Tag: injury

It seems like common knowledge that Paxil causes increased suicidal tendencies and that some people can’t stop taking it due to the side effects of withdrawal. Why should I go to an attorney when it seems that I should be able to negotiate a settlement with the company on my own? Or would there be a benefit to joining a class action in my case?

Paxil Attorneys Versus Class Action Drug Toxic Chemicals

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It seems like common knowledge that Paxil causes increased suicidal tendencies and that some people can’t stop taking it due to the side effects of withdrawal. Why should I go to an attorney when it seems that I should be able to negotiate a settlement with the company on my own? Or would there be a benefit to joining a class action in my case?

It seems, at first glance, that you can save some money by negotiating with GlaxoSmithKline if you or a loved one has suffered from increased suicidal tendencies. However, you place your case at great risk by doing this. Large pharmaceutical companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline, have large legal departments with highly trained, experienced attorneys to defend them. The companies that insure GlaxoSmithKline also have experienced legal staffs and insurance adjusters, and in some cases, outside counsel may be brought in to help with a particular case.

If you choose to represent yourself, even if you think the case will only be negotiated and not go to trial, you will be up against some of the toughest and most experienced attorneys and insurance adjustors in the industry. You need to remember that their sole interest is in minimizing or completely denying any liability on the part of their client, even if that means that you do not receive the compensation to which you are entitled. Everything that you do or say will be scrutinized to see if it can be used to limit the company’s liability. And if your case does end up in court, you will be held to the same standards and the same deadlines as an experienced attorney.

Attorneys who handle personal injury cases usually take the case on a “contingency” fee basis. This means that part of your settlement or recovery, typically 1/3, will go to the law firm as compensation for their work. It also means that if they are unable to recover any money for you, you will not owe them anything for their legal services. This way, you can get good legal representation without having to pay a large retainer fee that you probably can’t afford. And while the percentage that the law firm retains may seem like a great deal, when you consider the amount of time, effort, and resources that go into the preparation of your case as well as the risk that the firm will not be compensated for any of it, you will see why these contingency arrangements are fair to both sides.

Your attorney will also be able to advise you whether it would make more sense to handle your case alone or as part of a class action. Some cases have unusual fact situations or will be making new law in the place where they are brought, and need to be handled as individual cases. However, many cases have a lot of things in common, and can be dealt with as part of a larger class action case. While it is true that most cases handled individually end up settling for more money, that is usually because there is something unusual about the case that makes it worth more money. Deciding whether to pursue a case individually or as part of a class action is an important decision. In many cases, once you make that decision, you will be unable to change it later. Your attorney can help you decide how best to handle your case.

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Can negligence depend on who was doing what?

Negligences Injury Law

Can negligence depend on who was doing what?

Yes. Distinctions often are made based upon a person’s knowledge, experience and background, i.e. – certified public accountants have a greater standard of care to act with respect to financial data, attorneys have a greater degree of care when acting on behalf of a client, and physicians have a greater degree of care when treating patients than a person who tries to give first aid.

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What is the statute of limitations in a case alleging suicidal tendencies or severe withdrawal symptoms caused by Paxil?

Paxil Statute Of Limitations Drug Toxic Chemicals

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What is the statute of limitations in a case alleging suicidal tendencies or severe withdrawal symptoms caused by Paxil?

Lawsuits involving Paxil may be brought by surviving relatives as wrongful death suits or may be brought by the person affected as a personal injury lawsuit, depending on the outcome of the suicide attempt. The statute of limitations in personal injury and wrongful death cases often vary from place to place. However, a general rule of thumb is that you have around 2 years from the date that the injury is suffered or the person dies.

Many things can affect this basic statement, however. Different states may have a different length of time based on the type of injury involved or may look at different triggering events as the point for starting the clock on the statute of limitations. There is no easy way to know whether your case will run into problems with the statute of limitations in your state. Therefore, even if you are concerned that the statute of limitations has run, you should consult with an experienced attorney as quickly as possible to see if you do, indeed, have time to file an action or get some other type of relief through a class action settlement. Your attorney will be able to tell you if the statute of limitations has run and, if it has, if there is any recourse available to you.

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What is negligence?

Negligence Legalese Injury Law

What is negligence?

A person is negligent when he or she fails to act like the standard ordinary reasonable person. Of course the critical issue in many cases is just how an “ordinary, reasonable person” was expected to act in the particular situation that caused the injury.

For example, an ordinary, reasonable person can travel down the Interstate, which has a posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour, at 65 miles per hour. However, if dense fog is present, the same ordinary, reasonable person would be expected to reduce his/her speed of travel. Suppose someone plows into your car while she was driving at 55 or 45 or 35? Would that be what the standard ordinary reasonable person should have done?

The determination of whether a given person has met his/her “ordinary reasonable person” standard is often a matter that is resolved by a jury after presentation of evidence and argument at trial.

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What is ‘strict liability’?

Strict Liabilty Legal Remedies General Practice

What is ‘strict liability’?

Strict liability is a legal doctrine that makes some persons responsible for damages their actions or products cause, regardless of any “fault” on their part.

Strict liability often applies when people engage in inherently hazardous activities, such as doing “blasting” in a city, or keeping wild circus animals. If the blasting damages you — no matter how careful the blasting company was — it is liable for the injury. Similarly if the animals escape and injure someone, the fact that the circus used the world’s strongest cages and the highest standard of care imaginable will not let it get off the hook.

