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WARNING! Be Careful What You Post

Do you have a Facebook, MySpace or other social networking account? Could anything on your site be considered inconsistent with the claims in your lawsuit? Have you posted anything that you would be embarrassed to talk about in open court if your case goes to trial? Do you believe that your postings are private” only available to those you allow access so the insurance defense lawyer can’t get them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please continue reading.

Kathleen Romano’s personal injury case made headlines when the judge ordered her to deliver a signed consent allowing the defense access to her current and historical Facebook and MySpace pages, including postings and other information she thought was private. Ms. Romano alleged in her lawsuit that she suffered serious permanent injuries when she sat on a defective chair manufactured by Steelcase Inc. that caused her to fall. Her claimed injuries included herniated discs, restricted motion in her neck and back, progressive deterioration, pain and loss of enjoyment of life. Ms. Romano also claimed that she had been largely confined to her house and bed since she fell. However, the defense lawyers in her case found her Facebook profile photo showed her standing outside of her house smiling happily and other content that indicated she had recently taken a trip to Florida.

The judge ruled that because the public portions of [Ms. Romano’s] social networking sites contain material that is contrary to her claims and deposition testimony, there is a reasonable likelihood that the private portions of her sites may contain further evidence, such as information with regard to her activities and enjoyment of life, all of which are material and relevant to the defense. The judge ordered Ms. Romano to give the defense access to her private postings to look for other information to attack her claims. The judge ruled that Ms. Romano had no reasonable expectation of privacy online.

You should expect that the insurance defense lawyers in your case are checking social networking sites for information they can use against you. You should assume that if the insurance defense lawyers ask, the judge in your case will give them access to your private postings. Don’t be surprised if the defense lawyers in your case ask for and receive access to postings that you deleted from your site. Here’s a good rule to follow before posting: Assume anything you post can and will be used against you in a court of law.

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What Does It Take to WIN Your Slip and Fall Lawsuit?


The Texas Supreme Court has not been a friend of the slip and fall victim. Over the last decade the Texas higher courts have handed down multiple decisions making it increasingly difficult for slip and fall victims to obtain any recovery for their injuries and losses. Many victims have even lost their right to a jury trial due to No Evidence Summary Judgment rulings that kill the lawsuit prior to trial, denying slip and fall victims even an opportunity for justice. This is why you cannot fight this battle alone! You must find an attorney who understands what it takes to overcome these obstacles and WIN this battle! You cannot afford to trust your lawsuit to just any attorney. Choosing the wrong representative could be very costly!

To prevail in a premises liability (slip and fall) claim, you must prove:

  1. the owner or operator of the premises knew or should have known of the condition/substance that caused the injury
  2. the condition posed an unreasonable risk of harm
  3. the owner did not exercise reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk; and
  4. the owner’s failure to use such care caused or contributed to your injuries

Often, the most difficult element of your slip and fall claim to prove is that the owner of the premises knew or should have known of the dangerous condition or substance that caused the injury. This proof can be established in one of three ways:

  1. the owner or an employee created the harmful condition (i.e., an employee left water on the floor)
  2. the owner or an employee saw or was told about the harmful condition (i.e., a customer told an employee there was a spill); or
  3. a showing that the substance or condition was present for so long that it should have been discovered through reasonable inspection

If you become injured in a slip and fall incident, taking the following steps may prove invaluable in winning your lawsuit:

  1. Gather witness information from both employees and customers who may have knowledge pertaining to the incident
  2. Determine whether there is a video camera that may have recorded the area where the incident occurred and request that recording
  3. Observe the area, looking for the probable source/cause of the condition that caused the injury
  4. Listen to what the employees and witnesses are saying. Did anyone mention that the condition was there before for example, I was about to clean that or I told you to fix that? Any employee statement that indicates someone knew the condition was there before you fell is EXTREMELY helpful.
  5. Contact an attorney who is an expert in representing victims of slip and falls immediately.
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And Now, Speaking on Behalf of Big Insurance: The Texas Supreme Court

Earlier this month, the Texas Supreme Court once again cast its arms around Big Business and shoved Texans out the door.

