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Should I accept settlement after a drunk driving accident?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Dec 08, 2017
Drunk drivers are more than a nuisance to Reno residents: they are a threat to the health and safety of people within the community who must take to local roads and highways in order to get where they need to go. Drunk drivers cause injuries, financial losses and fatalities. Their reckless actions can alter the course of their victims’ lives as well as the lives of those who loved victims who succumbed to their accident-related injuries.

When a victim of a drunk driving accident suffers significant losses they may wonder what rights they have to seek compensation for the harm they unwillingly had to endure. They may speak with personal injury attorneys about their options and the possible legal courses of action they may pursue to recover from their catastrophic harm. They may also, however, receive communications from the responsible driver’s insurance providers to settle the victim’s claims regarding the accident.

A settlement is a legal agreement that provides one party with compensation and, in exchange, absolves the other party from any future claims based on the events covered in the settlement. For example, an insurer may wish to settle a drunk driving accident by paying a victim a lump sum of money but in exchange for accepting the lump sum the victim would have no future recourse against the insurer.

Insurers may push settlements in drunk driving cases if they are concerned that a trial verdict would far exceed the amount they wish to settle. They may want a settlement to reduce their association with a drunk driver and may wish to settle to speed up the resolution of the potentially challenging legal matter.

The victim of a drunk driving accident does not have to settle their claim. If a settlement serves their interests it may be a good option. However, it is best for victims to discuss all possible legal options with personal injury attorneys who understand victims’ rights as well as the repercussions for selecting different legal paths.

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Who do I sue if I am injured in a truck accident?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Dec 01, 2017
Large trucks and cargo vehicles travel through Reno each day, carrying goods to the stores where residents shop and purchase their wants and needs. While most trucks get to their destinations without any accidents or issues, others are involved in collisions that put Nevada residents’ lives at risk. When a person is hurt from an accident with a semi or other large commercial vehicle they may not know how to pursue the damages they need to get their life back on track.

Initiating a truck accident lawsuit can begin with knowing who to include as a defendant in a personal injury case. It may be obvious that the driver of the truck should be included in the suit if it was their negligence or recklessness that caused the crash to occur, but beyond the driver a victim may not know who to add to their civil litigation.

One possible defendant is the company responsible for putting the truck on the road. Some businesses own their own delivery trucks and the individuals who drive them are employees of the businesses. If the truck involved in the accident was one from such a business then the victim may be able to include the company as a defendant in their suit.

If the truck was owned by the truck driver and the driver worked as an independent contractor rather than an employee of the company whose products were being delivered then it may not be as easy to include the company in the suit. It is important to determine the status of the driver before filing a lawsuit for damages based on a truck accident.

Insurers, product manufacturers and others may be included in personal injury litigation but a victim must first understand what role each played in creating the harm that led to their truck accident losses. Discussing one’s case with a personal injury attorney can help a victim determine who to sue when seeking financial compensation for their harm.

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You should not have to bear the costs of your spinal cord injury
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Nov 24, 2017
As recently discussed on this Reno-based personal injury legal blog, the costs associated with living with a spinal cord injury can reach into the millions of dollars over the course of a victim’s lifetime. When that injury is caused by the negligence of another person through a motor vehicle accident or other road-based incident, the losses can be compounded by the fact that the victim did nothing wrong and still suffered serious losses.

Spinal cord injuries can impact the victims’ ability to move, work and communicate. They can render healthy and vibrant individuals unable to care for themselves and unable to earn the incomes that their families depend on to stay afloat. Spinal cord injuries therefore do not only affect the direct victims who must live with the consequences of other people’s negligence: victims’ families also suffer.

If your life has been irreparably changed by the reckless and dangerous actions of a drunk driver, fatigued trucker, or other hazardous driver on the road and you have suffered damage to your spinal cord, you may have rights to pursue your losses. Personal injury claims based on negligence and other causes of action may avail you to the financial compensation you need to get your life back on track.

The attorneys of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] take pride in the conscientious care that they provide to their spinal cord injury victim clients. Spinal cord injuries can be highly technical and complex injuries to present at trial and it is important that victims of these devastating losses work with attorneys who know how to present them in court. To learn more about how the law firm of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] can help you work toward the recovery of damages you deserve after your spinal cord injury, please visit the firm online.

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Costs of living with spinal cord injuries are astronomical
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Nov 17, 2017
Spinal cord injuries are devastating to their victims. An injury to a victim’s spinal cord can render a Reno resident unable to move their arms and legs, unable to breathe on their own and unable to live the life that they had worked so hard to achieve prior to their injury-causing accident. In addition to the potentially devastating personal losses a victim may sustain as a result of a spinal cord injury, there is the secondary and no less devastating issue of the financial costs victims of spinal cord injuries must take on in order to keep themselves alive.

According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation , the lifetime costs of maintaining a person with a severe spinal cord injury can reach into the millions of dollars. A number of factors can influence the exact financial burden that a victim will be forced to pay, and those factors can include but are not limited to the severity and extent of the victim’s injury and paralysis and the age of the victim at the time they suffer their spinal cord injury.

For example, it is estimated that a 25-year-old victim of a very serious spinal cord accident may have lifetime medical costs in excess of $4.7 million. A 50-yeear-old person who sustains a similarly devastating injury may have lifetime medical costs of more than $2.5 million.

Even less pervasive spinal cord injuries may result in victims paying millions of dollars over the course of their lives just to keep themselves functional. It is truly heartbreaking that victims of spinal cord injuries can face financial hardship simply for having the bad luck of sustaining a devastating injury at the hands of another person. However, those whose injuries were caused by negligence on the part of others may have legal rights to seek compensation for their spinal cord injury costs.

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Why is visual recognition such a problem for motorcyclists?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Nov 09, 2017
Vehicles on American roads come in practically all shapes and sizes. From the massive commercial trucks that haul goods across the country to the petite smart cars favored by city dwellers, it is not unusual for a Reno driver to see an array of automobiles when they take to the streets and highways of the city. Though drivers tend to look out for other cars, trucks and multi-person vehicles when they are behind the wheels of their automobiles, there is one means of transportation that tends to disappear from the sights of individuals on the roads: motorcycles.

Drivers struggle with visual recognition of motorcycles. There are a number of reasons for this dangerous phenomenon. One reason is that in the great scheme of motor vehicles motorcycles are small. Their relative size compared to other autos makes them easier to miss and harder to spot in traffic.

Additionally, many drivers do not anticipate encountering motorcycles and their riders when they drive their cars. Because drivers are conditioned to respond to other large vehicles they can become surprised when they come across motorcycles. The unfamiliarity with driving near motorcycles may cause them to misjudge or miss seeing motorcycles in their vicinities.

Finally, obstructions in large vehicles can block the drivers’ capacities to see motorcycles behind or next to them. Many vehicles have blind spots, which are areas next to the vehicles where the vehicles’ mirrors fail to provide visual access. Also, glare from the sun, blurriness from rain and other natural events can cause drivers to miss motorcyclists in their purview.

It is an unfortunate fact that visual recognition of motorcycles is lacking for many drivers. As a result motorcyclists can suffer significant dangerous accidents when drivers lose them in the details of operating their motor vehicles. Victims of motorcycle accidents can, though, seek the support of legal representatives to learn more about their options for litigation and seeking compensation.

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Speeding can be a factor in dangerous vehicle accidents
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Nov 03, 2017
Despite their best intentions many Reno residents find themselves running late. Whether they decide to hit the snooze button one too many times or simply lose track of time while getting ready for an event, they can find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having not enough time to get to where they must go. If getting to a location requires them to drive, those individuals who have too far to go and too little time may find themselves tempted to speed.

Speeding involves driving faster than the speed limit or faster than driving conditions safely permit. Speed limits often vary depending upon the type of terrain the roads cover, the amount of congestion the roads generally contain and the situation of the roads in communities and neighborhoods. While freeways may have speed limits in excess of 65 miles per hour, speed limits near schools and parks may max out at 25 miles per hour.

Speeding is dangerous for many reasons. First, a driver who is operating a speeding car is at a greater risk of losing control of their vehicle than a driver who is maintaining a safe speed. Also, vehicles that travel at high rates of speed take longer to stop than vehicles traveling more moderately and, because of this, accidents that happen at high rates of speed often result in more serious injuries to victims that experience accidents at lower rates of movement.

When a speeding driver causes a car accident it is often possible for law enforcement officials to determine how fast the responsible party was operating their vehicle and if that behavior contributed to the crash. Speeding is often a form of negligence and can be used as an example of fault in a personal injury-based vehicle accident lawsuit.

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What treatment options are available for my spinal cord injury?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Oct 27, 2017
There are different types of drugs, therapies and experimental procedures that Nevada doctors may utilize to improve the condition of a person who has suffered a spinal cord injury. Since different injuries may respond better to different treatment options it is important that readers consult with their own doctors to determine the best manner in which to remedy their injuries. This post will offer an overview of some of the ways individuals who have suffered spinal cord injuries may be treated after their incidents but it is not intended to be used as medical or legal advice.

Depending on where the injury is to a victim’s spinal cord, whether the injury is a bruise, incomplete tear of the spinal cord or a complete tear, medical professionals may try different protocols to improve their patient’s health. Their first priority will be to stabilize the patient and ensure that they are breathing and maintaining all bodily processes necessary to sustain life. Then they may work toward improving the patient’s condition.

Damage to the spinal cord generally cannot be repaired, though certain drugs may improve the functioning of a damaged spinal cord and help a victim get back to where they were before they sustained their trauma. Surgeries can promote healing in some patients whose injuries leave them in pain or who need more stabilization in their bodies. Some professionals in the medical field are working with stem cell therapies to determine if nerve cell regeneration may help victims of spinal cord injury accidents.

The road to recovery after a spinal cord injury can be long and may never end. Some victims spend their lives permanently harmed after vehicle collisions, work accidents and other incidents deprive them of the full use of their bodies. When an accident-related spinal cord injury impacts a victim’s life and livelihood it is possible for them to explore their legal rights to sue those who have created their harm.

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Truck accident victims may pursue compensation for their losses
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Oct 20, 2017
The law firm of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] is committed to representing victims of personal injury accidents in and around Reno, Nevada. The attorneys of the firm, in cooperation with the compassionate and professional staff that serves their clients, are available to work with new clients who have suffered serious and life-altering harm at the hands of others.

One area of personal injury law that the firm focuses on is truck accident litigation. While some readers of this blog may assume that truck accident cases are just like other motor vehicle cases, their assumptions may be inaccurate. Truck accidents and the legal issues that surround them can be drastically more complex than vehicle accidents between private parties.

One way that truck accident litigation can be complicated is through the assessment and identification of possible defendants. A single truck may be driven by one individual, owned by another person or corporation and operated for the benefit of a third entity. Because the chain of responsibility may extend to multiple parties it is imperative that truck accident victims properly identify those whose negligence may have caused their losses.

Additionally, truck accident litigation can involve federal laws that govern the appropriate conduct of commercial vehicle drivers. These laws are significantly different that the negligence and traffic laws of the state and therefore can require truck accident victims to comprehend a greater breadth of information.

The attorneys of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] confidently advocate for the rights of their truck accident victim clients. Readers who wish to learn more about the practice’s truck accident litigation process as well as its other personal injury practice areas are welcome to visit the firm through its website.

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What is tetraplegia?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Oct 12, 2017
An injury to a person’s spinal cord can be a life-changing event. Depending upon where the injury occurs along the person’s spinal cord and the severity of the injury the extent of their associated symptoms can vary greatly. This post will address one of the most serious consequences of a spinal cord injury – tetraplegia – and how it may permanently affect the life of a Reno resident.

There are many vertebrae in a person’s spinal cord, divided between those in the cervical spine (upper spine of the neck), thoracic spine (middle spine of the torso), lumbar spine (lower spine of the torso) and sacral spine (from the pelvis and lower). Generally speaking, the higher on the spine that a victim suffers an injury, the more of the victim’s body that will likely be impacted by the damage their spine endured.

For example, when a person suffers an injury to their cervical spine it is possible for all nerve impulses to stop at the point of injury and for no sensations to be sent down to the lower portions of the corpus. When this happens, important bodily functions such as respiration and digestion may be impacted as those body systems are no longer receiving communications from the brain.

Additionally, a high spinal cord injury can cause a victim to lose the ability to use their appendages. When a person cannot move their arms or legs due to a spinal cord injury then they suffer from tetraplegia, also referred to as quadriplegia.

Injuries to the spinal cord can be devastating and can result from vehicle accidents, slips and falls and other cases of negligence. Victims can often seek damages from the parties whose negligence caused their harm through civil personal injury lawsuits.

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