Posted on February 29, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
In journalism, they say that “Man bites dog” is the news that gets the headline, not “Dog bites man”. However, even if a dog bite does not merit the front page of your local newsletter, it can still be damaging to the victim. The injuries are not only caused by dog bites, but also tripping on the dog or leash and knock downs. Some injuries include abrasions and bruising, broken bones and torn ligaments. More serious attacks can result in catastrophic injury – loss of motor function, deformities and even death.
And dog bites are no joking matter. Losses related to dog attacks have amounted to over $1 billion every year with the CDC estimating some 4.5 million dog bite victims (about 3,000 of these are letter carriers). In 2010 alone, 34 dog attacks resulted in death while close to 800,000 dog bite victims had serious enough injuries that needed some kind of medical treatment. Approximately 400,000 victims were brought to the hospital emergency room for treatment. A considerable percent of dog bite victims are children. In fact, dog bites and dog attacks fall on the top 5 reasons for emergency room visits by children.
Dog Bite Law
Although states have different versions of the dog bite law, the general thought is that the dog owner takes responsibility for the dog’s actions. That means that if someone is bitten or attacked by the dog, the victim can claim full compensation from the dog owner’s premises insurance policy. It is important to note, though, that liability is defined differently from state to state, and even from city to city. Also, aside from the dog owner, some states also hold other people liable – this includes:
- a landlord who allowed a tenant to keep a dog that is considered vicious or dangerous
- a person who is counted as the dog’s custodian
- an employer who allows employees to bring their dogs to the workplace
- businesses that allow their customers to bring dogs into the store
- police officers who are responsible for their canine unit
- animal control officers who allow a dogs (that have been known to be dangerous) to roam freely in the neighborhood
The definitions may be based on some of these principles:
One bite rule. Under this principle, the dog gets one “free bite”. That means that the owner will be held liable if he already knew or should have known the dog’s propensity to bite and attack. That is, there were previous instances where the dog bit a person or acted as if it wanted to bite.
Negligence. Liability is also assigned for acts of negligence. This includes the failure to make reasonable action to prevent the dog from biting or attacking others or making an unreasonable action that caused the attack. Examples would be tying the dog at an area near a public gathering, not tying the dog to a leash or holding too many dogs at the same time.
Statutory liability. Most states impose statutory liability or statutory strict liability. In general, a victim can claim for compensation by just proving that the dog bit or attacked him and that the owner (or custodian) is the person liable.
Once liability is proven, the owner’s premises insurance (homeowners’ insurance or renters’ insurance) will kick in to pay for the damage. The claim will usually cover:
- medical expenses
- living expenses and other related expenses (transport cost, cost of hiring a caregiver, etc.)
- therapy (may be physical or psychological)
- permanent scarring or disability (whether temporary or permanent)
- pain and suffering (in some states)
- cosmetic services and expenses
- compensation for loss of quality of life
- compensation for lost wages, as well as loss of future earning capacity
- punitive damages (Only in some states, and very rarely. It must also be proven that the owner was seriously negligent. Punitive damages are to be paid by the owner, not by his insurance.)
Victims are usually people who have a reasonable right to be in the premises (i.e. the owner of the property invited him in for social or business purposes. This includes workmen that are hired to work on the premises). There are some people who can’t file a lawsuit claiming for dog bites. These include:
- veterinarians and their staff, who are tasked to take care of the dog
- people whose profession is to work with dogs (groomers, people who walk or sit dogs for a living, dog trainers)
- trespassers
- people who are committing a crime against the dog’s owner
- people who provoked the attack (i.e. hurting or teasing the dog)
- the dog was “working” (i.e. helping the police or military)
When you are a victim
If you have been bitten or attacked by a dog, you should:
- Take pictures of the injuries, as well as the dog.
- Get the documentation (List the owner’s name and contact information. Get the list of the witnesses as well.)
- File a report to the animal control authority.
- Get treatment as soon as you can. Not only is this to safeguard your health, it is also important to show that the victim get treatment to prevent further injury or infection.
- Hire a lawyer to help you file your dog bite lawsuit.
Lawsuit funding for dog attack lawsuits
Once you have file your personal injury lawsuit, you may need to wait it out before you can get the settlement. In the meantime, you can look towards lawsuit funding to provide you with the funds to survive for the following days. You can use the funds you get from the lawsuit loan to pay for treatment, as well as get rid of any debts and spend to ensure that you present a strong case in court.
Since the lawsuit is covered by the owner’s insurance company, it is usually easier to get the settlement funding, particularly if you are working with a reputable company such as FastLawsuitMoney.com. Once you are approved as eligible for funding, you can receive your funds in as quickly as 24 hours.
