Personal Injury Law FAQs

Your fee for legal services provided by the Becker Law Office will be based on an agreed-upon percentage of the final settlement or the court verdict we obtain for you. If we don’t obtain compensation for you, you won’t owe us anything.

Our legal services are provided on a contingency-fee basis, meaning our fee depends on the outcome of your case. This protects you, since you pay nothing up front and it provides us a financial incentive to maximize the compensation we obtain for you.

When you hire the Becker Law Office to represent you, we will enter into an agreement that spells out the percentage of a final settlement or court award that we will retain as our legal fee. It also will delineate certain expenses that we will pay up front but be reimbursed for through the case’s proceeds. This may include fees for copies of police or medical records, filing fees, compensation for expert witnesses, and similar costs.

Because we are only paid if we are successful, our willingness to represent you tells you that we believe in your case. We won’t waSuite your time or fill you with false hopes.

You can count on the Becker Law Office to investigate your case thoroughly and negotiate hard to obtain all of the compensation you deserve. If you’re ready to start on your case, so are we. Please contact the Becker Law Office today.

Yes. The deadlines for filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim vary according to the state. Because these are often complex cases, it is best to begin work on yours as soon as possible.

In Kentucky and Indiana, most personal injury and wrongful death claims must be filed within 24 months of when the injury occurs. In Tennessee, a plaintiff has 12 months to file a claim. The statute of limitations may also vary according to the cause of action and whether minors are involved.

But it is best to get started on a claim quickly. Developing a car accident case, for example,requires examining damaged vehicles and/or reconstructing the accident with the help of consultants, and analyzing medical records with the help of medical experts to determine the full costs of our clients’ injuries and losses. This is in addition to interviewing witnesses, tracking down evidence to support the claim of the defendant’s negligence, and drafting and filing the actual complaint.

Some cases can be developed faster than others, but there’s no way to tell how an unforeseen obstacle may delay filing a claim.

If you think it is at all possible that your injury or the death of a loved one in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, or Tennessee was because of someone else’s negligence or recklessness, you should contact the Becker Law Office for legal assistance today.

Our goal is to see to it that you recover compensation that reimburses you for the costs of your accident and, in cases of ongoing medical need or losses from disability, ensures your future financial security. If we can do this in a settlement, in most cases we’ll recommend you accept a settlement. But the decision is always yours.

When the Becker Law Office handles a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, we start with the objective of negotiating a settlement that fairly addresses our client’s needs. If we can do this quickly, it cuts down on the expenses required of a claim and allows the client and their family to get on with their lives. Once a settlement agreement is made, a check is cut within hours in most cases.

If we cannot reach a settlement that is acceptable to you, we turn our case over to litigators at Bubalo Law PLC to take to court. Through this unique arrangement, you get the strength of two legal firms – the negotiating skill of the Becker Law Office and the nationally recognized trial attorneys of Bubalo Law PLC.

Though many cases are settled, we prepare each case as if it will go to trial. Our preparation and the track record of success at Bubalo Law PLC carry significant weight in pre-trial negotiations with defendants’ insurance companies.

A personal injury lawsuit typically asks foreconomic and noneconomic damages (compensation). Economic damages reimburse you for bills you have because of an accident, such as for medical expenses and property damage, and for income losses. Noneconomic damages are for pain and suffering. What’s important is ensuring that your claim asks for all of the compensation to which you are entitled.

The compensation you demand in a lawsuit will depend on the type of claim and your losses and, to some extent, where your injury occurred. (Becker Law Office pursues cases in ). A basic Personal Injury Protection insurance policy covers $10,000 in medical cares costs and pay up to $200 per week to replace lost wages and $200 per week for replacement services.

In general, a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit asks for the plaintiff to be compensated for:

• Medical expenses, including emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, medication, rehabilitation therapy, assistive devices (cervical collars, walkers, wheelchairs, etc.), psychological counseling, etc.
• Property damage (such as to a car), including repair or replacement costs and cost to rent a vehicle or for public transportation.
• Lost income / wages, including regular pay, commissions, bonuses, etc.
• Funeral and burial expenses.
• Pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of parental guidance, etc.

A lawsuit should be drafted to account for past, current and future losses. This requires a projection of how well you are likely to recover from your injuries and what your medical needs maybe in the years ahead.In cases of a disabling injury, your medical expenses and losses may be ongoing.

Noneconomic damages may be awarded as a multiple of medical expenses.

In some cases, a plaintiff may also seek a punitive damages award.This is a payment that is meant to punish a defendant who has acted in flagrant violation of the law or with egregious disregard for others’ safety.

Our goal is to obtain justice for you in an accident that has caused you to be seriously injured. In most cases, that requires us to pursue compensation for you through a personal injury lawsuit. To ensure that we can provide the service that every client deserves, we have to be selective about cases we accept.

A personal injury case is usually complex and takes a significant amount of time and effort to develop and pursue. For your protection as well as ours, we must be sure of an outcome that makes the personal, professional and financial expenditure of a lawsuit worthwhile.

In some cases, a prospective client has been injured but the extent of their injury is not serious enough to warrant the time and expense of a lawsuit. Sometimes a client has been seriously injured but the cause of the harm they have suffered does not rise to the level of legally actionable negligence or recklessness. Some accidents are simply accidents, and sometimes a case just cannot be proven.

We pledge to take a serious look at your case and make a determination as to whether we can be of assistance to you. If we cannot help you, we may be able to refer you to another firm whose professionals we trust to assist you.

We invite you to contact us to set up a meeting to discuss your case and evaluate the assistance we can provide to you. There is no charge to you for this meeting or any investigative work we do to determine whether we can pursue a claim for you.

The Becker Law Office handles a wide variety of personal injury and wrongful death claims. In addition to insurance claims for injuries and fatalities, we help those who have become disabled through accident or illness obtain Social Security Disability payments.

In the pages of this website we explain our approach to assisting clients who have been seriously injured by:

• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Slip-and-Fall Accidents
• Premises Liability Cases
• Dog Bites / Attacks
• Medical Malpractice, including Birth Injuries
• Nursing Home Abuse
• Faulty Consumer and Industrial Products
• Faulty Drugs, including Diet Drugs, Dangerous Birth Control Prescriptions and Granuflo/Naturalyte Kidney Dialysis Supplements
• Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma.

You can rely on our strengths: Becker Law Office attorneys are tough negotiators with a record of obtaining fair settlements without the additional time and expense of going to court.

Please contact us today if we can help you pursue compensation for an accident that has seriously injured you or a loved one of yours.

In short, a personal injury lawyer stands up for your rights if you have been injured by someone else. If another party’s actions (referred to as “recklessness”) or inaction (negligence) caused your injury, they owe you compensation for your losses. A personal injury lawyer makes sure you get what you are owed.

