West Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog

After a catastrophic injury from a car accident, truck accident, slip and fall or other type of accident, many people suffer dramatic changes in their health and overall lifestyle. A personal injury lawyer will often help victims of accidents recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering, but one additional compensatory possibility in personal injury cases is called "Loss of Enjoyment of Life."

Loss of enjoyment of life is the quantifiable monetary equivalent that the court decides is equal to your ongoing life changes after an accident. In other words, it is the amount you get paid to help offset the loss you experience in your happiness, emotional state and general wellbeing. Particularly for long-term or permanent injuries, disfigurement or dismemberment, this amount can be quite sizeable, given the nature of the injury.

Pain and Suffering vs. Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Pain and suffering is different from loss of enjoyment of life in that it is often only designed to compensate people for short-term injuries or for the actual pain and suffering incurred at the time of the accident. Loss of enjoyment of life is designed to compensate victims for ongoing or permanent injuries that completely alter the way you live your life.

Certain injuries like spinal cord damage or loss of limbs can take a huge toll on your daily life. Not being able to play your children, enjoy your favorite sports or spend time with your family the way you used to can be devastating. A West Virginia personal injury attorney can fight for the compensation you deserve.

Summer is the perfect time of year to ride bikes through the beautiful roads and trails across the state of West Virginia. Although many riders are able to safely navigate through the streets, accidents do happen. To help safeguard riders against injury, the state mandates that every bicycle rider under the age of 15 must wear a helmet. Further, some towns in West Virginia have even stricter rules regarding helmets and older riders, such as in the following locations:

Clarksburg - Riders under the age of 18 must wear helmets
Morgantown - Riders of all ages are required to wear helmets
South Charleston - Riders under the age of 18 must wear helmets
St. Albans - Riders under the age of 18 must wear helmets

In addition to wearing approved helmets, the National Bicycle Safety Network (NBSN) recommends several ways to help riders stay safe this summer:

1. Young riders should take a bicycle safety course in order to learn good riding skills, such as how to perform panic stops and how to ride in inclement weather.
2. Be familiar with off-road and trail bicycling techniques and use only equipment that is suitable for the terrains on which you'll be riding.
3. Educate yourself and any riders in your family as to the laws for bicyclists in your area, including hand signals, where riding is permitted and which traffic signals you must obey.
4. Equip your bicycle, helmet and riding gear with the proper lights and reflector strips, especially if you plan on riding at night. Blinking red lights are preferable over stationary lights. A bright white headlight is also helpful and recommended.

Proper bicycle safety can prevent broken bones and head injuries that are commonly reported from these types of accidents. If you have been injured by a vehicle while riding your bike, be sure to contact a West Virginia personal injury lawyer to defend your rights.

Known as an "invisible killer," carbon monoxide poisoning is a very real concern for many West Virginia residents and their families. Every year, carbon monoxide poisoning is responsible for injuring more than 10,00 people and killing 5,000 more. Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and colorless, which makes it very hard to identify preemptively without an adequate CO detector.

When inhaled, carbon monoxide is a potentially deadly gas that emanates from any source that burns fuel. Often times, carbon monoxide leaks occur in old or faulty space heaters, large heating and cooling systems, camping equipment, fireplaces and gas stoves. Carbon monoxide can be found not only in homes, but also in businesses, offices, boats, trailers, recreational vehicles and cabins.

It is always a good idea to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home if you don't have one, especially since the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be so innocuous. Generally, symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include dizziness, nausea, fatigue and headaches. If you or your family members are experiencing these symptoms regularly, be sure to contact a doctor right away.

CO blocks oxygen from getting to your body, which can damage your cells over time and even kill you if the exposure is great enough. Continued exposure usually exhibits in the form of heart irregularity, coma and eventually death. If you or someone you love has been exposed to CO in a work environment, in someone else's home or in an apartment building, contact a reliable personal injury lawyer. You may have a case against responsible parties for your injuries.

With summer officially here, many West Virginia parents are stocking up on all types of toys to entertain antsy children over the summer months. New bicycles, playground equipment, games and other items can create hours of fun for young people, but they can also be very dangerous. As a parent, it is crucial that you check for recalls on new and old toys periodically to safeguard your children from potential dangers.