Not so long ago, if you were the victim of an accident wherein medical bills were incurred you could present the total amount of his bills to a jury even if your insurance had paid the majority of those bills. This was fair. After all, one of the elements of damages that you are entitled to is pain and suffering. One way to convey how much pain you suffered is to show the amount of bills you had to pay to not have that pain anymore.

But that has changed. The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the only bills you can present to a jury are the ones you still owe.

Let me give you an example: Let’™s say that you are the victim of an accident wherein your medical bills are $100,000.00. Let’s further say that you were responsible enough to have medical insurance (which, by the way, you paid dearly for because medical insurance is not cheap). In our example, your insurance paid $90,000.00 of your bill and has a lien to get reimbursed of $10,000.00.

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the only amount you can present to the jury is $20,000.00 (the $10,000.00 left over from the original bill plus the $10,000.00 insurance lien). Will $20,000.00 give the jury an accurate picture of how injured you really were? No. So, whatever pain and suffering you would have received is now likely reduced by a large amount.

But let’s take this a step further. Under this new law, the person who hit you and caused the accident, caused you to incur medical bills, caused you to lose time from work, and caused you the pain and suffering now benefits from YOUR insurance.

Yep, the person who slammed into you AND his insurance company get the benefit of all those premiums that YOU paid. The bills HE caused are reduced by the insurance YOU paid for.

It is as if you are being punished for being responsible enough to carry insurance.

And here is a head scratcher: On one hand, we have Federal Government trying to force everyone to buy insurance while the Texas Supreme Court says, yes, but you better never use it in car accidents!.

Excuse me, Texas Supreme Court, but your bias is showing. Again.

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The Trial


Although most accident cases settle before trial, there are a few that actually get to a jury. Knowing this, every case in pre-litigation is handled with litigation in mind so as to have a file prepared to go to litigation if the need arises.

So, we need in pre-litigation to have the same proof mindset that we have in litigation.

In a trial, we need to prove two things, and then we need to prove a connector.

First, we need to prove that the accident or incident was the defendant’s fault. We must prove that the defendant is the only person who is responsible for the accident. This is called liability. We must prove the defendant is liable.

Second, we must prove damages. We must prove there were authentic medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering or any other damages that apply.

Then we must prove the connector. We must prove that it was the accident that caused the damages. The defense may claim that the injuries you suffered came from an earlier accident or incident. We have to prove that the accident, and only the accident, caused the damages we are claiming.

Knowing these elements, we in pre-litigation prepare our cases to prove the exact same elements to the insurance companies with whom we are negotiating. The insurance companies must know that if they refuse to settle with us, we already have the proof we need to be successful in trial.

And that is what makes us always prepared to represent each and every client we have at Bailey & Galyen.

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TAKE COVER AND HOLD ON TO YOUR RIGHTS: THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION


The Texas legislature is in session again, and as they say in the capitol, no one is safe. Instead of focusing on our state’s very real budget shortfall – which by the way the former comptroller, once gubinatorial candidate warned and was chided about in her unsuccessful bid to unseat Governor Perry – rumblings of tort reform are heard in the capitol rotunda. Governor Perry is talking it up with lobbyists and legislators to pass more tort reform laws that include:

  • Creating an early dismissal option for frivolous lawsuits;
  • Ensuring victims of frivolous lawsuits do not bear the financial burden of defending themselves through the creation of a loser pays system; this “one-way loser pays” bill will only make the losing plaintiff pay the prevailing defendant’s attorneys fees.
  • Ensuring new laws cannot create causes of action unless expressly established by the Legislature; and
  • Setting up expedited trials and limited discovery for lawsuits with claims between $10,000 and $100,000.

The Governor needs to ignore special, self preserving interests and stick to the really important business of paying our state’s bills. The legislature has their hands full without being distracted by Govenor Perry’s political agenda. Leave Texans and what remains of Texans’ access to the courts alone!

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