If you have been injured by another party, the compensation you may obtain for your losses is paid according to complex laws and, in most cases, comes from liability insurance. Both the law and the insurance company can stand in the way of you receiving what you deserve. Your lawyer works to help you overcome these obstacles.

An experienced personal injury attorney can investigate your accident to compile the evidence required by law to prove the harm done to you, establish who or what organization (a business, hospital, manufacturer, local government, etc.) is legally responsible, and calculate what compensation is required to make you financially whole. Once we have developed a solid case, we can stand up to the insurance company that would deny the payment you are due.

In addition to obtaining a settlement or court award, your personal injury attorney handles the logistics of your claim. This includes everything from preparing and filing paperwork to working with the hospital and other creditors to ensure that a claim for compensation that will be used to pay them is underway.

A Becker Law Office personal injury attorney stands at your side for the length of your recovery from a serious accident. We take on the burden of the legal work required to ensure your financial recovery so that you can put your efforts toward a physical and emotional recovery from the injuries you have suffered.

You will work with your attorney and your legal team in the way that works best for you. Much of the work in a lawsuit can be handled by email, fax, express packages, telephone calls and general mail delivery.

The paperwork of a lawsuit is extensive and it requires experienced paralegals and support staff who will keep the process moving forward to meet all the legal deadlines. There will be times when you are focused completely on your recovery from your injuries, or getting on with your life, and have little communications with your Bubalo Law PLC legal team. Rest assured the lawsuit process has been carefully mapped out and is proceeding. However, if you have a question at any time about the current status of your lawsuit, you should feel comfortable calling either your paralegal or your attorney to get an update.

First, look for an experienced attorney and law firm. Your legal representatives should have a track record of handling cases like yours, and you will want to be sure that they have obtained positive results for past clients. Your law firm should be ready to work with you whether you want to settle or have a full jury trial, so you should also look for trial experience.

Second, you should work with an attorney who is empathetic about your situation and treats you with dignity. While we have all seen the caricature of the arrogant lawyer, you do not need to accept such behavior from your personal legal representative. Find an attorney you can trust.

Third, it is far better to choose an attorney who is highly experienced in cases similar to yours than to choose a law firm just because it is nearby. At Bubalo Law PLC, we have worked with clients from every region of the U.S. and we have participated in trials in different states, both in state courts and federal courts. Legal knowledge and trial preparation skills should be the primary consideration in your choice of a law firm.

In our experience, lawsuits can sometimes be lengthy, anywhere from six months to several years. This is especially true when injuries are extensive and the medical treatment may take a while. Based on our experience, and as your treatment progresses, your legal team at Bubalo Law PLC will advise you on approximately how long your particular case may take. At each step in the process, we will confer with you so you can make an informed decision on whether to continue the lawsuit process or accept a settlement if one has been offered.

All your medical costs should be handled in the normal fashion. If you have personal health insurance, you should file expenses as usual. If you receive Medicare, you should also file as normal.

No, there will be no legal cost to you during the entire course of your lawsuit until/unless we obtain compensation for you. All our fees are recovered only after you have received an award for your injury and suffering.

Whether you have found the Bubalo Law PLC website through your own research, or you have been referred by another attorney, you have already committed some time to decide whether to file a lawsuit. From the moment we mutually agree to move forward, your time commitment goes down and our work begins. We advise our clients that a lawsuit should not be the primary focus of your life. When you need to be involved, we will help you manage your participation so it will create minimal disruption to you.

The plain answer is, “Nothing.” We take on each case after careful screening because we earn our fees on a contingency basis. The Bubalo Law PLC policy is simple: You pay us absolutely nothing unless we win or settle your case. In addition, if we accept your case we will advance all the legal costs and fees necessary, including filing fees, fees for expert witnesses and other costs. If we are successful and recover money for you, we ask you to pay us a reasonable percentage of the total award, plus costs and expenses which we advanced on your behalf.

It is also our promise to you that we will minimize costs as much as possible. Our technology systems at Bubalo Law PLC are thoroughly integrated to allow paperless processing both internally and with the court systems.

If you or your loved one has been seriously injured by an unsafe medical device, you may be entitled to compensation for your suffering. That’s because the manufacturer of the defective medical device may be held legally and financially responsible for a patient’s pain or a family member’s loss.

In order to have a viable claim against a medical device manufacturer, you must be able to prove the product implanted in your body was unsafe or defective. The attorneys at Becker Law have years of experience litigating these types of cases and may be able to assist you in gathering the necessary evidence you will need to file a claim.

Our team will gather medical records, secure the explanted device, and hire medical experts to strengthen your case. These experts are vital to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Based on our experience, the most common faulty medical devices are listed below:

Jude Medical Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs): A device used to monitor a patient’s heart and provide electrical charges to keep the heart operating correctly. If the batteries die in an ICD or if the device fails, it can lead to serious problems or death.

Heart stents: Stents are used to keep arteries open and flowing; however, they can cause blood clots and other complications that can threaten a patient’s life.

SyncroMed drug pumps: The pumps regulate the amount of medicine given to patients. When a malfunction occurs, patients may get too much or not enough medicine causing injury and even death.

IVC Filters: These small devices can prevent dangerous blood clots from reaching a patient’s heart and lungs. Some are meant to be used temporarily, while others are permanent. However, these filters can cause additional problems because sometimes the devices fracture or migrate in the body, causing serious injury to organs.

Essure birth control: Essure is a permanently implanted birth control product that can cause severe abdominal damage if the device moves and punctures the uterus and fallopian tubes.

Metal-on-metal hip replacement: Metal hip replacements can cause allergic reactions, numbness, swelling, and mobility issues in patients. The devices can also lead to more severe complications such as neurological impairments, thyroid problems, and kidney impairment.

Transvaginal mesh: Doctors use this device to repair problems with pelvic organs, but transvaginal mesh can migrate in the body, break apart, and easily pierce surrounding tissue.

Hernia mesh: Often used to repair hernias, this mesh can lead to infections, and even move inside the body and perforate surrounding tissue and organs causing severe pain, nerve damage, and other serious complications, requiring additional surgery.

The attorneys at Becker Law Office have the knowledge, resources and experience to help you pursue your legal rights against a medical device manufacturer. We provide our clients with comfort knowing they can regain control of their lives when pursuing legal action.

People injured by a dangerous or defective medical device often rack up significant medical costs, and may even be unable to work for lengthy periods of time. If a medical device caused you harm, you may be entitled to compensation for your ongoing medical care, physical therapy costs, pain and suffering, and lost wages

Yes, there are several things to do right after a motorcycle accident if you can. What you do immediately after getting injured in a motorcycle accident can determine how likely you are to obtain compensation through a legal claim later.

