http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2015/10/florida_school_district_settle.html

There is some weird s#!^ out there, and some of it results in lawsuits.  This one might be the weirdest I’ve read about, and will almost certainly become a Lifetime movie.

The gist: Principal hypnotizes children at his school – dozens over the years – and several of them commit suicide or die in hypnotic trances. Families bring claims, each family gets $200,000.

What. The. Hell?

So it may not be quite as sinister as it sounds.  Apparently he taught a psychology class and this was part of it.  He allegedly offered hypnosis as a study and/or performance aid, and several students who participated over the years had not (to date) offed themselves.

But still, the correlation is enough to raise eyebrows.

In 2009 he was ordered to limit his hypno-fun to his psych classes.  He was also charged criminally for practicing therapeutic hypnosis without a license and was fined and put on probation.

In the light most favorable to him, he’s a wacky dude who is just going the extra mile to help his students.  But in the darkest view, he’s a hypno-predator that can only be stopped by the X-Men.

They can find him in our fine state of North Carolina, where he is apparently living in retirement.

People call me about traffic tickets all the time.  They ask lots of questions.  There are, admittedly, a limited amount of questions one might ask in relation to this sort of situation. But there is one question that I get a lot and it drives me nuts:

“Can I get a PJC?”

Sometimes they don’t even say “PJC.”  Sometimes they’ll say “PFJ” or some other nonsense.

The question is not inherently the problem.  The underlying assumption based on decades of legendary misinformation is the problem.

First, if you don’t know what a PJC is, click here.  That will iron that out for you.  If you don’t know what it is, you have no business asking for one.  This video also makes a similar point as I’m about to make below…

Second, people think of the PJC as a panacea for all traffic tickets, all day, all the time.  I picture Taco from The League Notarizing everything unnecessarily, or Dave Chappell pleading the 5th every time someone looks at him.  The bottom line is a PJC is to be used ONLY in specific circumstances, and only when you know what the consequences will be vis-a-vis your driving record AND the driving record of everyone in your household.  Yes, those matter, too.

I often see unrepresented people in traffic court asking for a PJC when they a) don’t need it and b) could actually be harming themselves by getting it.  Judges and ADAs can only do so much to protect people from themselves, so this is another reason to get good advice from an attorney – like me!

What most people fail to realize as they are stumbling over themselves asking for a PJC is that in many circumstances an even better plea option would be a 10 or less over the limit.  This is the unknown plea option that can make everything all (mostly) better.  In North Carolina if you have no convictions of moving violations in the three year experience period around a 10 over (or less) you are not assigned insurance points for that conviction.  Of course, a non-moving violation would be even better, but sometimes you can’t get that (for many reasons).

So just remember that a 10 over, with a clean record, is often times better than a PJC.  But as with everything in the law it is always best to seek counsel before you go making deals with a prosecutor.

DWI injury claims have a higher than average settlement/verdict value in North Carolina because of one thing: Punitive damages.

When someone injures you and you seek to recover from them, you are looking for, generally, “compensatory” damages.  Those are damages which essentially are to reimburse you for what you lost: medical treatment costs, lost wages, and something for pain and suffering are the traditional big three items we are looking for.

In North Carolina you can, under very limited circumstances, ask a court to award you not only compensatory damages (paying for your losses) but also punitive damages, or an award to the plaintiff that that is merely meant as a deterrent to the sort of behavior that led to the action.  Punitive damages are limited in North Carolina except in once instance: DWI injury claims.

Mind you, you may not even ask for punitive damages in the absence of wanton and reckless conduct.  So in your normal motor vehicle accident case, which would involve just plain old negligence, you may not seek punitive damages.  However, North Carolina law allows for you to seek punitive damages in DWI injury claims because of the wanton and reckless nature of driving while impaired.  These damages – unlike in every other punitive damages situation in NC – are unlimited, meaning that the jury can award the plaintiff however much money they feel would be a suitable punishment to the defendant for their behavior.  And this would be in addition to whatever compensatory damages you were awarded as a plaintiff.

That’s a big deal.

