Personal Injury Lawyer Joel Bieber

A friend of mine from Virginia, Joel Bieber, advised me that my blogging is too sterile and boring. After looking at the blogs he may be correct. He states that his blogging technique is the best and more interesting. I have attached a copy of his latest blog so you can decide for yourself.


HERE IT IS FROM ATTORNEY JOEL BIEBER
Virginia


"I Feel For You"
Yesterday, I was on the noon news at the local ABC affiliate. Because April is "Give Life Month", I was there to urge others to consider organ donation. United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The more I learn about this organization, the more I'm glad that I am involved with them.
Before I originally starting experiencing problems from my kidneys, I did not know that much about organ donation. That seemed like something for someone else. As I went on the transplant list and then, ultimately received a kidney transplant from a donation from my wife, I obviously became very aware and connected to organ donation. Before that, even if I heard about someone saying that they needed a transplant, I really didn't "feel the need".
Life experiences clearly shape us. I just was listening to a business program that was discussing what to do, when you encounter a co-worker who has just been laid off. The framework of the discussion related to what to say, when you are in an elevator with a person, who is carrying their stuff in a box, after being let go. In this economy, unfortunately, it appears that this is more timely then ever.
The suggestions ranged from a recommendation of "I'm sorry to hear that", to "they are losing a great worker". I guess the talking heads thought that they would add some humor by recommending that you not say such things as "well, at least I'm doing great", or, "Well, at least you don't have that long commute anymore". It kinda reminded me of the time that our new house had caught fire and had almost been completely destroyed. My wife and I were sitting on the "what was left of the porch", when someone drove up that was a "friend", and got out of the car and immediately said with a grin, "so, when are you going to sell it".
The relevance to all this is what I face in a jury trial, as I try to convey what my client has been through. After some verdicts, our post juror interviews have shown such broad answers as, "I feel so bad for that lady" to "I'm in pain and nobody is paying me, so why should she be paid". Those kind of responses are always disappointing. Of course, it is hard to learn of that attitude in jury selection questioning. To date, not one potential juror has ever said that. Maybe the uncomfortable jury chairs don't help.
Of course, in jury duty, an oath is taken to apply the law and to put aside any bias or prejudice. I guess, that is one of those textbook applications that may not be reality. It all comes down to some people caring for others versus some wanting to get revenge on a stranger, for what they have personally suffered. Hopefully, in these difficult times, compassion outweighs anger. As the Bible says,"We share one anothers burdens". In this way, my blog title could really have meaning.
Posted on April 02, 2009 Permalink Comments (0) TrackBack (0)
Technorati Tags: Law, Lawyer, Legal, Organ Donation, UNOS
April

Broadside Automobile Accident

California is a comparative negligence state. This means the judge or jury can apportion fault. When one is injured in an automobile accident the defense will attempt to show that the injured party was partially at fault, even if the police report puts their client completely at fault. I have seen this happen many times and one needs to be careful not to fall into the defense lawyer or the insurance companies trap. For example in Downey, California an automobile accident occurred at an intersection where the defendant was arguably clearly at fault. The plaintiff sustained back and neck injuries and a left hand injury which was injured because her hand was outside of her vehicle when the car rolled over. The defense successfully argued that the accident was partially the plaintiff's fault because she should have had time to react to the accident. The jury came back with a verdict of $49,534.00 minus 20% for plaintiff's comparative negligence. See Joy Ahem v. Helen Perez et al., docket no. VC033944.

Disclaimer

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Any and all written material contained herein from Penney and Associates or its attorneys is for informational purposes and is not intended to be construed as legal advise. Any mention of cases or the results of such cases is not intended to advise concerning the value of similar cases. Nothing herein is intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Always consult with an attorney.

Head On Collision Auto Accident

An unfortunate accident occurred in Ventura County on January 19, 2005. This is what we call a wrongful death accident in the legal business. Plaintiff Kathleen Donovan was killed while stopped for traffic on highway 101 just north of Ventura, California. Ms. Donovan was the daughter of 72 year old retired nurse Constance Donovan. The interesting part of this case concerns the two defendants who were involved in the accident. Ms. Kathleen Donovan was rear-ended by a Gold Coast Erectors company truck.

The driver of the aforementioned vehicle argued that the accident was partially the fault of co-defendant Johnson and Weatherford USLP. Gold Coast Erectors driver contended that co-defendant Johnson’s truck was so big that it impaired his view of plaintiff’s vehicle until the last minute when defendant Johnson swerved to avoid striking plaintiff. They argued that Johnson did not keep a proper look-out and failed to slow in a more appropriate manner so as not to cause an emergency maneuver.

The Jury found for plaintiff but apportioned 10% of the fault to Johnson for not paying attention. The final verdict was $1,200,000. Thus, Johnson would pay $120,000 and the rest would be paid by defendant Gold Coast Erectors.

At Penney and Associates we handle all types of personal injury cases including wrongful death, auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, personal watercraft accidents, boating accidents, airplane accidents and many others. We can be contacted at 1-800-616-4529 or see our website at www.penneyandassociates.com.

Motorcycle Accident

Plaintiff Richard Schneider, an attorney, was riding his motorcycle when he hit an unmarked center median island that was located directly in the middle of a two-way center turn lane. Mr. Schneider suffered severe brain trauma. Plaintiff’s attorney contended that the city of Santa Monica failed to follow its own sign, paint and striping plan. Plaintiff contended that they failed to install proper warning signs and failed to paint the proper striping to warn travelers of the danger of the center divider. Defendant City of Santa Monica claimed that it was immune from liability under certain government statutes. The City believed that its decision not to install warning signs and proper striping was discretionary and therefore they were not liable.
The case eventually settled for $4,400,000.00.

Penney and Associates does not guarantee the outcome of any case similar to the one discussed above.

truck accident

A recent truck accident occurred in Los Angeles. The brief facts are as follows. An Alzheimer's patient was not properly watched at his care facility and was able to walk from the facility out onto the street. The man was struck by a passing truck that fled the scene. The care facility was sued under 22 Cal Code Regs section 87722,24,25 et al.,. The jury held that the retirement home (and partially the son) were at fault and awarded an overall verdict for the plaintiffs in the amount of $1.48 Million. The case was tried in May of 2008.

(This or any Blog by Penney is not meant to assess the value of any other case, even if the facts are similar).