Posted on February 26, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
“I’m innocent.” This is what you can hear in prisons or inside holding cells. And the cynic in us will answer, “Yeah, right.” But there are actually times that this is the truth. The justice system we have is good but it is not perfect. The process that has protected the rights of others and meted out justice may sometimes also victimize others.
The justice system has checks and balances to ensure that someone is guilty before the verdict of imprisonment is handed out. There is the tenet that someone is innocent until proven guilty, that one cannot be arrested without due legal cause and that the prosecution has to show guilt beyond reasonable doubt. But, there are some unlucky ones that fall through the cracks in the justice system.
Take the case of Tim Masters, who was imprisoned for 10 years on a murder charge. Or Barry Gibbs, who was sent to jail or 19 years on a murder charge which turned up to be a frame job by a shady detective. Or the number of men who languished in jail for how many years on rape charges. They suffered for some years but were later released from prison when it was proven that they were innocent, after all. Particularly useful are the modern technological advances such as DNA matching and computer forensics.
The effects of false imprisonment
Being imprisoned for a crime you did not commit is no simple matter. For one, you can never get back the years you lost – years that you could have spent with your family, years that are filled with various opportunities. There are also scars that, although visible, are there. Pain and suffering (mental anguish, physical abuse as well as the loss of reputation) during an imprisonment can be real.
That is why the Larimer County in Colorado awarded Tim Masters with a $4.1 million settlement for his wrongful imprisonment. And if you, too, have been a victim of false imprisonment, you can also file a claim for damages.
Even if a person has been exonerated from the crime and released from prison, it may take a huge amount of adjustment to put the broken pieces of his life together. For one, he or his family has suffered some financial setbacks. If the person imprisoned is the breadwinner, this may mean that the family has lost substantial income and may have seen the foreclosure of his house and may also have depleted the family’s savings.
Filing a lawsuit for False Imprisonment or False Arrest
The Constitution protects us from wrongful imprisonment, as well as false arrest. According to the Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Thus, a victim of wrongful imprisonment or false arrest has the legal recourse to demand for compensation.
This will be quite a challenge – a lawsuit against the government or the state can take years to settle. And while they are waiting for that much-needed lawsuit settlement, lawsuit funding can come and fill in the gap.
Lawsuit Funding and How it Can Help
For someone who has been wrongfully imprisoned, a lawsuit loan is a precious lifeline, especially as you already know that your lawsuit will eventually be paid. The lawsuit loan is non-recourse funding – even when the lawsuit is lost or fail to settle, you don’t have to worry about paying the money back.
Settlement funding will help you get the compensation due you, rather than being forced to accept a smaller-than-expected settlement just because you can’t afford not to say “yes” to the offer because of financial constraints. It may not fully pay you back for the years and opportunities lost, but it can help make the journey towards healing and recovery easier.
Posted on February 23, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Driving under the influence. Even though people know the dangers of doing it, and have seen countless ads reminding them about it, it seems that alcohol still has the power to make people do something completely foolish and hazardous.
2010 statistics show that over 30% of fatal accidents involved drunk drivers, with a higher percentage happening starting midnight to 3 a.m. In the same year, the practice of drunk driving has claimed the lives of 459 people. Simply put, it simply is not a good idea to entrust a vehicle to a person impaired by alcohol – it turns the vehicle into a lethal weapon.
The question is, when filing a drunk driving lawsuit, who is considered liable? Well, the obvious answer would be the driver. Even with the influence of alcohol, a driver should know full well that he should ask a designated driver to take the wheels. Having possession a driver’s license is both a privilege and a responsibility and one of a driver’s legal responsibilities is not taking the wheel when under the influence of alcohol.
However, aside from the drunk driver, there are also other parties that can be considered liable. These include:
- Parents of underage drivers (who drove under the influence). The rationale behind this is that parents are ideally the ones who can make sure that their children drive safely. In some states, parents are required to sign the driver’s license application for applicants who are below 18. Also, parents usually are the registered owner of the vehicle and thus present another level of liability. And, if the teen is having behavioral problems, parents are considered liable for the acts of their troubled teens. These troubled teens are those with a history of substance abuse and bad behavior. Some states tend to tack on punitive damages for a parent’s failure to get a misbehaving child some help and strict supervision, particularly with the use of a vehicle.
- Other parents/adults under the social host liability. A parent or another adult who serves alcohol in his home to a minor.
- Bartender or waitress who served alcohol. Restaurant and bar owners, as well as their employees, may also be held liable if the bartender or waiter continued pouring out the drinks for someone who is visibly drunk and allow that someone to drive away.
