Monday, May 24th, 2010
While commercial aviation has become one of the safest modes of transportation, aviation accidents do still happen. Sadly, when they happen they often have catastrophic and tragic results as evidenced by the Air India crash last week. The crash was the worst aviation accident in the last decade for India.
According to news reports, the Air India Boeing 737 passenger jet departed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates without incident on its way to Mangalore, India. Neither the pilot nor the co-pilot reported any problems while en route to Mangalore and weather conditions were reported as good at the time. When attempting to land, however, in Mangalore, the plane overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport causing the plane to hit a barrier wall and ultimately land in a valley. The crash killed 158 of the 166 people on board. Experts are currently searching for the “black box” that is found on all commercial jets to attempt to determine what went wrong that caused the plane to miss its landing and ultimately cause the crash that took 158 lives. Experts from the United States National Transportation Safety Board are expected to conduct an investigation of the crash.
Despite advances over the last few decades in aviation and safety, aviation accidents are still possible. Statistics tell us that almost half of all aviation accidents are the result of human error or mechanical failure. Human error can include pilot error or air traffic control error. While large jets such as the Boeing 737 do include many automated systems for flying the plane and monitoring the flight systems, responsibility for the safe departure and arrival of a plane is still highly dependent on the pilots and the air traffic control operators. While it may be weeks or months before we know what caused the crash of the Air India flight, we do know that 158 passengers lost their lives and another eight may suffer physical injuries and psychological trauma for the rest of their lives.
The Indian government has already announced that it will be paying the families of the deceased passengers what amounts to about $25,000 per victim pursuant to their regulations for accident victims. What would the families be entitled to here in the United States? If the accident had happened here, family members would be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit for the passengers that were killed or the survivors could file a personal injury lawsuit. Unlike other countries, the amount that the families or the victims are entitled to is no predetermined. Under either a wrongful death lawsuit or a personal injury lawsuit, you will be able to provide evidence of the damages that were suffered by you personally in the case of a personal injury lawsuit or evidence of the future support that you will not have to live without in the case of a wrongful death lawsuit. The ultimate value of your lawsuit will be determined through negotiations with the responsible party – in this case the airline – or through a jury trial wherein the jury will determine the amount of damages that you are entitled to.
If you have been the victim of an aviation accident or have lost a family member as a result of an aviation accident, please call California aviation attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates for more information on your legal options. He may be reached at 1-800-300-0001.
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Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
According to Orange County wrongful death attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, one of the first questions that he is generally asked when consulting on a wrongful death claim is “What compensation am I entitled to?”. While every case and every claimant is different, there are some general guidelines under California law to help you understand what compensation you may be entitled to if you have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligent or intentional act or omission.
Under the laws of the State of California, a claimant in a wrongful death case may be entitled to compensation for three general categories of damages: Future financial support; value of household services; and loss of love, companionship and consortium. These three categories are a broad outline of the potential compensation that you may be entitled to in a wrongful death claim, says Orange County wrongful death attorney Emery Ledger.
Future financial support is intended to take into account what the decedent would have contributed in terms of actual financial support had they lived. In order to determine this value, your wrongful death attorney will consult with economists and accountants to determine what earning potential the decedent had and how much he was likely to earn had he lived. The age of the decedent, educational level and earnings at the time of death are just some of the factors that go into determining a value for future financial support.
The value of household services is intended to place a numerical value on services that the decedent performed in the home so that a spouse could work. This may include such things as cooking, cleaning and child rearing. If one spouse elected to forego pursuing a career in order to raise children or support the other spouse in their career, then that sacrifice and those services had a value and the surviving spouse and children are entitled to compensation for their loss.
Loss of love, companionship and consortium is by far the broadest and most highly contested category. This category attempts to place a monetary value on the emotional impact that the death of the decedent had on the claimant. As you can imagine, this is a very subjective value and often the most emotional part of the process. Your relationship with the decedent will play a role in this value – was the decedent your spouse, parent or child? Undoubtedly, an argument can be made for the emotional impact that the loss of any of those relationships would have on a claimant.
According to Orange County wrongful death attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, once all of those values have been determined is when you will begin negotiations and/or head to trial. Each case is different and only an experienced Orange County wrongful death attorney can give you an idea of what compensation you may be entitled to in your case. If you have suffered the loss of a loved one and would like a free detailed evaluation of your specific case, please contact Orange County wrongful death attorney Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates – 1-800-300-0001 or through his website at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: companionship, compensation, damages, decedent, emery, emery ledger, loss of a loved one, negotiation, negotiations, numerical value, orange, state of california, time of death, wrongful death, wrongful death attorney, wrongful death case, wrongful death claim, wrongful death claims
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
If you have been involved in a car accident, you may be wondering how you know what the value of your personal injury claim will be. In legal terms, the amount of money that you are awarded for the harm caused by someone else’s negligence is called “damages”. Most states allow juries to consider two different types of damages in deciding on the value of a personal injury claim. The first category of damages is economic or actual damages. The second category is non-economic, or pain and suffering damages. In California, as in most other states, if your case goes to trial, a jury will decide the value of your damages and therefore the amount of money you will be awarded. If your case is settled without the need to go to trial, then you will be awarded an agreed upon amount of money. The calculation of damages in a personal injury case can be very complex and is best handled by an experienced California accident lawyer. The following, however, are examples of what can constitute economic damages in a personal injury case..
· Medical Expenses: This can include everything from the ambulance bill for transport to the hospital to projected future medical bills. As you can see, while some bills will be virtually impossible to debate, the cost of future medical bills is often an area that is hotly debated during negotiations or at trial.
· Damages to personal property: This usually refers to your car. You may feel as though this is a simple calculation, but what if you have an estimate that says the cost for repairs will be $3000 but the other driver’s insurance company claims the repairs can be done for $1500?
· Lost wages: Again, this can refer to wages you lost immediately after the accident as well as wages that you anticipate losing in the future. It may also include lost wages for time you missed receiving treatment for your injuries.
· Lost earning capacity: If, for example, you were making $20 an hour before the accident, but because of injuries suffered as a result of the accident, you can no longer do your old job and can now only obtain employment making $15 an hour – that may be an example of lost earning capacity.
· Lost profits: If you were self-employed, or your job was commission based, then you are entitled to what you would have earned had the accident not happened.
As you can see, the dollar amount assigned to each of the above examples is open to debate. For that reason, it is best for you to obtain the services of an experienced California accident attorney. The injuries you suffered as the result of someone else’s negligence may affect you for years to come, but you only have one chance to be compensated for those injuries.
If you have suffered injuries as the result of a car accident and would like an experienced attorney to evaluate your case, contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit us at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: actual damages, ambulance, amount of money, california accident lawyer, car accident, economic damages, insurance, insurance company, juries, legal terms, medical bills, medical expenses, Negligence, negotiations, pain and suffering, personal injury case, personal injury claim, types of damages
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