Apr 12, 2018 | Personal Injury
Gearing up for the summer, for many, means grabbing your sunscreen, bathing suit, the kids, and heading to your local pool. It’s a summer pastime that many of us can reminisce about. Spending time at the pool during the summer has many fond memories for us. However, it can also be the sight of one very serious summer accident. Witnessing, being a victim of, or being present during a drowning is extremely traumatic and it might lead you to wonder who is liable. There was a lifeguard present, and plenty of bystanders. So, in the event of a drowning— what role do all of these people play?
Drowning at the Pool: Is the Lifeguard Liable for Injury or Death?
Lifeguard receive plenty of training on instances such as these. From lifeguarding classes, to CPR training, and beyond. Your local lifeguard should have the preparations in place for the chance of a drowning. But, when it comes down to it, how liable are they for the death or serious injury of someone who has drowned?
Setting the standard
Ultimately, being a lifeguard on duty means that you are responsible for the well-being of everyone in the pool. It’s important to understand that anyone can drown at any time. There are rules in place to keep this from happening regularly. Rules such as the no-diving rule, no running, and the likes. But, the fact is, it does happen, and as a lifeguard— there is a legal standard in place for doing everything you can to rescue the drowning victim. You have been specifically trained to handle this scenario, and failing to do that can lead to legal consequences.
A legal duty
There are ‘Good Samaritan’ laws in place for most scenarios such as this. For example, say you were witness to an accident and attempted to help the victim. But, they received some sort of resulting injury— Good Samaritan laws can act as protection from any legal implication. However, as a lifeguard, your job is quite literally to guard the lives and well-being of the people in your pool. Therefore, these laws do not apply to you.
Ultimately, as a lifeguard, your duty and legal obligation was to protect the people in your pool
If you, as the lifeguard, either 1) did not provide aid, or 3) provided negligent aid that led to further injury— you are likely at risk of legal action. No one wants to consider the possibility of such a horrible accident. But, understanding what role you should be playing in such a scenario will help you be prepared for all aspects of such an incident. Being a lifeguard is a tough job sometimes, and other times it’s pretty great. Ultimately, as long as you perform your job in the proper manner— you’ll be as good as gold.
Apr 9, 2018 | Personal Injury
Personal injury has a great range when it comes to what qualifies. Personal injury can be anything from falling on a dangerous playground, falling on a wet floor, and even defamation of character. Yep, you heard that right. Personal injury isn’t always a physical injury; rather, it’s an injury of any kind to character or the physical body. So, if you’re dealing with a scenario where what’s being said about you is false, and also causing harm— you might be eligible for a defamation of character lawsuit. But what does this type of lawsuit cover? And how do I prove that the statements made are causing harm?
Defamation of Character as Personal Injury: Proving that Slander is Harmful
How does defamation work?
Essentially, for a statement(s) to be defamation, it must be 1) false, and 2) resulting in harm of some kind. Typically, the type of ‘harm’ associated with slander, is that of harm to the reputation. But, how do you put a number on what your reputation is worth? And what ‘damages’ need to be recovered?
An example
Consider if a celebrity, say a powerful and affluent male celebrity, is facing an accusation of rape. The presumed victim(s) give a detailed account, goes to the media, and in turn, the celebrity loses every single contract he has— along with a pending TV series. However, two months later— we find out that the ‘victim’ has given a false account of what happened. The actor is no longer in trouble with the law. However, that bit of false information will likely have a long-lasting, and damaging, effect on his career. He’s losing roles, endorsements, a fanbase, and a lot of money. In this case, a defamation suit can arise.
On what grounds?
There are a few different consequences that you can use to prove your suit. For one, you can claim financial consequences. Take that scenario from above; the actor was and is losing business opportunities. Therefore, they can seek repayment for lost wages. You can also seek repayment for your expenses due to hiring a lawyer, and ‘repairing reputation’. Other than claiming financial problems, you can also claim mental damages. Anything from developing anxiety, depression, insomnia, or the like.
Ultimately, you have to be able to prove that you suffered in some form or fashion. But, that’s where a good attorney comes in. So, if you think you have a strong case for this type of lawsuit— reach out for help today! No one should have to suffer at the hands of false information.