- Liquor stores, under dram shop liability. Liquor stores may be held liable if they sold alcohol to a person that is already obviously intoxicated.
Being a Victim of Drunk Driving
If you are injured as a result of a drunk driving incident, you can file claims against the erring driver. You can claim compensation for:
- Medical expenses (past, present and future costs of treating the injuries)
- Loss of income or loss of job
- Loss of consortium or wrongful death (for loved ones of a person disabled or killed by the drunk driving incident)
- Disability and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages (under some states)
The injuries caused by a drunk driving incident could be catastrophic. It may require you to spend a considerable amount for medical treatment and therapy. By the time you are able to see the settlement of your lawsuit, you may have medical bills piled up. Add to this the fact that your injuries have resulted in the loss of your job. At this difficult time, you will need someone to turn to to give you the cash you need.
Lawsuit funding can help by making it easier for drunk driving victims to have access to cash that they otherwise cannot get through other ways. With settlement funding, families of victims can have the peace of mind that comes from the assurance that they can still pay bills and meet their daily needs, aside from paying the hospital and other medical expenses.
A reputable provider of lawsuit loans would be FastLawsuitMoney.com. We are eager to provide you with quick and easy lawsuit funding to help you go through the drunk diving lawsuit. We understand that you don’t need the added worry of how to pay for the next bill or how to have money for your treatments. You can focus on working with your lawyer to strengthen your case so that you can obtain the compensation you justly deserve.
Posted on February 20, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
You have built your dream house. Or you have rented an apartment that is within your budget. Or, you are doing more than your fair share of hours at the office. You have spent considerable time at these places without knowing that there is a silent killer wreaking havoc on your health – toxic mold. This mold can be found in places that have a tendency to be damp, including wood panels, wallpaper, ceiling tiles, carpeting, insulation, fiberboard and even dust.
Although some forms of mold are not dangerous, black mold or stachybotrys chartarum is linked with toxic mold syndrome. Exposure to toxic mold can have serious health consequences. These include:
- Compromised immune systems
- Itchiness, rashes or open sores
- Itching, burning or watery eyes
- Headaches
- Constant achiness in the joints or fatigue
- Breathing problems, asthma attacks, bronchitis
- Ear or chronic sinus infections and pain
- Diarrhea
- Hair loss
- Nose bleeds
- Coughs that bring up black debris or blood
- Appetite loss
- Memory problems
- Nervous or neurological disorders
- Sex problems
When mold exposure is serious and at its late stage, it can cause long term memory loss, brain damage, lung injury, blindness, cancer, and even death.
If you have been exposed to toxic mold and suffered serious medical injuries and the presence of the mold was due to another party’s mistake or negligence, you have the right to file a claim for compensation. The same goes for businesses that lose work hours and revenue because they had to stop operations to fix the problem.
You can file for compensation for the following:
- Cost of inspecting and repairing the affected area
- Loss of use of property (i.e. the need to rent out another residence while your home/apartment is being repaired)
- Damage to other property
- Cost of relocation (i.e. hiring the moving truck)
- Depreciation cost of the home or property
- Medical expenses (present and future)
- Cost of therapy and adaptive equipment
- Loss of income or job due to the sickness
- Compensation for pain and suffering
The liability can fall on various parties. This can include contractors, framers, roofers, suppliers of construction material, landlords and previous homeowners.
Victims have already successfully litigated and fought for their compensation. For instance, in February 2009, a family from Virginia was awarded $4.75 million when they sued their contractor for negligence that resulted not just in damage to their home, but also to their health. Two ladies from Delaware had a jury grant them $1.04 million in compensation in a lawsuit against their landlord, where the landlord failed to repair leaks and this resulted in severe breathing problems.
When filing a toxic mold lawsuit, you should remember to do the following:
- Take pictures of the contaminated area
- Take pictures of any household items that are also contaminated
- Keep records of the expenses related to the repair of the house
- Keep records of medical expenses
- Ask your doctor for a medical report of your injuries
While waiting for your lawsuit to settle, you may need some funds to ensure that you and your lawyer are able to build a strong case. These funds can also be used to cover medical expenses and other bills that you incur due to your medical condition. Lawsuit funding can provide such funds at a time you direly need it.
Toxic mold lawsuits can be tricky and may take months or years to come to a desired conclusion. But with lawsuit settlement, you don’t have to worry about not having funds to see the lawsuit through. FastLawsuitMoney.com provides you with the lawsuit cash advance that is not based on whether you have a good credit rating. Rather, the funding is evaluated based on the strength of the case. You don’t also have to worry about paying back the lawsuit loan, as it is non-recourse funding. You only need to pay the funding when your lawsuit settles.
