Posts Tagged ‘legal terms’
Monday, June 28th, 2010
If you have been involved in an accident in the State of California, you may be entitled to compensation for the injuries you sustained in the accident. Accidents come in many forms: car accidents, airplane accidents; train accidents; motorcycle accidents; pedestrian accidents and many more. Regardless of what type of accident you were involved in, if someone else was negligent, you may be entitled to compensation to cover your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other things associated with the accident. First, however, you must determine who was responsible.
According to California accident lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, accidents in the State of California are covered under the laws of negligence. Negligence is basically a legal term that means fault or blame. Under the laws of negligence, you must prove four basic elements in order to be entitled to compensation for your accident. The first element that you must prove is that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. The defendant is the person that you believe is responsible for the accident. You are the plaintiff. The relationship between the two of you must have included a duty of care owed to you. This can be shown in many ways. Sometimes, the duty of care is obvious. For instance, if you were the passenger on an airplane – clearly the pilot owed you a duty to be careful flying the plane. In car accidents, the duty of care is often inferred by the simple fact that the other person was operating a vehicle on a public roadway. Each case is fact specific, but must include a duty of care owed to you.
Second, the defendant must have breached that duty of care. Again, sometimes this is obvious. If the defendant was driving while intoxicated for instance, they have clearly breached the duty of care. Other times, it is not so obvious. In the case of products that have caused injuries, it may take months or even years to determine who was responsible for breaching the duty of care, but is the product was defective then SOMEONE breached the duty. Airplane accidents can also take a substantial amount of investigating to determine the reason for the accident. Once the reason has been determined, your lawyer will have a better idea of who was responsible for breaching the duty of care.
The third element necessary for a negligence claim is that the defendant’s breach caused your injuries. The last element is that you show damages. “Damages” is the legal terms used to describe injuries. Damages can refer to property damages as well as physical and emotional injuries.
Once all four of these elements have been met, you and your lawyer are ready to file a personal injury accident lawsuit and recover the compensation that you are entitled to for the injuries that you suffered. If you have been injured in a California accident, then the responsible party is required to compensate you under the laws of negligence in the State of California.
For more information, or to schedule a free detailed evaluation of you accident case, please contact accident lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: accident, accident case, accident lawyer, accidents, airplane, airplane accident, airplane accidents, california accident lawyer, car accident, car accidents, compensation, damages, duty of care, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, ledgerlaw.com, legal terms, medical bill, medical bills, motorcycle accident, motorcycle accidents, Negligence, negligence claim, pain and suffering, pedestrian, pedestrian accident, pedestrian accidents, Personal Injury, personal injury accident, plaintiff, plane accident, responsible party, train accident, train accidents
Posted in Personal Injury | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
If you have suffered injuries as a result of a California accident, then you may be entitled to compensation for those injuries. Accidents happen everyday, but sometimes someone’s negligence played a part in the accident. Accidents may happen while driving your car, flying in an airplane, crossing the street or simply doing your job. Regardless of the type of accident you have been involved in, you may have a valid California accident case. Exactly how that case will ultimately be resolved may depend on a number of factors, but it will likely be resolved by either reaching a settlement agreement with the responsible party (or parties) or by proceeding to trial and letting a jury decide how much to award you. So what are the differences between accepting a settlement agreement and going to trial?
There are two main reasons that a California accident case may not be settled prior to going to trial. The first reason is that the responsible party has not accepted fault – or negligence in legal terms. In order to reach a settlement agreement, the responsible party must admit that they were negligent in the accident. In other words, they must admit that their actions – or inactions – caused or contributed to the accident. In some cases, negligence is not obvious and the defendant does not want to agree that they were at fault. They may also agree that they were partially at fault but you have a difference of opinion as to the level of their fault or negligence. Your lawyer cannot force the defendant to accept fault and admit negligence. If they are unwilling to do so, then a settlement agreement cannot be reached and your case will need to proceed to trial to allow the jury to decide who was at fault.
The other big reason that you may not be able to reach a settlement agreement in you California accident case is that you cannot agree on the amount of compensation. Sometimes the responsible party agrees that they were negligent, but is unwilling to agree on the amount of compensation that you are asking for in your settlement demand. You should always consult with your accident lawyer before deciding on a reasonable amount to ask for in your accident case, but you are not obligated to settle for any particular amount. Your lawyer will advise you as to what he believes a jury is likely to award you if you proceed to trial and then you will decide whether to accept what the defendant is willing to pay or proceed to trial and let the jury decide how much to award you.
