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.

Problems in Texas affect citizens in other states

It appears that the state of Texas has been doing a very poor job of regulating the trucking industry. As a result, trucks from Texas can create safety hazards when these trucks travel into other states. It should be noted that the trucking industry in the U.S. has grown at a rapid pace. That has al

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 20 Oct 2006

Drug Companies Pay For FDA Staff Travel

Over the years it has become quite apparent that the powerful drug industry has enjoyed tremendous control over the Food and Drug Administration. We now learn that, through an apparent loophole in agency rules, the FDA has allowed its employees to receive more than $1.3 million in sponsored travel s

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 17 Oct 2006

Ordinary Folks Have A Need For Lobbyists Too

The large and powerful companies in Corporate America (sometimes referred to as “Fat Cats”) have always had ready access to the seats of power at the national level, and that has also been the case in almost every state capitol in America. In recent years that access has become much easier. Lobbyist

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 17 Oct 2006

OSHA identifies 14,000 workplaces with high injury and illness rates

Approximately 14,000 employers have been notified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that injury and illness rates at their worksites are higher than average and that assistance is available to help them fix safety and health hazards. OSHA has explained to these employers th

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 15 Oct 2006

A trenching accident in Texas

A Texas construction contractor faces a proposed fine of $108,500 following a trenching accident that claimed a worker’s life, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Utility Contractors of America LLC, Lubbock, Texas, a construction company headquartered in Wolfforth, Texas,

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 13 Oct 2006

Settlement in death case

Beasley Allen recently reached a settlement of $4 million dollars with David Bulger, Inc., a trucking company, in a highway construction project death case. The settlement, which was partial in nature, was only for the claim against that company. We still have a claim pending against Wiregrass Const

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 13 Oct 2006

Jury returns verdict for family in a 4-car collision

A California state jury awarded $3.7 million in damages to a family that suffered injuries during a crash involving vehicles owned by Harris Ranch Beef Co. and FedEx Ground Package System Inc. The jury found that California-based Harris Ranch should pay 80% of the damages and that Pittsburgh-based F

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 13 Oct 2006

Transportation fatalities up in 2005

Transportation fatalities in the United States increased last year, according to preliminary figures released last month by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Deaths from transportation accidents in the United States in 2005 totaled 45,636, up from 45,092 in 2004. Based on our firm’s e

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 13 Oct 2006

Yamaha recalls 190,000 motorcycles

Yamaha Motor Corp. is recalling around 190,000 motorcycles because the passenger seat can fall off the rear fender, federal safety regulators and the company said Friday. The recall affects XV250, XVS11, and XVS65 motorcycles from the 1988-2005 model years. The mounting hardware that connects the se

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 13 Oct 2006

Ford Can't Put All Of The Blame On Firestone Tires

Ford Motor Co. approved replacement tires for its Explorer sport utility vehicle that made it just as likely to roll over as the originals that Ford had blamed for more than 200 deaths. Ford’s test results of replacement tires, introduced as evidence in an Explorer trial in Mississippi, will support

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 10 Oct 2006

A Shocking Report Relating To Medication Errors

I was shocked to learn that medication errors harm 1.5 million people and kill several thousand each year in the United States, costing the nation at least $3.5 billion annually. While I knew that the error rate was fairly high, I certainly didn’t realize how bad it actually was. The Institute of Me

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 10 Oct 2006

Consumers Sue Bureaus Over Damaged Credit

An increasing number of lawsuits against the nation’s top three credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian allege they are “damaging credit worthiness” of consumers through inaccurate credit reports. Various consumers and lawyers agree that erroneous reports are best handled through litigatio

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 9 Aug 2006