Family’s Two Pitbulls Kill Grandpa December 23, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Dog Attack Information, FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: dog bite, Pit Bull Dog Bites, Wisconsin Dog Bite Attorney, Wisconsin Dog Bites
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It happened in Rubidoux, California (near Los Angeles). I haven’t seen much reported other than the grandfather stepped outside to smoke a cigarette when he was attacked. There was one family member at the house but this person could not stop the two pitbulls. The man died before paramedics could help.
All I can say is, wow. That is a tragic story.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Bend, West Allis, New Berlin and Wauwatosa.
Unsafe Car Parts from China December 22, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: child safety, Personal Injury Attorney, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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Is there any good news about products coming from China these days? The New York Times writes about a few serious safety problems found in auto parts manufactured in China:
Child restraints that may come apart in an impact. Fuses that could catch fire when overloaded. Tires susceptible to tread separation.
A consumer safety organization, the Center for Auto Safety, has a whole page dedicated to recent recalls of products made in China.
This next quote really concerns me. Like many others I tend to believe that some Chinese manufacturers don’t really look to the long term. They are only concerned about short term profits.
The executive director of the Center for Auto Safety:
said his review convinces him that too many Chinese companies are unfamiliar with — or don’t care about — safety standards in the United States and thus don’t meet them.
Be sure to check out the recent recalls when you get a chance.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Milwaukee, West Bend, New Berlin and Wauwatosa.
Update on Crazy Loophole December 21, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: insurance settlement, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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I just blogged about this crazy loophole that Great American Insurance Company is trying to use to get out of paying for a number of wrongful deaths.
The Houston Chronicle’s Lisa Falkenberg wrote an opinion piece about this loophole:
Earlier this week, the Houston Chronicle’s Mary Flood reported that the Cincinnati-based insurer asked a federal court judge to help it avoid a potential $25 million liability in a Houston office fire last year that killed three people. Vocational nurse Misty Ann Weaver lit the fire to hide the fact that she hadn’t met a paperwork deadline.
Now Great American officials are trying to hide from responsibility in the deaths, which isn’t as shocking as the legal argument they’re trying to employ.
Families of the fire victims shouldn’t be compensated for their losses since the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation instead of actual flames, the company argued in a federal court brief.
I can see why the insurance company is trying to avoid paying based on this loophole. They’ll save a ton of money. Lisa did a little investigation:
And “fire, lightning and debris removal” were the No. 1 causes for homeowners’ insured losses nationwide at nearly 35 percent in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics were available from the New York-based Insurance Information Institute.
For the sake of the family of the victims I hope Great American Insurance doesn’t win. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Fond du lac, West Bend, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
Nursing Home Ratings Update December 20, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.add a comment
I’ve written about nursing homes and the government’s new rating system recently. I don’t believe I ever posted the link to Medicare.gov’s website that allows you to “find and compare” nursing homes.
While your there you can check out a number of links to helpful information provided by the government. For example, links to a nursing home checklist and a guide to choosing a nursing home.
Crazy Loophole December 20, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: bad faith, insurance settlement
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Does this strike anyone else as outrageous?
An insurance company has asked a federal judge to dismiss it from several lawsuits arising from a 2007 office fire because smoke that killed occupants should be considered “pollution,” something not covered by its policy. Great American Insurance Company argues that its policy includes specific exclusions for certain types of pollution including smoke, fumes and soot. The insurer potentially faces $25 million in liability from the fire. Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle
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.
Jurors, Elephants and Donkeys December 19, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: jury trial, punitive damages, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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The Wisconsin Lawyer Magazine has a quick read entitled Politics in Civil Jury Selection. Very interesting.
This is one of the more important parts of my job. Who should I keep on a jury? What questions do I ask in order to figure out who would make a good juror for a particular set of facts. Who will the defense want to keep or strike?
