Utah Law Talk

If you are filing a claim in a Utah small claims court, keep in mind that due to a cost-saving measure, that the filings and hearings will move to city and county justice courts starting September 1, 2010. Some areas of the state, such as Cache County, still require filings to be done in district courts since they don’t have the smaller justice courts there.

Legally, speaking, you don’t need an attorney to bring a case in a Utah small claims court. This includes smaller Utah auto accident cases where no lawyer is required! Small-claims filings are designed to resolve claims valued at less than $10,000. This is the cap, the most that a judge would ever award in a small-claims proceeding.

Recently, small claims actions have gained favor as a way to hold resistant and stingy auto insurance companies responsible in cases where the property damage and injuries are low. It can provide a speedy resolution and can be a good way to hold an obstinate insurance company responsible. Keep in mind, though, that the defendant in such a proceeding can still appeal the ruling. These appeals will be handled by district court judges.

As a Salt Lake personal injury attorney, I would encourage those who are handling their accident case on their own to seek justice if the insurance company is not offering them any through the small-claims court process. Be careful though if you are seeking damages for a wrecked or damaged car and want to settle your personal injury case later. Under the current state of Utah law, your later claim for bodily injury could be extinguished under Utah’s one-action rule which currently requires all claims to be brought at once. This issue is currently being reviewed at the Utah appellate level. Hopefully we’ll see changes that will allow a claimant to get a speedy resolution on their property damage claim and still have the ability to take their time while they treat and/or recover from their injuries so they can make a full claim down the road.

Gary Coleman was declared dead today, May 28, 2010, in Provo, Utah, following a brain injury he received two days earlier in his home. According to KSL News, Coleman suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of what some are describing as a fall.

Certainly, my sincere condolences go out to Gary Coleman’s family. Coleman did have a pre-existing history of a rare kidney disease which doctors say caused his growth to be stunted. He has received two kidney transplants by the age of 14 but suffered due to ill effects from dialysis treatment. In already frail health, he certainly didn’t need a traumatic brain injury.

Of interest from a Utah accident lawyer point of view, is the Utah pedestrian accident he was involved in back on September 6, 2008. In that case, Utah resident Colt Rushton accused Coleman and his wife of trying to run him over with a car outside a bowling alley in Payson, Utah. Rushton filed a lawsuit in September of 2008 claiming that Coleman’s wife, Shannon Price, grabbed his cell phone after he tried to take a picture of Coleman leaving the bowling alley.

Rushton, from Spanish Fork, Utah, says that after he attempted to take pictures of Gary Coleman, that Coleman became agitated and demanded $20 to take his picture. Coleman’s wife then took the cell phone away from Rushton when she says he tried to take another picture. Rushton’s attorney said, “”As he was taking the photograph, Mr. Coleman’s wife, Shannon Price, attacked him from behind, clawed him, tore up his arm and took the cell phone.” Rushton also claimed that Gary Coleman purposely ran him over with his truck. The case was later settled on or around January 14, 2010.

Ron Kramer is a Utah brain injury attorney who handles personal injury cases throughout the state of Utah.

Yaz and Yasmin are birth control pills, designed to treat pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder, or PPMD (as well as acne in women wishing birth control) and have been linked to a number of serious side effects, such as gallbladder problems, gallstones, blood clots, strokes and even heart attacks. The manufacturers of Yaz, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., has run a misleading ad campaign and currently are staring down the barrel of a Yaz large class action lawsuit. These misleading Yaz commercials have prompted the FDA to issue Bayer a warning for false advertising. Sadly, this warning came only after Bayer sold massive quanties of Yaz to millions of women.

The Bayer-Yaz advertising campaign not only made false claims about the benefits of the drug, but it also minimized the serious side effects from this drug, including life-threatening clots. Because of Bayer’s advertising efforts, women who were prescribed the drug took it without being aware of the side effects and health risks that it could cause, including blood clots, strokes, heart attacks and even death.

By the time a corrective ad campaign was run in January 2009, Yaz and Yasmin were some of the most popular birth control pills sold on the market. The first few lawsuits were filed in the summer of 2009 by women who claimed that Yas made them ill. They alleged that Bayer overstated the health benefits in light of the serious health risks, such as deep veinous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and stroke, the drug inflicted on them. It is expected that many more such lawsuits will be filed in the future.

Yaz and Yasmin contain a synthetic type of progestin which is called “drospirenone.” According to the FDA, the substance drospirenone can lead to a condition called hyperkalemia, a health condition caused by excessive amounts of potassium in the blood. This condition can result in potentially very serious heart and health problems.

Our Utah Yaz-Yasmin attorneys are committed to helping hold Bayer accountable for its false advertising. Even now, many women have filed lawsuits against Yaz maker Bayer alleging that the drug has caused them to experience serious, life-threatening side effects. If you or family member have taken Yaz and have been adversely affected in a similar way, including experiencing blood clots, heart attacks or strokes, we invited you to give us a call to discuss how we can protect your legal rights.

Charges filed against the driver of a dump truck that made a left-hand turn in front of UPS driver Alan Christofferson resulting in a fatal car accident in Tooele, Utah, are being dropped. According to KSL news, the Tooele County attorney’s office says there was “human error” at the crime lab in testing the driver’s blood. In fact, a retest showed “triple zeros” for the dump truck driver Steven Jakeman. We are told that charges of failure to yield and failure to provide a valid license will still be made.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

I’m glad that the Tooele County Attorney’s office brought this information to light. The driver, whose actions led to this Tooele truck accident, obviously shouldn’t have to face an added penalty based on false evidence. Yet he should still be held accountable for the consequences of his actions.

Published by: Ron Kramer