Have You Been Injured in a Bus Accident?

Most of the public transportation that commuters use is run by either state or municipal governments. For example, the local school district usually owns school buses, and a city usually owns public buses. This often leaves the question when there is a bus accident, who is liable when a commuter is injured in a bus accident? A SEPTA accident lawyer can answer that question.

Sovereign Immunity

In the United States, governments – whether federal, state, county, or municipal – have special protections against lawsuits. This is legally referred to as sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity legally prevents the government from being sued without its consent.

There is some legal debate on whether it is just the federal government that has sovereign immunity or if that immunity trickles down to other levels of government. The legal bottom line, however, is that when it comes to suing the government, there are different rules that must be adhered to compared to other types of personal injury lawsuits. Otherwise, the victim’s claim will be dismissed.

Tort Claims Act

Any injury claims against the government are filed under the Tort Claims Act. Each state has its own version of this law as the legal process to address any injury claims by a private citizen. Typically, these claims require documentation that needs to be filled out and submitted to the agency being sued by a certain deadline. If this deadline is missed, so too does the victim’s right to pursue an injury claim against the agency.

When a victim files a “notice of intent to file a claim” for a bus accident or any other type of accident, the correct form for that agency needs to be used. The form will likely require a description and details of the bus accident, including when it occurred, where it occurred, and details of how it occurred. The victim will also need to provide details about the damages they have suffered as a result of the crash, such as medical expenses, loss of income, and property damage. The victim must also include a statement as to their intent to seek financial compensation for the injuries and property damage they have suffered as a result of the bus accident.

Statute of Limitations 

In every personal injury case, each state has established a statute of limitations for how long the victim has to file their claim. Once the time has expired, the victim can no longer pursue their claim if they failed to file, regardless of the extent of their injuries. The statute of limitations for filing an injury claim against a government agency is different than state laws. In some cases, filing a claim for bus accident injuries can be as little as one to two months.

Contact a Personal Injury Law Firm Today

If you’ve been injured in a bus accident, contact a SEPTA bus accident lawyer to find out what legal recourse you may have for the losses you have suffered.

In 1987, Congress passed a series of amendments known as the Nursing Home Reform Law into the Social Security Act.  The Social Security Act is responsible for both Medicaid and Medicare.  As a result, nursing homes in the United States are regulated by both federal and state laws. As a nursing home lawyer from a firm like Brown Kiely, LLP can explain, the Nursing Home Reform Law requires “nursing homes and skilled nursing homes to provide certain services to their residents and to meet certain standards, in order to receive Medicaid or Medicare payments”.

In 1986, the Institute of Medicine conducted a report at the request of Congress on the living conditions of nursing homes across the United States.  The Institute concluded that “many nursing homes were of low quality, that stronger federal regulation was necessary because many states failed to adequately regulate nursing homes, and that many residents were dissatisfied with the care they received.  The Nursing Home Reform Law was created in response to the conclusory data acquired.  Unfortunately, nursing homes across the country still faces lawsuits due to issues of negligence and sometimes even personal injury.

One organization, Preferred Care Group, recently had thirty three of its nursing homes file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy claim due to multiple personal injury lawsuits filed in Kentucky and New Mexico, adding up to millions in damages in total.  The nursing home service company claims that their files for bankruptcy is attribute to the 163 personal injury cases the company has spent money to defend against.  One of the lawsuits includes “a $28 million judgment in favor of the family of a man who was injured in one of [Preferred Care Group’s] nursing facilities in Kentucky.”  The filing and final judgment order was held by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas.

The operators of each of Preferred Care Group’s nursing homes reasoned that the bankruptcy filings were legitimate approaches that would allow the care giving centers to continue their businesses, continue to pay their employees, continue to pay their vendors, and also care for the 2,900 residents living in the nursing home; all while allowing the homes to seek restructuring.

Following the Nursing Home Reform Law accordingly requires many elements to be checked off.  Nursing homes must: 

• Have sufficient staff
• Assess each resident’s particular needs
• Develop comprehensive care plans for each resident, including proper hygiene, nutrition and diet, and medication
• Ensure that residents are adequately supervised
• Promote their residents’ quality of life
• Maintain their residents’ dignity and respect
• Keep accurate and complete medical records for each resident
• Submit to unannounced inspections and allow resident interviews

As a result, it is no wonder why these nursing homes need to file for bankruptcy so that they can continue running these services for their elderly patients.  However, this also demonstrates the need for nursing homes to provide better care for their patients so as to avoid future injuries.

