Personal Injury

Medical Malpractice Damage Caps Under Fire In Florida

June 14, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “Do I have to pay taxes on a settlement or jury award in a personal injury case?”

Those in Florida who have suffered serious personal injuries due to the negligent or reckless action of doctors can rejoice after a recently issued state Supreme Court ruling. While other states debate passing new and more strict damage caps, those in Florida have come under intense fire from a skeptical judiciary. Though doctors, hospitals and insurance companies may complain, victims of medical malpractice and their advocates say the recent ruling tossing out damage caps is cause for celebration.

Supreme Court Comes Down On The Side of Nursing Homes

May 17, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question “What constitutes nursing home negligence?

The Supreme Court issued an important decision today impacting millions of families across the country. The Court decided to weigh into an issue that has generated increasing controversy over the past several years: arbitration agreements. After hearing the facts of the case, the Court chose to side with big business interests, in this case, the nursing home industry, over the individual families who seldom understand that these agreements exist to strip them of their rights.

Technology’s Coming Impact on Personal Injury Cases

May 3, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “What is subrogation and how may it factor into my case?”

It seems recently that new technological advances are around every corner. Who would’ve thought only a few years ago that we’d have cars driving themselves or the ability to relatively cheaply operate our own sophisticated drones? Technological improvement moves at a rapid rate and this requires the legal system to move quickly to keep up. With the advent of new technology comes new ways for people to get hurt and new questions about how liability is apportioned. Though the law is adaptable, it will have a lot of work to do to answer the increasingly complex questions that will regularly be presented in the coming years. For examples of some of the looming personal injury threats, keep reading.

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.

Snapchat Personal Injury Case Dismissed By Judge

March 15, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “What is subrogation and how may it factor into my case?”

We’re reminded on a seemingly endless basis just how dangerous personal electronic devices can be when used by drivers behind the wheel. Numbers from federal regulators show that fatal car accidents are increasing across the country and one main reason for the rise appears to be the prevalence of distracted driving. Though we all recognize the harm, at least theoretically, few appear to be willing to take concrete steps to make things better.

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.

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.

Recent Chattanooga Bus Crash Highlights State’s Personal Injury Award Limits

December 16, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: How does the law of contributory negligence play a role in my case?

Tennessee has been in the news several times recently for very unfortunate reasons. Most recently was the terrible fire that swept through Gatlinburg and, before that, was the deadly bus crash in Chattanooga that left six children dead. That sad episode inadvertently highlighted a law in Tennessee that was implemented years ago and works to shield wrongdoers at the expense of innocent victims, in this case, the families of those fatally injured school children.