Personal Injury Attorney

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truck accidents were responsible for over 77,000 injuries and 4,300 deaths in the past year. While trucks are only responsible for a small segment of road injuries, truck accidents tend to be more dangerous and life-threatening due to the size and weight of the vehicle. By definition, a truck accident is a collision involving a semi-truck, 18-wheeler, tractor trailer or other commercial vehicle. These accidents account for over 200,000 property damage claims each year. Collisions with these large vehicles could be devastating to you or loved ones.

Factors at Play

For most car accidents, claims are easily settled as the at-fault party is usually one of the drivers and a human error violation. Truck accidents can get a little more complicated. While the driver will usually be held liable, some of the responsibility may fall of the truck company or even the equipment on board. Equipment failure could be the fault of either the driver since they are responsible for checking the equipment and all parts of the truck prior to the trip. This could alternatively show negligence on the part of the truck company as they may be liable for properly maintaining the vehicle.

Common Causes

There are several reasons truck accidents are more catastrophic than car accidents; many of which revolve around the cause of the accident. Some of the most common causes are:

• Improper Load: If the truck was not loaded properly, the equipment can shift or fall during transport. 
• Bad Driving: Truck drivers that do not follow the rules of the road could cause rear-end or t-bone collisions. 
• Fatigue: Most truck drivers travel long distances cause sleep-deprivation and tiredness. 
• Squeeze Play: This happens when a truck makes a wide right turn and the car is trapped between the truck and the curb. 

Damages

If you were injured in an accident with a commercial vehicle, you could receive damages—financial compensation for any emotional, physical or financial losses. Determining the losses could take some time, as attorneys are hesitant to settle before all medical or financial needs arise. Victims of truck accidents could be compensated for all medical care, rehabilitation costs, physical therapy, rehoming and loss of earning capacity.

It’s very rare for someone to make it out of a truck accident without some injuries. If you or someone you know has been involved in a truck accident, reach out to an experienced Woodland Hills trucking accident lawyer. You should have someone on your side to fight truck companies and their multi-million dollar insurance policies, and ensure that you recover money for any losses.

 

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Thanks to Barry P. Goldberg for their insight into personal injury claims and the differences between truck and car accidents.

Personal Injury Attorney

One of the most tragic false accusations that someone can pin on their divorcing spouse during the divorce process is domestic violence. Domestic violence is a crime of a violent nature, that usually entails behavior such as stalking, battery, assault, harassment, or intimidation inflicted on a family member, romantic partner, or cohabitant. A spouse who goes so far as to lie about being harmed by their spouse can wreak havoc on their divorce settlement. Here, we have talked further about such false accusations and how a lawyer can help come to your defense.

Defenses for Domestic Violence

Those who are arrested for domestic violence must remember that they are not automatically deemed guilty by the court. While the judge may become cautious of you after hearing about the arrest, your case is not entirely lost. There still is hope for clearing your name if you have the right lawyer representing you. Your lawyer can try to show how the prosecution has not brought forward sufficient evidence to convict you of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In order to establish the strongest defense strategy for you, it is imperative that you are honest with your lawyer.

Other defenses that your lawyer may use include:

• You just didn’t do it (whether you were there and the harm was accidental or your spouse was harmed in another way)
• Your spouse lied about the incident and fabricated the story
• You were in another location when the supposed incident occurred (establishing an abli) 
• You were acting in self defense (your spouse was threatening your safety and your behavior was in response to fear)

How Tensions Build During Divorce

When two spouses are going through divorce, the tensions between each other can continue to build. If the spouses are still living in the same home as the divorce is proceeding, they are likely to get into very heated arguments. Divorce has a way of bringing out intense emotions in people, understandably, such as anger, resentment, fear for the future, and unresolved past conflicts.

If one spouse is worried that they are losing in their divorce case, they may stoop so low as to report the other for domestic violence when it never really happened. A criminal defense attorney, like a criminal defense attorney in Fairfax, VA, can work to advocate on your behalf and show how your spouse made up the story to seek revenge against you during this time.

Acting in Self-Defense

If one of these arguments tips over into violence, one spouse may feel threatened for their safety. It is a natural human instinct to either fight or run away from something that is causing us fear. If you acted in self-defense because you felt as though if you didn’t your spouse would have seriously harmed you, let your lawyer know during your first consultation. Your lawyer can provide information on how to file a temporary restraining order if needed, to ensure your safety as the divorce process continues. If you have any shared children together and are worried about their well being, then you must take action to protect your family from a hostile divorcing spouse. 

 

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Thanks to May Law, LLP for their insight into how to handle a criminal defense case if your ex spouse makes a false accusation about you. 

Personal Injury Attorney

When a person loses their life to negligence, such as a car accident, their surviving family members may be able to file a wrongful death claim. In addition to this, they might have the ability to file a survival action claim. As a wrongful death lawyer would explain to you, these types of claim are not the same. Before your decide to take legal action, you should understand their basic differences. 

