Personal Injury

Guardrails Under Fire From Safety Groups

April 19, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Most people take comfort when they see that a road has guardrails. The barriers are supposed to be there to save lives, keeping vehicles and the people inside of them on the roadways. Though guardrails have saved countless lives, trouble can occur in some cases when defectively designed or poorly tested guardrails are installed. Rather than serving as a kind of protection, the guardrails instead created added danger and, in some particularly gruesome cases, have claimed lives. To learn more about recent concerns involving guardrails, keep reading.

British Court Rejects “Wrongful Life” Damages

April 12, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

If you’re at all familiar with the personal injury world you’ve likely heard of lawsuits seeking to recover damages for wrongful death. Wrongful death cases include those where a person dies due to the negligence or recklessness of another person. The loved ones can then file suit (on their own and on behalf of the deceased) seeking to recover financial compensation for the harm that was suffered.

United Suffers Another PR Disaster After Security Drags Passenger Off Oversold Plane

April 12, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

United Airlines has had a rough few weeks. It started when the airline got caught up in a Twitter storm after refusing to allow two young girls to board a plane in Denver for wearing “inappropriate” clothing. The issue was that the girls had on leggings, something that apparently violates United’s dress code. A fellow passenger took pictures and tweeted about the incident, inciting United to tweet back in a way that many found tone deaf.

Smartphones responsible for rising insurance rates

February 22, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “How much time do I have to file a claim for my personal injuries after an accident?”

For those who own automobiles, you’ve likely been met with bad news when you opened your recent renewal letters. Insurance companies say that rates across the country have been on the rise, reversing years of declines. What’s the reason for the increase? Most experts say that there is a clear link between increases in insurance rates and the prevalence of smartphones. The personal electronics are now so commonplace and can be so distracting that the number of auto accidents, injuries and deaths are rising, leading to a corresponding rise in the rate that ordinary people must pay to insure their vehicles.

Major Chemical Companies Announce Settlement for Thousands of Personal Injury Lawsuits

February 14, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “How much time do I have to file a claim for my personal injuries after an accident?”

Most people know how to take simple steps to protect their family from harm. Families install smoke detectors and lock their doors. They put child locks on cabinets containing chemicals and other harmful products. The wear their seatbelts. Though all are important, it’s scary to think about how many harms hide just beneath the surface, harms that almost no one can guard against. Two major chemical companies recently announced that they had agreed to settle thousands of cases related to just such a hidden problem.

Slip-and-fall from donkey statue leads to personal injury lawsuit

February 7, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Can I post about my injury on Social Media?”

When personal injury cases make it on the front page it’s usually for one of two reasons. Either the case is a true tragedy where victims suffered unimaginable harm, or the case seems ridiculous, serving as an example of a tort system seemingly run amok. When the headlines fall into this latter category it can skew people’s idea of what a personal injury case is. All they see are the silly headlines, lacking entirely in legal analysis or context. Rather than allowing the media to portray every personal injury as if it were assured of success no matter how odd, it’s important to understand that the majority of these cases fail because the law imposes serious burdens that plaintiffs must confront before they’re able to collect damages. Though the news might lead you to believe it’s easy to cash in every time you bump or bruise yourself, the reality is far more difficult.

Minors and Personal Injury Settlements

January 31, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Can I post about my injury on Social Media?”

We talk about personal injury cases all the time and something that often goes unstated is that the vast majority of these cases involve adults. Though it might seem that age wouldn’t matter when it comes to resolving personal injury claims, it can actually make quite a big impact. The reason is that minors receive extra protection that adults don’t get, this protection then requires additional legal hurdles to clear before cases can truly be wrapped up. To learn more about minors and personal injury settlements, keep reading.

Sensory Testimony May Be New Trend In Personal Injury Cases

January 24, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing a personal injury case for trial. In addition to gathering evidence, talking to witnesses, analyzing medical records and constructing a theory for your case, the lawyer in charge will also need to think through the best way to relay the harm suffered to the judge or jury tasked with awarding damages. All the evidence in the world is of little use if the person deciding your case isn’t able to fully appreciate the extent of the harm suffered. This gap between the pain of the plaintiff and the judge or jury’s ability to understand has long proved problematic in personal injury cases and can make it difficult to secure awards that appropriately value the injuries that occurred.

Landlord Liability for Personal Injury of Tenants

January 17, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: ” I have been injured on another person’s property. What should I do now?”

Owning rental property can be a great financial move, assuming things go smoothly. If real estate values increase, the tenants pay their rent on time and no one gets hurt, it can be a great way to build assets. The problem, unfortunately, is that things don’t always go so smoothly. Real estate bubbles burst, tenants have to be evicted and people sometimes trip and fall. Though we have little control over the first two issues, there are things that can be done to better understand and prepare for a personal injury lawsuit related to rental property. To learn more about how such tenant injury lawsuits work, keep reading.

In the snow, who is on the hook if someone slips and falls?

January 10, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: ” I have been injured on another person’s property. What should I do now?”

Given the recent winter weather across not only North Carolina, but 49 of 50 states (Florida is the only one without any snow on the ground, even Hawaii has something), the potential for slipping and falling has increased rather dramatically. Studies have shown that more accidents happen in the winter and property owners are often especially worried about the possibility of someone hurting themselves, fearing liability for the injuries that result from an unsuspecting accident. How does this work when it comes to snow and ice? Are the property owners always on the hook?