After recovering from the shock of a car accident, most people check to see if they suffered any injuries, or if anyone else in their vehicle suffered harm. Often, these injuries are obvious, such as abrasions, broken bones, or more serious harm to the body, causing blood loss or other visually obvious signs of injury.
However, many injuries, including some that may threaten the life of the victim do not present visual signs or cause pain, even though they are quite serious.
It's a horrifying thought to believe that someone would leave the scene of an accident in which you're badly hurt. You may be unable to make a call for help or even to move from the position you're in. You could be trapped in your vehicle or struggle with confusion from a head injury.
All in all, there are few good excuses for leaving the scene of an accident without checking on the health of the others involved. Their health and safety may rely on your ability to seek help for them.
When you get into a crash but are the only person involved, you may think you have no way to seek compensation from another party. That's not always true, though, and single-car crashes could be linked to outside factors involving others.
Sometimes, an accident isn't going to be your fault. For instance, if your vehicle has a defect that leads to a collision, then you may be able to hold the manufacturer, designer, seller or mechanics who last repaired your vehicle at fault. Manufacturing defects are somewhat common, and you may have a product liability lawsuit as a result of one in your vehicle.
Legal malpractice is a serious threat to a client's case. A simple lack of communication could hurt a person's trust in an attorney, or it could be a sign of an attorney's dishonesty, incompetence or lack of time for your case.
There are options if your attorney isn't doing what you expect. Here are a few things to consider:
Most people are familiar with the term malpractice as it applies to the medical profession, but fewer people understand that other professionals can also commit acts of malpractice. Attorneys and legal professionals can and sometimes do commit malpractice when providing services to their clients.
Under Colorado law, clients of attorneys who suffer legal or financial setbacks related to an intentional wrongful act or a omission have the right to pursue legal malpractice claims against the attorney involved. If you believe that an attorney you hired failed to provide you with adequate legal advice or advocacy in court, it is probably in your best interests to educate yourself about legal malpractice.
Imagine if a person driving a vehicle struck a pedestrian and continued on his or her way. For the most part, people would be in shock that something like that happened. Most people would stop immediately and render aid.
That doesn't always happen, though. If a driver leaves the scene without helping the victim, he or she could face a charge for a hit-and-run, as well.
If you're caught drinking and heading to your vehicle, a kind officer might tell you to take an Uber or Lyft, to grab a taxi or to call someone for a ride. It would be in your best interests to follow those recommendations instead of getting behind the wheel, because once you do, you can be arrested for drunk driving.
In this case, a man was asked to take a ride-sharing service home, but he thought he could be clever and take it only a short distance back to his vehicle. According to the news, the 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and DUI.
You went to court, and your lawyer assured you that you had a strong case. You agreed, and you expected to win.
During the process, though, you felt like things kept slipping out of your control. Your lawyer began taking steps that did not really make sense to you. When you asked questions, you never got straight answers. When you complained, your lawyer told you that you were just reading into things too much.
If an officer signals for you to pull over, the most likely thing for someone to do would be to pull over and wait to see what he or she wants. If you've violated a law, you might stop and wait to get a ticket or listen to the officer's warning.
For someone who has committed a crime, stopping isn't on the radar. As a result, a police chase could happen and result in injuries to those involved. That's what happened in this case.
Legal ethics are an important part of the profession. The Rules of Professional Conduct have been adopted by the American Bar Association. All states except for California follow these rules. Interestingly, California adopted its own set of rules instead, where attorneys follow similar rules with a different format.
The important thing to know about the Rules of Professional Conduct is that an attorney who violates them can be held accountable. For example, if your attorney divulges information to a third party, he or she violated your right to confidentiality and could be held responsible for misconduct.
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