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Truckin’ September 10, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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I’m glad I didn’t travel very far this past Labor Day.  We travelled “up north” to Marinette County.  A beautiful part of Wisconsin.  

Anyway, I read this news brief from the AAJ’s website about various safety violations involving over the road truckers (semi trucks, tractor trailers etc.) .

It appears that Wisconsin has a rate of trucker safety violations that are in excess of the national average.  The article states:

States that had a rate of companies in violation of safety requirements above the national average include West Virginia, North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, Iowa, Montana, Delaware, Idaho, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Indiana, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.  A full listing of all companies in violation of federal safety requirements by state is available at www.justice.org/trucksafetyviolations.

I hope everyone had a safe Labor Day weekend.   Keep driving safe!

Dog Bite Update September 9, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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I posted a couple days ago about a 3-year-old Milwaukee boy who was bit by a bull dog.  According to other news stories I’ve read his nose and part of his lip were bit off.  He was rushed to Children’s Hospital for over 4 hours of surgery.

Here is a link to a story from Fox 6 Milwaukee about the dog bite.

Milwaukee 3 Year Old Attacked By Dog September 8, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Dog Attack Information, Personal Injury Law.
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I don’t quite understand this story.  I get that the dog attacked the little 3 year old.  It sounds serious.  Luckily, we have one of the best Children’s Hospitals in the nation.

I don’t understand the part that talks about how the dog owners told the 3 year old to put the dog back in the kennel.  I assume the dog owners are adults.  Shouldn’t they put the dog back in the kennel.   Here is the quote from the story:

The boy was at a home in the 1500 block of S. Pearl St. and had let the American Bulldog out of its kennel. He was told by the dog’s owner to put the dog back into the kennel, and that’s when the animal bit the boy, police said.

Maybe I’m just confused by the story.  But don’t you agree?

Nursing Homes Questioned About Dispensing Drugs September 7, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.
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Check out this Journal Sentinel story about Nursing Homes.

Six nursing homes were searched by the DEA:

The nursing homes were:

Beaver Dam Care Center in Beaver Dam; Colony Oaks Care Center in Appleton; Heritage Square in Greendale; Mount Carmel Milwaukee in Greenfield; Village Gardens in Green Bay; and Woodstock Health and Rehab in Kenosha.

The story alleges that these nursing homes may have been dispensing prescription drugs without doctor’s authorization.

Stories From An Auto Accident Trial September 4, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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As I’m sure you can imagine I have lots of little stories from my trial last week.  One thing I wanted to mention is the Hanson case.  Hanson v. American Family Insurance, 294 Wis.2d 149, 716 N.W.2d 866 (2006). 

Hanson is a case decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  In short, it says that an injured victim of a car accident (or the victim of someone elses’s negligence or intentional acts in general) has the right to recover for medical care even if that care was unnecessary.  It’s recoverable so long as the injured person initially went to the doctor in good faith and then followed the doctor’s orders.

In Hanson, the injured party went to the doctor in good faith (i.e. used ordinary care in choosing the doctor).  The doctor then performed a surgery.  The at fault insurance company, American Family Insurance, hired a doctor to say that the surgery was unnecessary.  American Family said they should not be held responsible for unnecessary treatment.  The injured victim argued he simply relied on his doctor.

So, when deciding who should pay for this unnecessary treatment the Wisconsin Supreme Court said it should not be the injured victim.   The insurance company is in a better position to pay for it. They caused the initial harm, they should pay for all damages that flow from that initial harm.

We had a nice long discussion with the Judge about this case at trial.  Interesting stuff.

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Sheboygan,  Plymouth,  and Germantown.

If you’d like to submit a question or case please complete a case submission form.

Texting/Talking While Driving or Driving While Texting/Talking? August 31, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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Shouldn’t it be driving, period.  Driving while distracted is just plain dangerous.

Time Magazine had a good article about documents recently uncovered from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  In short, drivers:

were faster to brake and caused fewer crashes when they had a .08% blood-alcohol content than while sober and talking on a cell phone.

In Wisconsin, if you act in an intentional disregard of others and you injure someone you can be liable for punitive damages.  That is certainly the case for repeat drunk drivers.  Why wouldn’t this apply to repeat “texters” or “talkers”?

Largest “Soft Tissue” Auto Accident Verdict in Sheboygan August 28, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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That’s according to the presiding Sheboygan Judge’s memory from his 20 years on the bench.  The Jury came back with this verdict in my trial yesterday afternoon.  The trial against State Farm lasted about 3 days.

Before trial (this is a topic for another post) and when I returned to the office we did a few searches on Verdict Reporting companies.  From what we can find there were no soft tissue verdicts in reach. 

Now that the trial is over I’ll have more time to post and get back to my ‘old’ self.

Watch for more posts soon.

Trial August 25, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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Sorry for the lack of posts these past weeks.  I’ve been preparing for trial.  It starts today and is scheduled to last through Thursday.

I’ll be back online soon.  Thanks for your patience!

Defense or Independent Medical Exams? August 25, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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Actually, there is rarely anything “Independent” about medical exams requested by an insurance company. The insurance company pays for the exam. It’s easy to understand that the doctor is biased. This quote from an “Independent” medical doctor is eye opening: “If you did a truly pure report,” he said later in an interview, “you’d be out on your ears and the insurers wouldn’t pay for it. You have to give them what they want, or you’re in Florida. That’s the game, baby.” Read the story from the New York Times. It deals with workers’ compensation in New York but it is certainly relevant for Wisconsin’s workers’ compensation claims. Something interesting about this article is the changes that NY has implimented for its “I.”M.E.’s. They allow the exams to be tape recorded or videotaped. Seems reasonable to me! In Wisconsin personal injury law plaintiffs’ attorneys who ask that an exam be taped or recorded receive a strong objection from the insurance company. Sometimes even having a friend or family member attend an exam isn’t allowed. Last I checked no Wisconsin Appellate Court has held whether a Defense Medical Exam (that is a more accurate description) performed for a personal injury claim may be tape recorded or videotaped. Federal Courts have held that a Defense Medical Exam regarding a psychiatric examination may be recorded. Zabkowicz v. West Bend Co., 585 F. Supp. 635 (E.D. Wis. 1974). (See this outline from an Insurance Defense Firm located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Sheboygan, Plymouth, and Germantown.

If you’d like to submit a question or case please complete a case submission form.

Client Referrals August 13, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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Probably the best compliment an attorney can get happens when a former or current client refers someone to you.

I discussed client referrals in a recent interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal.