It has become my daily practice to surf the net scouring for knowledge and interesting tidbits. I love knowing random things. This quest for knowledge often leads me to interesting stories. It leads me to pieces that make me laugh and feel good. On other occasions, I read shocking events and I am mortified that such tragedies could occur. When I read these stories I shake my head and think that clearly some people are a lot more malicious and maniacal than the villains in the cartoons and movies that I allow my son to watch.

Today I read such a story. Some of my friends even acknowledged that they changed their opinion of Apple after reading this story. I decided I needed to know what they were talking about. As I read the story, I learned about the fire. I learned about people that suffered burns on their face because of a fire in the plant where they worked. I also learned about three workers who lost their lives by doing the right thing and working for the things they wanted. In reading the editorial pieces, blame was placed on greed and consumerism. Much to my dismay, I also read opinions like "I don't care if the factory is unsafe, they choose to work there and I want my Ipod cheap." The basic arguments were about consumer greed, free will and free market. I also began to think legally and critically about the situation. I thought about where the blame lies and what would happen to the family. I realize that this was not an American situation, but I pondered how American law would handle it.

My mentor used to say she started in Personal Injury and Worker's Compensation because she realized people are not computers. If they break, you cannot throw them away. You have to take the time to fix them, to make them whole again. In American jurisprudence this means you have to start by assigning fault and damages. The fault says who picks up the bar tab at the end of the night and the damages say how much each person has to pay. In cases where there is a death determining liability would lead to the decision that the bill is to be split between among the builder, the management, and the owner. Those three entities are charged with making sure the facility is safe. No employee goes to work with a building inspector, nor should they have to. The people who are responsible for the building need to make it safe and provide adequate protections.

The bad guys are not always easy to spot in real life. The villainy of a corporation should not come at the cost of an individual's life. If you or your loved one has been hurt and a corporation is at fault, contact an attorney to understand your rights.

This blog post was written by Maryland and DC personal injury lawyer Rabihah Scott. The personal injury practice group of Price Benowitz LLP has offices in DC, Baltimore, Rockville and Ellicott City. The firm also has offices in Fairfax, Leesburg, and Warrenton that are staffed by Virginia car accident lawyer Thomas Soldan.

Occupational fatalities due to electrocution are surprisingly common in certain professions. While electrical workers account for a majority of accidental electrocutions and deaths, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, public utility and transportation occupations are also highly susceptible to on-the-job electrical accidents. Many other workers are also exposed to potentially dangerous electrical voltage on a daily basis and may be unaware of the risk involved.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, electrocution is the fourth leading cause of work-related fatalities. The danger can come from internal wiring, working too close to power lines or buried cables, or using heavy machinery, among other activities. In addition, electrical dangers often remain hidden in unsuspected areas.

When electrical accidents occur as a result of someone's negligence, through no fault of the employee, the employee's family may hold those who were at fault accountable for their actions and receive substantial compensation for the wrongful death of your loved one. Such negligence can occur in a number of ways including faulty wiring, poor placement of wires or cables, inadequate training, or failing to adhere to industry safety standards. Most occupational accidents, including electrocutions, are avoidable. So when accidents occur, it is likely that someone else was negligent and caused the harm. An experienced attorney can research your case and determine who is responsible for the death of your loved one.

Workers' compensation rarely covers the financial burdens placed on your family by losing a loved one who provided a major source of income. While death benefits vary significantly by state, such benefits typically entitle a surviving spouse to only a small percentage of the former earnings. Sometimes the amount may increase according to the number of surviving dependent children, but such increases can be meager. With rising inflation and cost of living, this benefit provides little financial support for a family. In addition, workers' compensation does not include payment for pain and suffering or the loss of companionship that your family experiences.

The burden placed on a family in a time of need can be great, and when the loss was caused by an on-the-job accident, you may be entitled to collect payment from a number of sources. When workers compensation is not enough, remedies may be available in filing a wrongful death claim. A qualified wrongful death or personal injury lawyer can guide you through the process of getting additional compensation and becoming financially whole again.

