Personal Injury Attorney

Americans, in general, love their sports. Many flock to bars, stadiums, and arenas to watch their favorite teams, but the combination of alcohol, tension, and competing team loyalties can lead to verbal and even physical altercations. People often lose sight of the fact that there exists no perceived slight or indignity relating to an event in the sports world that is grounds for assaulting another person. When flared tensions produce personal injuries or even emotional distress in some instances, there are consequences – in both the state’s criminal courts, and if a personal injury victim so choose, civil courts.

If you have been injured in a physical altercation in a bar or restaurant, whether as an intended victim or mere bystander, you possess the legal right to hold the at-fault party responsible for the harms that you have suffered. Attorneys have helped countless numbers of victims recover damages after they were assaulted. A personal injury attorney from a law firm can help obtain financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other losses a victim suffers while recovering from their injuries.  

Battery Is Both a Crime and a Tort

Physical violence has long been codified into criminal and civil law. In the common law (the antecedent to American law), the tort of battery is a “harmful or offensive” intentional contact. Examples include a shove, punch, kick, grab, and inappropriate sexual contact (e.g. fondling). Importantly, in the context of battery in a bar or restaurant, the legal doctrine of “transferred intent” allows for liability for harm intended by a tortfeasor to one person to be transferred when another person (rather than intended victim) is harmed.

To make this legally dense terminology less abstract, imagine the scenario when, as a verbal dispute escalates, a punch is thrown by one man at another. Now imagine that the punch misses the intended victim and instead lands, viciously, on the face of an innocent bystander standing slightly to the left of the intended victim. The attacker might attempt to argue that he did not mean to punch the bystander. Under tort law, however, the doctrine of transferred intent steps in, treating the issue of intent broadly and generally (simple volition) and thereby holding the attacker liable for even inaccurate violence.

Types of Compensation Available to Battery Victims

On the criminal side, when a bar fight causes serious injuries, the batterer may be charged with the crime of battery causing serious bodily injury. Criminal punishment, however, is not the only consequence. The personal injury victim may seek legal damages for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost income due to missed work, and other losses.

If you have suffered personal injuries from the physical violence of another, rely on an experienced personal injury lawyer in St. Paul, Minnesota to assert your legal rights. Call a lawyer today for a confidential consultation to find out how they can help.

Thanks to Johnston | Martineau, PLLP for their insight into personal injury claims and assault victims.

Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A misdiagnosis is one of the most common types of medical malpractice and can result in injury or even death to a patient. If a doctor diagnoses a patient with the wrong condition, the patient will take the wrong treatment and the actual disease can continue to progress. Finding out that you have been wrongly diagnosed by a medical professional can be devastating. It’s important to talk about your legal options with a medical malpractice lawyer.

Here are some of the most common causes of misdiagnoses.

Failure to Order the Proper Testing

Medical tests are typically the most effective way to properly diagnose various health conditions. Doctors generally order tests based on the symptoms a patient is experiencing. However, the actual disease a patient has can be missed if the doctor only orders tests based on just the symptoms the patient is describing. It’s a good idea for a doctor to always order multiple tests to make the correct diagnosis

Symptoms Are Similar to Other Conditions

Unfortunately, there are many health conditions out there that have very similar symptoms. This can confuse doctors and cause them to make the wrong diagnosis. For example, fibromyalgia commonly gets misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. If a doctor believes that a patient has a minor condition, they may not do any further testing. The patient could turn out to have a much more serious condition. Once the patient finds out their true condition, it may be too late for treatment.

Improper Training for Advanced Diseases

There are countless medical conditions that can affect people and not all doctors are aware of all the rare and advanced diseases out there. They might confuse the symptoms of a rare disease with a more common medical condition. It’s important for doctors to continuously educate themselves about all the different diseases out there to reduce the chances of misdiagnosing someone.

Doctor May Be Overworked or Fatigued

Being in the medical field can be incredibly demanding and tiring. Many doctors are overworked and complain of fatigue. Unfortunately, when a doctor is overworked, they are unable to concentrate as well and can are more likely to make serious mistakes. It’s vital for doctors to take proper breaks throughout the day and get enough sleep to avoid becoming too fatigued.

Consulting With a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you’ve recently been misdiagnosed, you should speak to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer Phoenix, AZ trusts as soon as possible. An attorney can understand how terrifying it can be to get diagnosed with the wrong condition and want to help you get justice. Attorneys have helped many medical malpractice victims receive compensation in the past and possess the knowledge and skills to guide you through this difficult time. Lawyers will review your case, help you gather evidence, negotiate with insurance companies and ensure your legal rights are protected.

