Tag Archives: personal injury

CARS AND MOTORCYCLES SHARE THE ROAD

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Car accidents involving motorcycles are increasing. All drivers are reminded to safely “share the road” with motorcycles. Drivers need to be alert for motorcyclists to keep the safer and to avoid accidents. Motorcyclists need to make themselves visible to other drivers. Bright colors are an excellent way to make a motorcyclist more visible. Motorcycles have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any motor vehicle on the roadway.

As in car accidents, sober driving or riding is mandatory. Statistics show that the drunk motorcycle riders are involved in fatal crashes at greater percentage than not intoxicated drivers on our streets and highways. Not surprisingly studies show that alcohol affects those skills essential to riding a motorcycle – balance and coordination. So it plays a particularly big role in motorcycle fatalities. This is why NHTSA urges all motorcycle riders always to ride smart and sober.

In a car accident involving a car and motorcycle if the rider is properly dressed and wearing a helmet he or she has a much better chance of not suffering major injuries or being killed. Ever more motorcyclists are wearing helmets. Motorcycle helmet use increased from 48% in 2005 to 67% in 2009. In 2008, studies from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) show that the use of motorcycle helmets saved 1,829 motorcyclists’ lives. Tests have shown that a motorcycle helmets do not interfere with the rider’s vision or hearing.

Motorcycle crash statistics show that helmets are about 29 percent effective in preventing crash fatalities. A motorcycle rider wearing a helmet has a 29 percent better chance of surviving a crash than riders without a helmet. There are opponents of mandatory state motorcycle helmet laws and have claimed that motorcycle helmets interfering with the ability of a rider to see and hear surrounding traffic and by that increase the risk of an accident.

Many studies have shown that helmet use did not hamper the ability of riders to see traffic or increase the time needed to check for nearby traffic visually. Overall, any negative interference of helmets on rider vision seems minor, especially should a crash occur.

Use of DOT-compliant motorcycle helmets in 2009 stood at 67 percent, a gain from 63 percent in 2008 according to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey(NOPUS). This organization is the only survey that provides the nationwide probability-based observed data on helmet use in the United States. The NOPUS survey is conducted by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Ride sober, wear a helmet and be visible. Enjoy the Road.

Should you or a loved become involved in a traffic accident please feel free to give me a call. My office has been handling personal injury / motorcycle accidents for more than three decades. Call me Richard M. Katz, Esq. at 626-796-6333.

IF YOU TRIP AND FALL OR ARE OTHERWISE INJURED ON SOMEONE ELSE’S PROPERTY, CAN YOU SUE? MORE IMPORTANTLY CAN YOU WIN ? PREMISES LIABILITY CLAIMS.

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One can be injured on someone else property in a number of ways, including, slips and fall accidents, trip and fall accidents, shelf collapsing accidents, products falling and hitting one accident, walls collapsing on someone, these and many other ways exist for folks to be hurt on someone else’s property. We often refer to these types of claims as premises liability cases.

When we, the public, enters a property, we all have a reasonable expectation of not being harmed. These are expectations that we all have, whether we are going into a supermarket, restaurant, fast food restaurant, amusement park, casino, office building, hospitals, parking lots, sidewalks or any other structure or building. The law requires that the possessor of the property to maintain their property and they are required to inspect and correct defective and dangerous conditions. This failure to do so is sometimes called “premises liability.” For example, someone having their care fixed at car repair facility might slip and fall on an oil slick within an area in which customers walk. Such a person may have a legitimate claim because the owner of the property failed to keep the premises safe.

The legal theory of premises liability holds property owners responsible for accidents and injuries that occur on their property when they have done something negligent. Just because one trips and falls on someone else’s property does not make them automatically responsible for what happened. One must show the owner was in someway at fault. A land owner is not an insurer of the safety of the folks on his premises. As stated in the Court case of (Taylor v. Centennial Bowl, Inc. (1966) 65 Cal.2d 114, 121 [52 Cal. Rptr. 561, 416 P.2d 793] the land owner “ is required to exercise reasonable care for their safety and is liable for injuries resulting from a breach of this duty. The general duty includes not only the duty to inspect the premises in order to uncover dangerous conditions, but, as well, the duty to take affirmative action to control the wrongful acts of third persons which threaten invitees where the occupant has reasonable cause to anticipate such acts and the probability of injury resulting therefrom.” (internal citations omitted.)

Liability is set by the laws and procedures of the state within which the injury occurred. In some states, including California there is potentially different standards set depending upon the legal status of the injured party. In Rowland v. Christian, 69 Cal. 2d 108 (1968), a case decided by the Supreme Court of California placed a general duty of care on the possessor of land to the people on the land. However, the still recognizes a higher degree of care for business invitees.

