Injury & Accident Law

Blinded Golfer Loses Appeal; NY’s Top Court Says He Assumed the Risk

New York’s highest court has ruled on behalf of a golfer accused of failing to yell “fore” before hitting a ball that struck and blinded his friend in one eye. The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the friend, Dr. Azad Anand, had assumed the risk of injury, according…

Dec 21, 2010 5:44 PM CST

Continental, Mechanic Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter in 2000 French Crash

Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in France today for a 2000 Concorde crash near Paris that killed 113 people. The mechanic received a 15-month suspended sentence and a $2,650 fine in the crash, allegedly caused when a metal strip that had fallen…

Dec 6, 2010 12:38 PM CST

Diminishing Returns Spur Some Lawyers to Re-Evaluate Yellow Pages Ads

Some Wisconsin lawyers are re-evaluating phone book advertising because they are getting less bang for their buck. The Wisconsin Law Journal spoke with several lawyers who say they are getting fewer calls from their ads or fewer quality clients. Bankruptcy lawyer James Miller of Miller & Miller is one of…

Dec 2, 2010 2:24 PM CST

Ruling: State Can Be Sued Over Fatal Bear Attack at Campground

A Utah woman whose child was killed by a bear while they were camping near American Fork Canyon in 2007 can sue the state for not warning her family about a bear attack that took place earlier that day. Eleven-year-old Sam Ives was pulled from his tent by a bear…

Nov 24, 2010 7:03 PM CST

Fla. Jury Awards $72M in Punitives to Daughter in Smoking-Death Case; R.J. Reynolds to Appeal

A jury in Levy County, Fla., has awarded $80 million to the daughter of a man who died of lung cancer in 1996, at age 78, some six decades after James Cayce Horner began smoking in the 1930s, as a teenager. Of that amount, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. must pay…

Nov 17, 2010 1:30 AM CST

Two Men Sue Over ‘Exploding’ Escargot Incident That Marred B-Day Celebration

Two California men are suing a San Rafael restaurant, claiming a birthday celebration was ruined when escargot they ordered exploded, spewing hot butter on their faces and shirts. Chadwick St.-OHarra and Steve Righetti filed suit in Marin Superior Court’s small claims division over the June incident at the Seafood Peddler,…

Nov 16, 2010 8:40 PM CST

Nancy Grace Settles Suit Over Alleged Show-Related Suicide for $200K Trust Fund

Talk show host Nancy Grace and CNN have settled a suit brought by the family of a young woman who committed suicide in 2006 after being aggressively interviewed by Grace about the then-recent disappearance of her 2-year-old son from her home. Melinda Duckett, 21, shot herself on the day the…

Nov 8, 2010 11:29 PM CST

2nd Circuit Tosses Elderly Woman’s Hot Tea Lawsuit

An elderly woman who was burned when she spilled her Starbucks tea as she tried to open the lid won’t be able to pursue her $3 million lawsuit due to a federal appeals court ruling. Rachel Moltner had contended the tea was in a double cup that changed the center…

Nov 5, 2010 2:40 PM CDT

Supreme Court Could Deadlock in Seat-Belt Pre-emption Case

The U.S. Supreme Court could deadlock 4-4 in a case that asks whether car makers are shielded from product liability lawsuits for injuries caused by lap-only seat belts. Justice Elena Kagan is not participating in the case, which considers whether suits are pre-empted by federal regulations, according to the Associated…

Nov 4, 2010 3:38 PM CDT

Dad Settles Suit Against Crocs Over Daughter’s Escalator Injury

The father of a 4-year-old girl has settled his Tennessee lawsuit against Crocs for an escalator injury that mangled the girl’s foot. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The multimillion-dollar suit by Jason Barnes of Virginia claimed his daughter was wearing Crocs as…

Nov 1, 2010 1:22 PM CDT

Toyota Accused of Secretly Buying Back Cars with Reported Sudden Acceleration

An amended complaint accuses Toyota of buying back cars with sudden acceleration problems and requiring the sellers to sign confidentiality agreements. The documents filed Wednesday also claimed Toyota’s own technicians experienced unintended acceleration problems, according to the Associated Press and Reuters. The amended suit seeks to hold Toyota responsible for…

Oct 29, 2010 2:08 PM CDT

4-Year-Old Girl Can Be Sued for Bicycle Injury, Judge Rules

Corrected: A New York judge is permitting a lawsuit against a 4-year-old girl accused of racing her bicycle equipped with training wheels and striking an elderly woman. Judge Paul Wooten of Manhattan noted that Juliet Breitman was close to 5 years old when she and another 4-year-old friend allegedly raced…

Oct 29, 2010 12:41 PM CDT

Mom of Disabled Law Student Gets Evidence, Wins Rehearing by Camping at Justice Ministry for 1 Year

Law student Antonio Meño Ortega didn’t like the way his nose looked. So he had cosmetic surgery two decades ago that left him in a coma after he was accidentally deprived of oxygen. To this day, 21 years later, he has never received any damages award for the injury because…

Oct 27, 2010 8:25 PM CDT

Who’s Liable for a Driverless Car Accident? Google Test Raises the Issue

Technology is outpacing the law in yet another area—this one involving the assumption that cars cannot drive themselves. Google has tested seven cars that are able to operate with minimal driver intervention, raising new legal issues, the New York Times reports. The cars have navigated more than 140,000 miles of…

Oct 12, 2010 1:35 PM CDT

Arbitrator: Crime-Fraud Exception Lets Ex-Toyota Counsel Use Privileged Docs in Whistle-Blow Case

An arbitrator has ruled (PDF) that a former in-house lawyer for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. may use documents that otherwise would be protected by attorney-client privilege because he has made a prima facie showing that a crime-fraud exception applies. While that does not establish that any crime or fraud…

Sep 13, 2010 8:13 PM CDT