Posted on February 13, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
You are required to prepare for debt collection lawsuit that your creditor files against you on defaulting on payment. But it is advisable to pay off the debt by enrolling in debt solutions program before your creditor files a lawsuit against you. It will help you avoid the legal hassles and at the same time eliminate your financial woes.
But if your creditor has already filed a lawsuit against you then before facing your collector in the court ensure that you acquire basic knowledge on this procedure. Due to lack of knowledge on the part of the consumers they lose the lawsuit. Therefore, here are the following things that you need to keep in mind in order to deal with a debt collection lawsuit.
If the consumer does not have proper knowledge on the litigation process then you can lose the debt collection lawsuit. The litigation process for debt collection lawsuit can be intricate. The complexities can be one of the essential reasons behind making careless mistakes that leads to losing the case. So you are required to acquire prior knowledge on the credit card debt litigation process.
The attorneys of the creditors will present logical arguments before you and if you are not well prepared then the attorney can steer you away from these arguments. Therefore, you are required to be prepared with the litigation process in order to avoid losing the lawsuit.
During a lawsuit you can argue that your bank or creditor didn’t loan you money that was in their control. This is considered to be an effective argument because creditors do not have money in their control before issuing your credit card.
Make sure that you force your creditors to present the original signed and dated contract with the terms of your agreement. Usually creditors use fake contracts with more binding terms in order to compel consumers to make payments.
Therefore, you can take legal help in order to know about litigation process. A skilled lawyer will guide you through the debt collection lawsuit and help you with the counter argument. Once you are well aware of the process then your creditor will not be able to win the lawsuit against you.
Posted on February 4, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Medical practitioners have perhaps one of the most challenging occupations. They mostly face people at one of the worst times of their lives – after a diagnosis of a sickness or due to an accident. However, medical practitioners who are involved in the area of obstetrics have it differently. They face their patients at one of the happiest times of their lives – the birth of a baby, a precious addition to their family.
However, obstetrics is not all about passing the congratulations and seeing the smile in the mother’s face once she sees the baby. Doctors and nurses can also make mistakes. They can also be negligent. And their mistake or negligence can change a family’s life forever. The result can be serious birth injuries or worse, wrongful death.
Medical Professionals and their Accountability
Doctors and those in the medical profession have a responsibility to provide a certain standard of care for their procedures or services. When these medical practitioners fail to meet these standards, they can be held accountable for medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice as related to pregnancy and childbirth include:
- Failure to administer the right medication or the proper dosages to the pregnant mother
- Failure to foresee and forestall pregnancy complications. This is related to the failure to take a complete medical history so as to forestall these complications and to determine whether the mother has allergies to certain medications or have a condition that can negatively affect the pregnancy and the birth (i.e. heart problems, diabetes).
- Failure to foresee and forestall birth complications such as fetal distress or profuse bleeding.
- An unusual delay in ordering and performing a medically-necessary C-section
- Misuse of birth implements such as vacuum extractor or forceps
- Failure to properly monitor the baby’s heartbeat during the birth, which can lead to a lack of oxygen to the baby
- Errors in administering anesthesia
Birth injuries can include:
- Erb’s palsy
- Cerebral Palsy
- Brachial Palsy
- Umbilical cord entanglement or entrapment
- Brain damage and mental retardation
- Facial or head bruising
- Fractures
- Emotional difficulties
- Physical disfigurement
Birth injury lawsuits
If your child is a victim of medical malpractice that led to a birth injury, you can file a lawsuit against the doctor and other members of the team, as well as the hospital. Aside from the mental and psychological trauma a family has to face, the care of a child with a birth injury can actually be financially devastating. The costs include:
- medical bills and regular trips to the hospital
- any necessary therapy
- cost of care over the child’s lifetime
- cost of adaptive equipment
You can file a claim for these costs, as well as demand compensation for:
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Loss of household services
- Emotional distress on your part as parents
Help for Families
As parents of a child with a birth injury, you may feel a variety of emotions – fear, sadness and anger. There is also the added stress of getting further medical treatment for the child. This can be compounded by the stress provided by filing a lawsuit. And, not all of the stress would be emotional – there would be financial strains and difficulties as well.
This is a time when you need to focus on your child, and not on your dwindling finances. That is why FastLawsuitMoney.com is here to help. We provide lawsuit funding so that you can have quick access to cash while you are awaiting the results of your lawsuit.
