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The Bigger the Truck, the Harder They Fall
Aside from the song that mentions 18-wheelers don’t stop on a dime, there is the well-known fact that if they’re not loaded correctly, they are apt to topple over with disastrous consequences.
Cargo aside, the weight of the truck without a load is at least 10,000 pounds or more, or it isn’t classified as a large truck. Rig drivers need to pay special attention to how their load is packed on and strapped down.
Any load on a semi is the responsibility of the driver - to make sure it gets from point A to point B - and in the process does not shift and either lose the load, jackknife or topple the load and truck with it. “Accidents like this usually have grave consequences,” outlined Lance Sharp of The Sharp Law Firm in Austin, Texas. Sharp would definitely know what he’s talking about, as he’s handled many of these cases during the years he has practiced law.
It’s not enough to just load and go. There are federal, state and even local rules and regulations that deal with acceptable weights of commercial vehicles. In many cities, there are even specially designated large truck routes, specifically designed to handle the weight of a fully loaded semi, such as 130 recently built around Austin. Vehicles that large play havoc with the asphalt.
“Weight, speed and time behind the wheel are just some of the factors we need to examine in a large truck accident,” explained Sharp. For that, an experienced attorney spends time researching gross commercial vehicle weights, gross combination weights, tire loads and axle weights. Illegally overloading can be the cause of some serious accidents, and it’s the job of the large truck accident attorney to get to the bottom of the details of the case.
While some people think it’s a waste of time to consult with a lawyer, as it is obvious they were in an accident, it’s not always so obvious what damages have been sustained. Damages and injuries go straight to the heart of a court case for personal injury and factors such as illegal overloading would pertain to liability.
When involved in a serious large truck accident, make sure a highly qualified attorney assesses the case, such as the attorneys at The Sharp Law Firm in Austin, Texas. It is one phone call that may change the lives of those involved.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
Motorcycle Accident Claims Are Not Easy
Insurance companies have a tough time settling motorcycle insurance claims, largely because they take advantage of the misconception that it’s always the motorcyclist’s fault. The reality is that two-thirds of the time, it’s the vehicle driver’s fault. Yet there is a misconception that motorcyclists take unnecessary risks and are at fault for their own misfortune.
Unfortunately, motorcyclists take on an enormous risk when riding today. It’s no laughing matter that they face a much higher risk of fatality or severe injuries.
Motorbike riders have little protection when a vehicle, whose driver wasn’t paying attention, hits them. Yet the same driver tells police that the motorcycle came out of nowhere. That’s the time to call an experienced motorcycle attorney such as those at The Sharp Law Firm in Austin, Texas. They know how to ask the right questions and fight the insurance companies.
Once called, The Sharp Law Firm acts immediately to collect all the evidence including the police reports of the crash, photos of the scene of the accident and eyewitness statements. The Sharp Law Firm will also access the nature of the injuries and their value in today’s legal system.
A motorcycle accident is not an easy thing to face for the rider’s family. It is gut-wrenching and the process of recovery may be a long and painful one. A motorcyclist may be faced with a long list of medical bills, rehabilitation, loss of wages and extensive property damage. When involved in such an accident, call the experienced motorcycle accident attorneys at The Sharp Law Firm in Austin, Texas.
The Sharp Law Firm in Austin, Texas, has an outstanding record handling cases of this nature and litigates not only aggressively, but compassionately. The Sharp Law Firm also knows how to get a fair and just settlement from insurance companies that have denied your claims unjustly.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
Traumatic Brain Injury and Hearing Loss
Traumatic brain injuries may affect people in more ways than one. Often other smaller things happen that are the result of the initial injury.
It’s quite common for hearing problems to crop up after a traumatic brain injury. This is related to the inner ear being directly connected to the central nervous system. Another annoying side effect is ringing in the ears, also called tinnitus, a high pitched squeal that can drive people right around the bend in no time flat.
There are other hearing difficulties that may also arise after a brain injury and they include hyperacusis – a situation where normal sounds seem to be much louder – and auditory agnosia (aka pure word deafness) where people are unable to recognize the meanings of certain sounds. If this weren’t enough there may also be difficulty in filtering one set of sounds from another.
