Miscellaneous

• Court Allows Land Fraud to Stand

  Jane Schneider | October 05, 2007 12:09 AM | 0 CommentsAnchorage, AK

  Omar Stratman's decades-long effort to return some of the best land in the Kodiak archipelago to the US government was dealt a blow last week. The Federal District Court for the District of Alaska dismissed Statman's suit despite considerable authority to the contrary. Stratman will appeal. The dispute involves who will ultimately own over 70 square miles of the most beautiful and valuable...

• Seriously Injured? Don't Talk to Allstate

  Jane Schneider | September 28, 2007 12:42 AM | 0 CommentsAnchorage, AK

  Last week a very good lawyer lost a serious injury case in Palmer, Ak. The judge ruled that he could not explain to the jury why his client did and didn't do certain things because to do so would violate [this particular judge's interpretation of] an evidence rule that keeps the jury from hearing about insurance. It hurt the client's credibility in the eyes of the jury and resulted in a...

• Rick Meshew killed in Alaska Conveyer Belt Accident

  Ward Merdes | September 24, 2007 11:23 AM | 0 CommentsFairbanks, AK

  There was a tragic accident at a Matanuska-Susitna gravel pit on Thursday. The AP reports that Rich Meshew was killed in a conveyer belt accident. He apparently became tangled in the belt and died of related trauma. Accidents like this have been happening with greater frequency of late. It's a shame that owners /operators of such dangerous equipment fail to improve the safety of such devices....

• Industrial Death Caused by Conveyor Belt

  Jane Schneider | September 24, 2007 12:45 AM | 0 CommentsAnchorage, AK

  September 20, 2007, shortly before 5:00 p.m., a 49 year old employee of Central Paving Products died when he became entangled in a conveyor belt in the gravel pit where he was working at about mile 38.5 of the Parks Highway. When an on-the-job death happens the worker's family can't sue his employer or fellow employees, even if they were at fault in causing the death. But if the conveyor...

• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Disputes Must Be Arbitrated

  Mike Schneider | August 20, 2007 12:57 AM | 0 CommentsAnchorage, AK

  The insurance industry, with the exception of Allstate, has issued new policy language that allows carriers to deny uninsured and underinsured motor insurance claims, and force policyholders into a slow and expensive jury trial in order to get their claim resolved. But AS 21.89.035 makes it doubtful that the new language is enforceable. Because the statute demands that the insurance policies...

• Five Die in Alaskan Plane Crash

  Jenny Albano | August 17, 2007 5:05 PM | 0 CommentsFairbanks, AK

  A small plane crashed near the island of Ketchikan in Alaska killing 5 passengers. Four people that were on the plane survived.The names of the people aboard the aircraft are not immediately available, but it is known that 3 of the survivors were sent to a hospital on the mainland for treatment of burns. According to a member of the rescue squad the plane crashed into a tree about 200 feet...

• It's Smart to Settle if You Can

  Jane Schneider | August 17, 2007 12:57 AM | 0 CommentsAnchorage, AK

  Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court repeated a rule first set out in the Robles case that gives settling parties the full benefit of the bargain they made, while holding the feet of non-settling parties to the trial court fire. Where a plaintiff got vastly more money from pre-trial settlements than the jury awarded in plaintiff's favor at the trial of the non-settling defendant, the non-settling...

• Small Plane Crashes into House Killing 4

  Jenny Albano | August 07, 2007 5:31 AM | 0 CommentsFairbanks, AK

  A small plane crashed Monday, August 6, killing all four occupants. The plane crashed into an unoccupied house in Sitka, Alaska. The plane was a single-engine Piper which departed from Victoria, British Columbia. The plane was owned by Hendrickson Aviation LLC, located in Delaware.Lt. Barry Allen of the Sitka Police Department said debris under the plane was smoldering, hampering the...

• Choosing a Personal Injury Attorney

  Mike Schneider | July 31, 2007 1:27 PM | 0 CommentsAnchorage, AK

  When you are injured as the result of negligence, you should seek legal advice immediately before you discuss the matter with an insurance adjuster, before signing any documents, and before valuable evidence can be lost. The less money insurance companies pay for claims, the more money they make. Before discussing the matter with an adjuster, you should get the advice you need from a qualified...

• Avandia and Actos Linked to Heart Failure(2)

  Ward Merdes | July 30, 2007 11:55 AM | 0 CommentsFairbanks, AK

  Hundreds of thousands of mostly overweight people are taking Avandia and Actos. They just learned that it is linked to heart failure. Can you think of a worse group of people to risk heart failure?The drugs are prescribed by doctors for type II diabetes. Their use has doubled in the past three years as a consequence of a growing obesity problem. In 2006, 1.8m prescriptions were written across...