Personal Injury Lawyer

Unless there is bad weather or you know you are going to an unsafe place, you are likely not going out and expecting to slip and fall. For most people, this kind of accident happens on someone else’s property if the property has not been properly maintained or if there was some sort of dangerous area that was not fixed right away. For example, if frozen food melted in the freezer aisle of your favorite grocery store and there were no signs indicating that there were puddles on the floor, you may be walking unsuspectingly to get your bag of frozen peas only to slip and injure yourself. On the other hand, you could be eating with your family at a restaurant and get up to use the restroom just to tumble down the steps because the handrail was broken and not fixed in enough time. Whatever your situation, it is important to speak with a lawyer quickly to determine if you have what you need to file a claim. 

What am I trying to show when I file a claim? 

For many people, it can sometimes be awkward to file a claim if you are doing so against your favorite restaurant or even if you were injured by slipping and falling at a friend’s house. However, it is important to try to separate your claim from the establishment. Remember, when you are invited or welcome on someone else’s property and they did not maintain that property, they are responsible for injuries you sustained. Therefore, a lawyer, like a personal injury lawyer from a law firm like Barry P. Goldberg, knows that you will need to show:  

• The business or store was negligent in some way
• This negligence specifically caused the accident to happen
• The accident resulted in injuries and damages

These are extremely important to prove because simply having a few of these steps will not be enough to be successful with your claim. For example, slipping and falling in a store can be scary, but if you did not end up injuring yourself then there will be no damages to pay for. 

When you slip and fall, it will be important for you to document the circumstances under which you became injured. Write down notes or take pictures that show things like:

• The floor was uneven
• The handrail was broken
• The floor was wet
• There were no signs indicating a danger
• A light was broken

All of these factors can help bolster your slip and fall claim. 

It is important to gather as much information as possible when you are working on your slip and fall claim so that you can provide evidence to your lawyer for the claim. Reach out to a law firm to start the consultation process today. 

In situations where you have been injured in an accident, hiring a personal injury lawyer may be the last thing on your mind. However, this is one of the most important steps that you can take to ensure the best outcome for your case. Personal injury lawyers are trained in the laws that govern personal injuries, and will be able to help you figure out if you have a case and what your next steps should be. There are several benefits of having a personal injury lawyer on your side, including:

Taking Care of the Details

You want to get back to your life and your recovery as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there are always plenty of details that need to be taken care of following an accident. Your lawyer will handle all of these details for you so you can focus on getting better. You won’t have to think about how much paperwork you need or how many forms you have to fill out in order to file a claim. You can leave all of those worries behind when you hire a personal injury lawyer like Hickey & Turim, SC.

Negotiating With Insurance Companies

The insurance company is going to do everything they can to limit the amount they pay out on claims. They may even offer you a settlement that is less than what they think your case is worth in order to see if you’ll just take it and go away. A personal injury lawyer knows how much your case is worth and will negotiate with the insurance company for you in order to get the maximum amount for your claim.

They Are Professional

It is important that you work with a lawyer who has experience working on similar cases to yours. This way, they will have the knowledge that is necessary to help you get through yours. Personal injury lawyers understand both sides of the equation and will be able to work with insurance companies and other lawyers effectively.

They know what to expect

A personal injury lawyer is able to protect your rights and help you make choices about your case. This means that they will help you avoid making costly mistakes that could negatively impact your case. Because they specialize in these types of cases, they can also offer advice based on their knowledge of the law as it applies to different situations.

Better Compensation

The first benefit is that your attorney can help get better compensation for your injuries and damages. Your personal injury lawyer will be able to review the full extent of your injuries and determine what compensation you should receive. They can also negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to make sure they don’t try to lowball you or offer too little compensation for the extent of your injuries. Working with a personal injury lawyer will help make sure that your medical bills and other expenses are covered, allowing you to focus on recovery.

Personal injury lawyer

A civil lawsuit that is based on child sexual abuse can be brought under many different legal theories, and of course in some situations both the perpetrator and the perpetrators’ employee or a third party can be sued by the child or the child’s parents. Talk to your personal injury lawyer, today, about your options for filing for your child sexual abuse and injury, find out which legal theory covers your family and your needs.