Apr 6, 2018 | Personal Injury
As that warm weather heat wave prepares to hit, it’s important that we prepare for what’s to come. Hot days spent on a boat, laying by the pool, playing volleyball with friends… the possibilities are endless and the weather is sure to be perfect. But, because the weather is so nice, the possibility for heat stroke is quite high. Having a heat stroke can be very dangerous, and sometimes deadly. But, how do you prevent it? And what can you do in the event of a heat stroke?
Heat Stroke: Signs, Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment
What is a heat stroke?
First, it’s important to know that they occur when your body temperature is dramatically elevated, and is actually a form of hypothermia. This form of hypothermia can actually be fatal if not treated quickly and properly.
What do I watch out for?
Symptoms can be a lack of sweat, disorientation, confusion, dizziness, a lack of sweat, nausea, and red skin among other factors. The strongest indicator his that lack of sweat and the confusion. If you see someone experiencing symptoms such as these, it’s important to begin treatment immediately.
How do you treat it?
If someone you know is experiencing a heat stroke, it’s important to cool them down as quickly as possible. Get to a shaded or air-conditioned area quickly, cover them with cold, wet cloths or put them into a cold shower. Then, it’s time to rehydrate. Drink water, replenish those lost liquids in the body. As you do this, call for emergency services if the treatment is not working effectively.
If not treated quickly and effectively, heat stroke can lead to a further stroke, coma, and extreme illness.
Who is the most at-risk for heat stroke?
Individuals who are outside, physically exerting themselves for extended periods of time. Say, someone who works in the lawn care business or athletes who are practicing outdoors. Elderly people are also at a higher risk due to the fact that many medications they might be taking make them more vulnerable to heat and dehydration. Lastly, children and pets left inside of vehicles are at an extremely high risk of being affected.
Apr 3, 2018 | Personal Injury
When it’s summer time, there are more people out and about. School’s not in session, the days are warmer, and being outside has a bit more appeal. But, with increased activity— comes increased injury. Summer injuries are extremely common, and they come from a number of different places. From the lake, to the pool, and the playground— there is plenty of room for error…
Common Summer Injuries: Avoiding Summertime Scrapes and Burns
Motorcycle Accidents
One category you might not consider, is motorcycle-related injuries. There are plenty of reasons that these might occur. For starters, there are a lot more motorcycles out on the roads. So, the chance for something to happen is automatically higher than it was before. But, there’s also just a higher chance of roadway issues that can lead to motorcycle crash. There’s more people on the road, and there are also more drunk drivers. What a motorcycle driver might be able to do to prevent accident, or at least fatal accident, is to wear proper gear, ride with caution, and do proper warm weather prep on your bike before taking it on the roadway.
Drowning Incidents
It’s inevitable that with more people on the lake and in the pools the risk becomes higher. You might think that the risk of drowning is pretty limited to those of us that can’t swim. But plenty of accidents can result in drowning. Anything from drunk swimming, to getting hit by a boat, taking a dive into a shallow pool, or falling in. It’s hard to think about, but to consider it— means that you might do a bit more to prevent an accident in the long run. When it comes to drowning, you can work to prevent it by: wearing a life jacket at all times, only swimming when you have a companion, and limiting your alcohol consumption when you’re going to be in the water.
Playground Injuries
While a playground injury can occur at any time of year, they tend to be more common and more serious. This is true for a number of reasons. For one, more kids are out on the playground and it’s warmer. This means that kids are typically wearing shorts, t-shirts, and clothing that exposes more skin. In turn, those burns from the slide, falls from the monkey bars, or tosses from the swing set— are all a little less protected.
Burns
We’ve mentioned the slide burns, but plenty more burns can happen during the summer. You have barbecues, bonfires, grills, fireworks, and even sun burns… So, the potential for a burn is pretty high, and they have a huge range is severity. A sun burn can be minor or major— depending on how long you were out there, and if you wore sun screen. But when it comes to those other types of burns, they’re almost always major.
