By Nathan Vinson, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP This is that time of year when we all start thinking about taxes – and how to pay less. We’ve often gotten the news from our accountants that perhaps our refunds won’t be as large as we’d like or that we owe. Ugh to both. This is a good time to consider if your business can be more charitably minded, and perhaps help you pare back the tax burden next year. Read More
Places of business owe certain duties to visitors. One of those duties is safe and secure surfaces for walking. Spills can cause hazardous conditions, and businesses owe it to their visitors to clean up spills and similar hazardous conditions as soon as possible. When a business or property owner breaches the duty of care that it owes to a visitor, the visitor has a right to seek monetary compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering caused by the accident. This gas station fall case went to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which sided with the injured person in the lawsuit. Read More
Our civil justice system is built on the premise that a jury of disinterested individuals is in the best position to determine matters such as the credibility of witnesses and the amount of money that a person injured by another person's negligence should receive in compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and so on. Unfortunately, no system is perfect. Even juries sometimes get it wrong. When that happens, it is the trial judge's job to grant a new trial so that justice may prevail. Read More
If you believe that you have a claim for personal injuries or for a loved one's wrongful death, you should speak to an attorney about your case as soon as possible. This is because there is a limited time for filing both injury and death cases. This Tennessee product liability lawsuit case is a reminder that the statute of limitations isn't flexible. The statute of limitations prescribes the exact time period for bringing a claim, such as a negligence action arising from a motor vehicle collision, an act of medical malpractice, or an injury from a defective product. There may also be an applicable statute of repose that places additional constraints on the time for filing suit, based on factors such as, for example, the date an allegedly defective product was manufactured. Read More
Many people think of "car insurance" as something you either have or don't have. When a claim arises, these folks can be very surprised to learn that there are a multitude of issues outside of parties simply being insured or uninsured. This is because, at its essence, an insurance policy is a contract that has many different terms, provisions, and exclusions. So it is very important to understand exactly what is - and is not - covered under one's policy. As a recent case illustrates, it is also important to discuss your policy with your insurance agent regularly, especially if your household situation changes. Read More
Insurance companies have certain duties not only to their insureds but also to those who file legitimate claims against those who they insure. A company's failure to uphold these duties can result in a finding of liability under Kentucky's bad-faith laws, but the claimant has the burden of proving his or her case by a preponderance of the evidence. This is not always an easy task, since there those involved may not agree about who is at fault or the amount of damages to which the claimant is entitled. Read More
Lawsuits arising from 18-wheeler accidents can be very complex. One reason for this is that the tractor and trailer may be owned by or insured by different entities. This greatly complicates the path to recovery of a fair settlement or judgment for a person injured in a semi-truck wreck. In a recent case, a rather unique issue arose. The owner of a certain tractor-trailer requested liability insurance on both the tractor and the trailer, but the insurance agent accidentally left the tractor off of the list of the trucking company's vehicles when she sent the application to the insurance company. Read More
If you are suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer, and you have been exposed to Roundup, you may need legal help. A recent scientific study labeled glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, a class 2A carcinogen. Glyphosate may be linked to cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Those who have this disease need to know that lawsuits are underway against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup. If you have been exposed to Roundup, either as a consumer, a farmer or landscape worker, it is important to know your rights, and to act quickly. The statute of limitations, which restricts how long you have to file a lawsuit, may apply. It is important to begin research soon to see if you should be represented by counsel. Read More
In a pedestrian accident involving a motor vehicle, most people would assume that the pedestrian's medical expenses and other damages would be paid by the driver's insurance carrier. If for some reason that did not happen, most would assume the injured person's own uninsured motorist insurance would honor its contractual obligation and pay the medical claim. Unfortunately, those assumptions proved to be wrong in a case arising from an incident that occurred in 2012. Instead, the injured man had to file a lawsuit and take his case all the way to the state supreme court in order to obtain relief under uninsured motor vehicle provisions in his insurance. Read More
By Nathan Vinson, attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP When a spouse, parent or child passes away, it’s incredibly difficult to handle. Beyond your own grief, planning the funeral and handling a thousand different tasks, you may receive calls or letters from creditors who try to convince you that you should pay the debt of the person who died. In one recent case, a widow received a collection letter from an agency that specializes in collecting debt for creditors of deceased people. The estate had been closed for about a year. She didn’t owe that debt, but the collection agency tried to convince her that she did. Collecting decedent debts By law, you don’t owe a debt for someone who died (unless, of course, you owed the debt jointly with the decedent or as a guarantor). Once the person passes away and the proper steps have been taken to handle the probate estate, the opportunity for a creditor to collect unsecured debt is gone. Credit agencies, especially the less reputable ones, may use all manner of intimidation and even threats to get people to pay debts. These calls can be troubling and confusing for people, especially those who are older or who don’t know the law. It’s important to understand how debt is collected to protect yourself and the people you love. Read More