The criminal law process has the prosecution of the perpetrator by the state, and oftentimes this means that incarceration and other penalties are a possibility. However, the criminal process does not involve monetary compensation for sexual abuse victim or the victim’s family, but they can see the perpetrator in civil court to receive monetary damages after the criminal trial has been completed.

Depending upon the application of a complex world it is called collateral estoppel, the plaintiff may actually win a civil trial if the defendant has been convicted for the same criminal acts at a criminal trial. It more or less proves without a doubt that the person that is being brought to civil court has a conviction and a history of doing this to this defendant.

But if the defendant was not convicted in a criminal trial, a civil plaintiff that is suing for the exact same month on illegal acts may not get a successful case, or they may still get a successful case. In a civil trial, the plaintiff suing for the wrongful and illegal acts must be able to share that is more likely than not the defendant was indeed committing sexual abuse of someone, and the prosecution in a criminal trial must show beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed these acts, and more likely than not gives you more leeway than beyond reasonable doubt. In a civil case there is no way or reason to convince a jury beyond reasonable doubt the defendant was guilty in order to find them liable for the crime.

But you might also have questions about who can sue, especially if it is a child that has undergone sexual abuse and you are suing them. A personal injury lawyer will be able to tell you that either the child or the child’s leader caregiver whether that is their birth parents are not can sue for the child for sexual abuse. Oftentimes the child is going to be represented by a parent or another guardian, they will be allowed to sue for physical, emotional and other harm caused by the abuse. The child’s guardians and parents may even be able to sue for their own emotional distress and other emotional damage stemming from learning about the abuse.

Childhood sexual abuse is a very personal undertaking which requires time intact, and sometimes survivors are well into adulthood before they are ready to go forth about childhood abuse that they suffered of sexual nature in your personal injury lawyer will be able to tell you that your stay at the statute of limitations or not, because many states have passed laws specifically regarding childhood sexual abuse to allow for it to be child later in life.

After you decide to begin a personal injury case, the choice is yours whether to accept a settlement offer or go to trial in an attempt for a bigger settlement. A trial is sometimes necessary for most personal injury situations. Accidents involving motor vehicles, medical malpractice, and trip-and-fall cases are just a few of the many that are settled out of court instead of going to trial; but, in certain situations, insurance providers don’t want to make a proper offer during the settlement negotiations and it can be a better outcome for you to go to trial. A personal injury lawyer will help you decide what your best options will be. Our friends from Philadelphia Injury Lawyers, P.C. has provided the FAQ below to help you understand settlement before your case goes to trial.

What is meant by Settlement?

A settlement is an agreement reached before a case goes to trial. Many lawsuits may be resolved before they are ever brought to court. This is a common practice – the day before, or even the day of filing of the Complaint (the initial document used to start the court process), they may be resolved. When it comes to resolving personal injury lawsuits, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. Rather than going to trial, the parties involved in a dispute will usually settle out of court. If a settlement is agreed upon, both parties will sign a formal settlement agreement that includes a release of responsibility after they have reached a reasonable compromise.

What is meant by Trial?

People who have been injured in an accident present their arguments to a judge or jury, who will decide whether or not the defendant should be held accountable for their losses. A personal injury trial might run from a few hours to a few weeks, depending on the circumstances. Attorneys must spend a great deal of time and effort even if their trials are short.

Benefits of Settlement

You know exactly how much money you’ll be receiving at the end of the day. The result is in the hands of the persons involved, not a third party (i.e., judge and jury). If your matter goes to trial, it will take a much longer time to settle.

You could expect to get your settlement money anywhere from within a week up to a month after settling with the opposing party. By avoiding a trial, one saves a lot of money on legal bills and other expenses.
It is less stressful to reach a settlement than it is to go to trial.
Settlements tend to be private affairs.

Benefits of Trial

In some cases, jury judgments might be much higher than the money given in settlement discussions.
Trials are open to the public, so if the jury rules in your favor, the defendant will be held responsible.
Giving the harmed person a stronger form of completion.

Drawbacks of Settlement

Settlement money may be less than what a jury of your peers would award you for your losses.
In most cases, the defendant refuses to confess any guilt, and therefore offer a lower settlement, if anything at all.

