Utah Law Talk » Personal Injury

Springville Utah Man Killed in Hang Gliding Accident

ronkramerlaw — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:03:56 +0000

Kent Warren from Utah County has passed away when he crashed a powered hang glider into a power line in Springville, Utah. Friends of Mr. Warren say that Warren loved a good adventure and danger did not deter him from the sport he loved. Springville police say that 59-year-old Warren was trying to take off from the field of the Springville Junior High School when he clipped the power lines at the far edge of the athletic field. His son Sam was there videotaping the entire event. According to Sam and the KSL news, Warren felt that he was clear of the power lines and had space to get airborne. As he clipped the power line he was thrown down onto the asphalt and died on impact.

What a horrible accident, I offer Mr. Warren’s family my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. My heart goes out to Sam, who had to witness the tragic death of his father.

Ron Kramer is Utah accident and injury attorney who has many years of experiences representing the injured all throughout the state of Utah.

West Valley City Personal Injury Attorney

ronkramerlaw — Tue, 25 May 2010 22:38:03 +0000

An Experienced West Valley Lawyer Can Help You From Getting Injured Again — This Time by the Big Insurance Companies

The most experienced West Valley City, Utah, personal injury attorney knows there are many traps just waiting to catch the uninitiated – including those accident victims who decide to go it alone. Those that drive in the West Valley City metro area know that accidents out there are just waiting to happen. Statistically, West Valley City is the second-largest city in Utah with a population of 123,447. West Valley is home to the E Center, the Utah Grizzlies and large concert venues like the USANA Amphitheatre. On any given day, there are auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, scooter accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, drunk driving accidents and text messaging accidents that injure people and send them to the hospital, and sometimes to the morgue.

Getting What is Fair Can Be Difficult and Trying for the Uninitiated

Sadly, when someone is involved in a West Valley City car accident, either as a driver, motorist, or pedestrian, obtaining just compensation can be extremely trying. Sometimes the claim needs to be brought against a Utah governmental agency, such as UTA. Agencies such as this are not accustomed to giving injured victims the time of day, let alone justice. Getting fair compensation from these agencies and the big insurance companies takes real experience and dogged persistence. A knowledgeable West Valley,Utah accident lawyer will tell you that big insurance, companies and governmental agencies just won’t pay over the compensation you may be deserving if they happened to have been negligent. So, unless there is a Utah advocate holding them accountable, they are likely to deny or severely minimize your valid injury claim.

The Secret Way Insurance Companies Make Their Millions

Let’s face it, the insurance industry is a highly-competitive industry. Every day, we hear and see countless commercials in Utah from car insurance companies that want us to switch over to them for our car insurance needs. Despite their insistence that we all become their customers and pay them premiums however, the insurance companies make most of their profit when they deny or minimize otherwise valid claims. What skilled West Valley City, Utah accident attorneys know is that as long as the insurance companies bring in more in premium dollars than they pay out, they are profitable. However, if the insurance companies can avoid paying out on valid claims, or only pays pennies on the dollar, the amount they avoid paying out is pure profit to them. So, for example, if they paid out $10,000 less than they should of on your claim, that is an extra $10,000 of pure profit to that insurance company. That’s where the BIG money is for them. This is the area that they really focus their business attention on.

Fight Fire With Fire: Get a Good Lawyer!

Insurance companies hire the best lawyers to defend them so they can limit their payouts to the bare minimum. This is why you need to fight fire with fire by consulting with the best West Valley City, Utah accident and injury lawyer you can find. Such a lawyer will not bow to the manipulative games that these insurance companies play. They have trial experience and take cases to trial when necessary. They stand firm in the face of their claims that your case is worth less because you have “degenerative disc disease,” that you were in a car accident 10 years ago, that your accident was too minor to have caused you injury, etc. Since almost all accident and injury lawyers will offer a free consultation, make sure you consult with one who can explain what your rights are and what you can expect on your claim. Remember that it cost NOTHING to meet with an experienced lawyer. If you were seriously injured, you will be miles ahead if you do.

Learn All You Can To Get the Best Possible Outcome on Your Case

Finally, you should take the time to educate yourself as to what you are in for when you have been involved in a West Valley accident and what mistakes you must avoid to get full and fair compensation for your case. Ron Kramer wrote the Utah Accident Book to give Utah consumers this very direction. This book is free to those who have been injured in a Utah accident. You can get one by calling our office or clicking here: http://www.MyAccidentBook.com.

If you have been injured because of someone’s neglect, we would love to meet with you or a family member. You can visit us in our office in Salt Lake County:

Kramer Law Group
12357 South 450 East
Suite 1
Draper, Utah 84020
801-553-8840

Study Shows Texters Eight Times More Likely to Cause Wreck | Utah Text Message Accident Lawyers

ronkramerlaw — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:27:55 +0000

In order to avoid the wrath of a Utah text messaging accident lawyer, motorists are warned to give head to a recent study published by the University of Utah. As reported in the Christian Science Monitor, new data released by the National Safety Council shows that the number of car crashes caused by cell phone use and texting is at 1.6 million, a number that is one million more than previously thought. This report makes even more necessary, the need to grow the nationwide anti-distracted driving campaign which many states have adopted.

David Teater, director of transportation strategic initiatives at the National Safety Council said, “One out of every four car crashes in the United States is caused by cell phone distraction.” David knows first hand the horrific consequences of distracted driving: his son was killed in a crash caused by a driver on a cell phone.

Safety action group, “FocusDriven” aims to adopt many of the same tactics as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). “Just as groups like MADD changed attitudes about drunk driving, I believe FocusDriven can help raise awareness and change the way people think about distracted driving,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The National Safety Council first called for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving about a year ago. Today, only six states and Washington D.C., have banned cell phone use while driving. Nineteen of fifty states ban text messaging while behind the wheel.

Researchers at University of Utah found that the likelihood of a crash increases fourfold when someone is talking on the cell phone while driving and if a person is texting while driving the person is eight time morel likely to be in a car accident. The distraction goes far beyond visual impairment, but a driver is also cognitively disconnected when texting or talking on the cell phone. The brain is focused on a conversation, so it doesn’t compute images as quickly as someone who is solely focused on driving.

Ron Kramer is a Utah personal injury lawyer representing clients injured from those who drive while texting and has offices in Bountiful, Draper and in Provo, Utah.

Chemical Reaction Hospitalizes 8 Workers in Utah Workplace Accident

ronkramerlaw — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:46:03 +0000

Eight Utah workers were sent to the hospital following a chemical reaction at Pro Pac Lab located at 3804 South Airport Road in Ogden, Utah. Pro Pac Lab makes vitamins and mineral supplements, a process that leaves chemical residue on the machinery used to make the vitamins and minerals. On Friday, December 19, 2009, workers went through a routine clean up around 7:15 a.m. and bleach mixed one of the chemical residues left on the machines to create a dangerous ammonia gas.

According to KSL news, employees evacuated the building to escape the ammonia gas. Once the workers got into the fresh air, the symptoms cleared quickly. Emergency personnel responded and investigated the cause of the chemical reaction. They believe that bleach came into contact with nitrogen dust to create the ammonia gas.

“That ammonia gas is what caused people to get a burning sensation in their mouths, nose, in their eyes, or lungs depending on how much they breathed in during that process,” said Chad Tucker, deputy chief of the Ogden City Fire Department.

Pro Pac Lab is looking into manufacturing processes and cleaning processes that will prevent this problem in the future.

From this report, several questions are raised. Company officials said they will look into the cleaning process to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future; but what are they going to do until they figure out the exact cause? It sounds like workers did a routine cleaning similar to this each day, but this particular time the bleach mixed with the wrong chemical and caused the reaction. Officials should be 100% sure that the this reaction will won’t happen again before they allow workers to continue working in that environment.

With respect to the eight injured. I recommend that they contact a Utah accident and injury attorney who will help them receive compensation for their injuries and explore their options in case the reaction causes long term damages.

Loss of Services Not Limited to $20 Per Day | Utah Accident and Injury Lawyers

ronkramerlaw — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:13:02 +0000

Part of the benefits under Utah’s PIP, or Personal Injury Protection coverage, includes an amount for loss of household services. Simply put, if a person is injured to the point that they are unable to perform the usual household activities they used to before the crash, they are entitled to reimbursement if a family member or someone else helps them out. So, if mom can’t vacuum any more and dad picks up the slack by performing this activity, then mom can make a claim for the value of that activity.

The loss of services benefit is usually paid out at a rate of $20 per day for a maximum of one year, or $7,300 total. However, the Utah statute does not cap the amount that insurance companies pay at $20 per day of services, but rather “$20 per day for a maximum of 365 days.” See Tanner v. Phoenix Insurance Co., 799 P.2d 231 (Utah App. 1990). All the language really says is that the amount payable in household services will be capped at $7,300. So, if a housekeeper comes once a week and performs a week’s worth of cleaning, then the claimant should be able to make a claim for the value of that, which would be $20×7, or $140.00.

If you have a specific question on obtaining loss of service benefits, please give us a call. We will charge you nothing for some friendly advice over the phone.

Utah Spinal Cord Injuries Get Boost From Brighton Ski Resort Car Show

ronkramerlaw — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Spinal cord victim Ryan Stevenson helped to benefit the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation this past weekend by sponsoring a car show at the Brighton Ski Resort. According to KSL News, Stevenson received a spinal cord injury about three years ago from a snow boarding accident. His spinal cord injury affected his lower legs and basically paralyzed them. Medically speaking, his injury was in his mid to lower back, since an injury to the spinal cord will affect extremities that are at a lower level than the injury itself.

The car show was counted as a success. Stevenson entered his own 1965 Chevy Impala in the event, which drew cars such as classic Mustangs to Corvettes and Ferraris.

This is a great cause for an injury that is sometimes overlooked. As a lawyer representing clients with spinal cord injuries, I know that these injuries can have devastating effects on the victim’s lives. They also have profound effects on the families of those who receive spinal cord injuries, as these families will often be the support for the person who was injured.