Both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Recalls.gov, a collaborative website from six different federal safety agencies, list current and past recalls for products sold in the United States. On both of these sites, you can find specific recalls by brand and type. Toys and other products can be recalled for a myriad of reasons, including high levels of toxic ingredients (like lead or mercury), choking hazards, flammability hazards, laceration hazards and potentially dangerous chemical ingredients.

Investigate Safety Before You Buy
When you're shopping for summer toys for your family, be sure to consider a few things before you buy any toys:

- Are the toys age-appropriate for your children? Toys must be clearly labeled for use by a certain age group, so be sure your child is old enough to use the toy safely.
- Make sure the toy is BPA (bisphenol A) and lead-free. These ingredients are toxic to children, even in small amounts.
- Are there any small parts that might present a choking hazard to your child? Do any parts break off easily or come apart to present a hazard?

If a toy, regardless of a recall, injures your child, you must contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. Toy manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the safe use of their products and they can often be held liable for injuries caused by their items.

Starting in the middle of May, West Virginia towns all across the state began enforcing strict "Click It or Ticket" campaigns to crack down on drivers and passengers who don't wear seat belts. In Beckley, for instance, police began their campaign on May 17, 2010 and it will last through the end of the month. Local law enforcement will be setting up checkpoints and watching vehicles vigilantly to ensure that drivers, passengers and children are all buckled in properly.

Statewide, police hope to help save lives this Memorial Day weekend. According to Sgt. Paul Blume of the Beckley Police Department, "About 15,000 lives are saved each year by simply wearing seat belts." In addition, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns that air bags are not enough to save you, and that without a seat belt, you can actually be harmed more severely by being thrown into a deployed air bag.

In addition to your own driving safety, wearing a seat belt can also help you safeguard against drunk drivers who may be traveling the roadways over the holiday weekend. AAA estimates that approximately 32.1 million people will take trips over the Memorial Day holiday. Many of those people will be driving on the roadways and others will be traveling on buses, boats, trains and other modes of transportation.

The Click It or Ticket campaign is an annual event around holiday time. The program has helped increase seat belt usage from 48 to 90 percent in West Virginia. A seat belt can truly save your life you're involved in an auto accident, so wear one every time you get in a car. If you are involved in an accident, be sure to contact a West Virginia personal injury lawyer right away to ensure your rights.

If you've suffered a personal injury in West Virginia due to the negligence of someone else, you have the right to recover damages for your injuries. If you slip and fall on a wet floor at a grocery store that has not been marked or sectioned off properly, you can sue the store for your medical expenses, lost wages, etc.

However, not every personal injury case is so straightforward. Sometimes, there are additional parties responsible for your injury, or multiple parties who may have contributed in the negligence that caused your injury. In these cases, it takes an experienced personal injury lawyer to figure out all the players involved and who should be named in the claim.

About Responsible Parties
In civil personal injury cases, negligence (the failure to take reasonable actions in a given situation) must be proven in order to recover damages. However, negligence is not limited to one person's action or inaction. It can extend to small business owners, employers, manufacturers, corporations, partnerships, organizations and even government entities. Here are some ways that additional parties may be held responsible:

Employers can be held liable for the actions of their employees while on duty. For example, if a delivery person for a pizza restaurant hits a pedestrian while delivering a pizza, the employer can also be named in a claim. However, if the delivery person is off-duty (even in uniform), the employer cannot be held responsible.

Government entities can be held responsible for injuries occurring on public property. For example, if a child is hurt at a city playground that has not been properly maintained, the city can be sued. There are strict deadlines in these cases, though, so contact a lawyer immediately after an incident, even if you aren't sure you have a case.

Property owners are often held liable for injuries suffered on their property, including residential and commercial lots. This includes landowners, farmers and pool operators.

If you've experienced a slip and fall injury at a grocery store, department store or other large retailer in West Virginia, you may not be sure what course of action to take. The fear of having to sue a large corporation for a slip and fall injury can be daunting, knowing that they have virtually unlimited legal resources. But don't be discouraged - an experienced personal injury attorney understands that corporations, no matter what their size, are responsible when people are injured on their property due to negligence.

