Posts Tagged ‘personal injury cases’
Friday, July 9th, 2010
The death of a family member or loved one can be an extremely difficult time in your life – especially if the death was not one of natural causes. The situation can be frustrating as the negligence of another individual’s behavior caused the death of your beloved. In this instance, though it may be difficult and emotionally draining, the best course of action is to consult a wrongful death attorney who can assist you through the process. Unlike other personal injury cases, a wrongful death claim must be filed by the surviving family members of the deceased. However, there are statutes of limitation and state laws that must be complied with in order to successfully file a claim.
Then the central question is – who is eligible to file for a wrongful death lawsuit? The answer to that question is – it depends. In all states, including California, immediate family members (spouses, children, etc.) can file a wrongful death suit against the responsible party(ies). However, there are other various state laws that dictate if extended family members can file a lawsuit (sometimes), and what the statutes of limitation are when filing a wrongful death suit. Statutes of limitation put a time limit on when the lawsuit can be filed; family members cannot file a claim after this time period has passed, unfortunately.
A wrongful death is an extremely tragic incident, and the family who undergoes the pain and suffering deserves to be compensated for their losses. Not only is there financial damage that the family is forced to deal with, but a family and a circle of intimately acquainted individuals consist of a dynamic. A family is able to function on the dynamic of all of the individual family members, and a wrongful death takes a crucial factor out of that equation. Emery Ledger, a California wrongful death attorney, has taken on wrongful death cases and understands the family’s pain and suffering in these extenuating circumstances. Not only is the family forced to pay medical expenses, funeral expenses, and property damage, but they must also cope with the loss of a loved one. You and your family do not deserve to go through this, and hiring a wrongful death attorney can at least minimize the financial burdens you may be facing during this difficult time. Why should you have to be financial responsible for an action that you did not commit?
If you have suffered the loss of a family member as of a wrongful death, the most important thing is to have the best legal representation available to you and your family. If you would like a free and detailed evaluation of your California wrongful death case, please contact a wrong death lawyer from the Offices of Ledger of Ledger & Associates for more information on your legal options. Please call 1-800-300-000 or visit the website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: california wrongful death attorney, death lawyer, deceased, extenuating circumstances, funeral expenses, loss of a loved one, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, statutes of limitation, surviving family, tragic incident, wrongful death, wrongful death attorney, wrongful death case, wrongful death cases, wrongful death claim, wrongful death law, wrongful death laws, wrongful death lawsuit, wrongful death suit
Posted in Wrongful Death Lawyer | No Comments »
Friday, July 9th, 2010
Over 6 million car accidents take place in the United States each year and approximately 11% of all motor vehicle accidents are hit and run car accidents. Recent studies show that up to 700,000 car accident cases each year are a result of hit and run incidents. Over the past decade, hit and run accidents have actually decreased on average (statistics reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), however, in California, the hit and run rates have increased in the past decade. In order to make sure you do not become a victim of a hit and run accident, immediately consult a California car accident attorney who can help you through this process and find those at fault and hold them responsible for damages.
A hit and run is defined as a motor vehicle accident where the at-fault party “runs” after the incident. This means that the at fault party does not exchange any insurance or contact information, making it impossible to track them down and hold them liable for any damages that may have occurred. The worse kind of hit and run occurs when an innocent driver, passenger, or pedestrian is killed as a result of another driver’s negligent behavior. The federal law requires the at-fault driver to leave all contact information (usually on the windshield) for the affected driver and/or car if there were no witnesses at the scene. Before you think about running from the site of an accident, just remember that hit and runs can be charged with civil and criminal penalties. Other than paying for damages done to the other party, you may be faced with additional fines, jail time, and suspension of your drivers license among various other punishments that may be far worse than dealing with the car accident when it happens.
Car accident lawyer Emery Ledger has many years of experience with personal injury cases and car accidents, and many people do find themselves in a difficult situation, left with either bodily injuries and/or property damage as a result of another driver. The most important thing after a hit and run is to receive all proper medical treatments. Then, contact the nearest police department and request for a report to be filed. If you can recollect a description of the driver, vehicle, and/or license plate this can all be used to help the police and attorneys find the driver(s) responsible for the damage.
Many times, drivers find that their insurance plans do not cover hit and run accidents, therefore if you are offered the option to include this in your coverage, it is always safe to do so. However, it is also important to contact an experienced car accident attorney right away following the hit and run. Insurance companies are trained to keep as much money within the company and you may need an attorney to fight for you.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a hit and run car accident, please contact the Law Offices of Ledger & Associates. We have experienced attorneys who can give you a free consultation. Please call (800) 300-0001 or visit the website at www.Ledgerlaw.com
Tags: california car accident attorney, car accident, car accident case, car accident cases, car accident lawyer, car accidents, hit and run accident, hit and run accidents, motor vehicle accident, motor vehicle accidents, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases
Posted in Auto Accident Lawyer | No Comments »
Friday, June 25th, 2010
If you have been involved in an airplane accident and are considering hiring a lawyer to represent you, you may be wondering exactly what role they will play in your case. Lawyers wear many hats in personal injury cases. They are your advocate, your voice and your protector all at the same time. A lawyer’s job starts the moment you retain their services and will take on many forms throughout your case. So what should you expect from your California airplane accident lawyer?
