Montana Injury Law Blog

A Billings, Montana woman who was attacked by a neighbors three dogs has filed a lawsuit against the dogs’ owners. Laura Peron’s complaint alleges that the neighbors were negligent when their three boxers attacked her in her own yard. She is seeking unspecified damages for medical costs, lost income, general damages for pain, suffering and physical disfigurement. She also claims to have suffered property damages when the boxers attacked her sheltie. Person is also asking the Court for punitive damages. The victim was bitten numerous times and underwent treatment for rabies. The article does not state the identity Peron’s Montana Accident Lawyer.

Source: greatfallsribune.com

There are more large trucks on the road today than ever before, and that means more truck accidents, more serious injuries, and more truck accident fatalities. When large trucks on on the road, they are “on the clock” which usually means running on high schedules with tough deadlines. A truck driver facing a missed deadline faces lost earnings, so he may drive faster which can lead to a serious or fatal truck accident. Even truck accidents that are not fatal usually cause serious and permanent injuries such as broken bones, scars and a variety of back, neck, spinal cord, and brain injuries. Unfortunately, truck accidents often result in wrongful deaths as well.

Big Rig Trucks are among the most dangerous vehicles on the road today. Accidents occur for many reasons, often due to the truck’s physical and design features, its immense size, weight, power, and performance, all of which affect its acceleration, braking and visibility. Some other factors that may lead to accidents are: overloaded truck, oversized truck, poor screening and training of truck drivers, poorly maintained brakes on the truck, reckless driving, unsafe road conditions, truck drivers drinking alcohol or drug use, driving in conditions of low visibility, poorly maintained tires, speeding, wide turns, blind spots, fatigued and sleepy drivers, running off the road, failure to yield the right of way, and malfunctioning safety systems.

As a Montana Injury Lawyer, I represent people who have been injured in collisions with large trucks in Montana. If you would like to speak with an injury attorney about this or any other injury you’ve suffered because of someone else’s negligence, please call me today for a free consultation.

“Slip and fall” is a generic term for an injury that occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else’s property and may include falls as a result of water, ice or snow, as well as abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting, or a hidden hazard (such as a gap or hard to see hole in the ground). The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that in 2004 more than 8 million people were injured in falls.

If you are on someone else’s property and are injured as a result of a dangerous condition on the property, the landowner or business proprietor may be liable for your injuries. If you are a property owner and someone injures himself on your land, you may find yourself legally responsible for his or her injuries. Either way, you should seek the advice of an experienced personal injury lawyer right away. While there is no precise way to determine when someone else is legally responsible for your fall, important factors include how much care everyone involved was taking.

Injuries from slip-and-fall accidents can range in severity. A victim may sustain bruises, broken bones, or scrapes that require minimal medical treatment and heal relatively quickly. Other victims suffer a catastrophic injury such as a brain or spinal cord injury that causes lifelong damage and requires ongoing medical care. In the worst care scenario, the victim dies because of the injuries. If this is the case, and the accident occurred because of the property owner’s negligence, then the death is considered a wrongful death. If you have been the victim of a slip and fall because of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to recover medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering, potential future medical expenses, and lost earning potential.

If you have further questions, a Montana Injury Lawyer can give you specific information and advice about your particular situation.  Please contact one as soon as possible if you believe you have a “slip and fall” claim.

Billings attorney Solomon Neuhardt has a great reminder that dog bites are personal injury on his blog. Too often, people think that an attack by a neighbor’s dog is part of life in Montana, and forget that their entitled to compensation for the cost of treatment, lost work, or permanent disability caused by the injury. As Solomon aptly points out, “it is depressing to know that of all the dog bite cases across the country, only one out of three have been reported.”

Solomon Neuhardt recommends a few immediate actions if you are attacked by a dog:

• If the dog’s mouth is foaming, it is probably suffering from rabies. See a physician as soon as possible.
• If possible try to know the breed of the dog. It helps the physician assess the extent of injury.
• Don’t quarrel with the dog owner.
• Report the incident to the police.

For Montanans interested in injury law, Solomon’s blog is an excellent source of information and advice on all aspects of injury law.

If you’ve been injured in a dog attack, remember – Dog Bites are Personal Injury. You shouldn’t be forced to suffer financial losses and emotional trauma because someone else can’t control their animal. If you’ve been injured in a dog attack, please contact a lawyer to discuss your options.

The Flathead Beacon just published an article online where author Bill Schneider describes some of the dangerous driving he’s seen drivers exhibit around bicyclists. As he writes:

The vast majority of motorists courteously and safely share roadways with cyclists, but a very small minority not only aren’t courteous, but for some unexplainable reason fill up with rage whenever they see cyclists on the road ahead. Anybody who regularly rides bicycles on paved roadways knows about this minority. They not only think cyclists have no right to use public roadways, but also show their anger by shouting obscenities and giving out the universal salute and even do all sorts of outright dangerous things like coming up behind cyclists blaring their horns, purposely passing inches from handlebars at high speed, or throwing beer cans and other objects, which become lethal missiles for somebody on a bicycle.

This sort of dangerous driving isn’t just impolite, it’s dangerous. In 2007, there were 43,000 bicyclist injuries in the U.S. (according to the NHTSA). I don’t have any hard facts, but I suspect a lot of those injuries were the result of drivers not being respectful enough of bike riders. A bike accident can be not only a very frightening experience but the injuries involved are usually serious and long-lasting requiring thousands of dollars in medical treatment and significant future medical expenses. Cyclists suffer all sorts of injuries due to driver negligence. It is not uncommon for bike riders to be injured by car doors (“doored”), or hit by cars that do not respect the right-of-way, and often, drivers who were just not paying attention.

If you or someone you know has sustained serious personal injuries in a bicycle accident caused by the reckless or negligent conduct of another person I urge you to contact an accident attorney immediately. Cycling crashes almost always involve severe scrapes, cuts, and bruises, but may also much more serious injuries such as broken bones or even paralysis. The fact that you were riding a bike in traffic in no way means that your right to be compensated for your injury is diminished. Contact a Montana Injury Lawyer today to find out more.

When I take a new case, almost all the information I get comes from my client. Unbiased witnesses are much less common in real life than in the movies. That’s why it’s so important my clients tell me the truth. I shape my theory of the case, discovery, and even trial work around what my client has said. If I don’t have all the facts, I’m cooking a recipe without all the ingredients.

Clients withhold facts for various reasons. Sometimes out of embarrassment, sometimes because they think the truth will weaken their case. As a general rule, if you’re worried about your Montana accident attorney judging you, you may have the wrong lawyer (but that’s a post for a different day).

The second reason is the most frustrating, because the truth is that almost nothing hurts a case as much as when I don’t know all the facts. It’s possible to weave facts, even bad facts, into a compelling story and create an even stronger case. But one thing I can’t do is defend against problems I don’t know exist. So please, always be honest with your attorney and tell the whole truth. I won’t think less of you. I probably won’t even be surprised. But I will be able to better represent you.