The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia recently released an opinion overruling a lower court’s decision granting a rear-end accident plaintiff a new trial on the issue of a knee injury that he had allegedly suffered as a result of the defendant’s negligence. The plaintiff had been awarded a…
The Arkansas Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that struck down a state statute restricting the admissibility of seat-belt non-use evidence in an auto accident lawsuit, finding the rule was unconstitutional under the Arkansas constitution. The Arkansas ruling is demonstrative of recent changes in several states, where courts are moving…
The Nevada Supreme Court recently reversed a lower court’s ruling that awarded a personal injury plaintiff nearly $4.5 million for an auto accident claim. The initial ruling, which was entered by default against the defendant as a sanction for violating several pretrial orders against presenting a low-impact accident defense, will be…
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia handed down an opinion in a case that was based on a truck accident caused by another driver’s dangerous and aggressive driving. In the case Phillips v. Stear, the appellate court reversed a jury’s verdict that the plaintiff failed…
Juries are one of, if not the single most, unpredictable variable in any personal injury case. While a skilled attorney will do everything they can to ensure that their client is left with a fair jury, there is no way to read the minds of potential jurors and foresee how…
In a decision recently released by the Supreme Court of Iowa, the dismissal of a woman’s wrongful death lawsuit against the state was reversed. The plaintiff in the case of McFadden v. Iowa Department of Transportation alleged that her husband was killed in a crash while driving his motorcycle on a…
Earlier this month, an appellate court affirmed a lower court’s denial of a request for punitive damages and actually sanctioned the plaintiffs for pushing for the damages despite no good-faith reason for doing so. The case illustrates that, while punitive damages may be appropriate in some cases, it is not…
Whenever anyone gets behind the wheel of a car, the potential for harm is always present. Whether it be another driver’s mistake, a pedestrian who crosses at an unmarked intersection, or a truck driver who was not paying attention to the road ahead of them, the bottom line is that driving can…
Earlier this month, a state supreme court decided a case that required the court to examine the two types of awards that are available in personal injury cases and determine if the two were consistent. In the case, Bryant v. Rimrodt, the court ultimately determined that the jury’s determination that…
Earlier this month, an appellate court in New York issued an opinion in a case that discussed the liability that may arise when a doctor at a hospital administers medication to a patient and then releases the patient without any warning that the medication provided may affect their driving. In…