Personal Injury

Published on: September 20, 2021

Mass Tort Injury Claims: The Focus Should Be On Individuals

I recently read an article which indicated almost 2/3 of all injured plaintiffs in mass tort cases were unhappy. That’s no surprise! Many of these individuals suffered very serious injuries only to be lost in a system that treats them like numbers rather than people. The article discusses a study by Georgia Law Professor Elizabeth Burch and Federal Judicial Center visiting scholar Margaret Williams.

What is a mass tort? I’ll use the ongoing Zantac injury claims as an example. Zantac was a drug distributed across the United States for many, many years. You could even buy Zantac without a prescription for many years. The claim is that Zantac is defective and causes cancer. You have a common product used by everyone. But, the injuries (cancer in this case) are unique. Every person suffers uniquely and individually. Our office has filed several Zantac personal injury claims. Each of our clients is unique and deserves individual attention.

How are these mass tort claims handled? Our Federal Courts will typically assign the cases to a single judge for pre-trial purposes like discovery. The idea is that it saves time and resources for a single judge to oversee all pre-trial issues. Once your individual claim is ready for trial, it will be transferred back to the Federal Court where you filed the case. You get a trial on your unique injuries and damages. At least, in theory, that’s how it is supposed to work. The process is called Multi-District Litigation (MDL).

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Published on: August 30, 2021

Are Drones Being Used For Car Accident Reconstruction In Alabama?

By Jeff Blackwell

I recently read a post on the website of another local law firm that announced drones were being used more frequently in accident reconstruction. The post says drones are now being used by emergency personnel across the country. It then cites a Massachusetts state trooper and a Minnesota-based accident reconstruction expert. Are drones actually being used for car accident reconstruction in Alabama? The other post is silent on this key issue. The post was clearly written by a marketing person with no local information. I would like to dig a little deeper. Let’s look into drones and their impact on accidents right here in Alabama!

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Has Started A Drone Program.

A February 2020 story on channel WSFA notes that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (our State Troopers) had recently started a new drone program for traffic and safety issues. At the time of the article, our state police had 16 drones plus a goal to expand the program. According to the article, State Troopers had begun using drones in September 2019.

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Published on: August 23, 2021

Would A Hands Free Law Reduce Car Accidents In Alabama? Let’s Look At The Data!

By Jeff Blackwell

Distracted Driving. Why do I write about this topic so frequently? It’s because I talk to people injured in Alabama car accidents on a daily basis. Far too many of them were hurt in crashes caused by a distracted driver.

I’ve reviewed crashes involving lots of different distractions. Drivers distracted by other passengers. Drivers distracted by searching for something in the car. Drivers distracted by social media while driving. I have even worked cases with drivers distracted by watching videos while driving. Many distractions are possible. But, the biggest factor for distracted driving is the cell phone. By far!

I’ve written several past articles about efforts in Alabama to pass a true hands-free law. You can read a couple of them here:

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Published on: August 12, 2021

Road Safety Includes Work Zones (Slideshow)

By Jeff Blackwell

A few months ago, I wrote an article discussing Huntsville, infrastructure growth, and the need to focus on work crew safety. With a growing population, comes a need for greater infrastructure. That means more roads and better roads. You can read my prior road crew safety post here:

Huntsville Infrastructure Growth Puts Road Crews In The Safety Spotlight

In past articles I’ve also discussed specific roads that need safety improvements. These include Highway 431 which has been included in listings of the most dangerous roads in the world. Yes, you heard that correctly. Highway 431 has been included in listings containing roads on the edges of cliffs! Why? This highway is especially dangerous because it passes through so many cities and towns with different traffic conditions. Think about all the cities and towns on Highway 431 as you leave Huntsville heading south. I frequently drive Highway 431 from my house in Huntsville to courtrooms in Guntersville, Gadsden and Anniston. It’s a dangerous highway simply because of the traffic it carries and the towns it serves.

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Published on: August 9, 2021

Delayed Injury After A Car Accident? It’s Pretty Common.

By Jeff Blackwell

What Is A Delayed Injury?

Although people use the phrase delayed injury, these are real and serious injuries people suffer at the time of a car accident. They are very real. Over the days and weeks following a serious wreck, these injuries begin to impact the victim. Delayed injuries are those that you don’t realize in the first few moments or hours after a wreck.

