Category: Uncategorized

In most claims that arise from accidents or mistakes in Los Angeles, the basis for holding another person or business legally responsible comes from a legal theory called negligence. Under California law, if a person or a business behaves in a negligent way, the careless person will be legally liable for any harm that results because of those negligent actions.

To win a negligence case in Los Angeles, normally the injured party (the plaintiff) must prove four elements to show that the defendant acted negligently. First, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff under the circumstances. For example, a driver owes a duty to other drivers on the road to drive carefully, and a doctor owes a duty to his or her patients to treat them with a high level of care.

The second element that must be proven is a breach of the duty of care. If a driver was driving while intoxicated and hit another car, obviously he or she breached the duty of care. If a surgeon removed a kidney instead of a pancreas during an operation, the duty of care was breached. The third element is proving that the defendant’s actions or inactions caused the plaintiff’s injury. Finally, it must be proven that the plaintiff suffered some type of damages from the defendant’s actions.

If you are able to prove those four elements, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries, assuming that the defendant has assets to pay your damages or an insurance policy. In most personal injury cases, the plaintiff’s attorney is able to work out a settlement before going to court, but in some cases a trial is necessary.

If you have been injured because of the wrongful actions of a person or a business in Los Angeles, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles negligence attorney, at 310-385-0567. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

As a family with a deceased loved one, you have the right to have your loved one’s remains dealt with quickly, in accordance with your family’s wishes, and in a respectful manner. Unfortunately, there are funeral homes which do not live up to those standards. When a deceased family member or friend is not treated with a high standard of care, that can be devastating to an already-grieving family.

When a loved one dies, family members often gather for a funeral, wake, burial, cremation, memorial service, or other way in which to honor the life of the deceased. Family members and friends are often very vulnerable, and therefore can be more easily taken advantage of by a funeral home than at other times.

Funeral homes may be simply understaffed, inexperienced, and negligent, or worse behavior may have occurred. The funeral home could be looking for money at the expense of family members. Some common forms of misconduct by a funeral home include losing bodies or ashes, mixing up ashes with another individual’s ashes, placing multiple bodies in coffins, cremating bodies instead of burying them, not properly tending gravesites, and retrieving coffins after burial in order to switch them for cheaper ones.

If you believe you were the victim of negligence or exploitation by someone in the funeral business, including a funeral home, crematorium, cemetery, or another party, call Los Angeles personal injury attorney Conal Doyle at 310-385-0567. He can help obtain justice for your family. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m sorry to hear about your mother’s pressure sores. Yes, they can be easily prevented, and yes, you or your mother may be able to sue the nursing home for mistreatment. Pressure sores, which are also called bed sores, can be very painful and may become infected, which can lead to other health problems. Pressure sores can be hard to get rid of once they develop. Nursing homes must take the proper steps to ensure that their patients do not develop pressure sores.

Pressure sores can be prevented with a certain level of care. Patients must be kept dry, as pressure sores can easily develop when skin is wet. Wet skin can become fragile and prone to deterioration. If a patient spends a lot of time sitting down or lying down, any areas that are under pressure should be checked regularly to ensure the sores are not developing. Caregivers should check the feet and heels, hips, tailbone, and buttocks for signs of pressure sores.

Patients with limited mobility should also be frequently moved. Caregivers can move patients every couple of hours so that sores are not allowed to develop. There are special beds and chairs available that can help prevent pressure sores by putting extra padding in key areas.

Unfortunately, many nursing homes simply do not provide the level of care needed to prevent pressure sores. When a pressure sore occurs, it can be hard to eliminate and may lead to other health problems, some of them serious. If your mother has been allowed to develop pressure sores, you may want to seek out another nursing facility, as well as speak to an attorney. She may have the legal right to compensation for her injuries. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home attorney at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to schedule a free consultation.

Transcranial Doppler Imaging (TCDI) is a type of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM). It is commonly used during vascular surgery. TCDI is a type of ultrasound that measures the velocity of blood flow through the brain’s blood vessels by measuring the echoes of ultrasound waves moving through the brain. TCDI is often used in conjunction with other tests.

TCDI uses one or two probes that display images of the skull, brain, and blood vessels. The probe emits a sound wave that bounces off substances in the body. The probes can measure whether blood is moving towards or away from the probe. This can help make a number of diagnoses.

TCDI is generally very safe. The procedure has been used regularly for years, and the technology is better than ever. However, as with any medical procedure, in some cases something could go wrong. If you have any fears about TCDI, you should speak with your doctor about your specific concerns.

If you believe you have been harmed during a procedure involving TCDI, it may be time to speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, IONM attorney at 310-385-0567. I have experience in handling IONM malpractice cases, which can be complex. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

I’m sorry to hear about your amputation and the pain surrounding it. For many people who have lost a limb, the pain comes from sensitivity of nerve endings around the amputation site. There may also not be enough padding over the bone. Some patients may not be able to wear a prosthetic limb.

In some cases, the amputee is able to undergo another surgery to help repair the amputation site. Bone may be removed, or tissue added to the area. Although this may help, there are always risks with every surgery, and patients may have scarring, infection, and pain from the surgery.

A new therapy to help patients with issues about their amputation site is being studied. It uses a person’s fat tissue to build up new fat tissue around an amputation site. The fat is typically taken from the thighs or belly using small tubes, and it is then administered to the amputation site. Stem cells may be concentrated in the area, so that the stem cells can promote healing of the tissue. The benefits of this treatment are that it is minimally invasive, can be repeated, and allows the patient to have other surgical procedures at the amputation site, if necessary.

Thus far, results from the therapy are promising. However, this is still in the research phase, and is not a treatment offered by doctors at this time. If it does become an approved treatment, your insurance company should cover it, but may refuse, claiming it is an experimental treatment and therefore not covered under the terms of your policy.

If you are an amputee and you believe your insurance company is acting in bad faith, call me, Amputation Attorney Conal Doyle at 310-385-0567. I am also an amputee as well as an attorney, and I enjoy helping clients fight their insurance companies for benefits to which they are entitled. Call today to learn more.

Most personal injury cases are settled before or during trial. Only a small number go in front of a judge or jury to reach a verdict. Once you agree on a settlement and sign some papers, the case is over. You then receive your settlement, less the attorney’s fee. After receiving the check, you may wonder whether or not you have to pay taxes on the settlement.

In most cases, the proceeds you receive from your settlement are not taxable under state or federal law. This general rule applies whether or not you settled your case before or during trial, or if you went to trial and received a verdict. Typically, settlements compensate the victim for lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and attorney’s fees, and those settlements are not taxable.

However, there are a few exceptions to the general rule. If you receive punitive damages, which are designed to punish the defendant, those are taxable. Also, if a breach of contract caused your injury, and that breach of contract is the basis of your lawsuit, you will be taxes on any damages related to a breach of contract. Also, if you receive interest as part of your settlement, that interest is taxable. For example, if there was a lengthy delay between when you filed your lawsuit and when you received payment, you may receive interest on that delayed payment, which is taxable. Finally, if your settlement was only for emotional injuries and not physical injuries, your settlement of verdict is taxable unless you can prove you suffered some physical injuries.

As a personal injury attorney, I can help clients insure that as much of their settlements are non-taxable as possible. If you have any questions, call me, Conal Doyle, personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. Call today to learn more or to schedule a consultation.

In California, drivers are required to carry insurance on their vehicles. Drivers must have evidence of financial responsibility available to show to a police officer if asked, or if involved in an accident. Drivers are required to carry $15,000 in coverage for injury or death to one person, $30,000 in coverage for injury or death to more than one person, and $5,000 for damage to property.

Unfortunately, not everyone in California chooses to obey the law and purchase insurance. It’s estimated that 15 percent of the drivers on California’s roads do not have insurance. Many drivers choose to purchase uninsured motorist coverage. That insurance is designed to pay for a loss you incur that is caused by a driver without adequate liability insurance. It could cover medical expenses, property damage, loss of income, or other expenses. The coverage is typically extended to all members of your family who live in your household.

