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Archive for January, 2011

Defective Product Questions Linger After Helicopter Crash Kills One, Injures Three

January 31st, 2011 No comments

Not far from Southern Nevada, a county sheriff’s office is reeling after four of its staff were seriously injured in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area. The pilot — a veteran of the Vietnam War with some 40 years of experience — was killed and three other passengers suffered major back and body injuries. All three survivors were airlifted from the scene, with one listed in critical condition and the other two in serious condition when they were hospitalized.

At this time, the circumstances of the crash remain mysterious as investigators analyze the crash scene and other information. Because the pilot was so experienced, the investigation may focus not on pilot error but rather for evidence of a mechanical failure. An equipment problem is often the culprit in Nevada airplane crashes and helicopter accidents, especially when the pilot has vast flying experience. Failure to continue regular maintenance is a frequent cause of a crash for low-budget skydiving or aerial tour companies.

The helicopter, a Hughes 500, was conducting a surveillance operation to seek possible locations for future installations of telecommunications equipment. The mountainous terrain may have figured into the accident, as abrupt changes in landscape can create unpredictable weather patterns, drafts, etc. Nonetheless, those injured and their families will likely pursue a Nevada product liability lawsuit with little hesitation if the investigation reveals evidence that a component of the aircraft was defective.

If you or a loved one have been hurt or killed in an airplane, biplane, helicopter, skydiving, or aerial tour, you should contact our experienced Southern Nevada aircraft accident lawyers today. We are familiar with the most common issues in these cases, and we have also seen a diverse enough set of cases to know how to handle virtually any airplane crash lawsuit. We offer free consultations and can also visit interested clients at a hospital or other facility.

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Categories: Accident, Air Accidents, Products Liability, Spine and Back Injury Tags: , , , , , ,

Otro Incidente de Ataque de Pit Bull Deja a Tres Personas de Las Vegas con Heridas Graves

January 30th, 2011 No comments

Aunque son animales muy populares hoy en día en nuestra comunidad, la area de Las Vegas ha visto varios incidentes de ataques envolviendo los perros de la raza pit bull. La semana pasada, tres personas fueron heridos en un solo ataque por un perro pit bull de unos 35 kilogramos de pesa.

En los casos de un ataque de animal, es muy común que el dueño del animal sea encontrado responsable por las acciones de su animal. Muchas veces — pero no siempremente — los animales que ataquen son descuidos o maltratos, y este tratamiento es una causa del comportamiento agresivo. Si el ataque suceda en la casa o en la propiedad del dueño, también puede pasar un pleito en contra al dueño por negligencia.

En este caso, el perro grande atacó a una mujer de 55 años. Cuando su vecina, una mujer de 23 años, trató de rescatar a la primera mujer, ella también fue mordido. Un hombre también ayudó, y sufrió unos mordiscos antes de matar al perro con una arma. La primera víctima probablemente va a perder unos dedos y quizás un pie por cause de los mordiscos y infecciones.

Si usted o un familiar ha sido afectado por un ataque de perro — de raza pit bull o de cualqueira otra raza — debe hablar con un abogado de lesiones personales. Nuestro grupo tiene abogados de lesiones personales de Nevada con la experiencia que usted necesita para tener éxito en su caso y reparar a su vida después de una tragedia.

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Categories: Animal Attacks, Ayuda Legal en Español, Nevada News, Personal Injury, Servicios Legal en Español Tags: , , , , , ,

One Dead, Two Injured in Suspected DUI Accident in Dayton, Nevada

January 30th, 2011 No comments

A motor vehicle accident on Nevada Highway 50 has left one woman from Silver Springs dead and sent two others to a Northern Nevada hospital for further observation. The incident occurred yesterday evening and alcohol is thought to be a contributing factor.

The woman killed was the passenger in a Ford Tempo that was struck by a Mercury Sable. The driver of each vehicle was seriously injured and was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center. There, the women are considered to be in stable condition while tests and monitoring continue to avoid serious spinal cord or nervous system injuries.

