Alcohol poisoning is a serious and potentially fatal condition in which too much alcohol replaces the oxygen in the blood. It can occur from drinking too much alcohol too quickly. Alcohol poisoning can affect your body temperature, heart rate and breathing. In severe cases, alcohol poisoning can cause coma and death. In Texas, if a bartender or alcohol vendor overserves an obviously intoxicated person too much alcohol, the state’s dram shop law could hold the business responsible for related incidents and injuries, including alcohol poisoning. To learn more, get help from a Dallas dram shop liability attorney.

Is Dram Shop Only Related to Car Accidents?

Texas’ dram shop law, Alcohol Beverage Code Chapter 2, states that an alcohol provider could be liable for damages if it was apparent at the time of providing the alcoholic beverage that the recipient was obviously intoxicated to the point of posing a risk to him/herself or others, and if the intoxication of the recipient was the proximate cause of damages suffered. Although the most common use of the dram shop law is to prove alcohol vendor liability for a drunk driving accident, the statute can apply to many other alcohol-related accidents as well. The law does not specifically name auto accidents as the only incident with recovery available. It simply states that the vendor could be liable for damages suffered.

Does Dram Shop Cover Alcohol Poisoning, Slip and Fall or Wrongful Death?

Dram shop laws exist because those in positions to serve alcohol could effectively prevent drunk driving accidents, assaults and other alcohol-related incidents by cutting off the recipient. Holding alcohol vendors responsible for how much they serve could potentially help prevent overserving patrons, as well as the accidents they cause. The dram shop law in Texas can apply to any damages an intoxicated person causes, including assaulting someone else or causing a drunk driving accident. The intoxicated person, however, cannot use the dram shop law to hold the alcohol vendor liable for his or her own damages.

Although the dram shop law may not apply, a drunken individual could have a case based on negligence against the bar, restaurant or nightclub guilty of overserving him or her. Every establishment has a duty of care, or legal obligation, to reasonably look out for the safety of its patrons. This obligation can come with many specific duties, including a duty not to overserve obviously intoxicated patrons. If an employee of the establishment negligently overserves a person, and that person suffers injuries such as alcohol poisoning, a slip and fall accident or wrongful death, the victim or his or her family may have grounds for a negligence claim.

A negligence claim against a bar or nightclub for overserving must prove through a preponderance of evidence that the establishment owed the victim a duty of care, breached this duty by overserving the victim, and that this breach is what caused the victim’s damages. The victim may also have a claim based on premises liability if a dangerous property element caused the accident, such as beer-soaked floors or inadequate security. A claim can demand compensation for damages such as physical injuries, medical bills, property damage, emotional distress, lost wages and legal fees.

Can I File a Dram Shop Claim if Alcohol Was Served to a Minor?

Texas’ dram shop law also applies to the serving of alcohol to a minor (someone under the age of 18) in some situations. If the alcohol vendor was an adult 21 years of age or older and was not the intoxicated individual’s parent, guardian, spouse or someone keeping custody of the minor, the adult could be liable for the minor’s intoxication. The adult must have knowingly furnished the minor with alcohol or allowed someone else to serve the minor alcohol on a premises the adult owned. If someone served your underage child alcohol and he or she suffered alcohol poisoning, you may have a case against the bartender, establishment, individual or social host. Speak to an injury attorney about a potential lawsuit right away.

Dallas permitted electric scooter (e-scooter) rideshare companies Bird and Lime to release about 1,000 rental e-scooters into the city in July 2018. Since then, dozens of victims have suffered road rash, facial lacerations, broken bones, and traumatic brain injuries in e-scooter accidents. E-scooters can go up to 15 miles per hour. This can surprise many new riders and contribute to accidents. Negligent drivers are another major threat riders face in Dallas.

E-Scooter Injuries and Deaths in Dallas

In the first three months after rideshare scooters’ debut in July 2018, Dallas police received four motorized scooter accident reports. Not all victims called 911, however, since Dallas paramedics recorded 13 scooter accident patients in the same time period. Parkland Memorial Hospital identified 37 cases involving scooters in the last half of 2018, with a major spike after the release of rentable e-scooters. Baylor University Medical Center says at least seven scooter patients required major surgeries since July.

The first confirmed rentable e-scooter death happened in Dallas, Texas. The rider was not wearing a helmet, and suffered a fatal head injury when he crashed the scooter, potentially in a hit-and-run. The victim, Jacoby Stoneking, took a Lime e-scooter home from a restaurant on September 1^st. He soon called a friend to request a Lyft, saying he had crashed and hurt his foot. When the driver arrived, however, Stoneking was lying near the broken Lime scooter and sadly, was unresponsive.

