Personal Injury

Halloween is always an exciting time of the year - particularly for the children and young adults who get to go trick-or-treating. But what happens if someone is injured on another person's property in the pursuit of candy? Knowing the answer could help you pursue the appropriate legal avenues if someone is injured on your property, or you're caring for a trick-or-treater who gets hurt.

At The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller, we'll help you find the best path forward in your personal injury dispute. Contact us online or via phone at (757) 267-4949 to schedule a consultation or learn more.

Can a Homeowner Be Held Liable for Trick-or-Treat Injuries?

To put it simply: Yes.

The same standards required to file a personal injury claim successfully - namely, proving that the person responsible for the injury or the owner of the property where the injury occurred caused the injury through negligence - still apply. However, homeowners can indeed be held liable for trick-or-treating injuries.

If a plaintiff can prove that a home or property owner acted negligently and, in doing so, harmed trick-or-treaters, the home or property owner could face a number of penalties, including paying damages to the injured party.

What Can I Do to Avoid Injuries on Halloween?

Firstly, if you don't want visitors at all, make sure your porch light is off. If your porch light is on, you'll be considered liable for what happens to trick-or-treaters on your property, since a lit porch is seen as an invitation for trick-or-treaters to visit your property. If your light is off, you won't have the same legal responsibility to your visitors, which could help you avoid charges if someone is injured on your property.

In addition to minding the state of your porch light, you'll also want to take the following steps:

Mind Tripping Hazards or Slippery Surfaces

This is especially important if you live in an area where ice or snow starts showing up around Halloween. If you're expecting trick-or-treaters, you should warn them of any potential tripping hazards before entering your property to help avoid a slip-and-fall case.

Make sure the path to your door is well-lit. Consider using a snow or ice-melting mixture on the path if snow or ice is present to help your visitors stay on their feet. You may also want to post a well-lit sign at the entrance to your property that clearly warns visitors of any tripping hazards you are aware of.

Make Sure Your Treats Won't Break Teeth

Many people love baking treats and candies for trick-or-treaters instead of furnishing them with store-bought goods, but be careful if you want to go this route. Put some time into ensuring that your homemade treats aren't too hard and won't run the risk of chipping a tooth.

Additionally, you should make trick-or-treaters - and their caretakers - aware of what ingredients any treats you give out contain. The last thing you want is a trick-or-treater with an allergy to an ingredient you used consuming your treat.

Be Careful with Decorations

Many homeowners love to coat their yards with scary props on Halloween, and if it's a favorite pastime of yours, you don't need to stop - however, you should take the proper safety measures.

Consider warning visitors about potential scares on a sign at the entrance to your yard (perhaps the same one warning of any tripping hazards). Keep in mind that you can't predict how people will react to scary props - you don't want an exceptionally frightened trick-or-treater to fall or faint out of fear and hit their heads on the ground. As with many things in life, it's always better to err on the side of caution if you're not sure how scary you should make your yard on Halloween.

The fear of being held liable for trick-or-treating injuries on Halloween shouldn't stop you from having fun with your yard and the decorations in it, but it should encourage you to take the proper safety measures to ensure the security of your guests. Happy Halloween!

At the Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller, our team will help you navigate your personal injury dispute. To schedule a consultation with our team or learn more about how we can help with your case, give us a call at (757) 267-4949 or contact us online.

It's no secret that July 4th is one of the more dangerous holidays in the U.S. - in 2019 alone, around 10,000 people across the country reported to U.S. hospital emergency departments with fireworks-related injuries.

If you're wondering what happens if you're near or involved in a fireworks-related injury, you're not alone. Today, we answer those questions with our Fourth of July blog.

To schedule a consultation with our team and receive the legal representation you deserve for your case, contact us online or via phone at (757) 267-4949.

Is It Legal to Own or Use Fireworks in Virginia on July 4th?

Virginia law prohibits the illegal possession, use, storing, sale, or handling any firework that explodes, rises into the air, travels laterally, or fires projectiles into the air" within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In other words, Virginians wanting to err on the side of caution should abstain from using any fireworks on the Fourth of July, including ones often seen as less "serious" or "harmful" such as bottle rockets and firecrackers.

