D.C. Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Gabriel Assaad : Assaad Law, PLLC : D.C. Injury Law Journal

Last Friday, a city building inspector fell through a skylight opening at a housing construction site in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The man suffered severe injuries to both of his legs. In a bizarre incident of deja vu, a construction worker fell through another skylight opening on the same roof yesterday. Falling more than 20 feet, the construction worker suffered serious personal injuries to his shoulder and both legs. A third worker suffered a laceration injury to his arm from falling debris dislodged when his coworker fell. Fredericksburg police have called in the Virginia Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) to investigate both personal injury accidents. 

In Virginia and the Washington D.C. area, more serious personal injury accidents happen on construction sites than in any other industrial sector. Every year more than 1,000 U.S. workers die in construction accidents and more than 150,000 workers are injured on the job. Falls are the most common construction site injury. Injuries to the back or trunk account for the largest number of construction injuries, followed by leg and arm injuries. Many construction injuries are life-changing, leaving injured workers permanently or partially disabled and unable to support their families.

One in 10 Washington D.C. and Virginia construction workers can expect to suffer a personal injury on the job this year. If you are injured in a construction accident, an experienced Virginia or Washington D.C. personal injury attorney can protect your rights and work to obtain just compensation for you and your family.

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A man fell 3 stories from a bucket lift in a Washington .D.C construction accident yesterday afternoon. The accident took place near the Old Executive office building near the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. D.C. fire and EMS responders transported the man to a nearby hospital where he remains in critical condition. A few weeks ago D.C. fire and EMS responders rescued another construction worker who had become trapped after falling into an unsecured 25-foot deep hole at a construction site in northeast D.C. That construction worker sustained serious personal injuries to his neck and back.

More than 1,000 construction workers die on U.S. construction sites every year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  Thousands more sustain severe personal injuries, many of which result in partial or permanent disability. Among the construction trades, construction laborers, particularly ironworkers and electrical power installers, suffer the highest number of fatal work injuries. Falls, electrical installation, traffic accidents and contact with construction equipment account for the majority of construction accidents.

Construction companies are responsible for protecting the health and welfare of their workers.  Many construction accidents result from faulty or poorly maintained equipment or from the construction company's failure to provide adequate safety equipment and enforce safety practices on the job site, When construction accidents occur, an experienced Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer can see that your rights are protected and work aggressively to see that you are justly compensated.

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In a grisly Washington DC accident, a woman pedestrian suffered catastrophic injury when she was struck by a dump truck on M Street SE. Apparently unaware that he had hit the woman, the truck driver continued driving until bystanders alerted him to the tragedy. The driver immediately returned to the scene and is reported to be cooperating with police. The woman suffered critical, life-threatening injuries and was unconscious when EMT crews arrived. She was rushed to a nearby hospital via helicopter. Washington DC police are investigating the accident and charges are pending against the driver.

According to EMT and fire department records, 8  to 10 pedestrian accidents occur in Washington DC every day. Fortunately, not all pedestrian accidents are fatal, but the potential for catastrophic injury is high. Catastrophic injuries require significant medical treatment, usually involve long-term rehabilitation and are likely to have life-changing consequences for the victim and his family. Serious permanent disability can occur that may leave the accident victim with diminished physical or mental abilities. Repeated reconstructive surgery may be necessary to repair the victim's injuries. Pedestrian personal injury accident victims frequently face a lifetime of continued medical care and chronic pain as a result of their injuries.

When catastrophic accidents occur, a Washington DC personal injury attorney with extensive experience handling catastrophic injury cases will work aggressively to protect your rights and argue for just compensation.

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The tragic death of a 7-year-old girl in Detroit over the weekend shattered a family and revealed an investigative technique being increasing practiced by experienced DC and Virginia personal injury lawyers. When police raided a Detroit home, an errant police bullet killed a young girl sleeping on the family sofa. When discrepancies developed between the police account of the incident and the family's reconstruction of events, the family's personal injury attorney, like a referee at a football game, was able to replay the film and see exactly what happened.

It turns out that a camera crew from the A&E series The First 48 had been shadowing the Detroit homicide detectives who led the raid for months. The crew caught the entire bust on film which the family's attorney says clearly shows the police version of events to be inaccurate. So far A&E has declined to release the film to either the police or the press, but it is expected to figure in any personal injury suit that may follow.

With the proliferation of photo and movie-taking cell phones and the use of hood-mounted cameras on police vehicles, film and photos taken by police and eyewitnesses to DC and Virginia personal injury accidents are being sought and used by DC area personal injury lawyers to determine fault,  prove responsibility and obtain damages for victims of personal injury accidents.

