As this blog has discussed on previous occasions, spinal cord injuries are very serious and will usually mean the victim will have a life time of medical rehabilitation and other forms of pain and suffering.

One of the places where Reno, Nevada residents can easily suffer a spinal-cordn injury is at work. While this is particularly true in inherently dangerous workplaces like industrial factories and construction sites, they can happen anywhere. Even a minor fall at a place like an office can, in some cases, cause a spinal cord injury.

As another example, those who work in policing face the risk of suffering a spinal cord injury due to violence. Finally, many people drive in connection with their work, and car accidents are among the most common causes of spinal cord injuries and paralysis.

An injury at work will ordinarily qualify the victim for workers’ compensation benefits. With respect to those workers who suffer from spinal cord injuries, these benefits can be very helpful when it comes to paying medical bills and covering a portion of the worker’s lost wages. However, these benefits will not cover everything, and they won’t cover non-economic damages like pain and suffering, despite this sort of damage being among the most pronounced after a spinal injury.

Fortunately, Nevada workers can, and should, explore whether someone else, other than employer, is also at fault for their work-related spinal cord injury. For instance, if a negligent driver caused the injury, then the worker may be able to sue that driver for additional compensation under a theory called third party liability. This option should be discussed with an experienced personal injury attorney with knowledge of how to handle cases involving a spinal cord injury.

A drunk driver who killed a couple who had just announced their plans to get married will spend up to 40 years in prison for his role in a deadly accident in the Reno area. The driver refused to plead guilty to the charges against him and instead took his case to a trial, where a jury convicted him. Reports indicate that the man will be able to get out of prison on parole after 14 years, but, of course, he will need to get approved for that privilege.

According to reports, the engaged couple was on their way home after going out for dinner and were passing through an intersection. The drunk driver, who was showing signs that he was under the influence immediately after the accident, ran a red light while traveling almost 90 miles per hour, slamming into the couple’s car and flipping it into a ditch that was close to the intersection.

While the man’s sentence hopefully gives the families of the victims some sense of justice, the reality is that sentencing the man to prison is not intended to compensate the victims, even though the death of their loved ones has probably cost them financially and has certainly been an emotional loss that ought to be compensated.

Fortunately, victims of drunk driving accidents and families who have lost loved ones have legal options to file wrongful death claims against the drivers who recklessly caused such a terrible tragedy. It is through this type of civil lawsuit that a family can get the justice they deserve by getting compensation for medical bills, funeral expenses, lost wages, non-economic damages like loss of companionship and, in some cases, punitive damages.

A previous post on this blog talked about how although motorcycle accidents declined in Nevada between 2016 and 2017, the state still has a problem when it comes to motorcyclists making up a disproportionate number of the total victims of fatal motorcycle accidents. It is unfortunate that motorcyclists in Reno and the other communities of this state seem to have a rough go of it. It is equally unfortunate that, while many of these fatal accidents can be attributed to a negligent driver of another vehicle, motorcyclists still struggle against the common perception that they are unsafe drivers and are usually to blame for an accident.

For this reason, the family attempting to get compensation to help cover their losses after the untimely death of their loved one in a motorcycle accident may have an uphill battle. Knowing this, many families entrust our law office with their wrongful death claims following a tragic motorcycle accident.

Our approach to these sorts of cases is fairly simple, in that we work hard to get a family the most possible compensation we can in light of the law and the specific facts and circumstances of their case. This means that our first step is to honestly evaluate the family’s legal options so that they know what they are facing and what they can expect. We also want to review the insurance policies that might apply to the situation, including the family’s own insurance coverage.

After evaluating our client’s case, our job becomes advocating for them by investigating their claim and arguing vigorously for their right to compensation for things like funeral expenses, lost income and other damages.

According to a recent report , during 2017 motorcyclists in Reno and the rest of Nevada were in slightly less danger of dying in a crash than they were the year before. According to preliminary numbers, 54 people died in connection with motorcycle accidents in this state, which is a decrease of 20 from the 74 people who died in 2016. This was an almost 24 percent decrease in the number of fatalities and exceeded the national decrease of about 5.5 percent.

The news in Nevada is not all bright when it comes to motorcycle accidents, however. For instance, based on 2016 numbers, 22.6 percent of all those who died in motor vehicle accidents in this state were motorcyclists. Compared with all the other states, Nevada ranked highest with respect to this statistic, meaning that this state has a way to go with respect to preventing serious motorcycle crashes.

Although there are a number of things motorcyclists can do to protect themselves from serious accidents, as this blog has discussed before, people must not be quick to blame the motorcyclist every time they hear about motorcycle accidents. In many cases, a motorcyclist dies in an accident even though he was being perfectly safe on the road and was wearing the proper protective equipment.

If a family loses their loved one in a fatal motorcycle accident, then they may be able to recover compensation from the motorist responsible for the accident. For instance, if the driver of a car was not paying attention and turned in front of a motorcyclist, then it would be only fair for that driver to compensate the family for the deceased person’s lost wages, funeral expenses and outstanding medical bills.

Previous posts here have often discussed how motorcycle accidents in the Reno, Nevada, area can leave a rider suffering for the rest of his or her life with catastrophic brain or spinal cord injuries, making it clear that the rider has been seriously and permanently hurt. As such, if another motorist was at fault for the motorcyclist’s injuries, it is fairly evident that the other motorist owes compensation to the rider.

While, thankfully, not all motorcycle accidents end with paralysis or brain damage, many motorcyclists suffer other types of serious injuries that may not be so evident to the general public. To the motorcyclist, however, the injury could mean not being able to return to work for a long time, if at all.

For example, as with other types of vehicle accidents, a motorcyclist may experience some form of soft tissue injury , including whiplash. A soft tissue injury is damage to a person’s tendons, ligaments or muscles. While these are not plainly visible, they can leave a person dealing with chronic and severe pain.

In some cases, a soft tissue injury may limit a person’s ability to move or even leave the person with problems with things like remembering things or focusing on a task. These sorts of injuries are serious, and just because a motorcyclist has the ability to walk away from a crash it doesn’t mean that he or she won’t need compensation for things like medical bills and lost wages. Moreover, the pain and suffering one must endure because of a soft tissue injury also warrants monetary compensation.

Police are still investigating a pileup that happened in the Reno are on Interstate 80 recently. This truck accident involved several vehicles and also involved a truck flipping over on to its side. The truck obstructed one direction of freeway traffic. The truck also lost its load of canned goods and leaked some fuel because of the accident.

According to police, authorities had to intervene to get one person out of a car that had been involved in the accident. Police also said that one victim of the accident had suffered critical injuries and was in danger of dying. The present condition of this person was not disclosed.

While police are still investigating and are even looking for additional eyewitnesses, their initial assessment is that the truck flipped because the driver had to make a sudden stop or swerve. The reason the trucker had to do so was that another motorist, driving a private vehicle, made what police called an “unsafe” maneuver, which apparently put the trucker in a position of having to take evasive action. Several other cars were involved in a series of collisions that happened after the truck flipped.

More information about this accident will hopefully be available after police complete their investigation. But, it still serves as a reminder about the important obligation motorists have to be careful when doing things like changing lanes on the interstate. If a motorist cuts another driver off, particularly if that driver is operating a big rig or other commercial vehicle, it can lead to a serious accident just as it did in this case.

Source:  KOLO 8, ” NHP looking for witnesses to big rig crash on 80 ,” May 8, 2018

Some Reno, Nevada, residents may think of drunk driving accidents as kind of a “slam dunk” legal case. After all, everyone knows that driving while intoxicated is irresponsible and dangerous, so it should be easy to prove a drunk driver who causes a car accident is negligent and should pay his victims.

Unfortunately, such is not always the case. For instance, even if it is clear that the other driver was drunk and caused the accident, a victim will still have to prove his damages. In other words, the victim will have to gather and document things like medical bills, lost wages and the like. Moreover, she will bear the burden of showing these damages are appropriate.

Finally, the drunk driver may not have adequate insurance or other means to pay compensation, even though he clearly owes it. And, while squeezing every penny from a drunk driver may be an attractive option, it also can be time-consuming and fruitless.

A victim therefore may have to seek out other sources of compensation following a drunk driving accident. For instance, if the victim was on the clock at the time of the accident, workers’ compensation may be available.

A victim may also be able to avail herself of uninsured or underinsured motorists benefits via his own insurance carrier. And, in certain circumstances, such as if the negligent driver was a minor, it may be able to hold other parties responsible for the accident as well.

In short, drunk driving accident cases are far from slam dunks and should instead be thought of us as complicated and important legal proceedings. Fortunately, our law office has considerable experience with drunk driving cases and can help our clients navigate through their cases and get all of the compensation they deserve.