Mecklenburg

Fast-food worker who confessed to spiking cop’s Big Mac with glass wins $437,000

November 25, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” If an incident report was filled out, do I have a right to receive a copy?”

“At some point, something told me, grab a Big Mac.”

Those words—and that decision—would forever change the lives of two New York men. Officer John Florio was on duty and in uniform when he pulled into a Bronx, New York McDonald’s drive-thru late one evening in January 2005. Florio ordered a Big Mac, but when he bit into the patty he discovered he’d been served something he hadn’t ordered: shards of broken glass mixed into the sandwich’s “special sauce.”

A short time later, two inspectors, two captains, three sergeants and five detectives arrived at the McDonald’s to investigate, searching the kitchen and interviewing workers.

They ushered then-18-year-old McDonald’s worker Albert Garcia to a back room, where he admitted to “giving Florio something extra in his order.” In a statement he wrote for investigators, Garcia said he “put the little pieces of glass into the burger as a joke.”

By the time—five years later—Garcia’s criminal case came on for trial, Garcia had recanted and his lawyer—Raymond J. Aab—accused Officer Florio of planting the glass in the burger himself in order to obtain some quick settlement cash from the fast-food chain. Within two weeks of the incident, Florio sued McDonald’s asking for $6 million in damages.

Speeding truck driver jackknifes, flips truck on US 74, killing sheriff’s deputy

November 20, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” Is a tractor-trailer accident the same as an automobile accident?”

A Union County Sheriff’s Deputy was killed early Wednesday morning after a tractor-trailer jackknifed and tipped over, falling on the deputy’s car and crushing him to death.

The deputy—identified by the Union County Sheriff’s Office as Sgt. Jeffrey Wayne Greene—was sitting in the left-hand turn lane on westbound U.S. 74 at the intersection of S. Sutherland Avenue in Monroe when a truck came barreling over a low hill in the right lane.

The truck’s driver—Eddie Ray Weeks of Fayetteville-based Weeks Trucking—swerved to avoid striking a tanker truck stopped in the right lane, causing Weeks’ truck to jackknife as it slid forward, falling on Sgt. Greene’s patrol vehicle and partially on a Kia vehicle sitting in the left traffic lane.

Weeks and the driver of the Kia were taken to nearby Carolinas Medical Center-Monroe for treatment. State Troopers said Sgt. Greene was crushed inside his vehicle and died on the scene.

Weeks will be taken after his release from the hospital to the Union County Jail, where law-enforcement officials said he would be charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

Medical marijuana user sues, argues company violated law by denying her an internship

November 18, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

A graduate student who was denied a summer internship at a textile company because of her use of medical marijuana has brought an employment discrimination lawsuit against the company.

The attorney who represents the student, Carly Iafrate of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the legalization of medical marijuana would be “an empty promise” if employers are allowed to discriminate against people based on their status as medical marijuana users.

The ACLU said it believes it is the first lawsuit of its kind brought in the state.

Lawsuits have been brought in other states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, including New Mexico, Maine, Colorado and New Jersey. The New Mexico, Maine and New Jersey cases are still pending in courts in each of those states.

Last month, a Colorado quadriplegic named Brandon Coats lost an appeal in that state’s Supreme Court. Coats was fired in 2010 after failing a drug test. He said he used medical marijuana to control involuntary muscle spasms. Colorado’s high court ruled that legalizing the use of medical marijuana did not establish a Constitutional right to use the drug.

Mayor, city councilman, fire chief charged with DWI, sued by victims of crash he caused

November 13, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”

A former mayor and Murrieta, California city councilman is facing a personal injury lawsuit brought by four teenage cheerleaders who were injured in a rear end automobile crash on October 16.

The girls allege that the vehicle in which they were riding was struck by a pickup truck being driven by then-Mayor Alan Long. The cheerleaders say Long was drunk when he caused the crash. Long was arrested at the crash scene and was charged with felony drunken driving.

Long’s blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was .08, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. Officers concluded that Long was impaired after he failed field sobriety tests. Long is due to be arraigned on a charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury on December 11.

The cheerleaders, who range in age from 14 to 17 and attend Murrieta Valley High School, suffered “severe personal injuries” that necessitated medical treatment and have caused them to incur medical expenses and to lose earnings, according to their lawsuit.

They were waiting to make a left turn at around 8:15 p.m. on October 16 when Long approached from the rear in a full-size pickup truck and plowed into the back of the girls’ car, according to Murrieta police Lieutenant Julie Hoxmeier.

Federal government marking out the boundaries for commercial drone use

November 11, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

Now in addition to birds, planes and Superman, spectators at sporting events can look up in the sky and see drones.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a number of recent drone-related incidents at packed football stadiums across the United States.

Agency officials say small drones pose safety hazards, hazards University of Wisconsin-Madison campus police spokesman Marc Lovicott saw firsthand when a drone swooped over the student section in the 80,000-seat Camp Randall Stadium during an October 11 football game against the University of Illinois.

Lovicott is worried criminals or terrorists could arm the drones.

That’s a drone stigma to which Nick Stover said he is accustomed. Stover is director of social media for the University of Louisville’s athletic department. The university purchased three drones, which Stover said he has used to film practices and fan events.

Causation, foreseeability vexing issues for lawyers, litigants

November 6, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Are the laws or rules applying to a wrongful death claim different from a personal injury not involving death?”

This may sound like a simple question, but did the person you want to sue cause your injuries? If so, were your injuries a reasonably foreseeable result of the person’s actions?

