Personal Injury Archives | Scottsdale Personal Injury Blog

Compensation for serious injuries caused by falling objects

2017-07-14T13:07:00Z

Chances are that you or someone you know has been hurt in a fall or by a falling object. If you have been harmed in a fall or from something falling on you in a place of business, you may need to pursue a premises liability claim in order to receive compensation for your medical care, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Something as simple as a can of food in a grocery store or a trip in an unlit hallway in an apartment building can lead to serious injuries. A single falling object striking a person may results in cuts, bruises or fractures. A larger object can crush a person, cause lasting brain damage or death.

]]> Of particular concern in recent years has been catastrophic injuries caused by falling merchandise in warehouses and warehouse stores and on construction sites.

Collapsing structures

There are cases of shelves 20 feet high collapsing, and even causing a domino effect with adjacent shelving. When a forklift backs off a loading dock, there is a chance of multiple deaths.

The problem with construction sites is that the premises are often in a state of near chaos, as walkways are altered, roads are rerouted and safety zones are compromised by the task at hand.

Some falling accidents, like a hammer slipping from a worker's grip, are hard to prevent, even with safety nets and other devices.

The need for representation

It is to a business's advantage - and its customers' convenience - to have everything in one place. But without diligent organization and maintenance of stock areas and testing of them for strength, catastrophic accidents occur.

You and your family members may be entitled to compensation if an accident occurs that causes serious injuries. When negligence occurs and precautions fail, seek help recovering your losses.

Greater federal regulation of beauty products proposed

2017-05-17T21:30:00Z

Many dangers can lurk in your home. These dangers include consumer goods you bring into your home and use every day, such as beauty products.

There are a variety of ways a beauty product can expose a person to danger. For one, defects could cause these products to malfunction in a way that could cause injury. Also, such products can be dangerous if they are contaminated or contain certain chemicals.

]]> When a person is harmed by an unsafe beauty product, they may have grounds to bring a product liability claim against the product's manufacturer. Pursuing such a claim can be a complex process involving many issues and steps, so it is important for anyone considering this type of claim to promptly obtain the guidance of a skilled product liability attorney.

Federal regulation of the safety of these products can vary greatly. Currently, most beauty products are subject to fairly little in the way of federal regulation. A bill recently proposed in Congress could change this.

The bill would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a range of new regulatory authority and mandates related to such products. For example, it would give the agency the power to order recalls in relation to beauty products of questionable safety. The bill is reportedly aimed at protecting consumer health. If it ends up passing, it may eventually impact the overall safety of the beauty products typically found in people's homes.

Source: The Cut, "There Could Finally Be a Bill Regulating the Safety of Beauty Products," Kathleen Hou, May 11, 2017

Is your car accident settlement enough to pay for your losses?

2017-03-13T12:00:00Z

What do you do if you are involved in a car accident involving a motorist who has no insurance or does not have enough coverage to pay for your losses? Did you know you don't have to settle for less than you are owed? Continue reading to learn about your rights after an accident caused by someone else.

In Arizona, every vehicle on the road is required to have automobile insurance coverage. Unfortunately, some people choose not to buy coverage, believe they have coverage but don't or do not carry car insurance that is sufficient to pay for the damages they cause in accidents.

Minimum auto insurance coverage requirements in Arizona

]]> Arizona has mandatory minimum coverage requirements for automobile insurance policies as follows:

$15,000 for one injured person
$30,000 for two or more injured people
$10,000 for property damage

For example, Bob was in a motor vehicle accident caused by Sarah, and the total of his medical bills was $25,000. Sarah had only the minimum amount of insurance coverage at the time of the accident. While Sarah was clearly at fault, her insurance company will pay only $15,000 of Bob's medical bill. Additionally, if Bob's expensive car was totaled in the accident, Sarah's insurance would pay only up to $10,000 for damage to his vehicle.

Your insurance company may make up the difference

If the at-fault driver does not have insurance or that person's insurance company doesn't pay for all of your losses, you may file a claim for the balance from your auto insurance carrier. Your uninsured or underinsured motorist policy provision is for just this purpose. In the example above, Bob may seek the remaining $10,000 balance of his medical bills from his own insurance company.

However, your insurance company may be unwilling to pay you all you are owed.

A lawsuit may be necessary to get what you need

Insurance companies do not like to pay claims. They are in the business of making money, not spending it paying benefits to their customers or to those harmed by their customers. Carriers engage in many tactics designed to discourage accident victims from seeking more money, including:

Denying claims
Making low-ball settlements offers
Negotiating in bad faith
Delaying payments
Repeatedly requesting additional information
Failing to treat claimants fairly

If you believe you are not getting what you deserve after an accident, it is important to talk to a personal injury attorney before you agree to anything involving your claim. It doesn't cost you anything to find out about your options.

How to Protect Yourself from Government Ban on Lawsuits and Damages

2017-03-08T19:39:39Z

Responsibility and accountability - even for the powerful - are rooted in the core of our legal system. This country's founders knew that a democracy needs a court system that empowers people to protect themselves by holding the powerful accountable. That's why the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by jury.

]]> The founders feared unaccountable power like the King of England had over his "subjects." Twenty-first century America may not have a king, but it does have billion-dollar corporations impacting every part of every person's life. These corporations now seek the kind of unaccountable power our founders sought to protect against, and they're seeking that power by destroying your Constitutional right to a trial by jury.