If you are an Alabama football fan, you may have heard the story of Coach Bryant playing against Tennessee with a broken leg. It’s a story which adds to Coach Bryant’s legendary toughness. Of course, it’s an added bonus the game involved one of Alabama’s biggest rivals. Beyond Coach Bryant, sports fans have seen many players somehow make it through a game or competition despite a serious injury.

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Published on: August 2, 2021

Can A Car Accident Cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

By Jeff Blackwell

In the days and weeks after a car accident, you may begin suffering pain and problems in your hands and wrists. Several different injuries can cause these symptoms. So, it is very important to see a doctor who can evaluate you.

Many people are surprised to learn that a car accident can cause carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Why? People often think of carpal tunnel syndrome as a problem only caused by repetitive use of the hands. In many cases, it is. But, a serious accident can also cause the condition.

What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

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Published on: July 22, 2021

The Wrong Kind Of Experience!

By Jeff Blackwell

One thing is sure — The legal market is saturated with big promises. From billboards to television to radio, they want you to call. They all have their catch phrase. But, I recently watched a lawyer advertising video that was truly insane. That advertising lawyer wants you to hire him simply because he may have had a family member in the past with the same legal problem!

Yes, it was a Huntsville law firm. I clicked on their website where they advertise for personal injury cases (as well as every other legal issue you can imagine). Somebody look at you wrong? These lawyers tell you they got it covered. From A to Z, “we got this” the lawyer says with a smile. They got it all covered, at least in their advertising.

Of course, their website has some really, really small fine print (as required by Alabama rules) telling you the truth — They really just want your personal injury case to refer it to another lawyer for a cut of the fee. The fine print discloses that they really send these cases to other firms for the heavy lifting. Do they really handle personal injury cases all the way through trial and appeal?

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Published on: July 19, 2021

Do You Really Have Enough Auto Insurance?

By Jeff Blackwell

If you’ve seen the news, you’ve heard the reports about the condo collapse in Miami. Several families have already filed wrongful death claims on behalf of their deceased loved ones. How many people died in the building collapse?

With more than 100 residents missing and several suits already filed, a local Miami judge held an emergency hearing on the issue of evidence preservation. Evidence preservation is a big deal in the case. Accident scenes can change rapidly – destroying important evidence. I’ll save the evidence topic for another day. Another issue from the hearing — liability insurance — sparked the topic for this post.

At that hearing, attorneys for the condo association indicated liability coverage in the amount of $48 million existed. The judge promptly responded such coverage was not adequate to compensate all the families for their deceased loved ones. It is not. While that sum may seem like a lot of money, you start dividing it between many, many families and it is not.

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Published on: July 12, 2021

A Deep Dig Into Diminished Capacity For Alabama Trust And Estate Cases

By Jeff Blackwell

The New York Times recently published an article titled, How Deceptive Campaign Fund-Raising Ensnares Older People. The article has a Huntsville backdrop. The story involves a retired atmospheric scientist at NASA in Huntsville who passed away at age 90. Afterwards, his son Steve began sorting through his papers. That’s when Steve found 400 charges for various political fundraising campaigns. What? The charges were far beyond his father’s financial capabilities. What happened? The truth is that digital operatives use a variety of manipulative tactics to deceive potential donors, often focusing on elderly people.

It’s usually a scheme to exploit the diminished capacity of the elderly. Here is how it works. Some (usually fake) charitable organization targets an elderly person. The organization then bombards the person with calls or letters. The communications seek to scare the person into giving money. It extends far beyond politics.

We previously handled a Will Contest case in Decatur involving just this situation. A couple fake charities targeted the elderly person. These groups were very savvy. They knew his interests. And, they knew how to scare him into giving money.

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Published on: July 5, 2021

Zantac Personal Injury Claims — A Case Update

By Jeff Blackwell

In the last week, our office has filed a number of new zantac personal injury cases. We are also continuing to investigate other potential zantac claims for our Alabama clients. So, I thought it was a good time to provide an update on the zantac injury litigation.

The Judge Continues To Move Zantac Injury Lawsuits Forward

In a recent Pre-Trial Order, the Federal Judge overseeing zantac injury claims addressed the selection of bellwether cases for trial. If you have already filed a claim, this is a good signal the court is pushing the litigation forward.

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