Don’t get tripped up on premises liability lawsuits

Don’t get tripped up on premises liability lawsuits

When you visit someone else’s property, either as a guest, a tenant, a customer or in most any other capacity, you have the right to expect that the owner will maintain the property to such a degree that you can visit in relative safety. This applies whether the property is a private residence or apartment building, an office building, mall, on city sidewalks or in public gathering areas. The vast majority of times, you are provided a safe environment, but in a few instances, if the owner is aware of a substandard safety issue and you get hurt after the fact, you can seek damages as part of a premises liability suit.

A premises liability attorney can help you take action against a property owner in a variety of scenarios:

• You slip and fall on an icy sidewalk or stairs
• A dog bites you after it has been determined to be dangerous
• You fall down a flight of stairs due to a loose handrail or poorly maintained steps
• You nearly drown because there is no fence around a pool
• You are a burn or smoke inhalation victim after a fire due to poor electrical systems or malfunctioning appliances

The list of premises liability scenarios is endless. But the bottom line is that if a property owner knows about a substandard issue and does nothing to correct the situation which results in an injury or death, there may be a strong opportunity to sue for damages. The key in these kinds of cases is that the property owner must be made aware in advance and they must have a reasonable amount of time to correct the situation.

A seasoned premises liability attorney will be familiar with the nuances and case laws related to various kinds of premises legal actions and will be able to guide you through what can be a complicated process.

The Lemle Law Group serves clients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu and other nearby Southern California cities.

The basics of product liability

When you buy a blender, a lawnmower, a washer, a car, a microwave oven or any other product from among the thousands that consumers have to choose from, you have a reasonable expectation that what you buy will perform as it is touted to do. Most of the time, this is exactly what happens. A washer cleans your clothes. A microwave heats your food, and a lawnmower cuts your grass, all just as advertised.

However, from time to time, a product will not only not live up to expectations, but it will also perform in such a way that either causes users to be injured or killed or is shown to be dangerous because it is defective in some way.

When this happens, you have the right to retain a product liability attorney to help you file a lawsuit and collect damages from any harm you have suffered.

With a product liability suit, you may be joining thousands of other plaintiffs in a class action suit, or you may choose to pursue an action individually, seeking compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills, and other related damages. Because these types of cases can be lengthy and complicated, you will need to have an experienced product liability attorney working closely with you, especially since most defendants will be able to apply significant legal resources to oppose you and wear you down.

Product liability cases generally center around products that can be defective in three main ways. They include:

Design defects. Some product shortcomings are built in at the earliest stages when a product is still on the drawing board.

Manufacturing defects. Even if a product is designed well, it must still be manufactured properly, or it will result in a dangerous finished product.

Marketing defects. A product that is designed and built well may be placed on the market with poor instructions or false claims about results, which could lead to injuries or deaths as well.

The Lemle Law Group serves clients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu and other nearby Southern California cities.

The role of a personal injury lawyer

If you’ve sustained injuries due to the negligence, recklessness or carelessness of another person, you may be able to sue and collect damages. Personal injuries can happen just about anytime or anywhere. You may be in a car accident. You might slip and fall on some icy pavement, or that pavement may be uneven, causing you to trip. A loose handrailing in an apartment building may cause you to fall down a flight of stairs. Or you could be injured if a product malfunctions or a doctor provides you with substandard medical care. The bottom line is that there are an untold number of ways you can be injured due to the actions of somebody else.

When you are injured, to recover damages you’ll need to hire a personal injury lawyer. While no two personal injury cases are exactly alike, virtually all personal injury cases rest on proving the same foundational principle. That principle is proving that another person acted with negligence or disregard for you. There are four tests that must be met to prove negligence:

1. That the defendant had a duty of care to act responsibly (i.e. no drinking and driving)
2. That they breached that duty of care (they drove drunk anyway)
3. That the breach can be directly attributed to your injuries (drunk driver was at fault in an accident involving you)
4. That as the victim, you sustained some form of loss, whether through pain and suffering, lost wages due to missed work, or expenses due to medical bills (hospital stay, lost time and work, lots of injuries and mental anguish)

The personal injury lawyer you hire should have many years of experience and be able to provide several relevant examples that closely mimic the facts of your case. You don’t particularly want an attorney who specializes in boating accidents if you’ve been involved in a truck accident. Likewise, they should be able to demonstrate a high success rate, along with judgments that are in a range similar to what your case is expected to bring.

