Posts Tagged ‘deaths’
Monday, May 17th, 2010
The birth of a child is one of the most amazing and exciting moments of a parent’s life. After months, or years, of preparation and anticipation you are finally a parent. Every parent’s imagines the future that they will share with their child. No parent imagines that they will outlive their child – much less that their child will be taken from them before they reach adulthood. Losing a child is like having your life taken from you. If you have experienced this profound loss, and you feel that someone was responsible for the loss, then you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Not surprisingly, accidents are the number one cause of death for children under the age of 18 years old. Clearly, accidents do happen where no one is to blame – where they simply could not have been prevented. Unfortunately though, many times the accident was actually the result of someone’s negligence. Deaths that are the result of car or aviation accidents are frequently the result of negligence. Other common examples are swimming pool accidents, failure to supervise accidents or product liability deaths. Anytime that a person, or company did not use the care that the law requires to protect your child from harm, they are potentially responsible under the theory of negligence and therefore may be sued under a wrongful death lawsuit in the State of California, says California wrongful death attorney Emery Ledger & Ledger & Associates.
No one is implying that it is possible to put a monetary value on the life of a child from a parent’s perspective. Most parents would tell you that their child is priceless. While the result of a wrongful death lawsuit is monetary compensation, it also accomplishes something else – it makes the person, or entity, that was to blame for your child’s accident face up to the responsibility. A wrongful death lawsuit cannot turn back the clock and bring your child back, but it may make a difference for other children in the future. It may force someone to be more careful in the future or force a company to change unsafe practices. Sadly, sometimes it takes a lawsuit for a company to recognize that it is putting people – especially children – in harms way.
If you have suffered the loss of a child, nothing can take away the pain you are going through, but if someone else was responsible for the accident that took the life of your child you may want to consider filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Contact an experienced California wrongful death attorney to find out more about filing as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit and holding the person or persons responsible for the death of your child accountable for their negligence. The team at Ledger & Associates have been handling wrongful death lawsuits in the State of California for more than a decade and will treat you will compassion and understanding during this difficult time.
Tags: attorney emery ledger, aviation accident, aviation accidents, compensation, deaths, dents, emery, emery ledger, law, lawsuit, lawsuits, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, liability, monetary compensation, Negligence, product liability, state of california, wrongful death, wrongful death attorney, wrongful death law, wrongful death laws, wrongful death lawsuit, wrongful death lawsuits
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Monday, May 17th, 2010
Most of us plane for our financial future. We plane for our children’s education. We plan for the time when we will retire with our spouse. We may even plan for the eventual death of one spouse. None of us ever plan to lose a spouse during the prime earning years. None of us factor in what will happen if we suddenly lose the income or household support of one spouse. Unfortunately, the early and unexpected death of a spouse is something that some of us may have to deal with at some point in our life. If the death of your spouse came about through someone else’s negligence, then you may be eligible to file as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit.
After the untimely death of a spouse, most people experience grief, anger, depression, denial and sometimes a sense of hopelessness. Whether your spouse was the primary breadwinner in the house or stayed at home and took care of the house and children, they were undoubtedly an integral part of your family. Trying to plan for the future without them may seem impossible. While the emotions you are feeling are normal, at some point you will need to think about the future – for your sake and for the sake of your family.
If the death of your spouse was do to the negligence of someone else, then you may want to consider a wrongful death lawsuit. Examples of negligent deaths include drunk driving accidents, medical malpractice deaths and airplane accidents. This is not an exclusive list; there are many other situations that may qualify as a wrongful death. As a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit, you may be entitled to financial compensation for the death of your spouse. Of course, nothing can bring your spouse back, but the compensation you may be entitled to through a wrongful death lawsuit may go a long way in securing the financial future of you and your family. Compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit is computed by a complex formula that includes factors such as: earning capacity of the decedent at time of death; education level and future earning potential of the decedent; contribution to household support; loss of affection; loss of consortium; and many others. The idea behind a wrongful death lawsuit is to attempt to put you back in the same financial situation that you were in before the death of your spouse.
Many people do not want to think about lawyers, courts and lawsuits after the death of a spouse. While this is certainly understandable, the financial future of your family is a crucial concern at this point in your life and time may be a critical factor. Most wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the death. In some situations, the time frame to file is ever shorter – as short as six months. For this reason, if you believe that your spouse’s death may have been the result of someone’s negligence, it is important that you consult with an experienced California wrongful death attorney as soon as possible.
