Asbestos is a deadly substance that is unfortunately found in many places people frequent; homes, offices, and sites of public construction. As a mass tort lawyer from a firm like the Law Office of Daniel J. Stuart, P.A. can explain, since the size of this material is too small to be seen by the human eye, it is very easy for people to ingest asbestos without even knowing it.

Long-term asbestos exposure can cause a host of serious health defects, including mesothelioma. If you have been unwillingly exposed to asbestos, here we answer some frequently asked questions about asbestos law and how to file a claim.

What exactly is asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral that is both a fire retardant and insulator, and when crushed, it breaks up into fine fibers.

How will I know I’ve been exposed to asbestos?

Some symptoms of asbestos exposure include:

• Shortness of breath
• A cough that doesn’t go away
• Trouble swallowing
• Tightness of the chest
• Pain when coughing
• Coughing up blood

That being said, if you are experiencing any other unusual symptoms dealing with your chest and respiratory system, it is wise to consult a doctor.

Is asbestos still being used today?

Asbestos was used primarily to insulate steam engines between World War II and the 1970s. The United States regulated asbestos use in the 1970s, but you may still be exposed if you come into contact with old material without knowing it, or are working in a space that is not properly following OSHA procedures.

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancerous tumor that lines the heart, lungs, and stomach. This specific type of cancer is frequently caused by asbestos exposure. 

How long after being exposed should I contact a lawyer?

As soon as you have been properly diagnosed with an asbestos related disease by your doctor, make sure to contact a lawyer. This is because simply being exposed to asbestos is not grounds for a proper lawsuit, whereas suffering from a medical problem is. 

What kind of claim can I file?

When it comes to asbestos exposure, there are two options when it comes to filing a claim. You can:

1. File a product liability (also known as tort) case which will bring a claim against the manufacturers and/or providers of the asbestos that caused the injury. These are considered third-party cases, as they will be brought against the people responsible for the asbestos exposure in the first place.
2. File a workers compensation claim. This will hold your employer responsible for your exposure and is typically used if an employer knows that there is the threat for asbestos exposure and doesn’t do anything to mend the situation.

What kind of damages can I win when filing a lawsuit?

It is almost impossible to predict the specific damages you may be able to win as they depend on the specifics of your case. However, victims of asbestos exposure can expect to win compensation to cover their pain and suffering, medical and insurance bills, and loss of wages due to the illness.

If you believe you have been exposed to asbestos, you do not have to face filing a lawsuit alone. Do not hesitate to contact a law firm today to set up a consultation.

For body aches, particularly neck and back pain, as a result of an injury such as car accidents. Work-related injuries or slip and falls, chiropractic care is a great alternative treatment. Over 20 million Americans have appointments with chiropractors every year for a variety of conditions. If you suffered an injury or have aches and pains due to sitting at a desk throughout the day or a car accident, a chiropractor may be able to help.

The question in many patients’ minds is, “does insurance cover chiropractic care? Here is what you may need to visit a chiropractor with your insurance.

Doctor Referral

You do not always need a doctor’s referral to see a chiropractor. You can go to a chiropractor whenever you want to, but if you want your insurance to pay for it, some policies require you to have a referral from a doctor. The doctor would need to state that you have a valid medical reason to see the chiropractor. Some valid medical reasons may include:

• Chronic migraines
• Stress relief
• Posture improvement
• Chronic pain

A chiropractor like one at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic uses spinal manipulation to treat pain in a patient’s muscles, bones, joints and connective tissue. Manipulations involve using sudden force to help with the range of motion. Many chiropractors also introduce exercise into the rehabilitation or treatment plan. If a doctor feels as though you would benefit from chiropractic care, he or she can refer you to a chiropractor.

A Medical Necessity

Your doctor’s note would determine whether chiropractic care is a medical necessity. Most insurance companies will only cover care that helps with a particular injury or condition. They do not always allow you to return for follow-up treatment or maintenance care. If maintenance care is not covered under your insurance, you may have to pay out of pocket for care. Continued visits may provide continued healing and reduce your risk of a recurring injury.

