Michel C. Daisley’s Answers

I am so sorry this happened to your daughter, and yes you should explore all avenues of possible recovery with an experienced and competent attorney in the area of injury law in Alaska. (I would especially make some inquiry into whether an attorney has had experience in school bus, school crossing and pedestrian injuries.) Most obviously the fault lies with the individual school counselor who was the careless driver in this situation. But you are wise to ask whether the school system...

Im not at all sure that I understand all the facts here (and in fact I'm pretty sure there is much more to be told) That said, the short answer is YES you can sue anybody without a lawyer. You can sell your house without a real estate agent. You can do your taxes without an accountant. But in some cases going without a lawyer is like filling your cavities without a dentist. Doable but NOT advisable.

There seems like there is alot going on here, that you are not talking about .. If you are driving without a license and you are giving false statements to a police officer who is investigating an accident, you are probably needing to sit down with an attorney as soon as possible.

There may be some Federal laws that prohibit tampering with the U.S. Mail, but I doubt any will apply to your mom in that she will likely be able to make the defense that she was just keeping it all for you to collect later. Regardless, your best bet is to consult with an attorney who is experienced and competent in the area of insurance coverage, and see if there are other ways to be covered for this claim that will be coming against you. Did you live with your mom during...

You are right to raise a question here. Typically, property damage checks are issued without such language, OR with release language limited to the Property Damage claim. Here's what I would do... I assume that you have the phone number and email of the adjuster that issued the check. Call him/her and confirm that this does NOT release the personal injury claim and then email him confirmation and ask him/her to reply back. If you really want to be sure, ask them to reissue the check...

The plain grown-up answer here is that in order to keep this money you must just need to spend a little money on a professional to give you advice. This may or may not be a lawyer depending on your problem. (There is not nearly enough information here to give you a complete answer.) But I do encourage you to seek help. It might start with the local Legal Services or Legal Aid, or even Mental Health (they can be great listeners, and often have really good suggestions) or if you belong to a...

Since you mentioned that you "understand NC liability laws" I will direct my attention just to your central question, and yes, I do believe that the actions of Wal-mart will help you in a trial BUT - a word of caution here... The question of actual damages comes to mind through the facts as you have explained them. Let me be clear, the horrible injuries from your daughter's fall seem to be very substantial, but that's not what I am referencing. Specifically, I am posing the question of...

There are a number of questions that will need to be answered before any attorney can truly evaluate this claim, and I encourage you at the outset to meet with a NC qualified in this area of premises liability law. First of all the fact that this was ice is something that is a dangerous hazard of course, but may also allow Walmart to claim that it had not been there long enough to provide reasonable notice of the hazard. (There are actually involving cases involving stores where the Court...

When you say the "driver had no insurance" I am presuming that you mean that he has no insurance of any kind. In other words, he wasn't working for some employer that might have coverage, and there is no coverage for the "owner" because the driver was the "owner." (If the owner does have coverage then you should be fine, as discussed by other attorneys.) If all this is the case, then you are dealing with an "Uninsured Motorist" case, and your automobile coverage should step in the shoes...

Every business is under a duty to take reasonable precautions to avoid injuries to its customers. i'm asssuming that this is just a regular chair for customers or clients and that you are a regular size person who attempted to sit normally in this care when it fell apart. Under those circumstances, it seems pretty clear that this business would be legally liable for all the damages that you have suffered as a result of this unfortunate fall. You may very well want ot consult local counsel...