In cases where a person has experienced a traumatic brain injury, it is critical to consult immediately with a competent attorney to find out what options are available for launching a lawsuit. The Sharp Firm in Austin, Texas, has extensive experience in this area of law and understands what other injuries may result from a traumatic brain injury. This is why consulting with a lawyer will outline the possible compensation for various injuries sustained in an accident.
Filing a traumatic brain injury case involves knowing that hearing problems may arise for numerous reasons. “Injuries may be mechanical and/or neurological, especially if the inner ear or temporal lobes are damaged,” explained Sharp.
Other signs of damage may also include bleeding in the ear canal, cochlear injury, temporal lobe lesions, or middle ear damage. If children sustain traumatic brain injuries, they tend to face other difficulties such as trouble talking, impulse control, spatial orientation, and processing new information.
Head trauma has been known to rupture the delicate inner ear membranes and result in even more side effects such as nausea and dizziness. “At times surgery may be required as the result of a traumatic brain injury,” said Sharp.
If faced with a traumatic brain injury and uncertain about what possibilities exist for launching a lawsuit, consult with a highly qualified brain injury attorney such as Lance Sharp at the Sharp Law Firm in Austin, Texas.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
Picking Up the Pieces After a Wrongful Death
In cases of wrongful death, those left behind have the right by statute to seek compensation for pain and suffering. It is a shock to any family and they need to enlist the assistance of others, more specifically, an attorney who specializes in wrongful death law.
Wrongful death is usually the result of someone else’s negligence costing the life of another. While it is a stunning event and one that causes major emotional trauma, speak to a wrongful death attorney immediately to understand how the law works in this area.
The Sharp Firm of Austin, Texas, has over 40 years of experience in this area of the law and Lance Sharp is able to give solid legal advice to those suffering the pain of a loss.
Sharp will be the advocate that goes to bat for the rights of the family and provides the kind of advice that will help see them through a significant personal crisis.
Understanding a wrongful death suit is often the first step toward resolving all the issues surrounding it. This is a civil suit that charges a person for being liable for the death of another, by reason of negligence, or a failure to act that could foreseeably result in a death.
In cases such as this, whomever is in the role of the plaintiff (spouse, administrator, etc.) has to prove the deceased person would not have died “but for” the negligence of the defendant. This doesn’t mean that every accidental death ends up being a wrongful death suit.
In order to get an idea if a wrongful death action may be pursued, speak with a highly qualified wrongful death attorney such as Lance Sharp in Austin, Texas. Consultation with Sharp will outline the areas of possible compensation in a wrongful death suit – punitive damages, loss of spousal services, medical and funeral expenses, lost earnings, etc.
Compensation awarded in a wrongful death suit is normally supposed to go to the surviving spouse, next of kin, or children of the deceased. In this instance there are two categories of awards that may be made by the courts – economic damages and compensatory damages. Sharp will be able to detail the various categories and advise on how to proceed with a wrongful death action.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
An End to Cell Phone Chatters
Finally, there is a way to totally disable a cell phone to stop people from talking, texting and messaging while driving.
While people may think this infringes on their rights and freedoms, the sad fact is that out of the 42 thousand road deaths a year, a good 7% of those are attributed to people talking on cell phones while driving.
If you have been injured in an accident while using a cell phone, you will need the services of a qualified personal injury accident attorney like Lance Sharp of the Sharp Firm in Austin, Texas.
People might not like having this luxury taken away from them, but it certainly isn’t a necessity to talk on the phone while in a moving car. Remember no one had cell phones at one point in time and people got along just fine without them. While they have changed the way America does business, they have also caused a lot of unnecessary grief.
The device, called the DriveAssistT from Aegis Mobile of Canada, has a little sensor in it that detects when the cell phone is moving at the speed of a vehicle. This motion totally shuts off the phone and disables it from taking calls, texting or messaging. In other words no calls in and no calls out.
The sensor in the phone sends a signal to the cell phone provider that will cause all activity to that cell phone to cease. Callers hear a recording that says the person is driving. There is the option to send an emergency voice mail that is sent immediately.