If not, you may be out of luck in your personal injury case.

The issue of causation can lead personal injury litigants and their lawyers into a labyrinthine maze of legal concepts fit for a law school-level philosophy course. While the issues and doctrines that accompany causation and so-called “foreseeability” may be complex, the practical day-to-day application of these principles mean the difference in who wins and who loses in personal injury lawsuits.

In many cases, causation and foreseeability are not issues of contention. An analysis of a recent Australian case shows how the issues can arise, however, even in cases involving relatively straightforward facts.

A driver’s negligence caused a motor-vehicle accident. A person injured his neck in the accident. Several witnesses testified regarding the driver’s negligence and a police officer concluded the driver was at fault. The issue of whether the driver caused the person’s whiplash injury was uncontested.

Mother of penknife-wielding man killed in barrage of 46 police bullets calls for justice

October 30, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Jewel Hall, the mother of a 49-year-old mentally disabled man shot dead by Saginaw, Michigan police officers in 2012, is campaigning for justice for her son.

Milton Hall was confronted by eight police officers after he refused to pay for coffee at a mini mart. After Hall brandished and refused to drop a penknife, officers unloaded 46 shots at Hall, striking him 14 times before he hit the ground, killing him instantly.

Ms. Hall said that after the shooting, an officer turned Milton Hall over and handcuffed him, then put his foot on Hall’s back while blood ran “down the street like water.”

The American Civil Liberties Union released a video of Hall’s shooting this week after a presentation to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights detailing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Mr. Hall was African-American, while all the police officers involved in his shooting were white.

Ms. Hall said the Department of Justice investigated the shooting but refused to press charges. The State of Michigan likewise declined to prosecute any of the officers. Two officers were disciplined by the police department, and a supervisor was demoted.

Transgender military members face termination for becoming who they are

October 28, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What happens when the employer refuses to acknowledge my claim?”

Military regulations require the immediate dismissal of any service member who is found to be transgender. That is placing the some 15,500 transgender people serving in the military in a quandary, and forcing peers, supervisors and military doctors who are aware of members’ status to “look the other way,” according to sources and advocates interviewed by the Washington Post.

Political leaders from President Barack Obama to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have expressed support for examining the ban and, potentially, lifting it. The Pentagon, however, told the Post that no review was underway, and Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, worries that transgender service members are being lulled into a false sense of security.

She said openly transgender service members risk losing their jobs. Some two dozen service members have been discharged in the past two years after their transgender status was uncovered, according to advocates.

Military leaders are focused now on more urgent priorities such as the conflict with the Islamic State raging in Iraq and Syria and looming budget cuts. Army Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock told the Post that the military will eventually “do the right thing” by allowing transgender service members to serve openly. The change is just not going to occur as soon as some would like.

Spike in bicyclist deaths has two-wheeled travelers ducking for cover

October 23, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” If an incident report was filled out, do I have a right to receive a copy?”

Scenes and outtakes from countless television shows and movies have shown cyclists speeding past people jogging or skating alongside the sands of Southern California beaches. Many of these have featured the twenty-or-so mile paved Marvin Braude Bicycle Path that runs from Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles south to Torrance.

Cyclists may enjoy a relative safety on the seaside paths, but inland things have gotten downright tragic for bicycle riders. California saw 338 cyclists killed in collisions with motor vehicles between 2010 and 2012, according to a report issued Monday by the Governors Highway Safety Association. Florida lagged not far behind Golden State, reporting 329 cyclists killed in collisions with motor vehicles in the same period.

Bicyclist deaths nationwide increased by 16-percent between 2010 and 2012, according to the report, but Florida and California reported the largest increases in deaths.

Allen Williams, a scientist who worked at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, compiled the report. He observed what he described as “remarkable changes” in the profile of those killed in crashes involving bicycles and cars. Adult males accounted for 74-percent of bicyclists killed in 2012. In 1975, by comparison, only 21-percent of bicyclists killed were adults of either gender.

Two-thirds of bicyclists killed in 2012 were not wearing helmets, while nearly a third of those killed registered a blood-alcohol content of .08 or more.

Woman “virtually decapitated” by lap belt awarded $12.5 million

October 21, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What if the accident was my fault?”

A 17-year-old girl who was “virtually decapitated” at the waist when she “jackknifed” over the lap belt in a 1996 Toyota 4Runner has been awarded $12.5 million by a California jury. If she had brought suit in North Carolina, her case would have been dismissed.

Toyota spokeswoman Carly Shaffner said the carmaker respected the jury’s time and consideration, but she remained confident that plaintiff Chelsie Hill’s injuries “were not the result of a defect in the 1996 Toyota 4Runner.” The jury reached the opposite conclusion after four hours of deliberations.

Hill—now 22—was a passenger in the February 21, 2010 crash in Monterey, California. Driver Aaron Corn, who was only 18 at the time and was driving while under the influence of alcohol, struck a tree while driving 30 miles per hour. The jury found that Corn was five-percent responsible for Hill’s injuries and that Hill was five-percent at fault for getting into a car with a drunken driver.

Dr. Robert Lieberson, the neurosurgeon who treated Hill after the crash, said the lap belt severed the girl at her midsection, and she was only held together by her skin. Lieberson and others testified that Hill used the belt properly.

Hill’s attorney suggested that Toyota chose to install the least safe and least expensive restraint system in the seat. Videos shown to the jury depicting dummies compared crashes involving lap belts against those with shoulder belts. Test dummies with lap-only belts jackknifed violently in crashes, while dummies in lap-and-shoulder belts remained upright.