Archive for January, 2009

You could be an active party to an accident that has caused some damage to you. If that is the case, you ought to be bearing all the consequences of the action. But with instances where you have suffered an injury due to someone else’s fault, you could claim personal injury claims. These claims exist as per the statutes of the governing body of the United Kingdom.

With this knowledge, you should know types of personal injury claims so you could claim money the next time when you get injured due to someone else’s fault.

Types of Personal Injury claims

· Road accident claims – You may be walking down the road on the safe side, yet could be knocked over by a speeding car. Now, this definitely is not in your hands. Of course, you would be taking a hit in terms of injuries suffered by your body, and there is nothing really you could do about this, but think of ways to treating them. You could definitely claim financial damages that you have had to undergo because of the accident.

· Accidents at public places – You could well be sitting on a bench in a public park close to your home and enjoying the good evening sea breeze. It could so happen that the bench could give way due to faulty construction or poor maintenance. Whatever be the reason, the chances of you getting injured are high. In such a scenario, claiming financial compensation for the accident could put you in a position where you can treat your injuries effectively.

· Personal injury during air travel – During your next air travel, the air hostess may bump the food serving tray on your feet and cause some damage to your foot. If this happens, you are entitled to claim personal injury claims.

Please note that the compensation to people filing for accident claims will depend on the nature and the seriousness of the injury. You would find that minor injuries are often given a pass and major ones are compensated after a rigorous investigation.

What people need to know is that personal injury claims are for them to be benefited when they suffer from accidents. A lot of people misconstrue the real meaning of personal injury claims deliberately and end up doing criminal things to take undue advantage of this statute. This is detrimental because personal injury claims does benefit a lot of people in a great sense.

Of course, the sense of physical impairment due to accidents is far more reaching than compensating it with money. But monetary compensation does help you in getting treated for the injury effectively.

Life is uncertain these days. The world is fast paced and to match its pace you need to increase the speed of your life too. Which is good as the life keeps on changing and numerous opportunities arise at every step of life.

The increased pace at times, increases carelessness and ignorance which might lead to accidents. These accidents can happen anywhere, in the office, on the road, while on holiday or in your house. Injuries are never easy to take, but if you are injured because of someone else’s fault then you can claim for personal injury compensation.

Personal injury claim is the compensation which is offered to the victim who has suffered an accident and that too because of the fault of someone else. So if you have suffered any personal injury because of carelessness of someone else, then you have all the right in the world to claim your compensation.

The circumstance in which the injury took place determines the scope of the claim. No matter how strong your case is, but you still need to prove it, to the insurance company and at times to the court too; and will require evidences like medical receipts, expense receipts, police statements etc. If some evidences are missing then the insurance company will try its best to reduce or reject the claim all together.

Insurance companies are reluctant to pay the claims and will try their level best to contradict your claims and reduce the compensation or at times try to get out of the claim all together and eliminate their liability.

There are five important points which need to be kept in mind before going for a personal injury claim:

1. Go for a claim within stipulated time: There is a certain period within which a personal injury claim can be filed, if the claim is filed after this period then the chances of the claim being rejected increases.

2. Provide medical records: The compensation for the claim will depend on the nature and the extent of the injury, which can only determined by the doctor. Therefore prepare a proper and a consolidated record of your medical records and expenses incurred.

3. File a police case: Going legal eases the claiming process, many a times; evidences will be needed for which police might have to investigate. So it is very important to go for a police case and then furnish the police report along with the claim.

4. Look out for eyewitnesses: Having an eyewitness is a very big advantage, eyewitness will corroborate your facts and thus strengthen the case and increase the chances of getting the compensation.

Get yourself a lawyer: It is recommended that a lawyer is consulted who specializes in personal injuries to strengthen the case so that a justifiable compensation is claimed. Also a lawyer assists in filing of the injury claim. He will also get the evidences in place and strengthen the case.Ideally the lawyer will represent you on a no win no fee basis.

So the next time you get yourself injured because of someone else’s recklessness then you should follow the above points and file your claim for compensation.

Most of the companies, these days are striving to reduce cost at all ends. The easiest cut that most of the manufacturers or other producers see is the cut in the raw material. This includes, lowering the quantity and also the quality of the raw materials involved. Most of the companies even outsource their manufacturing to low labor cost countries like China, and at times quality is compromised as the standards of quality are not high.
When such steps are taken, then the direct impact is on the products rolled out in the market. And at times, consumers of the products are the sufferers. These low quality products are heavy not only on the consumer’s pocket but also their health and might even cause serious injuries.
Like the recent case of deaths of infants in China on consumption of a defective batch of packaged milk. Similarly a batch of defective toys manufactured in China and exported to the US was rejected on the grounds of health.
The product itself might be defective because of negligence either of the producers or of the big chain between the producer and the consumer. The product might be made up of poor raw material which might be harmful or during the supply chain the product might get affected by its surroundings and get contaminated with harmful ingredients, foreign objects etc. At times the packaging it self might be defective.
Some examples of defective products are include a decomposed mouse in a soft drink bottle, an unpackaged prophylactic in a bottle of Coke, a decomposed moth in a bottle of Tab, slivers of glass in a soft drink and a can of spinach infested with worms. The most famous of course being the decomposed human toe in chewing tobacco
When such products are consumed and a death or a personal injury occurs to the consumer then the liability is on the producer, distributor, importer, retailer or other supplier of products. But generally the manufacturer pass on the blame to the supplier and the supplier pass on the ball to the transporter.
So it is better that the consumer remain careful while coming into contact with dubious products, if not ignoring them all together. Consuming such defected products might be injurious to health and at times, fatal. The law is taking these cases very seriously and trying to make the manufacturer as responsible as they can. These cases fall under the law known as Products Liability. If you have been affected, you may have grounds for a defective product claim. If found guilty, the license of the manufacturer can be cancelled and he will have to compensate the affected.
Not just the manufacturer, everyone in the chain is made more accountable, like the designer, manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer. They have to make sure that the product reaching the consumer is safe. And anyone and everyone associated with the sale of the defected product have to compensate the affected person, even if the victim is not able to prove that the intention of the seller of the product was malicious or negligent.
But these claims are not easy to get so it is better that as a consumer, extra concern is paid while consuming products and prevent from consuming products from dubious brands.

