South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

In May of this past year your lawyers in Charleston at Howell and Christmas, LLC posted several entries (found at the end of this post) covering a baseball fan that was nearly beaten to death after an attack by supporters of the opposing team. Now, a highly interesting legal twist has been added to the incident as the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks to sell the team and exit bankruptcy by April 30, 2012.

To recap, a San Francisco Giants fan visiting Los Angeles for the opening day matchup with the Dodgers was attacked by hometown supporters after a narrow 2-1 Dodgers win. The beat down left the Giants' fan with a fractured skull and physicians were forced to put the man into a medically induced coma to prevent seizures. The man was hospitalized until October 2011, and then moved to a rehabilitation facility to continue his recovery. However, sadly, recovery for the fan can only be used in a very limited sense. He is wheelchair-bound and will require around the clock skilled nursing care for the rest of his life.

Also, and as a bit of good news, since the last post by your Charleston personal injury lawyers two men were arrested and charged with assault and mayhem for their alleged role in the attack. One of the men has been cited in the fan's lawsuit as having been involved in two other ballpark incidents that same day. Under California law, the charge of mayhem is a very serious allegation; involving serious injury to another person. Both men have pleaded not guilty, but, if found guilty, the men could serve eight to nine year terms in prison.

In May 2011 the man's family filed suit against the Dodgers Organization and its owner in California State Court, then filed the claim with the federal court in July, weeks after the owner put the team in bankruptcy.

Continue reading " Recap and Updates in San Fran Baseball Fan Case as Dodgers Seek Buyer and Exit Bankruptcy " »

Being huge sports fans, your South Carolina injury attorneys at Howell and Christmas, LLC have posted numerous blog entries on various issues surrounding the sporting world. Despite its recent entry into the off season, the National Football League (NFL) remains a point of interest as College Stars ready themselves for the draft and questions about Peyton Manning's future attempt to be answered, but of most importance to your lawyers in Charleston is the growing number of head trauma lawsuits being filed by former NFL players against the League.

Last week a panel of judges ruled that the class-action lawsuits filed in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, and California will be consolidated in a federal court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of former players and their families have entered in these class-actions, alleging negligence and claiming the League didn't do enough to mitigate the risks of severe and potentially permanent head injuries for the players, particularly those resulting from repeated head trauma and concussions.

Within these lawsuits there are claims and accusations that the League has deliberately withheld information that is critical to player to player safety, and has failed to inform players that they risked severe and permanent brain damage by returning to the playing field too soon after sustaining concussions. The lawsuits claim that this failure to inform is the cause of the current injuries faced by former players. One plaintiff's claim goes as far to say that the League used a "hand-picked committee of physicians" to distort the effects of on-the-field head trauma, particularly concussions.

A majority of players represented in these lawsuits describe a range of common symptoms that include headaches, sleeplessness, dementia and severe memory loss, as well as depression. A recent study of 15 former NFL players, conducted at Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, found evidence of a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 14 of the former players. The condition is a dementia-like brain disease. According to the study, repeated concussions, sub-concussive blows to the head, or both, represented a causal link in the players suffering from the condition.

Continue reading " Former NFL Players File Head Trauma Suits Against League " »

Your Charleston, South Carolina attorneys at Howell and Christmas, LLC are all too familiar with the dangers 18-wheelers, semis, tractor-trailers, or whatever you like to call them present to drivers in smaller, everyday vehicles. The trucking industry is extremely valuable to our local economy; trucks are constantly moving goods from Charleston area ports to the interior of the Palmetto State and beyond. But as this industry continues to thrive and grow, accidents involving these behemoths of the road and everyday driver have become more and more common. In recent weeks there have been two serious car accidents involving semis and have caused a death, as well as send numerous people to the hospital.

First, a Walterboro driving his pickup along South Carolina Highway 311 near Cross, South Carolina collided with an 18-wheeler. The trucking accident happened some time ago (January 25, 2012), but the man remained alive at Medical University Hospital for nearly a week before passing on due to the serious injuries suffered as result from his crash with the 18-wheeler. The Post and Courier's brief report of the wreck noted that the South Carolina Highway Patrol's investigation into the incident is ongoing. Thus, there is no information as to which party, the 56-year-old Walterboro man or the unspecified truck driver, was at fault in the fatal accident.

While the first incident involved a man from Walterboro, this second tractor-trailer accident occurred near Walterboro, South Carolina. According to a Post and Courier report, an 18-wheeler caught fire struck two cars after they had collided on a bridge near mile marker 55 on Interstate 95. The collision caused the two vehicles to enter the path of the semi. After striking both vehicles the semi veered off the Interstate and into the median. Upon leaving the road the truck hit several trees, causing the refrigerated trailer containing fresh vegetable to rip open and spill onto the roadway. Additionally, the turn overturned and the cab caught fire.

Continue reading " Recent South Carolina Trucking Accidents Provide Basis for Discussion of Industry as a Whole " »

Your lawyers in Charleston read that this past Monday a 23-year-old man was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of driving under the influence (DUI) and one count of reckless homicide. The man's sentence is suspended to three years of active time behind and will be given credit for nearly two years of house arrest. Once released, during his period of probation, the young man will not be allowed to touch alcohol. However devastating and life-altering this sentence will be, the real tragedy reveals itself in the events that brought the young man to court in the Charleston County Judicial Center.

According to the Charleston police incident report, the young man and his 21-year-old wife were speeding towards John's Island after a night out at Downtown Charleston bar in May 2010. En route the man lost control of the vehicle at the Stono River bridge. Reportedly, the late night accident occurred as the result of the man trying to pass a friend he was racing in another vehicle. Charleston police found the car overturned on the bridge and subsequent investigations determined that the vehicle was traveling 70 mph in a 45 mph zone. The drunk driving accident took the life of the 21-year-old woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 23-year-old husband was left with a head injury in the form of a fractured skull. The driver said he had no recollection of the accident when he woke up in the hospital the next morning.

Because the man (defendant) could not remember anything about the accident he entered what is called an "Alford Plea," which was allowed by the Circuit Judge because the defendant's inability to remember the accident the Alford definition.

Continue reading " Drunk Driver Sentenced in Charleston County and a Brief Overview of an 'Alford Plea' " »