Law enforcement: don't forget about personal injury law

A short dramatization of a real life event goes something like this: patrol officer's cruiser gets T-boned by a beer truck. According to the field sobriety tests and post-accident blow above the legal limit, it was clear that the beer man had been enjoying a little of the sudsy goodness while on-the-clock. Officer was severely injured and required substantial leave to recover, and the driver was terminated by his employer well before his plea was entered as to the DUI charge.
The driver served his "time" and is now doing whatever it is that former beer truck drivers do post-termination and misdemeanor sentence. As to the officer, however, the story will probably never end. According to the state workers' compensation system, he reached "maximum medical improvement" shortly after his second back surgery, but was graciously allowed additional sessions of physical therapy on the state's dime. The reality is that he will never fully recover, at least not to his pre-accident condition.
The point of telling the officer's story is two-fold. First, without an official statistic, the law enforcement community must be one of the largest demographics to seek benefits under state workers' compensation schemes for no other reason than the physical demands of the job. It is a process that needs to be understood well in advance of an injury. Second, in cases similar to the one above, recovery is not necessarily limited to workers' compensation benefits. The officer can and did sue the company that employed the drunk driver.
We will discuss general workers' compensation concepts ad nauseam in the future. For now, just like the civilian public, understand that law enforcement officers can file suit against negligent parties who cause workplace injuries. In the case above, the drunk driver was not the official target of the civil suit, but rather the deeper pocket--the driver's employer. Personal injury lawsuits are not about justice, they are about money.
In such cases, where benefits were provided by workers' compensation, the officer's recovery against the beer company no longer belonged entirely to him. Through the legal doctrine known as subrogation, the workers' compensation insurer became a settlement partner. Now there are certain nuances that may apply to limit or eliminate subrogation, such as the "made whole rule" that some states follow, but the reality is that an insurer will most often get a piece of the pie if it asserts subrogation rather than insurance arbitration.
The whole interplay between insurance and personal injury recovery sounds complex and it is. The point to understand though is that officers are not limited to workers' compensation benefits if injured on the job by a negligent third party. Sharing the settlement with insurer may in some cases make the recovery bitter sweet, but workers' compensation, as limited and frustrating as it can be to deal with, must pay whereas the targets of civil litigation may pay. Workers' compensation benefits kick in relatively quickly. As for the officer above, his civil settlement was negotiated a little over two years from the date of the injury.


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Morton & Gettys adds personal injury lawyer

Richards McCrae has joined the law firm of Morton & Gettys as its personal injury practice group leader.He will be based out of the firm's office on Oakland Avenue in Rock Hill.
A Fort Mill native, McCrae graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2001 and went on to earn his law degree from USC School of Law in 2004. Prior to joining Morton & Gettys, McCrae was an attorney with Chappell, Smith & Arden in Columbia, where he practiced personal injury law.
“In a relatively short period, Richards has built a solid reputation across the state,” said John Gettys, managing partner and co-founder of Morton & Gettys.“We're pleased to have his name on the letterhead.”McCrae serves as a volunteer coach for the Springfield Middle School Mock Trial team.He's a big Gamecocks fan and enjoys reading about American and European history.
Morton & Gettys has offices in Rock Hill, Indian Land and York. Founded in 2001, the firm has seven attorneys and 11 support staff and paralegals.

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Mail Carrier Could Be Behind Hit And Run Accident

Just three weeks ago, a mail carrier in Tracy, California was involved in a hit and run accident. The mail carrier wasn’t the victim, however, but rather the culprit of the crash. On Wednesday, June 24th, the mail carrier was on duty and delivering mail to his usual route. According to the California Highway Patrol, the man was turning left onto a side street when he made the turn too early, heading straight into a car coming from the opposite direction on the side street. The car was being driven by a 17-year old boy who lived in the area. In order to avoid a head-on collision with the mail carrier’s vehicle, the boy swerved right. To his right, however, was a ditch. He drove straight into the ditch and crash into a tree and a truck that was parked next to it.

Although the boy lived to tell his tell, he was injured in the crash. He reportedly received a number of cuts and deep bruises. He also incurred lacerations where his seatbelt actually cut into his hip in impact. The lacerations and possibly some of his other injuries required medical attention and stitches. To make matters worse, the mail carrier did not stop the help the boy get out of his car or the ditch. The mail carrier offered two different stories to police when questioned, the first being that he drove away without realizing the crash had occurred. He said he returned after a motorist who had seen the crash caught up with him and told him what had happened. In his second story, the mail carrier said that he stopped his vehicle and watched as the boy’s car went into the ditch. He did not, however, see the boy crash into the tree or the truck, so he drove away, believing the boy to be all right.

Regardless of which story is true, the mail carrier may be charged with hit and run. According to the California Highway Patrol, the mail carrier was driving negligently and, therefore, responsible for the boy’s crash. When a driver is responsible for a car accident, whether his vehicle was directly involved or not, it is against the law in California for the responsible driver to leave the scene of the accident until he is allowed to do so by police. The mail carrier did not even call the police following the accident he caused. If you or someone you love has been injured in a hit and run accident similar to the one that happened in Tracy, California on June 24th, you should contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney immediately. A Los Angeles personal injury attorney can help you and your loved one receive the reimbursement you need to cover your medical bills and compensate you for the pain and suffering you’ve been forced to bear. Car accidents occur all year long throughout California and the rest of the country because of negligent drivers like the mail carrier in Tracy, making it important for you to hire an experienced and qualified personal injury attorney to help you win your injury claim.

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Black Butte Reservoir watercraft collision seriously injures 3!

Legal news for California attorneys representing personal injury plaintiffs. A personal watercraft collision at the Black Butte Reservoir leaves three teens injured.
Tehama County Sheriff alerts California personal injury attorneys- personal watercraft collision at the Black Butte Reservoir resulted in a traumatic brain injury.
Red Bluff, CA—A collision between two personal watercrafts left two friends critically injured at the Black Butte Reservoir. The accident occurred on Sunday, July 27, 2009, as reported by the Chico Enterprise-Record.
According to the Tehama County Sheriff’s Officials, Craig Robert Lohse, 19, of Glenn was reportedly driving the watercraft with another passenger on board, where it is believed he turned into the path of another oncoming watercraft. Lohse’s friend, Jamison Parker, 19, of Orland was driving the other watercraft when the collision occurred. Boaters who witnessed the accident reportedly pulled the two young men from the water and brought them to a nearby boat ramp. Both Lohse and Parker suffered severe injuries and were airlifted by helicopter to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico for treatment of their critical injuries. According to medical professionals treating Lohse, he has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and internal injuries in the wreck. Parker reportedly suffered broken bones. Franklin Krepelka, 19, of Chico, the passenger on Lohse’s watercraft sustained injuries but opted to seek medical attention on his own. The passenger aboard Parkers watercraft reportedly did not suffer any injuries. The Lohse family released a statement saying, “we ask that people please pray for Craig to recover, and we thank everyone for their prayers and support.”


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Lawyers say limits on their ads unconstitutional

The new rules, scheduled to take effect on Oct. 1, set limits on lawyers' use of mottos, celebrity endorsements, re-enactments, client testimonials and other advertising methods.

The disciplinary board says the new rules adopted by the Louisiana Supreme Court are designed to curb deceptive ads, but the suits claim they impose unconstitutional restrictions on freedom of expression.

James Garner, a lawyer for personal injury attorney Morris Bart, said the Supreme Court's rules are "very paternalistic and inconsistent."

"The road to violating the First Amendment was paved with good intentions," he said. "They just didn't do it the right way."


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Teen awarded personal injury settlement, half goes to lawyers

After a year of litigation, Coca-Cola has settled a suit in which the soda company was blamed for failing to reduce the risk of delivering soda.

As the Southeast Texas Record reported last June, Gwen Deal filed suit against Coca-Cola on her 16-year-old daughter's behalf, claiming one of the company's delivery men rolled a dolly over the girl's foot.

On July 29, Coca-Cola agreed to a settlement. Of the $6,000 awarded to the plaintiff, nearly half will go towards attorney's fees and court costs.

Court papers show Deal's daughter, Kimberly, was shopping at the Beaumont Wal-Mart two years ago when a Coca-Cola employee pushed a dolly loaded with soda over her foot, "resulting in injuries and damages."

During the settlement hearing in Judge Milton Shuffield's 136th District Court, Deal testified that she wasn't with her daughter at the time of the incident, but that Kimberly had returned home complaining of pain in her foot.