The best way to face your fears about suing a corporation is by being prepared. By law, corporations have to pay damages to cover medical and related costs of a slip and fall injury that is their fault, just like anyone else. In order to prepare your case, you will need to work with a lawyer to complete the following steps:

1. File your claim within two years. In West Virginia, this is the statue of limitations on personal injuries, so you must act quickly in order to recover damages.
2. Gather all pertinent information, such as medical bills, treatment reports and doctor testimonials. Take photos throughout the recovery process to document your injuries.
3. Acquire the contact information from all witnesses and collect their official statements. The sooner you do this, the better; some people's memories will fail them after a while.
4. Collect evidence to show that the corporation was at fault for your slip and fall. If you can, return to the scene to take pictures of the accident site that show the unsafe conditions, missing signage or other proof of negligence.

Serious personal injuries can include amputations, burns, maiming, brain damage, paralysis or any type of bodily injury that causes severe pain and results in surgery or extended hospital stays. These injuries can be caused by an array of different scenarios, but one thing remains the same: if the serious personal injury you sustain is not your fault, but is instead caused by someone else, that person should be held liable.

From childhood, most people are told that everyone is responsible for their own actions, or at least they should be. Unfortunately, that is not the case in the real world. When the outcome of someone's actions causes him or her to face prison time or to pay a large sum of money, more often than not that person will do whatever he or she can to avoid responsibility. Nowhere is this more apparent then in the case of a serious personal injury caused by someone else.

The person who caused the injury will almost always blame someone else and will usually claim that it was the injured person's fault. If the person who causes the injury has insurance, then the fight just moves up to another level. The insurance company's adjustors and attorneys are focused on maximizing profits for the insurance company and not on getting seriously injured people the compensation they deserve.

Regardless of the circumstances, if you are seriously injured because of someone else's actions you need to contact an attorney in West Virginia who has experience dealing with insurance companies and serious personal injury cases. There are many complicated issues that arise in the event of a serious personal injury caused by someone else. An experienced attorney will discuss your options with you, explain the complicated issues, and fight for you every step of the way to ensure that you get the justice you deserve.

If you've experienced a personal injury through no fault of your own in the state of West Virginia, you're likely going to be offered a settlement from the negligent party's insurance company. Whether for an auto accident, slip and fall or product defect, it's vital that you know your rights when it comes to how much you can recover in damages before you accept anything.

I Just Want to Put This Situation Behind Me. Shouldn't I Just Accept the Settlement?
No. Especially when insurance companies track you down at the hospital or at your home while you're still recovering, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are acknowledging fault and trying to settle your case quickly so you won't file suit against them for what they really owe you. They know that they could be sued for far more than they are offering you, which is why they can often seem so "nice" and "accommodating" right after an accident in which their client is clearly at fault.

Unfortunately, not every personal injury case is so open-and-shut. Many insurance companies will even offer you a paltry settlement in the hopes that you're too afraid of a legal battle or too injured to go through the process of hiring a lawyer, even though you know you're not getting all that you should. If you've been hurt as a result of the negligence of another person or company, don't go it alone. You have to retain a personal injury lawyer who will work hard for you, no matter what your condition. A lawyer can explain your rights and detail the amount of money you are capable of getting from an insurance company based on your losses (physical and emotional) and the severity of your injuries.

In West Virginia, as a general rule if you are injured on the job and accept benefits from workers' compensation, you forfeit your right to sue your employer for damages. However there is an exception to this general rule, which is often called a "Mandolidis" or "deliberate intent" case. Under West Virginia Code § 23-4-2, employers can lose their immunity from lawsuit if the injured employee can prove that the injury sustained was the result of "deliberate intention" by the employer.

The deliberate intention standard can be satisfied in one of two ways. First, you can satisfy this standard if you can prove the employer against whom liability is being asserted acted consciously and purposely to produce the injury or death to the employee. The other way to satisfy the deliberate intention standard is by meeting a five-part test, which includes proving the following:
1. An unsafe working condition with a high risk of causing injury actually existed in the workplace.
2. The employer knew of the existence of this unsafe working condition and its high risk of causing injury.
3. The unsafe working condition violated a state or federal safety regulation or a commonly accepted regulation in the industry of the employer.
4. The employer nevertheless exposed the employee to the unsafe working condition.
5. The employee suffered a serious injury or death.

If you have been injured on the job in West Virginia and have accepted benefits from workers' compensation, it is not going to be easy to bring a lawsuit against your employer for damages. The workers' compensation laws in West Virginia are designed to protect employers against lawsuits by injured employees. Deliberate intent cases are hard prove and even harder to win.

If you think that you do have a deliberate intent case against your employer or former employer, though, you should contact a personal injury attorney that has experience with workers' compensation law and more specifically, deliberate intent cases. They will be able to better explain the law to you and tell you whether or not you have a legitimate case.

Whether you are building homes, commercial buildings, industrial complexes, bridges or highways, construction jobs pose an inherent risk to your health. A simple fact of life is that accidents happen. But when you introduce the use of heavy machinery and dangerous substances coupled with the rough terrain and ever-changing weather in West Virginia, the chances of an accident causing personal injury increase dramatically.

Construction accidents include accidents involving falling objects, defective construction tools, welding accidents, scaffolding or support beam failure, crane collapses, explosions and exposure to hazardous chemicals on the work site. Serious construction accidents often result in expensive medical bills, long-term medical care and permanent physical injury that can render the construction worker unable to return to work and make a living. This situation can be stressful to the injured party and his or her family.

The first thing you should do after a serious construction accident is seek immediate medical attention. The next thing you should do is contact a personal injury attorney with experience in the construction accident field. Any competent attorney will schedule a free consultation with you, during which they can answer any questions you have and help advise you on the best course of action.

If you or someone you know has suffered an injury due to a construction accident in West Virginia, regardless of whether you want to take legal action, you should know your options. One thing to keep in mind is that the Statute of Limitations for filing a personal injury suit in West Virginia is two years. If you are interested in taking legal action because of you injury, you must initiate the action within the Statute of Limitations or you forfeit your right to do so.

There are also many details associated with a construction accident injury, such as workers' compensation and insurance issues. Many times, it is not clear who is liable for the injuries caused or who will be able to pay for them. This is where the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney is important. The right attorney will be familiar with state safety regulations set by the West Virginia Division of Labor as well as the federal regulations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Determining if these regulations were violated and who violated them can be the key to getting you the compensation you deserve from a construction accident.

The vast array of legal terms, classifications, statutes and case law can be overwhelming to many lawyers, let alone the average person. However, when you've been the victim of a personal injury, you're suddenly thrust into a whirlwind of terminology, paperwork and deadlines. That's exactly why a West Virginia personal injury lawyer is your greatest ally after you've been hurt as the result of an auto accident, workplace accident, slip and fall or dog bite.

Intention Vs. Negligence
Personal injury claims are known as "torts," or civil (private, non-criminal) matters brought into the legal system for resolution. Torts are divided into two broad categories: intentional torts and negligence. Intentional torts are cases that involve the willful act of a person or company to inflict harm (physical, emotional or financial) on another. Assault, battery, false imprisonment and conversion (unlawful taking of property) are some examples of intentional torts.

Negligence cases, on the other hand, are those in which a business or person fails to act in a reasonable manner regarding the safety or wellbeing of others around them. The vast majority of personal injury suits rely on proving negligence to collect damages, such as in cases regarding auto accidents, slip and falls, product defects, wrongful death, spinal cord injuries, medical malpractice and traumatic brain injuries.

Even when something is an "accident," at least one party is usually negligent in some way. If you've been hurt, it pays to retain a lawyer who can help you recover damages for your injuries. Even if you think you're fine now, you may experience effects of an injury months, even years later.