However, there’s a rub, as always.  How are you going to recover those punitive damages? Most people don’t have thousands of dollars to take, so what do you do?

Automobile liability policies are on the hook for punitive damages, so if you can get them, the defendant’s liability insurance carrier will have to pay them.  However, most people have NC minimum limit policies, which at the time of this writing are $30,000 per person.  So the total amount that any one plaintiff could recover from that kind of policy, whether it’s compensatory or compensatory AND punitive damages, would be $30,000.

Is there a way to get more?  Well, maybe…

If you have Underinsured motorist coverage and you exceed the policy limits of the defendant, you might be able to recover against that policy.  But UIM policies are not responsible for punitive damage verdicts, so they are not on the hook for that.  They are, on the hook for compensatory damages, so if you have high compensatory damages, there is hope for a potentially reasonable recovery, depending on the circumstances.

This stuff is straight wacky, right?

“How do I pay my medical bills after an auto accident?”

This is probably the #1 concern of my clients.  And it’s a terribly valid and immediate one.  So what’s the answer?

http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2015/09/woman_settles_lawsuit_against_dunkin_donut_for_522.html

It all makes sense when you read the article…

A woman got coffee at a Dunkin Donuts and while in the parking lot stepped on an exposed spike (I’m guessing rebar, but not altogether sure) which then caused her to fall and spill her coffee on herself, resulting in horrific burns.

Everyone thinks they know about the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee case (most don’t know the facts really at all) and relying on their misinformation think that all coffee cases are “frivolous.”  This is a great example of one that isn’t.

All property owners have a duty to keep their premises safe.  They shouldn’t create dangerous conditions, and when they are aware of dangerous conditions, they have a duty to warn people of them.

In this situation Dunkin Donuts’ failure to discover and notify their customer of a dangerous condition was a proximate cause of her injury, so they should be held liable.  It’s a solid theory.  This case isn’t about a beverage being subjectively “too hot” or someone going after a pot of gold over no real injury; this case is about long-standing premises liability theory and significant personal injury.

So before you judge a case, or even worse the person making the case, know the facts.  And if you’re injured, call an attorney.  Maybe this guy. 919-929-2992

I handle these.

Depending on several factors, mostly on your driving record and the charge against you, I have a chance of getting a reduction to reduce, and sometimes eliminate, insurance points. Insurance points raise your insurance rates for THREE YEARS!

You don’t want to give more money to insurance companies. Insurance companies are @$$#()!3$.

Let me help you.  Call 919-929-2992.

Last year there was a Super Bowl ad for a personal injury attorney.  It was done in a movie trailer format and with a Hollywood budget.  If you missed it, here it is:

It bears no resemblance to the practice of law, and the story doesn’t even really make sense.  How do you avenge the murder of your brother by getting into personal injury law? Did State Farm off him? I suppose I wouldn’t put it past them, but it’s not like we’re in the vigilante business, exactly.

And here’s a now infamous one:

This one is patently absurd, and if I had a DWI, the last thing I’d personally want would be to have an attorney that crashes into cars and screams a lot.  But the thing is, we’re talking about these ads, which means they are getting attention and therefore working for the people doing them.

Is that wrong?  I wouldn’t say so.  There are some old school attorneys (and regular folks) who might say that this sort of hucksterism is in some way demeaning to the once-proud profession of law.  And maybe they’re right.  But I think it might also be argued that it is now in the nature of our country’s social conscience to take everything and everyone less seriously.  Doctors are not viewed with the respect they once were, and lawyers are more reviled than anything else.  If anything, I would imagine that the attorneys who get in on the self-deprecation, the tongue-in-cheek parody, and/or the over-the-top showmanship are the ones that are going to prosper as business people as this era continues.

