New Hampshire Law Blog

Bacterial Meningitis in Hampton

The Union Leader, WMUR and the Boston Globe all reported on a case of Bacterial Meningitis in a Hampton Day Care Center.  This particular case was caused by Meningococcal disease.  As noted in the Union Leader article, notice to parents of the other children and notice to any other adults who came in close contact is the most important first step. 

This article caught my eye because many years ago we handled a case involving a day care center where the center did NOT provide adequate notice to the children.

Source: The WMURChannel.com: Child At Hampton Day Care Diagnosed With Meningitis

Motorcycle Deaths in NH Rise

From the Nashua Telegraph today, an article about Motorcycle deaths.  They rose pretty significantly from 2003 to 2004.  In 2003, there were 9 deaths.  In 2004, there were 27. (That's a 300% increase)  So far this year (2005), there have been 21 deaths.  New Hampshire says that the increase is not due to helmet use, but to a lack of motorcycle training.

State safety officials say a rise in motorcycle fatalities in New Hampshire is not related to the lack of a mandatory helmet law, despite recent studies suggesting such a link elsewhere in the country.

Peter Thomson, the state’s highway safety coordinator, says motorcycle deaths likely are up because more people are riding, but not taking a rider safety course. The three-day course is not required to get a license.

Source:  Nashua Telegraph

My Previous Post on Motorcycle Hemlet laws

Bicycle Accidents: It's that time of year

I read this article online from the Nashua Telegraph about a bike accident there on Monday.  The bike rider is in critical condition after being hit by an auto.  There have been a rash of bike accidents up here in the Laconia area too.  No less than 3 people I know have been in bike accidents in the last week.  At least two of them involved other cars.  All of these people were wearing a helmet and none of them has a head injury.

Even though it is hard to see bikes, as a driver it is important to pay attention.  I know when I ride, I have a neon yellow jersey.  One client we have even had reflective tape on his shirt.  He still got hit when the driver turned left and hit him.

Colossus - Insurance Companies use Computer Programs to Process Claims

Many insurance companies use certain computer software to evaluate the value of automobile bodily claims (Colossus seems to be the most common software).  This process drives down the amount of money paid out in claims made by injured people, regardless of how badly injured they may be, or how much their lives have been affected as a result of their injuries. 

Feeding information into a machine to have it calculate a number for settlement of a bodily injury claim takes the human claims adjuster factor out of the picture.  (Machines cannot be persuaded by injured victims, their families or their lawyers.)  The software recognizes only a narrow set of data to which it assigns monetary value.  All other data is ignored.  In many cases, the insurance companies refuse to even negotiate the amount produced by the machine, and force injured victims to file a law suit.

Insurance adjusters do not tell injured victims or their attorneys that this machine is being used.  They merely make the offer the computer tells them to make, and leave it to the victim or attorney to decide whether to file suit.  Because negotiation is no longer an option, attorneys are forced to file law suits, increasing the victim's costs to seek compensation, and furthing crowding already busy court dockets. 

 

Illegal aliens and the right to sue in New Hampshire

Back in March, the New Hampshire Supreme Court answered three questions about an Illegal alien's right to sue for negligence in NH.  In this particular case an illegal alien was injured when an aerial lift tipped over and fell on him.

The first question was whether the person could sue at all in New Hampshire if they suffered a personal injury because of someone's negligence.  The answer...Yes.

The second question was whether that person could recover lost wages despite the fact that they were in the United States illegally.  If the employer knew or should have known that the person was here illegally, then that employer might have to pay.  It is not a "black and white" or "yes or no" answer; it will depend on what the injured person can prove the employer knew.

The third question asked whether the defendant can introduce to the jury that the person is here illegally in order to rebut a lost wages claim.  The Supreme Court allowed that the defendant can put that information into evidence because it is relevant on the issue of lost earnings.

Source:  Rosa v. Partners in Progress, Inc.

Motorcycle Week and Helmet laws

New Hampshire is one of 4 states that has no helmet law.  It used to be that 40 some odd states had laws requiring some sort of helmet use in the 70s.   While some motorcycle groups advocate repealing motorcycle laws, they do this in the face of pretty clear evidence that deaths and brain injuries rise after the helmet laws are repealed.

