Legal

The Legal section covers court rulings, statutory changes, liability trends, and key developments in Alabama and federal law that shape personal-injury claims. We explain how case law and regulation affect claims strategy, statutes of limitations, damages, and the rights of injured people pursuing justice.

What Does Contributory Negligence Mean To You?

When I evaluate a potential tort case, contributory negligence is laways an overiding concern. Contributory negligence is a defense in a tort case to a negligence claim. The best example of all of…

By Pete Mackey

/ 20 Jan 2011

The Danger Of Fire Ants In Nursing Homes, Hospitals And Day Cares

The red fire ant is now spread throughout the southern United States. Infestations have been reported in California and New Mexico. It is believed they originally came to the United States in the…

By Billy Cunningham

/ 18 Jan 2011

The Hellhole of Tort Reform

Recently, I saw reference to a website called Judicial Hellholes which is maintained by the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF). So what is a “judicial hellhole”? According to ATRF:…

By Clay Rossi

/ 21 Dec 2010

Pain And Suffering

I wiped out riding my bike Saturday morning with several other folks. As the pain worsened Saturday afternoon, a family practitioner who lives nearby gave me the bad news – a broken rib. Being a…

By Pete Mackey

/ 6 Dec 2010

What/Who Has Driven Highway Safety?

A friend of mine sent me a video of a crash test of 2009 Cheverolet Malibu and a 1959 Cheverolet Bel Air. The video shows, from several angles, how much safer the newer model is. That crash test was…

By Pete Mackey

/ 3 Dec 2010

What does it mean when politicians simply say “Trial Lawyers”…

During the last election, regardless of where you lived I can guarantee you that if one of the candidates was a trial lawyer, took campaign contributions from trial lawyers, or had a neighbor that…

By Troy Schwant

/ 30 Nov 2010

Why True Conservatives Know That Tort Reform Is Anything But Conservative

You retired from the Fortune 500 company (that did you well over the years) after deciding that you still had some productive years left and did not want to let the dream owning your own business…

By Pete Mackey

/ 29 Nov 2010

Supreme Court Could Outlaw Class Actions

A case before the U.S. Supreme Court may give that currently right-leaning body the opportunity to kill the class-action suit. Hard to believe that it’s even possible, given the extent of the…

By Dottie Perry

/ 8 Nov 2010

The Civil Justice System and YOU Can Protect the Elderly

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) issued a news report on October 7, 2010 illustrating how the civil justice system is the most effective force in uncovering abuses by corporate nursing…

By Billy Cunningham

/ 15 Oct 2010

National Long-Term Care Residents' Rghts Week

The National Consumers Voice for Quality Long Term Care has designated October 3-9, 2010, as National Long-Term Care Residents’ Rights Week, a time to acknowledge the contributions and…

By Billy Cunningham

/ 7 Oct 2010

Has SCOTUS lost its intellectual diversity?

Today marks the first Monday in October and the start of a new term for the Supreme Court of the United States. While most SCOTUS watchers occupy their time trying to figure out how the voting will…

By Clay Rossi

/ 4 Oct 2010

Limiting damages without knowing the facts is stupid.

The problem with caps – artificial ceilings on the amount that a wrong doer will have to pay regardless of the damage caused – is that caps trade justice for predictability while dealing…

By Pete Burns

/ 23 Sep 2010