Category: Personal Injury

Serious injuries can have a life-altering impact on your physical well-being.  Extensive surgery and medical treatment, long-term physical therapy, and permanent loss in physical function and ability are just a few of the physical symptoms that a victim of serious injury may experience.  While great focus and attention is given to the obvious physical symptoms of a serious injury, the lingering emotional and mental health symptoms often go undiagnosed and untreated.

2017 was an unparalleled year for news regarding corporations that committed fraud, allowed employees to take part in sexual misconduct, or took part in financial scandals and cover-ups that wronged workers and/or customers. We’ve all heard the news stories and consequently had our lives affected by the Equifax scandal, the Takata airbags debacle, the misconduct Wells Fargo took part in, and the flood of sexual harassment allegations that are currently sweeping through the news and entertainment industries.

When corporations put profit margins before the safety and welfare of employees and customers, injustice occurs. These are the instances when lawsuits do the most good and can ensure corporations put an end to wrongful decisions and behaviors. Oftentimes, corporations conduct themselves poorly for one fact and one fact only– They think they can get away with it. Lawsuits help make sure they can’t get away with misconduct and treat employees and customers alike fairly and equally.

The parents of a 15-year-old electric shock drowning victim are speaking out in an attempt to warn others and bring awareness to this rarely reported phenomenon.  Carmen Johnson was swimming near her family’s Alabama lake house in April of 2016, when electric current traveled from a light switch on the dock, through the water, and paralyzed her body.

Carmen and her friend were jumping into the water from the top level of the boat dock.  Her father, Jimmy Johnson, lowered a metal ladder into the water so the girls could climb out.  Just minutes later, he heard his daughter’s friend scream for help.  He jumped into the water and immediately felt the piercing electric shocks.

When we go to an amusement park with our families, we trust that our children will be safe while enjoying the various rides and attractions on the premises. It’s easy to assume that most rides look safe and that the operators know what they’re doing. We’re also often told that amusement park rides are thoroughly checked and tested every morning. But are daily tests enough?

In August 2016, a Kansas water park made headlines when it was revealed that a 10-year-old boy was decapitated and killed on a water slide. This accident was one of four serious amusement park accidents that occurred over a period of 5 days throughout the United States. Another tragic accident during that period happened when a boy fell from a moving roller coaster in Pennsylvania.

Some accidents are close to home. Back in 2007, Louisville’s Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was the site of another horrific amusement park accident. A 13-year-old girl lost both her feet when they were severed after a ride cable split. These types of accidents are bound to happen on an occasional basis, but there comes a time when we question what’s being done to bring the number of possible accidents down to an absolute minimum.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drugs and alcohol continue to be a major cause of Kentucky car accidents. The data shows that, nationally, drugs and alcohol were involved in fatal accidents, claiming 267,598 lives from 1995 and 2013, according to drugtreatment.com. Drugs or alcohol involvement accounted for 26 percent of all fatal car accidents over that time period.

South Dakota had the most fatal car accidents involving a legally drunk driver, 22.44 per every 100,000 residents. The next nine states in order were; Wyoming (19.02), Arkansas (18.68), Nebraska (18.54), Montana (16.85), Mississippi (16.42), Maine (15.12), Kentucky (14.98), Louisiana (14.63, and West Virginia (14.05).

North Dakota had the most fatal car accidents where the driver was under the influence of drugs, 8.03 for every 100,000 residents. The next nine states in order were: Wyoming (7.53), Montana (7.33), West Virginia (6.09), Kentucky (5.89), Arkansas (5.23), Vermont (4.56), South Dakota (4.20), South Carolina (4.07), and Alabama (4.05).