An interesting side note...This week in New Hampshire is Motorcycle week.  I believe that something like 375,000 bikers are expected.  Already we see them around town.  I'm a fan.  I like bike week and I like to see all the bikes and all these folks who are really into it.  Enjoy...But wear a helmet  :-)

Source:  Detroit News

New child bicycle helmet law

The NH Senate passed a bike helmet bill today.  The bill requires children under the age of 16 to wear a bike helmet while riding.  The bill had already passed the House and Governor John Lynch has said he will sign this bill.

Why is this a good idea?  New Hampshire needs this bill.  It is estimated that the cost of a severe brain injury to a child is $4.5 million dollars.

Source:  www.bikebiz.co.uk,  Nahsua Telegraph

Can Parents Spend Money From Their Child's Settlement?

When a child is injured and brings a claim against another person in New Hampshire for that injury, the law prevents parents from spending the money, except as permitted by the court, in most circumstances. 

Parents do not receive the money from substantial settlements or verdicts, but it is instead placed in a restricted account and can only be used by permission of the probate court.  The reason for this is simple; New Hampshire law is intended to make sure that any money paid for a child's injuries is available to the child in the future for the cost of medical care, rehabilitation, living expenses, special education, etc.   

Sometimes, this causes a great deal of stress and concern on the part of parents.  They often feel that they should be able to have access to the money as needed to care for their injured child.  However, the law is very specific, and parents are not given unfettered access to the child's funds.  The intent of the law is to protect children from parents who might use the funds for purposes other than care and treatment of the child. 

What this means is more delay and more legal work when it comes to attending to the child's needs.  In my opinion, most parents are conscientious about their children, and are concerned most with getting them the care and resources they need.  It is unfortunate that the potential actions of a few parents requires such drastic measures that affect families of injured children.

More Ski Area liability news

More testimony yesterday in front of a Senate Committee over this bill.  Rob was there and testified.  He'll post more on that soon.

Here's my big objection to this bill.  This quote from the Union Leader article sums it up.

Sen. Joseph Foster, D-Nashua, questioned whether those in snowtubes can control the speed or direction of their ride. He worried about removing liability risks from ski areas. While most are diligent in maintaining safe operations, he said, the bill would protect those that are not.

By giving them immunity, he said, "I'm taking out the incentive that people have to making it safe. You have a duty now. In this bill, we're taking it away." (Emphasis added by me)

Ski injury rates in New Hampshire have remained constant over the years.  All this bill will do is keep ski operators from getting sued when they are negligent.  It is a gift to the ski industry.

State Spending money on Motorcycle safety

The State of New Hampshire is spending $100,000 to launch a motorcycle safety campaign.  This is in response to the very large increase in NH Motorcycle deaths last year.  Motorcycle accidents in NH killed 27 people last year.  This is a big jump from 9 in 2003 and 13 in 2002.

I would have thought that the most fatalities would have been young people (under 25).  This was not true either.  22 of the 27 motorcycle deaths in New Hampshire were people over 40.

Wear that helmet...

Source:  Fosters Online

FDA News: Bextra recall (sort of)

I posted on my other blog, but it is worth noting here.  This morning Pfizer voluntarily withdrew Bextra from the market.

This because of the side effects of Heart Attack, Stroke and an unusual allergic reaction called Stevens Johnson Syndrome.

I'll post most of my followups on my other blog.

House is on a roll here (Ski Liability)

The House also voted to send a bill to the Senate that will expand the immunity for ski areas for injuries that occur that relate to Snow tubing, Snowboarding and activities in terrain parks.

The bill previously really only dealt with skiing injuries.  This has not become law yet  it still must pass through the Senate.

This strikes me as a bit of a gift to the ski industry.  There is not a glut of lawsuits facing them involving these activities.    It is not like asbestos or other massive tort claims where entire industries are facing bankruptcy.  This is a position that will enable the ski industry to avoid responsibility for mistakes they make.  So much for personal responsibility.  I guess that only applies to individuals and corporations get a pass.