The Lemle Law Group serves clients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu and other nearby Southern California cities.

Accepting risk is part of riding a motorcycle

Southern California is a motorcycle rider’s paradise. With year round great weather, miles upon miles of beautiful coastal roads, and day trips into nearby mountains; it’s no surprise that cycle riding is a popular pastime for countless locals. But hopping on a Harley and hitting the open road does come with some caution attached to it because those same roads are also full of car and truck drivers who don’t always give motorcycle riders the safest of passages at all times. Riding a motorcycle may be a great lifestyle, but it also comes with a certain level of risk attached to it as well.

Riders accept this risk, knowing that the possibility of severe injuries is real due to limited protection that riding a motorcycle offers. Throw in inattentive drivers, road hazards, construction zone challenges, bad signage and other obstacles, and it’s easy to see why motorcycle riders are extremely vulnerable to injuries ranging from a bad case of road rash to broken bones and internal injuries, and in some cases, death.

While every motorcycle accident is different, when it is caused by the careless or negligent actions of another person, the rider can hire a motorcycle accident attorney and pursue a claim for damages including lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical bills.

An experienced attorney can help a plaintiff work through complicated issues such as accident reconstruction, expert witness testimony, settlement negotiations and other difficult situations. The bottom line is to protect your legal and financial rights, assuring you the maximum possible compensation for your injuries which will help you on your road to recovery.

The Lemle Law Group serves clients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu and other nearby Southern California cities.

Accepting risk is part of riding a motorcycle

Southern California is a motorcycle rider’s paradise. With year round great weather, miles upon miles of beautiful coastal roads, and day trips into nearby mountains; it’s no surprise that cycle riding is a popular pastime for countless locals. But hopping on a Harley and hitting the open road does come with some caution attached to it because those same roads are also full of car and truck drivers who don’t always give motorcycle riders the safest of passages at all times. Riding a motorcycle may be a great lifestyle, but it also comes with a certain level of risk attached to it as well.

Riders accept this risk, knowing that the possibility of severe injuries is real due to limited protection that riding a motorcycle offers. Throw in inattentive drivers, road hazards, construction zone challenges, bad signage and other obstacles, and it’s easy to see why motorcycle riders are extremely vulnerable to injuries ranging from a bad case of road rash to broken bones and internal injuries, and in some cases, death.

While every motorcycle accident is different, when it is caused by the careless or negligent actions of another person, the rider can hire a motorcycle accident attorney and pursue a claim for damages including lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical bills.

An experienced attorney can help a plaintiff work through complicated issues such as accident reconstruction, expert witness testimony, settlement negotiations and other difficult situations. The bottom line is to protect your legal and financial rights, assuring you the maximum possible compensation for your injuries which will help you on your road to recovery.

The Lemle Law Group serves clients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu and other nearby Southern California cities.

The benefits of hiring an attorney after you’ve been…

With millions of drivers on the road, car accidents are an inevitable part of life in the Southland. You can be the safest driver in the world, but every time you get behind the wheel, you are still at risk because there are other drivers who don’t always follow the rules and who can cause an accident at any given time.

Some accidents are little more than fender benders, while others are more significant causing injuries to you and your passengers and doing major damage to your vehicle and other surrounding property. In some cases, who is at fault will be obvious and a case may appear to be one that can be easily settled. Others can be more complicated, requiring many resources to prove a case. Regardless of the size and scope of an accident, in a vast majority of cases, it makes good sense to hire an experienced car accident attorney to protect your personal and financial rights.

Even in minor accidents, attorneys can far exceed their value in terms of any fees you may be required to pay. That’s because they are highly familiar with the types and amounts of damages that you may be entitled to when someone else is at fault. They can negotiate a maximum amount that you can receive for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages and other related compensation.

Just as important, in cases where liability may be in question, an attorney can ramp up efforts on your behalf to make sure that any lingering doubts are resolved, proving the other side was negligent, which clears the way to collect damages. If needed, an attorney can call upon expert witnesses to support your point of view, and will be able to also use case law and help a judge or jury interpret evidence in a way that sides with your arguments.

Having an advocate that understands all of the complexities of the legal system and meeting deadlines in a timely manner is a wise investment to ensure you have the best possible outcome if you are involved in a car accident.

The Lemle Law Group serves clients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu and other nearby Southern California cities.