Remember that if your case proceeds to trial, then the jury will decide all issues that have not been agreed upon by the parties in advance. This means that they will decide whether the defendant was negligent at all and if so how much the defendant’s negligence contributed to the accident. They will then be the sole decision makers as to how much compensation you are entitled to. A trial can leave you with nothing or with much more compensation than the defendant was offering. It is always best to consult with you California accident lawyer before making the decision to take your case to trial.
If you would like more information or a free detailed evaluation of your California accident case, please contact California accident lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: accident, accident attorney, accident case, accident lawyer, accidents, california accident lawyer, compensation, defendant, dents, difference of opinion, emery, emery ledger, fault, juries, law, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal terms, Negligence, offer, responsible party, settlement, settlement agreement
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Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
If you have lost a loved one in an airplane accident in California, you may be entitled to file as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit. Airplane accidents can have devastating effects on the families of those that perish in the accident. Losing a loved one unexpectedly can have a traumatic effect both emotionally and financially on a family. While a lawsuit will certainly not turn back the clock and prevent your loss, it may help ease the financial burden that you and your family are facing now and for the foreseeable future.
Airplane travel has become much safer than it once was, however accidents do still happen on a regular basis. When they happen, they are frequently caused by either pilot error or mechanical failure. Statistics tell us that at least half of all airplane accidents can be attributed, at least in part, to pilot error and/or mechanical failure. If either pilot error or mechanical failure were to blame in your loved one’s accident, then you may have a valid California wrongful death lawsuit, says California airplane accident lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. Under California law, if your loved one’s death was caused by the negligence or misconduct of another person or company, then you may be entitled to file as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit. Negligence is a legal terms that essentially means fault or blame. So what does filing as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit mean to you?
As a claimant in a California wrongful death lawsuit, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of future income, loss of household support and loss of affection, support, consortium and many other losses that you have suffered as a result of their untimely death. The California wrongful death statutes are intended to protect surviving victims from the huge financial burden that is thrust on them when they unexpectedly lose the financial and emotional support of a loved one. If you were dependent on the decedent financially, emotionally or practically, then you may be entitled to recover compensation for the loss of that support. Through a wrongful death lawsuit, you can receive compensation that will help support you and your family in the future. In a wrongful death claim, the court will take into account the amount of support you received from the decedent before their death and calculate what you could have reasonably expected to receive throughout the normal life expectancy of the decedent (or you – whichever amounts to less time). If the decedent did not contribute financially to the family, but contributed to the household, that support can also qualify for compensation in a wrongful death claim.
You owe it to yourself and to your family to pursue whatever legal remedies are available to you to see that your family is secure for the future. If you have any additional questions or would like a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your potential California wrongful death airplane accident case, please contact the California airplane accident law firm of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit their website at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: accident, accident case, accident lawyer, accidents, airplane, airplane accident, airplane accidents, california law, claim, claimant, compensation, death lawsuit, decedent, emotional support, fault, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal terms, losses, Negligence, pilot error, plane accident, statistics, support consortium, untimely death, wrongful death, wrongful death airplane, wrongful death claim, wrongful death claims, wrongful death law, wrongful death laws, wrongful death lawsuit
Posted in Aviation Accident Lawyer | No Comments »
Monday, May 31st, 2010
If you own a motorcycle, then you know that along with the incredible freedom that comes along with riding, you also accept the risks of an accident. Despite decades of attempts by both government entities and private groups to educate the car and truck driving masses about the need to watch out for motorcycles, they still fall short. Statistics tell us that the majority of the time when a motorcycle is involved in an accident with a passenger vehicle, the passenger vehicle was at fault or more at fault in the accident. Of those accidents, drivers most often report that the reason they were involved in the accident in the first place was because they simply did not see the motorcycle. Motorcycle safety has also come a long way. Bikes are made better and come equipped with a number of safety minded options. Protective clothing is available to prevent or limit the severity if injuries if the worst happens. Many states now require protective head gear to be worn at all times to prevent or limit head injuries. Having said all of that, if you are involved in a motorcycle accident, the chances are good that you have suffered damages (injuries in legal terms). SO how do you know what your motorcycle accident case if worth?
According to California motorcycle accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, determining the value of any personal injury claim can be complicated and may involve a number of factors that are specific to your case alone. There are, however, a few things to take into advantage in all motorcycle accident cases to help you determine the value.
1. Who was at fault? If the other person was 100% at fault, then that makes computing damages much simpler. While you may think that the other driver was completely at fault, that may not turn out to be the case. Even if you did share some of the fault, in California as long as the other person was MORE at fault, you may still be able to recover damages and receive compensation. Your compensation will simply be adjusted according to the amount of fault (or negligence in legal terms) that you shared in the accident.