A Call From a Doctor

What if your insurance company does not pay for chiropractic care, even with a referral? In this case, you may want to talk to your doctor. Sometimes a doctor can call an insurance company and sway the company to pay for care. He or she can make your case and help you receive the care you need.

A lot of insurance companies do cover chiropractic care if you have a referral from a doctor. As long as your care is medically necessary, you should be covered. If you need more information about paying for your care, contact a chiropractor as soon as possible with questions. If your insurance does not cover it, you may be able to find other payment alternatives.

Do I Need Witnesses for My Personal Injury Claim?

A witness to your accident can be an integral part of your personal injury claim. They can support your side of the story and corroborate evidence with their testimony that will sway the case in your favor. There are two key types of witnesses you’ll want to use in your case: eyewitness accounts and expert witnesses. Keep reading to find out how they can help you with your personal injury case.

Witness to the Accident

First-hand accounts of your accident can be crucial to your case. A friend who’s seen how your accident has affected your daily life can help prove that the accident has caused chronic pain and suffering. Or maybe a dog walker saw your accident also witnessed the other driver looking at his phone when there’s a question of who’s at fault in a car accident. It’s important to get a statement from any and all witnesses to your accident as quickly as possible. Memory is malleable and the further from the accident, the less trustworthy your witness’s testimony may get. Return to the scene of the accident if you can and speak to people who live or work in the area, or check the police report if one exists to get the names and addresses of witnesses the police spoke to.

Expert Witnesses

While the testimony of eyewitnesses is important to a case, so are expert witnesses who have the knowledge and training that can strengthen your case with their expertise. These expert witnesses have insight beyond the common knowledge that a judge or jury may have. Your lawyer can call on a medical specialist to testify about how a slipped disc as the result of a workplace fall may cause serious chronic pain and disability for the rest of your life. Or perhaps they hire an expert who reconstructs accidents to accurately answer questions about how your injuries were sustained when no other eyewitnesses were there to see them. Even an economic expert can be called upon to explain the financial toll your accident will cause you throughout your life.

Be aware that expert witnesses come with higher costs and may not be necessary for straightforward cases. But if your case is complex and the defendant is throwing the blame on you, your lawyer may recommend hiring some to provide clear technical explanations that are difficult to refute.

Witness testimony can be one of the most complicated pieces of evidence you’ll need to collect, but worth it if there’s any doubt about who is at fault. If you believe you may have a cause for a personal injury lawsuit, set up a consultation with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

When you seek medical treatment from a doctor, you expect a certain standard of care. In fact, doctors are responsible for providing treatment and care to the expected standards in their practice. If your doctor acts unreasonably and results in a serious injury or worsening illness, you could be the victim of malpractice. The following guide may help you determine if you have a case against your medical professional.

Did You Suffer Injury or Illness?

Mistakes do not always qualify as malpractice. Even if your doctor clearly acted negligently, if it did not harm you, then he or she is not guilty of malpractice and you may not be able to file a lawsuit. However, if you have medical bills, lost wages, or a substantial change to your lifestyle due to an illness or injury, then you may be a victim of malpractice.

Is Your Doctor Responsible for Your Injury or Illness?

When determining medical malpractice, you have to prove that the medical professional caused or worsened your condition. For example, if you suffer from an illness or disease that the doctor failed to catch, you could be awarded compensation. Often, when a doctor misdiagnoses or fails to diagnose a patient, it could worsen the condition because most illnesses have better outcomes when treated early.

However, just because you didn’t receive the correct diagnosis doesn’t mean medical malpractice. In medicine, nothing is guaranteed. Some illnesses, such as rare cancers can be difficult to diagnose, even when the doctor takes reasonable precautions and orders standard tests. Medical malpractice happens if the doctor was not as prudent as he or she should have been.

How Do You Know If Your Doctor Is Responsible?

Suppose you suffered damages because of a doctor’s mistake, then there is a chance that you have a malpractice case. Ultimately, a jury would have to decide whether the doctor was responsible for what happened. To determine the strength of your case, you should go to a lawyer as soon as possible. He or she will help you collect evidence and consult with experts to determine whether you have a strong case. If your case goes to trial, the jury will consider whether the doctor failed to meet the standard of care.

If you suspect that you could have been a victim of medical malpractice, consult with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. All lawsuits have a statute of limitations and you want to ensure that you are within the time limit to file the suit. A medical malpractice lawyer can help, build a case against your doctor for malpractice.

If you’ve been a victim of an auto accident, chances are you spent the first few days attending to physical injuries and repairing your car. Contacting a lawyer may be the last thing on your list of stressful things to tackle, but a lawyer may actually make your life easier. In most cases, you have a decent amount of time to contact a lawyer if you so choose, but it’s in your best interest to have a lawyer by your side sooner rather than later.

Understanding the Statute of Limitations

You may be interested in filing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver to pay for physical or property damages. However, from the time the accident occurs, the clock starts ticking. The amount of time you have to file a lawsuit varies from state to state, but on average, you have about 2 to 3 years to file a personal injury claim or a property damage claim. 

If your accident involved a government employee or vehicle, or if your state’s dram shop laws are applicable to your accident, your statute of limitations will be even shorter. Your case will be dismissed if you file outside of this timeline, so having a knowledgeable lawyer who understands your situation will help ensure you file your claim in a timely manner.

Building a Strong Case

If you want a solid case, you should give your lawyer as much time to prepare it as possible. Over time, witness testimonies can waver, integral details can be forgotten, and evidence can go missing, thereby weakening your claim. Additionally, insurance companies may be suspicious of your claim if you file close to the end of your statute of limitations. They may question whether your injuries or damage to your vehicle are from a more recent accident, and you’ll be forced to provide extra evidence to corroborate your claim.

Finding the Right Lawyer

A lawyer’s expert knowledge will not only help you figure out exactly what types of compensation you can acquire and will help protect you against insurance companies that want to deny your claims; they can also ensure you get the appropriate medical care. If you sustained serious injuries, medical bills can quickly become overwhelming, and you might not be able to afford the months it may take for your claim to be processed. Experienced car accident lawyers can help put a hold on bills and put pressure on insurance companies to pay out so that there’s no lapse in healthcare.

Don’t risk your compensation by waiting too long to contact a car accident lawyer, like a lawyer from Therman Law Offices, LTD after a car accident, seek out legal counsel today and find out what your options are.

Driving on ice can be very dangerous, and it can result in accidents that involve single or multiple vehicles. You must be aware of how you can recover damages if you are part of a car accident that took place on ice. Check out this explanation regarding coverage for ice-related car accidents.

Liability

You can recover damages if your car accident happened on an icy road. For instance, if you are driving in icy conditions and another vehicle loses control and hits you, you can recover damages via your own insurance company or through the other party’s liability coverage. If you get into an ice-related car accident and can prove that the accident occurred due to a lack of proper maintenance, you can recover damages from the local organization or road clearing company responsible for de-icing that particular roadway.

Reason

Note that reason is an important factor to analyze when dealing with ice-related accidents. A driver is at fault for hitting you because he or she is a reasonable person; a reasonable person who made the choice to drive in less than ideal conditions, drive at a particular speed, drive at a certain distance in relation to your car, or drive knowing that his or her vehicle is not equipped to handle icy weather conditions. As a car accident lawyer like one from Greenspan & Greenspan P.C. can explain, even if the driver who struck you did so because he or she lost control of their vehicle, he or she made specific decisions that led up to the moment wherein the accident occurred, so the driver will still be held accountable.

Prevention

You can prevent ice-related accidents from occurring by taking certain precautions. One such precaution is to drive slowly; maintaining low speeds will help you maneuver through icy roads. If your car has a cruise control function, be sure to turn it off so that you will not be caught off guard if you ever hit a patch of black ice. Also, keep a safe distance between you and the car ahead of you while driving; doing so prevents collisions if you happen to slide or spin out of control. If you choose to drive on icy roads during the winter, invest in snow tires; such tires have more traction and grip than regular ones, preventing you from losing hold over your vehicle.

Car accidents that occur on icy surfaces can be very disastrous, resulting in injury and damage. Contact a car accident lawyer today to pinpoint sources of recovery for an ice-related car accident.

