Each year thousands of construction workers are injured or killed in construction site accidents. Even though construction companies are typically obligated to inspect each site with safety engineers and provide safety programs, accidents still occur.

Generally, an injured worker cannot sue his or her own employer for injuries arising out of work related activities; however, if it can be shown that a third party’s negligence caused the injuries, that party can be held liable. Additionally, in some instances workers may be injured at a construction site due to their own inadvertence or due to a condition that was no person’s fault. When a worker is injured due to his or her own negligence or that of his or her employer, or due to a condition which was nobody’s fault, that injured party can still receive compensation in most states through Workers Compensation. Workers' Compensation Acts provide benefits to workers who are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment. The benefits under Workers' Comp include weekly payments based on a percentage of the employee's average weekly wage for temporary total disability, partial disability, permanent and total disability and permanent loss of function and disfigurement. Workers' Comp also covers medical expenses for treatment that is reasonable, necessary and related to the industrial injury and vocational rehabilitation services.

In some instances, however, a third party is to blame for injuries that occur on the job site. When a construction site accident occurs, the owners, architects, and manufacturers of equipment can be held responsible for inadequate safety provisions. The general contractor and all subcontractors are required to provide a reasonably safe site, to warn of hazards inherent in the site and work, to hire careful employees, to coordinate job safety and to supervise compliance with safety specifications.

Manufacturers of construction equipment are responsible for designing and maintaining safe products. Defective or dangerous products may include the following: scaffolding, cranes, power tools, derricks, hoists, conveyors, woodworking tools, ladders, winches, trucks, graters, scrapers, tractors, bulldozers, forklifts, back hoes, heavy equipment, boilers, pressure vessels, gas detectors and other types of construction equipment.

Therefore, it is often possible to find liable third parties in the event of a construction related injury. This is often important because Worker’s Compensation benefits do not provide compensation for the pain and suffering that a person endures as a result of an accident.

Each year thousands of construction workers are injured or killed in construction site accidents. Even though construction companies are typically obligated to inspect each site with safety engineers and provide safety programs, accidents still occur.

Generally, an injured worker cannot sue his or her own employer for injuries arising out of work related activities; however, if it can be shown that a third party’s negligence caused the injuries, that party can be held liable. Additionally, in some instances workers may be injured at a construction site due to their own inadvertence or due to a condition that was no person’s fault. When a worker is injured due to his or her own negligence or that of his or her employer, or due to a condition which was nobody’s fault, that injured party can still receive compensation in most states through Workers Compensation. Workers' Compensation Acts provide benefits to workers who are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment. The benefits under Workers' Comp include weekly payments based on a percentage of the employee's average weekly wage for temporary total disability, partial disability, permanent and total disability and permanent loss of function and disfigurement. Workers' Comp also covers medical expenses for treatment that is reasonable, necessary and related to the industrial injury and vocational rehabilitation services.

In some instances, however, a third party is to blame for injuries that occur on the job site. When a construction site accident occurs, the owners, architects, and manufacturers of equipment can be held responsible for inadequate safety provisions. The general contractor and all subcontractors are required to provide a reasonably safe site, to warn of hazards inherent in the site and work, to hire careful employees, to coordinate job safety and to supervise compliance with safety specifications.

Manufacturers of construction equipment are responsible for designing and maintaining safe products. Defective or dangerous products may include the following: scaffolding, cranes, power tools, derricks, hoists, conveyors, woodworking tools, ladders, winches, trucks, graters, scrapers, tractors, bulldozers, forklifts, back hoes, heavy equipment, boilers, pressure vessels, gas detectors and other types of construction equipment.

Therefore, it is often possible to find liable third parties in the event of a construction related injury. This is often important because Worker’s Compensation benefits do not provide compensation for the pain and suffering that a person endures as a result of an accident.

Few things are more frightening than being attacked by a dog. Such an attack can leave the victim severely injured and traumatized. If the victim is a child, the injuries can be fatal. Many states have statutes which hold the owner of the dog strictly liable for the dog’s behavior if the attack is unprovoked; that is, the victim did nothing to threaten the dog or cause it to attack in self-defense. It makes no difference where the attack took place or if the attack is the first for the animal. In some states, the dog gets “one free bite,” meaning the owner is not presumed to know the dog is dangerous until an attack has occurred once.

