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You may be able to sue the property owner for your injuries if the stairs were in poor condition and if the poor condition of the stairs was the cause of your fall. Every year in the U.S. there are over a million emergency room visits due to falls on the stairs. Although in some cases the accidents occur through no fault of the property owner, in other cases the falls are caused by bad lighting, improper maintenance of construction, or slippery surfaces. In those cases, the victim may want to speak with an attorney about his or her legal …

If you are in an accident with a ridesharing vehicle, it’s likely you will not sue the ridesharing company. The companies are set up so that their drivers are independent contractors instead of employees. Companies are not liable for the actions of independent contractors, although they can be held liable for the actions of employees. Ridesharing companies in the past have attempted to deny liability for crashes due to the legal distinction between independent contractors and employees. However, you still have legal options. Your options will depend on the laws of the state in which the accident occurred. Generally, after …

Accidents involving balcony railings are not that unusual. Although balcony railings are meant to protect visitors from falls and injuries, many apartment building owners do not take the proper steps to ensure their residents’ balconies and railings are safe. Normally, visitors to and residents of apartment buildings assume that the property is maintained and is safe. Therefore, when a railing fails or a balcony collapses, the victim is usually caught off guard. Over time, wear and tear, weather conditions, and neglect can cause railings and balconies to become unsafe and eventually fail. In many cases, when an accident occurs involving …

I’m sorry to hear about your accident. An injury to the eye which affects vision can be extremely damaging and can be a lifelong condition. If you have suffered from a loss of vision because of a blow to the eye, you should speak with an attorney. You may be entitled to compensation for your accident. A serious blow can cause an eye disorder in which the retina peels away from the supportive tissue surrounding it. When this occurs, this can often leave the victim with significant vision loss or even blindness. Normally, when the condition is diagnosed, immediate medical …

Many workplaces are miserable. It would be nice if all work environments were pleasant and the employees were supportive of each other, but that is not reality. Many employees are subject to terrible conditions, including harassment. They may feel that they cannot leave their jobs for various reasons and may have to endure the harassment. There is no law requiring workplaces to be friendly and supportive. However, in some cases workplace harassment can be a form of discrimination that can violate both state and federal law. If a person is the victim of unwelcome physical or verbal conduct on the …

Unfortunately, this kind of practice by the insurance company is not unusual. Insurance companies often act in bad faith, which is also known as insurance fraud. When an insurance company acts in bad faith, it prevents the insured from receiving the proper insurance benefits contained in the insurance contract. Some common examples of insurance fraud include the insurer offering less compensation than is due under the policy, the insurance company denying benefits altogether, or the insurance company unreasonably delaying payments. By law, the insurance company is required to act with good faith, and to compensate the insured fully in a …

The railroad industry is one of the most dangerous fields of work in the U.S. According to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, the fatality rate for railroad workers has been double and sometimes even triple the rate of fatalities of other professions over the past several decades. Many of the casualties did not occur on trains but instead happened in the rail yard. FELA, or the Federal Employers Liability Act, is a federal law which was created to cover railroad injuries, since railroad workers were at a much higher risk of injury than other workers. FELA is a program which …

I’m sorry to hear about your infection. If a doctor or medical staff members fail to take appropriate actions to prevent the spread of infection during and after an operation, the lives of patients can be placed at risk. If an infection claims the life of a patient or causes a need for further medical care, the patient or his or her loved ones should determine whether negligence was to blame for the complications by speaking with an attorney. Every day in the U.S., hundreds of people die from surgical site infections. These deaths come despite the implementation of processes …

I’m sorry to hear about the layoff. The loss of a job can be very stressful, and normally leaves the former employee with a lot of issues to consider, such as obtaining a new job and health insurance. In many cases, your former employer will provide you with a severance package and will pay you for your unused vacation days. You may also qualify for unemployment compensation which can help with you financially for a period of time. However, some employers refuse to compensate employees for their unused vacation days when they are laid off or fired. Under federal and …

An operations manager for Uber’s self-driving trucks division emailed the company’s top executives, claiming that the vehicles were routinely in accidents. This email occurred just days before a self-driving vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian. The manager claims that the problems lie both with problems in the technology and partially because of the behavior of the operators. The operations manager sent out the email to the head of Uber’s autonomous vehicle unit, six other executives, and lawyers for the company. The email claimed that several of the drivers were not “properly vetted or trained”.  He also warned that the vehicles …

Researchers at the University of Chicago just released a draft of a report that suggests that ride-sharing vehicles, such as Lyft and Uber, may cause more accidents. The report examined traffic collisions from almost 3,000 areas between 2001 and 2016. The report focused on 1,185 areas where ride-sharing is now available. The study concluded that when ride-sharing apps were launched, there was a trend towards more accidents. The study noted that in 2010, there was the lowest number of automobile crash fatalities since 1949, but shortly after the introduction of ride-sharing the decline halted and reversed. The study also found …

I am so sorry to hear about your workplace accident. Unfortunately, railroad workers have a higher risk of injury on the job than most other occupations. The fatality rate for railroad workers is over double that of all other work-related deaths. The railroad industry has its own special compensation program, which is called FELA (Federal Employers Liability Act). FELA was created by the federal government in the early 1900s as a way to pay railroad workers for their injuries above and beyond regular workers’ compensation. Because of the high amount of employee injuries and deaths caused by the railroads, the …