Deal also testified that she plans on using her daughter's portion of the settlement, $3,700, to pay for her tuition when Kimberly enrolls at Lamar University next semester.

In her suit, Deal had claimed Coca-Cola had a duty to "protect the general public" from the "dangers" of making soda deliveries.

Deal's suit was filed June 9, 2008, in the Jefferson County District Court and she denied any contributory negligence on her daughter's behalf.

"Defendant knew of the danger of pushing a loaded dolly near the general public," the suit says. "Defendant failed to exercise ordinary care to reduce or eliminate the risk."

Deal was represented by Tom Oxford, attorney for the Waldman Smallwood law firm.

Coca-Cola was represented by attorney Peter Bambace.

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Gig Harbor attorney honored in ‘Best Lawyers’ magazine

Paul N. Luvera of Gig Harbor has been named as the “Seattle Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigator of the Year” for 2009 by “Best Lawyers,” the nation’s oldest legal publication.

Luvera is the first person in Washington to be so honored by the publication.

Best Lawyers compiles a list of outstanding attorneys by conducting peer-review surveys during which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.

The current, 15th edition of The Best Lawyers in America is based on more than 2.5 million evaluations. The publication makes its selection exclusively from the surveys.

Luvera has been selected for listing in the personal injury section each year since the publication began 25 years ago.

Luvera is a founding partner in the Seattle law firm of Luvera, Barnett, Brindley, Beninger and Cunningham. Other members of the firm who were selected for listing in the current publication are Joel Cunningham, Ralph Brindley and David Beninger.


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The NJ Personal Injury Law Firm of Keefe Bartels Clark Returns to New Brunswick New Jersey

New Brunswick, NJ, August 03, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The personal injury, consumer fraud, and asbestos law firm of Keefe Bartels Clark has marked its proud return to New Brunswick and Middlesex County with the opening of its newest office at 127 Livingston Avenue. This office will offer the citizens of New Brunswick, East Brunswick, North Brunswick, Franklin Township, South River, Sayreville, Piscataway and other surrounding Middlesex and Somerset communities with convenient access to the law firm. Keefe Bartels Clark also has additional offices located in Red Bank, Newark, and Edison New Jersey.

The new Middlesex County office in New Brunswick, New Jersey marks a return for Keefe Bartels Clark back to the Middlesex County seat on a number of levels. Several of the firm’s partners, Of-Counsel, and associates have strong roots in the county and surrounding towns.

The Keefe family has maintained roots in New Brunswick since the late 1800s. The parents of Judge John Keefe, now Of-Counsel to the firm, grew up in New Brunswick. The Judge and his wife were brought up in the 6th Ward and attended St. Peter The Apostle High School. The Judge graduated from Rutgers University and went on to graduate from Rutgers Law School. After law school, Judge Keefe began a remarkable career in law as a civil trial attorney, culminating in a twenty five year stint as a Superior Court judge. He retired from the judiciary in 2001 as a presiding Judge of the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.

John E. Keefe, Jr., managing member of Keefe Bartels Clark and son of Judge John Keefe has also been rooted in New Brunswick for most of his life and career. After graduating from Gettysburg College and Seton Hall University School of Law, Mr. Keefe went on to become an associate attorney at Wilentz, Goldman, and Spitzer law firm in Woodbridge, New Jersey. In 1995, Mr. Keefe became a partner in the law firm, Lynch Martin, and is now a founding member and co-managing member of the New Jersey personal injury law firm of Keefe Bartels Clark with offices in Red Bank, Newark, Edison, and now New Brunswick. Class actions and consumer fraud cases have made up a substantial portion of Mr. Keefe’s legal practice, howevehe has also represented a number of seriously injured victims on the local New Jersey level including a Middlesex County detective that was killed in a car accident while off duty.