Proceed in a calm, business-like manner after a motorcycle accident. Look out for yourself, but be polite to others and cooperate with authorities.

Determine whether you or anyone else is injured, then summon help by calling 911 and requesting police assistance and an ambulance if necessary.

You should seek medical treatment of some kind as soon as possible, even if you do not need emergency care. Some serious injuries are not apparent right away. A doctor will diagnose any injuries you have suffered, and his or her records will document them.The documentation of your injuries contained in your medical records will be crucial to a legal claim.

If you do not need an ambulance, try to collect evidence to document your accident. This includes:

• Names,contact information and insurance information for everyone involved in the accident, and names and contact information from witnesses.
• Photos of the accident scene, your motorcycle, the other vehicle, debris, skid marks and anything that shows what happened.
• Copies of the police’s accident report.
• Records and receipts from all medical treatment, including receipts for prescription or over-the-counter medications.

Report the accident to your insurance company. Answer questions truthfully but, if they ask, decline to record a statement. Don’t say anything to indicate you were at fault or downplay your injuries. Do not sign anything.

You should also contact a motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible. The Becker Law Office’s motorcycle accident attorneys can provide a free legal consultation to review your accident and injuries, and explain the legal options available to you.

No. It’s good for an insurance adjustor to close an accident case quickly and move on, but it’s not always good for the accident victim. By accepting a settlement you must agree that you won’t seek additional compensation, though you may not even know the full extent of your losses.

In addition to repairs to your motorcycle and the medical care required for your injuries, you may suffer a significant loss if your injuries keep you from returning to work for a long time or you have to take a job that pays less than what you made before. The full extent of your losses may not be known for several weeks or months after a motorcycle accident.

It’s important to understand fully the extent of your medical expenses, property damage and income losses before you accept an insurance settlement. Part of the work a Becker Law Office motorcycle accident attorney can do for you is to ensure this calculation is correct.

The Becker Law Office wants you to receive the full amount of money you need now and may need in the future. Once you retain the services of our motorcycle accident attorneys, we can work directly with the insurance company to see that your claim is for an appropriate amount.

You could receive compensation for property damage (your motorcycle), medical bills and wages lost because of your motorcycle accident. You might also be awarded damages for your pain and suffering. A proper claim settlement includes money for your future if your injuries will keep you from returning to work or require you to take work that pays less.

The intent of a personal injury lawsuit after a motorcycle accident is to ensure that the victim and/or the victim’s family do not suffer financially because of someone else’s negligence. Personal injury law allows an injured party to hold the at-fault party liable for damages.

It would not be responsible for any attorney to say how much money you might receive in a personal injury lawsuit after a motorcycle accident. At the Becker Law Office, we pledge to conduct a thorough investigation that calculates all of your losses and then to press the insurance company hard in negotiations to meet its financial responsibility to you.

One thing you can always get is a free initial consultation about your legal options after a motorcycle accident. Contact the Becker Law Office to set an appointment today.

Kentucky and Indiana insurance laws require the immediate payment of medical bills in a motorcycle accident. If you have any problem obtaining this money, the Becker Law Office can help you.

In Kentucky, you most likely have “no fault” coverage as part of your motorcycle insurance. This pays as much as $10,000 to help with your medical expenses. It may also provide up to $200 per week for lost income and additional damages for pain and suffering.

Your insurance company should pay these benefits regardless of who was at fault in your motorcycle accident. If another driver is at-fault, your insurance company is to be reimbursed from their insurer. No fault personal injury projection limits your right to file a lawsuit to recover compensation, unless your medical bills and expenses exceed a certain amount.

In Indiana, you should receive immediate medical benefits, regardless of fault, if you have Medical Payments Coverage as part of your insurance policy. Depending on the extent of your coverage, you may receive compensation for medical care and prescriptions. Your primary health insurance may also cover you for expenses that exceed the coverage in your motorcycle insurance policy.

Contact Becker Law Office today to set up a free meeting to review your motorcycle accident and injuries in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, or Tennessee. We can work with you to process your insurance claim and ensure that you receive the compensation you are due.

It is important to always wear a motorcycle helmet for safety, but it does not affect a motorcycle accident legally, including whether you’ll receive compensation for your injuries and other losses.

Kentucky and Indiana have partial helmet laws, requiring riders under age 21 and 18, respectively, to wear a motorcycle helmet. Kentucky makes further provisions, requiring a helmet if a motorcyclist has been licensed for less than a year or has no medical insurance. Tennessee has no motorcycle helmet law. (See the Governors Highway Safety Association roundup of motorcycle helmet laws.)

Wearing a motorcycle helmet greatly increases your chances of surviving a motorcycle accident, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and most other organizations that study the matter. But a helmet is not typically considered a contributing factor in an accident. Therefore, not wearing a helmet should not affect the compensation you could be awarded in a lawsuit after a motorcycle accident.

Engaging an experienced motorcycle accident attorney is the best way to protect your ability to obtain compensation after an accident, regardless of the circumstances of the wreck. If you have been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident that was someone else’s fault in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, or Tennessee, please contact the Becker Law Office today.

You can hire a motorcycle accident attorney without paying anything up front. If we don’t obtain compensation for you from your claim, you won’t have to pay us anything at all.

The Becker Law Office’s motorcycle accident attorneys pursue personal injury lawsuits on a contingency-fee basis. This means clients do not pay us until we recover money for them in a settlement or a court award.

Before you hire us, we’ll meet and review your case with you at no charge and with no further obligation from you. If you decide to retain our services, we will agree to a fee based on a percentage of the final settlement or court award.We will also require you to reimburse us for expenses associated with your case, which we will pay up front, such as charges for police reports, medical records and filing fees, and fees for expert witnesses and court reporters who record depositions.

This protects you as well as us, because it ensures that we only accept cases that we expect to result in compensation that covers your losses as well as our fees and costs. We won’t take a frivolous lawsuit and won’t fill you with false hopes for a big payoff that isn’t likely.

We’ll investigate your case thoroughly and work hard to obtain the compensation you deserve. If you’re ready to get started, we are too. Please contact the Becker Law Office today.

Nursing home abuse is a widespread problem that is made worse by the fact that it is believed to be underreported. Many nursing home residents do not speak out about abuse and neglect because they are unable to due to illness and infirmity, or because they are scared.

A research brief from the National Center on Elder Abuse says that among 2,000 nursing home residents surveyed, 95 percent claimed they had been neglected or knew of a resident who had been neglected. Forty-four percent of nursing home residents in the survey said they had been abused.

A 2010 study published in Nursing Management examining factors that affect abuse of older people in nursing homes found that more than half of the nursing home staff members surveyed admitted mistreating an elderly patient in the prior year through neglect, physical abuse, or mental abuse. Two-thirds of the incidents involved neglect.

