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Although many personal injury cases inherently conjure emotion in those responsible for deciding their outcome, courts must work hard to ensure emotion is not a substantial factor in the final judgment.

For example, strong dislike of a plaintiff shouldn’t affect whether a jury finds that person entitled to damages, just as dislike of a defendant should not render them liable. But humans are emotional creatures. Sometimes defendants are unlikable and sometimes plaintiff’s situation is so awful, one can’t help but feel for them.

But if a jury does make a decision that is infused with sympathy and based on emotion rather than fact, it must be set aside.

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The trucking industry has gotten very savvy when it comes to insulating itself from liability stemming from trucking accidents.

These companies know that because of the sheer size of these vehicles, collisions cause severe injuries and major damage. They also recognize the principle of vicarious liability holds employers responsible for the negligent actions of employees, or vehicle owners for the negligent operation of those vehicles.

So the industry has become extremely fragmented. Most truck drivers are independent contractors. The rigs are owned separately from the trailer and often the load being hauled is owned by yet another entity. Then there is usually an agency that arranges those connections.

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Every year, thousands of young football players sustain a variety of injuries, ranging from sprained muscles to concussions to serious head injuries.

Football is a popular sport in America. It isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, despite these incidents. Researchers have been working to tackle this problem by trying to identify the greatest risk factors and learn possible methods of prevention.

One of those studies was recently released by the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention. Analysts culled data from more than 2,100 young football players, ranging in age from 5 to 15. These individuals were involved in more than 100 teams across 10 youth leagues in four states.

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An appellate court has affirmed a $1.3 million award of damages to a man seriously injured in a rear-end car crash, although the court did remand for recalculation of prejudgment interest.

According to court records, defendant was the employer of the driver/owner of the vehicle that negligently struck the rear end of plaintiff’s vehicle, resulting in plaintiff’s hospitalization and several surgeries.

Plaintiff at the center of the case was once a physically active man. He engaged in vigorous running. He bench-pressed 250 pounds regularly. He played basketball, engaged in water sports and often went “off-roading” in all-terrain vehicles.

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A woman whose silicone breast implants began causing her serious health problems after they were installed 24 years ago will have another chance to bring her claim to trial, after a federal appellate court ruled a genuine issue of material fact remained regarding whether the claim was time-barred.

All states have varying time limits during which injury and wrongful death claims can be filed. There are some situations in which those time limits can be tolled, or wherein the clock doesn’t start ticking until injuries become apparent.

For example in Florida, a products liability action has to be brought within four years from the time of injury. A medical malpractice claim must be brought within two years.

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When it comes to medical malpractice, sometimes it’s as much what the physicians and health care professionals did not do as what they did.

This was the case for plaintiffs in Uriell v. Regents of UC, who accused a surgeon and surgeon’s employer of failure to diagnose breast cancer resulting in the wrongful death of patient, who was a wife and mother of three children.

A central question here was not only whether the doctor had breached the applicable standard of care, but also whether it had much effect. The type of cancer the patient had was almost certainly terminal. However, there was a real question as to how much longer she might have lived had the malignancy been diagnosed sooner.

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The Florida Supreme Court has issued a decision that strengthens a defendant’s use of liability waivers in fending off civil litigation. In so doing, the court approved the Fla. 5th District Court of Appeal’s approach and rejected the decisions reached by the First, Second, Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal.

This is not to say just because an injured person signed a liability waiver – sometimes called a “release” – that the case is a lost cause. However, an injury lawyer will have to deftly argue that point to overcome this challenge even prior to trial.

The courts may still tend to view these waivers with a skeptical eye, but now with the ruling of Sanislo v. Give Kids The World, Inc. these documents may now pose a bigger problem for Florida plaintiffs than before.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has a warning for defendants who are the subject of multi-defendant litigation: “Beware: When a fellow litigant settles on the eve of trial, you can’t bank on the right to claim surprise and rewrite your case from top to bottom.”

That is, in an age when virtually all cases settle in part or in whole – many just days or weeks before trial – no one can claim they are caught off-guard when that happens, even if it leaves one or two defendants to contend with greater liability while others have settled with plaintiff for a lesser amount in exchange for being excused as a defendant.

That’s what happened in the case of Monfore v. Phillips, which originated in Oklahoma.

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Given that school is where students spend roughly a third of their day, it’s no wonder it is the site of many injuries. School districts can be successfully sued for negligence resulting in child injury, but cases must overcome assertions of sovereign immunity, damage caps and denial of duty owed.

The kinds of injuries for which schools may be responsible include playground injuries, sports-related injuries, bullying-related injuries, school bus accidents or general premises liability injuries related to dangerous conditions on school grounds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate the cost of playground injuries alone in the U.S. is $1.2 billion.

However, as the recent case of Halvorson v. Sweetwater County School Dist. reveals, these cases may be fraught with challenges for plaintiffs. That’s why having an experienced injury lawyer is critical.

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Claims of medical malpractice are litigated differently than those involving general negligence. It’s not enough that a patient suffers an adverse outcome while under a doctor’s care. There must be evidence indicating the physician (or other health care professional) deviated from the applicable standard of care and thus proximately caused or exacerbated injury to the patient.

This is a much higher burden of proof than in other kinds of cases.

In general negligence cases, the issue of foreseeability is often a central one. The court will weigh whether a hazard was known or should have been known in determining the duty to protect others from it. In medical malpractice cases, foreseeability might still be an issue, particularly when determining whether a doctor exercised reasonable care.

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