Although the details of this fatal e-scooter accident remain unknown, authorities say the scooter had broken in half when they responded to the scene. While Stoneking’s family always suspected a hit-and-run because of the severity of his injuries, another answer could be that the scooter snapped in half during use. Other reported cases of e-scooters breaking in half have surfaced around the world, making many question a possible product defect. If this is the case, Lime could be liable for victims’ damages.

What Causes E-Scooter Accidents in Dallas?

Electric scooters pose many risks to riders. They expose riders to many potential personal injuries in a crash, with no metal shell to protect the rider from hazards. Although Bird and Lime recommend riders wear helmets, no law in Dallas forces riders to do so. (The law does require helmets, however, to ride mopeds in Dallas.) Lack of helmet use, new riders who underestimate the speed of the scooter, and negligent drivers can all result in e-scooter accidents and injuries.

Drivers in Dallas are still growing used to seeing dozens of electric scooters on roads and bicycle paths in the city. Many do not understand or respect the rights of scooter riders. They may tailgate scooters in traffic, pass too closely, honk, shout, ignore the right-of-way, or otherwise threaten the safety of scooter users. This can cause serious and fatal collisions. Drivers speeding and breaking other roadway rules can also cause e-scooter accidents.

What to Do as an Injured E-Scooter Rider

If you recently rented a Bird or Lime scooter in Dallas and suffered personal injuries in a crash, you may have grounds for a claim against one or more parties. An at-fault driver could be liable for your damages, as could the scooter company, a product manufacturer, or a property owner. More than one party could share fault for your accident depending on the situation. It is up to you as the victim to protect your rights and pursue compensation through the civil system.

You are not the first person to suffer a serious injury on an electric scooter. Resources are available to help you recover fair compensation. Discuss your case with an attorney to find out if your case has merit. You may be eligible to recover money for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering from the at-fault driver or e-scooter company.

Rock climbing can be a fun and safe pastime, if you practice it correctly. Gyms all over the country have caught onto the trend, and now rock-climbing walls are ubiquitous. These gyms provide a fun way to get some physical activity, but they can also be dangerous. What happens when you’re injured while using a climbing wall? Can you legally sue the gym where it happened? Learn about liability as it pertains to rock climbing.

Premises Liability Concerns

One of the biggest theories pertaining to rock-climbing injuries is that of premises liability. This is a very complex area of the law, but it basically asserts that anyone who owns a property must be reasonably careful in its upkeep and make it safe for visitors. If a property owner knew or should have known that a dangerous condition existed but didn’t fix it, you may have legal grounds for a claim.

Rock walls require regular maintenance. If owners don’t regularly check steps, ropes, or other equipment and it falls into disrepair, causing injury, you may be able to file a lawsuit on the grounds of premises liability.

Product Liability Concerns

On the other hand, sometimes the fault is not with the property owner, but the manufacturer of the equipment. If a defective piece of safety gear (or the wall itself) leads to your injury, it becomes a matter of product liability law. Manufacturers can commit negligence if they distribute products that have an inherent flaw in design, or even a defective batch. Retailers may even be responsible if they sell an unsafe product – for example, a safety harness that has been subject to recall.

What about Waivers of Liability?

Rock climbing accidents may be unique in that many gyms have participants sign a “waiver of responsibility.” This serves as protection for the gym, which says that you can’t sue for damages after signing. However, you may still be able to pursue damages, even if you signed a waiver. The courts may deem a waiver unenforceable; it depends on the exact nature of your case.

Damages in a Rock Climbing Accident Claim

If you recently incurred injury at a rock climbing gym and it arose from someone else’s negligence, you may be able to gain two types of compensation. These include:

• Economic damages. These compensate for material aspects of an accident, which includes medical bills, ongoing rehabilitation costs, and the cost of missing work (lost wages).
  
• General damages. These damages help address the intangible losses associated with your experience, such as pain and suffering. It may also address emotional distress or loss in life quality.

Rock climbing can be a fun way to pass the time, but it’s not without its dangers. Participants should know their legal options in the event of an accident or injury. Even if you signed a liability waiver, you may still have legal grounds for a claim. If you think you have a case for negligence based on what you’ve read here, the best thing you can do is contact an attorney for a free initial consultation.