The law governs both survival action claims and wrongful death claims. Prior to laws being established, there was no real way to recover damages when a person lost their life to another person’s actions — or lack of. 

There are important differences between wrongful death laws and survival actions laws; they are as follows:

• Both survival action and wrongful death laws provide for the ability to recover from different types of damages. 
• The descendants have the right to file a wrongful death claim. 

In short, a wrongful death claim gives the descendants the right to recover damages with the legal assistance of a wrongful death lawyer. These damages might include funeral and burial costs, any medical bills prior to the death and related to the accident, loss of income, and so forth. A survival action claim can also be filed by descendants, but the damages recovered generally include those that could have been recovered by the deceased person had they lived. Often a wrongful death lawyer, like a wrongful death lawyer in Woodland Hills, CA, will recommend filing both types of claims at the same time. 

Who Has the Right to File a Wrongful Death Claim

Although every state has their own rules for filing a wrongful death claim, many are similar. In general, the surviving family members will not be able to file their own claim, but rather, they should file one collectively. The closest surviving member such as a spouse, parent, or child will have the first right to file. If there are no close surviving family members, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin may file a claim. A representative will also need to be elected. Usually, this person will also be the wrongful death lawyer; however, this is not necessary and can be chosen by the court of family members. 

Damages for a Wrongful Death Claim

Wrongful death claims are meant to recover monetary compensation related to financial loss of support for the surviving family members. Examples may include:

• Funeral and burial costs
• Medical treatment (prior to death)
• Loss of support for children up until they turn 18
• Loss of support for a spouse until the age of 65 
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of services
• Loss of nurturing and guidance

Punitive damages may also be available if the defendant acted with malicious intent or was grossly negligent. Some states have capped punitive damages; thus, you might only recover a certain amount of money. A wrongful death lawyer can explain these to you during your case review. 

Damages for a Survival Claim

The surviving family members may be able to seek damages for:

• The deceased’s’ pain and suffering prior to his or her death
• Loss of earnings
• Loss of income

If you would like to know whether or not you have the right to pursue monetary compensation after the loss of a loved one, call a wrongful death lawyer now. 

 

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Thanks to Barry P. Goldberg Law for their insight into the differences between a survival action claim and a wrongful death claim. 

Personal Injury Attorney

What kind of creditors can legally take money from your paycheck by garnishing your wages? A wage garnishment is an order given by a government agency or court mandating your employer take a designated amount of money from your paycheck and send it to the person or entity where you owe money. The percentage or amount that can be taken or ‘garnished’ will be based on the kind of debt. There are also state and federal limits to wage garnishment.

In order to be able to garnish your wages, most creditors have to file a lawsuit resulting in a money judgment and then a court order presented to your employer in order to garnish your wages. 

The kind of debt will determine whether or not the creditor needs a court order.

Types of Creditors and How They Can Garnish Your Wages

For the majority of your debt — for example, medical expenses or credit cards — your creditor is not able to garnish your wages simply because you did not pay your bill. First the creditor has to sue you, win the case and get a judgment. Then the court issues the order to garnish your wages.

Is There a Limit to How Much of Your Wages Can Be Garnished?

Federal law says that no more than 25 percent of your disposable income or if the amount of money that your weekly disposable earning is greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever one is lower.

Understand that states are permitted to enact stronger terms. An attorney experienced in wage garnishment can answer questions pertaining to state laws and any other concerns you may have regarding wage garnishment.

Entities Who Can Garnish Your Wages Without Going to Court

Some debts need to be addressed in a shorter period of time because of the nature of the debt. These include:

Alimony and Child Support

Orders for child support can automatically be taken from your wages. In addition, if you take care of health insurance for your child or children, the necessary amount will also be garnished from your wages. 

Child support garnishes can be more than the 25 percent that other creditors can legally deduct from your disposable income. For child support purposes, your disposable earnings can be garnished up to fifty percent. That amount can go up by another five percent if you are three months or more behind in your support payments.

Unpaid Back Taxes

The federal government — more specifically the IRS — does not need a court order to garnish your wages for back taxes. The amount the IRS can take is dependent on your current deductions and how many dependants you claim. 

In addition to the federal government, local and state municipalities can also get unpaid taxes from you by garnishing your wages. The percentages they can take will vary by state, so any questions should be directed to your attorney or your state’s department of labor.

Student Loans

The US Department of Education has the right to garnish your wages without a court order. This amount cannot exceed fifteen percent of disposable wages.

Contact a wage garnishment lawyer, like a wage garnishment lawyer in Tampa, FL, with any questions or concerns about your wages being garnished.

 

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Thanks to the Law Office of Michael A. Ziegler, PL for their insight into how much of your wages can be garnished for child support or other unpaid debts.