First and foremost you can expect that they will be your voice from the moment your leave their office. This can be invaluable. When you have been injured in an airplane accident, the last thing you want to do is to talk to the press or an insurance agent. Reporters are likely to want an interview as airplane accidents are newsworthy. Insurance agents will call – often within a few days after the accident – trying to “get your side of the story”. They will offer you a token settlement to try and get you to release their client from any and all liability for your injuries. Victims of an airplane accident are frequently both physically and mentally injured after the trauma of the accident and should not have to talk to anyone. This is where your lawyer comes in. Once you have retained counsel, you do not have to worry about talking to anyone. In fact, all you have to do is refer people to your lawyer and let him do the talking for you.
Your California airplane accident lawyer will also do everything he can to protect you so that you can concentrate on healing. If you are having problems finding adequate medical services, talk to your lawyer and he may be able to refer you to doctors that are willing to work with you. If you are in jeopardy of losing your job, or have lost consider wages due to the accident, your lawyer may be able to help you protect your job or at least get you compensation for the money you have lost due to your inability to work.
Most of all, your California airplane accident lawyer will advocate on your behalf at all stages of your case. He will start working on your case as soon as you leave his office and not stop until you receive the compensation you are entitled to. Your experienced California airplane accident lawyer understands the laws of negligence and how they apply in California. He knows who may be responsible for your injuries and how to hold them responsible. Most importantly, he knows what compensation you are entitled to as a result of the injuries you suffered and will fight to make sure that you receive it.
If you would like to learn more about the role of a California airplane accident lawyer, or would like a free detailed evaluation of your case, please call experienced California airplane accident lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at his toll-free number 1-800-300-0001 or visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: accident, accident case, accident lawyer, accidents, advocate, airplane, airplane accident, airplane accidents, lawyer, lawyers, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, liability, Negligence, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, plane accident, settlement, settlement offer, wages, worry
Posted in Aviation Accident Lawyer | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
For the millions of people in America now suffering with mesothelioma cancer, the question of whether or not they have a valid lawsuit and what it may be worth surfaces. Hearing a diagnosis of cancer is traumatic under any circumstances. Hearing that you may have planted the seeds for that cancer decades ago simply by doing your job is devastating news. That, however, is exactly what has happened too many of the mesothelioma cancer victims in the United States.
Estimates vary, but even conservative estimates put the number of mesothelioma cases that are caused by previous exposure to asbestos at 80%. Some experts put that percentage as high as 90%. Mesothelioma was once considered a vary rare form of cancer. .In people afflicted with mesothelioma, malignant cancer cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that protects and covers many of the body’s internal organs. Scientists and doctors believe that when someone is exposed to asbestos dust particles, these particles are breathed in and subsequently enter the lungs. Years, even decades, later, those particles can cause the cells of the mesothelium to become abnormal and eventually lead to mesothelioma cancer.
If you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, you may be entitled to receive compensation for the injuries you have suffered as a result of the cancer. Under the California laws of negligence, if someone that had a duty of care to you breaches that duty and causes injuries, then you may be entitled to compensation. In the case of asbestos related mesothelioma, if you once worked in any of the numerous industries that used asbestos, then your employer or the manufacturer of the products that contained the asbestos could be responsible for your injuries. According to California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, under a California personal injury lawsuit such as an asbestos related mesothelioma case, the victim may be entitled to economic and non-economic damages. “Damages” is a legal term that is used to refer to injuries. Economic damages generally include things that have a quantifiable numerical value such as medical bills or time lost from work due to the illness. Non-economic damages are what many people think of as pain and suffering. In addition, under some circumstances, punitive damages can be awarded when the judge believes that the defendant’s actions (or inactions) were particularly egregious and that the defendant acted with malice. California courts have led the way with some of the highest mesothelioma awards in the country and judges have not shied away from awarding punitive damages as part of those awards.
If you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma, seek the advice of an experienced California mesothelioma lawyer as soon as possible. While the statute of limitations for asbestos cases does not require that a lawsuit be filed shortly after exposure as many other personal injury cases require, it does require that you file a lawsuit within a short time after you have been diagnosed. For a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your mesothelioma case, contact the mesothelioma firm of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit them on the Internet at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos, california law, compensation, damages, defendant, duty of care, economic damages, emery, emery ledger, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, lungs, malignant cancer cells, medical bill, medical bills, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma lawyer, Negligence, numerical value, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, ploy, punitive damages, states, statute of limitations, suffering
Posted in Personal Injury | No Comments »
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
If you, or someone close to you, has been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, you probably already know that there is an excellent chance that the cancer developed from exposure to asbestos many years ago – probably in a work setting. What you may not know is that despite that fact that the exposure to the asbestos that caused the cancer may have been decades ago, you may still be entitled to receive compensation for the cancer that it is causing now. According the California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates says that under California negligence laws, it may not be too late to file a mesothelioma negligence lawsuit.
