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Recent Blog Posts
Social Media Use and Your Personal Injury Lawsuit – What You Need to Know
Social media can have its benefits – it can help families and friends stay in touch when they live in different parts of the country, and it has even sparked new relationships. Unfortunately, social media also has its drawbacks, particularly for those who are pursuing a personal injury lawsuit. Before you share, tweet, or otherwise post something about your personal life to social media, learn what kinds of posts could impact the amount or success of your case.
Understanding How Personal Injury Lawsuits Work
When a victim brings forth a lawsuit against a negligent party, they are attempting to recover damages caused by the accident they experienced. Medical expenses and lost income are generally a part of this settlement, but they are paid according to the victim’s actual costs. More obscure recovery types – pain and suffering, loss of vitality, and other noneconomic damages – are not as easily calculated. The victim must explain how the injury has affected their life. To reduce their payout amount, the insurance company will often attempt to collect evidence that suggests the victim’s life may not have been as drastically altered as they claim. This is where social media can get victims into serious trouble.
Study Examines the Growing Prevalence of Pedestrian Accidents
Because they have such a high prevalence of fatality, pedestrian accidents have always been a major area of concern. In fact, many states and cities have implemented awareness initiatives, new and updated traffic control devices, and stricter laws to protect their pedestrian citizens. Yet the growing problem shows that the issue is getting worse instead of better. A recent study attempted to understand why, despite all efforts, the prevalence of pedestrian accidents seems to be growing. They also looked at possible pedestrian accident risk factors and the losses that victims may experience.
How Big Is the Problem?
In the year 2004 alone, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported more than 70,000 pedestrian injuries and more than 4,600 pedestrian deaths. On average, that means that one pedestrian is killed every 113 minutes, and every eight minutes, one is injured. In Wisconsin, specifically, pedestrian fatalities account for approximately 9 percent of all annual traffic fatalities (about 60 per year) and around 350 are seriously injured. That averages out to about one pedestrian death or injury in Wisconsin every five hours.
Hate Crimes Surging throughout the USA and the Penalties in Wisconsin
Over the last year, hate crimes have increased dramatically across the country. Hate crimes against African American and Muslim Americans have risen by over 50% and have reached their highest numbers since 2001. Hate crimes against Hispanics have increased almost 40% during the same time period.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reports that in the month since the November 2016 election, it has documented 437 reports of hate-fueled intimidation and harassment through news reports, social media and direct submissions via the SPLC’s #ReportHate form. Most involved anti-immigrant, anti-black or anti-LGBT bigotry. The most frequent location was K-12 schools, followed by businesses and at universities.
What are the consequences of such actions? The following provides a brief overview.
What Is a Hate Crime?
Dec. 30th Deadline for Federal Mortgage Relief for Homeowners
The time to act for Wisconsin homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments is now! This is because the deadline to apply for the federal government’s long-running Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) expires at the end of this month, on December 30, 2016.
An attorney at GRGB says that homeowners faced with this concern need to act before December 30, 2016, if they want to take advantage of this federal assistance program, and should consult with legal counsel about their options or if they have questions on how to proceed. They are experienced in mortgage loan, lending, foreclosures and consumer law, and points out a recent article that provides a very good overview and how-to on the subject.
The article, written by Attorney Rebecca Unruh, who is with the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Financial Practices, sets out the necessary steps one needs to take in order to apply for relief under HAMP. The link to the FTC article is found at - - https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/struggling-make-your-mortgage-payments
When an OWI Can Result in Serious, Lifelong Consequences
Generally, jail terms are reserved for Wisconsin’s repeat OWI offenders. However, there are circumstances under which even a first-time offender can face serious penalties. It is important to understand these circumstances. Moreover, it is essential that you understand how to protect yourself, should you come up against any one of these serious situations.
Multiple OWI Convictions
If you receive a second offense OWI within a ten-year period, you can face up to six months in jail. Each repeat offense can increase your penalties and, by the time you reach your fourth offense, you could face consequences for a Class H felony, including up to six years of imprisonment, suspension of your license for up to three years, mandatory Interlock Ignition Device (IID) for up to three years and fines of up to $20,000. Additional convictions can increase your penalties even further.
