Latest news with #personalinjury
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
‘Nuclear Verdicts' Sink Small Businesses
An alliance between personal injury lawyers and unscrupulous doctors has wreaked havoc on Texas small businesses by pinning them with massive lawsuits. The state Legislature is finally fighting back. So-called nuclear verdicts of $10 million or more in cases involving one or a few plaintiffs reached a 15-year high in 2023. Some of these verdicts were for fender-benders, and many were inflated by questionable medical bills produced by doctors and lawyers. A 2018 fender-bender in Upshur County, Texas, ballooned to a $101 million verdict. The plaintiff's personal injury lawyer had directed him to a chiropractor, pain specialist, and back surgeon who all happened to be frequent trial witnesses in the lawyer's cases.
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Tipperary woman who slipped on wet hotel floor at wedding awarded €72k
A nurse who slipped on a wet floor at a wedding in a four-star hotel has been awarded €72,000 by a High Court judge. The Tipperary woman who had been wearing stiletto shoes had told the court she was in so much pain after the fall when she exited a lift in Hotel Kilkenny, she thought she was going to die. Advertisement Hotel Kilkenny had contended the woman was wearing 5 inch stilettos and simply lost her balance when her left ankle buckled on the way to the wedding banquet. It denied the floor was wet and slippy. Pamela Kirby (42) Glencarra Lawn, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, had sued Hotel Kilkenny Ltd trading as Hotel Kilkenny, College Road, Kilkenny city, as a result of the fall as she attended the wedding reception of a friend on August 18th, 2018. Mr Justice Tony O'Connor said it was a 'hotly contested claim for damages' but the court was satisfied that on the balance of probabilities Ms Kirby slipped on a clear liquid which was on a tile upon which she placed her shoe while walking across from the lift at the hotel sky lobby. The judge said there was no dispute that Ms Kirby was entitled to attend the wedding reception in high heels. Advertisement He said she was entitled to expect that the floor area which she had to cross did not have liquid or if there was liquid, that there were signs to indicate a wet floor. The hotel side he said had not satisfied the court that it took the necessary care and for those reasons he ruled the hotel was in breach of its duty of care to the woman. The judge said Ms Kirby had satisfied the court that her fall was not caused by a loss of balance due to the wearing of high heels. He noted she had worn them without difficulty to events for six years previously. Mr Justice O'Connor who had viewed CCTV of the incident said other guests took various steps on exiting the hotel lift and the court was not persuaded that another guest would have noticed, alerted others or slipped on the tile in the advance of Ms Kirby coming along. Advertisement The judge also noted Ms Kirby's husband had given evidence that while he attended to his wife after the fall, he noticed the ground looked wet. The judge said Mr Kirby's observations were particularly relevant and his integrity, the judge said was not in dispute. His reply that he did not mention liquid on the floor due to his primary concern for his wife, the judge said was understandable. Mr Justice O'Connor said the credibility and reliability of Mr. Kirby in particular together with the candour of his wife satisfied the court on the balance of probabilities that she slipped on a clear liquid which was situated on a tile where she placed her shoe while walking across from the lift in the sky lobby. In the fall, Ms Kirby dislocated her elbow and later needed a cast and also hurt her leg and the bones in her toes were broken and her leg was also put in a cast. Advertisement Ireland Restaurant manager awarded €17k after being made r... Read More In evidence she told the court she was wearing her own wedding shoes from her 2012 wedding on the occasion. She and her husband had attended the wedding and a drinks reception at the hotel where she had two glasses of wine with ice. The gong for the wedding banquet went at 5:30pm and they went upstairs to the second floor for the wedding meal. She said the other couples got out of the lift first and she followed with her husband. She said she slipped and fell and landed on her right side. 'I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to die,' she told the judge.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
‘I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to die': Woman awarded €72,000 over fall on wet hotel floor
A nurse who slipped on a wet floor during a wedding in a four-star hotel has been awarded €72,000 by a High Court judge. Pamela Kirby (42) told the court 'I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to die' after she fell when exiting a lift in Hotel Kilkenny almost eight years ago. Ms Kirby dislocated her elbow, hurt her leg and broke bones in her toes in the incident. Her arm and leg were put in casts. The hotel contended that Ms Kirby was wearing five-inch stilettos and simply lost her balance when her left ankle buckled as she walked to her friend's wedding banquet. It denied that the floor was wet and slippy. READ MORE Ms Kirby (42), of Glencarra Lawn, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, sued Hotel Kilkenny Ltd, trading as Hotel Kilkenny, College Road, Kilkenny city, as a result of the fall on August 18th, 2018. Mr Justice Tony O'Connor said it was a 'hotly contested claim for damages' but the court was satisfied that, on the balance of probabilities, Ms Kirby slipped on a clear liquid sitting on the tile on which she placed her shoe while walking across from the lift in a hotel lobby. The judge said there was no dispute that Ms Kirby was entitled to attend the wedding reception in high heels. He said she was entitled to expect that the floor area which she had to cross did not have liquid or that if there was liquid, there would be signs to indicate the floor was wet. The judge said the hotel side had not satisfied the court that it took the necessary care and for those reasons he ruled it was in breach of its duty of care to Ms Kirby. The judge said Ms Kirby had satisfied the court that her fall was not caused by a loss of balance due to the wearing of high heels. He noted she had worn them without difficulty to events for six years previously. Mr Justice O'Connor, who viewed CCTV footage of the incident, said other guests took various steps on exiting the hotel lift and the court was not persuaded that another guest would have noticed, alerted others or slipped on the tile in advance of Ms Kirby coming along. The judge also noted Ms Kirby's husband had given evidence that he noticed the ground looked wet while he attended to his wife after the fall. The judge said Mr Kirby's observations were particularly relevant and his integrity was not in dispute. His reply that he did not mention liquid on the floor due to his primary concern being for his wife was understandable, the judge said. Mr Justice O'Connor said the credibility and reliability of Mr Kirby and the candour of his wife had satisfied the court that on the balance of probabilities she slipped on a clear liquid. In evidence, Ms Kirby told the court she was wearing her own wedding shoes from her 2012 wedding on the occasion. She and her husband had attended the wedding and a drinks reception at the hotel where she had two glasses of wine with ice. The gong for the wedding banquet went at 5.30pm and they went upstairs to the second floor for the wedding meal. She said the other couples got out of the lift first and she followed with her husband. She said she slipped and fell and landed on her right side.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New limits for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits may become a reality in Texas