Drawbacks of Trial

Trials take a lot of time and effort from you and your attorney(s).
Even if you win a significant settlement, a larger portion of it will be spent on legal costs and expenditures linked to your trial.

The expertise of a personal injury lawyer who has handled a wide range of cases, from vehicle accidents to medical negligence will benefit you and your case. A personal injury attorney will be able to discuss your options with you and help you decide whether you should try to take your case to trial, or work towards a settlement with the insurance company.

The idea of a large 18-wheel truck losing control on a highway would scare any driver. We assume that if that truck crashes into our vehicle, the injuries would be catastrophic. But what other assumptions do we make about trucks, their drivers and the trucking business? And are those assumptions dangerous?

For most people, big over-the-road trucks are something that you usually see on a highway, clogging up interstate traffic. There is usually no reason to think any more about what trucks do and how they do it. But that changes if you are involved in a crash involving one of these behemoths. The first assumption people make is: there must be plenty of liability insurance.

It would be fair to believe that a big trucking company is behind that logo. And that they have sufficient insurance to pay for serious injuries caused by their drivers. The facts show otherwise. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act governs Interstate Trucking. The Federal DOT requires trucks to register that they have liability insurance. However, the minimum was set in 1980 at $750,000. Since that time, costs for medical care resulting from crashes have skyrocketed. Additionally, the sizes of trucks have increased, increasing the likelihood of serious injuries. 

When you experience the tragedy of a serious truck crash, one reason to consult with an injury lawyer as quickly as possible is to immediately investigate insurance coverage. Not only will your lawyer be able to determine what the company has filed, but they can begin to investigate the other companies that were involved in the subject trucking operation. 

This is because of another assumption: that the company transporting the load is the only possible defendant. Trucking in the United States is complex. There are often multiple layers of companies involved in one single shipment. Federal Motor Carrier rules require that the companies involved in the shipment perform their role within the rules and do so safely. Sometimes, the party that is really at fault might not even be the employer of the driver. This is because a Broker for a shipment may be responsible for failing to do their due diligence by investigating to see that they hired a safe driver to deliver a load.

The trucking industry has its own special rules and operates in a unique fashion that most Americans are not aware of. There are also situations where financial and time pressures lead to companies operating in a way that cuts corners and may be unsafe. This can include hiring drivers or companies that should not be entrusted with transporting heavy loads across America’s roads. 

The first thing that must happen after a serious truck crash is seeking urgent medical care. However, once the injured person is stabilized, it is important to focus on seeking legal advice from lawyers who know the trucking industry and the rules that apply so that they can explore all avenues to protect your rights and work towards justice.

If you ride a motorcycle, you know that travel is about so much more than just getting to your destination. Your motorcycle allows you to experience the journey in a totally different way than is possible from behind the wheel of a car. The feel of the wind in your face and the road under your wheels helps make every moment spent on your bike special, and after a motorcycle accident, you want a motorcycle accident lawyer  like Barry P. Goldberg who can help you get back out on the open road as soon as possible.

The Road as Seen From the Rider’s Seat

Most motorcyclists have had their share of near misses, when only another driver’s last-second mirror check or a hasty swerve to avoid a car entering their lane kept them from injury or worse. Too many drivers simply don’t have the awareness or experience to look, listen, and respect the motorcycles sharing the road.

Most drivers, personal injury attorneys, and courts are more familiar with driving a car or getting in an auto accident than with riding, and possibly being injured on, a motorcycle. If you’re involved in an accident on your bike, you might feel like no one understands what happened or why. That’s why finding an attorney with experience getting results for clients in motorcycle accidents can make such a difference in your future. 

If you’ve been injured in an accident while out riding, a general personal injury lawyer may not be able to relate to your experience. You need an attorney who can help insurance companies and juries understand the road from your perspective and appreciate how easy it is for a driver’s simple mistake to cause you a lifetime of trouble. 

Smart Questions, Powerful Results

Auto drivers who have never ridden a motorcycle can have a hard time remembering to check blind spots for those smaller, more agile vehicles. It may be easy for them to argue in good faith that the motorcycle must have caused the accident, even when facts point to a different explanation. An attorney with experience in motorcycle accidents is more likely to know how to ask the right questions and where to seek additional information to help the truth come to light.

Your legal representative needs to be able to appreciate and articulate the facts of your case. If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, don’t play games with your future. Find an attorney with the experience and knowledge to get you the compensation you deserve.