2. What are your economic damages? Economic damages are quantifiable damages. These include things such as medical bills, lost wages, damage to your bike and others.
3. What are your non-economic damages? Non-economic damages are what most people think of as “pain and suffering”. Computing non-economic damages can be more difficult and may depend on this such as the type and severity of physical injuries you suffered and your general health before the accident.
Only an experienced California motorcycle accident attorney can accurately determine what the value of your motorcycle accident case is based on your specific set of facts. If you have been in a motorcycle accident, contact the motorcycle accident law firm of Ledger & Associates as soon as possible for your free detailed evaluation of your motorcycle accident case. They can be reached by visiting them online at www.ledgerlaw.com or by telephone at 1-800-300-0001.
Tags: accident, accident attorney, accident case, accident cases, accidents, acto, amp, at fault, attorney, attorney emery ledger, california motorcycle, california motorcycle accident attorney, cat, claim, compensation, damages, dents, economic damages, emery, emery ledger, fault, head injuries, injury, injury claim, juries, law, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal terms, medical bill, medical bills, motorcycle accident, motorcycle accident attorney, motorcycle attorney, Motorcycle safety, motorcycles, Negligence, options, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury claim, physical injuries, risk, safety, states, statistics, suffering, vehicle, wages
Posted in Motorcycle Accident Lawyer | No Comments »
Saturday, May 29th, 2010
Motorcycle enthusiasts know that California is one of the best states to own and ride a motorcycle. The weather is conducive to riding for most of the year and the variety of topography keeps you from getting bored or seeing the same sights over and over again. With over 1.3 million registered motorcycles in California, it is clear that bikers are enjoying what California has to offer. Sadly, motorcycle accidents and fatalities are also on the rise in California. After reaching an all time low back in 1998, California motorcycle fatalities and serious injuries have been increasing each year since then. Motorcycle fatalities were down to 200 for the year 1998, however have been rising each year since then and are approaching the 500 number mark. Serious injuries have been rising as well over the last decade from a low of around 6,000 in 1998 to around 10,000 per year for the last few years. Motorcyclists also represent a disproportionate number of accidents compared to other forms of transportation. While bikers represent only 2.1% of all registered vehicles in California, they account for 9.4% of all traffic fatalities in the state. A motorcycle accident not only leaves you with damage to your bike – which may be your only form of transportation – but can leave you with serious or even life-threatening and permanent physical injuries as well. You may also suffer psychological trauma as a result of a motorcycle accident. So what legal options do you have if you have been involved in a motorcycle accident that was not your fault?
You may be entitled to receive compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. In the State of California, if the accident was not your fault, or your share of the fault (negligence in legal terms) was less than the other driver’s, then you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you have suffered. Damages is a legal term used to describe the injuries – physical and emotional – that you have suffered. In California, you may be entitled to receive both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those things were directly caused by the other driver and are easily quantifiable. Examples of economic damages are: damage to your motorcycle; lost wages or income; medical bills; hospital bills; towing expenses and rental car expenses. You may also be entitled to non-economic damages. None-economic damages are harder to calculate. They include things such as: pain and suffering; loss of use; disfigurement; humiliation; disability; mental anguish and emotional distress. The value of your non-economic damages can be difficult to calculate as many factors go into determining the value such as the type and severity of any physical injuries you suffered, your age and general health before the accident and how the injuries may affect your future ability to earn a living or your future ability to engage in personal relationships.
If you have been involved in a California motorcycle accident, you owe it to yourself and your family to seek legal advice from an experienced motorcycle accident attorney immediately. If you were not at fault, then you have every right to hold the responsible party accountable for their negligence. Contact California motorcycle accident attorney Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates for a free detailed evaluation of your case at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: biker, bikers, california motorcycle, california motorcycle accident attorney, compensation, damages, dents, economic damages, emery, emery ledger, emotional distress, lawsuit, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal advice, legal options, legal terms, medical bill, medical bills, motorcycle accident, motorcycle accident attorney, motorcycle accidents, motorcycle enthusiasts, motorcycle fatalities, motorcycles, motorcyclist, motorcyclists, Negligence, offer, options, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, physical injuries, responsible party, state of california, suffering, traffic, traffic fatalities
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Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
If you are a family member or loved one of one of the millions of senior citizens that are abused each year by caregivers, then you may be considering an elder abuse lawsuit against the caregiver and/or facility where they were residing. An elder abuse lawsuit is a type of personal injury lawsuit in that the basis of the lawsuit is a claim of negligence on the part of the caregiver or the facility – or both. So what is negligence and what type of compensation might my loved one be entitled to?