A proposal to limit how much an accident victim can recover in lawsuits for medical care won preliminary approval from the Texas House on Monday, but not without changes that leave open monetary awards beyond medical bills and preserve the court's ability to decide what evidence is relevant. The bill passed 94-52 on Monday with the support of at least five Democrats. Senate Bill 30, authored by Georgetown Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner, intends to curb 'nuclear verdicts,' or jury rulings that award victims more than $10 million, which proponents say makes doing business in Texas unpredictable. If the proposal becomes law, those who sue in personal injury or wrongful death cases can submit only the amount paid for medical services, and directs juries to limit the amount of damages based on a set of options such as the maximum that can be charged to Medicare. The bill was a priority of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a well-funded group representing oil and energy companies that has spent the last two decades trying to curb what they see as frivolous lawsuits. For the bill to become law, the House must vote on it again. Then the Senate must agree to changes, or request a committee hash out differences. At a committee hearing in April, business owners shared their experiences of getting sued in accidents where the damage appeared minimal — according to poster-sized photos they brought to the hearing — but the damages sought were in the millions. Opponents argued that there's already an appeals process in the civil lawsuit process that parties can use to reduce the damages owed. The bill overcame resistance from some conservative activists who previously supported the efforts by Texas for Lawsuit Reform's namely, restricting medical malpractice lawsuits. The version of the bill that passed the House removed language that drew concern from opponents, such as a provision that would have barred juries from awarding money for 'noneconomic damages' such as mental anguish. That was raised by some accident victims and sexual assault survivors who said the impacts of their injuries could not be placed neatly into the economic damage categories the previous version of the bill outlined. On the House floor Monday, lawmakers also approved an amendment by Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendsburg, who is carrying the bill in the House, to remove a portion of the bill that would have only allowed damages on services that have health care industry billing codes, which not all services an accident victim needs would have. Another Bonnen amendment changed the requirement for an itemized list by the provider of a plaintiff to a summary list. Lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to further narrow that requirement, though an amendment by Rep. Matt Morgan, R-Richmond, reaffirming privacy protections between doctors and patients, and attorneys and clients was adopted. A pair of amendments by Reps. Mitch Little, a Lewisville Republican, and Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat, also passed, over the objection of Bonnen, to no longer require some evidence related to medical history be automatically admitted. The amended bill leaves it to a judge to decide whether the evidence is relevant – something Bonnen said defeated the purpose of that part of the bill. The Texas Trial Lawyers Association, which lobbied for months against the bill, said the changes since it was first introduced were a sign of how Texans felt about efforts to curb lawsuits. 'This result sends a clear message that Texans of all walks of life support the fundamental value of accountability embodied in our civil justice system,' Jack Walker, president of the association, said in a statement. Disclosure: Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texas Trial Lawyers Association have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Globe and Mail
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyers, LLP Expands Personal Injury Legal Services Across Las Vegas
"The expansion includes additional consultation rooms and upgraded legal technology, reaffirming the firm's position as a top Las Vegas car accident law firm." Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyers, LLP is proud to announce the expansion of its personal injury legal services throughout Las Vegas, NV. In addition to car accident representation, the firm now handles pedestrian injuries, rideshare accidents, slip and falls, and wrongful death claims. With free consultations and no fees unless you win, the firm is committed to helping injury victims recover the compensation they deserve. Learn more at Las Vegas, NV - May 26, 2025 - Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyers, LLP, a trusted name in auto injury representation, is proud to announce the expansion of its personal injury legal services to serve clients across the greater Las Vegas area. With a renewed focus on accident victims and injury claims, the firm now offers comprehensive legal representation for a wider range of personal injury matters, including slip and falls, pedestrian accidents, rideshare incidents, and wrongful death cases. As traffic volume, tourism, and population density continue to rise in Las Vegas, the demand for qualified and aggressive legal representation has never been greater. The firm's expansion ensures that more Nevadans—both residents and visitors—have access to experienced legal counsel when accidents strike. 'We've built a reputation on results in car accident litigation, and now we're bringing that same level of focus and advocacy to all areas of personal injury,' said a spokesperson for the firm. 'Our mission is simple: protect the rights of injury victims and help them recover what they're owed.' Services Now Include: Victims of negligence can expect personalized attention, aggressive negotiation, and no legal fees unless the firm wins their case. Consultations remain 100% free and confidential. To learn more or schedule a case review, visit About Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyers, LLP Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyers, LLP is a Nevada-based personal injury law firm dedicated to representing individuals who have been injured due to the negligence of others. With a client-first approach and deep understanding of Nevada tort law, the firm has secured favorable outcomes for countless injury victims across Clark County. Media Contact Company Name: Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer Contact Person: James Dean Email: Send Email Address: 300 S 4th St 6th Floor City: Las Vegas State: Nevada Country: United States Website:
