Motorcycle Riders and the Greater Risk of Personal Injury

Injury Lawyer

How many times can you remember driving down one of the many Provincial highways or roads and seeing a pack of motorcycle riders cruising past you? Probably a number of times, correct? It’s difficult to imagine what drives a person to travel down the road at high speeds without having any more protection than the helmet and leather clothing that they are wearing.  There’s a simple reason for this – motorcyclists love their bikes and how it feels to take on the open road unprotected.

 

Unfortunately because of that lack of protection, these individuals are at the highest risk of getting into a serious accident with another vehicle and sustaining catastrophic injuries in the process.  There are no air bags, seat belts, or any other type of protective safety devices to decrease their exposure when being struck by a considerably heavier and much larger vehicle.  Consequently, when they encounter another vehicle and an accident ensues, their industries are very serious or catastrophic in nature.

 

In past situations such as these, many motorcyclists have had to rely on the experience and expertise of a personal injury lawyer in Cambridge who specializes in these types of cases.  These individuals are highly knowledgeable of the laws that apply to motorcycle riders and know how to protect their rights to getting fair and equitable compensation for their injuries and other damages.  Whenever you or loved one has been hurt or has got injured in an accident and is a victim for no-fault because the accident that was caused by another person’s negligence, filing a personal injury claim is your only recourse in such matters.

 

Impact on Injury Victims

 

In Cambridge, motorcyclist accidents involving cars, semi-trucks, SUV’s, vans, trucks, and other types of vehicles can be extremely serious at the least.  As a result, motorcycle riders rarely walk away unscathed from their experience.  In many cases, the injured rider is left permanently disabled or the accident is fatal.  So as you can readily see, motorcycle accidents are rarely minor in nature and result in catastrophic injuries more often than not.  Some of the more common injuries include:

 

  • amputations
  • broken bones or more serious fractures
  • orthopedic injuries
  • spinal cord injuries
  • traumatic brain injuries

 

Your personal injury lawyer and his or her support staff understand the many challenges that motorcycle riders oftentimes face when they take to the open road so they tend to be extremely compassionate towards injured clients and their needs. Thus, if you have been injured, talk with them today.

 

So it is easy to understand why they are committed to protecting your rights to compensation for your injuries.  Your recovery is critical to your health and well-being.  So the last thing you need is the stress and worry involved with navigating the legal process. If you’ve recently been injured in a motorcycle accident, you should consider hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer so you can focus on what’s more important – you and your recovery. Start looking online or get referrals from friends and family. You need to be compensated and get justice for no fault of yours.

Which Is Better -Product Liability Or Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Injury Lawyer

The areas of Professional Indemnity and the one of Product Liability are definitely amongst the most interesting in the field of personal injury. The former provides monetary coverage for injuries deriving from accidents which occurred to an employee while conducting his professional obligations. Product liability on the other hand provides coverage for damages caused by faulty products. The claims in the first case are directed towards the employer or the insurance company while the claims in the second one are directed towards the manufacturer of the faulty product.

However, it becomes interesting and worthy of debate when an employee uses a faulty product while he is conducting his professional obligations. The question would be whether to take advantage of his professional indemnity insurance or the compensation provided by the product liability. To answer this, it’s important to break the areas down.

Product liability

Product liability entails the legal responsibility of every manufacturer towards a consumer who’s purchased and using its’ product. The liability is only going to arise when the product has been negligently manufactured and thus is incapable of serving its general purpose. This has to cause the user some sort of injuries in order for him to bring the case up in court. The damages can be either physical or emotional. The court won’t make a difference. For instance if a ladder breaks off and the worker falls on the ground but he doesn’t experience any severe injuries but his colleagues start making fun of him which leads to a harmed reputation – it could serve as grounds for a case.

Product liability cases are preferable because they are brought towards huge companies. This means that they are likely to offer fair settlements in order to keep the case on the low and not drag any unwanted public attention. This is something that should be taken to your advantage.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

There are different hypothesis in which this particular policy is going to take effect. However, the one that is of interest for the particular debate would include the events in which a worker has suffered an injury while conducting his professional obligation. Under the Labor legislation which is enforceable over the province of Ontario and therefore over the city of Brantford, the employer is obligated to compensate the workers for these injuries. Of course there are some underwater stones.

The work that was being conducted must have been authorized by the employer. If it wasn’t it would have to be something that is obviously going to contribute to his well-being. With this being said, it’s important to go over the particular circumstances in which the accident happened and base your decision on them.

Talking with an experienced personal injury lawyer will give the victim better clarity and information about how to progress with the case.

Defective Products and Product Liability in Personal Injury Law

Injury Lawyer

Individuals who have been injured by a dangerous or defective product may be able to recover damages for their injuries. Product liability claims are very complex matters and differ considerably from other types personal injury cases. This is due to specific recovery rules and theories that have been developed for this particular field of personal injury law. It follows then that filing product claims and lawsuits involves the need for an injury lawyer that specializes in these types of cases.

Chain of Distribution and Supply

Injury victims or the survivors of defective product deaths in Hamilton can recover compensation from a number of individuals that are part of the chain of distribution including:

  • designers
  • distributors
  • manufacturers
  • retailers
  • suppliers
  • vendors
  • wholesalers

In most cases, the recovery of compensation from these companies and individuals is usually based in one or a combination of applicable Provincial laws. Additionally, there must be quality control systems in place to prevent dangerous and defective products landing on retailer’s shelves. Furthermore, quality control measures will ensure that all products are properly labeled with directions and warnings. However lax laws are sometimes taken advantage of and these results in injuries.