As an owner, there are steps you can take to minimize the possibility of your dog attacking someone:

• Spay or neuter your dog
• Do not teach your dog to play roughly
• Be sure your dog has up-to-date vaccinations
• Take your dog to obedience classes so it becomes accustomed to obeying voice commands
• Never leave babies or small children with a dog unless there is an adult with them
• Keep your dog in a fenced yard, do not allow it to roam

Basic safety tips include:

• Leave strange dogs alone
• Never approach any dog while it is eating, sleeping, or caring for puppies
• Never try to pet a dog until you have let it see you and smell you
• Never leave children alone with any dog
• Never be aggressive with a dog, stare it in the eye, or run from it
• If a dog does attack, stay still
• If a dog knocks you down, roll into a ball to protect yourself

If you are attacked, seek help quickly. Try to find out who the owner is, but seek medical help first.

Pharmaceutical companies manufacture and market hundreds of new drugs each year. Each product is regulated and approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it reaches the consumer, and every year over 200,000 people die from using these drugs. It is estimated that more than 50% of all the drugs marketed to the American consumer have deleterious effects, in spite of testing and FDA regulation.

Of all the recent examples of harmful drugs, most were withdrawn from sale within 12 months of release. Some drugs were still marketed by drug companies even after evidence of serious side effects or death had been noted. By law, drug manufacturers are strictly liable for injuries if the product they sell is defective or unreasonably dangerous. This can happen in several ways.

• - The product may be defective because of an error in the manufacturing process.
• - Consumers are not warned of possible bad effects from the use of the product.
• - The product has a design flaw that makes it dangerous.

In all these cases, the manufacturer is liable and can be sued for damages even if they were unaware of the danger. It does not matter how carefully the product was produced or labeled.

Many drug products have caused such widespread injury that class action suits or mass torts have been filed against them. Some of these drugs include: Baycol, Phen-fen, Rezulin, Propulsid, and PPA.

Of additional concern are the dietary supplements which are becoming increasingly popular. The FDA requires that manufacturers assure that such supplements are safe before selling them, but there are no testing or approval requirements.

Bad faith claims arise when a company with whom you have a contract fails to act within the terms of that contract. In the case of your insurance company, this may happen if it fails to promptly or properly defend or pay a claim. An insurance company has a duty to deal fairly with its customers, giving more consideration to its insured customers than to its own interest. Whenever your insurance company fails to honor its obligations in its contract with you, you may have a claim for bad faith. An insurance company is required to investigate all claims and find out information about anything that might support their insured’s claim.

Insurance contracts are written to reflect current case law. Known terms which seem self-evident to the insured may actually have special interpretations to the insurance company and not to the insured. All insurance contracts are interpreted in a court to carry out the reasonable expectations of the insured party. The contract will be studied to obtain its meaning, and such meaning must be clear and unmistakable. Generally, any terms which are not clear will be interpreted to benefit the insured. You do not have to prove that the company intended to cause harm, only that they failed to honor their agreement and had no cause not to pay the claim.

Doctors, nurses and other health care providers spend a great deal of time learning how to treat a great variety of illnesses and physical maladies. As a group they are professionals dedicated to helping alleviate the ailments that can plague mankind. Unfortunately, health care providers can also make mistakes. When mistakes are made the effects can be devastating. In fact, according to the National Academy of Sciences, approximately 98,000 Americans die from "medical mistakes" each year.

Medical malpractice is a form of negligence involving a medical treatment provider. If someone is injured as a result of a treatment provider's digression from the standard of care, that treater may be liable for the injury that has occurred. The determination of whether a medical professional has met the standard of care is based on a comparison to other professionals in the same field and the same geographical region. In other words, what would a reasonably competent medical professional practicing in the same field as the defendant, and in the same area of the defendant, do under the circumstances that the defendant was facing with respect to care and treatment of the patient?

Medical malpractice does not occur every time there is a bad outcome from treatment. It is simply a duty to provide good care according to the accepted standards of the community and/or the accepted standards of a particular medical specialty. The law generally recognizes the practice of medicine as an "art" rather than as an exact science. Therefore, some latitude is given to practitioners with respect to the manner in which they choose to address the problems of specific patients.

An increasing elderly population has led to an increased nursing home population, and with this has come an increased incidence of nursing home negligence and abuse. Governmental agencies such as the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services help oversee the care and services provided by nursing homes and both federal and state governments have established uniform standards for nursing homes and ensure the protection and safety of patients.

Unfortunately, despite these governmental agencies, over one million nursing home residents are abused in some manner each year. Such actions can include negligence and active abuse. Whether the abuse consists of recurrent negligence or a single incident which causes injury, the victim has a right to damages. In most cases, the nursing home in question can lose its certification for failing to supply the expected care leading to a loss of federal funding.

