Slip and Fall Accidents

slip-and-fall-injury-laws-lawyers-attorneys-payout-compensation-insurance-disability-nc-workerscomp

Personal injury lawyers can help with more than just car accident cases. You have the right to seek compensation for your injuries stemming from any kind of accident that could have been prevented if the person who caused the accident had been more careful or the entity in charge of the place where the accident happened had been following the rules. Premises liability laws in North Carolina and other states indicate that the owner of a business has a legal responsibility to protect business invitees such as customers, clients, and hotel guests, from accidental injuries. One of the most common causes of premises liability lawsuits is when a customer at a store or restaurant gets injured in an accidental fall on a slippery floor or uneven walkway. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident at a place of business, contact a Charlotte personal injury lawyer.

What to Prove in a Slip and Fall Accident Case

In a premises liability case, as in any other kind of personal injury lawsuit, you must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused you to suffer injuries which caused you to incur financial losses. In a premises liability case, your chances of recovering compensation depend on how well you can prove that the conditions at the place of business were unsafe and that employees knew or reasonably should have known about the safety hazard. For example, if you slipped and fell on the floor of a supermarket aisle after someone spilled water there, you can strengthen your case by proving that you saw one or more employees walk down that aisle shortly before your accident. If you did not see employees in that area, find out the supermarket’s policies about checking for spills and cleaning them; you might be able to argue that the company’s safety policies were insufficient or that the store did not comply with the company’s policies.

How Much Money Can You Get in a Slip and Fall Accident Lawsuit?

If you file a premises liability lawsuit after a slip and fall accident, you can request damages in the amount of your medical bills. Whether or not you have health insurance does not affect your right to sue or your ability to win your case. If you had to miss work for an extended period of time because of your injuries, whether or not you have since been able to return to work, you can also request damages in the amount of your lost income. Medical expenses and lost income both count as economic damages.

You might also be able to recover noneconomic damages, also known as pain and suffering, for ways that the injuries resulting from the accident have made your quality of life worse. There is no cap on noneconomic damages for personal injury lawsuits in North Carolina. The more severe your injuries, the greater the amount of noneconomic damages the court will order, if you request noneconomic damages.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits in NC

wrongful-death-claims-lawsuit-medical-malpractice-insurance-lawyers-doctors-attorneys-charlotte-nc-courts-payments-settlements

Human life is priceless, so the purpose of wrongful death lawsuits is not to place a dollar value on the life of a person who died an untimely death. Instead, the purpose of the wrongful death lawsuit is to compensate the deceased person’s family for the financial losses they suffered because of the person’s death.

For example, they can seek compensation for the medical bills that the deceased person incurred for the injuries they sustained in the accident, injuries that eventually became fatal. If the deceased person was a working adult on whom other family members depended financially, you can also request damages for lost income, namely, the money your family would have if the deceased person were still around to earn it.

Wrongful death cases proceed similarly to personal injury cases in many aspects. To find out more about seeking damages from a person or entity responsible for causing an untimely death, contact a Charlotte personal injury lawyer.

Why do people file wrongful death lawsuits?
The situations where you can file a wrongful death lawsuit are similar to the ones where you can file a personal injury lawsuit, except that the defendant’s negligence caused the victim’s death, instead of merely causing injury. These are some common reasons that people file wrongful death lawsuits:

● Accidents, including motor vehicle accidents and premises liability
● Medical malpractice and nursing home negligence
● Manslaughter and homicide cases

Wrongful death lawsuits and manslaughter cases.
Accidentally killing another person can result in criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and the like. You have the right to sue the person who accidentally killed your family member for wrongful death, regardless of whether the person receives criminal charges. If the defendant pleads guilty to manslaughter, it puts you in a strong position to win your wrongful death case. If the defendant is acquitted or pleads no contest, you can still win your wrongful death case in civil court. To win a wrongful death case, you must only show a preponderance of the evidence, whereas in a criminal case, the prosecution must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A preponderance of the evidence means that there is a greater than 50% chance that your claims about the defendant’s negligence are true.
Who Files the Lawsuit on Behalf of the Deceased Person?
The plaintiff in a wrongful death lawsuit is the estate of the deceased person. This means that, according to North Carolina law, the person who has the right to file the lawsuit is the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate. If the deceased person left a will, the will indicates whom the court should appoint as personal representative. If the person died without a will, the court will appoint a personal representative; in most situations like this, the personal representative is a close family member of the deceased person who requested to be appointed to that role. Before the wrongful death lawsuit, or any other legal actions related to the estate, can proceed, the court must appoint a personal representative for the estate.

contact information

plumides, romano & Johnson, pc

PHONE: 704-333-9900

FAX:   704-358-0536

Choosing A Doctor for Workers’ Comp Case’s

doctors-patients-rights-medical-malpractice-charges-wrongful-death-personal-injury-workers-comp-criminal-lawyers-attorneys-charlotte-nc

How much control do you have over the choice of doctors in a workers’ compensation case?