While the Sharp Firm in Austin, Texas, recognizes the need for choice in sending messages; it does strongly recommend that the emergency voice message be used “only” for true emergencies.
While the DriveAssistT is a great idea, it says something about people that technology had to go this far to create something to stop what common sense should taken care of in the first place. Unfortunately, a great number of people do not seem to recognize the dangers of driving while yakking and have paid for that error in judgment with their lives.
The DriveAssistT should be out in 2009 and will likely be rented for between $10 – 20 a month by a cell phone provider. It will be optional for people to use this and that might mean it won’t sell well. It will, however, provide the compulsive person who always answers the phone in heavy traffic with a way to prevent calls from coming in while on the road.
The largest segment of the population to likely use this gadget will be parents with younger adults who will be able to shut down cell phones while their teens are at the wheel. Their teen will squawk about it, but it may save their life one day.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
Personal Injury–Do’s and Don’ts
Take notes, take notes and take more notes if involved in an accident that results in personal injury. It may make the difference between a successful settlement and a major loss.
In order to win a personal injury claim in Texas, it has to be proven that the person who caused the injury in the first place was negligent. Negligent usually means careless and thoughtless, and as a result of this carelessness and thoughtlessness caused an accident that resulted in personal injury to another person’s body – not their property.
To win this kind of case in Texas, it must be proven that the person who caused the injuries owed a duty not to injure another person and did not live up to that duty. A personal injury lawyer such as Lance Sharp at the Sharp Firm in Austin, Texas, handles cases like this and works as an advocate to ensure the courts reach a just settlement.
The attorney of record strives to prove there was a connection between the other person’s duty and a resulting injury and that damages were suffered. The one thing of note here is that if both parties to the accident were deemed to have contributed to causing it, damages are awarded under the Texas comparative negligence law.
The Sharp Firm in Austin has over 40 years of experience dealing with these kinds of cases and knows that if either party was more than 50% at fault for the injuries sustained in an accident they will not be able to collect damages. What happens is the courts reduce the amount potentially recoverable by the percentage of fault apportioned to each party by the courts.
Speak to the Sharp Firm in Austin, Texas, about an exception to the comparative negligence law. The joint and several liability rules in Texas may make any person more than 50% responsible for an injury liable for all the damages, regardless of what proportion of fault each person had.
When a person is involved in an accident, quick thinking isn’t always the order of the day, but try to maximize all opportunities to get as much information as humanly possible. This will help the lawyer present a solid case to the courts.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
Texas Statute Of Limitations Hints
(AP) Don’t wait until the last possible minute to file a personal injury lawsuit. Waiting too long can mean missing the statute of limitations on filing.
If there’s just been an accident, the last thing on anyone’s mind may be suing. The focus is usually on medical care, insurance claims, car repairs and just generally wanting to get life back on track.
Don’t wait too long to consider a personal injury lawsuit or the ability to be able to file will disappear if it’s past the statute of limitations. In Texas the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is 2 years.
If the injuries were serious, it may take two years to heal and miss the filing deadline. Be aware of what legal options are available before they slip away and can’t be exercised.
There is one area of law where the statute of limitations is actually 10 years – medical malpractice suits. The reason for the longer deadline is because in medical cases, complications might not show up until later.
A word of advice about accidents. Usually the first thing that happens is the insurance company wants to get things all tied up and settled quickly. Under no circumstances should anyone settle for the first offer. Speak to an attorney familiar with this area of the law to ensure there isn’t an unseemly rush to an inadequate settlement.
There may be some bluster from the insurance company about settling quickly before the deadline passes. There’s no hurry, despite what they may imply. The case just needs to be started before the statute of limitations expires. The case doesn’t have to be completed by then.
There is nothing stopping a person from trying to settle his or her own insurance claim. However, once the claim is settled there is rarely any going back to re-open the deal. This is the major reason for speaking to a lawyer.
Advice on how to proceed with a personal injury claim will get a claimant what they actually deserve as a settlement, not what the insurance company thinks they can get away with.
To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.
Adviatech Corp. PR for The Sharp Firm
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.813.600.3017
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