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Recent Blog Posts
Sleeping Off a Long Night of Drinking and OWI Charges
Many people are unaware that they can be arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence (OWI) of alcohol, even if they are sleeping in their automobile. Wisconsin law prohibits anyone from operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, among other things, that render them incapable of safely driving. The law defines what penalties you may be subject to and even defines what qualifies as an intoxicant. However, the law conveniently fails to define the term ‘operating.’
Factors Courts Consider
Multiple Vehicle Accidents: When the Negligent Act of One Causes Injuries or Death to Many
Recently, two individuals suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of a three-automobile crash. A motorist driving an SUV rear-ended a motorist driving an Econoline Van, who was attempting to turn, causing the van to hit a pick-up truck. All it takes is for one negligent driver to set in motion a chain of events which results in a multi-vehicle accident. Typically, the more vehicles involved in the accident, the more complex the case will be.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in 2013 there were over 118,000 automobile accidents resulting in more than 39,000 injuries and approximately 527 deaths. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimated that multiple vehicle accidents accounted for nearly half of the automobile deaths that occurred in Wisconsin during 2013.
An Insight into the Grant of Immunity in Criminal Cases
When Wisconsin or the federal government is investigating you or someone else, and they need information in your possession, they may offer you a certain form of immunity in exchange for your testimony. In the area of criminal law, there are two types of immunity that are generally available: use immunity and transactional immunity. Depending on the type of immunity you are offered, you will have different forms of protection.
Generally, transactional immunity is favored because it provides the most protection—a total ban on using the witness’s testimony against the witness. But, use immunity serves a different purpose. It allows the witness to give information to the prosecution and bars them from using those statements against the witness in the future.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, and contributes to almost one third of all injury deaths. According to the CDC, there are over 125 deaths every day in the United States in which traumatic brain injury was a factor, and those who survive a traumatic brain injury may face effects lasting a few days to major disabilities that may last the rest of their lives.
Everyone runs the risk of a traumatic brain injury, especially children and elderly people. Traumatic brain injuries occur in many ways, and if you or a loved one has received a traumatic brain injury, you need a skilled personal injury attorney to pursue fair compensation on your behalf. Some of the ways traumatic brain injury can occur is by falling, in a motorcycle or car accident, through the use of defective products, or being hit by a projectile.
Motorcycle Accident Causes and Prevention
Although motorcycle accidents do not occur more frequently than automobile accidents, they are more likely than not to result in serious injury or even death. These results occur because motorcycles lack the same protection as automobiles, which leave riders more exposed than an automobile would. Motorcycles are also less visible than automobiles and they often have high performance capabilities, making the mistakes of novice riders more lethal.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in 2012, there were more than 2,600 motorcycle accidents resulting in more than 2,100 injuries and 107 deaths. The most frequent causes of motorcycle accidents are: failure to control; distracted driving; speeding; failure to obey traffic signs; failure to account for road conditions; and intoxicated driving.
Disorderly Conduct in Wisconsin
Whenever you think of disorderly conduct (also referred to as “disturbing the peace”), you may think of an individual or group of individuals engaging in some kind of activity that is offensive or disruptive to the public. The laws prohibiting disorderly conduct allow law enforcement officers to arrest individuals who interfere with other people’s use and enjoyment of public areas. Disorderly conduct covers a broad range of activities.
In Wisconsin, an individual is guilty of disorderly conduct when he or she, “in a public or private place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance.” This crime is charged as a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine for $1,000 and/or up to 90 days in jail.
Negligence in Nursing Homes
As the population of the United States ages, more and more people are spending their final years in nursing homes. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes are created equal, and some nursing homes do the unthinkable: neglect your loved one. This happens with enough regularity that you need to be aware of all the warning signs of neglect if you have a loved one in a nursing home.
The 2011 Wisconsin Act 2, a tort reform law enacted in 2011, prohibits families from using state health investigation records in state civil suits filed against nursing homes. It also makes state health records inadmissible in criminal cases against healthcare providers accused of neglecting patients or accused of abusing patients. Proving a nursing home or the workers in the nursing home neglected your loved one can be an uphill battle in the wake of this law. You should report any suspected neglect or abuse of your loved one in a nursing home to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and contact a personal injury attorney to help further protect your loved one.
Have You Been Charged with Forgery in Wisconsin?
Forgery is the act of creating, altering, using, or possessing a false document with the intent to defraud someone, and it is considered a white collar crime in Wisconsin. There are many different ways forgery may occur, and the types of documents that might be the subject of a forgery charge vary widely. For example, forgeries can be made on documents such as birth certificates, transcripts, wills, or a bill of sale, or on objects, like membership cards, credit cards, or tickets to travel, that symbolizes some value or serves as a means of identification.
Regardless of the type of document or object at issue in a specific forgery case, in order to secure a conviction, the prosecutor must prove specific factors behind the forgery beyond a reasonable doubt. There are many defenses available that a skilled attorney can advance on your behalf.
Marijuana and OWI Charges
You can be charged with OWI in Wisconsin any time you operate a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in your blood. Wisconsin is therefore known as a “zero tolerance” state when it comes to driving under the influence of marijuana.
How and under What Circumstances Do the Police Test for Marijuana Use?
When there is suspicion of drugged driving, Wisconsin police test for Delta-9-THC, an active ingredient in cannabis, which passes through the body much faster than other inert metabolites of cannabis. If at the time you were pulled over and tested positive for cannabis use, you had a valid prescription for marijuana, then you can raise that as an affirmative defense. Otherwise, however, there is a strict liability standard, even if what is in your system was from use several hours or days prior.
Premise Liability Accidents
Premise liability accidents are common lawsuits alleging personal injury in Wisconsin. Premises liability involves responsibility for injuries that arise from accidents on someone’s property. Such accidents, which may include slip and fall or trip and fall accidents (often devastating or fatal for older adults), occur in restaurants, hotels, water parks, parking lots, amusement parks, your neighbor’s house, and in a myriad of other locations.
If you are injured on another party’s premises and there is any chance you have been injured in any way, take certain steps to ensure that you preserve your claim and can recover the maximum amount available for the injuries you sustained, and contact a veteran personal injury attorney today.
What Should You Do Right after a Premises Liability Injury Occurs?