If you would like a confidential detailed evaluation of your case – at no cost to you – from California wrongful death attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, please contact him at 1-800-300-0001 or visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: accident, accidents, airplane, airplane accident, airplane accidents, attorney, attorney compensation, deaths, decedent, dents, drunk driving accident, drunk driving accidents, emery, emery ledger, grief, law, lawsuit, lawsuits, lawyer, lawyers, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, loss of consortium, medical malpractice, Negligence, plane accident, time of death, untimely death, wrongful death, wrongful death attorney, wrongful death law, wrongful death laws, wrongful death lawsuit, wrongful death lawsuits
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Friday, May 14th, 2010
A wrongful death claim is a cause of action that asserts that the death of a person was caused by the wrongful or negligent act of another person. Common examples of wrongful death claims are medical malpractice cases where the patient dies, fatal drunk driving accidents and asbestos related deaths. These are only a few of the possible wrongful death claims. As you can see, a wrongful death can come from almost any set of circumstances but all have in common the negligence of another person.
The amount of time that you have to file a wrongful death action can vary from state to state. The type of wrongful death that you are alleging may also affect the time frame within which you must file the claim. Each state determines their own statute of limitations for different types of actions. A statute of limitations is just a legal term for the time frame that you have to file your action. If you do not file within the allotted time frame, you are usually forever barred from filing and subsequently receiving compensation.
In the State of California, California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 governs the periods of time within which you must file a wrongful death action in most circumstances. Section 335.1 states that claimants must file a wrongful death action within two years of the death that gave rise to the claim. There are, however, exceptions to the general two year statute of limitations. For instance, if you believe that a government entity or municipality was responsible for the death, then you must put them on notice within 180 days of the death. As you can see, this shortens the time frame considerably. Another example of an exception is for a death caused by the exposure to asbestos. In that case, Section 340.2 applies and requires that the claim be filed within one year of the death of the decedent OR within one year from the date the plaintiff first knew, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that the death was caused or contributed to by such exposure – whichever date is later. Lastly, when the claimant in a wrongful death action is a minor, the statute of limitations is tolled – meaning put on hold – until the minor reaches the age of majority. If the death was intentional, as in the case of murder, the statute of limitations may also be extended depending on whether the person was convicted of the crime and whether they are incarcerated.
As you can see, knowing how long you have to file a wrongful death claim is extremely important. In some cases you may only have six months to protect your claim. The law is ever-changing and it is best to check with an experienced wrongful death attorney as soon as you feel that you might have a wrongful death case. If you would like a free detailed evaluation of a potential California wrongful death case, please feel free to contact California wrongful death lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: accident, accidents, amount of time to sue, asbestos attorney, california code of civil procedure, cause of action statute of limitation, claimant time frame, compensation, deaths, decedent, dents, drunk driving accident, drunk driving accidents, law, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, medical malpractice, Negligence, negligent act, plaintiff, state of california, states, statute of limitations, sue government entity, time to claim, wrongful death, wrongful death attorney, wrongful death case, wrongful death claim, wrongful death claims
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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
The Toyota Motor Corporation has been in the spotlight now for almost a year due to numerous recalls, investigations and complaints about Toyota manufactured vehicles. Toyota announced its first major recall late last year after numerous complaints were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaining of sudden acceleration problems in Toyota manufactured vehicles. Sadly, it was not until a family of four was killed when the Lexus SUV they were driving in accelerated out of control that the recall was finally issued and national attention was drawn to the issue. That first recall covered over 4 million vehicles and was followed by two more recalls in January and February bringing the recall total to over 8 million vehicles. The United States Department of Transpiration, congressional leaders and watchdog groups launched investigations shortly after the recalls were announced to answer questions regarding when the automaker giant was aware of the defects and what they did with that knowledge.
Under United States law, a manufacturer has a legal duty to make all reasonable efforts to locate any defects in a product they manufacture and once they are aware of a defect they must notify consumers as well as the appropriate regulatory agency. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently levied a $16.4 million fine against Toyota for failing to notify regulators in a timely manner as required under the laws of the United States. The fine is the largest fine ever ordered by the USDOT. Toyota also announced that it will not challenge the fine but fell short of admitting any wrongdoing.
The recalls and defective automobiles have left millions of consumers with financial and physical damages. The number of accidents and deaths attributable to Toyota manufactured defective automobiles continues to rise. Millions more have been affected by the loss of value of their Toyota manufactured vehicles. As a result, many people are asking what kind of compensation they can expect for the losses they have suffered. The value of your Toyota recall claim depends on what type of claim you have, according to California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates.
