Category: Personal Injury

Aug 9, 2014 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

Usually, injury settlements end current and future litigation for the parties involved. However, the recent settlement reached with the NCAA over student athlete head injuries opens the door for more lawsuits to be filed. Our  brain injury lawyers understand the $75 million agreement will allow money to be used by current and former athletes to receive medical testing and monitoring for suspected head injuries. Those who suffered head trauma as a result of participation in sports will have the opportunity to file their own individual lawsuits. Of the settlement amount, $5 million will be dedicated to head injury research. The settlement was reached in the class action of In Re: National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Concussion Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. It also requires the NCAA to instruct schools to make changes to athletic program policies, specifically by implementing guidelines on “return-to-play” for athletes who have suffered a blow to the head.   As of February, AL.com counted the number of former college athletes suing the NCAA over the way it handled concussions at 65. The litigation followed after a similar case of 4,800 professional football players who successfully sued the National Football League on similar grounds. Of those 65 players, one was from Alabama. It was former Alabama running back Ray Hudson, who played from 2001 to 2004. Now 34, he says he was diagnosed with two concussions but believes he suffered more. He said he was forced to drop […]

Jun 20, 2014 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

A bicyclist who suffered a fall and injury from her bicycle due to an allegedly defective university sidewalk sued the city for failure to maintain its roads. In later proceedings, the city sought to bring in the state as a third-party defendant to share the liability. In Madden v. City of Iowa City, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the state’s motion to dismiss the cross-claim, finding a city ordinance could establish duty on the part of the state, and the claim of contribution of liability was not excluded under the state’s tort claims act. Tuscaloosa bicycle accident attorneys recognize the relevance of this case to those who typically commute on bicycles at The University of Alabama. Previous case law in Alabama supports the idea that municipalities and state governments can be held accountable for injuries sustained by negligent maintenance of public roadways.

Jun 8, 2014 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

Researchers at Smart Growth America recently analyzed the safety of pedestrians nationwide, finding that not only is the problem worsening, but it’s especially bad in the South. In particular, the Dangerous by Design 2014 report found the Birmingham-Hoover metro area to be the sixth-most dangerous place for walkers in the country. Study authors calculated the ranks by determining the average number of pedestrians versus the number of those killed on the streets and sidewalks. This gave them what they called the “pedestrian danger index,” or PDI. Birmingham-Hoover tallied 148 pedestrian deaths between 2003 and 2012, resulting in a PDI of 125.6. Compare this to Houston, Texas, which had a total of 1,034 pedestrian fatalities during those years, yet ranked No. 7 with a PDI of 119.64. Rounding out the top 10, all but one of those cities (Phoenix, Arizona) was in the southeastern part of the U.S. Birmingham injury lawyers recognize these areas grew rapidly as post-war suburbia brought roads to rural areas. That meant wide streets and fast speed limits, primarily catering to motor vehicles. Pedestrians were an afterthought, if they were a thought at all.

Apr 25, 2014 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

Every year, emergency room administrators report more than 250,000 people receive urgent care after suffering lawn mower injuries – with nearly 7 percent of those being children. May and June are the peak time for these incidents, so it’s a good time for our Birmingham personal injury lawyers to broach the subject, particularly considering that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that the risk of such incidents has risen in recent years. In Alabama, an 8-year-old boy who was killed in 2010 in Gurley when authorities say he was accidentally run over by his father’s lawn mower. Two years later, a 6-year-old girl in Florence was killed after she fell off a lawn mower she’d been riding on with an adult. In some cases, operator error or negligence is to blame for such incidents. Other times, faulty product design, manufacturing or failure to warn could cause or contribute to serious or fatal injury.

Mar 12, 2014 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

Alabama is one of the most dangerous places for bicyclists, ranking fourth in the nation for the rate of cyclist deaths. That’s according to a benchmark study released by the National Alliance for Biking and Walking. In fact, as a more recent report by The Atlantic points out, the Deep South in general has a horrible track record when it comes to cyclist safety. Our Birmingham personal injury lawyers note 10 states in the country had the highest pedalcyclist fatality rates: Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Delaware and Arkansas.

Mar 4, 2014 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

Fraternities are heavily marketed to young college students as a valuable, right-of-passage experience. The promise of a four-year party can be a powerful draw to a group who will soon be staring down a decade or more of burdensome loan debt. However, the experience has resulted in serious injuries for more than a few. As a recent investigation by The Atlantic revealed, in some cases members are left permanently scarred, disabled – even dead. Our Tuscaloosa injury attorneys recall a case just a few years ago in which a fraternity brother attending the University of Alabama sued the Gamma Alpha chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity following an alleged hazing incident that occurred when he was 19.

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.

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.

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.

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.