And I think that’s the point.  When you consider the practice of the law (or any of the traditional white-collar sort of vocations) as a profession, then that implies a certain stodgy traditionalism that doesn’t jive with today’s media norms.  But when you consider the practice as a business, then that’s when you turn the corner.  I think that the practices that are on the cutting edge of advertising are the ones that are getting more business.  The question remains, and will only be answered by Darwinian business processes, what does the consumer prefer – a grandfatherly Atticus Finch, or a screaming Adam Reposa?  If I know America, I think we’re leaning more toward the Reposas of the world every day.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Let me know what you think about attorney advertising in this day and age by commenting on Twitter (@jahatty) or Facebook (link below):

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeffrey-Allen-Howard-Attorney-at-Law-PLLC/151562138211185?ref=br_rs&pnref=lhc

Thanks!

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/08/29/civil-lawsuit-battle-flares-bike-car-crash/71397258/

Today’s blog post is about the general perception that injury claims are frivolous, particularly in light of the facts of the claim referenced above.

We hear a lot of noise about lawsuits being frivolous and personal injury lawyers making everyone’s lives more expensive by bringing silly claims for people who really aren’t hurt.

Well, if you read the article above, you’ll see that Dr. Kenneth Najarian of Charlotte really was hurt by a driver in Vermont.  In fact, he died.  Is that enough injury to bring a claim?  I would imagine it’s plenty of injury for his family.

Dr. Najarian’s widow has filed suit against the driver, who was, it just so happens, charged with driving while impaired after she ran over Dr. Najarian.

Do you think this claim is frivolous?

What I find particularly compelling about this case is that the defense has fought over the plaintiff’s right to inspect the vehicle before repairs were made.  Invaluable evidence to help resolve a disputed claim is clearly available only if the car is examined prior to repairs?  Who would fight that?  Who would be arguing about the right to inspect a vehicle when someone has lost their life for no good reason!?!

How come we don’t hear anything about frivolous defenses to lawsuits?

Insurance company money.  There’s your answer.  So think about that the next time you hear about how injury attorneys are messing up the world.

You don’t.

Sadly, there really isn’t any “getting out of” tickets anymore.  There are two drivers in this situation:  First, control of driver speeds helps to curb accidents, and more importantly injuries. While I stand to profit from injury claims on the roads, it’s not that I want them to happen, so it’s a good thing to have speed limits that are enforced.  Second, traffic tickets bring in a huge amount of revenue for the court and for local schools, so the DA has a lot of incentive to keep these going.  As a result, they are not likely to just go away like you would like.

No, the ADAs don’t care if you had to pee really, really badly.  They don’t care if you were late to nursery pick-up and are dinged $15/minute for being late.  They don’t care that you were just “going with the flow of traffic.”  They don’t care if you didn’t see the sign, or if the sign just changed a few feet away.

Everyone has a reason, I know.  I’ve gotten tickets before for similar reasons just like you have.  Everyone thinks that their excuse is legitimate but other people’s excuses are just excuses.  That’s not the case.  Once you get a ticket, the question shouldn’t be, “How do I get out of this ticket?”  The question should be, “How do I control the damage from this situation?”

From a legal standpoint, speeding is strict liability, meaning if you’re doing it, you’re breaking the law.  They don’t have to prove you intended to break the law.  They just have to prove you were speeding.

How do they do that?  They have the cop testify.  You can get up on the stand and say, “Nu-uh!” but that may not fly.  Don’t get me wrong, you can have a trial on a ticket that will result in a not guilty, but these are by far the very tiny exception to the vast rule, and it is not something I would generally advise.

Your concern should be damage control.  How can you get through this situation with the least amount of damage?  Hiring an attorney (like me!) makes a lot of sense.  Sure, you pay a fee, but what do you get? This is what you get:

1) Someone goes to court for you and you don’t miss work;

2) The person going to court for you has knowledge that you probably don’t have, specifically what the financial results of different plea options might be based on your record so they know the best option for you!

3) The person going to court for you will have some familiarity with the ADAs and the negotiating parameters, so you’ll get a good idea as to what to expect and what the best outcome might be.

4) Your outcome should in most cases be the best plea deal available under the particular circumstances, and it should reduce or maybe even eliminate the increase of your insurance premiums for THREE YEARS!  

If you don’t think all that’s worth the attorney’s fee, you probably didn’t do very well in math class.

Tickets = bad.  Attorneys = good!  Call me. 919-929-2992