Nursing home abuse can include physical damage from falls, malnutrition or dehydration, bed sores, gangrene, aspiration pneumonia, over-sedation, poor medical care, or wrong medication. Just as damaging but more subtle, are lack of supervision, theft, abandonment, defective equipment, sexual assault, coercion, physical or mental abuse. All of these can lead to injury or death of the nursing home patient.

When someone is injured as a result of unsafe property or building conditions, they may have a right to make a claim for their damages against the owner of the property.

In some states, the landowner's duty to protect an entrant on the land depends on whether that person is a trespasser, licensee or an invitee. The landowner's duties are different for each type of entrant. The landowner owes less of a duty to protect the trespasser then the other types of entrants. The landowner's duty of care is highest for business invitees. Some states, however, have done away with these multiple classifications in favor of one standard of "reasonableness under the circumstances" of a particular case.

In general terms, “slip and fall” accidents refer to situations where a person is injured by slipping, or tripping, and falling due to a dangerous condition on the premises. Such falls can happen inside or outside a building, and be caused by such conditions as bad flooring, wet floors, poorly lighted steps, or, in the case of outdoor accidents, weather-related or hidden hazards. An icy patch outside a door or a crack or pothole can be the cause of a slip and fall in a parking lot, for instance.

All slip and fall accidents are covered by negligence law and deal with the concept of premises liability. Property owners have a “duty of care” to see that their property is safe. This includes insuring that the building has no structural defects that could cause an accident, both inside and out. In some states the property owner may also have a duty to reduce problem areas caused by weather. Structural defects can include: loose floor mats, rugs, or tiles; water on the floor; poorly lit stairs or steps; cracks or holes in sidewalks or parking lots. Weather-related hazards may include standing water and icy spots. A plaintiff or claimant also has a duty to exercise reasonable care, so if any action of yours contributed to the accident, you may share in the negligence.

If you experience a slip and fall accident, you should try to determine what made you fall and if it could have been anticipated and prevented. If anyone saw you fall, be sure you get the names and addresses of all witnesses. Try to note the conditions in the area – was the lighting poor, was there some substance that made you slip. If you did slip because of something on the floor, try to obtain a sample. Also, try to get pictures of the area. Report any such accident to the manager or owner and insist that they make a record of it.

It is your responsibility to prove that a hazard existed and that it was the cause of your accident.

Wrongful death is the term used when someone causes the death of another person. The death may be caused by the actions of someone or by their failure to act (neglect). Wrongful death is a civil action rather than a criminal action. Since the person killed (decedent) cannot file suit or collect damages, it is the family or representatives of the estate that do so. The intent is to recompense family members who have suffered monetarily and emotionally from the death. Damages can be assessed for lost wages and benefits, loss of companionship, and emotional pain and suffering caused by the trauma.

A defendant can only be held responsible for a wrongful death if it can be proved that the defendant's conduct was the cause of the death. It must be proved that the death would not have occurred without the defendant's act. The time between the defendant's action and the death of the decedent is not a factor as long as it can be proved that the defendant's action was the cause of death.

If it can be shown that the decedent was partially responsible for his death, then he may be found to have comparative or contributory negligence and dependent upon the state in which the incident occurred, damages may be awarded based on the percentage of negligence imputed to the decedent. Also, if the decedent failed to seek appropriate medical care and that failure led to his death, there may be no grounds for a wrongful death claim or a reduction to an award.

Different states have different methods for deciding who may file a wrongful death suit and who may recover damages. Generally, it must be shown that the death was caused by another's wrongful act; that the act was such that the decedent would have been due damages from the act; and that monetary damages did arise from the act. If these three criteria are met, it is possible that a wrongful death claim can be filed.

In a case of wrongful death, damages are assessed to compensate family members for their loss. There are many ways in which damages can be calculated. Since damages can be awarded in a number of areas, it is important to examine each one carefully.

The most obvious loss in a case of wrongful death is the actual expense occasioned by medical and death expenses. These are usually easy to determine.

Less obvious but equally important is the loss of future earnings and benefits, as well as the loss of companionship. These damages are more difficult to calculate and include anticipating the lifespan and earnings of the decedent, as well as the relationship to remaining family members.

Loss of companionship is very difficult to calculate since it is totally subjective and does not lend itself to empirical measurements. It is a measure of the emotional pain and suffering experienced by the survivors.

A final area of damages is punitive damages. This is an amount awarded to punish the person who caused the death, rather than to compensate for a specific loss. It can typically only be awarded when the action of the defendant was intentional or grossly negligent.