THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME A Look at Some Interesting Personal Injury Cases
There is no shortage of crazy cases that come through a court of law, but those revolving around personal injury can be especially surprising. Whether it’s a slip-and-fall accident or something a little more eccentric, there are a million ways to hurt yourself while simply going about your day. The problems arise when it’s determined to be another party’s fault. Let’s take a look at some notably strange cases where bizarre miscalculations led to injuries and ailments. Time spent in the restroom is inherently private. We don’t normally talk about it, but that’s not the case for a Pennsylvania woman who experienced a traumatic event during a routine trip to the lady’s room. In 2007, a schlocky horror plot came to life in a building along Philadelphia’s famous Market Street. The culprit was a faulty plumbing system. The woman was inside a restroom stall on the eighth floor, and, as she sat on one of the old toilets customary in the building, pressure building from inside the tank caused a massive explosion that sent her body hurling out of the stall. You don’t need to know the details of her injuries to understand the extent of her grievances. Some forms of suffering are better left to the imagination, especially if the aggressor was a literal stink bomb. She sued the As Below, so Above
building’s landlords for anxiety, pain, and medical expenses, but it’s hard to determine which party was truly at fault without more information.
It’s Raining Cats and Dollars
You can’t predict the weather, no matter what your weather app says, but some people tend to forget that. A few years ago, an Israeli weatherman was faced with a lawsuit by a woman who claimed his inaccurate forecast caused her a great deal of suffering. She claimed he misrepresented a particularly harsh day in the forecast, and it encouraged her to wear insufficient layers that left her health to the whim of the elements. As a result, the woman caught the flu from the downpour and missed work for four days. Citing lost income, large medication costs, and tremendous anxiety, she sought reparations from the fraudulent weatherman and was amazingly awarded a four-figure settlement!
IT IS IMPORTANT YOU KNOW THE VALUE OF A TRUST ...
Trust Us!
Just as taking proper action to designate your child’s power of attorney is of the utmost importance before he or she heads off to college this fall, understanding the value of a trust can be equally beneficial. Trusts are important tools in estate planning. Depending on the type of trust established, it can serve many purposes: decreasing tax liabilities, protecting accumulated funds from creditors, and protecting privacy, since trusts, unlike wills, are not public documents. If you have only ever considered using a will to allocate your assets, then you would benefit from learning about the two main types of trusts — revocable and irrevocable. What Is a Revocable Trust? Also known as living trusts, revocable trusts can be altered or revoked throughout your lifetime. The price of this flexibility is that the revocable trust remains part of your estate and can therefore be taxed. Even so, when you die, the revocable trust will become irrevocable and the property held in the trust will be passed on to your beneficiaries.
Two major advantages of revocable trusts are that they avoid probate, and they preserve your financial privacy since, unlike wills, they are not public documents. At the time of your death, a revocable trust becomes irrevocable. What Is an Irrevocable Trust? Unlike its counterpart, irrevocable trusts cannot be changed or revoked once they have been created. Examples of irrevocable trusts are trusts for minors, insurance trusts, and charitable trusts. Though they are permanent and don’t give you the flexibility of revocable trusts, they are advantageous in terms of taxation. While revocable and irrevocable trusts are two of the most commonly used ones in all of elder law, there are other trusts to consider. You could, for example, use a special needs trust, which was originally created to protect individuals who are disabled in a way that prevents them from consistently managing their own finances. You could also explore the possibility of a spendthrift trust if you are concerned about protecting irresponsible beneficiaries from their own potential bad choices. Due to the immense variety of trusts — and the complexities associated with each — it is essential to have a skilled trust attorney working with you as you plan your estate. Call 281-218-0880 to get in touch with one of our knowledgeable team members!
2 HEGWOOD LAW GROUP
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