Posts Tagged ‘Personal Injury’

Bloom Legal Video Blog Vol. 6: What to do After a Car Accident (Personal Injury)

July 15th, 2011 | Posted in Local Issues, Personal Injury, Traffic by bloom | No Comments »

Welcome back to the Bloom Legal Video Blog!

For our sixth installment Attorney Seth Bloom, of Bloom Legal explains how to respond after a car or auto accident with injury.

Basic precautions include ensuring that an accurate police report is taken, witness contact information is acquired, driver insurance and contact information is exchanged and that no mistakes are made which might aggravate injuries.

If you have been involved in an accident with injury and think that you may have a claim, contact Bloom Legal today at 504-599-9997 for a free case evaluation.

Implications of Social Media on Court Cases and Trials

August 6th, 2010 | Posted in Internet/Technology, Personal Injury by bloom | No Comments »

A recent article about a talk given by Virginia lawyer, Courtney Van Winkle, raised some interesting issues about how social media have come and will continue to influence matters in court and during trials.

Photo Courtesy of kozinets.net

In the realm of personal injury cases in particular, information relating to the event in question can often be traced through a defendant’s Facebook profile. In some instances, references to drinking or attending a party on the date of a traffic accident have been used as evidence to suggest that a party was negligent.

This poses an interesting question into how lawyers will come to advise their clients in the future when accepting cases. It may eventually become standard practice for attorneys to require their clients to delete their social media profiles before accepting their cases or at the very least to enable strict privacy settings.

As a general rule, individuals involved in pending trials and court cases should never disclose information that pertains to those trials and the events in question in any sort of public forum. The personal tone and apparent privacy of social media platforms like Facebook can make it easy to forget just how publicly accessible the content within can be.

For the full article on Courtney Van Winkle’s talk please visit this site.

If you are involved in a matter that could justify a personal injury case, contact Bloom Legal at 504-599-9997 to discuss your options and learn how we can help you today.

“Home Improvement’s” “Brad”…”Don’t Tase me Bro!”

July 9th, 2008 | Posted in Celebrity Justice, National Issues, Personal Injury by bloom | No Comments »

TMZ reports that former child star Zachary Ty Bryan, who played Brad Taylor on “Home Improvement” is filing suit against Choice Hotels over an incident where Bryan was tased by hotel security in April. Zachary claims he was staying at a hotel in San Diego when he and a few friends went across the street to grab a Gatorade. When he came back just after midnight, Bryan’s attorney claims “the hotel wouldn’t let him upstairs, since the room wasn’t in his name.” 

Bryan’s attorney claims Zachary tried explaining his wife was in the room, but the hotel refused to call her. He claims an off-duty manager, who was not involved in the initial argument, came out of nowhere and tasered Zachary in the neck. Police would later arrive, however, no charges were filed. 

A hotel employee tells TMZ that “Zachary went nuts on the staff, a lot of alcohol was involved, and tasering the dude was the only safe bet”, Zachary is suing for damages in excess of $25,000.

What if you’ve been injured in a similar incident? Battery is a general intent offense. This means that the actor need not intend the specific harm that will result from the unwanted contact, but only to commit an act of unwanted contact. This also means that gross negligence or even recklessness may provide the required intent or (in criminal matters) “mens rea” to find a battery. A plaintiff or complainant in a case for battery does not have to prove an actual physical injury. Rather, the plaintiff must prove an unlawful and unpermitted contact with his or her person or property in a harmful or offensive manner. This, in and of itself, is deemed injurious. Conversely, the victim of a battery may file a civil lawsuit stemming from the same incident, in which the defendant is charged with the tort of battery. In such a case, damages are typically compensatory (a monetary award), along with special relief such as injunctive or punitive. Substantial harm is not required, but nonetheless, there must be palpable harm. Compensatory damages may be for either/both economic and non-economic (emotional) harm.

FDA Approval Doesn’t Mean You’re Safe

April 9th, 2008 | Posted in National Issues, Personal Injury by bloom | No Comments »

The Food & Drug Administration is supposed to approve drugs as being safe for human consumption before they can be sold in the U.S. Marketplace.  This isn’t an ironclad guarantee these days — as demonstrated by the following products — and if you or a loved one have any concerns about a drug, trust that “gut instinct” and get help immediately.

1.  Heparin, a blood-thinner, can result in severe allergic reactions, impact blood pressure, and cause death – the FDA issued a new warning about the drug today.

2.  Exurbra, an insulin inhaler, can cause lung cancer and Pfizer issued its own product warning today on the drug, approved by the FDA in 2006.

3.  Johnson & Johnson is currently asking for a legal bar to any lawsuits asking damages from the company’s Ortho Evra birth control patch, because the FDA approved the patch in 2002 (and started issuing warnings in 2006). 

4.  GlaxoSmithKline has been accused of failing to give the FDA all pertinent studies regarding FDA-approved Avandia, a diabetes pill that can cause fatal heart attacks, in a letter the FDA posted online yesterday and which GlaxoSmithKline has already denied.

And, these are just four examples taken from today’s news.  Remember, your first step in protecting yourself and your loved ones is to get the necessary medical attention.  Your second step should be to learn your legal rights to such things as reimbursement for medical expenses, time off from work, pain and suffering, and other legally recognized damages — and what your deadline is to file these claims.  You do not have much time before your claim is barred by law.�

Deadlines to Filing Your Lawsuit: Absolute Bars to Your Claim

April 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Courts, Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

louisianastateseal.jpgIn Louisiana, you only get so much time to file your lawsuit.  If you miss this deadline, then it doesn’t matter how valid your claim is – or how horrible the evildoer defendant is, or how serious the injuries are, or even if there’s been a death due to someone’s bad acts:  you won’t have a valid legal case anymore.  You’ll be barred from pursuing your case because you missed the deadline. 

This means that as callous as it may sound, someone in the family needs to check on the legal issues before it’s too late.  In its own way, it is very compassionate in serious personal injury situations, for example, to investigate the victim’s legal redress – just as it is compassionate to help loved ones facing pain, suffering, and grief over loss in other loving and supportive ways. 

These deadlines can be very short  – check these out, which must all be filed within 1 year:

Wrongful Death
Must be filed within one year from the date of death.

Personal Injury
Must be filed within one year from the date of the injury.

Defective Product/Products Liability
Must be filed within one year after the date of the injury.

Medical Malpractice
Must be filed within one year of the date that the injury is discovered by the victim, OR one year from the date that the act giving rise to the injury occurred, and there’s an absolute bar:  all medical malpractice lawsuits have to be filed within 3 years from the date that the act giving rise to the injury occurred.

It Shouldn’t Cost You Anything to Check It Out

Here at BloomLegal, like many other law firms in the local area, initial consultations are free — so checking out legal rights as soon as possible shouldn’t cost a family member anything, and may well save the family’s claims from being time barred.  �
�

Product Recalls – Do You Have a Defective Product in Your Home?

March 25th, 2008 | Posted in National Issues, Personal Injury by bloom | No Comments »

clock.jpgUnfortunately, there are so many product recalls that it’s impossible to know whether or not everything you own – the car you drive, the toys the kids play with, the kitchen appliances you use, the food you eat – is safe.  

 Use common sense, and if you’ve got any concern whatsoever, check out the product over at recalls.gov.  Never use any product that you’re not 100% sure is safe. 

You can search for product recalls in:

  • consumer products
  • food, medicine, cosmetics
  • motor vehicles, car seats
  • environmental products
  • meat and poultry products
  • boats and boating safety

Really interested in recalls?  Sign up for emails notifying you of future recalls from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Food & Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   

Remember, time is not on your side in a defective products claim ….

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a defective product — do not wait to get legal advice.  The law has specific deadlines, and if you miss the deadline even the worthiest claim will be time-barred. 

Don’t procrastinate!

New Orleans Caribbean Cruise Vacations – 5 Things to Know

March 5th, 2008 | Posted in Local Issues, Personal Injury by bloom | 1 Comment »

 

BloomLegal’s entry into representing cruise line injury victims brings with it all sorts of interesting tidbits of information, such as:

 

1.  Cruise Ships aren’t Made in U.S.A.  While it may sound down-right unpatriotic that most of the cruise ships fly the flags of foreign countries, not the Stars and Stripes, it’s partially due to American law and the U.S. marketplace that this occurs.  For almost a century, federal laws have existed to protect U.S. cruise-ship builders by requiring that cruise ships sailing entirely between U.S. ports — with no stops in any foreign port — must be built in the United States, and both owned and operated by Americans.  (The laws are the Jones Act of 1920 and the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886.) 

 

Today’s reality is that no big cruise ship has been built in America since Eisenhower was president, and no large cruise ships built in the U.S. are even on the seas today.  Cruise ships simply aren’t built in the U.S., and under these existing federal laws, they’ve got to have at least one foreign port stop if they are otherwise sailing between U.S. ports of call.  

 

What does this mean to you?  Foreign law — not U.S. law — may well impact any incident or injury that occurs during your cruise vacation. 

 

2.  What You Pay Depends Upon When You Buy.  The best cruise vacation deals can be found either as “early bird” specials (5-6 months in advance) or as last minute bookings (within 2 weeks of departure).  You can save 50-75% this way. 

 

It’s entirely legal for the same cruise package to cost vastly different sums for passengers on the same ship, in neighboring cabins. 

 

Continue Reading »

Hulk Hogan’s Son in Car Crash — Hulk At the Scene: 10 Things to Do When You Witness a Car Crash

August 27th, 2007 | Posted in Celebrity Justice, Personal Injury, Traffic by bloom | No Comments »

hulk_hogan.jpgHulk Hogan’s son was seriously injured last night, when the Toyota Supra he was driving went out of control, jumped a median, and crashed into a tree.  Nick Hogan was driving.  Both he and his buddy, John Graziano, were airlifted to a nearby hospital and reported to be in serious condition.   This morning, Hogan’s pal John remains in critical condition, but Hogan’s injuries are no longer listed as life-threatening.  (TMZ is reporting that Hulk Hogan’s son has been released.)

Hulk Hogan was filmed at the scene of the accident, moments after it occurred.  News reports are unclear, but apparently paramedics arrived quickly, and The Hulk was seen talking with them, as they awaited the MediVac helicopter. 

What should you do if you are ever in the position that Hulk Hogan was in, at the scene of a car crash, where there are victims who are seriously injured?

Continue Reading »

Available 24/7. Call 1-877-NOLATIX for immediate help.

Switch to our mobile site