Easy

Worker’s Compensation is an automatic benefit in most cases, but collecting from responsible non-employer parties may not be that simple a task. There may be contracts or subcontracts among the parties that shift responsibility to someone else or even back to your employer. Things can get complicated after that.

To collect the money you’re entitled to over and above your Worker’s Compensation claim, you and your legal representative will have a lot of work to do. But it’s worth it to get the money you deserve.

When you are looking for workplace accidents personal injury lawyers to help you with your personal injury claim, you are going to find a lot of them who are willing to take your case. But how do you know which one you should choose? There are several qualities that you should look for when you are considering someone to help you with your personal injury claim. Below are the qualities that your chosen solicitor should have. These are going to ensure that you are going to be treated with the utmost respect and professionalism.

The Lawyer You Choose Should be Professional

The first thing that your specialist should be is professional. They should show up at your meetings dressed professionally. They should speak professionally. And they should also treat you professionally. You are their client. You deserve to be treated well. They should speak with you professionally on the phone and in person. They should also listen to you and give you their full attention when you are speaking to them.

The Lawyer You Choose Should be Prompt

The second thing that your specialist should be is prompt. They should be prompt for your appointments and they should be prompt in returning your phone calls. Whether your case is going to be a big one or a small one, they should treat you the same way as they do all of their other clients. You have hired them to represent you in court and you should be able to count on them when you need to ask them a question.

The Lawyer You Choose Should be Thorough

The third thing that your specialist should be is thorough. You want to make sure that the person who is taking care of your case is making sure that they look at everything. If they miss something, it could cause you not to win your case or it could mean that you get less money for your case. So they should look at all of the evidence that you have from the accident.

The Lawyer You Choose Should be Good With People

The fourth thing that your specialist should be is good with people. After all, they are dealing with clients all of the time. They should be able to relate to their clients and they should be willing to listen to them whenever they have a question or a fear. Taking the time to listen to you and answer your questions shows that the specialist really is someone who you can count on.

These are the four things that you should look for in your specialist that you choose for your personal injury claim. You want to be comfortable with the person that is helping you with your claim. You should feel like you can confide in the person and that they are going to listen to what you are saying. Choose the lawyer who is going to give you the help you need and give you the advice that you need for your case.

No one wants to be in a car accident, but it happens to everyone once in a while. But it’s important that you remember a few things after an accident so that you don’t make things worse for yourself. The last thing that you want is to make the situation worse by saying something that could be used against you or that could turn it into a road rage incident.

Below are some tips that you should remember immediately following an accident to make things easier on everyone.

Stay calm

This is something that is simple but essential. You were just in an accident and you have an adrenaline high. Becoming angry and yelling at the other person isn’t going to help matters and it’s not going to get your car fixed. It also could hurt your automobile accident claim.

Check for injuries

Look at yourself and anyone else that was in the car with you to see if there were injuries. Also, ask the other person if they are injured. If there are injuries, make sure that you call the ambulance. But don’t risk getting sued because you were negligent at the scene.

Phone the Police

Call the emergency number and let them know there’s been an accident. Tell them where you are, how many cars were involved, and if there are any injuries.

Get the information from the other driver

The following things should be noted when you are getting their information:

• Name and ID number of their license
• The license plate ID of their car
• The name of their insurers and the number of their policy. Check to be sure their policy hasn’t expired.
  If there’s a name on their policy that’s different from the driver’s name, get the contact information of the person who holds the insurance. This is the information that you will use to contact that insurance company so that you can start your automobile accident claim.

Take notes and pictures for your claim

If you have a mobile phone or a camera with you, take a lot of pictures of the scene where the accident happened. Also you want to make some notes about what happened during the accident since now is when you are going to remember things the best. All of this information is going to be useful when you are making your automobile accident claim. Don’t rely on your memory of the accident, because you have enough on your mind as it is.

Go to the hospital if injured

If you or someone who was in the car with you at the time of the accident is injured, it’s a good idea to be checked out at the hospital. This will help your claim and it will show that your injuries were because of the accident and not because of something else.

If there were injuries because of the accident, it’s also a good idea to consult an attorney. Find one that specializes in personal injury law and get his or her advice on how to proceed.

Each year, thousands of people are injured or killed by defective products. Just take a passing glance at the United states Consumer Product Safety Commission’s cache of injury statistics and you’ll quickly see the wide range of defective products that there are in this country. On a positive note, consumers have at least three types of product liability cases that they may file against companies who fail to do their due diligence.

Which Categories Do Product Liability Lawyers Use Most Often?

The type of product liability case that tends to be filed the most nowadays is what personal injury attorneys like to refer to as a substandard manufacturer claim. As you’ve likely assumed by now, the lawsuits have to do with the manufacturing process and not design. Poorly designed items comprise their own category of product liability claims and the same may be said for failure-to-warn cases.

How Hard is It to Prove One or More Product Liability Claims?

In each of those product liability cases, claimants must prove that they did nothing to contribute to their own injuries. They must also submit proof that they, or their property, were injured due to the product’s manufacturing or design. Clearly, proving these types of assertions are not always easy given the nature of some consumer products, patent and proprietary information related laws.

For example, let’s pretend that a person goes out and buys a, espresso coffee maker. While using the product for the first time, the cap comes off and causes second degree burns to the person. A logical person would ask at least some of the following questions:

• Did the person read the espresso coffee maker’s manual before trying to make coffee?
• Did the person follow all of the instructions in the espresso coffee maker’s manual to a tee?
• Did the person put the right type and amount of products in the espresso coffee maker?

If the answers are yes, it is likely that product liability attorneys will ask other probing questions about the manufacturing process. Some of the questions that come to our product liability lawyers’ minds are as follows:

• Are all of the espresso coffee maker’s parts made to today’s safety and quality standards?
• Have the espresso coffee makers been tested extensively and what where the test results?
• Did the company’s records show that management was aware of potential design or manufacturing flaws associated with the espresso coffee maker?
• Did the instruction manual that came with the espresso coffee machine contain enough accurate information about the potential for cap related, burn and scald related injuries?
• Are the victim’s injuries consistent with other accidents involving the same type or similar espresso machines?

Some of the answers to those questions will need to come from a review of espresso coffee maker’s design plans and product testing results. Obviously, companies are going to fight to keep that information private. This is particularly the case if product liability lawsuits may appear to be on the horizon. On a positive note, product liability lawyers can aid victims in getting access to those documents via the subpoena process. To find out what else product liability attorneys may do to help speed a person’s lawsuit along to a just resolution, please contact us.

As school gets underway across much of the country, cases of product liability are heating up, especially when it comes to children’s items. Some of the recent objects to come under scrutiny are kids’ novelty watches. A recall was posted in early August after several timepieces burnt the skin of a number of children. The burns were said to have resulted from faulty design elements and dry cell, watch batteries.

Dry cell batteries have been around since the 1880s and are generally safe as long as they are not ingested. Typically made with paste electrolytes, they are slow to degrade but not in this case. In this case, the faulty design caused the batteries to be exposed to outside elements, which hastened their life span. As a result, kids wearing the watches were inadvertently exposed to the chemical pastes located inside of the dry cell batteries.

Although present in small amounts, the paste has the capacity to cause serious burns. Therefore, it has to be removed from the skin right away. Naturally, removing it is not as simple as wiping it off with a washcloth. As a matter of fact, aggressively cleaning the burned area in that manner may actually make the situation worse.

Instead, it is generally better to place the wrist or other effected area under lukewarm, slow-running tap water to flush the paste away until professional, medical help arrives. If the burn doesn’t warrant professional help, keep the running water on it until all of the paste appears to have been removed. Remember, we are talking about a past here. So, it may take 20 to 30 minutes worth of cleansing before all traces of the chemical paste have been removed from the skin.

If the burn was caused by a watch or other faulty product, take pictures of the skin damage as well as the item that prompted the injury. Document the event’s details and do not throw out the children’s watch or attempt to touch it without taking steps to protect your skin from the oozing paste. Oftentimes, donning chemical-resistant gloves and placing the watch in an acid-resistant, storage container is the best course of action.

After the battery acid has been neutralized and the injured person’s condition is stable, consult with experts about how to proceed. It may be possible to bring product liability suits against the watch manufacturer or the company that made the battery in question. In some instances, it may even be appropriate to sue both as well as the store that sold the dangerous, children’s watch.

Resist the temptation to contact the company first and complain. Speak with health and legal experts, then report the incident to the company. Talking to them before the company will help ensure that the victim is on the mend and determine if there are grounds for a product liability case in the first place. If there are grounds for bringing a product liability case, depend on legal counsel for advice on the appropriate way to notify the company of the defective product.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against a South Carolina nursing home on behalf of a former employee.

According to the lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the nursing home hired the woman as a full-time nurse in 2002. At the time that it hired the nose, it was aware that she suffered from a condition called paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. This is a cardiac condition that is characterized by severe fatigue, nausea, accelerated heartbeat and even blackouts. The condition is controlled by medication.

In 2012, the woman found out that she was pregnant, and doctors advised her to stop taking the medication for her condition, because of the adverse effect that it could have on her pregnancy. The woman’s symptoms intensified as a result, and she took three days off work to take rest and recover from the symptoms. Upon her return to work, she was fired from her position.

The Equal Employment Commission in its lawsuit alleges that the employer failed to provide the woman reasonable accommodations for her pregnancy, and fired her because of her disability. The lawsuit is seeking a number of damages, including compensation and punitive damages in addition to back pay.