Lawsuits on birth injuries may take longer to settle due to the complexity of the case. It is often challenging to prove that the medical practitioners involved have indeed committed acts of medical malpractice. The doctors and other medical practitioners will fight these accusations to prevent very high increase on their insurance premiums as well as to protect their professional reputations. With lawsuit funding, you have the means to “hang in there”.
Although this is also called a lawsuit loan, the funding you get does not require you to submit your employment status or your credit rating. It does not also require monthly payments. In fact, unlike a loan, you don’t have to pay back the money if the lawsuit fails to settle. With a lawsuit cash advance, you can get relief from financial pressure and be in a position of strength to negotiate and fight for your family’s right to fair and just compensation.
Posted on February 1, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
This is your dream vacation. You have looked at plenty of brochures and selected the cruise ship you liked best. You have saved up for it and exercised thoroughly for a bikini-worthy body. And when you first boarded the cruise ship, you were excited that the trip will be full of fun and enjoyment. Alas, your cruise ship dreams have morphed into a nightmare due to a cruise ship accident.
Cruise Ship Accidents
A cruise ship is virtually a city in itself. Aside from your cabin accommodations, most cruise ships will have a sumptuous dining area, more than one pool, Jacuzzis, entertainment rooms, shopping areas and so on. Cruise ships are equipped with a lot of safety devices and are staffed with people that are well-trained and well-versed in safety measures. However, equipment can fail, the staff can make mistakes or perform acts of negligence.
As a result, accidents and untoward incidents happen. These include:
- Being shipwrecked
- Running aground, collisions with other boats
- Falling overboard
- Physical assault resulting from the ship’s lack of security
- Slip and fall accidents
- Faulty or poorly maintained equipment
- Drowning accidents
- Burn injuries
- Food poisoning
- Sexual assault or harassment
The results of these incidents may be catastrophic. One can sustain serious physical injuries or worse, be a victim of wrongful death. Just recently, a luxury liner figured in a major accident when the captain steered the ship too closely to the coast of the island of Giglio in Italy. As the ship hit a reef and was starting to sink, panic ensued and some passengers jumped into the water. As a result of this human error, a number of passengers lost their lives while others were injured. The owner of the luxury owner will surely find itself faced with a profusion of personal injury lawsuits, even as there were complaints that the crew members and staff were slow in their responses to the crisis.
Protecting your rights when injured in a cruise ship
The rights of a cruise ship’s passengers and crew are stringently protected by maritime law. Cruise ships are required to follow the Coast Guard Rules and Regulations. However, since these maritime requirements as well as contractual laws and common laws may vary from state to state and from country to country, filing a lawsuit against an erring cruise ship line may be complicated. When you are thinking of filing a cruise ship accident lawsuit, you may need the services of an attorney that is experienced in handling such lawsuits.
Here are some of the things you should do in case you are a victim of a cruise ship accident:
- Inform the ship’s crew and doctor immediately.
- Document the scene of the accident. Take pictures, especially of elements that may have caused the injury. Take pictures of the injury as well. List down names and contact details of witnesses – both from the crew or the passengers.
- Request for the incident report. Make sure that you keep all the documentation you get from the liner.
- Once the ship’s doctor has seen you, ask for the copy of the medical records and any related documentation before the end of the trip.
- If you feel the effects of the injury after the trip has already ended, remember that there may be a short statute of limitations by which you can file a claim and by which you can inform the cruise ship company of your injuries and their extent. The statute of limitations, as well as other details of the contract are usually printed in the ticket so be sure to also hold onto the ticket.
- Once you return home, get a second medical opinion.
- Avoid talking to the claims representatives of the cruise line.
Funding for Cruise Ship Accident Lawsuits
One thing’s for sure, cruise ship lines are big companies with big-ticket lawyers. Coupled with the lawyers from their insurance company, you have quite a battle ahead of you. This may be especially frustrating and stressful if you are unable to work due to the injuries you have sustained.
The pressures from the lawsuit as well as financial pressures may build up so that getting a quick settlement (even one that is less that the claim’s full value) becomes an acceptable option.
But you don’t have to settle for less than the compensation you deserve. You can have the cash to hold on and keep up the fight by getting a little help through lawsuit funding. Lawsuit funding is a quick and easy way to get cash for you to pay off any debts, medical bills, court-related costs, as well as your family’s day-to-day expenses.
FastLawsuitMoney.com provides you with lawsuit funding. Also called a lawsuit settlement advance or a settlement loan, this is non-recourse funding, meaning, you don’t have to pay it back if the lawsuit fails to settle. FastLawsuitMoney.com provides lawsuit cash advances with competitive rates and a streamlined application process. You can receive the cash in as little as 24 hours after your application has been approved.