Nevada accident investigators suspect that alcohol was a contributing factor in the accident, where the Sable struck the Tempo and its two passengers. In many cases where alcohol is thought to be involved in a fatal automobile accident, a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court follows any criminal charges when the victim’s family seeks to restore itself after the irreplaceable loss of a loved one.

On  Nevada’s lonely rural highways, nighttime driving itself can be a hazard. Combine with alcohol, these practices can prove devastating both personally for the at-fault driver and obviously for the families of those harmed in a Nevada automobile accident. Our hearts go out to the victims and we hope for a speedy recovery.

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Categories: Accident, Nevada News, Spine and Back Injury, Vehicle Accidents, Wrongful Death Tags: , , , , , ,

Three Victims in Las Vegas Pit Bull Attack

January 29th, 2011 No comments

In another tragic instance of animal violence in our community, three people were taken to Sunrise Hospital after an 80-pound pit bull attacked and seriously injured a Las Vegas woman. At this time, it is unknown what provoked the attack, or if it was unprovoked as many such incidents are reported to be.

This Las Vegas animal attack began when the pit bull overpowered a 55-year-old woman and began biting her all over her body. At the time of her hospitalization, doctors thought that the victim would lose several fingers and was also at risk of needing a foot amputation as a result of the bites. Pit bulls frequently cause massive damage during attacks by targeting vulnerable parts of the body. In extreme cases, these attacks have led either directly or indirectly to brain trauma.

A 23-year-old woman and another man both suffered minor injuries as they attempted to rescue the victim from the aggressive animal. The man ultimately ended the attack by shooting and killing the dog. Unfortunately these serious animal attacks often end in this manner, often because the animals have been mistreated, neglected, or bred in a way that fosters uncompromising violent behavior.

If you or a loved one have been harmed in an animal attack in Southern Nevada, you should consult with an experienced Nevada personal injury lawyer. You may have a right to compensation and damages, and you should explore these options to ensure that you are restored after an animal attack compromises your physical or mental health.

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Categories: Animal Attacks, Brain Injury, General Information, Las Vegas Legal News, Nevada News, Personal Injury Tags: , , , , ,

Expert Testimony in Nevada Liability Lawsuits: Black Robes or White Coats?

January 29th, 2011 No comments

When a Nevada family tries to bring a lawsuit against a major company for wrongful death, injury from a defective product, or some other instance of corporate irresponsibility, the defendant company has available — and often uses — a variety of legal obstructions and other strategies. These tactics include filing baseless motions to dismiss, “shopping around” for a favorable judge or jurisdiction, and attacking the admissibility of expert testimony as evidence.

In the case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals , the Supreme Court issued a ruling intended to settle several contradictory approaches to the use of expert witnesses in personal injury cases. A trial court judge is given the responsibility of filtering out evidence, arguments, and testimony that are not relevant to addressing the issues at trial. Judges have at their disposal a variety of case precedent decisions as well as Rules of Evidence appropriate to the case’s jurisdiction. Because both the outcome of a negligence, property liability, or other suit and the nature of the damages awarded are so vital to the future of the plaintiff family, judges have a duty to exercise this power appropriately.

In Daubert, the Court was scrutinizing decisions made by the trial court and the appellate body that affirmed the original ruling. The issue was the admissibility as evidence of eight expert witnesses who testified of the likely links between a pregnancy drug called Bendectin and certain birth defects that affected the plaintiffs. Despite the salience and breadth of this testimony, the judge refused to admit it into the trial. The judge reasoned that the testimony did not prove a link between use of Bendectin and the birth defects, and therefore the evidence would be confusing to the jury and devoid of any hope of shining light on the topics at issues. The result was to effectively permit judges to trade their black jurists’ robes for the white lab coats of scientist, placing them center-stage in Nevada product liability lawsuits.

The Supreme Court decided that this enhancement of judicial influence was not appropriate and that the judge’s role should be limited to deciding the relevance, robustness, and apparent rigor of the testimony or evidence rather than judging whether or not s/he found it to be personally convincing. The jury is the audience to be convinced, not the judge. If you have a Nevada personal injury case with unique legal issues, contact us to find out how we can make use of expert testimony to support your case.