Construction Zone Accidents Can Have Multiple Negligent Parties
In the past five years, almost 4,500 people have been killed in construction zones, and more than 200,000 have been injured. Sometimes, construction zone accidents are the fault of one or more drivers. Other times, the construction company or an individual worker acted with negligence. Then there are those incidents in which more than one party is at fault. Such was the case in a fatal crash along Interstate 75 in Tennessee, where as many as four different parties are being accused of negligence.
Multiple Parties Accused of Negligence in Fatal Crash
In a crash that killed six people, four different parties could face consequences for negligence. The first party is the semi driver who was allegedly intoxicated when he slammed into the vehicles in front of him. Consequently, the trucking company is also being named as a negligent party because they reportedly knew that the driver had been over federal driving limits. The final two parties being named are the construction companies. Court documents allege that they had been working at a dangerous and unauthorized time and location and that they had failed to implement an effective traffic control plan.
Arrested and Charged with a Crime – What Happens Now?
When defendants enter the criminal justice system, they are often surprised to find that little about the process lines up with what they have seen on television. Already worried about their future, and now confused, they become even more frightened because they simply do not know what to expect. To make matters worse, they get obscure answers when they inquire about their rights. If you or someone you love is facing criminal charges, the following information can help you understand what may happen next, and what your rights are during each step in the criminal process.
Initial Appearance
When you are charged with a crime, you will make your first appearance in court. Called your “initial appearance,” this is when the judge will explain your charges and the maximum penalty for a conviction. If you are currently in police custody, the judge may also set bail during this hearing. From there, the structure of your initial appearance depends upon the type of crime you are being charged with.
Majority of Motorcycle Crashes Are Caused by Passenger Car Drivers
Motorcycle riders know the look – the one that passenger car drivers give them. That shake of the head as your engine revs next to them, catching them off guard. They assume that, because you ride, you are somehow reckless, or that you are bound to experience an accident, simply because you do not drive a “sensible” vehicle. Mostly, they are wrong. However, they do have one thing right: you are more likely to experience a traffic accident. Sadly, that crash will most likely be caused by another driver.
Motorcycle Riders More Likely to Experience a Crash
Ride long enough and you could probably tell a dozen or so stories about the near-misses. Incidents where another driver did not see you coming and you had to lay your bike down, slam on your brakes, or maybe even skidded out of control. If you were lucky, these were minor occurrences that did not lead to injuries beyond a few scrapes and bruises. However, there are many who are not quite as lucky.
The Truth Behind Forensic Evidence: It’s Not Infallible
If you ever watch popular crime and police shows on television or streaming internet, you would assume that forensic scientific evidence is irrefutable. The experts speak with certainty, and the test results and staggeringly high probabilities of correctness overwhelm, and suspects are convicted based upon this evidence so provided.
While this happens more often than not in real life, the American public would be surprised to learn that the science behind the supposedly definitive forensic opinion which seals the case on the TV show is not as clear-cut and certain. And sometimes, the scientific opinion is later called into question and is shown to be invalid. This is not all that uncommon, as many people in the criminal justice system have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes. Based on little more than a hair, tool mark or fingerprint comparison, some have spent years of their lives behind bars.
Safety Advocates Pressing to Make Collision-Avoidance Technology Standard in All Vehicles
How would you feel if, while purchasing your next vehicle, you were told that the seatbelt was a “luxury” feature – one that would cost you extra? What about the airbag? It seems ludicrous to consider, yet this is exactly the issue that new car buyers are facing. New technology, such as forward collision warning, blind spot detection, automatic braking, and adaptive cruise control, are not considered “standard” vehicle features. They cost extra. Safety advocates are speaking out and pressing to change this. They believe safety and car crash prevention should not cost more.
Collision Avoidance High on the Agenda
Each year, more than two million drivers experience serious injuries in an accident, and another 19,000 are killed. Rear-end collisions account for about 1,700 of those fatalities and 500,000 injuries. In fact, rear-end accidents are one of the most common types of accident in the United States, accounting for about 1.7 million of all roadway crashes each year. Around 80 percent of them could be avoided, safety advocates say, if car makers would simply make collision avoidance technology standard in all vehicles.