At the moment, there are two basic types of claims that have been filed against Toyota. The first type of claim is for injuries or wrongful death stemming from a collision caused by a defective Toyota manufactured vehicle while the second is for economic losses. In personal injury cases, the laws of negligence apply. Assuming that the elements required to prove negligence have been met, then you can expect to receive compensation for economic and possibly non-economic damages. Examples of economic damages include: medical bills, lost wages and damages to your vehicle. Non-economic damages are what people typically refer to as “pain and suffering”. The value of your claim will depend on a number of factors including: type and severity of injuries you received; your age and earning capacity at the time of the collision; the amount of fault attributed to Toyota; whether you file in state or federal court; and various other factors specific to your case.
The best way to determine the value of your personal injury case against Toyota is to consult with an experienced California Toyota recall attorney. Attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates will be happy to provide you with a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your Toyota personal injury case at your convenience. Feel free to contact his office at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: acceleration problems, accident, accidents, automaker, automobiles, deaths, Negligence, nhtsa, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, recalls, regulators, safety, safety administration, states, sudden acceleration, suffering, toy, toyota, toyota automobil, Toyota damages, Toyota economic damages, toyota fault, toyota motor, Toyota Personal Injury, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, traffic, wrongful death
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Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
With the list of recalled Toyota manufactured vehicles continuing to climb, the number of accidents and fatalities that may be attributed to those vehicles continues to climb as well. To date, there are close to 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries that may be caused by Toyota manufactured vehicles. As more vehicles are added to the list, and investigations continue by the United States government as well as other governments, we may find more deaths and injuries that were suffered as a result of Toyota manufactured vehicles. So what can you do if you have been in an accident and suffered injuries as a result of a vehicle that has been recalled?
Defective products, or parts, can be addressed under the laws of product liability. Sometimes, as in this case, they can also be the basis for a personal injury lawsuit, according to California personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. Personal injury lawsuits operate under the theory of negligence. In the State of California, the theory of comparative negligence is used to determine who is responsible for a car accident. Under comparative negligence, more than once person – or entity -can be at fault in an accident. Some states still use a theory of negligence known as contributory negligence wherein if you contributed at all to the accident you cannot recover anything in a lawsuit. Luckily for California residents, California does not adhere to that doctrine. As the law stands in California, if more than one person – or entity – played a part in causing the accident, then the negligence (a legal term for blame) is proportioned among the responsible parties. In the case of the defective Toyota vehicles, for instance, it could be found that the defective part in a vehicle was 75% responsible for a car accident but driver error was responsible for the other 25%. The most important thing to remember is that even if you played a part in causing the accident, if someone else is MORE responsible than you then you may still be entitled to compensation for your injuries. In the examples above, if you were responsible for the 25%, then you would still be able to recover for 75% of your damages or injuries. The bottom line is that if Toyota manufactured a defective vehicle, or part of a vehicle, and that defect caused, or contributed to an accident that caused injuries, then they can be held accountable for those injuries.
As the number of lawsuits filed against Toyota continues to climb, it may be some time before we see any of the cases settled or we see a jury award. In the meantime, if you have been injured in a car accident and you feel that a Toyota manufactured vehicle was wholly or partially to blame for your injuries, then seek the advice of an experienced California personal injury attorney. If you would like a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your Toyota recall case, please contact California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates – 1-800-300-0001 or www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: car accident, comparative negligence, compensation, contributory negligence, damages, deaths, defective products, driver emery, emery ledger, fault, injury, investigations, lawsuit, lawsuits, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, liability, Negligence, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, personal injury lawsuits, product liability, state of california, states, toy, toyota, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, toyota vehicle, toyota vehicles
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Monday, April 26th, 2010
Just days ago, Toyota announced yet another recall covering another 35,000 vehicles– this one for 2010 Lexus GX 460 for an issue with the Vehicle Stability Control Software. This latest recall is the second in less than two weeks for the once seemingly untouchable automaker giant. Last Friday, the automaker announced a recall of approximately 600,000 Sienna minivans for corrosion problems with the spare tire that could lead to the tire failing onto the road unexpectedly. While these two recalls in and of themselves might not appear out of the ordinary or particularly harmful to an automobile manufacturer, with Toyota’s track record over the last year they may be devastating news.
