$15 Million Settlement For Construction Workers

An attorney for workers in Atlanta who sued over the collapse of an elevated walkway under construction in the treetops at the Atlanta Botanical Garden says settlements totaling more than $15 million have been reached in the case.

The accident occurred when workers were pouring concrete for an elevated canopy walkway collapsed, dropping workers four stories to the ground. According to Forbes, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of one worker who died in the collapse and fifteen who were injured in the accident, including some with spine and brain injuries.

The accident occurred in December, 2008, when workers were pouring concrete on an elevated platform. The temporary shoring columns reportedly couldn’t support the weight of the concrete and collapsed, causing workers to fall up to 40 feet. Construction worker 56-year-old Angel Chupin fell to his death along with eighteen others. 

The Canopy Walk in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, which is at the edge of Piedmont Park in Midtown, was opened in 2010.

Unfortunately, construction accidents are common and the fault for these accidents does not just reside with the victim, but instead the construction company or site owner. The nature of the industry creates dangerous situations but if you have been injured due to the following, you may need legal representation:

1. Lack of proper safety precautions
2. Negligence
3. Defective materials
4. Badly maintained equipment
5. Poor supervision
6. Improper signage
7. Inadequate safety training

Catastrophic accidents are costly, and if the accident is not fatal, workers’ compensation benefits are sometimes not enough to sufficiently compensate the worker for his or her injuries, so other means must be utilized.

If an individual is injured in a construction accident, they may be eligible to receive compensation for injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If you or a loved one has been injured on the job or as a bystander, contact a Linton & Associates. We are knowledgeable and experiences construction accident attorneys and will pursue legal recourse and ensure that you get the results you deserve.

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: Construction Accidents, Accident Attorney, Personal Injury Attorney Birmingham, Alabama

Teen Affair with Teacher - Reaults in $9.2M Verdict

A Dallas, Texas jury has awarded $9.2 million to a teen who was forced to leave a religious school after her sexual affair with a male teacher was made public.

The girl was 16 and the teacher was 34 when police found them in a car together in 2009. Her parents sued the school, saying that they did not do enough to protect the student from the teacher. The teacher resigned and faces criminal charges, but the student was forced to move to another school, where she later graduated.

Child abuse is an insidious type of crime where the victims are, for many reasons unable to, or are fearful of confronting or reporting the perpetrator to authorities. Instead of protecting her, as teachers are expected to do, he robbed this child of her innocence. Children are vulnerable and deserve our protection from those who would take such wicked advantage of them.

Strip Club Hit With $1.75 Million Verdict

A DeKalb County, Georgia jury has awarded $1.75 million to the mother of a woman who was killed in a car wreck in 2008. On Labor Day weekend, three years ago, a man who was over-served alcohol by a strip club and attempted to drive home. 

The victim was 22 years old when she was killed, and left behind two small children.

At the time of the collision, the drunk driver was traveling the wrong way on I-20 with a blood alcohol level of 0.398.

The man's blood alcohol level was so high that there was no way that employees of the strip club would not have noticed. In fact, his blood content was almost five times the legal limit which is a level often causing loss of consciousness, loss of bladder control, decreased breathing, coma, and even death. In other words, his level of intoxication was far beyond that which might go unnoticed by others and so high, in fact, that most would be unable to operate a vehicle at all.

The purpose behind a given state's Dram Shop Law is simple -- to discourage a vendor from continuing to serve alcohol to a person that is clearly past their legal limit.  Since the bartender has the choice to stop or continue serving the customer, he or she should be held liable when they ignore the signs of heavy intoxication that later cause major death or injury to another.

How is it that none of the employees at this establishment knew he was this intoxicated or how many drinks they had served him?

$3 Million Jury Award in Tired Trucker Accident

A  federal jury in Florida has awarded the family of a 33-year-old man who was killed in 2009 by a fatigued truck driver $3 million. The case involved a collision between two commercial tractor-trailers. The driver of the at-fault truck failed to yield the right of way and caused the victim's truck to hit the back of her truck.

