I Could Spoil You

If you are injured on your job, it is often necessary to consult an attorney. This is especially the case if you have a severe injury that costs you your job or has resulted in a permanent impairment. You need to consult an attorney if the following occurs:

1. If the claims adjuster calls you and wants to take a recorded statement, you should consult a lawyer.

2. If you have suffered a number of injuries in your accident and the claims adjuster sends you an agreement form that does not cover all your injuries, you need to consult a lawyer.

3. If your claim is denied by the claims adjuster, you need to consult an attorney.

4. If the claims adjuster has filed a request for a hearing with the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, then you need to consult an attorney.

5. If you are sent interrogatories, then you need to consult an attorney.

6. If you are offered a settlement, you need to consult an attorney.

7. If you discover you are being video taped by a private detective, you need to consult an attorney.

8. If the claims adjuster refuses payment of a medical bill you incurred as a result of your accident, then you need to consult an attorney.

9. If the claims adjuster refuses to authorize reasonable and necessary medical treatment, then it may be necessary to consult an attorney.

10. If you did your own hearing and lost, you need to consult an attorney regarding an appeal but please consult the attorney before the hearing.

Finally, claimants need to be aware that attorneys specialize like doctors. Thus, one should not just consult any attorney but preferably consult one who specializes in workers compensation law.

This may be considered AN ADVERTISEMENT or Advertising Material under the Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyers in Virginia. This note is designed for general information only. The information presented in this note should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

Gerald G. Lutkenhaus–has been doing workers compensation in Virginia for over 30 years. In the July 1999 issue of Richmond Magazine he was rated one of the Best Attorneys for Workers Compensation in Central Virginia. In 2003 he was giving the rating of AV by Martindale Hubbell.

You can get more information from http://www.virginiadisabilitylawyer.com or http://www.geraldlutkenhaus.com

In 2003, there were 58,512 total vehicle accidents involved in fatal crashes in the U.S. (NCSA).

4,669 were large trucks involved in fatal truck accidents.

Large trucks are more likely to be involved in a fatal multi-vehicle crash than are passenger vehicles.

Most fatal truck accidents occurred in rural areas (68 percent) during the daytime (66 percent) and on weekdays (78 percent).

Only 1 percent of fatal truck accidents were DUI-related on the part of the truck driver compared to other types of fatal crashes. Higher DUI occurrences are 22 percent for drivers of passenger vehicles and light trucks and 29 percent for motorcyclists.

About 27 percent of all large truck drivers involved in fatal truck accidents had at least one prior speeding conviction compared to 19 percent of the passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes.

California had the most with 5,725 total fatal vehicle crashes but Texas had the most fatal truck accidents with 438.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 5 states as to fatal truck accidents in 2003:

State
Total Fatal Vehicle Crashes
Fatal Truck Accidents
California
5,725
332
Texas
5,040
438
Florida
4,432
343
Georgia
2,277
208
Pennsylvania
2,233
213

Compared to a breakdown of the top 5 states as to fatal truck accidents in 2002:

State Total
Fatal Vehicle Crashes
Fatal Truck Accidents
California
5,544
346
Texas
5,039
401
Florida
4,431
351
Pennsylvania
2,198
174
Georgia
2,188
202

More truck accident statistics from FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System)

Large trucks accounted for 9 percent of the vehicles in fatal crashes, but only 4 percent of the vehicles involved in injury and property-damage-only crashes. Of the 4,898 large trucks involved in fatal crashes, 76 percent were combination trucks.

Regardless of crash severity, the majority of vehicles in single and two-vehicle crashes were going straight prior to the crash.

The majority of persons killed or injured in traffic crashes were drivers (65 percent), followed by passengers (31 percent), pedestrians (3 percent), and pedal cyclists (2 percent).

In 2003, the initial point of impact at time of collision happened 2,354 times (50 percent) in the front of vehicle; compared to 382 times on the left side, 188 times on the right side, and 720 times in the rear.

In 2003, 608 large trucks were involved in fatal truck accidents causes by rollovers.

Miscellaneous trucking revenue statistics

The truck driver makes 30.3 cents per mile. Average yearly income for a driver is $32,000 a year. The average owner operator makes slightly more.

Total revenue estimates are $255.5 billion. For hire or common carriers trucking companies generated revenue estimated at $97.9 billion about $18 billion more than air transportation. Private fleets generated revenue estimated at $121 billion.

Truck operating ratio is estimated at 95.2. This means for every dollar in revenue the trucking company has a cost of 95.2 cents leaving a profit of 4.8 cents on every dollar.

The trucking industry contributes an estimate of $21.4 billion to operate on U.S. roads and highways.

The trucking industry accounts for 12.8 percent of all the fuel purchased in the U.S. Automobiles and light vehicles account for 63 percent of fuel purchases.

About the Author

Michael Monheit, Esquire is the managing attorney for Monheit Law, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monheit Law, P.C. concentrates its practice in the field of plaintiff personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. They can be found at http://www.monheit.com/truck

Historically, courts in England and Wales have been very reluctant to find in favour of a plaintiff in any medical negligence claim brought against hospitals or local authorities.

Thus, in order to determine whether or not you have a claim for medical negligence, it is essential that you seek the advice of a medical negligence solicitor as soon as you possibly can after the event that transpired that led you to believe that you were entitled to injury compensation.

Overview - Establishing A ‘Duty Of Care’

The crux to any medical negligence claim you make, whether such be against the doctor who operated on you, the hospital where you had the treatment, or the local authority under whose control the hospital comes under (or the NHS directly itself), is being able to prove that you were owed, what is known in legal jargon as, a ‘duty of care’.

In this regard, clinical negligence will arise if you were owed such a duty of care and you were not treated with a reasonable degree of skill that would otherwise be expected from a skilled medical practitioner.

As such, if your doctor treated you in such a way that it could be considered careless, or lacked the training required, or if they disregarded the normal rules associated with treating your problem, then you may have grounds for a medical negligence claim.

Keep in mind, however, that previously the courts have said that even in situations where doctors have been ‘on-call’ for 24 and 36 hours, or more, and mistakes were made due to fatigue in service, a medical negligence claim may not get intimidated - so, it is imperative that you have a medical negligence solicitor representing you and protecting your interests from the outset if you want to stand any chance of winning your medical negligence case.

The ‘Standard Of Care’

You would have thought that being a doctor was sufficient to assume that they should know what they’re doing and have reasonably foreseen if they did cock-up, as it would result in a clinical negligence claim.

It is unfortunate in the UK, in any accident claim that involves doctors or medical practitioners, things can get nasty. For them it’s wasted years of education if they get banned.

The medical profession is a close community and in most cases they will not admit that someone within their profession was negligent unless the actions of that person could be considered grossly negligent. For this reason you’ll need a good and experience solicitor in medical negligent claims.

Prescription Period

If you believe that you have a cause to sue for medical negligence compensation, then you are required to start your claim proceedings within three (3) years from the event that caused the accident injury.

If you are entitled to claim, one of the few exemptions to this rule is medical incapacity. Otherwise, if you do not start your injury claim process before this time, you will forfeit your right to claim for compensation. As such, if a med neg situation does arise, see a specialised solicitor as soon as you can.

Cannot Afford To See A Solicitor

If you believe that you cannot afford to seek the advice of a medical negligence solicitor following what you believe is clinical negligence, don’t worry - you can find solicitors these days who are willing to listen to your story and submit a claim on your behalf based on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.

Fortunately, in some cases no win no fee solicitors don’t even take a consultation fee from you. You can make arrangements with your solicitor who will submit a claim for their fees at the conclusion of your case against the insurance company of your opponent (after you win).

So, if you believe you have a claim for medical negligence, don’t be put off seeing a solicitor until tomorrow, go and see a no win no fee specialist in medical negligence today.

It’s easy to proceed with a medical negligence claim and gain maximum results without the hassle, costs and confusion. Discover the 12 revolutions of medical claims at http://www.100Percent-Compensation.co.uk/articles/medical-negligence.html