The Kentucky Elder Abuse Report 2013 says that from 2009 through 2013 it received 3,196 allegations related to abuse, neglect or misappropriation of residents’ property in long-term care facilities.

There is help available if you or someone you know is being abused in a nursing home. Please contact the Becker Law Office for advice if you suspect abuse or neglect in a nursing home in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, or Tennessee.

A nursing home resident who has been abused may have physical injuries or may have sudden unexpected changes in behavior, particularly in his or her relationships with nursing home staff. Some nursing home abuse results in damage to or loss of the resident’s possessions.

Active mistreatment of nursing home residents is generally categorized as physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse.

A nursing home resident subjected to physical or sexual abuse may have injuries such as cuts, bruises, fractures, black eyes, welts, or ligature marks at the wrists or ankles from the use of restraints.

A victim of sexual abuse may have injuries about their groin, breasts or anus. Their bed sheets or clothing may be torn or marred by blood or other bodily fluids.

Passive mistreatment of a resident is considered nursing home neglect. It is usually reflected in a lack of care, such as dehydration, poor nutrition or hygiene, dirty clothing or bed linens, and failure to provide medication or medical assistance for illness or injury, including bed sores.

Abuse victims also suffer from psychological trauma. They may become easily agitated, withdrawn and nonresponsive, or disinterested in activities they usually enjoy. Emotional mistreatment, like verbal abuse, isolating (locking a resident in their room) or shunning, can also cause sudden psychological changes in an abuse victim.

In some cases of abuse, personal property like eyeglasses, hearing aids, clothing, photos, clocks, or TVs, may be damaged.

Sudden or unexpected changes in a nursing home resident’s bank account, will, property deeds or other financial documents may indicate financial abuse.

In all cases, if a nursing home resident says they are being hurt or abused, their complaint should be taken seriously and investigated.

The National Center on Elder Abuse provides more information about the types and signs of abusive treatment common among senior citizens.

First and foremost, if you believe any nursing home resident’s life is in danger, you should obtain medical assistance for them. Notify nursing home staff and, if you are not satisfied with their response, phone local law enforcement or 911.

Next, you should notify the nursing home’s management of your concerns. This should be done verbally right away and followed up in writing.

Save a copy of the letter to management for your files, and file a similar complaint with your state’s nursing home regulatory body:

• Kentucky’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman
• Indiana’s Comprehensive Care Facility (Nursing Homes) Licensing and Certification Program
• Tennessee’s Board of Nursing Home Administrators

Maintain copies of any communication from the state or nursing home about your complaint.

You should also contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney. An attorney can act more quickly than a government bureaucracy to help you and will work for your interests.

The Becker Law Office assists residents of long-term care facilities and their families in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. We can help correct a dangerous or unlawful situation, and help you obtain compensation for the harm your loved one has suffered.

Through legal action, a negligent nursing home may be compelled to compensate a resident for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other losses, including the cost of relocating a resident if necessary.

While injuries from falls are common among the elderly, they should not occur in a nursing home. Nursing homes have a responsibility to ensure that residents remain healthy and secure unless they suffer from an illness that cannot be prevented.

The federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law guarantees nursing home residents’ rights. It says nursing homes are to care for residents in a way that maintains or enhances their quality of life, and ensure that their health or well-being does not decline unless it is caused by unavoidable medical reasons.

Still, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die each year from fall-related injuries and those who survive falls frequently suffer hip fractures and head injuries that result in permanent disability and reduced quality of life.

Nursing home residents who are at risk of falling should be provided assistive devices (walkers, wheelchairs, etc.) and personal assistance when moving between bed and chairs, for bathing and toileting. Nursing homes should also ensure that the home’s environment is free of fall hazards, such as wet floors, poor lighting, incorrect bed height, etc.

If you are concerned about the cause of your loved one’s fall in a nursing home, we suggest you contact the Becker Law Office to discuss this matter further. You can also read more about how we help those who have been injured in falls in nursing homes and hospitals.

A lawyer can step in to protect your loved one’s rights and best interests when nursing home abuse or neglect is suspected. Sometimes just being contacted by an attorney is enough to spur nursing home management into needed corrective action. If your loved one has been harmed, an attorney can help you obtain medical care and compensation.

A nursing home abuse lawyer from the Becker Law Office can investigate if you suspect a loved one has been subjected to abuse or neglect at a nursing home. We can help you obtain medical assistance for a nursing home resident and/or help you to relocate your loved one if that is necessary for their physical or mental well-being.

If you have not already filed a complaint with a long-term care ombudsman or a nursing home regulatory board in your state, we can help you do this.

Most often, if there is a serious or systemic problem at a nursing home, it is only identified and corrected after a complaint is investigated by an outside agency or an attorney working on a victim’s behalf. The complaint you file may protect other residents from suffering from similar neglect or abuse.

In addition to spurring action to correct a problem, an attorney can determine whether an abuse or neglect victim deserves to be compensated for the pain, suffering, costs and/or losses they have endured. A lawsuit or a settlement negotiated with the nursing home may result in a payment for medical expenses incurred because of the abuse or neglect, pain and suffering, financial or personal property losses, and more.

If a nursing home resident is too ill or infirm to act on their own behalf, an attorney can help a family member obtain court-appointed guardianship status to pursue a legal complaint against the nursing home.

The American Association for Justice has a full explanation of how the civil justice system protects elderly Americans.

If you are injured on someone else’s property, you may be able to receive compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses you may have had to pay out of pocket as a result of your injuries.

In order to file a viable premises liability case, you must prove your injury was the result of another person’s negligence and that they failed to take necessary steps to keep their premises safe. In many premises liability cases, the negligent party is a landowner or property manager.

At Becker Law Office, our skilled attorneys handle multiple types of premises liability claims. The most common are:

• Swimming pool injuries: Swimming pools and the areas around them can be very dangerous. When the surrounding areas are not fenced off or maintained in a secure condition, injuries and drownings can happen as a result.
• Fires and burn injuries: Sometimes, property owners neglect to keep their buildings up to code. This means that a property may have wiring issues, gas leaks, and other unchecked hazards that can lead to a disaster. If a fire occurs, the owner may be held accountable and will be required to pay for your medical expenses.
• Dog bites: Pet-owners are mandated to keep others safe from their animals. If you or your child is bitten by another individual’s pet, you may be able to receive compensation for the injuries. An experienced attorney can help you understand if you are entitled to compensation from the pet owner or if your homeowner’s insurance will cover your claim.
• Inadequate security: A business owner is required to keep their staff and customers safe. If you are assaulted at a restaurant or other business establishment, you may be able to file suit against the business owner if they failed to take the precautionary steps to secure their property and keep their guests safe.
• Slip-and-fall accidents: This is one of the most common types of premises liability cases. A slip-and-fall accident can lead to serious injuries including broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and back injuries. Property owners are mandated to keep their premises safe and ensure surfaces like sidewalks and parking lots are free of hazards. A property owner is required to notify others of any dangers or hazards and correct the problem within a reasonable amount of time. If a property owner neglects to do this, they have breached their duty of care and may be held liable for your injuries.

