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Monthly Archives: January 2014
School Injuries in Alabama a Daily Occurrence
Jan 27, 2014 - Premises Liability by Cross & Smith
A recent report by the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center reveals that, on average, there were six violent offenses that occurred daily in Alabama schools in 2011, the most recent year for which statistics were available. The agency indicates that police responded to an estimated 2,140 incidents of school violence – from kindergarten through college – throughout the year. Among those calls were one homicide, 17 rapes, 30 robberies, nearly 250 aggravated assaults and nearly 1,900 simple assaults. A large number of these incidents resulted in severe bodily injury.
Read MoreAlabama Motorists Among Top 5 Worst Drivers in Nation
Jan 24, 2014 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith
Drivers in almost every state believe they have a monopoly on the “worst drivers” list. Our Tuscaloosa car accident lawyers tend to believe this has a great deal to do with the fact that so many people have been either involved in a serious crash or have experienced a close call. But as it turns out, Alabamans actually do have a legitimate stake in this claim.
Read MoreAlabama Brain Injuries: Growing Evidence of Concussion Risks
Jan 22, 2014 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith
A single blow to the brain can kill. But even those that don’t can have long-lasting consequences, even when the full extent isn’t readily apparent in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic brain injury. That’s according to a recent study by researchers with the New York University Langone School of Medicine. Doctors there concluded that a single concussion – which is the most common form of brain injury in the U.S. – can have long-lasting impacts to the brain, ultimately resulting in sustained structural damage. Concussions are considered a “mild” traumatic brain injury. However, just because a head injury is considered “mild” on the scale of how serious brain trauma can be doesn’t mean it’s not compensable, or that there won’t be long-term consequences. Our Birmingham brain injury lawyers know brain injuries are among the most common traumatic injury risks, caused by everything from car accidents to youth sports.
Read MoreCracchiolo v. E. Fisheries, Inc. – Duty of Care Exists in Slip-and-Fall Cases
Jan 18, 2014 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith
Property owners – especially those located in potentially hazardous surroundings – must ensure that the site is safe for those who enter. For example, that could mean keeping the floors dry or the walls and ceilings properly-patched. In the case of a fishery pier, it would mean proper maintenance of facilities and ensuring safe egress and ingress. These responsibilities are referred to as “duty of care.” When duty of care is breached, resulting in injuries, those affected may pursue filing a Birmingham slip-and-fall lawsuit. This is true even when there is evidence that there may have been some wrong-doing or negligence on the part of the person who fell.
Read MoreBlack Lung Claims and the Alabama Mining Industry
Jan 13, 2014 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith
Two years ago, the Walter Energy firm selected Tuscaloosa County as the site of a six-year, $1.2 billion energy project that would result in the creation of a new coal mine from scratch. The Blue Creek Energy project is currently underway, and is expected to begin production of 4 million tons of coal for global steel mill export by 2018. Roughly 530 jobs are expected to spring from this venture. This has all been good news for the region. Our Tuscaloosa personal injury attorneys are cautiously optimistic that the new firm will take all precautions necessary. Still, far too many mining veterans are suffering health consequences, including pneumoconiosis, or “Black Lung,” a diagnosis that has plagued the coal industry for decades. Unfortunately, the coal industry has historically had a poor reputation with regard to protecting workers from this fatal, yet preventable, condition.
Read MoreExpert Witnesses Critical Element in Alabama Medical Malpractice Claim
Jan 11, 2014 - Medical Malpractice by Cross & Smith
Anytime there is a claim of medical malpractice in Birmingham, one of the things your legal team will do is secure a knowledgeable and reliable witness who can testify as that the medical provider breached the applicable standard of care. Alabama Rules of Evidence, Article VII, Rule 702, an expert witness is someone who, by experience, training, knowledge, skill or education, is able to testify as to a technical, scientific or other specialized information in a case. The testimony of these individuals, based upon scientific procedure, methodology, principle or theory, is allowable only if the testimony is founded upon a sufficient bedrock of data or facts, is the product of reliable methods and principals and those methods and principals have been reliably applied to the facts of the case. In medical malpractice cases, the Alabama Medical Liability Act stipulates that only similarly situated health care providers can provide expert testimony in a medical malpractice case. The guidelines are rather technical, but essentially, if you are suing a medical doctor, you want to have another similarly-trained or experienced medical doctor who is willing to testify on your behalf.
Read MoreTuscaloosa Medical Malpractice Claims Often Stem From “Routine” Procedures
Jan 7, 2014 - Medical Malpractice by Cross & Smith
Recently, the cases of two young children left brain dead have captivated the country, after both girls underwent what were supposed to be “routine” medical procedures. In one case, a 3-year-old girl from Hawaii has been declared brain dead after suffering cardiac arrest while undergoing a root canal. It was later determined the girl was given a large dose of powerful medications during the procedure, and may not have been properly monitored. In California, the family of a 13-year-old girl is embroiled in a bitter legal battle over whether they should be allowed to press for continued care after she was declared brain dead following a reportedly botched surgery to correct her sleep apnea.
Read MoreHall v. Jones – Establishing Alabama School Employee Negligence
Jan 6, 2014 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith
Our Birmingham personal injury attorneys know that when we send our children to school, we expect they will be adequately supervised and that those we entrust with the well-being of our youth will guard their safety. In Hall v. Jones, a Jefferson County case recently reviewed by the Alabama Supreme Court, this did not happen, according to the plaintiff, a mother of a boy seriously injured at school. According to court documents, the incident arose out of a fight between two teenage boys engaged in a game of basketball in a middle school physical education class. Jones was the physical education instructor in charge at the time of the incident.
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