The at-fault driver testified in court that she saw lights coming, but felt that they were far away. Testimony revealed that she had been on duty for about 19 hours prior to the accident, which was in violation of the 14-hour "Hour of Service" Rule of the Motor Carrier Safety Act.

Unfortunately, large companies routinely push commercial truck drivers to break the law in order to make delivery deadlines. It is a very common practice and is responsible for many injuries and deaths each year in our country. These companies have to be held accountable and forced to stop making shipping deadlines more important that human lives.

From 1986-2006, there was a 49 percent increase in registered large trucks, equaling 8.8 million trucks throughout the country and a 76 percent hike in miles traveled by large trucks. Tractor-trailers pose a much greater risk of being involved in a rollover or jack-knife accident, due to their immense size. The national 2007 facts about truck accidents are unsettling:

• There were 4,584 trucks involved in fatal accidents.
• There were 4,808 fatalities in crashes involving semi-trucks.
• There were 139,587 commercial trucks involved in non-fatal accidents.
• There were 56,487 semi-trucks involved in injury collisions.
• There were 83,908 injuries in crashes involving commercial trucks.
• There were 83,100 trucks involved in tow away accidents.
• There were 2,248 large trucks involved in Hazmat placard crashes.

Source, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS)

If you or someone you love has been injured by the wrongdoing of another, contact us today at Linton & Associates for your free consultation. We will fight for you against these large companies and ensure that they are held accountable for the injuries that they have caused you to suffer.

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:  At-Fault Driver Accidents, Semi-Tractor Trailer Accidents, Settlements, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death

Nursing Home Ordered to Pay $91.5 Million in Death Case

A West Virginia jury awarded an elderly woman's family $91.5 million in damages last month against a Charleston nursing home.

 Jurors found that workers at the nursing home failed to feed and care for the woman who stayed at the home for about three weeks in 2009 before dying at age 87.

The woman suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, Parkinson's Disease and several other conditions. However, when she was admitted to the nursing home, she could walk, speak, and recognize family members. Three weeks later, she was unresponsive, had lost 15 pounds, and was severely dehydrated.

The nursing home did not have enough nurses on staff to care for the woman. Several former workers testified during the trial that properly caring for all of the residents was impossible. During the trial, it was proved that the nursing home's business model revolved around keeping the number of residents high, and the number of staff to care for them low.

In 2009, ManorCare Inc., the parent company that owned this nursing home, reported earnings of about $4 billion and assets of nearly $8 billion. Clearly, there profits are more of a concern that the care of their residents as this jury found that the nursing home workers were responsible for the woman's death.

The thought of this is disturbing, but abuse of the elderly occurs all too frequently. They are some of society's most vulnerable people, but senior citizens are at perhaps their most vulnerable when their living situations make it clear that they cannot easily defend themselves. Nursing home abuse takes many forms, – emotionally, physically, or financially. As the elderly population increases, the social dynamics of our society could begin to favor nursing home care over in-home care, therefore we must be evermore vigilant in protecting senior citizens from abuse.

Understanding types of nursing home abuse may go a long way to preventing it in our society, or at the very least protecting your loved ones from suffering its consequences. (Nursing Home Abuse Center)

It is horrible that this kind of treatment still goes on in our society. It seems that it is always the most venerable that are prayed upon and taken advantage of. The lawyers at Linton & Associates will not stand by allow these companies to get away with treating our clients and their families like this. If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of nursing home neglect, contact us today for a free evaluation. We are not intimidated by these large companies and will fight to hold them accountable for their actions.

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: Elder Abuse, Elder Care, Alzheimer's Dementia, Nursing Home Care, 

Family Awarded $2.9 Million

The family of a 14-year-old girl who was killed in a 2004 hit-and-run crash while she was trying to cross a road has been awarded $2.9 million by a Bucks County, Pennsylvania judge.  The case was decided without a jury.

The girl, who was about to begin ninth grade, fell victim to a hit-and-run accident and killed by a 21-year-old who was intoxicated at the time and was driving with a suspended license. The at-fault driver was arrested for hit-and-run DUI and later plead guilty and is still in prison today. No amount of money will bring this precious little girl back to her family.