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Categories: Bad Drugs, General Information, National Legal News, Products Liability Tags: , , , , , , ,

Classroom Catastrophes: The Liability of Volunteering in Nevada Schools

January 29th, 2011 No comments

They say that, “No good deed goes unpunished,” but the story is often not so simple. Every day in our state, dozens of volunteer hours are spent enhancing classrooms and practice fields, hours donated by retirees, generous community members, and involved parents. Whether it is a Summerlin father chaperoning an elementary-school field trip or a semi-pro runner from Henderson volunteering her time to train a women’s cross-country team, Las Vegas volunteers make a profound difference in schools and extracurricular programs throughout Southern Nevada. But what happens when something goes wrong, and a person who had been involved by the tenuous ties of volunteerism becomes embroiled in a serious Las Vegas personal injury incident?

Is a volunteer a dutiful functionary in the activity, or simply a person along for the ride? Where is the line that separates the involvement — and pride, and feeling of making a difference — from the lack of formal responsibility? These questions are difficult to answer, especially in the wake of an accident. Often in Nevada volunteer accident cases, the individual quickly points out his or her lack of training, the informal nature of the commitment, and other factors that were not objectionable until a tragedy struck. This is a natural and intuitive reaction, and both parties in a Las Vegas school injury case would do well to seek legal counsel from an experienced Nevada personal injury lawyer.

A recent case from the Midwest helps illustrate these difficult issues. A man volunteering as an adjunct wrestling coach wrestled with one of his high-school trainees during one of his first practices with the high school wrestling team. Seconds later, the student athlete suffered a serious spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down and which drastically altered his plans for college in addition to changing his life forever.

In this particular case, several legal issues were debated. One question was, What is a volunteer? How do factors of direction, authority, and responsibility shape the nature of a volunteer’s position as an agent of the school, team, or organization for which s/he is working? In some states, laws are already on the books that define the liability of volunteer workers. Federal law also provides some protection for volunteer liability unless the helper’s actions were reckless. Cases such as this one turn on arcane issues and depend on the laws in place in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred. If you need legal guidance on a Nevada volunteer accident case, contact us today for a free consultation.

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Categories: Accident, Civil Procedure and Litigation Strategy, General Information, Nevada Law, Personal Injury, Spine and Back Injury Tags: , , , , , ,

Next-Door to Nevada, Toyota Acceleration Lawsuits Advance

January 27th, 2011 No comments

More than 3,000 drivers across the United States have complained to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration about episodes of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles. In all, nearly 100 deaths have been attributed to problems arising from sudden, uncontrolled speed thought to be related to “sticky” gas pedals, clunky floor mats, and other engineering errors that suggest significant defective product issues.

Numerous lawsuits have arisen out of this saga, many of which have been consolidated into a class-action suit in the state of California. There, a district court judge has been overseeing a massive discovery effort to assess the role corporate negligence played in this dangerous phenomenon.

One interesting development in this case is the judge’s decision to permit the plaintiffs to sue Toyota for economic loss related to the sudden-acceleration problem. These losses include both the “loss” of having overpaid for a Toyota automobile with a previously strong reputation for reliability and safety only to have the car fall victim to this widespread and serious operational issue. The flip side is that drivers now attempting to sell their vehicles face a second-hand auto market that looks upon late-model Toyota vehicles with great suspicion, deflating the resale value even of vehicles not thought to be affected by these defects.

As Nevada attorneys with a record of strong representation in Las Vegas vehicle recall cases, our lawyers are closely monitoring this case and its developments. Call us today if you are a Toyota owner in Nevada and you want more information, or if you have any other questions about a possible Las Vegas defective product lawsuit.

