Personal Injury Primer

Filing a Complaint https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-343-Filing-a-Complaint.mp3 I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a client whom we asked to review a complaint that we are preparing to file in her case. She wanted to understand what a complaint is and why it needs to be filed in court. To initiate a lawsuit the party bringing the lawsuit, called the plaintiff, starts the lawsuit by filing a complaint in court. A complaint is a document that sets forth the operative facts on which a lawsuit is based and describes the legal issues on which the claim is being made. Indiana is a notice pleading state which means the complaint does not have to describe the situation in great detail. Instead, it must state sufficient facts to put the responding party, called the defendant, on notice of the claim against them. For ease of reference, the drafter of a complaint usually will number each paragraph. Ideally, each numbered paragraph will focus on a particular fact. Once a defendant is served with the complaint the defendant must file an answer to the complaint. The more precision in drafting a complaint the more the defendant will have to respond point by point to the facts outlined in the complaint. The defendant must choose to admit or deny the facts outlined in each enumerated paragraph of a complaint. In Indiana, the complaint must not state a specific dollar amount sought in damages. In years gone by, some attorneys would garner publicity by filing a lawsuit seeking an outrageous sum. The newspaper would report on the complaint and identify the attorney. But, putting in any amount, especially a low amount, also could be used to limit the plaintiff’s recovery to the stated low amount. An additional thing about a complaint that is surprising to some people, is that the complaint may set forth alternative theories of recovery or inconsistent theories of recovery. For example, a complaint may in one count describe an injury as being due to the negligence of a defendant and in another count state that the injury was due to intentional wrongdoing by a defendant. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 343 Filing a Complaint first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Catastrophic Injury Claims https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-342-Catastrophic-Injury-Claims.mp3 I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about a child who suffered a loss of vision as a result of an injury caused by the carelessness of a driver who hit the child who was operating a bicycle. The loss of vision is what rises to the level of what is described as a catastrophic injury.  A catastrophic injury could be any harm that stays with a person long after an accident. Some of the more common forms can include: Compound fractures Traumatic brain injuries or other head trauma Spinal cord injuries or severe nerve damage Partial or complete paralysis Damage to internal organs Loss of vision or hearing Severe burns or scarring Accidental amputations Catastrophic injuries can occur as a result of a car wreck, construction or workplace accidents, and slips and falls. The harm that each of these incidents can produce may be lasting and affect an injured person’s cognitive and motor skills, ability to work, physical appearance, and other functions. When another person is at fault for a serious accident that leaves you with a catastrophic injury, you deserve justice. The attorney you hire to assist you if you suffer a catastrophic injury must have experience dealing with such injuries. The expert testimony required to prove such injuries is sometimes difficult to find. All too frequently we find ourselves fighting with health insurers over payment for medical care needs. If the injured person has no insurance to cover initial treatment or provide short or long-term disability benefits, the attorney should be able to help find care solutions. For these and many other reasons, handling catastrophic injury cases can be challenging. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 342 Catastrophic Injury Claims first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Birth Injuries https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-341-Birth-Injuries-Claims.mp3 I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about an injury to a baby during delivery. We frequently handle birth injury claims involving an injury to a baby at birth. We also deal with medical injuries suffered by the mother during delivery. It is challenging work to hold medical professionals involved in the birth responsible who have inflicted injury as a result of medical malpractice. Common birth injuries that can arise during the birthing process include: Injuries to the nerves surrounding the child’s shoulder caused by over-exerted pressure during labor and delivery (injuries like this may be referred to as a brachial plexus injury or erb’s palsy or shoulder dystocia) Impaired mobility and muscle development in the child due to a lack of oxygen during labor and delivery Injuries to the mother, such as uterine rupture or inversion, vaginal tearing, broken bones, or nerve damage Damage to the child’s nervous system due to an infection Swelling in the child’s brain Families dealing with injuries of these types need a birth injury attorney who can work with medical experts to evaluate the extent of the injuries and determine the appropriate compensation. Not every injury during pregnancy or birth leads to liability. Establishing proof of medical malpractice means proving that the medical provider who agreed to treat the patient, failed to live up to the standard of care and that this substandard care caused the patient’s injuries. Expert testimony is always required in these types of situations. Birth injury litigation may involve the doctor in charge of the delivery, or anesthesiologists, midwives, nurses, and other hospital personnel. Although some birth complications can be unavoidable, other birthing injuries are a result of medical malpractice. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 341 Birth Injuries first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Social Media Company Liability for User Suicide https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-340-Social-Media-Company-Liability-for-User-Suicide.mp3 I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. In past episodes we have discussed how social media account information posted by either party in a lawsuit can be used against that party at trial. In this episode we discuss the hazards social media can present to teenagers and young children. Things posted can lead to online bullying, and other embarrassing circumstances that have in some reported situation lead a young person to harm themselves. Many of the social media apps have been found to lead to addiction. Psychological harm has been associated with the addictive nature of the notification signals built into social media applications. People spend time online hoping that someone likes their post or will repost their post. The problem has become so serious that cell phone operating system providers have started to allow ways a user can restrict the time available to access a social media account. Further most operating systems offer the ability for parents to block social media account access entirely. Should a social media company be held liable under the law if someone loses their life or is injured as a result of a negative social media post? Sophisticated formulas used by the online platforms are geared to sending the user a steady stream of tailored content. The algorithms can trigger compulsive behavior, they can lead a user to experience a lack of focus, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, inability to sleep, and body dysmorphia. While social media platforms can be harmful to teens and those younger, there are reports of adults becoming addicted as well. Can companies that create social media platforms be sued if someone loses their life as a result of the social media platform itself or others using the platform in a nefarious manner? These questions are cutting edge. There have not been enough reported legal decisions to permit a definitive answer to that question. But sooner or later a child’s wrongful death will be factually linked to gross negligence, or a violation of consumer protection laws, on the part of a social media provider. We would guess that a cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress would best fit the type of wrongful conduct in question. We discussed this particular tort in an earlier podcast episode. What if a social media company engages in fraud, or fraudulently conceals information from a parent trying to supervise a child to prevent the child from engaging in harmful conduct? There are certainly consumer fraud statutes that may provide a remedy is such situations. Support for arguments against a social media company might be found in position statements published by the US Surgeon General. Studies commissioned by the US Surgeon General report on how mental health is affected by addictive apps. One study discusses kids, teens, and young adults and mental illness brought on by digital technologies. This study suggests that parents: Be aware of the devices and content that a child accesses. Examine whether the child is getting something meaningful and constructive out of content they are looking at, creating, or sharing? Focus a child toward healthier ways to engage online, such as searching for meal recipes to make with a parent, researching options for a family outing, video chatting with a relative, investigating family history. Consider if their child has a mental health condition that might make them react more strongly to certain kinds of stressful or emotional content. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 340 Social Media Company Liability for User Suicide first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Nursing Home Responsible for Death Cause by Staff Negligence https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-339-Nursing-Home-Responsible-for-Death-Cause-by-Staff-Negligence.mp3 I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about a family member who was in a nursing home. The caller learned that a nurse on staff at another nursing home was murdering patients. Apparently, the nurse when arrested claimed he was engaged in mercy killings. Tragically situations like the caller described happen. Can a nursing home be held strictly liable for the misconduct of a nurse that they have hired? Under the law, the answer would generally be no. Strict liability is a concept that generally does not apply to a hospital or nursing home setting. If a nurse hired by a nursing home is acting within the course and scope of his or her employment and does something to harm one of the patients, as a result of negligence, the nursing home may be held liable for the nurse’s wrongful conduct. In a situation described by the caller, the nurse was engaged in intentional criminal conduct. If an employee such as a nurse engages in intentional criminal conduct and that conduct could include battery as well as murder, may the employer be liable? Often the answer will depend upon the facts of the individual case. Assuming the nursing home failed to use reasonable care in interviewing and checking the credentials of the person who was hired who committed the criminal acts, then the nursing home very well could be found liable. However, if the nursing home did everything reasonably and carefully to vet the employee and had no warning of any danger as a result of things that the nurse was doing while working at the nursing home, then there is a possibility that a nursing home will not be held liable. Cases like that described by the caller are almost always very fact-intensive. There was a newspaper article not long ago about a nurse who was linked to 15 deaths across several nursing homes. That nurse had left each nursing home when questions were asked about the death of a patient in the nurse’s care. Unfortunately, no definite wrongdoing was uncovered to establish that the nurse was responsible for the questioned death. When that nurse moved to the next nursing home, the prior nursing home was not contacted by the new nursing home interviewing the nurse. Thus, the new employer was negligent in failing to learn about the suspicious conduct of the employee seeking employment. When a patient is at a facility, such as a nursing home, the nursing home operators are charged under various state and federal statutes to manage the safety of those who are placed in their care. In doing so they must carefully select staff members who are licensed, and properly credentialed. When selecting a nursing home for a relative or loved one it makes sense to carefully interview the staff and management of the facility to make sure that they are properly vetting those whom they hire to care for patients. It’s also important to look at any complaints filed with the state about the nursing home. Many times we have helped clients who found that had they simply done their homework they would have discovered that the nursing home they selected was under investigation for sanitary condition violations as well as staff members being inattentive to patients. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 339 Nursing Home Responsibility for Staff Negligence first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.