Ron Kramer is a lawyer who practices accident and injury law, including spinal cord injury law, in Davis, Salt Lake and Utah Counties.

Fatal Provo Fire Raises Questions About Smoke Alarms

ronkramerlaw — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:10:00 +0000

A 38-year-old man is dead following a fire in Provo, Utah on March 4, 2009. According to KSL News, the fire started at an older apartment complex located at 511 N. 100 West. Around 12:30 p.m., a resident from the complex called 911 to report that it appeared that smoke was coming from a light fixture. Fire crews showed up and determined that the fire was on the third floor. They forced their way into the apartment where they discovered a small fire, lots of smoke, and a dead man. Although the fire was said to be slow-moving, the cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation. Fire investigators determined that it was a hot object placed in a laundry basket that started the fire. The cause of the fire has been ruled unintentional. Residents near the fire were evacuated while the fire crews put out the fire. They returned a short time later. According to reports, the person who placed the 911 call was not allowed back.
Investigators also determined that the smoke alarms were not functioning as they were intended. Both the alarm downstairs and the one in the deceased person’s apartment were not working. By reports, the smoke alarm upstairs actually had no battery in it. This raises the question of whether the apartment complex had procedures in place to make sure that its residents were safe if and when a fire broke out. What procedures did they have to make sure that every unit had at least one functioning smoke alarm at any given time? In new construction, every living area is required to have a working smoke alarm. Under this standard, it would seem that a one bedroom apartment should have at least two. I wonder how many other smoke alarms in the complex are not working and when the last time was that apartment inspected these smoke alarms. There obviously is a problem here that needs to be corrected. Ultimately, the apartment complex is responsible for the safety of their tenants and could be held responsible if they failed in this duty.
My condolences to the family of this man.

Dog Bite Takes Off Woman’s Finger Tip in Kearns

ronkramerlaw — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Two Bull Mastiffs broke through a fence in a neighborhood in Kearns, Utah on February 26, 2009, and bit a woman’s finger off at about the last knuckle. It happened at 6085 South 5185 West. According to KSL News, the woman was trying to repair her fence when the dog attack happened. The dogs were apparently already in her yard. Both had gotten through the wood-slat fence dividing the two properties. The victim’s grandson reports that they had problems with the two dogs going back two years. Officials from the Salt Lake County Animal Services say that is unsual. The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment. Salt Lake County Animal Control officers located the fingertip and sent it off to the hospital with the hopes that doctors are able to reattach it. Meanwhile, the dogs are in quarantine until officials determine if they have rabies and if they are still a threat.
Legally speaking, the victim in this story has a claim against the owner of the dog that bit her. It doesn’t matter that the dog has been bothering her family for two years or that the bite came out-of-the-blue. No warning or “violent propensities” are needed in Utah since the law imposes “strict liability” on the dog’s owner.
I actually had a case almost identical to this one, where the tip of my client’s finger was bit right off his hand. Unfortunately, he never located the finger tip and now has a finger shorter than the other. In these kind of cases, the victim will want to get the name of the dog owner’s home insurance, assuming the dog owner has some. There is usually coverage for at least $100,000 for personal injury claims. In this dog bite case, I would recommend that the woman contact an attorney who has experience in dog bite cases to find out what her rights and potential remedies are.

Utah Accident Book Reveals Mistakes to Avoid After Car Accident

ronkramerlaw — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:05:00 +0000

I’m excited to announce the publication of a book that I wrote designed to help those who have been injured in a car accident in Utah (the information is helpful even if you don’t live in Utah). The book, called “The Utah Accident Book” explores a number of different topics related to car accidents. For example, you will want to read the chapter on the thirteen mistakes to avoid if you have been injured in a car accident. There is also a chapter on representing yourself in your accident case as well as how to decide if you can really do this on your own. If you are looking to hire a Utah personal injury attorney, there is a chapter on this as well.I talk about getting the most money for your wrecked car from the insurance company and how to make sure you get a car rental.
If you are currently with another attorney and are looking to get out of this “bad relationship,” I give you some pointers on how you might do this (after I try and talk you out of it!). Then there is the chapter on how these cases work, how long they take and how much money you might expect from your Utah car accident case. The book will be available by calling my office and asking for it at (801) 553-8840 or by visiting my book website (still being developed) at www.UTAccidentBook.com. Once the site is up and running, you will have the option of getting a .pdf version of my book while you are waiting for the real thing to arrive.
Ron Kramer is a personal injury attorney with offices in Provo, Draper and Bountiful, Utah. You can visit his website at http:\\www.RonKramerLaw.com.

Cedar City Bus Accident Takes Man’s Life

ronkramerlaw — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:04:00 +0000

A man who rear-ended the back of a school bus was pronounced dead. According to KSL News, a school bus heading east stopped in Cedar City, Utah, on state Route 56 at 7700 West was dropping off children when the car crash occurred. The bus driver had extended the bus’ stop sign and its lights were on when this happened on February 23, 2009. The 81-year-old man, according to reports, ran into the back, right-hand side. No children on board the bus were injured. The man’s body will be examined to see if maybe he suffered a heart attack or stroke just prior to the bus crash.