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Categories: Civil Procedure and Litigation Strategy, General Information, National Legal News, Products Liability, Vehicle Accidents Tags: , , , , , ,

Wrongful Death Lawsuits Likely as Feds Describe Maintenance, Equipment Failures in Coal Mine Tragedy

January 23rd, 2011 No comments

This April will mark the first anniversary of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, a tragedy that took 29 miners’ lives and forced the nation to take a hard look at the resource that provides approximately 40 percent of its electricity. As we have reported previously, in the months since the accident the families of those lost in the explosion have not only been wrestling with their own emotional and psychological disruptions and pain but also with the legal questions that arise after such an accident. These issues include estate and inheritance decisions and life insurance policies, and in an accident like this they also include questions about the mining company’s actions and liability for the deaths.

Massey Energy, the company that owns the mine and several others across the United States, had quietly been urging families to accept a settlement. The settlement, offered late last year, was more generous than most settlements in wrongful death lawsuits but was also substantially less money than juries typically award when a case goes to trial and an employer or company is found liable. As of December, most families still hadn’t made a decision yet on whether to accept the money or continue fighting. In Nevada wrongful death lawsuits, the plaintiff seeks to be made as whole as possible after an irreplaceable loss of life. Often this includes not only pain and suffering, outstanding medical bills if medical care was used before the person died, and punitive damages where there was wrongdoing by the responsible party but also a large sum of money that can provide a stream of future payments to make up for the deceased’s lost earnings. An appropriate wrongful death award can go a long way toward restoring a family and helping it move on, although it can never replace what has been lost.

Federal investigators seeking the truth behind the coal mine accident have released a preliminary report of their findings. The report suggests that the explosion was ultimately a tragedy at the confluence of bad luck and poor maintenance. Bad luck alone would not make for a strong wrongful death case, but the mine operator’s record of safety violations and evidence of poorly maintained equipment seems like powerful evidence against it and is likely to change the dynamic of wrongful death settlements versus lawsuits at trial. Investigators found that neglected drilling tips were worn down to their steel edges, resulting in more sparks than otherwise occur when the drill tips collide with underground rock. Water sprayers are also supposed to extinguish sparks and keep coal dust settled on the ground, but these had been allowed to decay into little more than leaky faucets. If any of the wrongful death lawsuits goes to trial, attorneys for the plaintiff(s) will surely muster even more evidence of the company’s civil negligence.

Winning the compensation your family needs and deserves requires a special recipe of strong facts, cogent presentation, and robust familiarity with the law. At Benson & Bingham, we are proud to acknowledge the millions of dollars we have won for Nevada personal injury and Las Vegas wrongful death clients. We offer free consultations for your convenience, and we invite your call today to begin a conversation.

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Categories: Accident, Civil Procedure and Litigation Strategy, General Information, National Legal News, Wrongful Death Tags: , , , , , , ,

Think When You Read: Analyzing the Role of Legal Advice on the Internet and Blogs

January 18th, 2011 No comments

Before the recent shooting in Tucson, Arizona and especially in the wake of that tragedy, part of the national conversation has focused on the comparative roles of journalism and editorial voice in the media as our news experience becomes increasingly interactive, fast-paced, and sometimes knee-jerk. With this context, now is as good a time as any to clarify the role of our Nevada personal injury & accident blog. For Nevadans affected by an injury or accident and who are looking for legal guidance, this is a great place to start — but this blog is by no means intended as a one-stop shop for legal advice.

As the Internet has grown more powerful and wide-reaching in the last decade, entrepreneurs have developed all sorts of ways to utilize the World Wide Web for the benefit both of themselves and their would-be clientele. Online shopping has revolutionized the marketplace, and the power of social media is still surging toward greater and greater heights. But with this massively expanding source of information and available services, users must exercise appropriate caution to ensure that they gain value for their money and do not make the mistake of trusting the advice of a person entirely unaccountable to them. Speaking in general terms, we feel that legal advice in particular lends itself less readily than many services to online applications.