Electric shock injuries are not rare and the damage they cause varies greatly. Electrocutions are when an electric shock is fatal and they are fairly rare.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are around 70 fatal electrocutions each year from consumer products, and many more injuries. The most common age for electrocution is not among children, but among adults aged 40 to 59. One of the most common forms of electrocution results from occupational injuries, which account for almost 10% of all fatal workplace accidents.

If you or a loved one recently sustained a serious electric shock, you may be wondering what your legal options are. The following aspects will inform any electric shock lawsuit:

Who Is the Responsible Party?

As with virtually every other personal injury case, electric shock cases are rooted in the theory of negligence. This means that another person’s careless actions (or inaction) directly led to your injuries. In general, there are four elements that comprise an electric shock case:

1. Someone owed you a duty of care – i.e., they were required to help keep you safe. For example, your employer has a duty to provide a safe workplace.

2. That party breached their duty of care – i.e., committed negligence. An example might be failing to check a machine for loose wiring.

3. That breach of care led to your injuries, and;

4. You incurred specific damages as a result (medical bills, lost wages, etc.).

The most important part of your case will be determining who breached their duty of care. There are several legal theories that may come into play in an electric shock case, which may include:

• Premises liability. If you were shocked at a store or in a public place, you may have a case based on the idea that property owners are duty-bound to keep their premises safe for visitors.
  
• Negligent supervision. If your child or loved one was shocked while playing in a pool in a thunderstorm while under another person’s care, you may collect compensation using the theory of negligent supervision.
  
• Product liability. If you were shocked while using a defective product, you may have a case under the scope of product liability law, which states that anyone involved in the production and distribution of a product must use reasonable care to make it safe.

Types of Damages in Electric Shock Cases

If you have legal grounds for an electric shock lawsuit, you may be able to collect damages. These include, but are not limited to:

• Economic damages. These types of damages, also called “special” damages, compensate for all the tangible losses associated with your experience. Examples may include medical bills, lost wages, and the cost of rehabilitation.
  
• General damages. These help with the intangible losses of an accident, such as pain, suffering, and any loss in life quality.

Electric shocks can lead to serious injury or death. Thankfully, victims of these shocks may be able to gain compensation, especially when their injuries arise from someone else’s negligence. If you have further questions or want to know if you have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit, contact an attorney.

Summer is here, and kids are celebrating the end of the school year and packing up for camp. New friends, outdoor activities, and time spent away from home to encourage independence are among the many benefits of a summer at camp. Nationwide, there are 7,000 overnight camps and about 5,000 day camps in the U.S., attended by some 11 million campers, according to the American Camp Association (ACA).

As parents, you are trusting your children to the supervision of others when you send them off to camp. Hopefully, you’ve done your research and selected a camp with a great reputation and track record of many summers without incident. Nevertheless, accidents do happen at camp. Most are minor scrapes and cuts, but serious injuries and illnesses can occur. When they do, who is responsible?

The Camp’s Duty of Care to its Campers

In most cases, the camp has a duty to keep it’s campers reasonably safe, under the legal theory of premises liability. The camp’s grounds should be maintained free of hazards, and the activities should be age appropriate, not unduly dangerous, and well supervised. The camp owes a duty to its campers and their families to review its programs and facilities to minimize injury risks. When the owner, operator, or a staff member of the camp fails in its duty to create and maintain a safe environment, and a serious accident or injury occurs, a parent might successfully sue the camp for their child’s injuries.

Types of Injuries and Illnesses that Occur at Camp

• Communicable diseases: Kids sleep in fairly close quarters and as with any time youngsters come together in groups, germs get passed from one to another. Most common are respiratory infections and gastro-enteritis, “stomach flu.” Most of these are minor and pass within a few days. In the rare instance of a serious outbreak of a life-threatening disease, such as measles or meningitis, depending on the circumstances, the camp’s vaccination requirements, and how the first case was handled, it might be possible to prove negligence and hold the camp liable for the cost of medical care, pain and suffering, and any long-term damage to the child’s health.
• Slip, trip, and fall accidents: If a child slips or trips and falls because of some hazardous condition at the camp, the owners may be held liable for any injuries that occur, if it can be shown that they were negligent in maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe condition, and that they caused or allowed a hazardous condition to exist, under the legal theory of premises liability.
• Injuries resulting from the failure to use appropriate protective equipment: Team sports, horseback riding, and cycling are among the camp activities that require protective gear. If the camp either does not provide the gear or does not enforce its use, they may be held liable for your child’s injuries.
• Injuries resulting from lack of supervision: There’s no telling what kind of trouble kids can get into when left unsupervised. When you send your child to camp, you rely on the staff to provide appropriate supervision. It is the camp’s responsibility to provide it. The camp can be held liable for serious injuries or deaths (drowning, for example) brought about by lack of supervision of the campers.
• Inherently dangerous camp activities: Horseback riding, football, capture the flag, wilderness hiking, and other activities common at camp come with inherent dangers for kids who participate. You will usually be required to sign a release of liability form. If the camp has provided adequate training, supervision, and protective gear, they will probably not be held liable for a child’s injury in an activity with inherent danger. However, if they were lax in any of the above, you might have a case.
• Sexual or physical abuse of children due to failure of camp to screen staff: The camp is responsible for ensuring that the people they hire to supervise and guide the children are of good character. They should perform thorough background checks to determine if there any red flags that might indicate an applicant is not fit to be around children. Needless to say, a conviction for a violent crime, domestic abuse, or a sex offense should preclude hiring someone. If any sort of child physical or sexual abuse occurs at the hands of a staff member, the camp may be held liable for wrongful hiring and failure to properly investigate those who will care for the kids.