However, it's worth noting that celebration devices which stay on the ground - such as sparklers and pinwheels - are legal in the state.

Possessing any kind of firework or setting one off is punishable by a Class 1 misdemeanor, which could result in a jail sentence of up to one year, and/or a $2,500 fine depending on the severity of the case.

However, if a firework injures somebody, the consequences could be more severe.

For example, if an individual threatens to hurt someone else by aiming a firework at them, they could potentially face assault charges.

Even if an individual doesn't intend to harm anyone with the use of fireworks, they could still be penalized for accidentally doing so or damaging property. For example, an individual may be charged with negligently inflicting emotional distress or physical harm on another person. Such charges could result in civil legal disputes such as personal injury lawsuits to cover the legal fees, medical costs, and recovery or lost wages for the injured party, to name but a few potential penalties.

In short, utilizing fireworks could be costly to you both emotionally and financially if another individual or their property is hurt.

How Can I Stay Safe on July 4th?

Even if you have no intention of purchasing or using illegal fireworks on July 4th, you may be concerned about your safety if you attend gatherings where other people are engaging in such activities.

To stay safe, you can follow the following tips:

• Always make sure that any fireworks are pointed away from you or other people;
• Try and ensure that fireworks or other legal celebration devices are not being lit or activated in an area where there are fire hazards present, such as dry grass or flammable materials;
• Always try and ensure that a fire extinguisher is nearby at all times;
• Try and make sure any animals, especially dogs, are kept away from celebration devices, and keep a safe distance yourself;
• Try and ensure that nobody attempts to use or make their own fireworks.

At The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller, we can help you pursue charges against individuals who use celebration devices negligently or work to protect you from allegations of unsafe use.

To schedule a consultation with our team or learn more about our process, contact us online or via phone at (757) 267-4949.

If you or someone you know has ever been injured while using a commercial product, the manufacturer or seller of that product could be legally responsible for that injury. In product liability cases, companies are held liable to compensate persons injured by their products for monetary losses you sustained as a result, including hospital bills, as well as the pain or disfigurement you suffered.

However, liability for injuries stemming from the use of a product is limited to cases where the product contained a dangerous defect. Such defects can result from errors or failings in the design or manufacturing process.

Liability for Design Defects

Generally, the manufacturer of a product is responsible for creating products that are considered reasonably safe when used for its intended purposes. If a product is unreasonably dangerous as a result of how it was designed, its manufacturer can be held liable for resulting injuries.

In Virginia, a manufacturer is liable for a defectively designed product if the plaintiff can prove the following elements:

• The product was unreasonably dangerous for any reasonably foreseeable uses
• The product was unreasonably dangerous at the time it left the manufacturer’s hands

Virginia courts have held that a product is unreasonably dangerous if “an alternative design is safer overall than the design used by the manufacturer.”

For example, if a car manufacturer knew that adding rubber insulation around the fuel tank of one of its vehicles would eliminate the risk of explosion in rear-end-collisions—but chose not to adopt such a design—the manufacturer may be liable for the injuries and deaths resulting from such an explosion.

The Virginia Supreme Court has also recognized that government standards and industry practices and customs “are highly relevant on the question of whether the manufacturer’s design was negligent because they permit an inference that the manufacturer exercised (or failed to exercise) ordinary prudence.”

In a product liability case involving airbags, the Virginia Supreme Court held that “A design is not safer if the proposed modification would expose operators and bystanders to an overall greater risk of injury or death than under the challenged design.”

The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller Is Committed to Protecting Your Rights

If you have any questions or concerns about your legal rights and interests when it comes to a personal injury matter, you should seek the advice of an experienced attorney from The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller. We have the knowledge and in-depth understanding of Virginia personal injury law to help you obtain monetary compensation for any injuries you received as a result of another person’s wrongdoing.

Please call us at (757) 267-4949 or contact our office online for a free consultation about your case.

The Criminal Consequences of Breaking Traffic Laws

Each state has a comprehensive set of laws regulating automobile and pedestrian traffic. Anyone who has received a ticket for speeding or jaywalking has committed a criminal offense. The severity of the penalty depends on the violation. For example, speeding is typically considered to be a citable offense warranting no jail time, but only a relatively low fine. In contrast, reckless driving may be punished as a class 1 misdemeanor or a more serious offense if it results in serious bodily injury.

