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Federal Court PACER Fees September 15, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.
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For those who have handled cases in Federal Court you know that PACER costs $.  Maybe, rightfully so, because you can obtain records in pdf for most any case.  In Wisconsin state court, CCAP (Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program) is free but without the ability to obtain actual records.  You’ll need to call the attorneys or driver to the courthouse to get the records.

Well, Firefox has a new extension called RECAP that attempts to take the $ from the Federal Courts.  I read about RECAP on Avvo.com’s blog. 

I haven’t tried it.  If you do, please let me know your thoughts.

Wisconsin Jurors September 13, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.
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September is Juror Appreciation month.  Now you know!

Thanks jurors!

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!

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.

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.

Pre-Settlement Funding Companies July 8, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.
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I was recently interviewed about pre-settlement funding companies.  Here is a link to the article in the Wisconsin Law Journal written by Jack Zemlicka.

Understanding Medical Tests June 23, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.
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Part of our job as personal injury attorneys is to understand an injured victim’s medical records.  It’s important to know what certain tests show in order to best advocate for an injured party.

Quad Cities Injury Lawyers Blog has a good tip.  Simply check out You Tube.   I’ve used RXlist.com to better understand medications that client’s take.  I’ve used Medicinenet.com for a written description of procedures and tests.   So, why not use You Tube for a video of the same thing.  It’s pretty impressive.  I can’t vouch for the accuracy but after reading about a procedure or test you can tell if what you are seeing is, in fact, the proper procedure/test.

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

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

Rotator Cuff Injury June 18, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Motorcycle Collisions, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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“Rotator Cuff Injury”

I think this is a phrase that is pretty widely used.  We often hear  announcers talk about a rotator cuff injury during a football game.  It’s pretty common.  But, this phrase is so widely used that it may not be completely understood.  Everyone assumes that everyone else knows what it means.

Well, the Doe Report has some medical illustrations of  a shoulder and rotator cuff.  Take the opportunity to look it over.   It is pretty interesting stuff.

Personal injury attorneys use these types of illustrations often to help teach juries about the objective findings of injury.  People can talk and talk but looking at picture often makes the information sink in.