Category Archives: Personal Injury

Pedestrian Injuries and Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian Injuries and Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian injuries have made too much news in the Treasure Valley of late. Florence and Robert Goar died from the injuries they suffered after being hit by a car while in a crosswalk in Meridian. Pedestrians have been hit by cars in downtown Boise and near St. Alphonsus Hospital. These incidents highlight the danger pedestrians […]

Punitive Damages In Idaho: A Rare And Effective Tool

Punitive Damages

Idaho is like the vast majority of US States in that it allows citizen juries to award punitive damages in appropriate circumstances. The seminal national study about punitive damages reinforces a truth most of us who practice civil trial law in Idaho understand.  Punitive damages are rarely awarded and when they are awarded it is […]

Pedestrian Injury Claim: What To Expect If Hit By A Car

Pedestrian Injury Claim

Car accidents involving a pedestrian injury after they are hit while walking frequently result in serious injury or death. Contrary to what you might think, however, the driver is not automatically responsible. Liability for a collision, whether it causes a personal injury or a death in Idaho is determined by each party’s conduct, not their […]

Injury Law Is About Personal Responsibility

Injury Law Is About Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility is the cornerstone of injury law. And injury law is one of the important parts of the civil justice system.   At times conversations with clients expose a misunderstanding of this important role of injury law in Idaho.  And sometimes this misunderstanding is even more pronounced when discussing the law with state legislators […]

The Jury Trial: The Seventh Amendment and Idaho’s Constitution Protect Your Rights

The Jury Trial

The Constitution of the United States often comes under attack from various directions.   Like when special interests try to limit our First Amendment freedoms of religion and press.  Perhaps the most frequently attacked Constitutional right is the Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury. Among his many offenses against the then colonies, King George […]

The Idaho Non-Economic Damages Cap: A Bad Idea

Non-Economic Damages Cap

When one person’s negligence injures another person, the injured person has the right to recover monetary compensation for the damages they incur.  The term damages has two parts. One part of damages are the economic losses (lost income-medical expenses etc.).  The second part are the non-economic losses (loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, pain and suffering […]