KY Sheriffs Settle Claims They Cuffed Disabled Children in Schools

The families of two disabled elementary students won a settlement in excess of $337,000 from a the Kenton County Sheriff's Office in Kentucky for a systematic practice of harmful and unconstitutional handcuffing. This comes after a federal district court ruled in 2017 that the punishment officers inflicted, notably handcuffing the biceps of disabled students behind their backs, was "an unconstitutional seizure and excessive force."

Sheriff's Office Wrong on Use of Handcuffs on Disabled Children

Prior to the federal court case, the Sheriff's Office had been warned that their systematic punishment of disabled students at numerous local elementary schools was cruel and unusual. These students suffered immeasurably after the cuffing incident, including repeated nightmares, bed-wetting, abnormal parental attachment. However, the Office insisted that the handcuffings were a proper use of force and would not change its policies, thus forcing the trial. And now the department is paying the price

What Exactly Are the Cops Doing in the Classroom?

If it struck you as odd that a sheriff was disciplining elementary school students in the classroom, that is exactly the point that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was fighting when representing the plaintiffs. The ACLU believes that police are ill-equipped to be disciplining students, especially students with disabilities, and even more so when these disabled students are people of color, as in this case. They feel this sort of specialty is outside the wheelhouse of law enforcement, and are hoping this settlement deters other law enforcement offices from entering the classroom to discipline. But if they do, the ACLU also hopes this serves as a warning not to use excessive force and unconstitutional seizure.

If you or your loved ones are experiencing discipline in school that violates constitutional rights, contact a civil rights attorney. The young and the disabled are often unaware of their rights and what is outside the scope and course of acceptable behavior. But the police shouldn't be. Don't be afraid to stand up and be heard.

Related Resources:

• Contact a Local Civil Rights Attorney (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• What Is Reasonable Force Against Students? (FindLaw Blotter)
• Can Cops Use Taser on Children? (FindLaw Blotter)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/11/ky-sheriffs-settle-claims-they-cuffed-disabled-children-in-schools.html

Who Is Liable in a Waymo Self-Driving Car Accident?

Waymo plans to offer driverless taxis in Phoenix by year's end, and currently has three dozen driverless cars on the road in Silicon Valley. So now that it's "game on" in the driverless car market, who is liable in the case that one of these driverless cars gets into an accident?

Who Do You Save? Passengers? Or Public?

It's an interesting legal riddle that has been batted around for years: a driverless car full of passengers drives down the street. A mom pushing a baby carriage enters the road. To avoid the family, the car must veer off the road and into a tree, injuring its passengers. What's the right decision? And who is liable?

There are multiple possible defendants here in a personal injury lawsuit. The car owner, the car manufacturer, the driverless software developer, and the family that entered the road, just to name the obvious few. And until a few cases are heard in court, it's difficult to say who will be liable. But some experts have provided insight.

Legal Pundits Base Arguments on Reasonableness

Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor, believes there will be a shift in blame from drivers to the automotive industry, and corresponding third party hardware and software developers. "To prove that an automated driving system performed unreasonably, an injured plaintiff would likely need to show either that a human driver would have done better or that another, actual or theoretical, automated driving system would have done better," Smith said. Seems like a reasonable argument, so to speak.

Car Manufacturers Think the Blame Will Shift to Them

Car manufacturers, on the other hand, think it will shift away from reasonableness, and more towards product liability. "It is really not that strange," said Anders Karrberg, vice president of government affairs at Volvo Car Corp. "Carmakers should take liability for any system in the car. So we have declared that if there is a malfunction to the [autonomous driving] system when operating autonomously, we would take the product liability." So there you have it from Volvo. They are ready to take the blame!

State Requires Automated System Manufacturer to Carry Insurance

It appears that states may think that liability lies with the automated system. Though Arizona has established no laws on the topic, in California, a company, like Waymo, that wants to be able to have driverless cars on the road must:

• Demonstrate it has an insurance or a bond equal to $5 million
• Have plans for police and first responders to interact with the car, when necessary.
• Employ workers to help the vehicles out of trouble, remotely.
• Have the ability to monitor the status of test vehicles and the passengers inside them from afar.
• Comply with all federal rules about car design, or that it had received official exemption from the federal government.
• Self-certify its vehicles could operate without a driver.

Language like this demonstrates that the state plans to allow victims to come after the manufacturers and developers of the automated system.

If you or someone you love is in an automobile accident involving a car operating while in an autonomous mode, contact a car accident attorney. The laws in every state are rapidly changing, with respect to what is legal, and who is liable. A seasoned veteran will be on top of local laws and current trends, and will be able to offer you the best legal roadmap for your particular situation.

Related Resources:

• Find a Car Accident Attorney Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• Can One Driverless Car Change Auto Liability? (FindLaw Technologist)
• Road Rage in the Age of Self-Driving Cars (FindLaw Technologist)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/11/who-is-liable-in-a-waymo-self-driving-car-accident.html

Can I Sue a Family Member for Assault or Battery?

Family ... you can't live with 'em ... can't shoot 'em. But can you sue them for assault or battery? The answer may depend on where you live. But should you? That's totally your call, but we can touch on that.

Hatfields and McCoys

Sometimes we hurt the people we love the most, and families fall smack dab in the middle of that. Unfortunately family members do assault and batter fellow family members. Assault, which is threatened bodily harm, and battery, which is unwanted physical touching, can come at the hands of anyone.

A few states bar tort lawsuits between family members, since it is not allowed for public policy reasons under common law, but many of them will make an exception for intentional torts, such as assault and battery. If the family members are removed by a degree of separation, such as cousins, or uncles, the suit may be more common, since there can be, in essence, two families.

Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em

Back in 2015, there was a lawsuit in which an aunt sued her 12-year-old nephew for hugging her too hard at his birthday party. He greeted her with a little too much gusto. She didn't appear hurt afterwards, though she claimed that was only an appearance so that she wouldn't spoil his party.

She later sued for $127,000 because the hug damaged her wrist to the point that it hurt to serve hors d'oeuvres at a party she hosted, and to climb the stairs to her third floor walk-up in Manhattan. The poor boy sat at the defense table, scared, sitting with his father because his mother had died the prior year. The jury sided with the defendant because they felt there was no compensable injury. This is one of those family lawsuits you may want to just let go. So what about if it's the same family, or in the same house?

Domestic Violence -- a Different Crime

If the victim and assailant live in the same house, the crime may fall under a different statute - domestic violence. These tort laws allow you to either recover damages or get injunctive relief. Domestic violence doesn't have to just mean your spouse or partner or significant other. It usually means anyone living in your house, which often includes siblings, usually minor siblings.

Even if you can sue your spouse, one has to weigh the purpose of doing so. A lawsuit award is considered separate property, and so if one spouse won an award over the other, he or she would have to keep it as separate property, or the co-mingling of the funds would bring it back into community property. This may be difficult, though not impossible, if the only asset available was, say, the family car or family house. Some creativity would have to be used to keep some percentage of title separate. If, however, a legal separation or divorce is eminent, then by all means, forge ahead.

Also keep in mind that a minor can't file a lawsuit, nor can a minor be a defendant in a lawsuit. Therefore, if a minor sibling wanted to sue another minor sibling in the house, you would actually have a parent suing a parent. This may be more trouble and mess than it's worth. You may just have to pick sides on this one and settle within the confines of your four walls.

Nothing here actually prevents you from suing a family member for assault or battery. It just gets complicated. But then again, when is family not complicated? If you want to talk about your case with a legal professional to find out if it is worth pursuing, contact a local personal injury attorney. Don't worry -- they have heard it all before. You won't shock anyone by saying you had a fight with a family member. And after all, such feuds are part of Americana.

Related Resources:

• Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• Suing a Family Member for Personal Injury (FindLaw Injured)
• 5 Things to Consider Before Suing Your Relative (FindLaw Law and Daily Life)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/11/can-i-sue-a-family-member-for-assault-or-battery.html

Student Wins $5M Settlement in Math Teach Sexual Abuse Case

The Los Angeles School District has agreed to pay $5 million to settle claims that it failed to supervise a former teacher who molested a student. The settlement comes on the eve of a re-trial, ordered after a change in California's sexual assault laws.

Here's a look.

Suits, Statutes, and Settlements

In 2010, math teacher Elkis Hermida, teaching at a southeast Los Angeles middle school, initiated a six-month sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student. After finding out, the girl's parents sued the Los Angeles School District in 2011, claiming the district was guilty of negligent supervision. But a jury rejected those claims in 2013 after attorneys for the school district argued the child had "consented" to the relationship.

That led to substantial changes in existing statutes, blocking such consent arguments in cases where an adult engaging in sexual acts with a minor is in a position of authority. Then, in 2015, an appellate court granted a new trial, finding the original court shouldn't have allowed the district's consent defense or evidence about the victim's sexual history. Jury selection was about to begin in the new trial, when the woman accepted the $5 million settlement, allegedly the largest payout the nation's second-largest school district has ever made to a single sexual-abuse victim.

Criminal Charges

Hermida, who was 30 at the time, "groomed and manipulated" the victim, then molested her for seven months in his classroom, near campus, and in a motel. After one of the girl's friends told another teacher about the relationship, he was arrested, pleaded no contest to one count of committing lewd acts upon a child, and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Related Resources:

• Find Personal Injury Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• Lawsuit: Convicted Sex Offender Worked at CA School (FindLaw's Injured)
• CA Schools Liable for Sexually Abusive Teachers (FindLaw's Injured)
• How Do You Sue a School District? (FindLaw's Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/11/student-wins-5m-settlement-in-math-teach-sexual-abuse-case.html

Top 5 Tips for 'Revenge Porn' Cases

With such easy access to technology, more of our relationships are being recorded, giving more people access to our relationships, even the most private aspects of them. And sometimes, the people we trust the most cannot be trusted with those private details. Over the past five to ten years, cases of revenge porn -- where one partner or ex publicly posts sexually explicit images of another -- have skyrocketed, leaving victims, law enforcement, and the courts scrambling for legal solutions.

Here's what's being done so far, and what you can do if you're the victim of revenge porn.

1. Facebook Revenge Porn and 'Sextortion' -- Too Many Cases to Handle

Sadly, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are flooded with claims of revenge porn and sextortion (threatening to reveal sexually explicit material on the internet). A leaked document showed Facebook moderators had to look at almost 54,000 cases of revenge porn and sextortion on the site in a single month. That means the sites themselves may not be too helpful in having material removed.

2. 'Revenge Porn' Website Sued Over Privacy Violations

However, filing a civil suit against the website that published the material, and even the website's host, are allowed. Websites may be violating state right-to-privacy statutes, and lawsuits may be available under general invasion of privacy tort principles.

3. YouGotPosted 'Revenge Porn' Operators Must Pay $900K Judgment

And those lawsuits have been successful. One plaintiff was awarded almost one million dollars after the proprietors of one revenge porn site failed to answer claims that the knew she was a minor, used her photo without permission, and profited from advertising associated with her photo.

4. 'Revenge Porn' Law Now in Effect in California

California criminalized revenge porn in 2013, making it illegal for "any person who photographs or records by any means the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, under circumstances where the parties agree or understand that the image shall remain private, [to] subsequently [distribute] the image taken, with the intent to cause serious emotional distress, and the depicted person suffers serious emotional distress."

5. Nevada and FTC Sue Revenge-Porn Website

Other states, and even the Federal Trade Commission have targeted revenge porn sites accused of charging countless individuals hundreds or thousands of dollars to take down pictures and information that should never have been posted in the first place.

If you've been the victim of revenge porn, contact an experienced attorney to discuss your options.

Related Resources:

• Find Personal Injury Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• Sextortion: Hackers Using Personal Info to Extort Nude Images, Sexual Favors (FindLaw Blotter)
• Woman Sues Search Sites to Remove Name After Revenge Porn Incident (FindLaw's Injured)
• Can You Sue If Your Photo Is Used Without Your Permission? (FindLaw's Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/10/top-5-tips-for-revenge-porn-cases.html

Lawsuits Against Cardiologists Have Increased: Here's Why

Medical malpractice suits are on the rise, and leading the pack is cardiology. According to a recent insurance study, between 2006 and 2015, the number of cardiology claims against medical malpractice insurance increased 91 percent, and total liability paid grew 142 percent. A host of issues are at play, most notably improper treatment and diagnostic errors, and to a lesser extent miscommunication, safety and monitoring, and equipment malfunction.

Improper Diagnosis and Treatment Leading the Way

Cardiologist admit that diagnostic errors aren't a rarity in their practice. Myocardial Infarction (MI) is on the rise, can be difficult to diagnosis, and is the leading cause of action in improper diagnosis lawsuits. Sometimes it doesn't show up on tests, and sometimes the symptoms mimic other conditions. If your doctor misdiagnosed you, or did not manage your expectations about MI treatment and risks, you may have a claim against your cardiologist.

In other cardiology cases, even with experienced cardiologists, complications arise. You may have a claim if the complication wasn't handled properly. How did your doctor act? Or maybe didn't act? If your doctor's reaction to the complication was not reasonable, you would have a viable malpractice claim.

Lastly, with regard to improper treatment, sometimes patient care while in the hospital recovering is improper. Check to see that the hospital took excellent record-keeping of all medications and top-notch care in the hand-off between shifts. Request a copy of your file, which should be incredibly detailed. 

Is Your Cardiologist Practicing Defensive Medicine?

Defensive medicine is the term coined for diagnosing and treating patients with an eye towards avoiding malpractice suits rather than doing what is best for the patient. In fact, the medical community speaks openly about its concern with the rising levels of medical liability, and how best to mitigate risk. But mitigating risk is not a physicians job. In fact, it may fly in the face of a physician's duty, which is to give a reasonable level of care to the patient. If defensive medicine falls short of optimal care, as it often does, there may be a claim for medical malpractice.

If you believe your cardiologist, or any doctor for that matter, has committed malpractice, call a medical malpractice attorney today. Patients have been trained by doctors to expect some mistakes and shortcomings in their medical care, but you may be surprised to learn that in your case, that expectation is unreasonable, and actionable.

Related Resources:

• Find a Medical Malpractice Attorney Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• 3 Myths About Medical Malpractice Lawsuits (FindLaw Injured)
• Common Examples of Medical Negligence (FindLaw Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/10/lawsuits-against-cardiologists-have-increased-heres-why.html

Are Police Liable for Not Stopping a Murder When They're Warned About It?

Crime happens. The police can't be everywhere at once, and some criminal activity is either unpredictable or unavoidable.

But not all of it. When a woman claims she's being harassed by a sex offender, and officers determine his actions violate his probation, and he is being investigated for new and ongoing criminal activity, and both the woman and her mother have contacted law enforcement seeking help, that seems like a time when criminal activity is both predictable and avoidable. And yet, University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey is dead, murdered by a man who campus police and local officers knew or should have known was a danger. So, are those departments liable for her death?

Last Moments

"Rowland, like I said, was a manipulator," University Police Chief Dale Brophy said during a news conference after McCluskey's killing. "If his lips were moving, he was lying. I don't think he told the truth to anybody based on our investigation and based on everybody we've talked to." The 37-year-old Melvin Rowland certainly lied about his age to the 21-year-old McCluskey, as well as his sex offender status. When McCluskey discovered the lies upon their month-long relationship was built, she broke things off.

But Rowland didn't take that too well. He apparently had friends contact McCluskey, saying he was dead and it was all her fault. She reported the messages to University of Utah Police, as well as Rowland's social media posts to the contrary and her belief that his friends were trying to lure her out of her dorm room. (As it turns out, this social media activity violated his sex offender probation.) McCluskey again contacted university police to reports messages extorting $1,000 from her in exchange for a promise not to post explicit photos of her online.

According to a brutal timeline of the last weeks, days, and hours of McCluskey's life, campus police did not begin a formal investigation of sextortion charges against Rowland until a week after McCluskey made the allegations. Officers also didn't find her body in the campus parking lot where Rowland shot her to death until an hour and a half after her father reported her mother overheard her assault on the phone.

Campus police then sent out a secure-in-place alert for the school, warning that an active shooter was on campus, over an hour after Rowland had already left campus, having called a woman he met on a dating site for a ride, accompanying her to dinner, visiting the state capitol, and showering in her apartment. By the time campus police realized Rowland had left campus, Salt Lake City officers were only 60 minutes from following him into a church where he fatally shot himself.

Murder Liability

While it is easy to see campus and local police were little or no help to McCluskey in the final days of her life, finding them liable for her death may prove more difficult. As a general rule, police do not have a legal duty to investigate all suspected or even all reported crimes. Sadly, courts have recognized a "fundamental principle that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen."

And while McCluskey's parents could file a wrongful death claim against either agency, claiming their negligence in investigating their daughter's claims or Rowland's ongoing criminal behavior caused Lauren's death, government officials (including police officers) are often granted qualified immunity from civil liability for actions taken while on duty unless they were on notice that their conduct violated established law.

Federal law can hold state, local, and campus officers liable if they subject any citizen to "the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws." But even these claims are generally based on the use of excessive force or denial of care while in custody -- not the failure to investigate or prosecute crimes, or detail specific individuals.

Tragically, it's hard to hold police agencies or officers accountable for injuries or deaths, even when it appears obvious that they failed to act when warned of a potential danger. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Contact an experienced injury attorney for help.

Related Resources:

• Browse Personal Injury Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• What If the Police Won't Investigate My Case? (FindLaw Blotter)
• What You Need to Know About Suing the Police (FindLaw's Injured)
• Can Parents Sue Police for Not Arresting Drunk Driving Kid? (FindLaw's Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2018/10/are-police-liable-for-not-stopping-a-murder-when-theyre-warned-about-it.html