Attorney George Arnold, the owner of Arnold Law Offices, PLLC, is a personal injury attorney that takes tremendous pride in winning compensation for their clients in personal injury cases. Attorney Arnold has successfully represented his clients in auto accidents, trucking accidents, and wrongful death suits.
Auto Accidents
Auto accidents can be dreadful experiences, especially when someone is seriously injured. In Wyoming, you must prove that the other driver was negligent before you can recover for your injuries. A person is negligent when they owe a duty of care to another person and then commits an act that violates the duty of care. The violation of the duty of care then causes injury. The injuries must be foreseeable and not too remote from the accident.
Injuries are not limited to the physical ailments caused by the crash but also include pain and suffering. Along with pain and suffering, your emotional damages can include a loss of the enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and emotional distress. Injuries can also include economic damages like loss of future income and loss of profits.
Insurance companies use similar defenses in every case. They will argue that you were comparatively at fault for the crash. Comparative fault permits a plaintiff to recover for injuries caused by the defendant, reduced by the percentage of blame assessed to the plaintiff for the accident. Additionally, insurance companies will argue that you were not injured to the extent that you claim. They will use tactics such as demonstrating that you failed to attend all of your medical appointments, exaggerated your injuries, could have returned to work sooner, among others, to try to limit liability for their client, the insurance company.
Your lawyer should help you anticipate those arguments and head them off at the pass. You should attend every doctor’s appointment, physical therapy appointment, chiropractor appointment, and follow your healthcare providers’ orders. You must take your recovery seriously. If you do, then the insurance company will as well.
Trucking Accidents
Trucking is the heartbeat of our economy. Tractor trailers pull millions of tons of goods across our nation’s highway each year. Despite rigorous training courses and strict federation safety regulations monitored by multiple agencies, big rigs kill many people each year on America’s roads. Wyoming is no stranger to the carnage. In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that 106 vehicles were involved in fatal crashes in Wyoming. Heavy trucks were involved in 25 or 23% of those fatal crashes. Wyoming was second highest in the nation by percentage.
Trucking accidents are devastating. The sheer weight of them alone causes enormous damage. Their weight in addition to their lack of maneuverability makes them dangerous, and frequently deadly. Federal agencies like the NHTSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration require the installation of new safety equipment on heavy trucks and motor carriers as well as enacting more stringent driver rest period regulations. The agencies designed the regulations to increase highway safety.
Wrongful Death
The loss of a loved one at the hands of another is truly tragic. Whether a car crash or on-the-job accident caused your loved one’s death, the victim’s family wants justice. In Wyoming, the estate of a deceased person can sue the person who caused the death “whether by wrongful act, neglect, or default.” The next of kin, and not the administrator of the decedent’s estate, must bring the suit. The next of kin can recover damages for the injuries including pain and suffering, economic loss, and physical and mental anguish.
For More Information
If you or a loved one was injured or killed by the wrongful act of another, Attorney George Arnold is there to help. Call Arnold Law Offices, PLLC in Rock Spring at 307-392-2002 or visit the office at 409 Broadway, Suite A in Rock Springs to speak with an experienced and successful Wyoming personal injury lawyer.
Sources:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/wystatutes/
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8099573122416061174&q=contributory+negligence&hl=en&as_sdt=4,51&as_ylo=2012
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812150
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/motor-carrier-safety-progress-reports
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service/summary-hours-service-regulations