Alan Tuerkheimer, UW Law 2000, is a trial consultant with Zagnoli McEvoy Foley, LLC in Chicago. The Zagnoli firm conducted a survey of mock jurors in order to determine a relationship between political party identification and damages verdicts.
Some sections that I found interesting:
The Zagnoli study found that while political leaning tends to correlate with what jurors say about damages in civil cases, it does not predict whether or how much they actually award. In other words, political leaning is related to what a juror says but not necessarily to what a juror does; thus, political party allegiance should not be too heavily relied on during jury selection.
More specifically, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to make an at fault person pay damage awards for future medical expenses.
A closer look shows that a high proportion of Democrats (86 percent), but an even higher proportion of Republicans (92 percent), would consider awarding money for future medical expenses.
Finally, when it comes to the premise of awarding punitive damages both parties were high. Again, like I assumed Democrats were more likely to agree (92 percent agreed) but I was a little surprised that so many Republicans agreed (80 percent agreed).
I recommend the article. I ask this of my readers. If anyone finds similar articles about jury selection please let me know. I like reading about this stuff.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Milwaukee, West Bend, New Berlin and Wauwatosa.
It’s Snowing So Let’s Talk About Pools and Spas December 18, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: child injury, child safety, pool and spa safety, wisconsin personal injury, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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I’m in Wisconsin. It is NOT warm here. It is cold, snowy and icy. But, I can at least think warm.
This post is for the water lovers out there with small kids. Many people try to think warm this time of year (including my family) by going to the YMCA, hotel or local indoor (heated) pool.
In theory, on December 19, 2008 pools and spas will be safer because the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act goes into effect. This law was signed by President Bush on December 19, 2007. Congress gave all effected pool and spa owners one year to comply with the new standards.
According to WSJ.com:
Under the law, all public pools and spas must have ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 compliant drain covers installed and a second anti-entrapment system installed, when there is only a single main drain.
The reason for this law is tragic. Former Secretary of State James Baker’s granddaughter died after being stuck to the drain of a pool. The suction was just too much for the 7 year old girl to overcome.
According to USA.Safekids.org:
Seven-year-old Graeme was a member of the community swim and diving team and had been swimming unassisted since she was 3 years old — but her death is listed as a drowning. In fact, she drowned by entrapment, pinned under water by hundreds of pounds of suction force at the drain of the hot tub.
I encourage you to check out Safe Kids USA’s website. There is a lot of useful information for parents of kids who love to swim. Be careful this holiday season!
If you or a loved one is injured because you think the pool or spa owner did not comply with this law I’d be happy to discuss this with you.
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.
Update On The “Star System” December 17, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.add a comment
Awhile ago I posted about the Bush Administrations move to rate nursing homes using a “star system.” Over at Nursing Home Administrator’s Blog there is a good discussion about the rating system.
Also, there is a good discussion of nursing home abuse from a new perspective.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Wausaukee, Kenosha, Oconto and Wauwatosa.
West Allis, WI: Vicious Dogs Banned? December 17, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Dog Attack Information.Tags: Pit Bull Ban, Pit Bull Dog Bites, Wisconsin Dog Bite Attorney
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Considering what I’ve written about in the past I don’t know how I CAN’T write about the saga of the Pit Bull ban in West Allis.
As you’ve probably read on the AP Wire the City President exercised his first veto on a proposal to ban Pit Bulls in West Allis (it banned any new pit bulls but allowed current Pit Bulls to stay). The West Allis Common Council voted for the ban on December 2nd. The ban would have been the first of its kind in the Milwaukee area.
Because of the veto the Common Council is considering other options:
The Common Council is considering a new ordinance to clamp down on dogs in the city considered vicious
A vote is supposed to occur very soon. I’ll keep you updated on anything that I see in the news.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Fond du lac, West Bend, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
Front Page News December 16, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: child safety
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Avvo's Featured Legal Guide 12-16-2008
Thanks Avvo for placing me on your homepage. I hope your readers took some useful information from my legal guide.
Jon Groth's Wisconsin Personal Injury Weblog 