In general, personal injury law can be separated in to two categories: negligent acts or intentional acts.  They may also be referred to as “torts” an old english term meaning “legal cause of action” for which an individual can seek compensation for through the legal system.

Negligence Law

A negligent act occurs when one individual damages the person or property of another without any “intent” to injure.Sometimes this occurs solely due to anothers carelessness.  For example, a driver who is careless, and causes an auto accident by failing to obey the traffic laws may be considered negligent and would be responsible for any damages caused to any person or property.

In order to prevail in a negligence action, the injured party needs to prove that the other party had a duty of reasonable care, did not maintain reasonable care, and that the failure to maintain such reasonable care resulted in injuries to the aggrieved party.  For example, referring to the auto accident mentioned above, all drivers have the duty to operate their vehicle safely.  If they fail to do so, and this failure injures any other person, or another’s property, then they would meet all of the criteria to be held negligent and therefore accountable for and damages caused to the injured party.

The majority of negligent actions include slip and fall situations, motor vehicle accidents, products liability cases, and injuries resulting from the malpractice of a medical professional or institution.

Intentioanl Acts

Any individual who acts with the intention to injure another or their personal property, has commited an intentional tort.  In most cases, is does not matter whether the party intended that an injury occur, only that he or she intended to commit the act which led to the injury.An intentional act, or tor, is defined in many states as an act where a reasonable person knew, or should have had knowledge that it would lead to an injury or destruction of property.

Ontentional torts generally are, assault, battery kidnapping, and abuse.  In fact many intentional tort actions are brought as the result of the commission of a criminal act.

Harry S. Bernstein has been representing claimants as a an experienced Cleveland Personal Injury attorney for several years. Please visit our website at Cleveland Personal Injury attorney from more information on this topic.

The Ohio Workers Compensation program is a system of no fault insurance created statutorily by federal or state government to allow for a more efficient economy. The government places a legal duty upon all businesses to provide insurance for their employees for any work related injuries, but exempts them from negligence suits for such injuries.

The State of Ohio implemented a system for Ohio Workers Compensation in 1924, with an amendment of Section 35 of the Ohio Constitution to provide “compensation to workmen and their dependents, for death, injuries, or occupational disease, occasioned in the course of such workmen’s employment, laws may be passed establishing a state fund to be created by compulsory contribution thereto by employers, and administered by the state…Such compensation shall be in lieu of all other rights to compensation, or damages…and any employer who pays the premium…shall not be liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute…”

So in plain English, the Ohio Constitution mandates an Ohio Workers Compensation system which provides for:

Workers Compensation to employees for any work related injury, death, or occupational disease

Establish an Ohio Workers Compensation fund to be administered by the state and funded by employer premiums

Exempt employers who participate in the Ohio Workers Compensation fund from liability for work related injury, death or occupational disease under common law or statute

Although you do not need to be represented by an Ohio Workers Compensation lawyer in order to receive your benefits, it is highly recommended.  The Ohio Workers Compensation system is quite technical and many procedures must be followed in order to recover your maximum benefits.  In order to prevail on a claim, an employee must fill out several forms correctly, file them in the appropriate locations, provide wage and job description information when requested, attend hearings as instructed, and attend medical examinations when required.  Failure to complete any of these obligations may result in the denial of your claim, and leave you uncompensated for a legitimate work related injury or occupational disease.

Copyright 2008 - Harry S. Bernstein, Esq. (800)-930-9882 - 50 Public Square #801 Cleveland, OH 44113

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If you ever have an auto accident in the state of Pennsylvania, You are going to need a Pennsylvania Car accident attorney. Car Accidents are the cause of over 120,000 deaths since the year 2003. The people in the United States alone have spent over 719.2 million dollars in accident related expense in the past year.

Insurance companies employ their own team of Insurance agents, investigators, insurance adjusters and legal counsel to try and save the company as much money as possible when it comes to insurance claims. The person who is affected by the accident is going to need a legal team of their own. In the keystone state, you are going to need a Pa. Car accident attorney.

I don’t know of an insurance company that isn’t going to try and take advantage of you. Upon reporting the car accident, The insurance representative will try to cut a deal. What they are trying to do is get legally excused from future claims by you.

What you can seek after an auto accident is the cost of your medical expenses, Loss of wages from not being able to work, loss of property and other things. If you have been involved in an automobile accident, A pennsylvania Car accident attorney is your best bet. Your attorney will see that the insurance company does not take advantage of you. Compensation for damages that you can claim and be paid for will be very different depending on what happened and why.

IF you happen to be involved in a car accident with an underinsured or uninsured driver, There is no doubt that you will need a Pa. Automobile accident attorney. If you are injured and the car is damaged, both you and the car could be covered under your own insurance policy.

People that are injured in car accidents have rights. To protect these rights retain a Pa. Automobile accident attorney. The insurance companies, Health car providers and other businesses do not have your best interest in mind. They do not always offer fair settlements either.When you are involved in a car accident, do not hesitate to contact a Pennsylvania Automobile accident attorney. The legal counsel you have will make every effort to see that you get what is owed to you.