Injury: Criminal Case and Civil Case Are Separate

I got a call today from a potential client who was unhappy with the way a criminal prosecution had gone against the other driver who had been in an accident which killed the caller’s family member.  A jury in the criminal case had acquitted the other driver.  I had a hard time explaining to this person that the civil case and the criminal case are two different things.  A wrongful death attorney would still be able to bring a civil claim against the other driver, regardless of what happened in the criminal case.  The two are completely different, and one really doesn’t impact the other all that much.  An experienced injury attorney is going to know the difference certainly, and get that across to the client.  Bottom line:  the criminal case is handled by the state and the solicitor’s office, and the civil claim is handled by an injury lawyer.

Injury: Hernia

I recieved a call from a woman regarding a hernia she got at work.  Unfortunately, workers’ compensation are not very good.  There are different regulations for cases involving a hernia, and if we prove liability, it is almost impossible to recieve compensation for any permanent disability.  Because of this, most injury lawyers are usually reluctant to get involved.  I had to turn down this case, even though I felt bad for the woman.  I tried to giver her instructions on how to handle the case herself, but she probably won’t find an injury lawyer to represent her.

Personal Injury Health Insurance

In a personal injury case, if the client does not have health insurance, we will often agree to protect a doctor’s medical bills out of any settlement in order for the doctor to agree to see the patient.  We call this a letter of protection.  This is another benefit of having an injury lawyer working for you.  Without a letter of protection from an injury lawyer, the client without health insurance may be limited to seeking treatment from a local emergency room, which is not a good choice. 

 

Once the injury lawyer writes the letter of protection, he is obligated to protect those bills, or deduct them from the client’s proceeds, at the time of any settlement.

Personal Injury Questions

People sometimes have a complete misunderstanding of the way the personal injury system works. 

 

Occasionally I will get a call from someone who was at fault in an accident, perhaps for example where they lost control of their vehicle and ran off the road.  They want to know what type of settlement they are entitled to for their injuries.  I explain that unless they can show that someone else was responsible for their injuries, there is no recovery, unless their own policy has some medical payments coverage. 

 

There are just a lot of misconceptions out there, which is why it’s a good idea to talk to an injury attorney who can guide you through some of these issues.

Car Wreck Injury

“Truck driver not guilty in wreck that killed 2 children” 

This case has both wrongful death and personal injury claim potential.  A decision made in a criminal court by a judge or jury is not binding, and would not be allowed as admissible evidence in any civil claim filed, as any competent injury and wrongful death lawyer knows.  I am unaware if the family has hired an accident attorney, but if they have, the claim will be going forward no matter what happened in the criminal court.  A different standard is used in the criminal case (reasonable doubt) versus the civil claim (preponderance of the evidence), so the family and their lawyer should not be deterred.  If the truck driver was negligent, then I hope as an injury lawyer that they will make a good recovery later on.

Injury Lawyer Creates New ‘Ask A Legal Question’ Site

If you are looking for an injury lawyer or in Columbia, SC, the odds are pretty good that you have one or two initial legal questions.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I’m an accident attorney with 17 years of experience with all types of personal injury law, having handled that many years worth of wrongful death, workers’ compensation, wrongful death and other accident and injury cases and claims.

I find that people are often confused by the entire personal injury process, and have a lot of unanswered questions.

That’s why I created this new ‘Injury Lawyers’ Ask A Legal Question’ site. If I can help you, feel free to ask your question there today.

Are ‘Drive-by Shootings’ Covered By Auto Insurance? Injury Lawyer Answers

Take a situation like a “drive by” shooting, where the innocent victim is in his/her car, and the assailants use their car as an intrinsic part of the assault, rather than just the location of the shooting.  Believe it or not, this kind of situation could end up being covered by the auto insurance policy on either the assailant’s vehicle, or if they were uninsured, by the uninsured motorist coverage on the victim’s car.  Again, the key is to show that the car was more than just the location of the shooting, but was a part of the assault itself.  Of course, if the shooting victim dies, then the wrongful death laws would apply, and if he/she were on the job, then it would be a workers’ compensation claim along with a third party liability claim.  A person who is not represented by an injury attorney would have a hard time navigating through these issues, so make sure you contact a competent accident lawyer if you face any such issues.

Multiple ‘At-Fault’ Parties? Injury Lawyer Discusses

Injury Lawyer in Columbia SC writes: In any personal injury case, there will be one or more parties having possible liability in the case.  These are the ‘at-fault’ parties who would potentially be pursued for damages in a claim.

“Attorney argues Charleston at fault in fire”

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/888317.html

According to the so-called Tort Reform Act, in any accident or injury case, when there are two or more possibly at-fault parties, the jury in the case is asked to assign a ‘percentage of blame’ to each of the parties determined to be at fault. Prior to tor reform, ‘joint and several liability‘ used to make each defendant totally responsible.

This is the case even when one of the at fault parties is not even named in the lawsuit.  Because of this, it is now more important than ever that the injury lawyer select his defendants carefully when filing suit. This is a key part of really thinking strategically in planning the case from the outset.

If you have a case or think you might, he injury lawyers at Best and Flatt would be glad to discuss this with you. We’re always here to assist.

“Boy Dies In Familys’ Swimming Pool”- Injury Lawyer Columbia, SC

This is one of the more tragic situations I’ve seen as an injury lawyer in Columbia, SC.  Our hearts go out to the family of this 11 year old boy who drowned in his family’s own swimming pool.

“SC boy drowns in family pool”

http://www.thestate.com/statewire/story/885991.html

Being that the pool was the property of his own family, there would probably not be any potentialliability issue here. However, if the boy had been a neighbor, there would definitely be potential liability.

The owner of a swimming pool is under a duty to take reasonable measures to safeguard the people and property in the area, including, as one example, proper fencing.

If someone had constructed and installed a swimming pool, and then took no measures to fence it off, and subsequently, a neighborhood child fell into the pool and drowned, this would be a situation with a potential wrongful death/personal injury claim resulting.

Again, it comes down to the questions of  “what is reasonable care“. This is the very kind of question that a wrongful death attorney, or injury lawyer, such as Best and Flatt, P.A. deals with quite often.

“Sumter Teen Dies in Train-Car Collision” Injury Lawyers Blog

Many times in a tragic case like this, an injury lawyer doesn’t even know if it’s a case worthy of pursuing until a thorough investigation has been conducted (often at considerable expense).

“Sumter teen dies in car-train collision”

http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/875940.html

As an injury lawyer in Columbia SC, if I were working this case, I would first do a very detailed investigation of the accident scene. I’d also speak to as many witnesses as possible.

I would then research the applicable case-law and existing legal statutes and all relevant regulations pertaining to train crossing safety.

For example, the story indicates there were no cross arms.

It would be helpful to hire a knowledgable train safety engineer as a potential expert witness who could tell us whether cross arms were necessary here, and -if so- whose responsibility it was to place them at that location.

Only after  such a detail investigation could we know if there is even a case worth pursuing for the client. My firm has 17 years of experience with similar cases. We are here to help you when you need us. Think you might have a case? Visit our site now, right here.