What Damages Are Recoverable from Car Accidents?
Car accidents can cause more than just serious injuries, often resulting in major financial hardships as well. With all the damages incurred from a car accident, you may be wondering who will be responsible for covering them. Will the at-fault driver or party have to compensate you for these damages? Will you end up paying for your expenses out of your own pocket? While every car accident case will be unique, there are certain types of damages that will typically be covered by the responsible driver. Damages and expenses related to the following are often covered: All types of medical bills, including doctor’s visits, surgical treatment, and so on Anticipated or future medical expenses, such as long-term care or future procedures General pain and…
Wounded Warriors Denied for Social Security Disability Benefits
During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was impossible to watch the news without seeing the consequences to brave men and women of our armed forces. Many were killed, and even more were sent home with serious disabilities caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other combat-related injuries, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). According to a recent news article from Forbes, wounded service members have been sending open letters to their respective Congress members asking for help with the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits application process. One of those letters was from a medically discharged U.S. Army soldier. He describes how he became disabled and what has happened since getting back to the United States. After he completed his last …
Overall Drug Trend For Workers’ Compensation Increased 1.9{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872}
Steven Webb, President, Workers’ Compensation, Express Scripts …on the need for a team approach to opioid management There’s no silver bullet to manage the safety and cost concerns associated with opioid use. At Express Scripts, we help payers fire on all cylinders. For example, our Morphine Equivalent Dose Management Program is a real-time safety check to prevent abuse or misuse of opioids before medication is dispensed. We also have a program in place to communicate directly with the injured worker upon their first opioid fill. And we collaborate with claims staff and prescribing physicians through various tools and communications to ensure comprehensive visibility into the injured workers’ prescription histories. When payers proactively arm themselves with tools that hit every touch point, they help ensure safe and …
"Defamation Claims Brought by Texas Health Care Providers Will Be Subject to Anti-SLAPP Act Requirements"
Health care providers should keep in mind that virtually any suit alleging defamation or other harm from a “communication” relating to the provision of services by a health care professional will be subject to the demanding requirements of the Texas…By: Porter Hedges LLP
Massachusetts Mother Claims Zofran Caused 9 Birth Defects
On February 16, 2015, a woman living in Massachusetts became America’s second parent to allege that anti-nausea drug Zofran caused her child’s severe birth defects. Her personal injury lawsuit, a claim brought against GlaxoSmithKline, Zofran’s manufacturer, was filed in the United States District Court of the District of Massachusetts. It is filed under case number 1:15-cv-10429. […]
Harsh Words for KIND Bars
Kind, LLC received a rude awakening from the FDA when it notified the popular snack-maker that it was violating numerous federal regulations by allegedly misbranding four popular products. Kind is known for its widely-popular snack bars which are…By: Cozen O’Connor
Mother and Son Killed in Separate Wrecks
Mother and Son Killed in Separate Wrecks Over the weekend, a mother and son died in separate wrecks in northern San Luis Obispo County. According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, 56-year-old Donna Dean Magee of Templeton died on Saturday afternoon following a one-vehicle truck crash on Highway 58 in Creston. Just 16 hours later, her son, 35-year-old Zackariah Lopez, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Atascadero. A passenger in Magee’s truck was also hospitalized in the crash. The motorcycle crash happened on the 6800 block of Sycamore. At this time, there’s no word on how or why either of these wrecks occurred. Both of the apparent one-vehicle wrecks are likely still under investigation with law enforcement authorities. The team at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers…
Personal Injury and the Party Manifestos
Is there anything in the parties’ manifestos which might affect the field of personal injury? Reforms since 2010 include a new fixed costs regime, costs management/budgeting and greatly increased court fees. Civil liability has been removed for breaches of health and safety regulations. But what is being promised for the future? The Conservative Manifesto includes a pledge to reform human rights law. It would scrap the Human Rights Act and introduce a British Bill of Rights. The intention is that this will break the formal link between British Courts and the European Court of Human Rights making the Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters in the UK. More is said in the section on the European Union: the Bill will remain faithful to the…
Low cost Arbitration instead of expensive Civil Justice?
At a recent seminar a solicitor, with whom I was discussing the recent (rather extraordinary) hike in Court fees (see, Andrew Spencer’s blog last week), mentioned an initiative which Andrew Ritchie QC has pioneered. Arising out of concerns about recent Government “reforms” to civil justice as these deal with personal injury litigation, the initiative is a proposal for personal injury and clinical negligence claims (presently dealt with in the civil justice system that we all know and love) to be dealt with instead by means of an alternative: a low cost and relatively swift arbitration scheme (using independent PI silks as arbitrators). In common with commercial arbitration, upon appointment, the PI Arbitrator will provide the parties with relatively early assessment of and decision upon those matters…
Texas Supreme Court Rules in Discrimination Matter
05/03/2015 // Dallas, Texas, United States // Attorney Keith Clouse // Keith Clouse // (press release) The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled for an employer in a discrimination matter. San Antonio Water Sys. v. Nicholas, No. 13-0966 (Tex. Apr. 24, 2015), available at https://www.txcourts.gov/media/943998/130966.pdf. The Texas Commission on Human Rights Act protects employees from retaliation when those employees oppose discriminatory employment practices. Here, the employee contended that she was terminated because she confronted a male employee about his repeated lunch invitations to two female employees who worked outside his department. She won a jury trial, and this ruling was affirmed by the intermediate appellate court. The Texas Supreme Court reversed. Opposition to a discriminatory practice is a protected activity even if the underlying discrimination claim ultimately fails. But, to…
Social Security Agencies Push for Stricter Reporting in Disability Cases
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for managing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and of course, the Social Security retirement program. Social Security disability insurance benefits are made available to claimants who can no longer work due to injury or illness. A worker must have been employed for a certain about of time (broken up into quarterly credits), so that he or she has paid into the system, before SSA will approve claimant to receive disability benefits. The Supplemental Security Income benefits program is designed to provide money for children of low income families and disabled elderly claimants. This program does not require claimant to have ever worked or worked enough to build up a certain …
What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident
Pedestrian accidents can happen anywhere, anytime. Perhaps, before crossing a street, you checked left and right and saw that the coast was clear of cars. Or you thought you and a driver made eye contact, but she kept driving and ran into the…By: Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law