Memphis Injury Lawyer Blog

Falls can be crushing for men and women, not to mention the heavy impact on their Memphis families. I recall a case a few years ago when my client fell 6 feet from a scaffold striking the back of his head on the edge of a steel plate. This incident brought to me the weighty obligation of a trial lawyer. My client was rendered a paraplegic and the future welfare of his wife and kids became my responsibility.

Yesterday, Memphis Fire Department crews rescued two men who fell inside a silo at an asphalt company on Presidents Island. According to fire officials, it happened around 3:30 p.m., Thursday, January 29, 2009, in the 1900 block of Wharf Street at Channel Avenue. Officials say the two men were working on some scaffolding when it collapsed and they became trapped in the silo at Ergon Asphalt Company.

An article in the Journal Of Safety Research in 2003 studies work related deaths due to falls from scaffolding for the period on 1992 through 1999. The study considered 339 deaths. For the 6 years considered, 56 workers died each year from these necessary construction appliances. This computes on average to over a death a year for every state in the United States. As most of these catastrophes were avoidable,OSHA regulations became tighter.If you or a loved one works with these lifts, scaffolds or platforms please remember the lessons learned in the following video. If an injury occurs, please consult with an experienced trial lawyer. We can help.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car And Personal Injuries , Injured Workers , Premises Injuries

Bookmark:

If you are injured in a car wreck; have a contract dispute that winds up in court; or are an accused in a criminal case, a Memphis or Tennessee trial lawyer could not only represent you, but could also be a member of your jury. That is, if the trial lawyer doesn't have a bad case of body odor or if perhaps he or she may have already formed an opinion on the case. In a recent Massachusetts appellate court ruling, the trial judge was upheld for removing a juror because she had a case of felony body odor:

"There was a juror seated in seat No. 10, juror 6-5, . . . who I'd made inquiry of earlier. And I just want the record to reflect, I guess, to be blunt, [the juror], for whatever reason, had some very bad, I guess to be blunt again, body odor, which was extremely strong, and I was able to detect in my lobby, as was the clerk, which is a personal matter for that potential juror, but for the fact that her personal problem was [of] such a magnitude that other jurors who had already been picked . . . either by act or words had indicated discomfort with that problem." I know that this humorous example is extreme, to say the least, but some rather wild excuses have been tried in several cases both in Memphis trials and around the country.

In the Chicago R. Kelly trial, let's see what some creative citizens tried:

1. I have a teenage daughter. Several axed jurors provided this explanation for why they couldn't give Kelly a fair trial. "I would have a hard time see anything involving a child without thinking of my child," one man said.
2. I save lives. An oncologist was excused from duty after he told the judge that jury service would create a logistical nightmare for his patients.
3. I'm a cop One Niles police officer lasted only about two minutes in the interview room before he was dismissed because of his profession.
4. I'll change my vacation plans. Overeagerness to serve on the jury is a definite red flag to attorneys. When one man offered to rearrange a trip to see his parents, the prosecution bounced him for being starstruck.
5. I'm getting married! The judge dismissed one woman whose wedding was set for the end of June. He didn't believe she could concentrate on the trial amid all the pre-wedding prep. The woman, who sported a nice size diamond on her left hand, looked thrilled to be released.
6. Please call my mom When one juror failed to show up for service, deputies called his house and his mother answered. She told the court that she didn't know where her son was and that he hadn't been "right" since he was shot in the head a while back. The judge and attorneys agreed to let him off the hook.
7. I blame R. Kelly for Sept. 11. When the judge asked one prospective juror about his feelings regarding Kelly, he cryptically answered: "R. Kelly may have led the Taliban in attacking us on 911, but you can't prove it." You're right, we can't. In fact, we're fairly certain that no one has ever tried.

Juror selection or voir dire ( latin for "speak the truth") is probably the single most important part of trials. It is an art and not a science. The pool of potential jurors is first qualified for service based upon the language of the new statute. The Shelby County Jury Commissioner, Clyde "Kit" Carson, administers the methods used to select a fair cross-section of those who are included as potential jurors for each term of both civil and criminal courts. We are fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and dedicated public servant. Kit has, as a result of years of experience, heard every possible excuse. Suffice it to say,that if you attempt to shirk your duty (and privilege) of jury service with the old excuse that "My dog ate my notice to serve." you will face not only our commissioner but also a Judge. Each panel is examined by a sitting Judge whose duty it is to call the balls and strikes concerning both the qualifications of persons to serve, as well as the valid exemptions from jury service. By the way, it is a crime in Tennessee to ignore your notice to appear for jury service.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car And Personal Injuries , Injured Workers , Insurance Claims , Premises Injuries , Trial Practice

Bookmark:

We all have to have health and prescription coverage. Right? Well corporate America sometimes preys on injured people and those who have suffered a Worker's Compensation injury. In Tennessee, an employer covered by the State of Tennessee Worker's Compensation Act must pay 100% of the reasonable and necessary costs of prescriptions that are needed due to a work connected accident. As the cost of health care skyrockets, it is little wonder that Memphis trial lawyers have to fight tooth and nail to get the medicines that their clients require.

