Appeal After a judgment is entered, either side may appeal. Generally, reviewing courts will construe the evidence and procedures at trial in such a way as to uphold a trial court determination. Reversals can occur, however, where a “miscarriage of justice” or prejudicial legal error can be shown. An appeal normally takes about one year […]
Verdict After Trial Once a verdict is returned, a winning party will have a judgment in his or her favor. The prevailing party may also seek costs from the losing party. These can sometimes be substantial. This should be considered in litigation decisions along the way.
A trial, should your claim come to this, is a process whereby either a judge (if the jury is waived), or a jury of people from around the area in which the court is situated, decide your case. A trial can last from one day to many weeks or even months. It requires a substantial […]
The Risks Attorneys Bear Many people who have been injured have little or no idea of the cost and risks that attorneys shoulder in taking on insurance companies, large corporations, and governments that have injured people. The costs can be in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in building a case to recover […]
Federal Court From time to time, a lawsuit can be filed in federal court, where either the plaintiff and the defendant are from different states, or there is a federal question involved in the case. Typically the life span of a federal case is somew.hat longer than a state case, but there is substantial variety […]
Miscellaneous Injury Claims There are unusual sorts of claims applicable to special situations. In dog bite cases, for example, there is a statute or a written law that basically states that the owner of the dog is strictly liable for injuries caused by the dog. There are, at least in California, no “free bites.” Defamation […]
Frivolous Lawsuits – a Perspective Do people sometimes bring frivolous or meritless claims for personal injury or other damages? Yes, of course, they do. The incidence of such claims, however, is relatively rare, notwithstanding media suggestions to the contrary (which not infrequently misreport the facts of individual claims as well). Attorneys are generally not interested […]
Products Liability Cases In products liability cases, the analysis is whether a product is unreasonably dangerous given its intended use: again a sort of negligence or reasonable man standard. Likewise, in trip and fall and other cases involving the dangerous conditions of real property, the question is whether there was an unreasonably dangerous condition on […]
Understaffing of Judges Hearing Longshore Cases For 10 or more years, the United States Office of Administrative Law Judges has been chronically understaffed causing serious backlogs in Longshore and similar cases. On the West Coast, it now typically takes two or more years for a decision to issue after a trial. This can result in […]
Vicarious Liability of Car Owners and Employers Other claims besides negligence that may be brought in personal injury litigation typically involve some variation on the negligence theory. For example, the liability of owners of automobiles driven by someone else, or the liability of the employer of a person causing injury, still involve the question of […]
Appeal
Appeal After a judgment is entered, either side may appeal. Generally, reviewing courts will construe the evidence and procedures at trial in such a way as to uphold a trial court determination. Reversals can occur, however, where a “miscarriage of justice” or prejudicial legal error can be shown. An appeal normally takes about one year […]
Verdict After Trial
Verdict After Trial Once a verdict is returned, a winning party will have a judgment in his or her favor. The prevailing party may also seek costs from the losing party. These can sometimes be substantial. This should be considered in litigation decisions along the way.
Trials
A trial, should your claim come to this, is a process whereby either a judge (if the jury is waived), or a jury of people from around the area in which the court is situated, decide your case. A trial can last from one day to many weeks or even months. It requires a substantial […]
The Risks Attorneys Bear
The Risks Attorneys Bear Many people who have been injured have little or no idea of the cost and risks that attorneys shoulder in taking on insurance companies, large corporations, and governments that have injured people. The costs can be in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in building a case to recover […]
Federal Court
Federal Court From time to time, a lawsuit can be filed in federal court, where either the plaintiff and the defendant are from different states, or there is a federal question involved in the case. Typically the life span of a federal case is somew.hat longer than a state case, but there is substantial variety […]
Miscellaneous Injury Claims
Miscellaneous Injury Claims There are unusual sorts of claims applicable to special situations. In dog bite cases, for example, there is a statute or a written law that basically states that the owner of the dog is strictly liable for injuries caused by the dog. There are, at least in California, no “free bites.” Defamation […]
Frivolous Lawsuits – a Perspective
Frivolous Lawsuits – a Perspective Do people sometimes bring frivolous or meritless claims for personal injury or other damages? Yes, of course, they do. The incidence of such claims, however, is relatively rare, notwithstanding media suggestions to the contrary (which not infrequently misreport the facts of individual claims as well). Attorneys are generally not interested […]
Products Liability Cases
Products Liability Cases In products liability cases, the analysis is whether a product is unreasonably dangerous given its intended use: again a sort of negligence or reasonable man standard. Likewise, in trip and fall and other cases involving the dangerous conditions of real property, the question is whether there was an unreasonably dangerous condition on […]
Understaffing of Judges Hearing Longshore Cases
Understaffing of Judges Hearing Longshore Cases For 10 or more years, the United States Office of Administrative Law Judges has been chronically understaffed causing serious backlogs in Longshore and similar cases. On the West Coast, it now typically takes two or more years for a decision to issue after a trial. This can result in […]
Vicarious Liability of Car Owners and Employers
Vicarious Liability of Car Owners and Employers Other claims besides negligence that may be brought in personal injury litigation typically involve some variation on the negligence theory. For example, the liability of owners of automobiles driven by someone else, or the liability of the employer of a person causing injury, still involve the question of […]