Thanks to Rispoli Law, PLLC for their insight into medical malpractice and causes of misdiagnoses.

Personal Injury Attorney

Relatives of a senior loved one may at one point realize that placing him or her into a nursing home facility is the only way to provide around-the-clock care. Not all families have the time and space to tend to an aging loved one to the extent that he or she needs. Before placing a relative into a nursing home, perform thorough research on a prospective facility and any past lawsuits. It is estimated that one in every three nursing home facilities have had infractions related to abuse or neglect. There is a chance that your senior relative is at-risk for suffering from mistreatment.

If you suspect that abuse or neglect has happened to your senior relative who is currently in a nursing home, please contact an attorney immediately. When concerned family members meet with us, one of their first questions is how to tell if mistreatment is actually happening. This is what physical and mental abuse in a nursing home may look like:

Unexplained and Mysterious Marks

When visiting your loved one, we encourage family members to examine their senior relative as long as he or she is comfortable. Areas where abuse is more likely to be inflicted are those not readily visible, such as the back, feet, upper thighs, abdomen and underarms. Your relative may have wounds from overuse of restraints, bruises from assault, or other marks that go unexplained. If you inquire with staff about how these marks happened and no one can provide an answer (including your loved one), it may be time to call an attorney for help.

Appearing Unkempt and Malnourished

Staff members who become frustrated with senior residents, may intentionally fail to provide three meals a day, administer necessary medications, offer vitamins, and anything else related to health. Additionally, caregivers may leave a resident with dirty blankets or soiled clothing for an extended period of time.

In some cases, a resident that was diagnosed with a certain illness may have symptoms related to appearing weak or losing weight. However, if this is not true for your relative then please consider investigating further. An attorney can offer advice on how to do this in such a way that is discreet, yet preparing for a lawsuit if needed.

Behavior and Mood Changes

If your loved one showed up to a nursing home in relatively positive spirits and has since become withdrawn, frightened, anxious, depressed, or on-edge, do not take these changes lightly. Keep in mind that many senior loved ones may go through difficulties while transitioning into a nursing home environment. But, it is important to make sure he or she is receiving support and that abuse or neglect is not actually the root cause of personality changes.

If any of this information applies to your elderly loved one’s situation, please call for a consultation with an personal injury lawyer Deer Park, TX offers. They can understand that this may seem like an overwhelming process, but can guide you every step of the way as you seek justice for your relative.

Thanks to John K. Zaid & Associates for their insight into personal injury claims and what physical and mental abuse looks like in nursing homes.

Estate Lawyer

Probate property may be a term you’ve heard a few times. But what does it really mean? Let’s break it down. To understand the term probate property, you must first understand probate.

What is Probate?

Probate is the court-supervised process of proving the validity of a Will. When someone dies and they leave a Will behind, the court must determine the Will is valid. Once it is verified, the desires and the instructions of the deceased may be carried out by an appointed Executor (also known as a Personal Representative).  This usually involves distributing the deceased’s property to the people specified to inherit it in the Will.

If someone dies without a Will, their properties and assets must still go through probate before it can be distributed to the heirs. This is called an Intestate Probate. There is no need to prove the validity of any estate planning documents, but there is a need to clarify the succession of heirs for the court. Each state has a different “intestate succession” laws, but usually the order is as follows:

spouse à children à parents à parent’s descendants (siblings)à grandparentsà the state

Probate Property

Any property being distributed via the probate process is probate property. This can apply to both real and personal properties. This does not mean, however, that each of Grandma’s porcelain figurines will be going through probate. Most states have laws and dollar limits on what qualifies a property or asset to go through probate. Think big-ticket items, like the following assets:

•   Real property (homes, vacant land)
•   Automobiles
•   Bank Accounts

Exception: if the above assets are held jointly, for example with a spouse, then often that property passes directly to the spouse, no probate needed.

Non-Probate Property

Luckily, many assets are not subject to probate if precautionary steps are taken. For example, bank accounts, life insurance policies, and retirement accounts usually have Payable-On-Death (POD) beneficiary designations. This means that you can formally designate the beneficiary of that account while you are still alive. Upon your death, that asset will pass directly to the beneficiary you named, instead of being subject to probate.

Do you need Probate?