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Lawyer who embezzled from survivors disbarred

BERLIN (JTA) -- A lawyer who won reparations for Holocaust survivors in the 1990s was disbarred in New Jersey after he swindled some of the very survivors he helped.
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday found that Edward Fagan had taken $350,000 from the accounts of survivors Gizelle Weisshaus, Estelle Sapir and others without their permission to pay his bills. The court also reportedly froze his assets.
Fagan also was disbarred last year in New York on an unrelated case.
John McGill, the attorney who brought the case against Fagan 10 years ago, told the Swiss Jewish weekly Tachles  that he was pleased with the outcome.
"After all these years, justice has finally triumphed," McGill said.
Fagan had participated in class-action suits in the 1990s against Swiss banks, German firms and other entities on behalf of survivors, helping win more than $1 billion for more than 30,000 survivors. He earned millions in fees, but told the court that he used the money to pay off debts and fulfill the terms of a $2.6 million divorce settlement.
The New Jersey Law Journal reported Wednesday that Fagan was found guilty of "knowing misappropriation of client and escrow funds," withdrawing money from their accounts without their permission and using it to pay the rent on his law office in New York.
Fagan had argued that eh had not intended to betray his clients, but that his bookkeeping had been disorderly, partly through no fault of his own. But the court said Fagan needed merely to document any work he had done for which he had not been paid.
Fagan has brought 80 lawsuits since 2000, none of which has succeeded. Tachles reported that New Jersey court documents showed that Fagan owed more than $15 million to former clients and creditors who had backed his lawsuits.

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Lawyer Edward Fagan is disbarred in N.J. for misusing Holocaust victims' funds

TRENTON -- Only a few years ago, Edward Fagan was a world-renowned lawyer for the underdog, brash and audacious enough to take on Swiss banks and even whole countries to win judgments for Holocaust survivors and victims of South African apartheid.
This week, the Supreme Court announced he was barred from practicing law in New Jersey, completing one of the steepest falls from grace in the state's law community.
The court found Fagan, 56, misappropriated nearly $400,000 of the money he won for the victims he so effectively championed.
The justices agreed with the Disciplinary Review Board that Fagan knowingly misused client and escrow trust funds and was also punished for his "conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation." Fagan was disbarred in New York in December.
"Somebody's life work that goes bad in such a negative way ... that's the sad part," said Jeannette Bernstein, the niece of Estelle Sapir, a Holocaust victim and former client of Fagan's who had "entrusted" him with "everything."
"I think the survivors were badly serviced by him," Bernstein said. "He worked very hard but along the way, he lost us somewhere.
He walked away with millions, and for him to end up doing what he did, is unconscionable."
Fagan said in an e-mail he had no comment on the court's order.
When he appeared before the court last week, Fagan said he "didn't misappropriate a penny of client funds."
Fagan did not deny he had taken money from Gizella Weisshaus, a Holocaust survivor he represented, after putting it in his own personal trust fund. He said he was "entitled" to the money -- more than $80,000 -- she owed him for work he had done.
But Fagan could not produce all of the records showing he had done that work.
"I was a terrible bookkeeper," he told the court, saying the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics had stolen his documents.
Fagan initially worked with large law firms in Manhattan and New Jersey, including the Morristown law firm formerly known as Shanley & Fisher, defending tobacco companies and asbestos producers against personal injury claims. But he got fed up with that and tried to make it big on the other side -- by representing those who had personal injury claims to make.
That led him to work for skiers killed in a fire on a lift in Austria and a 2002 legal action against Swiss banks, claiming their financial dealings had helped extend South Africa's apartheid regime.
He gained international attention by being the first to file suit against Swiss banks for Holocaust survivors. In the class-action case, he and other lawyers eventually got a $1.25 billion settlement for thousands of clients in 1998.
Elan Steinberg, the former executive director of the World Jewish Congress, said when the case began, he was "critical" of lawyers like Fagan, who charged fees for the survivors they represented.
Steinberg, who knew Fagan, described his misappropriation of client funds as a "tragedy twice over" for Holocaust victims.
"There's something also particularly poignant here, in that the effort was trying to achieve justice and this terrible turn of events makes this particularly bitter," Steinberg said.
During the ethics probe, Fagan testified he grew up in a conservative Jewish home in Texas, where the Holocaust was frequently discussed.
He described traveling to Israel, first for school and then for a brief stint in the military during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. When he decided to become a lawyer, after spending time in Israel and teaching Jewish education classes in the Midwest, he said he wanted to help people who had suffered.
But the ethics report detailed several lapses in Fagan's career. John McGill, the ethics attorney representing the state, said he was not surprised at the court's decision, because there was "overwhelming evidence of guilt" in Fagan's record.
Weisshaus, 79, who survived Auschwitz and lives in Brooklyn, said Fagan still owes her money from her settlement.
"I'm not going to go after him because he claims he's broke," she said. "This is all right for the time being."


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Daytona Florida Car Accidents - Expertise from Florida personal injury law firm

Daytona Beach, Florida (CaymanMama.com) — Car accidents including auto and truck accidents are the leading causes of death in the country, killing nearly 400,000 people annually and injuring over three million. Sadly, vehicle accidents are also the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35 in the U.S.
Those statistics are as scary as the consequences. Victims of auto accidents and their families often suffer from tremendous mental, emotional, and financial anguish, spending a great deal of time undergoing hospital treated and can rack up immense medical expenses. In the worse cases, accident victims suffer from permanent disability or even loss of life.
Car accident victims are encouraged to seek aggressive legal recourse for help in recovering those losses under Florida law. The Daytona Beach area auto accident attorneys of Rue & Ziffra have over 25 years of experience in obtaining the legal compensation those victims are rightly entitled to.
Accident victims residing in Orlando, Palm Bay, Lakeland, Melbourne, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs, Sanford, and surrounding areas may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
If you or someone you love has been involved in a car accident in Central Florida, do not waste any more time.

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Pharmacy Malpractice & Medication Error Personal Injury Cases on the Rise

The Law Office of Donald W. Singleton (a personal injury attorney in Cumming GA) is focusing on negligence by pharmacies when filling patient prescriptions that can result in serious injuries, from long term or permanent disability to wrongful death. These types of errors are growing and are far more common than most patients realize. Prescription errors can come from large national drug store chains, the local drug store or the pharmacy in a hospital. No matter who is at fault, the responsible party needs to be held accountable for pharmacy malpractice. The Law Office of Donald W. Singleton is uniquely positioned to represent clients who have been injured by a medication error or pharmacy malpractice.
Cumming, GA (PRWEB) June 25, 2009 -- The Law Office of Donald W. Singleton (a personal injury attorney in Cumming GA) is focused on pharmacy malpractice from the misfilling of prescriptions that can result in serious injuries to patients. When a pharmacist makes a prescription error the consequences can be catastrophic to the patient. Patients may suffer serious injury, long term or permanent disability or even wrongful death from a prescription error or pharmacy error. These types of errors are growing and are far more common than most patients realize. Prescription errors can come from large national drug store chains, the local drug store or the pharmacy in a hospital. No matter who is at fault, the responsible party needs to be held accountable for pharmacy malpractice.
The Law Office of Cumming, GA attorney Donald W. Singleton provides expert pharmacy negligence representation for clients who have suffered injuries resulting from a pharmacy prescription error or pharmacy malpractice. They understand the interaction of drugs and the consequences of mixing medications or taking the incorrect dosage of a medicine. Often these errors are caused by drugs having similar names and spellings. In addition, hospital patients can be given incorrect dosages of a prescription drug due to errors by hospital pharmacies. The firm has expert knowledge of pharmacology and when needed, hires additional pharmacology and medical experts to review cases involving prescription errors. Their goal is to obtain fair and just compensation for the victims in pharmacy malpractice claims involving a prescription error. Because of their extensive pharmaceutical background, they are uniquely positioned to represent clients who have been injured by a medication error or pharmacy malpractice.
Personal injury lawyer Donald Singleton said, "The injuries resulting from a medication error or misfilled prescription can have severe consequences to a patient and their family. These types of errors can manifest themselves in injuries from elevated blood pressure to extremely severe impairments such as heart attacks, strokes and wrongful death. The firm's attorneys understand how to deal with insurance companies and the legal complexities in pharmacy malpractice claims. Everyone who is injured by a pharmacy's medicine errors deserves compensation for their injury. Our firm is committed to getting our clients the best possible settlement from a prescription error or pharmacy malpractice."
Donald Singleton, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1987 and earned a law degree from Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1990. Founded in 2000, the Law Office of Donald W. Singleton is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Georgia Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association (Treasurer 2000-2002), the Brain Injury Association of Georgia and the Atlanta Lawyers Club. The firm is authorized to practice in all state trial courts as well as the bars in the United States District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court, the Georgia Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The firm has attained Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards and is ranked as Very High to Preeminent within the legal community.

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