Negligence is a legal term that refers to the failure of someone to use reasonably prudent care. A negligence claim generally requires that four basic elements be met. They are: a duty of care was required; there was a breach of that duty; the breach of the duty of care was the cause of the injuries; and the plaintiff suffered damages as a result. In an elder abuse case, the duty of care is generally easy to establish. If your elderly loved one was placed in a long term care facility or was under the care of a private nurse or caregiver, then the very description of their job was to care for your loved one. Clearly, there is a duty of care placed on the caregiver and/or facility. The breach of that duty can be obvious or more subtle. In situations where physical abuse was involved, the breach of the duty of care is obvious. Other situations are not as obvious but may never the less be a breach of that duty. Failure to provide adequate care such as proper hygiene or exercise can be a breach of the duty of care. Additionally, over medicating a patient or restraining a patient may also be considered a breach of the duty of care. Even verbal, emotional or financial abuse may be a breach of care. Sadly, the possibilities are endless when discussing how elder abuse can form the basis of a negligence lawsuit. Causation is generally easy to determine in elder abuse cases but not always. The last element – damages – encompasses both economic and non-economic damages. In legal terms, damages refers to injuries. Economic damages are things that are quantifiable such as medical bills. If your loved one suffered a broken hip as a result of being pushed, then the hospital or doctor bill would be an economic damage. Non-economic damages are what most people think of as “pain and suffering”. These are the things that you don’t have a bill for but for which you may be entitled to compensation. Your loved one may be able to receive compensation from the caregiver and/or facility for both economic and non-economic damages if they have been the victim of elder abuse.
If you have a loved one that has suffered elder abuse and would like more information about your legal options, please contact the elder abuse law firm of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit them online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: claim, compensation, damages, duty of care, economic damages, elder abuse, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, legal terms, medical bill, medical bills, Negligence, negligence claim, nursing home abuse, options, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, physical abuse, plaintiff, senior citizens, suffering
Posted in Nursuing Home Abuse | Elder Abuse | No Comments »
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
In lieu of the three recent Toyota recalls, many people are asking what legal options they may have if they have been injured in an accident involving a recalled vehicle, according to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. With over 8.5 million vehicles recalled in three separate recalls over the last six months, the number of accidents and deaths attributable to recalled vehicles continues to climb. The latest reports link over 50 deaths and hundreds of accidents to recalled Toyota manufactured vehicles. According to complaint filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), complaints involving accidents go back as far as the mid 1990’s, although cars that old are not currently part of one of the recalls. If you have been injured in an accident with a recalled vehicle, what are your legal options?
According to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, you may have a personal injury claim against the manufacturer. While each car accident has a unique set of facts, they all operate under the rules of negligence. Negligence, in legal terms, means fault or blame. In most car accidents, the negligent party is one of the drivers involved in the accident. Maybe someone ran a stop light or drifted into another lane. These are typical examples of negligence. You may not realize that a company can also be negligent.
Negligence basically requires that four elements be proven: Duty of care; breach of duty; causation; and damages, says Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. A vehicle manufacturer generally owes a duty of care to the people that will be driving, or riding, in a vehicle that they produce. If they have produced a vehicle with a defective part, then the argument is that they have breached their duty of care to the passengers in the vehicle. If that defective part is the cause of the accident, then causation has been met. Lastly, if someone is injured in the accident, then the damages element has also been met. While this is an overly simplified analysis of the elements of negligence, it gives you an idea how a vehicle manufacturer can be held responsible for injuries suffered in a car accident.
Additionally, in many states – California among them – more than one party can be held responsible for an accident. This is called a “comparative negligence” theory, according to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. What this means is that a vehicle manufacturer and a driver could both share the blame for and accident. Only an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney can evaluate the specific facts and circumstances surrounding your case, but if you have been injured in a car accident involving a recalled vehicle, then you should seek the guidance of an attorney as soon as possible.
For an evaluation of you case, or if you would like additional information, contact Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: causation, claim, comparative negligence, damages, deaths, duty of care, elements of negligence, emery, emery ledger, fault, four elements, highway traffic safety, injury, injury claim, istration, juries, law, Ledger, legal options, legal terms, los angeles personal injury attorney, million vehicles, national highway traffic, national highway traffic safety, national highway traffic safety administration, Negligence, nhtsa, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury claim, recalls, safety, toy, toyota, toyota recall, traffic, traffic safety administration, typical examples, vehicle
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