However, it allows the family to hold on to the fact that the person responsible for killing their daughter is being held responsible and is not just going to be free to do this to other innocent victims.

If you or someone you love have been injured as a result of someone's  carelessness or recklessness, contact Linton & Associates today for your free consultation. We are Alabama injury lawyers that come to you no matter where you are located. We have the knowledge and the resources to hold accountable those that harm you.

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

Keywords:  Hit-And-Run, Hit and Run, DUI Accidents, Pedestrian Hit and Run, 14-Year Old Pennsylvania Girl Hit and Run, Personal Injury, Family Settlement

My Health Insurance Wants Money From My Settlement; What Is Subrogation?

Many times we get contacted by people that have dealt with insurance claims themselves instead of hiring a lawyer and they are shocked to find out that they are not getting the amount of money that they settled with the liability insurance company for.

People are often surprised to learn that when their health insurance paid medical bills related to an accident that they are going to recover from a car insurance company for, that their health insurance claims a subrogation interest. What is subrogation, is a common question.

Subrogation is the right of one who has paid an obligation, which another should have paid, to be indemnified by the other. Simply stated, it is the right of a health insurance provider to be paid back any bills paid on your behalf out of any settlement that is received from a liability insurance carrier for the accident that the bills were paid for. Most health insurance providers have the right of subrogation clearly stated in their contract that you sign, and failure to pay them back could put you in jeopardy of losing your health insurance coverage.

Jury Awards $10 Million to Teenager in Motrin Lawsuit

A Philadelphia jury awarded $10 million recently to a 13-year-old girl after finding that she suffered a life threatening drug reaction after taking Motrin. 

She was three-and-a-half years old when she was given Children's Motrin brand ibuprofen. 

Over the next few days, after the over-the-counter medicine was given, a fine rash appeared on her body along with a mild redness around her eyes. This morphed into something insidious: a rare, painful and potentially fatal skin reaction that burned and blistered her in one eye and left her fighting for her life in a burn unit 1,000 miles from home. 

Doctors at Shriners Burn Hospital in Galveston, Texas, concluded that her reaction was triggered by Children's Motrin a brand of the popular anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen.

The drug companies have both a legal and moral obligation to inform the medical community and the public of known risks related to drugs they market. In this case, the drug company failed to provide a warning advising of the potential consequences of taking the drug.

At Linton & Associates we are Alabama personal injury lawyers that can assist you if you or a loved one have been injured as a result of a defective, or improperly labeled drug. We have the knowledge and the resources available to fight to bring justice to you. Contact us today for a free case 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:  Defective Drugs, Motrin, Johnson & Johnson Settlements, Stevens Johnson Syndrome, Settlements

Jury Awards $5,000,000 Verdit in Commercial Bus Crash

A New York County jury returned a verdict in the amount of $5,000,000 on behalf of a 48 year old advertising executive who was a passenger in a motor vehicle which was rear-ended by a commercial bus. As a result, he suffered mild traumatic brain injury.

If you or a loved on has been injured by a commercial vehicle, contact Linton & Associates for a free consultation and review of your case.

Linton & Associates has the knowledge and resources to hold the responsible parties accountable for the pain they have caused you and your family.

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: New York County Jury Awards $5M, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury,

Jury Awards $11.8 Million in Drunk Driving Accident

A Maryland jury awarded more than $11.8 million last month to a man whose car was rear-ended by a repeat drunk driver in August, 2007.

Michael W. Harris, the Plaintiff, developed a painful and debilitating nerve condition as a result of the crash that has largely confined him to a wheelchair. 

On the afternoon of August 28, 2007, Harris, then working as a landscaper, was stopped at an intersection when the drunk driver hit him from behind.

The driver fled the scene, and when she was finally stopped, she failed two field sobriety tests and was booked for DUI. The woman had a long history of DUIs and was convicted of a separate DUI about a week after the Harris accident. Source: Lawyers USA Online

If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of a drunk driver contact us today at Linton & Associates. We are personal injury lawyers that put you first. We have the experience and resources to to bring the responsible party to justice.

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:  DUI, Drunk Driving Settlement Maryland, Personal Injury