A woman seriously injured when a train derailed in West Virginia will have to endure a second trial after a federal appeals court ruled the trial court erred on an essential legal question. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found no fault with the trial court in…
The Colorado Supreme Court recently ruled a young women severely and permanently disabled in a drunk driving accident may proceed with her case (via her parents) against the hotel from which she and several friends were evicted around 3 a.m. after a night of partying – despite pleas from the…
Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled an employee who was sexually assaulted in an employer-provided dormitory is not required to bring her premises liability and negligence lawsuit before an arbitrator, as her employer had argued. The arbitration agreement had been signed as part of her employment contract with the…
Waivers of liability can be powerful defenses in certain personal injury cases, particularly in Florida in the wake of the Florida Supreme Court decision in Sanislo v. Give Kids the World. That case essentially stated waivers don’t have to be written in very specific language in order to be enforced,…
In any car accident litigation, one of the primary issues is causation. That is, plaintiff has the burden of proving that injuries for which damages are sought were indeed caused by the crash. In some cases, this is relatively straightforward, particularly in a serious crash, where one seeks immediate medical…
A federal law called the “Graves Amendment” was passed several years ago at the behest of the rental car industry, seeking to eliminate liability for the wrongdoing of customers who rented their vehicles. Prior to that, virtually all owners of vehicles could be held vicariously liable for damages resulting from…
When injuries stem from an altercation fueled by barroom bravado or alcohol, it is possible the owner of the bar, restaurant or nightclub could be held liable for damages. It depends on the underlying circumstances. Under Florida premises liability laws, establishments have a responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe…
Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries account for approximately 75 percent of all traumatic brain injuries in the U.S., according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the term “mild” is greatly misleading, as it refers to the severity of the initial physical impact that caused the…
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the same circuit that oversees federal appeals in Florida, recently grappled with the question of whether homicide by firearm was in fact an “accident” covered under an employer auto insurance policy. On the surface, it sounds absurd. However, it was a question with which…
There is a perception problem that exists for victims of personal injury. Too often, they are accused of exaggerating, malingering, being greedy or blaming others for their own faults. What is less obvious is the fact that this widespread perception is not by mistake. It’s the result of more than…