Under California law to hold a possessor of a property responsible for personal injuries to someone on their land one needs to establish essentially three facts.

1. The owners of the property knew or should have known of the dangerous condition and that the condition created an unreasonable risk of injury. A owner of a commercial property is required to inspect for and discover “dangerous conditions.”;

2. The owner didn’t exercise due care to make discover the condition, to make the condition safe, or to warn of the dangerous condition and the risk involved; and

3. The injured party did not know or have reason to know of the dangerous condition and the risks involved.

We have handled many premises liability cases including claims against public entities, private buildings and amusement parks. The list is long. So remember, if you or a loved one has been injured because of a premises liability incident, you should speak with an experienced personal injury attorney to ensure that your legal rights to fair compensation are fully assessed and protected. Please feel free to give me a call, we are here to help. The Law Offices of Richard M. Katz, 626-796-6333

Big Pharma “Off-Label use” of Drugs

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When we get sick we are often prescribed medications to treat our ills. Most prescribed drugs are safe, effective and expensive. Unfortunately Big Pharma ( Big Pharma is the nickname given to the pharmaceutical industry) typically push new and untried uses for their products often referred to as “off label use.” (Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication or in an unapproved age group, unapproved dosage, or unapproved form of administration). The practice is entirely legal and very common.

When medications are approved by the FDA, they are approved for a particular purpose and for particular users. The approval process relies on testing that shows that the drug is safe and effective for the approved purpose. However, this restricted approval doesn’t stop Big Pharma from making an attempt to extend the marketplace for a drug by claiming that it can be used to treat alternative issues.

Does anyone remember Fen-Phen for weight loss? The off label use /combination proved to me very damaging to patients taking the drugs for weight loss.

Another example, is one drug company promoted Depakote, an anti seizure drug, off label to treat those with dementia praecox and Alzheimer’s. The problem is that the drug had not been shown to be effective for either use, and it often caused serious side effects.

Another drug company touted Risperdal, a tranquillizer, as a drug that would be safe and effective as a way to chemically restrain individuals in nursing homes, despite the facts that such a usage was not approved by the FDA and was never found to be safe and effective. The drug increased the risk of death in patients with dementia. Even botulinum toxin A has been marketed to treat maladies such as headaches, pain, and brain disorders but has not bee approved to treat these conditions.

Unfortunately, patients are not in a position to evaluate medications on their own. And patients rely and believe doctors will safeguard them from improper use of drugs. The reality is that doctors do not research medications on their own and often times will rely on Big Pharma’s promoting reps, whose job it is to sell the company’s drugs. The explosion of medicines offered places doctors in a position that they cannot possibly keep up with the proliferation of drugs.

As a result, doctors typically and perhaps inadvertently prescribe medications for off-label use based upon a reps touting. So why does Big Pharma promote off-label use? the answer is simple: cash. Drugs are high-ticket items and translate into profits. Off-label use will increase the use of a particular drug, the motivation is simple.

Keep in mind though that Off-label prescribing isn’t necessarily bad. It can be beneficial, especially when patients have exhausted all other approved options, as may be the case with rare diseases or cancer.

The next time your physician gives a you prescription, you should know that it is possible that the drug may not be approved for your specific condition or age group. In fact it is estimated that about 20% one in five prescriptions written in the United States are for off-label uses.

Drugs do save lives and can improve ones health. Just be aware that all medications carry risks. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor questions, he or she wants to help you but you also must be an active participant in your own care. I truly believe that good food, exercise and sleep goes along way to keeping us healthy.

If you believe you have got been injured by a medication “off-label” or otherwise you should seek the assistance of a personal injury attorney or medical malpractice attorney.

CAN I SUE?

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Are you wondering whether you have a potential lawsuit? A personal injury caused by a car accident, a slip and fall or medical negligence matters little. The results can be devastating.

Basically any competent adult or legal entity can sue someone. However, before pulling out your legal “guns” you really need to ask yourself three basic questions in deciding whether it worthwhile to bring sue in court or proceed with an arbitration:

Rule Number 1:
Do I have a good case?
Rule Number 2:
Assuming I have a potentially good case is lawsuit or demand for arbitration my best or only option, can I collect if I win?
Rule Number 3:
Do I have realistic expectations, that is are you comfortable with the idea of a compromise settlement or going to mediation? If your motivation is to “teach a lesson” or “personal revenge” and you “will never settle” in my opinion that is your right but not realistic.
Rule Number 4:
Do I have a reasonable likelihood of winning a trial? Both on liability and damages?

If the answer to any of these rules questions is no, you probably will not want to sue.

Rule Number 1:
Do I Have a Good Case?
To figure out whether you have a good case, it helps to know what you need to prove. In a claim of negligence there are certain elements that must be proven. Once you know what the elements are for a negligence cause of action you can view your claim from that perspective. The essential factual elements for a negligence claim are as follows:

You claim that you were harmed by the Defendant’s negligence. To win on your claim you must prove all of the following:
1. That Defendant was negligent;
Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care to prevent harm to oneself or to others. A person can be negligent by acting or by failing to act. A person is negligent if he or she does something that a reasonably careful person would not do in the same situation or fails to do something that a reasonably careful person would do in the same situation. In a rear end car accident, this is probably not too difficult. In a slip and fall case if you cannot show the premises were in an unsafe/dangerous condition more difficult. Just because you were injured on another person’s property does not make them responsible. In a medical malpractice case you usually need a medical expert testifying against the defendant. Medical malpractice cases are amongst the most difficult cases to prove.
2. That you were harmed; and
The nature and extent of injuries are often disputed by the defendant.
3. That Defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing you harm.
Problems arise in all types of claims in showing a substantial relationship between the claimed injury and the negligent conduct. For instance a low impact car accident and claims of serious injuries. Or in a medical negligence case for instance and the negligence claim there was a failure to timely diagnosis a condition, Defendant contends the delay made no difference in your treatment or the outcome.

Damages. You must prove that you suffered injuries and / or economic loss as a result of the Defendant’s negligence. This element can be very difficult to prove at times. It is often very difficult for lay person to evaluate Rule Number 1. If you believe you have a claim you should consult a personal injury or medical malpractice attorney familiar with your type of claim. Most attorneys offer free consultations. As do the Law Offices of Richard M. Katz.

Rule Number 2:
Assuming I have a potentially good case is lawsuit or demand for arbitration my best or only option? Can I collect ?
If you decide, without the aid of an attorney, you have a good case, do not rush out and make demands, threats or file a lawsuit on your own. First, think about consulting an attorney. Personal injury attorneys and medical malpractice attorney’s offer free consultations and when taking on a case will often take a case on a contingency basis. Of course you can talk directly with your opponent and try to negotiate a mutually beneficial compromise but my experience has shown that rarely works. For many reasons, including some folks have unrealistic expectations about the value of their case or the nature of their injuries. Filing a lawsuit immediately, is not necessarily in your best interest. Sometimes a better settlement can be achieved before litigation particularly where liability appears strong and the harm is not in great dispute.

Can I Collect if I Win? The answer to the third question is incredibly important. There is little to gain in litigating a matter if the other party has no insurance and no assets.

Rule Number 3:
Do I have realistic expectations, that is are you comfortable with the idea of a compromise settlement or going to mediation? Fewer civil cases are going to trial than a decade ago, and juries are awarding less in damages, according to a recent U.S. Justice Department study of state courts. About 97 percent of civil cases are settled or dismissed without a trial. What this means is most cases settle because it is in the best interests of the parties to do so. You probably have heard that “cases often take on a life of there own.” I believe that to be true. I have personally seen some cases become stronger during the litigation process and some cases become weaker. If you do not have realistic expectations as to the value of your claim and have a mind set of “no compromise” you will be disappointed with the process.

Rule Number 4:
Do I have a reasonable likelihood of winning a trial? Both on liability and damages?
Do not get me wrong there are cases that must be tried or arbitrated to a conclusion. Often times the Defendant, his/her/their attorneys, or an insurance carrier is unrealistic. Or see things very differently then you and your attorney see them. Then a trial or arbitration is necessary and desirable. Again keep in mind that only about 3% to 5% of case go to trial or arbitration.

Conclusion
If you or a loved one suffers a personal injury consider the above. Thank your for your time. The Law Offices of Richard M. Katz, Pasadena, California. 626-796-63333

The Uninsured / Underinsured Driver Dilemma Don’t Be A Victim Twice!

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As a personal injury attorney for more than three decades I have handled many car accident cases in which the at fault driver either no insurance or inadequate insurance. This happens more often then you probably realize.

In the United States an estimated 14% of drivers do not carry liability insurance. In California it is estimated that 25% of drivers do not carry liability insurance. Chances are roughly one in four that a driver is uninsured. California is not alone, the states with the highest percent of Uninsured Motorists are as follows; Mississippi 26 %, Alabama 25 %, New Mexico 24 %, Arizona 22 % and Tennessee 21 %. According to the Insurance Research Counsel, in the United States 40% of all vehicles 15 years or older that are uninsured.