For West Virginia residents who've experienced personal injuries due to negligence of employers or third-party manufacturers, home health care services are often necessary. Especially for seriously injuries, disfigurements and permanent disabilities, home nursing services can be vital to the lives of many West Virginians. These services can include daily or weekly nurse visits, medication and food deliveries, home administration of treatments and home rehabilitation sessions.

According to NAHC (National Association for Home Care and Hospice), any individual requiring medically necessary home care services as a result of injury on the job is eligible to receive coverage for these services through workers' compensation benefits. The key phrase here is "medically necessary," however. Insurance companies and employers often cap home health care costs or don't classify them as medically necessary, causing your out of pocket expenses to rise exponentially for these services.

If you or someone you love has been injured on the job, it's critical that you have a professional attorney on your side right after an injury occurs. If you accept workers' compensation benefits, you essentially forfeit your right to sue your employer for damages. Instead, consult a lawyer to find out if you have any legal recourse to get money directly from your employer or from a negligent third party before you accept workers' comp benefits. You may be able to recover not only damages for your medical costs and home health care, but also for pain and suffering, full lost wages (workers' comp only pays partial payments as a rule) and other non-tangible losses like mental anguish and loss of consortium.

West Virginia residents who have experienced traumatic events that resulted in personal injury may find it difficult to deal with recurring memories of the event days, months and even years later. In rare cases, accident victims actually develop PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). As a result, they suffer lasting and intense psychological effects long after physical recovery. For those with ongoing pain or permanent disability, the risk of PTSD can be even greater.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), PTSD usually develops within 3 months of a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. While these events can include military service during war and violent criminal attacks, they can also include car accidents, natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, train crashes and other unexpected incidents that are shocking in nature (i.e. a crane falls on someone at a construction site). The effects of PTSD can also extend to loved ones who were present at the time of the incidents, which can cause dramatic shifts in family dynamics as well as personal anxiety levels.

What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?
The symptoms of PTSD are numerous, but often involve some sort of involuntary reaction to normal stimuli. For instance, people who have PTSD may startle easily and have recurring nightmares about the incident in which it replays over and over in their minds, like a broken record. They may also lose interest in activities they used to enjoy, become irritable, have trouble feeling affection and become more aggressive or even violent. The NIMH says that people with PTSD may also avoid situations that remind them of the original incident. Victims of auto accidents may refuse to drive, for example. Other people may have trouble return to work after a traumatic injury they experienced on the job.

The important thing to remember is that you're not alone. Nearly 7.7 million Americans suffer from PTSD and it affects people of all ages, races and economic levels. As a matter of fact, psychological injuries comprise a large segment of injury law today. More and more victims are able to recover damages for PTSD and other anxiety disorders that occurred as a result of the negligence of someone else. Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you define your case.

In West Virginia, victims in personal injury cases (auto accidents, slip and falls, product defects, medical malpractice, etc.) are allowed to sue negligent individuals, companies or manufacturers for "damages" as a result of injuries incurred. Damages are monetary awards recovered through the court system that are designed to cover the costs associated with personal injuries.

What Do Damages Cover?
Damages can cover a variety of losses, including actual monetary losses as well as physical and mental pain. Monetary losses are those associated with present and future medical expenses, lost wages, present cash value of future earnings, household services (the cost of hiring someone to take care of the household upkeep during recovery) and vehicle repairs. Damages for physical and mental pain can include mental anguish, loss of consortium (loss of the benefits of a marital relationship because of injury or accident), loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, permanent disability and disfigurement.

How Much Will I Receive from a Settlement?
Most personal injury cases (95%) are settled out of court. Determining monetary losses is typically pretty straightforward, but calculating the costs of physical and mental pain can be more complicated. You need an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side who knows the court system, national and regional precedents and state laws extremely well so that you can recover all that is due.

Many times, after an incident has occurred, the negligent party's insurance company will quickly offer you a settlement. Before you accept anything, you should consult with your lawyer to make sure you're being fairly compensated for your loss. Keep in mind that insurance companies pay you to absolve them of all further liability in the matter, so the moment you accept a settlement, you can no longer pursue them for additional funds. Also, they are paying you because they know they must. You have the upper hand in a personal injury case, so be sure to find a lawyer who understands how to fight for you.