West Virginia’s rural roads cause a significant number of accidents due to mountainous terrain, winding roads, and poor maintenance by the state. Many car accidents in West Virginia as well as across the nation cause whiplash, an injury that affects 3 million people each year. A person gets whiplash during a collision when their head quickly whips from one direction to another. This causes the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the neck to overstretch and hurt.

Adrenaline pumps through the body immediately following a car accident, and so any pain the victim should feel may be masked by the rush. A person might not even realize they have whiplash until hours or weeks after the accident.

Something as simple as tripping over a curb while trying to walk on the sidewalk could prove fatal to an elderly person. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the number of fatal falls in the elderly population nearly tripled from 2000 to 2016. And they’re still on the climb to nearly 30,000 per year. Even though falling might not seem like a serious threat to a person’s health, it is just that for people 65 and up.

In fact, falls are the number one cause of injuries in Americans 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Older adults who experience a serious fall in a hospital or nursing home could have a steep decline in health, especially if they suffer a traumatic brain injury or a hip fracture. A downturn in health in that population could quickly lead to death. What makes falling so serious, especially among the older population?

If you’ve been in a car accident, there’s a chance emergency services will show up at the scene. There are a number of reasons why you may decline to receive treatment. Maybe you feel fine, or you could be worried about the cost of medical bills. Regardless, it’s important to know that if you elect not to seek medical care after a car wreck, you could be putting your claim in jeopardy. While you still have the legal right to file a car accident injury claim if you do not see a doctor after an accident, it will be significantly harder to prove the relationship between the crash and your injuries.

You likely will have to share the road with a large truck at some point. They are constantly traveling on busy interstates and highways. When someone is operating a motor vehicle, they have a responsibility to those around them to not endanger anyone around them. This includes everyone—truck drivers, car drivers, and motorcyclists. While trucks have their unique set of challenges, it doesn’t excuse people from driving recklessly. When reckless driving does lead to a truck collision, you need trustworthy representation.

Transitioning your loved one into a nursing home can be emotionally difficult for everyone involved. There’s no doubt that you’ll want to ensure they receive the best care possible. This includes frequent and positive social interactions. It’s crucial for long-term care facilities to train their staff to have positive interactions with residents. Social gathering and events should be regularly scheduled, and family visits should be encouraged.

When, however, nursing home staff are intentionally or unintentionally negligent, residents can suffer. When nurses do not engage with residents or purposely ignore them, a bleak or even hostile environment is created. As a family member of a nursing home resident, it’s important to understand how silence can lead to emotional abuse and what you can do to encourage a high quality of life for your loved one.

A car accident has the potential to cause many serious injuries. In these cases, the person who was injured will file a claim and the insurance will pay for their losses like medical bills. However, this matter can get complicated if the person had pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies may scrutinize the claim because of the person’s medical condition before the accident, but the person was still injured because of another negligent person, and they deserve to hold them accountable for what they’ve done. A reliable car accident lawyer from DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC will make sure that your rights are represented.

We understand how a car accident can throw your life off track. When an insurance company is fighting back and trying to give you a settlement that will not help you, it can be scary because you’re unsure about your financial future. We’ve handled many car collision cases and know how to get favorable results for our clients.

Because of the definition of discrimination in the workplace, which revolves around an employee or prospective employee receiving subpar treatment based on their protected characteristics, there’s often the thought that it only applies to hiring and firing practices. This is not the case. When an employer, supervisor, or co-worker treats an employee unfairly because of their age, skin color, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or disability, they are committing an act of discrimination.

Being discriminated against in the workplace can make for a miserable experience. Employers need to understand that they have a legal obligation to treat all employees fairly. If that legal requirement is not met, they can be held liable for their actions or the actions of their other employees. You may be wondering if the mistreatment you’ve experienced is discrimination. We’ll go over how to know you’ve suffered from discrimination, common examples, and the effects.

When you’ve been in a car accident, your injuries can require a lot of care. You’re trying to do everything you can to heal and get back to your normal life as soon as possible. There may be some options you haven’t thought about, like visiting a chiropractor. They may be able to offer treatment that will help you. However, no matter the treatment options you pursue, recovering from a car accident can be expensive. This is why you need a skilled West Virginia car accident lawyer who will fight to get you the justice you deserve. DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC do everything we can to get you fair compensation for your accident.

If your personal injury claim involves complex evidence, you could benefit from having an expert witness speak at your trial. Depending on the circumstances surrounding you claim, you lawyer will be able to find the right witness to support your claim and help you prove negligence on behalf of the opposing party. If your lawyers suggests an expert witness, you’ll benefit from understanding the role and advantages of an expert witness, the types of witnesses that could support your case, and how the selection process works.

Why Are Expert Witnesses Important?

Even if the facts of your case seem straightforward to you, there could be complexities that make it difficult to receive full and fair compensation when your case is presented to a judge or jury. An expert witness can testify on your behalf to provide specific technical knowledge about you case. While, unlike a standard witness, the expert did not see the accident happen, they are allowed to testify because they have the ability to add important information to the claim based on their experience and knowledge. This can help cases resolve faster and ensure the proper amount of compensation is awarded.

Nursing home abuse is a terrible occurrence in the United States. There’s also a lack of unified data on the abuse that happens within nursing homes, especially sexual abuse. And while people can look up nursing home reviews and see how the facility rates, this doesn’t always stop bad people from slipping through the cracks. It only takes one negligent or abusive person to harm an elder.

Stopping abuse from happening is necessary, but is a task that’s considered difficult due to the persistent nature of both neglect and abuse. Cases of abuse are considered “persistent” because events continue to happen despite changes made in the last couple of years to encourage honest facility reviews and staffing protocols that hold homes accountable. Given how defenseless nursing home residents often tend to be, protections need to be in place to keep residents safe from horrific abusive crimes. This poses a question that’s difficult to answer: What types of protections are we lacking nationwide, and how can we stop abuse cases from being so persistent?