Probate gets a bad rap because it can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. The good news is that there are ways to set up your estate to avoid probate as much as possible. If a family member of yours has recently passed, or if you want to learn more about how your family can avoid probate upon your passing, consider meeting with an estate lawyer Phoenix, AZ offers.

Thanks to Kamper Estrada, LLC for their insight into estate planning and probate.

DUI Attorney

DUI arrests are among some of the most serious charges in terms of driving violations. The justice system takes these charges seriously. If you or a loved one has been arrested for a DUI, you may be wondering what the process will be. Who files the charges? What happens next? Here’s your guide to a DUI arrest.

Who Files Charges?

Following a DUI arrest, a person us booked and issued a citation to appear before a judge. Following, he or she is released. The court date that you are given has everything to do with the court’s calendar. This does not mean that the charges have been filed. The district attorney files the charges against the person who committed the DUI. Sometimes, it can take up to a year for those charges to be formally filed. If you aren’t charged right away, the prosecutor’s office may have backlog or the prosecutor may still be investigating your charge.

It is always the district attorney that prosecutes and files these charges. If you were arrested for a DUI, then you can count on charges being filed. DUIs are taken very seriously by the court system and you can’t expect that it’s forgotten about. In fact, many people get in trouble for believing that the system forgot about their case.

What Happens Once Filed?

Once charges are filed, if it’s past the original court date, you will receive a new court date. If your court date passes with no formal charges, you do not have to appear in before the judge on the date issued by the station. The judge needs the formal charges to proceed with the case. Once filed, you will receive a notice that you need to appear before a judge. If you do not appear on that date, there may be a bench warrant issued for your arrest.

Keep in mind that this can happen even if you move homes in the time that it takes for the prosecutor to file charges. It’s crucial that you have a forwarding address and keep up with the case. If you fail to see the notice, you still have to go to your court date.

If you’re facing a DUI, you need to remember that these are serious charges. Not only should you have a lawyer willing to work with you on a case, but the lawyer will help you make sure that you don’t miss your court date for any reason. If you’re facing DUI charges, speak to a DUI attorney in DC today!

Thanks to The Lawfirm of Frederick J. Brynn, P.C. for their insight into criminal defense and DUI arrests.

PRP for Hair Loss

If you have accident-related hair loss, you may be overwhelmed and wondering what to do. Every time you look in the mirror or run your fingers through your hair you are reminded of the incident. Perhaps you were in an accident that was someone else’s fault, or there was negligence. Consequently, you may be considering a hair restoration treatment, like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, but are eager to know if the cost of treatment is included in the accident-related damages.

If you’re already working with an attorney on filing a personal injury claim, you’ll likely want to let them know about your accident-induced hair loss. And you may want to choose a hair treatment doctor who can provide the needed support to help justify your need for hair replacement.

PRP Therapy for Hair Growth

PRP is gaining more and more popularity around the world within the last few years. PRP may be an ideal treatment option for hair loss, as it has numerous scientifically-backed reports of its efficacy. It’s been shown to increase hair thickness and hair count, and extend the growth phase of the hair cycle.

The liquid portion of blood, called the plasma, contains platelets which have abundant growth factors. Growth factors are substances that play the role of messengers, signaling cellular function. They have been used in medicine to treat a wide range of health issues, including arthritis, degenerative joints and discs, and other signs of aging. For people with thinning hair, growth factors can enhance, activate, and stimulate the activity of the hair follicles and that leads to new hair growth.

Hair starts growing from a root in the bottom of a hair follicle. The hair root is made up of cells laden with protein. Blood vessels in the scalp feed the root, which creates more protein-packed hair cells and causes the hair to grow. PRP can promote a healthy scalp and hair follicles, leading to hair growth.

PRP Therapy: The Process

There is a meticulous process involved in using PRP for hair regrowth. It starts with a standard blood draw from a vein in the patient’s arm. Next, the tube of blood is placed into a machine called a centrifuge, which spins the blood tube at a high velocity. The centrifugal force created by the high-speed spinning pushes heavier materials to the outside, so separates the red blood cells from the plasma.

The plasma portion, which is rich in platelets and growth factors, is then injected with a small needle directly into the scalp at the level of the hair follicles. The entire procedure typically takes less than an hour from start-to-finish.

PRP Therapy Is Safe and Effective

For the most part, there’s little risk associated with PRP. Both women and men experiencing hair loss are typically good candidates for PRP therapies. It seems to work particularly well for people with early hair loss and androgenic alopecia, which is a hereditary type of patterned hair thinning. People who have lost or thinning hair as a result of an accident or injury may benefit as well.

