What is a Claim?
A claim is a legal action concerning physical or mental harm suffered by the plaintiff due to the defendant’s negligence. In the case of insurance claims, it is a request made by the insured to the insurance company for coverage and compensation for damage or injury. A claim is sometimes also referred to as a Cause of Action.
Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute defines a claim as, “a set of operative facts creating a right enforceable in court.” Making a claim is how the process of a plaintiff filing a lawsuit and eventually receiving damages from a defendant begins. A claim must be present in order for a lawsuit to go forward. If one is not present in a specific instance, then that lawsuit will be dismissed. Examples of types of claims include claims to insurance companies, personal injury claims in cases of negligence, claims on breaches of contract, property claims, and employment claims such as unpaid wages, wrongful termination, or discrimination. A defendant may make a counterclaim against the claim of a plaintiff.
Claims can sometimes be dismissed even if there is an intent to file a lawsuit. Rulings in cases such as Ashcroft v. IQBAL and Bell Atlantic v. Twombly have determined that claims need to contain important information. They must be plausible on their own and establish a likelihood of liability. This is how claims can lead to fair compensation, resolution of disputes, and protection of rights.
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Widows Sue PA Bars for Serving Drunk Driver
July 1, 2011, two men leading the Last Chance Motorcycle Club, a group of riders who have overcome alcohol and drug addictions, were ironically struck head-on by a drunk driver, resulting in the death of two men and injuries to four others. Now, the injured men and the widows of the deceased men have filed a lawsuit against the driver responsible and three bars that served alcohol to the drunk driver.
The group of motorcyclists was traveling from New Jersey to a friend’s funeral in Pennsylvania. As they traveled on Route 512 in Bangor, PA, a pickup made a wide turn, crossed the center line and plowed head-on into the group traveling in the opposite direction. The driver was charged with vehicular homicide while driving drunk and aggravated assault.
Under Pennsylvania’s “dram shop law,” business owners can be held liable for the sale of alcohol to patrons who are clearly and visibly intoxicated. […]
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“Buckyballs” Magnets Pose Serious Risks to Young Children
Buckyballs magnets pose dangerous swallow hazard for young children
After learning that a 3-year-old child suffered from tears in her lower intestine and stomach after swallowing 37 Buckyballs, the company is once again warning consumers that the magnets are not toys. The Buckyballs magnets were voluntarily recalled by the company in May 2010 after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned of a swallowing hazard to young children.
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the Oregon child underwent surgery to remove the magnets that had snapped together inside her stomach, resembling a bracelet. She is expected to recover. Last year, a sixth-grader in California underwent surgery after swallowing eight of the magnets.
Buckyballs are a set of round, high-powered magnets that are meant to be used by adults as a stress-relieving desk toy. However, a serious danger is raised when a child swallows more than one magnet. […]
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Car Accident Report – Car Accidents Claim Lives
Fatal car accidents around the country
Father and Child Die in Pennsylvania Head-On Accident
A Wednesday night crash in Nicholson Township, about 25 miles outside of Scranton, PA, left a man and his 3-year-old daughter dead. The Times-Tribune reports the deceased man was driving a Chevy Silverado when he apparently crossed the center line on West Nicholson Road and struck a Dodge pickup head-on. The driver of the Dodge was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and was later released. The police report the child was not restrained in the vehicle and died from “massive traumatic” injuries. She and her father were both pronounced dead at the scene. Police are continuing to investigate the accident.
Chain-Reaction Accident in CT Caused by Drugged Driver
Police in Norwalk, CT say a woman who was on a day-long crack binge, and was fleeing officers, […]
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Ohio Oral Surgeon Faces Second Lawsuit
The Chronicle-Telegram reports a retired Lorain, Ohio oral surgeon is being sued for an undisclosed amount by a patient who claims she “was injured and was caused to suffer seizures, neurological damage and other severe and debilitating injuries, some of which were permanent in nature,” during treatment in Dec. 2010.
According to the article, a motion attached to the lawsuit seeks a 90-day enlargement of time to file an affidavit of merit, stating “there is strong reason to believe a cause of action exists” against the surgeon and unnamed nurses, dental assistants and/or health care professionals that the suit lists as defendants.
The physician had previously been sued when a 13-year-old patient died after receiving sedation prior to oral surgery in December 2010. The doctor’s insurance company paid $1 million to the family of the deceased girl, and the 81-year-old physician stopped giving intravenous sedation and agreed to retire in September. […]
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Family of Injured Kentucky Nursing Home Patient to Receive $1 Million Settlement
According to an article in the Lexington-Herald Leader, a Fayette, Kentucky Circuit Court jury awarded the family of a nursing home patient $1 million for negligence resulting from a January 2009 incident. The Alzheimer’s patient, in her late 80s, at Lexington’s Cambridge Place Nursing Home suffered extensive injuries in a fall after she went missing from her room.
The lawsuit alleged the woman suffered broken bones in her face, bleeding in her brain, and a serious cut on her forehead, and various other injuries, after she fell from her Merry Walker, a walker that includes a seat, and was later found severely injured in an equipment storage room.
The case was previously reviewed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the attorney general’s office. An adult-protection worker found that the woman was a “victim of caretaker neglect and had been exposed to an extreme safety risk.” […]
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