Most personal injury lawsuits involve damages you might expect – broken bones, lost or damaged property, loss of income, or medical bills. However, some courts see personal injury lawsuits that are a little bit, well, odd.
From poor weather predictions to surprise knives in your sub, here are eight of the weirdest personal injury lawsuits that actually held up in court.
Life is full of risk. While there may be a grain of truth to the cliche ‘ignorance is bliss,’ sometimes it’s better to be fully aware of the risks you face on a daily basis — and how they can be mitigated. Below, we offer insight into some of the most common — and unexpected — sources of injury.
If you drive, you will almost assuredly be involved in a car accident at some point. Estimates from the car insurance industry suggest that the average driver files a claim at least once every 17.9 years. This statistic doesn’t take into account the many drivers who fail to file after being involved in accidents. The good news? Data from the National Safety Council indicates that just one of every 1,000 accidents involve fatalities. Still, the cost of even minor accidents can be prohibitive, with many victims suffering lasting physical and mental damage.
Injuries can happen anywhere, at any time, to anyone. In fact, some of your favorite actors sustained serious injuries while shooting major blockbuster films. These injuries range from minor fractures and lacerations to serious, life-threatening conditions that required hospitalization.
Here are nine actors who sustained injuries during filming:
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is pleased to announce the winners of our 2016 Single Mothers Scholarship program. Each year we offer two scholarships to single mothers. While we received many entries from students across the country, the women below exemplify what it means to be a caring mother striving to improve life for themselves and their children.
Destini Shuemaker and daughters
Congratulations to Destini Shuemaker, mother of two, who is enrolled at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. Destini is working towards a BSN in nursing. Read about Destini’s journey here.
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The legal battle between Bill Cosby and numerous women who have claimed he sexually assaulted them has highlighted one very important and overlooked advantage of homeowners’ insurance. Cosby has elected to use defamation coverage included in his policies to require his insurance provider to shoulder the cost of his legal expenses and— should he lose in court— the cost of any judgements against him. His insurance company is visibly upset with this development and taking action in an attempt to exonerate itself of liability, but the debacle has revealed an aspect of homeowners’ insurance that many policyholders are unaware of.
The women who are currently taking action against Bill Cosby have claimed he defamed them by calling their allegations of his past conduct fabrications. He has used the nature of these lawsuits to his advantage by requiring his insurer, American International Group, to cover the cost of his legal defense. He can do this because the policies he maintains on his homes in California and Massachusetts include liability in the event of a defamation lawsuit. Many wealthy individuals elect to include this coverage when purchasing insurance— and many others are completely unaware that this coverage is included in their policies.
Court of Appeals Courtroom in Pioneer Courthouse
While most of the theatrics in a case goes on between lawyers and the jury, much of the real drama takes place on paper between lawyers and judges. There they try and convince the court that certain people or things should be excluded from the trial and away from the ears of the jury. This extends to expert witnesses-who should qualify as one and what they should be allowed to say. Many states and federal courts follow the Daubert standard to determine these issues. Under this test, the court tries to establish if the basis for the supposed witness’ testimony has a scientific foundation and uses several factors in this analysis, including the following: the ability to test the theories proffered, extent of peer review, potential errors, existing standards, and acceptance in the relevant medical community.
On the other hand, Illinois and a few other states use the Frye standard to decide these crucial, threshold questions in court. This asks if the manner in which the evidence that the testimony purports to submit was obtained via a method that is generally accepted in the relevant field. Thus, the Frye standard is critical to a lot of Illinois litigation but related, tangential questions emerge from this regime as well. One topic that continues to trickle to the surface of the Illinois legal landscape is the quality and kind of expert testimony needed to commit a person to a mental health facility. A review of one case discussing a facet of that topic now follows.
The scene is a loud and bustling railroad station on East Long Island almost one hundred years ago. Dozens of people are shuffling about to get to work and countless other places.
A whistle blows, an engine begins to gather steam, and the nearest train starts to crawl down the tracks away from the station. When out of nowhere, a man darts out of a throng of people and races towards the departing locomotive. Onlookers soon realize that he probably will not make it in time.
So, two guards-one on the train and one on the platform-rush to his aid. With all their might, they grab him and together try to launch him up onto the vehicle. Maybe they noticed, or maybe they did not, but under the man’s arm was a nondescript package wrapped in the morning’s newspaper.
Little red schoolhouse in meadow on misty morning
Who would have thought that the small town of Waukesha, Wisconsin would be the setting for one of the most heavily discussed incidents in law schools for over one hundred years? In 1891, this was the scene for a common schoolboy scruff that turned contentious, and then turned historical. On a regular school day, George Putney and Andrew Vosburg attended class as they normally would. They had lunch, went to recess, then returned for the rest of their lessons and that is where the drama took place. For no apparent reason, Putnam-who was sitting just adjacent to Vosburg-reached across the aisle and kicked his fellow classmate in the leg, just below the knee on the shin. Later, Putnam would claim that he did not mean to harm Vosburg.
If you have been injured in an accident, you may be frustrated by all of the conflicting information you’ve received by insurance companies, television commercials and on the internet. It is easy for the victims of accidents to make mistakes that greatly reduce the amount of compensation they are able to claim and the recovery process can be extremely daunting when you know that every decision you make has an impact on the financial impact of your injuries.
The good news is that there are ways you can increase the value of your claim following an injury and to increase the likelihood of success if you file a lawsuit. The Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC are happy to provide you with any information that you need following your injuries and can answer any additional questions that you have about personal injury cases throughout the Chicago area.
If you’ve been in an accident, it may be difficult for you to remember to do everything needed to protect your legal interests. Your primary concern should be your personal well being and the treatment of your injuries, but if you are able to do the following things or have someone do them on your behalf, you will protect your interests in the event that you choose to file a lawsuit against the party responsible for your accident.
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