Unfortunately, there is a space for wrongful death cases in personal injury law. It is tragic when we lose a loved one far too soon. This is why it is important to contact a wrongful death lawyer, like a lawyer from Saavedra Law Firm, PLC, as soon as you realize you might have a case. It is hard to focus on seeking compensation when you are hurting, but you deserve some sort of justice for your loss. Reach out to a compassionate wrongful death lawyer right away to get started. You will not have to do extensive work in the beginning while you are grieving, but setting up a consultation will give you an idea of what you need to do to proceed. 

Car Accidents

Sometimes, people are negligent on the road and things do not end well. Whether the reason for their negligence was speeding, texting while driving, driving while intoxicated, or something else, the person who killed your loved one needs to take accountability for what they have done. Car accident cases can be complicated, as negligence may be difficult to prove. This is why you need to have an experienced wrongful death lawyer on your team. 

Medical Malpractice

It is alarming when a medical professional does something that hurts their patient. It is especially horrible if the patient dies as a result of the mistake. These doctors need to be held accountable so that this does not happen to anyone else in the future. By filing a wrongful death claim, you are hopefully going to make things safer for future patients by holding the medical professionals accountable for their mistakes. There is no room for error in the medical field, as lives can be at risk if something is not done correctly. 

Workplace Accidents

There are certain jobs that come with a higher level of risk. Construction sites, for example, can be incredibly dangerous, as can driving a large truck for a living. If your loved one lost his or her life at work, you will likely be able to file for some sort of compensation that will pay the lost wages that you are now left without, since your loved one is not there to provide a steady paycheck anymore. 

Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer as Soon as Possible

It is crucial to reach out to a wrongful death lawyer as soon as you are able to so that you do not miss the statute of limitations for filing. You and your family deserve to be compensated for any costs that were associated with the death and for all of your pain and suffering. You also deserve to make the same amount of money that you expected to with your loved one. An experienced wrongful death lawyer will know how to calculate these damages and present them to a judge in a way that will be favorable in court. Set up a consultation with a lawyer today to get your questions answered and learn more. 

Personal Injury Attorney

How do insurance companies, judges and juries determine the total amount of damages to award in personal injury cases? As a personal injury attorney from a firm like the Yearin Law Office can explain, there are a few standard methods to calculate dollar amounts, but the totals depend on the documented hardship and severity of the injury. Here is a general overview of the types of personal injury damages and how loss amounts are measured.

Compensatory Damages, AKA Actual Damages

Compensatory or actual damages are easier to calculate since the losses have specific dollar amounts. For example, your injury required a lengthy hospital stay, and now you are in debt due to your medical bills. Your compensation will include the actual bill expenses in your awarded damages.

The court should be able to see all of your documented expenses and add them up to present a total dollar amount needed for compensation. As the injured plaintiff, it is your responsibility to follow all medical recommendations and keep accurate records of all your expenses including treatment bills and medication costs.

General Damages Such as Pain and Suffering

Insurance companies, judges and juries look at many aspects of the plaintiff’s injury to arrive at a fair compensation amount. For general damages that don’t have documented expenses like pain and suffering, you might need to prove details such as:

• The severity of the injury
• Physical and emotional pain others have suffered from the same type of injury
• Employment difficulties
• Ongoing need for medical treatment
• Temporary versus life-long impairment

In a trial, it might be helpful to provide personal journal entries that detail the pain and suffering you experience. Your lawyer might also call on friends and family to testify as witnesses of your daily struggles.  

Methods for Calculating Pain and Suffering

Two ways courts and insurance companies can calculate pain and suffering damages are Per Diem or Multiplier.

Per Diem Method

A specified dollar amount is multiplied by the number of days the plaintiff suffered from their injuries. The length of time starts from the date of the injury up until the official day of healing or when the victim reaches “maximum medical improvement”.

Multiplier Method

Often, a court will multiply the actual damage amount by a number between 1.5 and 5 based on the injury’s severity. So you could end up with pain and suffering damages that are at least double the amount you received for actual losses.

Legal experts strongly suggest you hire a personal injury lawyer to help you present the best evidence to prove your compensation needs. Look for a personal injury attorney with the background and experience to help you with your claim.