Winter Driving Safety Tips

With up to 14 inches of snow expected this week, Colorado drivers need to play it safe to avoid serious accidents on dangerous roadways. The holidays will have many families on the road that would otherwise avoid driving in such a storm, adding to the risk of accidents. Before you head out for your holiday plans, take a minute to look over these helpful tips. Make sure that cell phones are charged before leaving and car chargers for your phones are in place Make sure you have snow tires with the proper amount of tread. Avoid traveling on worn tires. Avoid driving if at all possible, if you...

Colorado Ski Safety and Accidents

With ski season in full swing, it’s important to understand your rights and responsibilities before you hit the slopes. Colorado sets the standard for ski safety laws. In 1990, The Colorado Ski Safety Act was put in place to protect skiers and establish a basis of liability. Per the Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1990, skiers are responsible for the following: Skiing within one’s own ability Maintaining control of speed and course Paying attention to avoid other skiers and objects Avoid conduct that may injure others Avoid areas marked as closed Heed posted warnings Yield to skiers already...

What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident

With the Colorado winter in full force, we see a large increase in the number of slip and fall accidents. Snow hides defects in walk ways, ice causes normally safe areas to become treacherous at best. It’s important to understand that just because you slip and fall on someone’s property does not mean that the property owner is liable. In order to prove that the property owner is responsible, we must be able to show that the property owner knew about the hazardous condition and failed to fix the problem. For example, most cracks in walkways don’t appear overnight, while it’s entirely...

Dog Owners are Responsible for Actions of Pets

The trend for keeping certain aggressive breeds of dogs seems to be increasing each year. Unfortunately, as the popularity of these breeds increases, so does the number of incidents involving dog bites and attacks. What many people who choose to keep these breeds may not understand, is that owning a dog makes you liable for its behavior. On December 5th, a Colorado woman was mauled by two Pit Bulls, which witness say attacked the woman and pulled her across the lawn by her hair. Witnesses found pieces of the woman’s scalp at the scene, and were able to chase the dogs off and call for...

Do You Have the Right to Refuse a BAC Test?

Colorado has pretty strict guidelines in regards to driving under the influence. You may think that you have the right to refuse a blood alcohol content test, or BAC test, when pulled over for a possible DUI, but according to the law refusing may not be in your best interest. In Colorado, impairment is considered to be having any quantity of alcohol or drugs (both legal and illegal) that impact the ability to operate a vehicle safely. Technically, if you operate a vehicle inside the state lines, you have given consent to the state’s required testing process as a means to gather evidence if...

Malpractice Lawsuits Cost NYC Over $100 Million

Medical malpractice suits cost New York City $135 million in 2011, a five percent increase from 2010, according to the New York Daily News. For the victims, medical mistakes leave permanent and debilitating scars and has resulted in deaths that were preventable. A 38-year-old Bronx woman got a $8 million award before her malpractice case went to trial. She went to a hospital to be treated for what she though was a cheek infection. Court records showed that a dentist drained an abscess from her cheek and sent her home. She returned ten days later in excruciating pain. The infection had spread...

Woman Files $30 Million Negligence Suit Against Rehab Center

A mother is suing a Tennessee drug rehabilitation center for the death of her daughter, The Tennessean recently reported. The mother filed a $32 million negligence and wrongful death suit in August against CRC Health, who owns the New Life Lodge Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. The lawsuit accuses New Life of transporting her daughter to a hospital in a van that was driven by an employee who lacked medical training. The daughter become unresponsive on the way to the hospital and died the following day. An attorney representing the plaintiff also filed a separate medical malpractice suit and...

Festival Organizers Hit With Three Negligence Lawsuits in One Month

Three negligence lawsuits were filed in October against the organizers of the All Good Music Festival in connection with a July 17 car accident that occurred at the festival. The first two suits were filed by an accident victim who got injured and the family of another victim who died. The Baltimore Sun reported that Elizabeth Rose Doran, was the latest accident victim to file a negligence suit against festival organizers. In addition to the festival organizers, Marvin’s Mountaintop, where the festival took place, and several of the festival’s vendors were also named as defendants. The...

Georgia Trucking Company Hit With Wrongful Death Suit

A Pittsburgh man is suing a trucking company for the death of three of his family members in a “catastrophic” accident involving a truck. The Daily Tribune reported that according to the wrongful death suit, plaintiff Sean Reynolds alleged that the truck driver’s actions contributed to the fatality and holds liable the trucking company that employed the driver. The crash occurred on Sept 8. Shane, Derrick and Wendy Reynolds were on their way to San Diego and were driving on the I-10 when an 18-wheeler truck crashed into their mini-van. The van burst into flames upon impact, killing all...

Assailants, Nightclub Owner Sued for Death of Hate Crime Victim

A Boston family recently filed a wrongful-death suit against the assailants who brutally beat a 37-year-old man at a former Gloucester tavern in 2009 and the tavern’s owner. CBS Boston reported that the victim, Justin Goodwin, was attacked by a group of men who yelled anti-gay slurs and beat him unconscious at the tavern. The beating was so severe Goodwin needed facial reconstructive surgery and months of mental and physical recovery. His attackers were since sentenced to jail, but his family said Goodwin was never the same after the vicious attack. They said Goodwin became a shut-in,...