If you or a loved one is injured on another individual’s property as a result of their negligence to maintain safe conditions, you may be entitled to compensation. We put our clients first. Our premises liability lawyers are committed to helping you seek compensation for the injuries you suffered because of another person’s negligence. Call for a free consultation today.

People expect prescription drug companies to adequately test for safety and effectiveness before placing their products into the marketplace. But this is not always the case. While prescription drugs are vital and essential to fight against disease and illnesses, they also carry serious risks. In addition to the lengthy list of side effects, these drugs may also cause severe debilitating injuries, even death.

If you or someone you love has been impacted by the negative side effects of a prescription drug, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an experienced attorney today so they can evaluate your potential claim.

A prescription drug case will generally fall under one of two types of categories: a class-action lawsuit or a multidistrict litigation (MDL). In a class-action lawsuit, an individual or small group of individuals serves as the leader for a larger group of people injured by a prescription drug. After filing a lawsuit in state or federal court, the class representatives ask the court to certify the lawsuit as a class action. The court may or may not certify the case as a class action depending on a list of criteria. If the parties reach a settlement in a class action lawsuit, their attorneys develop a plan for notifying the potential class members and settling their claims.

In a multidistrict litigation (MDL), the lawsuits are not consolidated and remain separate. A single judge oversees all the cases, which usually involves grouping cases with common factual or legal issues together for discovery, pre-trial hearings, trial scheduling and settlement conferences. This allows the court to address common issues that affect many cases at once. To understand which path may be the best for your case, consider talking to a prescription drug attorney today.

While this list is not comprehensive, serious complications have arisen for some patients who were prescribed the following medications:

• Hormone replacement therapy drugs: Examples include Prempro, Premphase, Premarin, and Provera. Hormone replacement drugs have been linked to breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, auto-immune diseases, and gallbladder cancer.
• Granuflo: This drug is often prescribed to kidney dialysis patients and has been linked to sudden cardiac arrest, injury, and death.
• Paxil: An antidepressant that can have a serious impact on pregnant women as it may cause Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in newborns (PPHN). This condition affects the heart and lungs of newborn infants.
• Yaz and Yasmin: Two birth control products that can cause patients to suffer blood clots and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). These drugs also can lead to pulmonary embolisms in some patients, which can cause heart attacks or strokes.
• Reglan: A drug used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease. Reglan can cause involuntary repetitive movement, such as tardive dyskinesia, dystonia, akathisia, and pseudoparkinsonism.
• Taxotere: A chemotherapy drug which can cause permanent hair loss. It is used to treat breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and neck cancer.
• Fen-Phen: A prescription that combines fenfluramine and phentermine, creating an appetite suppressant. Although both drugs are approved separately, combining them can cause heart damage and primary pulmonary hypertension.

An attorney can protect you and your loved one’s rights and interests if a prescription drug causes injuries. The legal associates from the Becker Law Office have years of experience handling these types of cases and can help you collect the evidence you need to prove the drug caused you or your loved one injury and harm. Causation is the main issue needed to be proven in court since manufacturers will try and blame injuries such as a heart attack or stroke on other factors besides their drugs to get out of paying you what you are owed.

The paralegals at Becker Law Office will guide you through the pros and cons of a class-action lawsuit and a multidistrict litigation to ensure that you understand the difference between each and choose the option that you feel more comfortable taking.

p>An industrial product liability claim alleges that the manufacturer, designer or marketer of a product is responsible for harm that was suffered by someone who used a piece of industrial machinery or equipment as intended. Such a lawsuit seeks compensation for the injury victim’s medical expenses and other losses.

Industrial product liability cases may revolve around any kind of machinery, equipment or power tool that has allegedly caused someone to be injured or killed. The machinery may have had a defective design that contributed to an injury or lacked safety devices such as an emergency shut off switch or guards to prevent injury. The law is similar to that applying to consumer products that have a design or manufacturing defect. We’ve all heard of GM’s recalls of millions of automobiles because of design defects linked to accidents that caused injuries and deaths. Less well-known are the hundreds of Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls announced almost daily.

An industrial product liability case alleges that the manufacturer knew or should have known that the equipment, power tool or machinery in question:

• was designed or manufactured in a defective manner, such as without a safety device,
• posed a risk of injury that was not adequately explained in warnings or instructions in marketing material or package labeling,
• did not perform as advertised or described by the manufacturer.

Product liability lawsuits may also be filed against product assemblers, retailers, repairers and/or parts suppliers, depending on the circumstances of the case.

Such a lawsuit may seek to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, property damage, pain and suffering and other losses.

Industrial product liability cases are usually complex. If you think you have a claim, you should contact an experienced product liability attorney, like ours at the Becker Law Office.

If using an industrial product or power tool as intended could cause the user to be harmed, then manufacturer has a legal duty to say so.
A warning of the potential harm in packaging and/or labeling of the industrial product is required.

Generally, the manufacturer has a duty to warn the user if the manufacturer knows or should have known of the product’s potential danger, the danger arises out of normal use, and the danger is not obvious. If the manufacturer uses an inadequate warning then, there might as well not even be a warning on the product.

An industrial product liability case may hinge on failure to warn of the danger the product ultimately posed, or on an insufficient warning. The legal question that arises if there was a warning is whether it was adequate. Another closely related question is whether the instructions for safe use of the product were adequate. A manufacturer must provide adequate instructions for use of the machinery, equipment or tool and adequate warning of any foreseeable dangers.

If you have been injured by a product in an unexpected manner, you should discuss the matter with an experienced product liability attorney. A Becker Law Office attorney can provide you a free initial consultation about a potential claim in Kentucky, Indiana or Illinois.

Any industrial product that has caused someone to be injured though it was operated / used properly by the injury victim might be the subject of a product liability lawsuit. Unfortunately, there are certain products that have been repeatedly cited as unsafe or defective in lawsuits.

They include:

• Industrial Machinery — Boilers, compacters, die-casting machines, die presses, elevators, furnaces, ovens, packaging machinery,machine presses, power presses, textile machinery, valves.
• Equipment — Aerial lifts, backhoes, cranes, dozers, earth graders, forklift trucks, loaders, utility vehicles.
• Power Tools — circular saws, drilling machines, planers.
• Building products – Asbestos-containing products, ceiling tiles, flooring, insulation, stairways, decks, etc.