The Civil Consequences of Traffic Violations

The violation of state traffic law does not trigger civil liability by itself. The civil justice system is designed to rectify harms committed between persons. For example, the act of speeding alone does not necessarily imply that another person was harmed—although many people may be offended by the act in certain situations. It is only when a traffic violation results in an injury to another person or their property that the violator may be held civilly liable.

In general, a person is liable for negligence if they injure someone as a result of their failure to take reasonable steps to avoid that harm. All persons are held to a minimum standard of care to avoid causing harm to others.

For example, if a person was driving down the road at a reasonably safe speed and distance from under the circumstances, but was unexpectedly struck by lightning, causing their car malfunction and careen into another car, they are probably not liable for negligence.

However, if a person collided with a car because they were responding to a text message on their phone and failed to notice that the vehicle in front of them suddenly stopped, they likely liable for negligence. That is because a reasonable person would understand that diverting one’s attention from the road in front of them is not safe.

Generally, the plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant breached their duty of care. This requires them to present evidence in court as to what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

Traffic laws, such as those prohibiting drivers from texting while driving, can be used as evidence of the applicable standard of care in a negligence case. When a person violates a traffic law, they are considered negligent per se—a Latin term meaning “in itself”—and they are liable for damages if such a violation was the legal and proximate cause of another person’s injury.

For More Answers, Consult an Attorney from The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller

If you’ve been injured as a consequence of the negligent or wrongful conduct of another person, you might be entitled to a legal remedy. For a better understanding of your legal rights, you should get in touch with an experienced attorney from The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller. We have experience handling a variety of legal disputes involving personal injury law, including automobile accidents.

Contact our law firm at The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller or visit us online to schedule a free initial consultation about your rights today.

If you’ve been injured by the actions of a negligent person, business, or government entity, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim. If your lawsuit is successful, you may be entitled to compensatory damages that facilitate your recovery process and mitigate your injury-related debts.

There are two types of compensatory damages: economic and non-economic. At The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller, our attorney can investigate your case, develop a litigation strategy that aims to maximize your claims, and even negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf to make sure you receive a beneficial settlement. If necessary, we can also take your case to court and aggressively fight for a verdict that awards both economic and non-economic damages.

Understanding Economic & Non-Economic Damages

Economic damages refer to verifiable monetary losses that can be calculated by evaluating medical bills, receipts, lost wages, and other injury-related financial records.  For example, an attorney can look at a plaintiff’s past W-2s and income statements to calculate their overall loss of earning potential.

Economic damages can include:

• Existing and projected medical expenses
• Physical rehabilitation and psychological therapy costs
• Lost Wages
• Loss of earning potential
• Property damage

Non-economic damages are intangible losses that are far more difficult to quantify. To secure damages, your attorney needs to prove to the court that your injuries have impacted your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. The court also needs to consider the circumstances that led to your injury, the degree of negligence involved, and if your injury prevents you from holding gainful employment.

Non-economic damages can include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional and mental distress
• Loss of enjoyment in life
• Loss of society
• Physical impairment or disability
• Lost opportunity

Unlike other states, Virginia doesn’t cap economic or non-economic damages in personal injury lawsuits. However, there is one exception: claims involving medical malpractice are capped at $2 million in Virginia.

The Statute of Limitations

According to Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), a plaintiff has 2 years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury claim against the negligent party. If the plaintiff exceeds this deadline, the court may refuse to hear their case, or the defendant will request a case dismissal per the statute of limitations. In either scenario, the plaintiff loses their opportunity to secure compensatory damages. Of course, there are nuances and exceptions to this policy, so it’s crucial that you discuss your case with a lawyer before taking legal action.

Schedule a Consultation to Explore Your Legal Options

If you’re ready to file a personal injury claim, contact The Law Offices of Daniel J, Miller today. Our lawyer can review the details of your case and negotiate for compensatory damages that reflect your financial and legal objectives. You can rely on our legal team to manage the legal aspects of your case so that you can devote your time and attention to recovering in peace.  

We’re available 24/7. Contact The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller at (757) 267-4949">(757) 267-4949 to schedule a free consultation.