Heller & Richmond, Ltd.

When someone is physically or emotionally injured, or their personal property is damaged, it is considered in law to be a “Personal Injury”. The laws covering personal injury allow the injured party to receive compensation for damages caused by someone else’s carelessness, negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions. Personal injury law is also called “tort” law. States and the Federal government have enacted tort laws for the protection of your rights. Tort actions have three elements: there must be a legal duty between the defendant (the one doing the wrong) and the plaintiff (the person injured); there must be a breach of that duty; and, damage must occur because of that breach. When all three elements take place, a personal injury, or tort, has occurred. The laws of our society places demands on all citizens not to harm others. This means that not only should people be safe from harm, but their possessions also. Whenever someone else harms you or something that belongs to you, they become liable to answer to the tort laws governing the situation. Liability can be caused by intentional acts, torts, or by negligence. An intentional act is one designed to cause harm or injury. The person committing the act wants to harm you. A negligent act occurs when someone fails to take appropriate action and you are harmed as a result of that failure. For instance, if an angry person throws a brick through your car window, that is an intentional tort (it may also be a criminal action). On the other hand, if a careless driver runs into your car, that is a negligence tort. In the first case, the defendant wanted to cause an injury; in the second case, the defendant did not want to injure you but failed to take the appropriate action to prevent injury. In both cases, the defendant had a duty not to injure you or your property, because our laws and society create that duty. The duty was breached by the intentional or negligent actions of the defendant, and damage to your person or property resulted. Another form of personal injury law covers “strict liability”. Strict liability means that there is responsibility whether or not negligence was involved. This is usually applied to situations which are in themselves abnormally or inherently dangerous. This concept also occurs in the area of product liability. Manufacturers are charged with the responsibility of assuring that their product is safe when used as directed. If someone is injured by a product, under the terms of strict liability they do not have to prove intent or negligence, only that the product was defective through no fault of their own, and that harm was done. Once a personal injury has occurred, the defendant has a liability to make good the damage done. “Damages” is the term for whatever is owed to you to compensate you for your loss. Damages can be agreed upon by you and the injuring party, through insurance settlements, or by other means. But often the damages offered to you may not fully compensate you for your loss. This is especially true if you have suffered physical injury and have not been able to work. Personal injury law is the mechanism for determining who is in the wrong, or in other words, who is “liable”, and what the liable person should have to pay for the damage caused. If you are the victim of a personal injury, there are several things you can do to help yourself. First of all, make sure that you seek proper medical attention and that you follow up with the proper authorities and your own insurance company. If you believe your injury was caused by the carelessness or intentional act of another, you may want to contact an attorney to discuss this. You should call as soon as it is convenient to do so and avoid discussing the matter with strangers and/or insurance representatives who are not from your own insurance company. You should be cooperative with the police, your own treating physicians, and your own insurance company. Most personal injury cases are covered by a statute of limitations, which means that you only have a certain period of time in which you can file a lawsuit.

Wrongful death is the term used when someone causes the death of another person. The death may be caused by the actions of someone or by their failure to act (neglect). Wrongful death is a civil action rather than a criminal action. Since the person killed (decedent) cannot file suit or collect damages, it is the family or representatives of the estate that do so. The intent is to recompense family members who have suffered monetarily and emotionally from the death. Damages can be assessed for lost wages and benefits, loss of companionship, and emotional pain and suffering caused by the trauma. A defendant can only be held responsible for a wrongful death if it can be proved that the defendant's conduct was the cause of the death. It must be proved that the death would not have occurred without the defendant's act. The time between the defendant's action and the death of the decedent is not a factor as long as it can be proved that the defendant's action was the cause of death. If it can be shown that the decedent was partially responsible for his death, then he may be found to have comparative or contributory negligence and dependent upon the state in which the incident occurred, damages may be awarded based on the percentage of negligence imputed to the decedent. Also, if the decedent failed to seek appropriate medical care and that failure led to his death, there may be no grounds for a wrongful death claim or a reduction to an award. Different states have different methods for deciding who may file a wrongful death suit and who may recover damages. Generally, it must be shown that the death was caused by another's wrongful act; that the act was such that the decedent would have been due damages from the act; and that monetary damages did arise from the act. If these three criteria are met, it is possible that a wrongful death claim can be filed. In a case of wrongful death, damages are assessed to compensate family members for their loss. There are many ways in which damages can be calculated. Since damages can be awarded in a number of areas, it is important to examine each one carefully. The most obvious loss in a case of wrongful death is the actual expense occasioned by medical and death expenses. These are usually easy to determine. Less obvious but equally important is the loss of future earnings and benefits, as well as the loss of companionship. These damages are more difficult to calculate and include anticipating the lifespan and earnings of the decedent, as well as the relationship to remaining family members. Loss of companionship is very difficult to calculate since it is totally subjective and does not lend itself to empirical measurements. It is a measure of the emotional pain and suffering experienced by the survivors. A final area of damages is punitive damages. This is an amount awarded to punish the person who caused the death, rather than to compensate for a specific loss. It can typically only be awarded when the action of the defendant was intentional or grossly negligent.

Doctors, nurses and other health care providers spend a great deal of time learning how to treat a great variety of illnesses and physical maladies. As a group they are professionals dedicated to helping alleviate the ailments that can plague mankind. Unfortunately, health care providers can also make mistakes. When mistakes are made the effects can be devastating. In fact, according to the National Academy of Sciences, approximately 98,000 Americans die from "medical mistakes" each year. Medical malpractice is a form of negligence involving a medical treatment provider. If someone is injured as a result of a treatment provider's digression from the standard of care, that treater may be liable for the injury that has occurred. The determination of whether a medical professional has met the standard of care is based on a comparison to other professionals in the same field and the same geographical region. In other words, what would a reasonably competent medical professional practicing in the same field as the defendant, and in the same area of the defendant, do under the circumstances that the defendant was facing with respect to care and treatment of the patient? Medical malpractice does not occur every time there is a bad outcome from treatment. It is simply a duty to provide good care according to the accepted standards of the community and/or the accepted standards of a particular medical specialty. The law generally recognizes the practice of medicine as an "art" rather than as an exact science. Therefore, some latitude is given to practitioners with respect to the manner in which they choose to address the problems of specific patients.

Cerebral palsy is a permanent and irreversibly crippling condition that affects the central nervous system. Most victims develop the disability before birth or shortly after. While cerebral palsy can occur under the best medical care, many cases are caused by negligence at the time of birth or during the newborn period before the child leaves the hospital. If this is the case, there may be grounds for a suit for damages. Anything that interferes with the development of the nervous system, or causes oxygen or nutrition to the brain to fail, can contribute to cerebral palsy. At the time of birth, oxygen loss can occur from uncorrected problems with the umbilical cord, damage to the placenta which causes the blood supply to the fetus to be compromised or fetal distress arising from the fetus being stuck in the birth canal. After birth, especially in premature births, cerebral palsy can arise from untreated complications with the cardiovascular, respiratory or digestive system, and from untreated seizures. In all these cases, it is possible that damage could have been avoided or that improper medical procedures contributed to the problem. Symptoms of cerebral palsy include spasticity, seizures, delayed or abnormal development, paralysis, and mental retardation. Cerebral palsy victims require specialized care and therapy and will need assistance throughout their lives, depending on the severity of the disorder. Added to the cost of such intensive long-term care is the loss of enjoyment of life that the victim experiences.

Every year millions of people are injured in motor vehicle accidents. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury in the United States for people ages 1-34. Many vehicle manufacturers have made safety improvements to their vehicles including air bags, rollover bars, reinforced frames, better tires, etc. Additionally, many states have passed tougher drunk driving laws. As a result, many lives may have been spared. However, with an ever increasing number of vehicles on the road, motor vehicle accidents still occur with alarming frequency. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every 10 seconds someone in the United States is involved in a car accident.

When a pedestrian or a motor vehicle comes into contact with a moving train the outcome is almost always tragic. Sometimes accidents involving trains occur due to the negligence of the driver of the motor vehicle or pedestrian. However, sometimes the train engineer, the railroad, or another party may be liable. Railroad crossings are sometimes substandard or in disrepair. Sometimes crossings are not secured by crossbars and the vision of approaching vehicles may be obscured by another stopped train.

Each year thousands of construction workers are injured or killed in construction site accidents. Even though construction companies are typically obligated to inspect each site with safety engineers and provide safety programs, accidents still occur. Generally, an injured worker cannot sue his or her own employer for injuries arising out of work related activities; however, if it can be shown that a third party's negligence caused the injuries, that party can be held liable. Additionally, in some instances workers may be injured at a construction site due to their own inadvertence or due to a condition that was no person's fault. When a worker is injured due to his or her own negligence or that of his or her employer, or due to a condition which was nobody's fault, that injured party can still receive compensation in most states through Workers Compensation. Workers' Compensation Acts provide benefits to workers who are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment. The benefits under Workers' Comp include weekly payments based on a percentage of the employee's average weekly wage for temporary total disability, partial disability, permanent and total disability and permanent loss of function and disfigurement. Workers' Comp also covers medical expenses for treatment that is reasonable, necessary and related to the industrial injury and vocational rehabilitation services. In some instances, however, a third party is to blame for injuries that occur on the job site. When a construction site accident occurs, the owners, architects, and manufacturers of equipment can be held responsible for inadequate safety provisions. The general contractor and all subcontractors are required to provide a reasonably safe site, to warn of hazards inherent in the site and work, to hire careful employees, to coordinate job safety and to supervise compliance with safety specifications. Manufacturers of construction equipment are responsible for designing and maintaining safe products. Defective or dangerous products may include the following: scaffolding, cranes, power tools, derricks, hoists, conveyors, woodworking tools, ladders, winches, trucks, graters, scrapers, tractors, bulldozers, forklifts, back hoes, heavy equipment, boilers, pressure vessels, gas detectors and other types of construction equipment. Therefore, it is often possible to find liable third parties in the event of a construction related injury. This is often important because Worker's Compensation benefits do not provide compensation for the pain and suffering that a person endures as a result of an accident.

Commercial airplanes are governed by the regulations affecting common carriers and are governed by different laws and protocols than are private airplanes or other private vehicles. A common carrier is a business that transports persons or cargo for compensation. Both Federal and state regulations govern the activities of common carriers such as buses, trains, and airplanes. As a general rule, a common carrier is held to a higher standard of care than is a private party. They must have both the skill and the training to transport passengers and cargo, and more than reasonable care must be exercised. When an airplane crashes, the first area of information must be to discover what caused the crash. This can be difficult, since much evidence can be destroyed, including signs of mechanical failure or pilot error. Some of the causes of crashes include pilot error, which is the most frequent cause; design flaws; mechanical failure; and extreme weather conditions. It is vital that whatever evidence is available be collected and studied so that the cause of the crash can be determined. Once this is done, it will be possible to decide if the basis for a lawsuit exists.

Each year thousands of people are injured in boating accidents. Accidents can occur in a variety of situations ranging from ocean-going commercial and cruise line vessels to small pleasure craft on our navigable waterways. When referring to a motor vehicle accident we often refer to the "Rules of the Road" in order to determine what each person's responsibilities were regarding the safe operation of their vehicle. Similarly, there are rules established by the Coast Guard and various state agencies that outline the rules for safe boating.

An increasing elderly population has led to an increased nursing home population, and with this has come an increased incidence of nursing home negligence and abuse. Governmental agencies such as the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services help oversee the care and services provided by nursing homes and both federal and state governments have established uniform standards for nursing homes and ensure the protection and safety of patients. Unfortunately, despite these governmental agencies, over one million nursing home residents are abused in some manner each year. Such actions can include negligence and active abuse. Whether the abuse consists of recurrent negligence or a single incident which causes injury, the victim has a right to damages. In most cases, the nursing home in question can lose its certification for failing to supply the expected care leading to a loss of federal funding. Nursing home abuse can include physical damage from falls, malnutrition or dehydration, bed sores, gangrene, aspiration pneumonia, over-sedation, poor medical care, or wrong medication. Just as damaging but more subtle, are lack of supervision, theft, abandonment, defective equipment, sexual assault, coercion, physical or mental abuse. All of these can lead to injury or death of the nursing home patient.

Traumatic brain injury, also called TBI, occurs when the brain is injured by a sudden force, or trauma. The brain can be driven into the side of the skull by a sudden blow, or by the force of shaking or “whiplash”. In either case, the brain can suffer bruising and swelling, and in some cases the impact will be sufficient to tear blood vessels in the brain, causing intracranial bleeding. If the trauma results in damage to the skull itself, such as a crack or break, the trauma is considered a penetrating head injury. More difficult to diagnose are closed head injuries, in which the brain is injured but the skull remains undamaged. This can occur from a blow or impact, or from severe back-and-forth shaking, such as whiplash. Babies and small children can suffer such injuries from being shaken, the so-called “shaken baby syndrome”. In any case of closed head TBI, it is necessary to study the symptoms that follow the accident in order to diagnose the condition. Anyone who has sustained a blow to the head or whiplash-like injuries should be evaluated by a medical professional to determine if TBI has taken place. In many cases the symptoms may be so slight as to escape the victim’s notice, but if treatment is not available, further injury can develop. Often the symptoms may be delayed for many hours, until swelling in the brain reaches a point that if affects the victim. TBI can cause serious, life-threatening events and can result in permanent irreversible damage to the brain. It can lead to paralysis, seizures, blindness, memory loss, impaired communication skills, and many other disabilities. Symptoms may be as obvious as coma or as subtle as a change in emotional behavior. TBI can have a profound effect on quality of life, including inability to work, inability to interact socially and within the family, loss of normal body skills, etc.

Laws passed by the state require that your employer, or your employer's insurance company, compensate you, or your family, for injuries or death that may occur while you are working. You may be entitled to: Weekly benefits while you are temporarily totally disabled and unable to work. Payment of your medical expenses. Weekly payments or a lump sum payment for partial or total disability resulting from a work related injury. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM INJURED? You should report the injury immediately to your employer. If you cannot reach an agreement with your employer or their insurance carrier, as to what benefits or medical expense payments you are entitled to, you can file your claim with the Industrial Commission. If you or a loved one is in need of legal assistance, call Heller & Richmond, Ltd. at {tel} or submit an online questionnaire. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to handle your case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. In many cases, a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.