Strict liability also may apply in the case of certain manufactured products. In strict product liability, typically anyone who is engaged in the stream of commence of the product (from the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer, or all of them) can be held responsible if the product was defective and someone was injured. There is no need to prove negligence but the injured party must prove that the product was defective.

Defective products may be the result of bad manufacturing for the failure to provide adequate instructions for the use of the product. Those engaged in the stream of commerce with respect to products should reasonably foresee that some people will misuse the product and should design the product so that injury does not occur.

Disclaimers and waivers of liability for products are often invalidated by courts as against public policy (courts should not condone the manufacture and distribution of defective products) and typically warranties are limited so that manufacturers and retailers are held responsible for personal injuries caused by the use of the product.

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What is a tort?

Tort Injury Law

What is a tort?

A tort is a private or civil wrong or injury (other than breach of contract) for which a court of law may provide a remedy through a lawsuit for damages (compensation). When a person violates his/her duty to others created under general (or statutory) law, a tort has been committed.

The four elements present in a typical tort lawsuit are:

(1) The existence of a legal duty owed by a person to others

(2) The breach of the duty by one person (negligence)

(3) The breach of the duty being the proximate cause of damages suffered by a person

(4) Damages incurred by a person.

Each of the four elements of a tort typically must be present to be compensated.

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What is an ‘intervening cause’?

Intervening Cause Injury Law

What is an ‘intervening cause’?

An intervening cause comes between one act (or failure to act) which alters the natural and continuous series of events that follows. When an intervening cause is present, since the natural chain of events have been changed due to the subsequent act of another, the initial actor may be relieved of the responsibility for an injury that is produced. In the example provided for proximate cause, the act of the stranger picking up the ball and throwing it through the window is an intervening cause which relieves you from the responsibility for injury which may have occurred as a result of your act. The responsibility for the injury to the lady is shifted and the stranger’s act becomes the proximate cause for the lady’s injury.

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What is ‘proximate cause’?

Proximate Causes Injury Law

What is ‘proximate cause’?

Proximate cause is the initial act which sets off a natural and continuous sequence of events that produces injury. In the absence of the initial act which produces injury, no injury would have resulted. Any time you act, you start a series of natural and continuous events to occur (for example, after swinging your arm with a ball in your hand, you release it and the ball then rolls down a hill).

Responsibility for injury lies with the last negligent act that produces the injury (after the ball rolls down the hill, a stranger picks it up, throws it through a window which breaks the glass, causing the glass to shatter and strike a person who was sitting next to the window, cutting her arm and requiring her to obtain medical treatment). In this example, although you caused the ball to roll down the hill, your act is not the proximate cause of the injury to the lady sitting next to the window, the stranger’s act is the proximate cause of the lady’s injury and the stranger, not you, should be held responsible for the injury that she suffered.

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My child’s doctor prescribed Paxil for her to treat her depression. She attempted suicide and, while she survived, she suffered significant brain damage. We believe her use of Paxil led to her suicide attempt. How do we prove this?

Paxil Suicide Depression Lawsuit Drug Toxic Chemicals

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My child’s doctor prescribed Paxil for her to treat her depression. She attempted suicide and, while she survived, she suffered significant brain damage. We believe her use of Paxil led to her suicide attempt. How do we prove this?

If your daughter was depressed, she may have had suicidal tendencies. However, the fact that she was taking Paxil, which was never approved for use in children and which has been linked to increased suicidal tendencies in children, definitely strengthens your case against the manufacturer of the drug as well as against your daughter’s doctor.

You should certainly consult with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible to discuss your daughter’s case. You should be able to bring an action against GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil. The FDA never approved the use of Paxil for treating pediatric depression and, in fact, issued a letter pointing out that not only had Paxil being used by children been linked to increased suicidal tendencies but that there was no evidence to show that Paxil actually helps children with depression and other related mental illnesses. Therefore, your case against GlaxoSmithKline is relatively strong.

You may also have a case against your daughter’s doctor. The doctor should have known that Paxil had not been approved for use in children. Furthermore, the FDA issued a letter charging that Paxil had not been proven effective for use with children and that its use might lead to increased suicidal tendencies. Your daughter’s doctor should have known about that letter and should have acted accordingly to make sure that your daughter was safe. Your attorney can help you decide how best to proceed.

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What is ‘comparative negligence’?

Comparative Negligences Injury Law

What is ‘comparative negligence’?

Comparative negligence comes into play when it is contended that two or more parties failed to perform at the standard of the “ordinary reasonable person”. For example, suppose one person was driving too fast in a patch of dense fog on the highway and hit a car — but the car that was hit did not have its lights on as it should have.

In a situation where each party has some degree of negligence in causing an accident, the responsibility to the other person(s) is reduced by the others’ degree of negligence. For example suppose a jury decides that the driver going too fast in the fog was 60% responsible for the accident, while the driver without vehicle lights on is 40% responsible. If the driver who didn’t have his lights on would have recovered $10,000, his recovery would be reduced to $6,000 because of his 40% contributory negligence. Whether the speeding driver would recover anything will depend on state law — in some states the driver who bears over 50% of the responsibility would recover nothing, not the 40% of his damages.

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