In some cases, the product has been recalled from the market. Unfortunately, recalls almost always occur only after there is strong evidence that the product has caused many injuries or deaths.

You don’t have to wait for a recall. A product’s manufacturer, designer, marketer and/or distributor may be held liable for the injury that a defective product has caused you or your loved one. Your lawsuit may even help to prompt a recall and save others from suffering the injuries you have endured.

As in any liability claim, having evidence of the accident, your injury, and its cost to you is key to developing a successful lawsuit. You should preserve anything connected to your accident.

Your injury may have been caused by the unsafe design of machinery or equipment, lack of adequate warning about the hazards of the product, or a lack of adequate training to operate the machinery or power tool safely. If possible, document the actual accident. Write down exactly what happened and take photos of the accident scene if possible. You may have a legal right to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the industrial machinery or equipment, in addition to receiving workers’ compensation benefits for your injury.

See a doctor for your injuries and save all medical reports and receipts. Keep copies of anything that documents the losses caused by your injuries, including receipts for medical care and medications, work absences, having to hire someone to assist you, rental cars or other travel expenses, etc.

You should also contact a product liability attorney as soon as possible. A Becker Law Office product liability lawyer can not only assist and advise you about steps you can take to help a potential claim, we can begin the investigative work that will be necessary to prove liability for your injuries.

It’s true that product liability cases are usually complex. A single product liability lawsuit could become part of a large case involving many plaintiffs. This makes sense, considering that a faulty consumer product may potentially have exposed many people to injury.

An industrial product liability lawsuit requires an investigation that may involve dozens or hundreds of interviews, and researching the product’s background, including its development history, and marketing materials. The testimony of recognized outside experts with specific knowledge of a manufacturing process or the industrial product in question is often sought to develop a product liability case. A product liability case may also involve deposing multiple defendants, some of whom may be uncooperative. It may require obtaining court orders to access manufacturers’ or others’ documents pertaining to the product’s design, manufacturing and marketing.

If numerous plaintiffs file similar product liability lawsuits, the court may combine them for expediency. A “multi-district litigation” (MDL) may be declared to group claims geographically and have them heard together in a single court. A “class action” lawsuit may be declared to combine claims that contain similar allegations.

One advantage of a class action or MDL is that it brings the work and expertise of several attorneys together.

Another advantage of a large case is that the defendant, particularly a manufacturer, may begin to see the writing on the wall. Some will begin to seriously negotiate a settlement and set aside large amounts of money for potential claim payments.

It all starts with one injured consumer speaking to an attorney about the harm they have suffered and why they believe a faulty product caused it. At the Becker Law Office, our product liability lawyers are ready to talk to you about your case.

You can afford the Becker Law Office’s assistance because you won’t pay us anything until you receive a settlement or court award in your case. There is no up-front cost to you for our legal services.

The Becker Law Office accepts industrial product liability cases on a contingency-fee basis, which means our legal fee depends on the outcome of your case. Our agreement to represent you will state a specific percentage of any settlement or court award that we will retain as our fee.

In addition to legal fees, there are various charges that may come with preparing and filing your case, such as for travel and copies of documents. Court reporters, expert witnesses and other professionals who help us develop cases must be paid for their time and effort. These costs also come out of the settlement or court award, but we pay them up front. You bear no out-of-pocket costs to pursue a claim.

Since we are only paid if we are successful, we only take cases that we expect to result in compensation that makes the time and effort worthwhile to you and us. We don’t waSuite our clients’ time or fill them with false hopes. We take cases we expect to win.

We’ll investigate your case thoroughly and, if we can pursue a claim for you, work as hard as we can to develop a strong case that shows you deserve to be compensated. We’re ready to start by providing a free review of your accident and injuries, and explaining the legal options available to you.

It should come as no surprise if the owner of the property where you fell does not step up and offer you money for your injuries or offers less than what you deserve. But the law says you deserve to be compensated if the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident and injury. A slip-and-fall lawyer works to compel the property owner’s insurance company to do what’s right by you after an accident.

There are many maneuvers the property owner’s insurance company is likely to attempt to avoid paying you the settlement you deserve. An experienced attorney, such as ours at Becker Law Office knows what to expect and how to head off or counter an insurance company that is trying to short-change you. Your Becker Law Office attorney can also counsel you so that you don’t make a mistake that hurts your case.

In fact, the Becker Law Office provides twice the protection. Our clients are represented by two law firms with their own unique skill sets to ensure that each case is handled professionally and efficiently. The attorneys at Becker Law Office focus on settling cases, while the litigators at Bubalo Law PLC take cases to court if they cannot be settled appropriately.

This means you’ll have AV-rated lawyers who are skilled negotiators if you need them, and you’ll also be represented by attorneys who have been recognized among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kentucky if the case goes to court. Your legal team will help you get the compensation that you deserve after your slip-and-fall injury.

In almost all cases, compensation for your medical expenses and other losses after a slip-and-fall accident will come from the property owner’s or business manager’s insurance company. The work of a personal injury lawyer handling your case is to persuade the insurance company or a jury that you deserve to be compensated and by how much.

Often, slip-and-fall cases can be settled without going to court. You and your attorney and the insurance company (or the property owner directly in a few cases) come to an agreement on the amount of money you will be paid and, in return, you give up the right to sue. If such an agreement can be reached, it saves time – you get paid faster and can get on with your life.

You can accept a settlement at any point in the process. Your attorney will advise you about any settlement offer, and whether to accept is your decision.

The other option is to go to court and prove your injury and losses, and the property owner’s negligence. This will result in a verdict by a jury, which will be either for you or against you and will include what compensation you are to receive. At this point, either side may appeal, or the defendant’s insurer will make the ordered payment.

To be successful in a slip-and-fall accident lawsuit, you will need evidence that proves you were hurt by a hazard on the defendant’s property, that the defendant had a duty to ensure you were safe on the property but neglected to do so, that that negligence led to your injury and that your injury is compensable (can be made better by money). There are several types of evidence that can help you do this.

Some of the different types of evidence you may need include witness testimony about how the fall happened, photographs of conditions leading to the fall, maintenance records that document how long a hazard existed without being corrected, records that document your injury and medical expenses, and expert testimony about your accident, injury and recovery prospects.

In most cases, you will need an experienced slip-and-fall lawyer to help you build your case by finding witnesses, using the pre-trial discovery process to get necessary documents from the property owner, and otherwise gathering the information needed to show that the property owner is responsible for what happened to you.

First and foremost, you should get medical attention after a slip-and-fall accident, regardless of how you feel. Some common slip-and-fall injuries can cause delayed symptoms but can be diagnosed by a medical professional before problems arise. Seeking medical care also establishes a record of your injuries, which you’ll need to prove a potential claim against the property owner.