The good news about workers’ compensation is that any accidental injury that happens at work is eligible for coverage. The bad news is that it is ultimately your employer’s decision, instead of yours, as to which treatments and medical consultations will be covered. Workers’ compensation doctors are as concerned about providing the least expensive treatments as they are about providing the most effective ones. Therefore, if, for example, you continue to suffer from back pain months after a work injury and after completing physical therapy, your employer will likely not agree to pay for surgery on your back until you have tried other less expensive treatments and are sure that they are not helping. North Carolina law gives patients receiving treatment through workers’ compensation some say in changing the course of their treatment, but the patients often get plenty of pushback from their employers. A Charlotte workers’ compensation lawyer can help you advocate for yourself to get the treatment you need.

 

Your Employer Gets First Pick of Doctors. It is an exaggeration to say that your doctor controls every aspect of your treatment in a workers’ compensation case. When you file a workers’ compensation claim, your employer will present you with a list of participating doctors from which you can choose. If necessary, these doctors will refer you to specialists. If you feel that the treatment that your workers’ comp doctor has recommended is not working or will not work, you have the right to request a second opinion.

The same applies if you disagree with your workers’ compensation doctor about whether you have reached maximum medical improvement or about the work tasks that you can currently handle.
If you want a second opinion, you must request it in writing. You and your employer will then agree on which new doctor you will see; if you cannot agree, then the Industrial Commission will choose.

 

You Can Go To A Doctor Of Your Choice, But There Is No Guarantee That Workers’ Comp Will Pay For It. In emergency situations, you must go for treatment at the nearest hospital, without regard for which insurance the hospital and its doctors accept; therefore, workers’ comp pays for emergency treatment regardless of which doctor or hospital is providing the treatment.

Finding a doctor that you trust and with whom you feel comfortable is not easy; if you have already established a good relationship with a doctor who has treated you for previous health conditions, it is understandable to want to be able to see them about your work injury, too. Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance will not agree to this unless you make a very strong case for why your own doctor can help you in ways that the doctors chosen by your employer cannot. You must show by preponderance of the evidence that your own doctor is better suited to manage your case than any of the previous doctors chosen by your workers’ comp case manager.

Workers compensation cases can become very complicated, it is important to have the right counsel through the entire process.

contact information

plumides, romano & Johnson, pc

PHONE: 704-333-9900

FAX:   704-358-0536

Tractor Trailer Accidents in North Carolina

tractor-trailer-injuries-death-payment-claims-hearings-personal-injury-workers-comp-lawyers-attorneys-charlotte-north-carolina-pain

Personal injury

Tractor Trailer Accidents in North Carolina

Truck driving is one of the most under-appreciated professions. All those big trucks you see on the highway during road trips or during your commute to work are transporting food and other necessary supplies either to your local community or to somewhere beyond North Carolina. You can get an idea of how much skill it takes to drive a commercial truck successfully just by reading the North Carolina commercial drivers’ license requirements or the Department of Transportation website. For a more detailed look at all of the long-term planning and in-the-moment decision making that goes into a truck driver’s day, read Finn Murphy’s memoir about his years driving an 18-wheeler. When everything goes well, commercial trucks and their drivers deserve credit for many of the everyday comforts that you usually take for granted. When a truck driver makes a minor mistake, though, it can cause a huge accident in which dozens of people get injured and multiple vehicles are totaled. If you have been injured in a traffic accident involving a commercial truck, contact a Charlotte personal injury lawyer.

What Do You Have to Prove in a Tractor Trailer Accident Lawsuit?

If you get injured in a traffic accident involving a tractor trailer, you have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit. In order to win your case, you must prove the following things:

  • The truck driver had a legal duty not to cause an accident.
  • The driver did something irresponsible to cause the accident, such as failing to apply the brakes on time, distracted driving, or failing to keep the truck in a safe condition.
  • Because of the truck driver’s mistake, you sustained injuries.
  • Because of your injuries, you suffered financial losses, including but not limited to medical bills.

