Personal injury cases vary as widely as the personal injuries themselves. When dealing with personal injury cases it is important to know the statute of limitations for bringing your case to trial.
The statute of limitations for personal injury cases varies by state for as little as 1-year to as much as 6-years depending upon the state. On this page are some high-profile personal injury cases, or case studies, if you will.
Some of the cases reported:
* A man who was traveling about 45 mph while cornering around a ramp had both front and rear tires on the left side ripped off from the rim. The truck rolled 8 times and flipped 1 1/2 times in the air. The man sustained several back injuries.
* A Ford Explorer fitted with Bridgestone tires had the left rear tire blow out causing it to roll several times. The man and woman driving were kill instantly. The left rear tire was shredded with the center missing. The tires were new and car had been serviced by authorized garage only a few days back.
* A driver in a Ford Explorer had a tire blow out and crossed the divider and hit one car, that was then struck by another car from behind. All three vehicles burned and were totaled. All involved in the accidents suffered major injuries including coma, facial scaring and injury to neck, back, arms, hands and legs.
More Cases - Drug Recalls
* Zyprexa (Olanzapine), which is prescribed for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar mania, has been linked to diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia, pancreatitis and blood sugar disorders.
* Vioxx (Rofecoxib) is a Cox-2 inhibitor that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for the treatment of arthritis, osteoarthritis, menstrual pain and for the management of acute pain in adults. Serious side effects have been noted such as kidney and cardiovascular failure and the increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
* Bextra has been a painkiller particularily popular with arthritis sufferers. However, the Cox-2 inhibitor allegedly increases the risk of stroke and heart attack in users.
* The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directed manufacturers of all antidepressant drugs to revise the labeling for their products to include a boxed warning and expanded warning statements that alert health care providers to an increased risk of suicide (suicidal thinking and behavior) in children and adolescents being.
* On 12/17/04 Pfizer revealed that one of two clinical trials showed an increased cardiovascular risk for patients taking the arthrtitis medication Celebrex. Pfizer is taking steps to discover why there is a discrepancy between the two trials, but is not removing Celebrex from the marketplace.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Personal Injury Advice
Personal injury advice is often sought after an accident. On this page, we do not offer specific personal injury advice since 1) we are publishers and not lawyers 2) every case is unique.
The personal injury advice we do offer is very general, common sense advice that will be applicable to as many people as possible.
For specific advice for your specific case, you'll want to contact a personal injury lawyer.
If you've receive a workplace injury, then report this to your employer. If you don't have time, then seek medical treatment first, then report the incident to your employer. Write a personal account of what happened and why while the details are still fresh.
Some of the other problems that one may seek personal injury advice are:
1. Medical Malpractice
2. Pharmaceuticals
3. Other vehicles: buses, trains, boats
4. Construction accidents
5. Industrial toxins
6. Defective products
7. Pedestrian accidents
8. Slip & fall
9. Nursing home injuries
10. Birth injuries
11. Brain injuries
12. Wrongful death
The personal injury advice we do offer is very general, common sense advice that will be applicable to as many people as possible.
For specific advice for your specific case, you'll want to contact a personal injury lawyer.
If you've receive a workplace injury, then report this to your employer. If you don't have time, then seek medical treatment first, then report the incident to your employer. Write a personal account of what happened and why while the details are still fresh.
Some of the other problems that one may seek personal injury advice are:
1. Medical Malpractice
2. Pharmaceuticals
3. Other vehicles: buses, trains, boats
4. Construction accidents
5. Industrial toxins
6. Defective products
7. Pedestrian accidents
8. Slip & fall
9. Nursing home injuries
10. Birth injuries
11. Brain injuries
12. Wrongful death
Car Accidents
Car accidents happen. When people get into car accidents, many things seem to happen all at once. There is shock, adrenaline rush and potential harm to yourself or someone else. After the initial disorientation, you'll soon realize that you've been thrown neck deep in the middle of a crisis.
You or someone else may be hurt. There may also be the potential for further injuries if action is not taken. You may have to flee or pull someone to safety. You may have to save yourself or a loved one from further injuries or even death.
One of the most important aspects of being in a car accident is to first attend to the crisis at hand. Call the police or 911 where available. Attend to the injured. Attend to yourself if you are injured or seek help. Once you become oriented and things calm down somewhat, there are some matters that you need to attend to just in case you would like to pursue future legal matters.
To many this will sound distasteful as it smacks of how litigious our society has become. But, preparing for a potential future lawsuit is not the same as a blatant, merit-less money grab. Your car accident may mean that you or your loved one is out of work for an extended time and there are bills to pay and a family to feed and many needs that will require your attention. Hospital bills can be enormous especially for the uninsured or underinsured. In sum, the crisis of the car accident may be over with, but a bigger and longer lasting crisis may just be starting and that is the recovery process, which means physical, emotional and financial.
If you're involved in a car accident, you don't have to think about hiring an auto accident attorney right away as this can come later. It will be prudent, however, to gather all the information that you can about the accident so that in case you'd like to hire an auto accident attorney later, or even negotiate with the insurance companies yourself, you will have information and documentation to help you with your claim.
Some of the information that can be gathered at the scene of the accident once everyone is out of danger and medical and police personnel have been called include:
* Names, addresses, phone numbers and driver's licenses of all the drivers involved
* Names, addresses and phone numbers of everyone else (passengers and pedestrians) involved
* Those who reported personal injuries right after the accident
* Those who received medical attention on the scene or who were taken from the scene for medical attention
* Did anyone appear to be under the influence of drugs or alchol and were there other witnesses to this behavior
* Location of the accident
* Names, addresses and phone numbers of witnesses to the accident
* Write down how you think the car accident happened, such as which directions the vehicles were traveling, what time of day and weather conditions
* Was there any damage to the vehicles and if so which vehicles, how much and did any of the vehicles need to be towe
* If you have a camera or video camera take photos to document the scene of the acciden
* Did anyone say they were responsible for the accident or did anyone state they may have been partially at fault and if so, who
* Did the police come, issue a ticket and what are the names of the police officers involved
You or someone else may be hurt. There may also be the potential for further injuries if action is not taken. You may have to flee or pull someone to safety. You may have to save yourself or a loved one from further injuries or even death.