After a slip-and-fall accident, you’ll want to take several steps to establish a record of the accident and preserve evidence of what has happened to you. If you have fallen at a business, office or other public establishment, you or a companion should report your accident to management as soon as possible. Obtain a copy of the accident report.

You’ll want to save copies of any document connected to your accident, including any accident report(s) and receipts for medical care, medicine and physical therapy. You’ll also want to create and preserve evidence if you can, such as photos of the hazard and of your injuries (bruises, a cast, etc.), witness statements, and anything else, such as clothing that was torn or shoes or jewelry that was broken in your fall.

As soon as you are able, you should contact an experienced slip-and-fall accident lawyer. At the Becker Law Office, we will meet with you to go over the circumstances of your case and explain your legal options at no charge and with no further obligation. If we can help you pursue a claim, we will do so at no charge unless we obtain a monetary settlement or court award for you.

Read more about What to Do After a Fall.

Whether property owners can be held responsible for falls on snow and ice — and to what extent — will vary depending upon the situation. Ice and snow are temporary hazards, which in certain circumstances a property owner should clear within a reasonable amount of time. Failure to do so could leave them liable for slip-and-fall injuries.

If you slipped and fell on naturally occurring snow and ice in the parking lot of a store, and the property owner did nothing to make the parking lot more dangerous, you may be limited in your ability to recover compensation.

But, if there was ice and snow on a sidewalk directly in front of a store, the property owner or manager may be responsible for clearing the hazard within a reasonable amount of time – such as by shoveling snow and/or salting or spreading sand on ice. In some communities, local ordinances specifically require property owners to clear ice and snow in a certain amount of time after a snowfall or ice storm.

In cases of snow or ice tracked inside an office building or store that then melt and make the floor slippery, the property owner is likely to be liable for injuries due to falls. The property manager should be aware of the fact of the hazard – the snowfall – and should work to deal with it, such as by monitoring and mopping the floor or putting a mat down, and/or posting “wet floor” hazard signs. Doing nothing could easily be seen as negligence.

If a property owner or a property owner’s representative knew about an ice-and-snow hazard and failed to take reasonable steps to remove it or warn visitors about it, someone who slips and falls could have a legal claim. A Becker Law Office attorney would be happy to discuss the circumstances of such a case with you.

In many cases, someone on a property illegally will be barred from obtaining compensation for injuries suffered in an accident while there. But the law and courts recognize that there can be many factors that influence an accident, including the injured party’s age, so any serious fall accident deserves the attention of an experienced slip-and-fall lawyer who can determine whether you have the basis for a claim.

Even for trespassers, property owners can have certain legal obligations and can sometimes be held responsible for falls that occur while someone is trespassing on their property. For example, if a property owner knows that there are trespassers and that there are dangerous conditions on the property, the owner may be required to warn trespassers of the risk. If property owners make their property inviting, especially to children, and encourage trespass through their actions, then they also have an obligation.

For example, kids may be drawn to swimming pools and construction sites and be more likely to trespass as a result. These are sometimes known as “attractive nuisances,” which impose special responsibilities on property owners. The homeowner who fails to secure a pool or a property developer who leaves a construction site open may be found liable for falls and injuries on their property even though they instructed children to stay away.

You should not be surprised if a property owner or their insurance company denies responsibility for your slip-and-fall accident. You will have to prove that the property owner, renter or someone acting for them, such as a manager, had an obligation for your safety and failed to meet it. As your slip-and-fall accident lawyers, we would help you to do this.

We gather evidence about your accident and injury to build the case for a valid claim. This includes medical records that establish your injury and the medical treatment it required, and evidence of the accident itself, which may range from testimony by you and witnesses to your accident, to security camera footage that recorded the accident.

As lawyers investigating your accident, we could seek a court order directing the property owner to turn over any security camera footage that existed. But we would have to move soon enough to ensure footage is not overwritten or otherwise destroyed. This is one reason to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after a slip-and-fall accident.

In a free initial consultation, we can advise you of the steps to take if you pursue a claim, and things to avoid doing that could hurt your claim. Our “What to Do after a Fall” page discusses some of these issues, but if you have been seriously hurt in a slip-and-fall accident, you should contact the Becker Law Office today.

When property is owned by the public (the government), there is always some governmental agency responsible for maintaining it. If this agency falls short of its obligation, it is possible to take legal action. Lawsuits against the government are more complicated, however.

There are special rules called sovereign immunity laws that limit how and when claims can be made against government workers and agencies. However, your Becker Law Office slip-and-fall accident lawyer can help you to understand how the rules apply to your accident.

Another factor to look at in a slip-and-fall accident on public property is whether a third party may be responsible for your injury. For example, a landscaping company hired by the local parks authority may have been responsible for a hole or equipment left behind that resulted in your tripping and injuring yourself. Another example might be a cleaning company whose worker failed to post “wet floor” signs in the city hall lobby where you slipped and fell on a recently mopped floor.

In such cases, it may be that the contractor should compensate you for your injuries and other losses. Our experienced slip-and-fall accident lawyers know that the way to maximize the compensation our clients receive is to fully investigate the circumstances of your accident, and work to hold all responsible parties accountable.

It is not just store owners or the owners of public property who are responsible to their guests. If you are invited to visit someone’s house, that property owner has a legal responsibility to correct any dangerous conditions that could hurt you and to warn you of any known hazards.

This means if you go to someone’s house and you fall because the property is poorly maintained, you can take legal action against the homeowner. You would need to be able to show that:

• You were legally on the property – you were not a trespasser.
• That the owner had an obligation to you to make the property safe.
• That the owner fell short in fulfilling this obligation.
• Your injury was caused by a hazard that existed because of the property owner’s negligence.

It is important to keep in mind that homeowners’ insurance covers these types of claims. You don’t have to worry about filing a lawsuit against a friend or neighbor, or that the money you may receive will come out of their pocket. Homeowners’ insurance covers the cost of medical bills and expenses if you slip and fall while a guest at a friend’s house.

A lawyer from Becker Law Office can look at the circumstances of your slip-and-fall accident and determine whether you have standing for a case. If we can, we would be happy to help you pursue a claim for the compensation you deserve.

Owners have a duty to ensure their properties are reasonably safe for people who are legally on the property, such as customers at a business or people invited to a home. If a property owner fails to meet this duty, someone who slips or trips and falls and is injured could have a legal claim.

If you have fallen in an accident and been significantly injured, you need to determine why the fall happened. If you just tripped over your own feet and fell, no one is to blame for this accident. If it happened at work, you may be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

In other situations, however, a problem with the property or area where you were walking may have caused your fall. This could have been debris in a walkway or store aisle, a slippery floor caused by a spill, a broken sidewalk or a pothole in a poorly lighted parking lot.