Politicians who are in the pockets of large corporations and insurance companies have devised a plan specifically aimed at destroying our right to hold those in power accountable for their misdeeds. Their plain is to enact laws that will all but destroy your right to use the judicial system to protect yourself. They have introduced bills which, if passed, will enact arbitrary changes to courts all across the country, including the following:

Limiting compensation for injuries caused by medical professionals, including doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and medical device manufacturers, to $250,000.00 regardless of how much that injury devastated your life or the extent of malfeasance by the medical professional or company;
Eliminating class-action lawsuits, which would essentially destroy the ability to bring the kinds of cases that keep us safe;
Eliminating individual state laws regarding lawsuits and forcing all cases to federal court; and,
Allowing insurance companies to make "payments" rather than paying full compensation.

We must tell our government to put people first and stop trampling on our rights. Adelman German has always protected citizens of Arizona by demanding everyone is treated fairly, regardless of gender, race, or economic status. Please join us in demanding Congress do the same. We must band together and contact our representatives to demand they say NO to these outrageous attacks on our rights. Go to each link below and tell them NO!

· Protect your rights: www.takejusticeback.com/ProtectMyRightToFight

· Class actions: http://www.takejusticeback.com/StopHR985

· Medical malpractice: http://www.takejusticeback.com/ProtectPatients

Hit by an uninsured or under-insured driver?

2017-02-03T13:19:27Z

Were you hit by someone with little or no insurance? This is why it's so important to have UM/UIM coverage.

Imagine you're involved in a violent crash caused by another driver and you're seriously injured. Maybe you have a brain injury, spinal cord injury, or damaged internal organs. Your car is totaled. You just took a $1,000 ambulance ride, you're missing work, and you're lying in a hospital bed thinking, "At least this crash wasn't my fault, so I'll be okay financially."

Unfortunately, that's often not the way things work out. While Arizona does require drivers to carry liability insurance (which pays for injuries a person causes when it's that person's fault), it only requires $15,000 in coverage. This is the State minimum, and many drivers out there have the minimum because it's the least expensive option. Some drivers have no insurance at all.

Consider this example: You have $100,000 in medical bills. You've missed a lot of work. Even if you have health insurance, you have a big deductible, and there are a lot of expenses that just aren't covered. You are told you might never fully recover, and may have pain for years or longer. The driver who turned your life upside down has $15,000 in liability insurance. His insurance company agrees it was his fault and pays you the $15,000. (Usually drivers with these minimal policies have no additional money to pay you with, so you're stuck with their insurance limit.) You could be responsible for the remaining $85,000 in medical bills, and other expenses. You've also lost wages, you can no longer play with your kids, and you may never be able to work in the same type of job you had before. You deserve much more than $15,000 but that's all you're going to get from the other driver.

So what can you do to protect yourself if this happens to you? Make sure you have Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage on your own auto insurance policy. UM coverage pays for your damages when they're caused by someone who has no liability insurance, and UIM coverage pays when the damages are caused by someone who doesn't have enough. And, make sure to get as much UM/UIM as you can under your policy! Sometimes people choose high liability limits, but they get minimum limits on UM/UIM, which makes no sense. By doing this, you are protecting other people but failing to provide as much protection as possible for you and the people you care about most.

It's relatively inexpensive to add UM/UIM to your policy, and it's well worth it if you're stuck in a scenario like the one described above. All too often we see people in this predicament who wish they had purchased UM/UIM coverage.

FYI, under Arizona law your insurance carrier is not allowed to raise your premiums for making a claim if the accident was not your fault. This would apply to UM/UIM claims.

The moral of the story: drive safely, and protect yourself against others who don't, by having UM/UIM coverage on your auto insurance policy.

If you have questions, please contact us at https://adelmangerman.com

Vicious dog in the neighborhood?

2017-01-27T15:04:58Z

Take action before the dog bites someone. (Or attacks again.)

Arizona is a strict liability state for dog bites. Dog owners are liable for any injuries their pets inflict. It's great that this remedy exists to compensate victims of dog attacks. But maybe it should never come to that point.

While there is no law against owning a "dangerous breed" as a pet, Maricopa County does provide remedies when individual dogs have bitten people or displayed vicious behavior. It may be up to you to make sure that your neighborhood is safe from a menacing dog.

]]> No dangerous breeds, just dangerous dogs

In some states, certain breeds like pit bulls are prohibited because of their supposed propensity for violence. As of 2016, Arizona is one of a handful of "preemption" states that prevents communities from enacting breed-specific ordinances. Don't punish the whole breed because of a few bad apples.

But the fact remains that dogs sometimes attack, from Rottweilers to retrievers. Maricopa County protects citizens from dangerous dogs.

Ordinance requires that all dog bites be reported to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC). Give a description - breed (if known) and size, color and markings, location of the attack, owner (if known).
The MCAAC also encourages citizens to report other incidents or potentially dangerous dogs. This includes non-bite attacks and menacing behavior, such as a dog that chased children, a dog that attacked other pets or a chained dog that growls and lunges at passersby. Also report stray dogs, dogs loose on school grounds and leash law violations. Report a bite or incident.
After a report of a dog bite, the dog must be quarantined for 10 days as a rabies precaution. The MCAAC can remove the dog from the home or it may allow the dog to be confined at the owner's residence. The owner must pay any quarantine costs.
Dog bite victims and concerned neighbors can file a vicious dog petition. The MCAAC determines whether the animal is vicious. If the dog is deemed to pose no public threat, it is released to the owner after quarantine.
If the dog is deemed vicious, the MCAAC can impose a range of measures, up to and including euthanization. Short of putting the dog down, the owner might be required to post "dangerous dog" signage, purchase liability insurance, have the dog spayed or neutered and/or keep their pet indoors or in a locked pen.

If a bite or attack occurs ...

Remember, owners are presumed liable for dog bites and attacks, even if the incident occurs on the owner's property or while the dog is on a leash, and even if the dog has never acted viciously in the past. The only defenses are provocation or trespassing. Otherwise dog owners must compensate victims for their injuries and losses. A personal injury lawyer can explain your rights and help to secure full and timely damages.