Negligence is a legal term used to describe fault. In order for someone – a person, entity or company – to be found negligent, you must meet four basic elements. First, the defendant (person, entity or company you are suing) must have owed a duty of care to the plaintiff (you). Second, the defendant must have breached that duty of care. Third, that breach must be the cause, or one of the causes of the injuries you have suffered. Last, you must prove damages. Damages refers to injuries, either physical or emotional, that you have suffered as a result of the defendants’ actions or inactions. The laws of negligence are extremely complicated and case specific, however a general idea of how they apply in mesothelioma cases can be summed up as follows: In mesothelioma cases, negligence is often found as a result of a duty of care that was owed to you as an employee or as someone that was handling the materials used in your work. The breach of care comes in because the materials you were using had high levels of asbestos in them causing you to inhale asbestos dust. That asbestos dust eventually found its way to your lungs and over a period of years or decades caused the mesothelioma cancer that you are now suffering from.
California uses a form of negligence known as comparative negligence. What this means is that more than one defendant can be responsible for the damages you have suffered. Additionally, you can even share some of the blame for your injuries – as long as the other defendants were MORE responsible then you may still be entitled to compensation. In the case of mesothelioma cancer, it is often the case that a previous employer as well as numerous manufacturers of asbestos laden materials all share a part of the negligence for your injuries.
While many personal injury cases must be filed within a relatively short time period after the incident that gave rise to the injuries, the California legislature has enacted a special rule for asbestos cases. Under California law, the time frame for the statute of limitations does not begin until you suffer from a disability associated with the cancer or should have known that you were suffering from a disability associated with the cancer. What this may mean for you is that even if your exposure to asbestos was many years ago, if you are just now suffering the effects of the exposure then you may still be entitled to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your injuries.
For additional information about asbestos related mesothelioma, feel free to contact California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates through his website at www.ledgerlaw.com or at his toll-free number 1-800-300-0001
Tags: asbestos, california law, comparative negligence, compensation, damages, defendant, duty of care, emery, emery ledger, fault, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, lungs injury, Mesothelioma, Negligence, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury case, personal injury cases, personal injury law, personal injury lawyer, plaintiff, statute of limitations
Posted in Wrongful Death Lawyer | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Mesothelioma is a very rare, but very aggressive form of cancer. Scientists are still studying the exact mechanism that takes place inside our bodies to cause the cancer, but almost everyone agrees that the largest risk factor for being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma is past exposure to asbestos. Although doctors and scientists have known of the potential link between asbestos and mesothelioma since the early 1900’s, thousands of products continued to be manufactured with asbestos until fairly recently. Asbestos was routinely used in the manufacture of cars, textiles and in many of the construction trades until the United States government finally stepped in the 1980’s and began to regulate the use of and exposure to asbestos.
What makes pinpointing the cause of mesothelioma even harder is that it can takes years, even decades to produce symptoms in your body. You would have been exposed to asbestos 30 years ago and just now receive a diagnosis of mesothelioma. The damage from asbestos is caused when someone breaths in the asbestos particles that are found in a plant or construction site where asbestos products are used. When someone breathes in the asbestos fibers, the fibers eventually reach the end of the small airways where they penetrate into the pleura (the lining of the lungs). The asbestos fibers may then injure the medothelial cells that surround the lungs and eventually cause cancerous cells to grow and become mesothelioma.
For years, workers in the construction, textile or automotive trades worked in asbestos filled environments without ever knowing the dangers. The symptoms of mesothelioma are extremely slow to show up in the human body and someone can live with mesothelioma precursor cells in their body for decades without knowing they have contracted the cancer. If you are concerned that you may have been exposed to asbestos over your lifetime, or you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should contact an experienced California mesothelioma lawyer as soon as possible. While most personal injury cases have a relatively short statute of limitations (time within which you must file a lawsuit), asbestos cases are treated differently for statute of limitations purposes due to the extremely long incubation period of the disease. Only an experienced mesothelioma lawyer can tell you whether you may be able to file a lawsuit for the damages you have suffered as a result of exposure to asbestos. If you were exposed to asbestos at your job, and that exposure ultimately caused you to be diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Compensation may include payment of your medical bills as well as additional compensation for the suffering you have endured as a result of the exposure.
If you are suffering from mesothelioma, chances are good that your present or past employment caused the cancer. Workers should not have to worry that doing their job can cause them to suffer from cancer 20 or 30 years down the road. If you would like to know more about your legal options as a mesothelioma sufferer, please contact California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos, asbestos fibers, auto, cancerous cell, cancerous cells, cars, compensation, damages, doctors, emery, emery ledger, fibers, human body, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, lungs, medical bill, medical bills, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma lawyer, options, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, statute of limitations
Posted in Product Liability Lawyer | No Comments »
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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