Miscellaneous

• What If You Are Injured at Work? Can You Sue for Pain and Suffering?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 18, 2007 9:03 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Generally, but the remedies are very much stacked against you.Arizona workers' compensation laws are your avenue for redress if you have sustained injuries at work as a result of a co-worker or employer. You don't need to show negligence on the part of your employer to make a claim. What you need to show is that you were in the "course and scope" of your employment at the time you were injured...

• Defamation, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and the Relationship of Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 16, 2007 3:46 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  I often get asked about defamation suits and whether they are viable. Every time I deal with the issue I explain that the close cousin of defamation is intentional infliction of emotional distress and that both present difficult challenges. While defamation liability can be established fairly easily, damages can prove a problem for most cases. Intentional infliction of emotional distress, by...

• What Happens if I Was Bit or Attacked by Someone's Dog?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 15, 2007 8:56 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  You can typically recover if you are injured by someone's dog, and generally their homeowner's insurance policy will provide liability coverage for these accidents. In addition, in Arizona we have a dog bite statute creating strict liability for such situations. Therefore, dog owners are liable for such injuries regardless of fault or alleged provacation of the dog.

• Industry Lobbyist Nominated to Head Consumer Product Safety Commission

  Staff Writer | May 10, 2007 5:18 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Talk about a fox guarding the hen house, the Bush administration recently nominated a lobbyist and Executive Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Describing the consumer safety purposes for its existence, the CPSC:is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than...

• Update: Judge may lose his job after suing cleaners for $65,000,000

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 09, 2007 9:54 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Roy L. Pearson Jr. might regret going after a dry cleaners for a lost pair of pants. A panel of four Washington DC officials is considering whether he should return as an administrative law judge for his bringing and maintaining a $65 million suit agaist the cleaners.

• Transportation Security Administration Loses Sensitive Computer Hard Drive

  Staff Writer | May 08, 2007 5:00 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  The Transportation Security Administration has apparently lost a computer hard drive containing personal information concerning over 100,000 employees this week possibly exposing them to risk of identity theft. According to the TSA, the hard drive was discovered missing from a controlled area and officials have called in the FBI and Secret Service to assist in the investigation to determine the...

• The Case of the Judge Who Lost His Pants, and Then Lost His Mind

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 08, 2007 12:59 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Rarely do I find it necessary to write about cases that should never be filed, after all, there are enough people who love to blog about the absurdities of the law. That being said, the case of the Hon. Roy Person, Jr. versus Custom Cleaners is the single-worst example of abusive litigation that I recall having ever seen or heard of.It is safe to say, the Hon. Roy Pearson, Jr. demands...

• The Advantages Structuring Personal Injury Settlements for Clients Concerned About Child Support Obligations

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 07, 2007 9:41 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Most people do not normally focus on family law issues in personal injury matters, but believe it or not, such issues can make a difference for clients with child support obligations, or even potential future child support obligations. Now, at the outset, let me state clearly that it is every parent's obligation to properly and responsibly care for their children. That being said, divorced...

• Has Your Health Insurance Company Treated You Fairly?

  Staff Writer | May 07, 2007 5:00 PM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Today in the Los Angeles Times, I read about the health insurance company Blue Shield of California which has been sued by a policyholder alleging bad faith for refusing to pay medical bills totalling $450,000 arising out of a serious car accident. According the the article, the insureds applied for health insurance, paid premiums and received an individual policy through Blue Shield of...

• Court Holds Evidentiary Hearing to Determine the Amount of a Medicaid Lien, Similar Hearings Are Expected in Other Personal Injury Matters

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 06, 2007 2:15 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  As we have noted in the past, "getting the money and keeping the money" are two different and equally difficult issues in personal injury matters. In many cases, there are liens on recoveries, such as when Medicaid pays all or part of a person's bills.One issue that often arises is the extent to which a third-party can assert a lien. In Arkansas Dept. of Health and Human Servs. v Ahlborn, 547...