Summer injuries are common, but preventable
Accidents will always happen. Every kid, and adult, is susceptible to an ‘oops’ every now and then. But, if you can prevent even one accident from happening— it’s worth taking the extra step. So, watch your step, swim safe, and have fun out there!!
Mar 26, 2018 | Personal Injury
Medical malpractice cases, while they don’t happen all that often, are very serious. Those resulting injuries can cause lifelong injuries, mental issues, and pain. So, in the case that you’ve been victim of a medical malpractice— it’s important to seek out a lawsuit. While your motive might not be money, it is important that you are not left paying for an injury you did not cause. Not to mention, any doctor who causes wrongful suffering to their patient— should have to answer for their mistake. While a medical malpractice can happen during any surgery, and in any way, there are a few common errors that typically result in a case.
Common Causes for Medical Malpractice Cases
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors make up for about 1/3 of all medical malpractice cases. A surgical error can be anything from nerve damage, unsanitary tools, tools left in the body, operating on the wrong person, or even false amputation. A surgical error could be something preventable, intentional, or just a bad outcome. It is tough to say on some, and on others— it is downright negligent.
Anesthesia Issues
Anesthesia related issues are another issue that can occur if the anesthesiologist isn’t careful with their medication choice or dosing. Maybe the patient has a medical condition that rules out one medicine, slows their heart rate— anything. Medicine affects people in different ways, and sometimes— there might be an unexpected reaction. However, that is rare. But, recognizing issues, changes, and related issues, is necessary to safe surgery.
Medication Mishaps
Prescribing the wrong medication can have serious side effects. But, on the flip side, they could prescribe the right medication. However, they have misdiagnosed the illness. Therefore, medication mishaps can occur all too often. What’s serious about this, is when that medication error leads to complications. Maybe the dosage is too high, and results in trauma. Maybe the dosage is too low and the problem worsens more quickly. Or, maybe— it’s the wrong medicine altogether and causes issues that were otherwise nonexistent.
Wrongful Diagnosis
Lastly, and most common, is bad diagnosis. If you fail to diagnose properly, especially when the actual illness is serious, the result can be life-changing. The tough part comes when there’s no test or sure fire way of knowing what someone has. A doctor has to take the side effects they know of, and make the best call. But, when that call is wrong and results in death or life-altering injury, a claim is likely.
Jun 24, 2017 | Car Accidents, Personal Injury
When you bring an accident case, you have the burden of proof and must follow personal injury evidence rules. Because the rules are complex, we explain here how presenting your case properly is so important. Hence winning your case means you must present the right evidence. However, sometimes the best evidence is not admissible. So we explain the recent case of Busillo v. City of North Charleston where the rules of personal injury evidence played a critical role.
Personal Injury Evidence Rules
While on patrol for the City of North Charleston, Officer Terrell attempted a U-turn. Consequently, he hit Busillo’s car causing property damage and personal injury. Subsequently, Busillo filed a lawsuit for his property damage, and a panel found that the City liable. In addition, Busillo also filed a claim in circuit court for personal injury. However, in this case, Busillo submitted evidence of property damage to her car. While the evidence included a summary of expenses, an expert witness also testified about depreciation to Busillo’s car. Because the jury returned a verdict for Busillo, the City appealed.
First, the City claimed the court made a mistake in admitting the two pieces of evidence. However, the Court of Appeals did not agree and upheld the trial court. Regarding the expert witness, the court found that City did not preserve their argument. In order to appeal something, a party must first raise the issue at trial to preserve it. Although the City had three arguments, they did not properly raise the first. In addition, the City failed to raise the other two arguments as well. As a result, the City was not allowed to raise the issues on appeal. Rather, trial courts have a lot of room when it comes to admitting evidence. Looks like mistakes made the difference. Fortunately, the injured person won their case. Hooray for justice. But it doesn’t always work out this way. And you only get one shot.
Experience Counts in Court
Because personal injury evidence rules can make the difference, trial experience matters. While most cases settle, sometimes a trial is necessary. So when you get to court, make sure your lawyer knows the rules. Otherwise, you could lose. Better safe than sorry. Because it matters, choose your lawyer carefully. Don’t worry. We’ve got you. And we’ll be there until the end. That’s our pledge and promise to you.