Toyota first made headlines last Fall when a family of four was killed in a runaway Lexus SUV in San Diego. The fatal accident brought attention to the numerous complaints that had been filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the previous months – and even years – regarding unintended or sudden acceleration problems in Toyota manufactured vehicles. The accident eventually led to Toyota’s initial recall of some 4 million vehicles, but not before additional accidents and deaths were attributed to defective vehicles. The reason given for the recall was that the gas pedals were getting stuck on the floor mats. The next recall came in January and covered and additional 2.5 vehicles for a “sticky accelerator ” problems. A third recall followed in February for what appeared to be an unrelated problem with the anti-lock brake system.
From the original recall on, many consumers, regulators and government officials have been asking when Toyota new about these defective products. Families of accident victims and consumers have been asking why something wasn’t done sooner. A search of the NHTSA complaints for Toyota manufactured vehicles shows a history of “unintended acceleration” complaints that go back months-even years-before the first recall was issued. The United States government opened its own investigation into when Toyota knew about the issues and whether it acted in a timely manner to correct the problems. Under United States law, a manufacturer of any consumer product must make goof faith efforts to uncover any defects in their product, must report those defects to the proper governing bodies, and must repair, replace or refund the product. The United States government recently levied the largest fine in U.S. history against an automaker against Toyota – a hefty $16.4 million – for failure to act in a timely manner for the sticking gas pedal problems. The fine is the most allowed under current United States law, according to California recall attorney Emery Ledger. Toyota has agreed to pay the fine without protest. While not an admission of guilt, Toyota’s agreement to pay the fine may say much without actually saying anything.
If you have been the victim of an accident involving a Toyota manufactured vehicle and would like more information regarding what your legal options may be, please feel free to contact California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates – 1-800-300-0001 or visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: acceleration, acceleration problems, accelerator, accident, accident victims, attorney, auto, automaker, automobil, complaint, deaths, defective products, defective vehicles, emery ledger, floor mat, floor mats, highway transportation, killed, law, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, lexus, million vehicles, nhtsa, sudden acceleration, toyota, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney
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Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Toyota Motor Corporation said Monday that it will not contest the record $16.4 million dollars in fines levied by United States safety regulators because the company did not inform the proper authorities as soon as it knew of problems with defective accelerator pedals in a number of its cars. The fines are the result of controversy surrounding the 8.5 million-and growing-Toyota made vehicles that have been recalled in the last year. As you may be aware, the recalls started last fall with the first recall prompted by the runaway Lexus SUV that killed all four occupants in San Diego. That recall was followed by recalls number two and three in December and February. In total, over 8.5 million vehicles have been recalled and Toyota has just announced additional recalls.
Since the original round of recalls, lawmakers, regulators and advocates have been speculating about exactly when Toyota knew about the defective parts. Under United States law, a manufacturer must make a good faith effort to find any defective parts and must report those defects that it finds immediately. They must also repair or replace any defective parts. Many critics have questioned when Toyota became aware of the problems and have asked why nothing was done sooner. The record fine – while not an admit ion of guilt on the part of Toyota – says a lot to some people.
There have been at least 50 deaths attributable to the Toyota defects and hundreds of accidents. At last count the number of lawsuits filed in the United States against the automotive giant was approaching 100. The fine Toyota has agreed to pay may be just the tip of the iceberg as far as the financial cost of the defects. Under the laws of negligence as applied in California, if you were involved in an accident in which a Toyota manufactured vehicle was responsible for the collision, you may be entitled to financial compensation for the injuries you sustained in the accident.
Under the laws of negligence, if a person, or entity, is responsible for damages that you have suffered, then they must compensate you for those damages. Much of the time, this involves a negligent driver in a car accident. It can, however, be a company that is the negligent party. If a defective part in a vehicle was the cause, or part of the cause, of an accident, then that may be considered negligence on the part of the company that manufactured the part.
What this may mean for you, if you were injured in an accident involving a Toyota manufactured vehicle, is that you may have a legal claim against Toyota for injuries that were caused by the accident. The only way to know whether you have a valid personal injury lawsuit is to consult with an experienced California personal injury attorney. The laws of negligence are very complicated and made even more so when a large corporation is involved. If you would like a free detailed evaluation of your potential personal injury claim, please contact personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. He can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or you may visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: accelerator, accelerator pedal, accident, attorney, authorities, auto, car accident, cars, cat, claim, compensation, damages, deaths, ego, emery, emery ledger, good faith, injury, injury claim, juries, killed, law, lawmakers, lawsuit, lawsuits, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal claim, lexus, million vehicles, Negligence, negligent driver, noun, occupants, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury claim, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, recalls, regulators, safety, safety regulators, states, toy, toyota, toyota motor, united states, vehicle
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