More Complexities to deal with

Personal injury cases based on defective products and product liability are oftentimes complicated and difficult for an injury lawyer in Hamilton and their legal team to litigate without the assistance of engineers, investigators, and other research experts. These professionals are involved in reviewing these types of cases and for the purposes of determining whether or not a product is dangerous or defective.

There is also a chance that some of the entities involved in the chain of distribution may not be located here in Ontario Province or Canada for that matter. Consequently, it is not always easy to ascertain who the responsible parties are and determine whether a personal injury case of this nature falls under Federal or Provincial law. Needless to say, the legal process involved can be incredibly time-consuming.

Compensatory and Punitive Damages

You typically see an award for compensatory damages in product liability cases and if your injury lawyer in Hamilton can prove negligence, there may be punitive damages as well. The purpose of compensatory damages is to make the injured person whole again financially and compensate them for the damages incurred. These damages are broken down into two categories – economic and non-economic losses – as follows:

  • Economic losses – cost of disabilities, lost profits and wages (current and future), medical expenses, property losses and repairs
  • Non-economic losses – loss of consortium or society, pain and suffering

If the judge or jury in your product liability case finds that the defendant’s behavior was blatantly careless, negligent, or reckless, you may be awarded punitive damages as well. In this case, the purpose of punitive damages is implied in the name – to punish the defendant for their behavior by awarding you monetarily.

In Motor Vehicle Accidents, Can You Sue The Other Driver?

Injury Lawyer

Unfortunately a lot of people tend to believe that if you have been injured as a result of a vehicular accident in a province which has no-fault insurance legislation they won’t be able to sue the other driver for the actual losses. This is far from being true. The city of Hamilton is located in the province of Ontario and currently the Rules of Fault Determination are enacted in order to provide clarification above that matter. However, you are still going to be able to sue the other driver for certain damages, provided that the other driver has acted negligently.

Pursuant to the no-fault provisions which are set forth by the province of Ontario, you are entitled to go for accident benefits from the insurance company that you have contracted. Nevertheless, these benefits are not going to fully compensate you for every kind of damage that you may actually suffer. This is why the legislation also allows you to sue the other driver in order to get properly and fully compensated. This solution is incredibly fair because it allows victim to reclaim what has been metaphorically taken away. So whit this in mind, let’s take a look at the damages that you are allowed to sue for apart from what you will receive from your insurance company.

  • Economic loss

This is what you have basically spent in order to recover from the injury. These damages are based upon simple documents like medical receipts and basically everything that proves you’ve spent money in regard with your injuries.

  • Loss of the capacity to earn which relates to future losses of income

This provision is incredibly important. Vehicular accidents often result in terrible injuries which render the victim unable to provide the same amount of work that he was able to prior to the accident. This results in a loss of income, which he could sue for in court.

  • Pain and suffering

These are the commonly known emotional damages. They have to be discretionally assessed by the court in any single case.

  • Loss of care or guidance and companionship

These are also emotional damages that could be sought by the relatives of the victim. They usually occur in cases of severe injuries and long-term disabilities when the victim used to take care for particular family members. The Family Act of Canada allows those members to seek reparation for their losses.

Nevertheless, it is important to understand that you would be able to go after the other driver in court, regardless of the money you have received from the insurance. Of course, this would be taken into consideration by the court and your compensation is going to be respectively reduced.

Can Medical Products Be Tried Under Product Liability Laws?

Injury Lawyer

Almost every single accident is going to cause some sort of an injury. Even though some of them are not going to have terrible consequences and you can get by without the use of any medication, the majority of cases would require you to treat yourself. The most convenient and still conventional treatment involves using medical products such as drugs. This means that the medical products can be subjected to a product liability case, if they were unfit for the particular purpose or there was something wrong with the drug itself. However, in order to claim such merit for a case, the patient must have suffered from some sort of injuries, caused by the drugs in question. This is why the Statute of Limitation is going to be enforceable and the time period during which you can file your claim is going to be limited.

Proving product liability

Now, it’s important to know that claiming product liability in the case of usage of medical products is one of the most difficult things you can go through. This is due to the fact that your injury lawyer in the city of Cambridge will have to prove that the injuries were caused by the particular product. This is easier said than done. In most of the cases the medical procedures carry a certain percentage of risk that you are going to be informed about. The doctor is going to require you to sign a document which allows them to carry out the medical treatment and the respective usage of drugs regardless of the risk. If you sign this document you are basically giving them a green light and they won’t be held accountable if something happens.

Another thing to note is that these medical products have specific side effects. You also can’t file a claim if you have experienced any of those side effects. This is due to the fact that medical products put a clear and concise disclaimer which alerts every user about the potential side effects.

Basically, you could claim damages if the suffering which was caused doesn’t really fall within the mentioned side effects and they were not predicted by the possible risks. These are events in which the patient has suffered from severe injuries which are not typical for the usage of this particular drug. The lawyer in Cambridge has to be able to prove that this drug does not usually cause the suffered injuries. This requires thorough examination of medical documentation and sound research on the effects of the drugs. The claims have to be filed towards the company which has produced the medical product as it is at fault for not predicting this kind of injury.