If you are involved in an accident with a driver who does not have insurance, and the accident was the other driver’s fault, if you have uninsured motorist coverage, you can make a claim against your insurance company. In unusual circumstances, the driver may have enough assets to cover your damages. There may be other parties at fault too who can be held legally responsible.

Call me, California personal injury attorney Conal Doyle of Doyle Law at 310-385-0567, if you have been involved in an accident with a driver who did not have car insurance. I can help advise you of your legal options. Call today to schedule your free consultation.

Airbags have been a huge safety innovation for automobiles. Airbags can also cause serious injuries. Recently, automobile manufacturers recalled millions of vehicles that were equipped with Takata airbags, which were prone to explode and send shrapnel flying through the vehicle.

Even when airbags perform correctly, they can harm passengers, particularly smaller ones. Although these injuries are rare, they can be serious, and in some cases can be more serious than any injuries that would have occurred in an accident had the airbags not deployed.

Airbags deploy when a crash occurs because an electronic signal tells them to deploy. A chemical reaction occurs that inflates the bags with gas at very high speeds. In some cases, the bags can deploy in accidents that occur at low speeds. The rapid deployment of the airbags can cause serious injuries if a passenger or driver is hit hard enough by it.

It’s common for burns to occur in an airbag deployment. The burns could be chemical burns (caused by contact with the chemical that is released) or abrasion (caused when an individual hits the airbag) burns. Other burns can be caused by the high temperatures reached by the gases.

If you have suffered injuries from an airbag, call me, California personal injury attorney Conal Doyle of Doyle Law at 310-385-0567. You may be entitled to compensation from the other driver involved in the accident, the vehicle manufacturer, or another party. Call today to learn more.

It’s illegal under both federal and state law to discriminate against a woman in the workplace because of her pregnancy. Under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, women are provided with certain legal protections during their pregnancies.

By law, an employer cannot refuse to hire or demote or fire a woman because she is currently pregnant or is planning to become pregnant. Some common examples of pregnancy discrimination include refusing to hire women of childbearing age out of fear they may become pregnant and quit their jobs, refusing to hire women because they are pregnant, firing a woman for bogus reasons after she becomes pregnant, or passing a woman over for a promotion because she is pregnant or may become pregnant.

In addition, most working women are entitled to maternity leave. If you are eligible under federal and state laws, employers must offer you 12 weeks of unpaid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Women may choose to replace those unpaid weeks with paid leave that they have accrued, such as sick leave or vacation leave. Women must continue to receive employment benefits, such as health insurance, although they must pay the premiums. Once a pregnant woman returns to work, she must be restored to her original job or an equivalent job.

It can in some cases be difficult to prove that you were discriminated against because you were pregnant. Employers frequently make up a bogus excuse for why they chose to take certain actions against pregnant employees. If you believe you were wrongfully fired because you are or were pregnant, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment discrimination attorney at 310-385-0567. I will provide you with a free consultation on your case. Call to learn more.

For most new parents, the birth of a child is an exciting event which they have looked forward to for months. Sadly, often obstetricians fail to exercise a high level of care during childbirth. This may result in injuries or death to the mother, the child, or both.

There are many types of malpractice an obstetrician can commit during labor or delivery. The obstetrician may fail to recognize complications during the delivery. He or she may not have performed proper tests during the pregnancy or delivery. For example, he or she may have failed to give the mother a Group B strep test, which could help the doctor to prevent deadly infections in the infant. The obstetrician may also have failed to carefully monitor the delivery, which could have dangerous implications if complications arise.

Obstetricians may improperly use medical devices during delivery. This may include the use of vacuums or forceps. If a C-section is performed, surgical instruments can in some cases cause damage to the mother or the child.

When a high level of care is used during labor and delivery, the vast majority of deliveries result in healthy infants. However, if a proper standard of care is not used, tragedy can result. If you believe that you have been the victim of an obstetrician’s malpractice in southern California, call me, Conal Doyle, medical malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. I will provide you with a free consultation on your case. Call to learn more.