One of the most important aspects of being in a car accident is to first attend to the crisis at hand. Call the police or 911 where available. Attend to the injured. Attend to yourself if you are injured or seek help. Once you become oriented and things calm down somewhat, there are some matters that you need to attend to just in case you would like to pursue future legal matters.
To many this will sound distasteful as it smacks of how litigious our society has become. But, preparing for a potential future lawsuit is not the same as a blatant, merit-less money grab. Your car accident may mean that you or your loved one is out of work for an extended time and there are bills to pay and a family to feed and many needs that will require your attention. Hospital bills can be enormous especially for the uninsured or underinsured. In sum, the crisis of the car accident may be over with, but a bigger and longer lasting crisis may just be starting and that is the recovery process, which means physical, emotional and financial.
If you're involved in a car accident, you don't have to think about hiring an auto accident attorney right away as this can come later. It will be prudent, however, to gather all the information that you can about the accident so that in case you'd like to hire an auto accident attorney later, or even negotiate with the insurance companies yourself, you will have information and documentation to help you with your claim.
Some of the information that can be gathered at the scene of the accident once everyone is out of danger and medical and police personnel have been called include:
* Names, addresses, phone numbers and driver's licenses of all the drivers involved
* Names, addresses and phone numbers of everyone else (passengers and pedestrians) involved
* Those who reported personal injuries right after the accident
* Those who received medical attention on the scene or who were taken from the scene for medical attention
* Did anyone appear to be under the influence of drugs or alchol and were there other witnesses to this behavior
* Location of the accident
* Names, addresses and phone numbers of witnesses to the accident
* Write down how you think the car accident happened, such as which directions the vehicles were traveling, what time of day and weather conditions
* Was there any damage to the vehicles and if so which vehicles, how much and did any of the vehicles need to be towe
* If you have a camera or video camera take photos to document the scene of the acciden
* Did anyone say they were responsible for the accident or did anyone state they may have been partially at fault and if so, who
* Did the police come, issue a ticket and what are the names of the police officers involved
Bad Faith Insurance Claims
If an insurance company is acting in good faith it will:
* pay or deny the claim within a reasonably prompt period of time
* provide all information that the policyholder reasonably asks fo
* explain in writing each contract term that specifies why the claim is being denied
* attempt to find valid reasons to pay the claim
* not exclusively find reasons to avoid paying the clai
* treat the policyholder's financial interests the same as their own
* investigate the claim when notified by the policyholder of the loss
* conduct a reasonable investigation based on current facts and evidence
* not offer a settlement that is substantially lower than called for in the polic
* not compel a policyholder to sue because a substantially lower settlement was offered
* not act unreasonably in settling a claim within policy limits that exposes policyholder to further financial claims (in case the policyholder was at fault in an accident)
* not attempt to settle a claim that was altered without notice to the policyholder
When thinking of going forward with a bad faith insurance claim, it is important to realize that the insurance company is not the only party that is expected to be acting in good faith. The policyholder is also held to the good faith standard as well and as such needs to submit written documentation in a timely manner, return phone calls and follow proper procedures as outlined in the policy.
If a claim is initially denied, the policyholder in most cases can appeal the decision with the insurance company and must follow the outline procedures for doing this. Most courts will not hear a case unless the plaintiff exhausts all possible appeals outlined by the insurance policy first.
It is important to note in bad faith insurance claims that when some of the policy terms are ambiguous, confusing or open to interpretation, the courts generally side with the policyholder over the insurance companies as long as the alternative way of reading the policy is deemed reasonable. States generally have a Departments of Insurance or some similar entity and more information may be gathered from this organization on this issue.
* pay or deny the claim within a reasonably prompt period of time
* provide all information that the policyholder reasonably asks fo
* explain in writing each contract term that specifies why the claim is being denied
* attempt to find valid reasons to pay the claim
* not exclusively find reasons to avoid paying the clai
* treat the policyholder's financial interests the same as their own
* investigate the claim when notified by the policyholder of the loss
* conduct a reasonable investigation based on current facts and evidence
* not offer a settlement that is substantially lower than called for in the polic
* not compel a policyholder to sue because a substantially lower settlement was offered
* not act unreasonably in settling a claim within policy limits that exposes policyholder to further financial claims (in case the policyholder was at fault in an accident)
* not attempt to settle a claim that was altered without notice to the policyholder
When thinking of going forward with a bad faith insurance claim, it is important to realize that the insurance company is not the only party that is expected to be acting in good faith. The policyholder is also held to the good faith standard as well and as such needs to submit written documentation in a timely manner, return phone calls and follow proper procedures as outlined in the policy.
If a claim is initially denied, the policyholder in most cases can appeal the decision with the insurance company and must follow the outline procedures for doing this. Most courts will not hear a case unless the plaintiff exhausts all possible appeals outlined by the insurance policy first.
It is important to note in bad faith insurance claims that when some of the policy terms are ambiguous, confusing or open to interpretation, the courts generally side with the policyholder over the insurance companies as long as the alternative way of reading the policy is deemed reasonable. States generally have a Departments of Insurance or some similar entity and more information may be gathered from this organization on this issue.
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