Personal Injury Archive
Air France Flight Mystery Deepens
June 4th, 2009. By janem
On May 27, five days before Air France Flight 447 crashed into the ocean, Momento24 reported that an Air France flight from Argentina to Paris was delayed before departing after the airline received a bomb threat over the phone at the airport offices. Police and firemen inspected the plane but found nothing. Coincidence?
According to the Washington Post (June 3), Aviation safety analysts are continuing to play down lightning as the force that tragically caused the plane crash, explaining that aircraft routinely encounter such strikes. Still, a struggle with a “complex of thunderstorms” is the probable theory.
But why did the pilot fly through the thunderstorms? “It’s not like we didn’t know that flying through a thunderstorm was a bad thing,” said William R. Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation. “We’ve known this for decades — that thunderstorms need to be avoided at all costs…The question is why did the pilot have to fly though this thunderstorm and is there anything we could have done that would have made the aircraft more survivable?”
The cause of the plane crash is still unknown…
Flu Vaccinated Kids More Likely to Be Hospitalized
May 26th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle
On May 19, 2009, researchers presented a study that found children who received the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine [TIV] had a three times greater risk of hospitalization for the flu than kids who were not vaccinated at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.
To determine whether the vaccine was effective in reducing the number of hospitalizations over consecutive flu seasons for 8 years, the researchers conducted a study of 263 children between the ages of 6 months and 18, evaluated at the Mayo Clinic between 1996 and 2006, with laboratory-confirmed influenza and reviewed records to determine which kids had received a flu shot before the illness and hospitalization. Read the rest of this entry »
Asbestos Mesothelioma – 5 Most Asked Legal Questions
May 14th, 2009. By LucyC
A diagnosis of asbestos mesothelioma can be frightening. It is cancer, after all, and sadly is currently incurable. But if there was ever a time you or a loved one needed your wits about you it would after receiving a positive diagnosis.
Why? As part of making sure your affairs are in order, you will likely want to contact an asbestos mesothelioma lawyer for advice on any potential compensation related to the illness and its treatment.
Here are answers to questions you might have if you’ve recently been diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma, or your spouse has recently died from the disease:
- When should I contact an attorney? As soon as you’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease.
- How long do I have to act? Timing is of the Essence. Many states have statutes of limitations that restrict your ability to file a lawsuit to within a certain period of time, typically after you have been diagnosed. Because it can take as much as 30 years or more for mesothelioma to manifest symptoms, it makes it even more important that you act quickly after being diagnosed.
- Can I sue a company that no longer exists? Asbestos mesothelioma has one of the longest latency periods of any type of disease. If the company you worked for has gone out of business between the time you worked for them and the time you were diagnosed, you cannot sue them directly. However, you may be eligible for compensation from an asbestos bankruptcy trust, which were set up to deal with these types of situations.
- If I’m too ill to work, how do I afford an attorney? Many lawyers who work on asbestos mesothelioma cases work on what is known as a “contingency basis”. That is, they only get paid if you win your lawsuit—you do not pay the lawyer up front. Their fees are agreed upon as a percentage of the settlement you receive.
- Can I file a lawsuit on behalf of my deceased husband or wife? You may be entitled to file a wrongful death suit, which could entitle you to a settlement, should you win your case. But there are laws regarding who can sue on behalf of whom. And the other consideration is the statute of limitations in your state. It cannot have expired, so the time of your spouse’s death must have occurred within the legal timeframe in which you are allowed to file a suit. Best thing to do is to contact a lawyer and find out what the rules are in your state.
To find out more about the symptoms of asbestos mesothelioma, or submit a claim form free of charge, visit our asbestos mesothelioma section.
Asbestos Mesothelioma: 3 Most Important Steps to Protect Your Rights
May 8th, 2009. By LucyC
Ever read about those people who “win” millions of dollars in settlements for wrongful death suits? Just recently a woman in Florida was awarded nearly $1 million as compensation for medical expenses and suffering, both past and future, related to the death of her husband from asbestos mesothelioma.
While that might seem like a pretty good life insurance policy, Betty McBride, widow of Woodrow McBride, would probably rather have her husband back, if she were asked. Needless to say, that’s not going to happen.
Woodrow died from lethal asbestos exposure just 1 year after being diagnosed, at the grand old age of 67—that’s just 2 years after most people retire! Unfortunately, for Betty and Woodrow, spending their golden years together will never happen. Given that Woodrow worked all his life, most of it around asbestos, I’ll bet he was looking forward to retirement.
While the McBrides had their dreams cut short, they did have time before Woodrow’s death to get their affairs in order—and file a lawsuit. That takes sharp thinking and research. Here, some tips on what to do…
First, get tested for Asbestos Mesothelioma
The first step in all of this is getting tested. If you worked around asbestos—even if it was decades ago—there’s a possibility you may be at risk for asbestos mesothelioma. The place to start is with your healthcare professional or family doctor. And better sooner, rather than later.
Next, get the facts on Asbestos Mesothelioma
Knowing where to start your fact finding can be a pretty daunting task—but there are some very good resources on the Internet that provide information on the asbestos mesothelioma, its symptoms, the risk factors, and treatments including up-to-date information on clinical trials. The mother of all them is probably the National Cancer Institute’s web page. This page leads to a number of other pages on their site all relating to mesothelioma.
Other useful sites that can help you navigate the minefield of information around treatments, clinical trials, financial assistance, compensation, social security, and legal rights include Mesotheliomaweb.org and Asbestos.com. They both have toll-free numbers that you can use to request their free information packages. Both sites are very detailed.
Then, get a Lawyer who specializes in Asbestos Claims
Once you’ve done some basic research, you’ll want to seek the professional help of a lawyer. There’s an abundance of law firms specializing in asbestos claims. A quick Google search will bring up tons of them—but it’s best to find a law firm through a reliable source, and one that doesn’t charge you up front for an evaluation of your case. Lawyersandsettlements.com has a free evaluation form that will let you submit your case details to a qualified lawyer.
Pregnant? Don’t Take Paxil
March 12th, 2009. By janem
It is incomprehensible that Paxil is still on the market, almost 18 months after the FDA issued its warning about “early results of new studies for Paxil (paroxetine) suggesting that the drug increases the risk for birth defects, particularly heart defects, when women take it during the first three months of pregnancy.†Read the rest of this entry »
Find us on
Archive by Category
- Accidents (24)
- Airlines (9)
- Asbestos Mesothelioma (262)
- Automotive (25)
- Celebrity (14)
- Class Action (84)
- Complaints/Comments (15)
- Consumer Fraud (84)
- Contest (2)
- Court of Public Opinion (5)
- Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See (61)
- Criminal Law (4)
- Defective Products (111)
- DePuy ASR Hip Recall (2)
- Discrimination (22)
- Drugs/Medical (248)
- Elder Care Abuse (4)
- Emerging Issues (462)
- Employment (54)
- Environment (52)
- Financial (28)
- Food Illness (15)
- Human/Civil Rights (4)
- Insecurities (5)
- Insurance (16)
- Intellectual Property (16)
- Internet/E-commerce (19)
- lawsuits (161)
- Lawyers (20)
- Lawyers Giving Back (43)
- Lex Levity (10)
- Personal Injury (106)
- Pleading Ignorance (53)
- Real Estate (2)
- Recall (6)
- Scam (3)
- Securities (13)
- Settlement (81)
- Tort Reform (2)
- Totally Tortelicious (81)
- Veterans (11)
- Whistleblower (9)