Construction Accidents Are Generally Avoidable.

Marion, NC- McDowell County police responded to two separate fatal accidents Tuesday, both involving dump trucks. One victim was a construction worker, and the other victim was a passing motorist.

In the first incident, a man was pinned under a dump truck in the construction zone near West McDowell Junior High School, the News Herald reported.

Rafeal Magana, 47, of Marion, was sweeping up road debris when he was run over by a dump truck hauling dirt.North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper Sgt. Kevin Owens told the News Herald that the dump truck driver, 39 year-old Gregory Beaver, was backing down a hill when he ran over Magana.

Magana was pronounced dead at the scene moments after emergency personnel arrived.

The accident is still under investigation, but Owens said the driver did not see the man in the roadway. Both of the men work for Baker Grading and Landscaping who have been working on a road widening project between the high school and the junior high.

No students witnessed the incident, the only witnesses worked for the construction company.

According to the News Herald, that was the second accident at that construction site since work began in July. Several workers were constructing a 30 foot rock wall when scaffolding collapsed beneath them. At least eight people were injured, two men,seriously.

Construction is one of the most dangerous occupations. Preliminary data from OSHA indicates that fatal construction accidents increased by 5 percent last year. In 2012, there were 775 deaths of workers, mostly contractors in the construction and transportation industries.

The second incident occurred just a few hours later when a large rock inside a dump truck rolled off and crashed through the driver’s windshield crushing him.

Randy Arnett, 57, was driving a dump truck hauling a large boulder when the tailgate released and the boulder rolled out of the truck onto a vehicle.

The boulder crashed through Douglas Mahan’s windshield and crushed him. Mahan, 62, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was pronounced dead on the scene, per the News Herald.

Mahan’s passenger Marian Otten was not injured.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper R.W. Monosso said that charges are pending.

While the circumstances involving both of these were vastly different, they both involved dump trucks and demonstrate the importance of utilizing safe practices when working with heavy equipment. According to OSHA, transportation and roadway accidents account for 2 out 5 work-related fatalities.

Dump trucks, tractor-trailers, trash trucks and other large trucks can cause significantly more harm and property damage than smaller passenger vehicles. Not all operators of these large, heavy trucks are careless or negligent, but when they are, they can cause a great deal of harm to one or more individuals.

Victims of truck accidents face expensive medical bills and may find they are unable to work. Whether an accident has occurred on a worksite, on the roads or involves a third party a truck accident attorney will work to make certain their clients are fairly compensated for their pain and suffering.

Neighbor Poisoned My Dog! Can I Sue?

Question: Can I sue my neighbor for letting rat poison in my yard and killing my dog?
Question Detail: My neighbor is aware I had a small dog. She owns the home but does not reside there. Can I sue her for letting rat poison fall into my yard after my dog ate it and died?
  Answer:  Yes you can file a suit, but your damages would be limited to the replacement cost of getting another dog, unless you could prove malicious conduct.  How will you prove your neighbor placed the poison in your yard?

Did My Divorce Attorney Commit Legal Malpractice?

What is required to show lack of standard of care of an attorney who represented a party in a dissolution? Information I provided to my attorney before, during and after trial was not provided to court and resulted in court not considering information resulting in significant financial loss in decree - allowed lies to be treated as facts by failing to object, failed to get medical records in through exception for child so was not considered (said would deal with on appeal, but refused to later, even though stated I 'got screwed' and the court is bias/corrupt, refused to represent on appeal). Attorney failed to present info to court respecting spouses refusal to make support payments agreed upon in stipulated agreement when judge failed to order (the remedy in agrmt) for 2 years. Discovered after the appeal that attorney's comments in court essentially cancelled the support agmt without my permission ANSWER:  Your complaints are with the judge's decisions.  Your attorney, like all attorneys, made judgments about what information he thought the judge wanted to hear versus making the judge angry because it is irrelevant.  If prior promises made by your ex meant anything, we would start with the wedding vows.  What about those promises?  Much of what you think is essential information, doesn't matter.  Petty indignities and slights, no show, disses, don't legally matter.  I doubt you will find an attorney unless you want to pay an hourly rate with a substantial retainer.   Thousands of dollars chasing the wind.   Take the money the court left you with and put this disaster behind you, pay your child support and accept your marriage was the biggest mistake of your life.  Overcome. Don't grind yourself down.  Get a new girl friend.  Don't get married.

Can Public School Force 8th Graders to Do 2 Hours Of Public Service to Graduate?

Question: What are the parents rights versus the schools rights?
Question Detail: I don't know where to go with this because in some ways it isn't a big problem now but it's the implications of my issue that worry me. Let me try to explain. I have two children in the local school system, one is a senior in high school and one is in middle school. Sometime after my daughter graduated the 8th grade the school system added a new requirement that all 8th graders must complete two hours of unpaid work (community service) to graduate. I have talk to various administrators about this and I have determined that this isn't a state requirement but a local one and it must be done after school. I have also determined that was added to the district's curriculum as a graduation requirement. I don't know how or why this would be part of our curriculum because it has nothing to do with basic education or meeting state goals. But in our district curriculum is set by a committee made up of school personnel and parents who make recommendations to the school board, which they then vote on. Although I think having children do volunteer work (community service) is a good thing I don't think that it is the school's job to make this kind of a decision. That should be the parents job not the schools. Even if I don't agree, can they ban my child from the class trip and graduation for something he didn't do after school hours? What are my rights as a parent? What else can they force my child and me to do on our own time, after we are talking about a minor here? Although I have talked to school officials I haven't gone to the school board yet because I'm not sure they can legally make this type of decision in the first place and would affect my approach to them. I have heard only rumors that another committee is going to recommend that at the high school level they add to that curriculum 15 to 20 hours of unpaid work (community service) to be done in order to graduate. Help!!

Answer:  Dear Lawyer says you should be ashamed of the example you are setting for your children.  Wrangling with the school board over two hours of picking trash, which can easily be justified as a good teaching example of public service.  Disgruntled underachievers look for non-issues like this to make noise over nothing.  Save yourself public embarrassment and find another something to complain about.  Give your children sex education lectures instead.

Does The State of Montana Offer Compensation For Rape Victim?

Question: Does the state offer personal injury compensation for rape?
Question Detail: We live in one state. My son was raped in another state. Does the state offer such thing as personal injury compensation?

Answer:  Montana does have a Crime Victims Compensation program, but I think the crime must occur in Montana and the fund only covers medical expenses up to a maximum of $25,000.  

Inadequate Nasal Spray Warning Leads To Heart Aneurysm.

Question: Can I sue a medical company because their health warning wasn't big enough?
I used an over the counter nasal spray for a year and a half. I started having extremely high blood pressure so I stopped using the nasal spray, and my blood pressure went down. And I discovered that I have an aortic aneurysm after using the nasal spray, too. There was a warning against prolonged use on the package but it was extremely small and I did not see it until I had been using the spray for over a year. Can I sue the medical company?

Answer:  Unless you can prove the spray caused your aortic aneurysm, your lawsuit will probably be dismissed. 

Subpoena Served On Witness Who Will Be Out Of State

Question: What happens if I receive a subpoenae but will leave the state before the court date? I got a subpoena the other day. I immediately called the lawyer who gave it to me and informed him that I am moving out of state before the court date and there is no way with me being unemployed I will be able to fly up for the court date. The incident this is regarding is a civil matter which happened while I was working and was the one who spoke with the claimant since I was a security supervisor. This incident happened almost 5 years ago. Since then, just last may I have returned from Iraq and been dealing with a multitude of psychological issues. Having to deal with this now on top of everything else is just making things worse for me. In January I met with all the lawyers and gave statements and answered questions on what little bit I could recall, and since then for me psychologically in my everyday life things have really gotten much more intense. I don't see this court thing as being practical with my state of mind and moving as well. What can be done about this seeing as I won't even be around during the date? Will I be in trouble if I do not show? Should I get a letter from my doctors stating that I am being seeing for several mental health issues?


Answer:  Write a letter to the attorneys listed on the subpoena and save a copy.  Unless the attorney provides you with travel expenses and lodging, he has the option of taking your deposition before you leave the jurisdiction and using that at trial.