If you have lost a loved one due to a tragic electrical accident during the course of employment, contact an experienced personal injury attorney to help you obtain compensation for your financial hardship.

Price Benowitz LLP handles criminal defense, immigration, and personal injury cases. The personal injury practice group is staffed by Maryland and DC personal injury lawyers Chamille Kittles and Rabihah Scott and Virginia accident lawyer Thomas Soldan. The firm has offices across Maryland and Northern Virginia.

There are many factors that must be taken into account to determine how much an injured person should be compensated for pain and suffering. There is no specific formula that insurance companies look to in order to figure out the amount for damages. In fact, every accident and injury is different. In theory, it is literally impossible for anyone to tell injured people how much their pain and suffering is worth. However, in order to resolve injury and tort cases, insurance companies have to come up with some value.

The most important factor that insurance companies use in order to calculate the value of one's pain and suffering is the injured person's medical treatment and total medical bills. Most insurance companies will give injured victims a multiple of the total cost of their medical bills for pain and suffering, however that rule is not set in stone. If the amount and type of treatment appear to be reasonable and necessary for the injury, the injured party comes across as much more honest to the jury. More or less treatment does not necessarily mean more or less money for pain and suffering, but it is a factor that is considered. Of course running up your medical bills unnecessarily is often met with a great degree of suspicion and likely will not be rewarded. Similarly, stretching out the length of treatment for a minor injury may look greedy to a jury and to an insurance adjuster and will not garner any more money for pain and suffering.

In addition to medical treatment and total medical bills, the following factors are considered when determining the amount to compensate a person for pain and suffering:

1. Pre-existing injuries;
2. A person's ability to do what they normally did in their everyday lives or if they were forced to stop or reduce some of their normal activities;
3. The type of work one does for a living;
4. How sympathetic of a witness the injured person would make;
5. A person's age;
6. A person's lifestyle; as well as
7. The experience and reputation of your attorney

All of these factors paint a picture for an insurance adjuster or the jury and will have an impact on the monetary compensation given for pain and suffering in one way or another. There are some tools that insurance companies and lawyers may use to help them arrive at a figure or at least at a range for the purpose of determining how much to "demand" as compensation for your injuries. Many attorneys will also use, as a general guideline, past jury verdicts in your particular jurisdiction and past claims that involve similar facts, injuries and total medical bills.

If you have been injured as a result of someone else's negligence, contact a Price Benowitz attorney today. Our experienced lawyers will work to get you the maximum amount of compensation for your pain and suffering.

This blog post was written by Washington DC Personal Injury Lawyer Chamille Kittles. For more information about Price Benowitz's Virginia practice, please visit the Virginia personal injury attorney website.

My son, like most kids, loves Halloween. For kids, Halloween is a time to play dress up and get free candy. One of the perks of childhood is being able to enjoy this time of year. One of the burdens of being an adult is that fun occasions- like Halloween- can quickly become a very frightening experience.

The ghost, ghouls, and goblins of childhood now seem like amusing movies when compared to lawsuits and liability. As an adult, I make sure that my walkways are all clear of any hazards and that they are well-lit; I only purchase candy from nationally known stores; and I make sure that anyone who comes to my home to get candy is safe.
My fear on Halloween is not zombies or the undead, rather, it is someone getting hurt while on my property. I know that as a property owner I am responsible for any injury incurred by anyone I have allowed onto my property. I know most people don't take as much care to make their property safe, but I have seen the impact of not doing so.

If you or your child was hurt on Halloween, please contact a lawyer to make sure that you do not suffer as a result of someone else's negligence.

This blog post was written by Rabihah Scott a personal injury lawyer for Price Benowtiz LLP. In addition to Maryland attorneys, the law firm has a DC personal injury lawyers and a Virginia accident lawyer.

When I was a child, my brothers were always around to help out when things got tough. I remember climbing up a tree then realizing I could not get myself back down. My wonderful brothers climbed up the tree and helped my get down. Maybe it was because my parents were hard on them, or because they were boy scouts, or because they were just good people, but they always seemed to find away to help.

