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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Mitsubishi Faces Wrongful Death Suit After Rollover Crash
The parents of a 17-year-old boy who was killed in 2009 when the 2000 Mitsubishi Montero in which he was riding rolled over has filed a wrongful death suit against the automaker, reports The Salem News.
The Ipswich, MA, teen and a 16-year-old girl were thrown from the back seat when the young driver who was unfamiliar with the road, lost control and rolled over on a curve just north of Route 60 in Revere. Both were killed.
The lawsuit claims the “unreasonably dangerous” design of the Montero is to blame and that Mitsubishi Motors North America is liable. This lawsuit adds to the already numerous ones around the country filed against Mitsubishi which alleges the SUV is top heavy – thus making it more likely to roll – and the manufacturer should have put an electronic stability control on all of its models. […]
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Family Awarded $19.2 Million in Medical Malpractice Case
A three-and-a-half-year-old girl is blind and has cerebral palsy after she was given 100 times the dose of nutrients 15 days after she was born in 2007, claimed the lawsuit filed in Lee County by her parents. The family has been awarded $19.2 million in the medical malpractice case that could be the first of its kind for Lee County, reports station 2RSWFlorida.
The little girl was born prematurely at HealthPark Medical Center. The lawsuit was brought against Lee Memorial Health Systems because the overdose led to cardiac arrest and severe complications. She will be in diapers and will have to be carried and fed the rest of her life.
Liability caps could limit the award to $200,000, but the hospital has never paid a claims bill through the court and the family is hoping this will be the first.
Our attorneys at Munley, […]
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Doctor to Pay $3 Million for Birth Defects Suffered 18 Yrs Ago
PostStar.com reports a Warren County state Supreme Court has found a doctor should pay $3 million to a now 18-year-old girl who continues to suffer from birth defects.
The jury found Dr. Stephen Serlin, an OB/GYN should pay the girl who suffers from cerebral palsy and other health issues she suffers because of a brain injury at birth. Dr. Serlin was found to have “deviated from the acceptable standard of care” which was a large factor in the girl’s health issues.
He was called to the hospital at 5 a.m. to perform an emergency Cesarean section. He arrived 2 hours later and did not start the surgery until 8:14 am – a delay where the brain injury occurred. The baby suffered “fetal asphyxia” in the womb due to a compressed umbilical cord.
Birth traumas are injuries that happen to a newborn during labor and delivery. […]
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Retailer Sued after Child Dies in Defective Crib
An Omaha retailer, Hayneedle, Inc., is being sued by the parents of a 1-year-old boy who was allegedly asphyxiated in a defective crib accident, reports BostonHerald.com.
Hayneedle operated as Netshops Inc. at the time of the child’s death in 2008. The child was in a Simplicity Ellis Deluxe 4-in-1 Convertible Sleep System crib when he got trapped between the crib’s mattress and the frame. He died at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro on January 30, 2008.
The lawsuit alleges Hayneedle was grossly negligent in failing to warn them about the crib’s dangerous and defective characteristics, and of the proper method of assembling, using and maintaining the crib.
This death was a key factor in prompting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to recall full-size Simplicity cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames in April. This construction poses a risk of serious injury or death due to entrapment, […]
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Negligence Alleged in Lawsuit against City in Teen’s Death
In November 2009, a student was killed crossing the dangerous Luten Avenue outside Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York, reports silive.com. Following the death of the straight-A student, the city installed traffic lights, concrete medians, and other safety devices along the street.
Her mother has filed a wrongful death suit against the NYDOT and the city alleging they failed to have the proper protection in place prior to her daughter’s death despite requests by public officials and the school’s principal for traffic signals. The senior high school student was crossing the street around 11:30 a.m. when a Nissan, which had stopped to allow her to cross, was rear-ended by another car, pushing it into the victim and pinning her under the rear-tire.
The victim underwent emergency surgery at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, but died six days later. Her mother contends her daughter did not receive proper medical treatment at the scene of the accident which resulted in her death. […]
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