The law against all types of discrimination including disability discrimination is very stringent. If you have been in a position where you have faced discriminatory practices or harassment in the workplace, because of a medical condition that impairs your ability to function, talk to a California employment lawyer about your legal options.

Four federal agencies have come up with an updated manual that aims to educate lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender workers on the rights available to them under the law. The four agencies are the US Office of Personnel Management, the US Office of Special Counsel, the US Merit Systems Protection Board and Equal Employment Diversity Commission.

The manual titled Addressing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination in Federal Civilian Employment: A Guide to Employment Rights, Protections and Responsibilities is being issued in a brand-new form. It is more than a decade since the manual was last updated, and the new version contains several revisions that are designed to reflect the changes in the law.

Basically, the manual provides LGBT workers with a clear picture of all their rights and responsibilities in the employment sector. It explains to them the kind of behavior that could constitute discrimination, based on sexual orientation or gender, and also informs them of all the legal options that they have when they are faced with such discrimination.

The manual also clearly defines what are the definitions of key terms like gender identity and sexual orientation as well as the responsibilities of each individual agency in helping promote workplaces that are free from such discrimination.

If you are an LGBT worker, who is currently facing discrimination or harassment in the workplace, you may have legal options to address your concerns. Speak to a California employment lawyer about your legal options, and ascertain your rights. You could possibly file a claim that can help you acquire damages for your losses.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is working together with a leading transgender advocacy group to increase workplace health and safety protections for transgender workers.

There are specific concerns that transgender employees have, and the new alliance between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Center for Transgender Equality is specifically aimed at helping create a healthy workplace for transgender workers.

For instance, transgender workers do have a complaint about managers refusing to refer to them with their changed name after the transition, and also complain about the lack of access to separate restrooms that are appropriate for transgender workers. These are the some of the issues that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Transgender Equality will keep in mind, as they move forward and develop recommended best practices for employers. The aim is to encourage companies across the United States to implement the recommendations in order to create a more inclusive and safe environment for transgender workers.

The federal administration has been working to ease restrictions on transgender workers. For instance, last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that transgender workers face several restrictions including their supervisor’s failure to consider name changes, and that these are a violation of anti-discrimination laws. That decision came in a case involving a civilian employee in the Army, who was working at the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center in Alabama. When she tried to use the women’s restroom after her transition in 2010, she was confronted by a supervisor, who insisted on using her male name. This is the kind of situation that the new alliance aims to eliminate.

California laws give employees protection against discrimination or harassment in the workplace. However, to file a claim, you need evidence of the incident that occurred. That’s why it helps if you can record incidents of harassment, and take other steps to document it.

When you record the harassment, be as descriptive as possible, and record the incidents, the people involved, and the exact manner and form of discrimination or harassment. If the harassment involved obscene e-mails, or text messages, retain copies of those.

Once you have a record of the incident of harassment, report the issue. Go to human resources, and file a complaint about the harassment. The longer you delay, the less likely it is that your complaint will seem credible. Management will want to know why you didn’t report the harassment earlier.

File a complaint in a very methodical manner. Provide all of the information that you have including evidence, records, text messages, e-mails, and other documentation, in support of your complaint.

Prepare yourself emotionally before you file the complaint. Don’t lose your temper, make wild allegations, and behave like you are having a meltdown. Instead, come across as very sure of yourself, methodical, and clear that you want human resources to handle the issue appropriately.

After you file the complaint, go about work as usual. Don’t avoid coming into office, and under no circumstances, quit your job. If you find that human resources takes no action against the harassment, and that you are, in fact, being wrongfully retaliated against for your complaint, speak to a California workplace discrimination lawyer about what to do next.

According to one survey, as many as one in three students report being sexually harassed at work. For students, part-time work or internships do expose them to a life full of opportunity. However, they can also expose them to the risk of sexual harassment.

Harassment involving student interns and part time workers is not exactly unheard of. In fact, a number of companies are coming under the scanner for their exploitation of student workers. Interns are often unpaid, and this means that they are very often financially exploited by employers. Apart from financial exploitation, a student may also be in danger of sexual harassment.

For many college students, being in a workplace is exciting, but also a very lonely time because they do not have friends at work. They also do not know that they have rights. For instance, if you are currently an intern, or in a part-time job, and are being harassed, there are steps that you can take to protect your rights. File a complaint with your employer if you are facing discrimination or harassment in the workplace. File a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Speak to a California employment lawyer about your options. Students must know that they have protections against retaliation for reporting the harassment.

Any company that accepts internships must have strong anti-sexual harassment policies in place to protect interns. All those policies must be contained in an internship manual that is distributed to all new interns at the time of the internship cycle.

Employers must also make sure that any harassment that is targeted towards interns is immediately punished. Letting harassment go just because the target is an intern could actually place a company at risk of a lawsuit. Many interns are now filing lawsuits based on such exploitation and harassment.