If Your Child’s Injury is More than a Minor One

Children are prone to injuries, and some types of injuries will inevitably occur at camp. The good news is that most camps have on-site healthcare providers and adhere to national camp standards requiring the presence of a licensed healthcare provider present around the clock to deal with most common illnesses and injuries as they occur.

Depending on the specific circumstances, the camp may or may not be held liable for serious injuries, depending on the specific situation in which the harm occurred. If your child suffered a serious injury or illness at a day or sleep-away camp that could have been prevented, talk to an experienced personal injury attorney to learn what legal options might be available.

Society relies on health care professionals to provide life-saving procedures, treatments, and medical advice. When patients suffer an illness or injury, they trust physicians to locate the source of the problem and recommend a solution based on years of special training and expertise. Doctors have a duty to uphold high standards of patient care, by law and under the Hippocratic oath. While an honest mistake is not grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit, negligence resulting in injury is a reason to seek legal counsel.

Negligence and Medical Malpractice

The foundation of every medical malpractice case is a physician’s alleged negligence. When a doctor fails to exercise the proper standards of care, including giving bad advice to a patient, it isn’t necessarily malpractice. Bad advice can simply be an honest oversight. People rely on physicians for help deciding on a course of treatment based on information and symptoms the patient provides. Unfortunately, this treatment may not always be what is best, and if another physician reasonably would have given different advice in the same situation, it may be negligence.

For a case of medical negligence, you must prove four things:

1. The doctor owed you a standard of care. A doctor-patient relationship must exist between you and your doctor at the time of the alleged bad advice. To do so, you must show that the doctor in question was in fact your doctor at the time of the incident.
2. The doctor breached an ethical duty to uphold this standard of care. In this case, the doctor gave you bad advice. You must prove the doctor’s reason for breaching the standard of care stemmed from negligence, such as not listening to your symptoms or reading your patient chart.
3. The doctor’s breach of duty caused your injury. It’s not enough to prove that a doctor was negligent and breached the acceptable standards of care. The breach must have caused you an injury. For instance, you must provide proof that taking the doctor’s bad advice worsened your condition.
4. You suffered damages as a result of the negligence. If you didn’t suffer damages from the doctor’s breach of duty, there’s no point in pursuing a lawsuit.

If you can prove these four things, you likely have a case of medical negligence on your hands. Your doctor may have been distracted during your appointment, or the hospital could have mixed up your medical records. There are many types of negligence and reasons a doctor may give bad advice to a patient, but in every case the injured patient has the right to pursue recovery.

How to Establish Wrongdoing

Medical malpractice cases can be complex, with a heavy burden of proof on the victim. Establishing a doctor’s wrongdoing requires interviewing eyewitnesses, such as nurses or maintenance crewmembers, analyzing your medical records, and hiring an expert key witness to testify. The key witness can tell the jury what the defendant reasonably should have advised according to professional standards. In a case of bad advice, proving negligence is especially difficult. The doctor may have believed the actions or advice he or she provided was best based on the symptoms.

Luckily, the law recognizes the difficulties a plaintiff faces when proving medical negligence. If your injuries were the direct result of a doctor’s negligence but you can’t pinpoint exactly what the doctor did wrong, you can invoke a legal doctrine called “res ipsa loquitur,” Latin for “the thing speaks for itself.” This implies you only have to show you suffered an injury that must be the result of negligence. Consult with an expert Dallas personal injury attorney about your bad advice incident and subsequent injuries to find out if you have the elements of a medical malpractice case.