Catastrophic Injury / Death
Our firm has represented literally thousands of seriously injured people or the families of those who have unfortunately died as the result of the negligent, reckless or intentional conduct of others, or from dangerous products. The cases have ranged from, among many other things, highway collisions, construction accidents, dangerously designed roadways, defective motor vehicles, consumer products and industrial equipment, and police conduct. There is tragically an endless list of factual situations that give rise to a claim for damages.
We have had tremendous success, either by trial or settlement, of numerous negligence and product liability cases, going up against the world's largest manufactures of cars, tires, industrial, and consumer products. We have the experience, resources, and reputation to go all the way and the manufacturing companies and large corporations know this. That makes the difference.
We have the ability to take your case all the way to trial - to hire investigators, retain necessary expert witnesses, and advance all of your trial costs. These costs, in certain complicated cases, can easily exceed several hundred thousand dollars.
When you are seriously injured by another person or corporation, you should be compensated for your losses and future losses, including medical bills, loss of income or capacity, and pain and suffering. When your loved one dies through the fault of another or because of a dangerous product, road design, or the careless conduct of wrongdoers, then your family has a claim for the tragic loss. Of course, a wrongful death claim will never be and is not intended to be a substitute for your loss, but will often set the record straight, help prevent future harms, bring compensation for loss of support and love, and help bring closure to the tragedy.
The following are some examples of the types of cases we have handled:
Motor Vehicle Collisions can obviously involve a car, truck or motorcycle accident, but can also arise out of an industrial, off-road vehicle, bus, or train accident. Sometimes, the injury, at first, may seem relatively minor, but often the injury may get worse, requiring costly surgery or a lifetime of pain. This is the time you need an experienced attorney who understands all aspects of your case and achieves a settlement that takes care of all your damages, especially since once you settle your case, it can never be reopened.
Product liability cases are complicated, time consuming for the lawyer, and very expensive to prosecute. The cases generally need multiple expert witnesses, an accident reconstructionist, and numerous medical specialists - all who need to be ready for trial. Most important, the cases need a law firm and lawyers who have vast experience in successfully preparing and trying such cases to verdict.
In this consumer society, the law provides protection for the consumer injured or killed by a defective product. The consumer can be the everyday person, a skilled tradesman, or even a bystander. All products are included, from the simplest to the most exotic: cars, punch press and industrial machines, hand tools, pill containers, kitchen appliances, etc. In some cases, the defect becomes obvious, such as a faulty weld or missing bolt. In other cases, the defect is more complicated. The defect can be in the manufacturing of the product or in the design – such as a car seat that collapses during a low speed impact. Also, the manufacturer of the product may be a foreign corporation, in which case they can only be sued by following the Hague Convention, an international treaty signed by most manufacturing countries. If that is the case, all documents need to be translated into the native language with expensive international procedures followed.
Dangerous Public Property cases, such as road design cases are difficult and expensive. The government bodies controlling the roads have strong defenses put in place by the government itself. Therefore, proving that a dangerous road caused an accident can be a challenge. Investigation of the dangerous road site and its history requires substantial attorney work, expense, and expertise. In fact, 20% of all fatal road accidents involve a single car that runs off the road, often rolling over or colliding with a fixed object that should not have been adjacent to the roadway. While government defendants often argue that such accidents result from driver error, dangerous roads may be all or part of the cause of the accident. But successful cases not only benefit the client – they directly force changes in dangerous road conditions that can save lives - changes that might not otherwise occur at all.
Premises Liability occurs when you are injured on another’s property, the cause of which is often due to a dangerous condition. A handrail may be missing; a stair step or other part of a building may be irregular or not in compliance with the building code; or a slippery floor or missing floor mat may exist in the produce section of a market. Sometimes the dangerous condition can be completely hidden, such as an un-vented gas or exhaust pipe spewing carbon monoxide, an ungrounded electrical circuit that causes electrocution, or a water heater that scalds an unwitting victim. Each one of these scenarios may lead to the liability of the landowner, manager, or their contractors.
Police Abuse, as you know from television to camera phone video, occurs all too often. The police sometimes use excessive or deadly force violating not only state law but federal constitutional law. These cases can be difficult; often a fellow officer will protect their own over the rights of the victim, or cover-up the violation of the law by filing false police reports. These cases usually end up in Federal Court, where certain expertise is not only necessary but also mandatory. Our firm has represented many people who have suffered great injury and the families of those who have been wrongly killed by public servants using excessive or unconstitutional force.