A property owner or the renter/ lessee in charge of the property is given a reasonable opportunity to recognize and correct slip-and-fall hazards in a timely manner. But, if they have neglected a hazard and it is the reason you have been injured, they can be held legally responsible for the fall and can be required to compensate you.

We have more details at Do I Have a Slip & Fall Case?

The size and weight of a large commercial motor vehicle greatly increases the likelihood that a truck accident will cause serious injury or death. An 18-wheeler filled with cargo can weigh 80,000 pounds or more. When a large truck carrying a full load collides with a passenger vehicle at full speed, the result can be disastrous.

If a large truck collides with a passenger car or truck, the people in the smaller vehicle are far more likely to be hurt. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says about 80 percent of fatal crashes involving large trucks are multiple-vehicle crashes, compared with less than 60 percent for passenger vehicles.

Passenger vehicle occupants hurt in truck accidents are likely to suffer serious injuries such as head and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), neck and spinal cord injuries, or broken bones. You may have permanent injuries that require ongoing care or leave you unable to handle the job you previously had. In addition to personal injuries, truck crashes can cause extensive property damage, which may include environmental damage if a truck spills hazardous waSuite or toxic chemicals.

Your losses in a collision with a commercial truck may be extensive. Contact a Becker Law Office truck accident attorney to find out how we can help you.

Trucking companies, known as “carriers,” are often large multi-state corporations with deep pockets and legal teams prepared to protect their interests after a truck accident. Federal regulations that govern the trucking industry are complex. A lawyer who understands them can make them work in their client’s favor.

It is very likely that you will hear from the trucking company’s lawyers and/or insurance company soon after a serious truck accident. They work to minimize the cost of an accident as well as the potential liability if negligence on the part of their driver or the company itself is found to have caused a serious wreck.

If you hear from the carrier or anyone representing it, it is best not to accept any money or sign any statement unless an experienced truck accident attorney has reviewed it with you.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations govern commercial drivers’ licensing and time spent behind the wheel, vehicles and trucks’ components, trucks’ cargo and how it is loaded, and more. If the trucker or trucking company violated regulations, they can be held liable if this violation led to an accident and injuries.

But it takes a lawyer who knows FMCSA regulations and has the resources to investigate a truck accident to determine and prove a truck driver’s or trucking company’s liability. When you engage a Becker Law Office truck accident attorney, that’s what you get.

The truck driver, the company that hired the driver or a third party connected to your crash may ultimately be found to be liable for your injuries if their negligence caused the accident that hurt you.

A groundbreaking study of truck accidents, known as the “The Large Truck Crash Causation Study,” cited factors commonly found in commercial truck accidents. They included:

Driver error:

• Traveling too fast for conditions
• Following too close
• Inadequate surveillance (failure to look)
• Illegal maneuvers
• Internal driver distraction
• External driver distraction
• Inattention
• Driver fatigue
• Unfamiliarity with the roadway
• Over-the-counter drug use
• Illegal drug use
• Alcohol use

Vehicle problems:

• Brake problems
• Tire problems
• Cargo shift (improperly secured cargo)

Vehicle problems may be a maintenance issue, which implies carrier liability, or a design or manufacturing defect that a third party might be liable for. The study also cited work pressure from the trucker’s employer, which may lead to fatigued driving or driving too fast to meet a delivery deadline. Roadway problems, which are a factor in some accidents, could lead to a claim against a local government or contractors who failed in their duty to ensure proper road maintenance or design.

After a proper investigation by the Becker Law Office, any of several people or organizations might be held liable for your truck accident.

You may be able to hold the trucking company, or “carrier,” liable for your losses in a truck accident. Trucking companies are responsible for the truckers they employ and for the operating condition of the trucks they put on the road.

Interstate trucking companies are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). A trucking company may be held liable if maintenance problems caused a truck owned or leased by the company to crash. A trucking company that pressured a driver to drive too far without adequate rest in violation of FMCSA Hours of Service regulations could be held liable for an accident caused by a drowsy driver. A carrier that hired a driver who had previously had multiple traffic or FMCSA violations might be liable if the trucker’s negligence caused a wreck.

Whether the trucking company involved in your accident is a regional or national company, it will most likely call upon legal resources to fight a claim that could prove costly. Even a smaller trucking company will deploy lawyers, insurance adjustors and others in hopes of quickly settling a claim and thwarting a full investigation. Some companies will declare bankruptcy to escape liability for a serious wreck, only to emerge soon afterward under a new name.

A truck accident attorney who understands the relationship between truck drivers and their employers, like ours at the Becker Law Office can investigate your accident and press for compensation from all parties liable for your losses.

Lawyers who handle personal injury or wrongful death claims, such as in truck accidents, protect the rights of people who have been injured or lost loved ones in accidents that were not their fault. Your primary right after being involved in a truck crash is the right to be made financially whole for what has been unjustly taken from you.

In most cases, the amount of compensation you can obtain after being injured in a truck crash or similar accident is limited by the amount of insurance coverage available. But insurance payouts ultimately cost the companies or individuals who are covered.

A trucking company has a financial interest in making sure your accident does not cost them too much money or attract too much attention from federal regulators or the public. Insurance adjustors and lawyers representing trucking firms are trained to settle matters quickly and inexpensively. You may have already received an initial low-ball settlement offer, which you should decline.

Meanwhile, once you make a claim, the trucking company’s lawyers will work to minimize or deflect any blame for the wreck from the trucker or the trucking company. If left unchallenged, this can result in your settlement being less that it should be or even in your claim being denied.

You stand a much better chance of obtaining an appropriate settlement after a commercial motor vehicle accident with the assistance of an experienced truck accident lawyer. A lawyer who represents your interests can level the playing field. In a complex claim, your attorney’s legal team can investigate to determine how and why your accident happened and hold all responsible parties liable.

You owe us no legal fee unless we obtain compensation for you.

Our lawyers pursue personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits on a contingency-fee basis. This means our fees depend on the amount of the settlement or court award we obtain for our client. If we obtain nothing, we are paid nothing.

We meet with potential clients and review the circumstances of their accidents and losses at no charge and with no further obligation from either side of the table. If we agree to move forward, we investigate cases at no charge up front.

Our retainer agreement will stipulate the percentage of the final settlement or court award that our firm will retain as a fee. We will also be reimbursed for expenses required to develop the case, which we pay up front, such as fees for police reports, medical records, filing the lawsuit, and hiring expert witnesses and court reporters who record depositions.

This protects our firm and our clients, because it ensures that we only pursue cases that we expect to be successful. We won’t take frivolous lawsuits.

We investigate cases thoroughly and work hard to obtain the compensation our clients deserve. If you’re ready to get started, contact the Becker Law Office today.