Lawsuit Information Center

June 20, 2024

Suing Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is a crucial piece of legislation that allows private individuals to sue the United States in federal court for most torts committed by persons acting on behalf of the United States. Before the FTCA was enacted in 1946, the doctrine of sovereign immunity prevented such lawsuits. This doctrine essentially stated that “the King can do no wrong,” meaning that the government could not be sued without its consent. The FTCA was a significant departure from this principle, providing a mechanism for citizens to seek redress for injuries caused by the negligent or wrongful acts of federal employees.

Historical Background

The FTCA was passed in the wake of numerous claims against the federal government, especially after incidents like the B-25 bomber crash into the Empire State Building in 1945. Before the FTCA, individuals who were injured by the government had to seek compensation through special legislation passed by Congress. This process was cumbersome and often resulted in inconsistent outcomes. The FTCA was designed to streamline this process and provide a uniform method for individuals to pursue claims against the federal government.

June 19, 2024

Tennessee Sex Abuse Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault can file civil lawsuits against their abuser and other third parties, such as schools, churches, etc. Our sex abuse lawyers help victims get financial compensation by filing civil lawsuits against parties who negligently allowed the abuse to occur or failed to prevent it.

In this post, we will discuss the process of filing a civil lawsuit for sexual abuse in Tennessee. We will look at the relevant laws regarding sex abuse and the average settlement value of these cases.

Tennessee Sex Abuse News and Updates

June 19, 2024

Jones Act Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This page is about the Jones Act. The Jones Act provides a path for our lawyers to get compensation for seamen and others who suffer injuries or their families in the event of a death. Our maritime lawyers explain how this litigation works and how settlement amounts and jury payouts in Jones Act laws are calculated.

Jones Act Lawsuit Updates

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of these maritime lawsuits and the settlement compensation victims see in these suits, let’s look at the latest on recent boating accident lawsuits and other maritime injury claims.

June 19, 2024

Beech-Nut Toxic Baby Food Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Beech-Nut brand baby foods contained excessively high levels of toxic heavy metals. Consuming these products may have caused some children to develop neurologic disorders such as autism or ADHD. Parents who feed their children Beech-Nut and other toxic baby food products are now filing product liability lawsuits.

Our lawyers are handling toxic baby food autism lawsuits for families who have a child who has autism as a result of baby food products contaminated with harmful heavy metals. Our law firm handles these toxic baby food lawsuits in all 50 states.

About Beech-Nut

June 19, 2024

North Carolina Personal Injury Settlement Amounts

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers looked at the 5,401 med-mal cases filed in North Carolina from 1998 through 2006 and compiled a few statistics. The median jury award in medical malpractice cases was $301,300. The largest medical malpractice award was $8.1 million.

Looking at personal injury cases in North Carolina generally, Jury Verdict Research estimates the median award in North Carolina is $10,000. Personal injury plaintiff receive damages in 61% of cases that are tried (the national average is 53%).

The average jury verdict in medical malpractice cases in North Carolina is relatively low. I do not have the national median for medical malpractice cases in front of me but the average – as opposed to the median which makes a difference – is over $1 million. The national median for personal injury cases generally is $38,179 which means that North Carolina and the nationwide plaintiff recovery probability, the number of plaintiff verdicts to total verdicts, is 53 percent.

June 18, 2024

Boat Accident Settlement Amounts

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This page is about boat accident lawsuits. Our lawyers examine the types of claims we most commonly see and how settlement amounts and jury payouts are calculated. We also look at example boat accident settlements and verdicts and a lens to better understanding how compensation amounts are calculated.

Our boat accident lawyers handle serious injury boat accident cases across the country. If you have been injured in a boating accident, contact us today.

Boat Accident Injuries

June 16, 2024

Dealing With Allstate on Accident Claims

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Allstate Auto Accident Claims

This page will explore how to handle auto accident claims with Allstate, one of the largest insurance companies globally. Our accident lawyers have dealt with Allstate on thousands of claims and we offer an insiders looks at what to expect when dealing with this company on a claim.

About Allstate

June 15, 2024

Fetal Macrosomia Birth Injury Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Fetal macrosomia is a prenatal condition in which the baby grows too big making vaginal delivery risky. Failing to diagnose and properly manage fetal macrosomia can lead to babies getting stuck during delivery and serious birth injuries. On this page we will look at fetal macrosomia birth injury lawsuits.

June 14, 2024

What is Happening with the Paraquat Lawsuits?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Paraquat is a commercial-grade herbicide used in the agriculture industry. Over the last decade, new scientific research has shown that frequent use or exposure to Paraquat can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. This discovery has prompted thousands of Paraquat lawsuits by individuals who used or were around Paraquat in an occupation setting and subsequently developed Parkinson’s disease.

The Paraquat lawsuits were consolidated into a class action MDL in the Southern District of Illinois (In re: Paraquat Prod. Liab. Lit. – 3:21-MD-3004). The Paraquat MDL is now heading into its 3rd year and 2024 could potentially be a pivotal year for this mass tort. The first round of bellwether test trials were basically canceled after the MDL Judge excluded most of the plaintiffs’ key expert witness testimony. Now the parties are quickly preparing a new group of test cases for bellwether trials, which probably won’t happen until early 2025 (or even later).

This page talks about where this litigation is in June 2024, and what we can expect moving forward.

June 11, 2024

Value of Facial Scarring Injuries

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This month, Metro Verdicts provides information on facial scarring settlements and verdicts in Maryland and Virginia. The median facial scarring verdicts in Maryland and Virginia are $20,000 and $32,500, respectively.

These numbers seem bizarrely low. Of course, I’m not sure about the inclusion criteria for this study. How do they define facial injuries? Are they permanent? Must they be visible? Because for what I consider facial scarring, these numbers seem shockingly low.

Remember, that these are the median verdicts and settlements. The average is invariably higher, probably at least 2 or 3 times higher for facial scars. Continue reading