Consider a few hypotheticals: a clothing vendor can probably sell his wares in all 50 states without incident; but do you think an attorney licensed in one state can effectively represent a client whose case is based in another state and subject to the latter’s laws, regulations, and court precedents? One reason that our blog is so focused on discussing legal issues specific or applicable to Nevada is because our experienced Nevada personal injury attorneys do not want readers to think that our lawyers’ comments apply equally to cases or issues arising in other jurisdictions. Consider another: if you read an entry in the Merriam-Webster dictionary or in the Encyclopedia Britannica, you have a reasonable expectation that the contents of said entry are accurate and can be relied upon extensively. The purpose of those reference publications is to serve as the basis of objective scholarly work. On the other hand, a blog that discusses interesting or important lawsuits or court cases is doing precisely that: discussing, analyzing, commenting. When we share a brief opinion on a national news story involving a wrongful death lawsuit, we are certainly not trying to suggest that the case parallels perfectly (or in many cases, even approximately) to a case that might arise in Las Vegas.

We take pains to draw this distinction by noting where we move from analysis to extrapolation and from re-reporting to speculating. Further, we emphasize the importance of a consultation with an experienced injury lawyer about a case affecting you or a loved one; no two cases are identical, and often cases that appear similar are actually vastly different in subtle but important ways. To be frank, it is the role of attorneys, judges, and litigation to inspect these cases and the spaces between them, and that is why an average reader would be better off speaking with a licensed attorney than relying on the advice (and ideas and fancies and preferences and opinions) available from strangers on the Internet.

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Categories: General Information, Legal Debate, Legal Ethics, Personal Injury, Victim's Rights, Wrongful Death Tags: , , , ,

Variety of Injuries Leaves Nevada Veterans with Complex Pain & Stress, Little Help

January 17th, 2011 No comments

Selected for its diverse landscape and abundance of wide-open spaces, Nevada is home to several major military installations including the Las-Vegas-area Nellis Air Force Base, Tonopah Air Force Station, and Fallon Naval Air Station (and, as rumor has it, a top-secret facility known as Area 51). Between the denizens of these bases and the relocation of retired soldiers looking for inexpensive communities in which to raise a family, a sizable population of Nevada military personnel has developed. Like all military veterans, Nevada veterans utilize the Veterans Affairs (VA)’s highly regarded medical care for service-related injuries such as amputations and the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, recent concerns over the federal budget have spurred a between the VA and former soliders seeking treatment for chronic pain.

The federal government now has a standing debt of more than $14 trillion, which is roughly equal to an entire year’s economic output. Some observers worry that this ratio of production to debt will trigger reassessment of the country’s credit worthiness, deflation of the U.S. dollar, or some other drastic financial consequences, and as a result there has been increased agitation for the reduction of the federal debt. At the same time, most politicians maintain that spending on military operations must be maintained with few exceptions, so the scissors have mostly begun shearing social services programs. Quietly, the VA is challenging and/or refusing to provide care for injuries that are chronic, widespread, and difficult to diagnose despite the fact that these conditions have crippled thousands of retired soldiers.

A particularly insidious disorder being handled in this way is complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS. A typical case of CRPS might arise after a motor vehicle accident or other sudden trauma. For veterans, CRPS often arises after a mild injury such as a shrapnel injury or even a sprained ankle or joint. The unique nature of CRPS is sudden bouts of acute pain that are usually more intense than the original injury and which can continue long after the injury occurred, even becoming chronic pain. Nevada veterans affected by CRPS often have trouble sleeping through the night and as such suffer secondary issues such as fatigue and mental illness.

CRPS is still a little-understood disorder, and the VA’s attempts to sideline treatment of the ailment are an unfortunate response to real budgetary pressures. Many veterans living with CRPS are pushing the VA to change its position on the syndrome, just as other advocates are insisting that veterans should receive full coverage for brain damage injuries and other features of the new counter-terrorism landscape of U.S. military operations. If you or a loved one suffer from CRPS, you should talk with an experienced Nevada chronic pain lawyer. If your CRPS is related to an injury sustained during military service, you may be interested in learning more about efforts to gain coverage of the injury from the VA. If your experience with complex regional pain syndrome stems from another injury, a free consultation with our Las Vegas personal injury lawyers can help you identify your rights to compensation.

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Categories: Brain Injury, General Information, Head Trauma, National Legal News, Nevada News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,