Continue reading "I was injured while helping someone, what can I do?" »

Subrogation is a word that I really didn't hear until well into college when I started working for an insurance company's law firm. There was one attorney who sat in an office and reviewed each and every settlement for half the week and every insurance policy for the other half of the week. The job seemed so boring and unimportant. I could not have ever imagined doing that.

After working at the firm for a few weeks, this lawyer invited me to lunch because she heard I was interested in going to law school. I accepted, not only because I was a broke college student and lunch was free, but also because I really wanted to know what she did and if it could be in any way satisfying.

About halfway through lunch, after some discussion about grades and majors, we got to the really interesting part; I asked her what in the world she actually did for the firm. She said she was a Subrogation Specialist. She explained that she was like the security guard for the company. She made sure that premiums stayed low by making sure the insurance company got what it was entitled to and that people were not double paid. After this lunch I gained a respect for what she did as an attorney and a better understanding of the personal injury process.

I left my job at that insurance company understanding that in order to keep insurance rates affordable, someone has to be willing to check for double payments and work to limit company losses. I reasoned that subrogation was like catching shoplifters to keep grocery costs down. That stuck with me as I went to law school and ultimately began to practice personal injury law.

The other valuable lesson I learned is that there are ways to limit the amount any one client pays in subrogation. I know that as a Maryland personal injury lawyer, I may be able to negotiate a lower amount due in subrogation by working with the insurer.

If you have been injured and you are looking to settle your claim, take the time to make sure you do not open yourself up to liability in the process. Consult with a Maryland injury attorney.

This blog post was written by attorney Rabihah Scott, who is part of the Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Practice Group at Price Benowitz LLP. The law firm has offices in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and New York. The attorneys at Price Benowitz handle criminal, DUI, personal injury, and immigration cases. To learn more about attorney Rabihah Scott please visit her Google+ profile.

This blog post was written by Rabihah Scott. Ms. Scott is a Maryland accident attorney in the personal injury practice group of Price Benowitz LLP. With offices in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and New York, the firm handles DUI, criminal, personal injury, and immigration cases. For more information about the firm's personal injury group, please visit our DC Personal Injury Lawyer website.

I was watching TV last night and I saw a commercial for BeYaz, the "new" birth control. It is all about having the freedom to choose what type of birth control you use. The commercial is surprisingly effective, but two things really stood out to me: 1- this is the third version (names, drug compositions, etc) of this drug on the market ; and 2- there sure seems to be a lot of low fast talking endnote disclaimers. Sadly this commercial made me do the one thing I really didn't fell like doing with my Wednesday evening at 9pm, THINK.

It seems that every time a drug gets bad press (namely causing stroke, death, or other major illness), the name seems to change slightly and the fast talking announcer adds about 2 seconds to his speech. It down right sickened me to think that they figure a catchy jingle and a new name can make plenty of women overlook the harm they are doing their body and swallow a pill that puts their health at risk. It also makes me sad that women are falling for it day after day.

I am not saying that I have anything against birth control. Quite frankly I can barely deal with my ovaries, let alone the suggestion that I can have something to say about anyone else's. This is more a tirade about major pharmaceutical corporations and their disregard for human life and health. My issue here is that anything that is put in the hands of consumers and advertised as the best thing since sliced bread should be safe.

Major pharmaceutical companies do this all the time and it's horrendous. What is even more appalling is when the supplements we take to avoid medications and get into better shape are marketed without the same oversight as medicines. Sadly this is a reference to the makers of products like Hydroxy Cut. If a product can help you lose 30 pounds in 30 minutes, but kills you in 2 days, I venture to say that the population of people taking it should at least get the courtesy of a warning about their impending death, and maybe even a skull and cross bones on the bottle.

If you or someone you love believed that the medication that you take is safe, but it actually hurt you, contact a Maryland personal injury attorney. Not only should you be compensated, but you should send a message that your life is worth a lot more than the manufacturer's bottom line.