The standard of proof in personal injury lawsuits is lower than it is in criminal cases. To win a truck accident lawsuit, you must only show a preponderance of the evidence for your claims. This means that you must show that it is more likely than not that your claims are correct.

Who is Legally Responsible for a Tractor Trailer Accident?

Most commercial trucks belong to large companies, such as delivery companies like Amazon or FedEx or to supermarket chains. Others belong to companies that are simply in the business of transporting freight to more medium-sized businesses. In some cases, though, the driver owns the truck. The owner of the vehicle that caused the accident, whether it is a person or a company, is legally responsible for damage caused by the vehicle. Most companies have commercial liability policies with very high limits, which means that the chances are good of recovering enough compensation to cover your accident-related financial losses without going to court.

A truck accident lawyer can help you seek damages if you suffered financial losses because of a tractor trailer accident. Contact Plumides, Romano & Johnson, PC in Charlotte, North Carolina to discuss your case.

North Carolina Medical Malpractice Basics

medical-practice-actions-fell-below-standard-law-suit-negligence-causation-personal-injury-lawyers-attorneys-charlotte-pain-surgery

Healthcare is expensive, but your health is priceless. If you have been struggling to pay medical debts for years, you can at least console yourself that the medical treatment that wrecked your finances restored your health, and you are healthy enough to work to support your family and slowly chip away at your debt. What is worse is when medical treatment makes you sicker. Whether a routine medical procedure left you with a permanent disability or whether you recovered from the medical error but it caused you to require more treatment and therefore to incur more bills, you have the right to seek monetary damages if you have suffered medical malpractice. If a preventable medical error has left you with unaffordable medical bills, contact a Charlotte personal injury lawyer.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is when a doctor makes a preventable error and causes a patient’s health to get worse. The error could be something as egregious as operating on the wrong body part or as subtle as not noticing a detail in the patient’s medical records that would influence the doctor’s decision about which drug to prescribe. If the error by a physician or other healthcare worker (such as a triage nurse who allowed a patient’s health to deteriorate in the emergency room waiting room while the doctors treated other patients) is the direct cause of the patient’s poor health outcome, it is medical malpractice. It is not always medical malpractice when a treatment does not work or when you get sick from a drug side effect.

medical-malpractice-lawsuit-injury-payout-claim-wrongful-death-personal-injury-best-top-lawyers-attorneys-charlotte-north-carolina

How Much Money Can You Win in a North Carolina Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice is when a doctor makes a preventable error and causes a patient’s health to get worse. The error could be something as egregious as operating on the wrong body part or as subtle as not noticing a detail in the patient’s medical records that would influence the doctor’s decision about which drug to prescribe. If the error by a physician or other healthcare worker (such as a triage nurse who allowed a patient’s health to deteriorate in the emergency room waiting room while the doctors treated other patients) is the direct cause of the patient’s poor health outcome, it is medical malpractice. It is not always medical malpractice when a treatment does not work or when you get sick from a drug side effect.

A medical malpractice lawyer can help you seek damages if you suffered financial losses because of a preventable medical error. Contact Plumides, Romano & Johnson, PC in Charlotte, North Carolina to discuss your case.

contact information

plumides, romano & Johnson, pc

PHONE: 704-333-9900

FAX:   704-358-0536

Workers’ Compensation Laws of NC

personal-injury-wokerscomp-slipfall-tractor-trailer-medical-malpractice-slip-fall-assault-battery-charges-charlotte-lawyers-attorneys-pain-doctors

Anyone who suffers an accidental injury at work has the right to file a workers’ compensation claim. Filing a workers’ compensation claim is a legally protected activity, which means that it is against the law for your employer to retaliate against you for filing one. If your employer demotes you, threatens to fire you, or creates a hostile work environment by assigning you undesirable tasks, constantly changing the rules, or consistently being unpleasant toward you, it is employer retaliation, and you should talk to an employment lawyer about it.

You can also file a workers’ compensation claim if you get diagnosed with an occupational disease, which is a disease for which your risk is higher than normal due to your line of work. Occupational diseases vary from one occupation to another, but examples include cancer for firefighters (due to the carcinogenic chemicals in the equipment they use) and carpal tunnel syndrome for textile workers.
Most of the time, you should file a workers’ compensation claim with the employer who issues your paycheck. If your employer is subcontracting with another company, you can also file the claim with the company that has hired your employer as a subcontractor.

contact information

plumides, romano & Johnson, pc

PHONE: 704-333-9900

FAX:   704-358-0536