If you’re curious to know if PRP therapy can help with your hair loss situation, schedule a consultation with a hair treatment doctor to get personalized answers to your questions and concerns.

Resources:

Wikipedia, Hair Treatment

Dr. Robin Unger, MD, PRP for Hair Loss NYC

A catastrophic injury is one that is so severe that the victim suffers a permanent injury and/or symptoms for the rest of their life. It’s not uncommon for a brain or spinal injury to be catastrophic. The same is also true of serious burn injuries that leaves permanent scarring. Damage to the central nervous system or the brain will usually require an extended period of time to recover, expensive medical treatment, and the realization that full recovery may not be possible. In fact, the victim’s life may never be the same as it was before the accident that was avoidable but for someone else’s negligent actions.

What is a personal injury claim?

When someone acts in a way that is careless or negligent and their action results in harming an innocent person, the victim has the right to recover their damages from the negligent person. This should be a straightforward process, but too often it isn’t because the at-fault party or their insurance company refuses to pay the victim. As a general rule, the more costly the victim’s damages, the more likely they will get pushback for seeking compensation. With the help of a personal injury lawyer, you can file a well-documented and itemized claim that details how the other party was responsible for causing the accident and how you were damaged. As well, the damages will be associated with costs and the settlement amount you expect to receive as a result. A personal injury lawyer will be aggressive in pursuing compensation from the responsible party.

What are considered damages in a personal injury claim?

The nature and amount of damages varies from one claim to the next. Initially, you may not even be aware of your total damages. For instance, you may have suffered an injury that might need surgery or additional treatment in the near future but your physician is taking a wait and see approach for the time being. Filing a claim in that scenario is best done once you have a firm understanding of your total costs associated with the accident. A personal injury lawyer has experience handling cases in which the total damages are not readily apparent. Regardless the circumstances of your case, a law firm will make sure your best interests are protected.

Contact an Attorney

If you suffered a catastrophic injury in an accident caused by someone’s negligence, contact a catastrophic injury lawyer Trenton, NJ offers immediately.

Thank you to our friends and contributors at Davis & Brusca for their insight into personal injuries and what is considered a catastrophic injury.

Wrongful Death Lawyer

A victim is killed every 16 minutes in a motor vehicle crash. This means that more than 90 people die each day, 90 families lose a loved one in a fatal car accident.

Many of these tragic crashes have common factors that had they been addressed could have avoided the accidents. Instead, thousands of families are left trying to pick up the pieces – both emotionally and financially – and struggle with the death of their loved one.

Our wrongful death attorneys have worked on countless cases, helping families get the financial justice they deserve for the death of their family member. Some of the common factors we see in the wrongful death car crash cases we handle include the following:

One-Third of Fatal Car Accidents are Alcohol-Related

According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), there are more than 10,000 victims killed in car accidents that involved a driver who had a blood alcohol content that was more than the legal limit of .08 percent.

Most of the Fatal Car Crashes that Happen Occur Close to the Driver’s Home

Multiple studies show that most fatal crashes occur with a five to 15-mile radius of the driver’s home.

Distracted Driving Responsible for More Than 3,000 Fatalities Each Year

More than 3,000 people who die in crashes each year are killed in accidents caused by a distracted driver. The most common distraction that causes fatal crashes is texting and driving. These numbers continue to increase each year, despite the well-known dangerous risks.

The Deadliest Type of Crash Is a Rollover

Rollovers are the deadliest crash types and are responsible for the deaths of more victims than any other type of crash. Although rollover crashes account for less than 5 percent of crashes each year, they are responsible for 30 percent of the total number of fatalities. The reason for the high number of fatalities is caused because victims are more likely to be ejected from the vehicle in a rollover crash compared to other types of accidents. There are also a higher number of victims who suffer injuries to the head, which often results in the victim’s death.

Men Responsible for More Fatal Crashes

Multiple studies have provided conclusive evidence that men are responsible for more fatal crashes than women are. In one study that was conducted over a two-year period, men were the at-fault drivers in 65 percent of the fatal crashes that occurred during the study period.

Contact a Wrongful Death Attorney

Tragically, many car accident victims do not survive the injuries they sustain in car crashes. If you have lost a family member in a car accident caused by another party, contact a wrongful death lawyer Trenton, NJ clients recommend discussing what legal options your family may have against the party who cause the crash that killed your loved one.

Thanks to Davis & Brusca, LLC for their insight into personal injury cases and car crashes that lead to a wrongful death.