McKesson Corporation has been a distributor of medications for over 150 years. Today, McKesson has agree to pay the staggering sum of nearly $500,000,000.00 in settlement of a RICO suit in the United States District Court in Boston, Massachusetts. The Carpenter's Union health fund brought a class action lawsuit claiming that McKesson artificially inflated prices on many of its drugs, such as Lipitor, without just cause.

In 2007, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, You and I spent $5,483,902,894.00 to fill prescriptions in Tennessee. Another way to look at it is that every Tennessean in 2007 filled on average 16 prescriptions. See the report here. One can only imagine how much of this cost is real and how much was artificially inflated by McKesson and perhaps others, as well.

Be on guard Tennessee. Your most precious asset is at potential risk: your ability to afford meaningful health care or, in other words, your present and future health.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Injured Workers

Bookmark:

We reported yesterday that one worker died and another was injured in a trench disaster in North Mississippi. Today, an article in the Memphis, Tennessee Commercial Appeal Link to Article reported that the United States OSHA Department was on the scene investigating this deadly issue. It was reported that in the event violations of the law were found, federal criminal charges could be brought upon a referral to the Department of Justice.

Now that you have read that, please remember something that is often forgotten. All persons are, in the eyes of the law, not guilty until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty. Most folks read an article like the well written article in the Commercial Appeal or in a case where the Grand Jury returns an indictment against a person and automatically assume that there must be some guilt involved or in other words, "Where there is smoke; There is fire". This idea is so contrary to the underlying foundation of our system of justice that it should upset all fair minded persons.

As a further aside, the next time your mind jumps to the conclusion of guilt based upon the return of an indictment or the institution of an investigation, please reread the article with the Tennessee Jury Instruction (T.P.I.)in mind:

The law presumes that the defendant is innocent of the charge[s] against [him] [her]. This presumption remains with the defendant throughout every stage of the trial, and it is not overcome unless from all the evidence in the case you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Injured Workers

Bookmark:

A deadly cave-in began yesterday in North Mississippi near the bottom of a ditch, undermining an area beneath a nearby tree. Then the top of the ditch caved in on top of two men in our sister state, killing one and severely injuring the other. In this case, both men were about 12 feet down in the ditch, indicating that they had possibly climbed up about five feet from the bottom of the trench before the dirt surrounded them. A strip of dirt about 14 feet long, three feet wide and at least six feet deep fell into the ditch after it was undermined. A witness said that there was approximately five to six feet of dirt on top of the two men. It was estimated that the weight of the dirt that caved into the ditch was eight to 10 tons.

Southwest Tennessee is not immune from similar deaths. Is there one among us who cannot remember a news article or church bulletin recounting the death of a worker in this situation? This problem is severe enough in Tennessee that the state Occupational Safety and Health Agency (TOSHA) has a issued special emphasis bulletin in an attempt to stop these deadly disasters. Prevention of the underlying causes is the key to saving worker's lives, as we can see in the TOSHA Rules. TOSHA has broad power to investigate, inspect and issue sanctions for the protection of Tennessee workers.

For example, During 2002 and early 2003, Eatherly Construction Company began installing a storm drainage pipe adjacent to Elm Hill Pike in Nashville pursuant to a construction contract with the State of Tennessee to widen a portion of Elm Hill Pike and install storm sewers. In order to connect the storm drainage pipe to the storm sewer system, allowing storm water to flow through the sewer system in lieu of a ditch, Eatherly found it necessary to excavate a large trench, measuring eighteen feet in depth, twenty-two feet in length and nine feet in width. Later in the day, Shannon Crawford, a safety compliance officer with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workplace Development, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, went to the construction site for a routine inspection. While there, Crawford noticed the deep section of the trench. Upon further inspection, Crawford determined the deep end of the trench was not in compliance with regulations designed to protect workers. As Crawford explained, the trench was one of “the deepest excavation[s] I’ve ever inspected and the vertical walls were some of the worst I’ve seen.” He additionally noted the trench lacked cave-in protection at the deep end closest to Elm Hill Pike. Based upon Crawford’s findings and recommendation, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued a $4,000 Citation and Notification of Penalty to Eatherly for the violation of an Eatherly employee entering a trench that was not adequately protected from cave-ins.

Sadly, inspectors cannot be everywhere at once. One can only wonder whether or not the recent death and injury of these two workers could have been avoided. While there are many dangers in the workplace, in order to protect your future, one must be aware of those government agencies that can be notified of dangerous conditions.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Injured Workers

Bookmark: