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Recent Blog Posts
Why Mediation in Personal Injury Cases Can Be Beneficial
Over the last few decades, mediation has become an essential tool in personal injury cases. Litigation can be stressful and time-consuming, and it may lead to expensive attorney’s fees for both parties. In some instances, mediation permits the parties, lawyers and insurance adjusters to reach an agreement without having to file a lawsuit. In most cases, mediation leads to a sensible conclusion for both parties. However, it does not always work, and if it fails early on in your personal injury case, it might be beneficial to try mediation at a later date prior to trial.
Under Wisconsin law, a judge may, in any case, order both parties to participate in a mediation, in an attempt to settle the claims, especially in personal injury cases. Depending on what county in which your personal injury case is filed, or the judge you are in front of, you may be required to participate in mediation prior to setting a trial date. Sometimes, a judge can decide to order mediation in a case, in which case both parties would be required to personally participate.
Contributory Negligence and Its Role in Personal Injury Cases
In any personal injury case, fault is one of the most critical elements that you have to prove. The person at fault, the one whose negligence caused the accident, is the person typically responsible to pay for the damage caused by the accident. In some cases, it is very clear who caused the accident. But in many cases, it might be unclear who is at fault. Under the laws of Wisconsin, if it is unclear who caused the accident, rules of contributory negligence and comparative fault will come into play.
Historically, contributory negligence meant that, if you played even the slightest role in the accident, and suffered an injury, you were not able to recover for your damages. However, Wisconsin adopted the modified comparative fault rule, which means that you can recover for your injuries in an accident to which you contributed, so long as your fault was less than 51 percent.
Boating Accidents and Personal Injury Liability
Summertime is without a doubt the most popular time of year for water sports across the United States. Driving or riding on a boat is fun, and a great way to create lifelong memories with friends and family. Just as driving or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle, accidents happen. A pleasurable ride on a boat can instantly turn into a painful ride to the hospital.
According to the United States Coast Guard, in 2014, there were 4,064 recreational boating accidents that resulted in 610 deaths and 2,678 injuries. In 2013, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported that 87 boating accidents occurred, resulting in 66 injuries and 13 deaths. There are many circumstances leading to boating accidents and it is not always clear who is responsible.
Determining Who Is Responsible for Your Child’s Sports-Related Injuries
Across the United States, millions of children and teenagers, from grade school to high school, participate in sports or recreational-related activities. Each year, many of them are treated for injuries sustained while engaged in these activities. Most of the time, these injuries are minor, such as sprains or strains. Sometimes, sports-related injuries can be very serious and may even lead to death.
Every year, approximately 30 million children and teenagers partake in some shape or form of organized sports. According to studies performed by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the American Academy of Pediatrics, an estimated 3.5 million suffer injuries related to those activities. Roughly 775,000 children under the age of 14 are treated for sports-related injuries in hospital emergency rooms every year. About 21 percent of traumatic brain injuries among children are the result of sports and recreational activities. Some sports are more dangerous than others, but no matter what sport the child is engaged in, there is a potential chance of injury.
Pedestrian Accidents: When Intersections, People and Automobiles Collide
Getting struck by an automobile is a traumatic experience for most when two automobiles are involved. But when a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the experience is not only traumatic but also often deadly.
Recently, an individual driving under the influence struck and killed a pedestrian. At approximately 7:15PM on June 18, 2015, the driver sped through a red light and struck a pedestrian who was properly walking within a crosswalk when she was struck by the vehicle. The pedestrian later died of her injuries at the hospital.
Proving Liability in Pedestrian Accident Cases
Negligence: The Disastrous Effects of Tractor Trailer and Automobile Collisions
When large trucks or tractor-trailers are involved in accidents with passenger automobiles, the results are usually disastrous. The sheer size and weight disparity between these two types of vehicles mean that even minor accidents have the possibility of causing serious injuries and even death. When you add a careless truck driver to the mix, it is certainly a recipe for catastrophe.
In 2013, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates that large trucks were involved in over 7,000 accidents across the state of Wisconsin, resulting in 86 deaths and approximately 1,500 injuries. Unfortunately, trucking accidents are part of sharing the roads and highways with commercial trucking vehicles. In 2012, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration estimated that large commercial trucks were involved in over 330,000 accidents that resulted in approximately 3,900 deaths and 104,000 injuries. In any event, the law in Wisconsin, and the majority of the United States, provides that when the negligence of another driver contributes to an accident and causes you to suffer injuries, you are entitled to compensation for those injuries.
Avoiding Pedestrian Accidents
Automobile accidents can be deadly when two automobiles are involved. When pedestrians are involved in automobile accidents, their injuries tend to be serious, and more often than not they lead to death.
Recently, a pedestrian was involved in accident caused by the automobile driver. The pedestrian was crossing the street when the automobile driver fatally hit him. Although these accidents are often devastating, they happen too frequently here in Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in 2012, there were over 118,000 automobile accidents and 1,273 accidents involving pedestrians. As a result of those accidents, over 1,200 pedestrians suffered injuries while another 35 pedestrians were killed.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, and contributes to almost one third of all injury deaths. According to the CDC, there are over 125 deaths every day in the United States in which traumatic brain injury was a factor, and those who survive a traumatic brain injury may face effects lasting a few days to major disabilities that may last the rest of their lives.
Everyone runs the risk of a traumatic brain injury, especially children and elderly people. Traumatic brain injuries occur in many ways, and if you or a loved one has received a traumatic brain injury, you need a skilled personal injury attorney to pursue fair compensation on your behalf. Some of the ways traumatic brain injury can occur is by falling, in a motorcycle or car accident, through the use of defective products, or being hit by a projectile.
When a Child Is Injured or Dies at Daycare
In July, an almost four-month-old baby named Payton McCoy died after being put down for a nap at his daycare in Milwaukee. The caregiver of the home day care center told the police that she fed Payton a bottle formula around noon, and then swaddled him and laid him down on his back, on a cushion called a Snuggle Me Cushion, on a twin bed. An hour later she found him still swaddled, but with his head against the wall and part of his face over the gap between the mattress and the wall. The woman was not licensed by the state of Wisconsin, and the mother reported that she had previously asked the provider not to use that cushion with Payton.
The daycare provider has been arrested for neglect. The fact is, if such a nightmare situation ever occurs, there is not always recourse for parents against the provider, especially an unlicensed one who may not carry insurance.
Amusement Park Injuries
Wisconsin has many recreational activities to offer residents and visitors, but those same activities present many dangers and result in numerous injuries to many who visit. Numerous accidents occur at amusement parks and waterparks in Wisconsin and throughout the United States and people are injured as a direct result of the negligence of somebody else.
If you or someone you love was injured in a waterpark or an amusement park accident in Wisconsin, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you explore all of your legal options, and recover the largest settlement possible to compensate you for your injuries.
Common Amusement Park Ride Injuries
Just this past summer, there was an incident at Wisconsin Dells Mt. Olympus Theme Park that resulted in a ride being removed from the park. The ride, called "the Catapult", is a bungee cord ride which sends riders up into the air and then bounces them. In June, as a Wisconsin adult and teen were strapped into the ride, the bungee cord snapped, and came crashing down beside them, creating a hole in the ground. The company that owns the park investigated the incident and required the ride be permanently removed from their park. Luckily, no one was injured in that incident.
