Jury Awards $35 Million in WaveRunner Collision

A jury has found Yamaha responsible for a 2005 WaveRunner accident that killed a 14-year-old girl. The jury awarded about $35 million to her parents and her best friend who was also injured in the crash. The jury found that Yamaha Motor Corp. USA failed to correct steering problems with the water craft and then failed to warn people of the hazards created by the failure.

This is another example of a large company putting profits above consumer safety. The only way that this girl's parents could hold the company accountable was through a jury trial. At Linton & Associates we can help you hold the responsible party accountable for the injuries that they have caused you or a loved one to incur. We are Alabama injury attorneys that will fight for you and we have the knowledge and resources available to make the playing field between you and large corporations even. Contact us today for a free consultation.

My name is Christopher S. Linton, Attorney at Linton and Associates Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama. We specialize in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Premises and Product Liability, Auto Accidents and Infant Injury and Death.

Keywords:  Products Liability

What is Reasonable to Expect From Your Car?

If you are like most people, you expect that all of the safety features that the car dealer raved about when selling you your vehicle will actually work when it is time to protect you and your loved ones during a car accident. However, many times that is not the case. Not only are there many instances where these safety devices do not work, there are many times that the actual safety device creates more harm to the occupants of the vehicle.

Crash worthiness generally can be described as looking at the technical and economic feasibility of avoiding foreseeable harm to occupants in motor vehicle collisions. 

More specifically, there are certain things that should not happen if your vehicle is involved in a motor vehicle accident. The first thing that I see most often is that a car should not blow up and burn as a result of a car crash. I know this happens in the movies frequently, but if you see that happen to a car in real life, most likely there is some kind of defect in the design or construction of the vehicle that caused it.

It is widely accepted that a person should not burn alive in an otherwise survivable crash. Accordingly, motor vehicles are supposed to be designed and built to prevent fires after a crash. Unfortunately, some cars, trucks, and SUVs have defects in their design or manufacturing that can result in electrical and fuel-fed fires. In fact, according to the US Fire Administration, post-collision fires are the leading cause of vehicle-related deaths.

If you are involved in a car accident, your car must effectively keep the occupant inside the vehicle, in a space sufficient to survive while being protected from harmful contact with the vehicle's interior. In other words, if you are using your seat belt along with air bags and other safety equipment, you should not be thrown about the car during an accident thus causing further injury or death.

If you are in car accident and your doors open during the crash, most likely there is a defect. Minimum design requirements say that doors must not open in a reasonably foreseeable collision due to linkage activation, inertial opening, or other failure mechanisms.

These are just a few examples of possible defects in your car should they occur as a result of a car accident. There are many more times that you or a loved one could be injured or killed by a defective automobile. 

If you have suffered injuries from what you think may have been a defect in your car, contact us at Linton & Associates . We are personal injury attorneys that handle cases in all 67 counties in the State of Alabama. We are equipped to effectively help you with any products liability claim you may have. Contact us today for a free evaluation.

My name is Christopher S. Linton, Attorney at Linton and Associates Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama. We specialize in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Premises and Product Liability, Auto Accidents and Infant Injury and Death.

Keywords:  Vehicle Safety, Alabama Motor Safety, After Collision Fire, Auto Defects Causing Injury or Death

Tort Reform Is A Lie!

When I think of tort reform, I sadly think of all the people who have not been compensated because of the chamber of commerce controlling our state and other state's government and arbitrarily and capriciously chiseling away at fundamental rights. There was once one of these chamber of commerce vigilantes that was rendered a quadriplegic, and the very laws that he bullied through his state house resulted in devastation to him. He now travels throughout the country talking about his sins and the sins against his fellow man and consumer.

Tort reform was lobbied the guise of helping our economy. It was a concentrated effort to take away the political muscle of trial lawyers and to deny money to pro-consumer, democratic candidates.

Unfortunately, good people elected politicians who turned around and harmed them far more than they helped. Under the guise of issues such as abortion, gay rights and gay marriage, good people inadvertently allowed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to take control of their state government. As sad as all of this was and is, the reality is, tort reform has dramatically affected consumer rights. 

However, at Linton & Associates, we are not going to stand by and let our clients be bullied by these major forces against them. We will apply what laws are available as effectively as possible. We will fight for you and bloody these bullies' nose no matter what, and we all know that bullies cannot stand to taste their own blood.

One thing that is certain with American business is at the end of the day, their uncontrolled greed and efforts for profits will do things to consumers that will require trial lawyers' skill. One example is the Ford Pinto in the 1960's. The executives gathered around the table in a plush conference room when they were told that if the Pinto was struck in a certain way it would burst into flames. They were then told the number of times they expected this to happen and how many people would die or be burnt in different degrees of severity. They were then presented with numbers that showed what a total recall of all Pintos would cost Ford. The decision was easy. They chose mayhem and death.

That same conduct has gone on since then, and will continue to go on one hundred years from now. The only difference now is that the businesses are protected by tort reform. The businesses control Alabama and other state supreme courts along with the Alabama and other state legislatures.

With all this against you, the consumer, you need help in leveling the playing field and fighting for your rights. At Linton & Associates we are here to fight for you. If you are a resident of any county within the State of Alabama and have been injured by a defective product, do not wait until its too late and big business has won. Contact us for your free evaluation today.

My name is Christopher S. Linton, Attorney at Linton and Associates Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama. We specialize in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Premises and Product Liability, Auto Accidents and Infant Injury and Death.

Keywords:  Tort Reform Alabama, US Chamber of Commerce, Corporations Controlling America, Ford Pinto Gas Tank Explosion.