California Law requires “All drivers and all owners of a motor vehicle shall at all times
be able to establish financial responsibility and shall at all times carry in the vehicle evidence of the form of financial responsibility in effect for the vehicle.”

California requires all drivers must show financial responsibility for any vehicle that they own, in case of injury to other people or damage to their property. Most people show financial responsibility by buying auto liability insurance.

In California if you do not have auto liability insurance, you can be fined, your license may be suspended, and your vehicle could be impounded.

Under California law, the minimum insurance limits for a standard auto policy are Bodily Injury Liability Limits of $15,000 for the death or injury of any one person. And a total of $30,000 for the death or injury of more than one person in any one accident. This coverage applies to injuries caused by a negligent driver. As well, California law requires a minimum of $5,000 for damage to the property of other people. This pays for damage cause by a negligent driver to someone else’s car, or to objects and structures that have been damaged.

With 25% of drivers in California uninsured and many with minimal limits (underinsured) what can you do to protect yourself and your family?

I recommend that you purchase Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMC) / Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM), this coverage protects/covers you if you are in an accident with a driver who does not have any liability insurance (uninsured) or has inadequate coverage (underinsured). Insurance companies in California must offer you this coverage. If you choose not to buy it, which in my opinion is a big mistake, you must sign a waiver given to you by the insurance agent or insurance broker.

Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage pays for injuries to you and any person in your car when there is an accident with an uninsured driver who is at fault. The limits should be the same as your liability coverage limits, frankly the higher limits the better. On the other hand Underinsured Motorist coverage covers you and any person in your car who has suffered bodily injury if you are in an accident with a driver who does not have enough insurance to pay for damages. However, the available coverage is the amount of your coverage, less the underinsured drivers policy limit. For example if you have a $100,000.00 UM/UIM policy limit and the other driver has coverage of $15,000.00, there would be an additional $85,000.00 coverage available through UIM for bodily injury claims.

The causes of people driving without insurance or inadequate insurance are diverse. But you must take proper steps to protect you and your family, purchase liability insurance for yourself including Uninsured Motorist / Underinsured Motorist coverage. By limits that are reasonably sufficient to protect others and you and your family. You may find the California Department of Insurance Handbook on Automobile Insurance informative and interesting.

Money Awards to Injured Victims, What Motivates Jurors and Judges to Award Money?

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A good case helps! This is not a joke, it is reality.

In my experience as a Pasadena personal injury attorney, jurors, judges and arbitrators (the trier of fact) are just like you and me. Ask yourself what motivates me? And you will get a pretty good idea of what will motivate the trier of fact.

Contrary to popular belief sympathy rarely carries the day. Think about how often do we see someone on a street corner holding a sign for money or food? Most folks, including you, have an initial response of sympathy but how often do you give money or food? The answer is not often. In fact if the person looking for a handout “looks too good” many think the person should “get a job” or really does not need help. So much for sympathy.

That is why for every personal injury case a compelling story needs to be told. A tale of conflict between right and wrong. This allows the trier of fact to feel like the champions of justice by finding for and awarding the injured party damages.

Themes that are effective are safety, security over profits. A freedom from injury or harm caused by neglect. Holding one responsible for their actions. Almost every claim can be presented as a battle between significant moral principles that transcend the parties to the action.

By way of example:
An automobile accident that caused serious injuries isn’t only about the injuries suffered by the plaintiff. It’s also about jurors requiring others to drive with care and caution because failing to do so can death or life long injuries. Failure to hold people responsible and accountable to the rest of society endangers us all. Safety and Security. Freedom from injury or harm.

A medical negligence case is not about the devastating injury suffered by the plaintiff. It’s also about looking after the public, other patients, the health of the community and ensuring that health care providers are held responsible after all they are paid well and have people’s lives in their hands. Safety and Security. Freedom from injury or harm.

Focusing a trial on issues of safety, security and freedom from injury or harm, helps the trier of fact understand and appreciate what another person has gone through. As the trier of fact becomes focused on upholding values (such as keeping folks safe and secure) he/she/they are more likely to relate to the trauma the plaintiff has experienced. If one fails to emphasize the big-picture significance of a case and instead focuses only on what the plaintiff has suffered, then the injured plaintiff is at a disadvantaged.

As an experienced Pasadena personal injury attorney, I know how to present a case in a way that makes it easy for jurors to award damages as a means of upholding significant and meaningful values.

Again Having a Good Case Helps

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