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• Wrong Way Driver Killed in Crash

  Christina Cole | March 13, 2007 11:20 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  A fatal early morning car accident left one man dead and forced Eastbound 202 to close down for hours.Witnesses say a driver traveling the wrong way was the cause of the accident that occurred at 3:30am. Officials say a driver got onto the Scottsdale Road exit ramp and was traveling west in the eastbound lane when his car collided with a Suburban causing it to spin into a third car. The driver...

• Vioxx Jury Selection to Begin

  Christina Cole | February 21, 2007 10:17 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  It has been three years since a 52-year-old woman died of a heart attack. Now the widower and pharmaceutical company are getting ready to fight out whether the painkiller Vioxx was the cause of her death. This is one of many personal injury lawsuits filed against the makers of Vioxx.The jury selection has begun in the first Midwest trial over Vioxx, the arthritis medication that Merck & Co.,...

• Levenbaum & Cohen, Attorneys and Counselors at Law

  Staff Writer | February 15, 2007 8:23 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Personal injury laws cover a wide range of physical and emotional injuries suffered by a person as a result of the wrongful conduct of another. We will develop your case so that we can convincingly prove that the wrongdoer is legally responsible for your injuries. We will also work with you to establish the full extent of your damages--including pain and suffering, disfigurement, medical bills...

• Circumstances of Death Are Admissible in Wrongful Death Actions To The Extent They Impact on Shock, Grief and Emotional Distress of Statutory Survivors

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 26, 2007 3:43 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Division One just put out an opinion in Girouard v.Skyline Steel involving interpretation of the wrongful death statute. The case involved admitted liability, but disputed damages where the decedent burned to death in car accident. The Court clarified that, while pre-death suffering is not compensable in a wrongful death action, the horrific circumstances of the death, the necessity of closed...

• Pain and Suffering: Getting the Jury to "Feel Your Pain" in a Personal Injury Matter

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 11, 2007 10:06 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Pain and suffering. Two "legal words" that literally roll off your tongue. Words that are easy to say, but are hard to live with, especially when you are injured or disfigured by someone else's carelessness.One of the jobs of trial attorneys is to convey a client's pain and suffering to a jury, and it's not an easy thing to do. In fact, it is one of the hardest things trial lawyers do, and it...

• Legal Malpractice and The One Million Dollar Comma

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 10, 2007 8:45 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  As in many legal malpractice matters, the "devil is in the details," but rarely does a dispute center around the use of a "comma," but that was the case in a recent Canadian contract dispute:The dispute is over this sentence: "This agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five (5) years from the date it is made, and thereafter for...

• How Do You Know What My Case is Worth?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 09, 2007 3:15 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  One of the things a good personal attorney provides is assistance evaluating a case. After all, when all is said and done, that is really what matters most: what's it worth? The answer to this question is more complicated, since every case is different. If you believe myths about cases being worth "three times medical bills" or the like, you are likely to be way off base 95% of the...

• Application of Comparative Fault to Business Torts

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 03, 2007 10:13 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Most states have adopted a form of comparative fault. The idea behind newer comparative fault laws is to ameliorate some of the harsh results of the common law, but it can have the opposite effect in the business context.In a "pure" comparative fault state, such as Arizona, a defendant is only responsible for the percentage of fault assigned to it by the jury. So, while your damages maybe $1...

• Why You Need an Attorney That Knows How to Resolve Liens in a Personal Injury Matter

  Geoff Trachtenberg | March 27, 2007 9:15 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  There's a saying concerning doctors that applies with equal force to lawyers:Do you know what they call the person graduating medical school in the bottom of their class?"Doctor."On par with hiring an attorney with superior personal injury knowledge and experience is finding an attorney with the knowledge and skill to properly resolve healthcare-related liens. Such an attorney can make the...

• Attorney Referrals Used to Show Bias In Personal Injury Suits

  Geoff Trachtenberg | March 26, 2007 11:21 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  It might surprise you, but defense lawyers salivate over attorney referrals to medical providers. Indeed, "attorney referral" is even a factor in the pre-litigation "evaluation" systems used by insurers. Defense lawyers make the argument that, where a tort victim goes to an attorney and gets a doctor referral, the injured person's care is suspect and/or "attorney-driven," regardless of any...