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Personal Injury
Sometimes automobile or light truck accidents occur when there is only one car involved and no surviving witnesses to testify as to what happened or at least no other driver to testify as to what caused the accident. The victims of these accidents often do not pursue any claim because they assume there was no one at fault except the driver of the single vehicle involved in the accident. Occasionally though, there is a party at fault besides the driver.
The issues that surface in such cases involve the crashworthiness of the vehicle involved or sometimes the roadway itself. Regardless of what caused the accident there is a question of what caused the driver's injuries. Were the injuries caused by the accident itself or by a failed seat belt, collapsed roof, unsafe design, or some other such thing? These questions can even arise when the accident involves two or more vehicles and the injured person appears to be at fault in the accident.
Cases such as those I just described are expensive to investigate and litigate and in order to justify the out of pocket costs the injury must be severe, i.e. resulting in death or life changing injury such as paralysis, severed limb, etc.
If you or someone you know has been involved in such an accident, The Law Offices of Darrell L. Castle & Associates would like to investigate for possible crashworthiness issues. There is no charge for the consultation.
FORMER SMOKER WINS TOBACCO CASE
Posted by: Darrell Castle
November 23, 2009
A jury in Fort Lauderdale Florida ordered Phillip Morris USA to pay $300 million to a former smoker who now needs a lung transplant. If this case survives on appeal it would be the largest award to an individual in a tobacco case. A state Supreme Court ruling in Florida made it easier for plaintiffs to prevail in tobacco cases by lowering the burden of proof. In 1998 the seven largest tobacco companies agreed to pay $206 billion in a master settlement with 46 states. Florida was one of those states but the state supreme court lowered the burden of proof in 2006 thus opening the door for thousands of new suits. The Florida court rejected a class action verdict of $145 billion and said plaintiffs would have to sue individually, but the court lowered the burden of proof for those individuals. The key elements traditionally required for proof in a tobacco case: that nicotine is addictive, that smoking causes diseases, and that cigarette companies hid those facts no longer have to be proven in the Florida cases.
Last Thursday's $300 million award included $56 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages. The trial lasted three weeks and the jury deliberated for three hours. The plaintiff started smoking when she was 20 and quit when she was 45 years old. She alleges that she now has severe emphysema and needs a lung transplant. The Jury found her 10% liable for her disease and Phillip Morris 90%. More than 9000 cases now await trial in Florida but Phillip Morris expects the appellate court to reject the relaxed burden of proof set by the Florida Supreme Court.
INJURED BOY AWARDED $6.5 MILLION
Posted by: Darrell Castle
November 16, 2009
The Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper reported in a local news story of Saturday, November 14, 2009 that a Memphis jury returned a $6.5 million judgment Friday against Ford Motor Company and on behalf of a boy who was critically injured in a 2002 two car crash that also killed three men including his father and grandfather. The trial lasted six weeks and the jury found Ford liable for 15% of the total verdict of $43.8 million. The six year old victim was using a seatbelt deemed to be defective and not suitable for a child.
The car in which the child was riding was hit head on by a drunk driver who was also killed in the accident. The lawyer who represented the injured boy said that if the case survives appeal his client will be taken care of. This case is an example of good lawyering and tireless effort on behalf of one's client, a little boy left paralyzed for life. Where would he be without the skill and hard work of this trial lawyer? Who does his family see for his lifetime care if not for the trial lawyers?
This is also a case of looking outside the obvious for a solution to a client's injury. The judgment against Ford is essentially a defective design issue in which the seatbelts in the Ford cars of that year would not fit a child 4 to 8 years old. People who are catastrophically injured or their survivors if they are killed should consider the crashworthiness issues of the cars or trucks in which they were riding. Sometimes the crashworthiness of the vehicle is an answer even when there is no obvious cause of the accident or even when it appears the injured party is at fault. Should you have a case that might possibly have a crashworthiness issue consider calling The Law Offices of Darrell L. Castle and Associates for a free appointment with an experienced attorney.
E.COLI CONTAMINATION
Posted by: Darrell Castle
November 11, 2009
The dictionary definition of e.coli (escherichic coli) is one of several types of bacteria that normally inhabit the intestine of humans and animals. Some strains of e. coli are capable of causing disease under certain conditions when the immune system is compromised, or disease may result from an environmental exposure.
Yes indeed, disease may result from environmental exposure and has done so many times in recent years. Some of these higher profile cases have been widely reported in national newspapers such as the New York Times. E. coli bacteria may cause infections in wounds, the urinary tract, biliary tract, and abdominal cavity. It may cause septicemia, neonatal meningitis, infantile gastroenteritis, tourist diarrhea, and hemorrhagic diarrhea. Environmental exposure to e. coli, when food and water has been contaminated with human or animal feces or sewage, can give rise to a serious threat to public health.
Symptoms of e. coli infection can range from mild to severe depending on the level of exposure and the strain of bacteria. Symptoms can include bloody diarrhea, acute abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, and many severe symptoms up to and including death.
There have been several well publicized outbreaks of e. coli infection within the last few years resulting from contaminated ground beef. The United States Department of Agriculture is tasked with inspecting and safeguarding our meat supply and the department's officials tell us that they are taking e.coli very seriously. The agency reports that it has adopted additional procedures, including enhanced testing at slaughterhouses implicated in outbreaks and better training for investigators. The department recommends that hamburger be cooked at a temperature of at least 160 degrees.
If you have suffered an e. coli infection from an environmental source such as contaminated meat, seek medical attention immediately and when your condition permits, call the Law Offices of Darrell L. Castle and Associates for a free appointment with an experienced attorney.