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When your child takes that long-awaited 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., you think about the historic sites and amazing museums he'll be visiting. You expect your child to have many memories of his trip to the nation's capitol but you don't expect a traffic accident to be one of them. However, that may be the most prominent memory for a group of visiting eighth graders from Tallahassee, Florida. Swift Creek Middle Schoolers witnessed a serious personal injury bus accident when the rear of their charter bus struck and seriously injured a pedestrian as it navigated an intersection. No charges have yet been filed but police are investigating the Washington D.C. bus accident. 

Washington D.C. personal injury lawyers often rely on the testimony of eyewitnesses to reveal the specific circumstances of a traffic accident that results in serious personal injury. Careful investigation and interviews with eyewitnesses by experienced Washington D.C. personal injury attorneys are often crucial in determining who is ultimately at fault when a personal injury vehicle accident occurs in Washington D.C. or Virginia. When a pedestrian is hit by a motor vehicle, serious permanent or lengthy temporary injuries can occur and life-altering disabilities are common. In a significant number of the 1,000 pedestrian accidents that occur in Washington D.C., Virginia and across the U.S. every year, the pedestrian dies. If you are involved in a vehicle accident or pedestrian accident, contact a personal injury attorney about your legal rights.

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Toyota's accelerator problems were back in the Washington DC news yesterday, but this time the fallen auto maker was not deemed at fault. The woman who complained about a runaway acceleration problem with her Prius was found to have panicked and stepped on the gas instead of the brake. Human, not mechanical, error was at fault in the ensuing accident, investigators ruled. It was one bright note in a gathering storm of personal injury accident lawsuits and defective product claims against Toyota.

Toyota may be in the spotlight now, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says personal injury auto accidents caused by runaway acceleration have also been a problem for other auto makers, particularly Ford and Chrysler. NHTSA investigators have linked sudden acceleration to 110 traffic fatalities in the past 10 years. According to NHTSA investigators, 51 of those fatalities were caused by Toyota vehicles. The other 59 deaths were caused by  vehicles made by other auto makers, with Ford vehicles cited in 20 traffic fatalities and Chrysler in 12.

Washington DC area residents who have been involved in a car accident that resulted in personal injury or death should contact a Assaad Law, a Washington DC personal injury attorney to review their case and legal rights.

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 According to the United States Department of Transportation, over six million traffic accidents occur each year, of which nearly 40% are caused by drinking and driving. An average of one alcohol related death occurs every 30 minutes and every two minutes an individual is injured in an alcohol related traffic accident. Alcohol related traffic accidents are defined as any vehicular accident in which alcohol has been, or is believed to have been, consumed by the driver, a passenger, or a pedestrian associated with the accident.

Those suffering from injuries due to others lack of concern for their fellow drivers end up missing work, dealing with lingering pain, having to pay heavy medical bills, losing sleep and dealing with the mental stress of chaos in their lives. It isn’t right or fair that the innocent pay for the actions of the guilty. 

Please be careful this Holiday Season.

 About the author:

Gabriel Assaad has successfully litigated multiple cases on behalf of injured victims in the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland.  Mr. Assaad graduated from a top 20 law school and is a member of national and local organizations dedicated to protecting the rights of the injured.  In addition, Mr. Assaad also volunteers as General Counsel to Mission Life Center which provided services (medical and social services) to people in need and Care in Action, an international organization providing AIDS care in Africa.

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So many times while I drive in DC, I see so many "close calls."  Too many times, drivers who do not pay attention, are talking on their cell phones, or not following the rules of the road, have a "close call" with a bicycle. 

Many times, automobile drivers fail to realize that bicycles have rights on the road and are considered vehicles.  Although it is frustrating to be behind a bicycle going below the speed limit, its still the duty of the driver to drive with care and with safety in mind.

According to the NHTSA, there were 44,000 bicyclists injured in traffic accidents in 2007, and 698 of the injury victims ended up dead. Believe it or not, the greater percentage of these accidents all happened due to the same reasons. Most bicycle accidents occur due to:

• Drivers Turning into the Path of the Bicyclist
• Hidden Driveways, Hidden Streets
• Stop Signs, Red Lights
• Inattention by Other Driver
• Failure to Look Both Ways at a Red Light or a Stop Sign: 

Drivers in the DC metro area should be aware of bicyclists and be careful while driving in the city, especially during rush hour.  Bicyclist have the right to be on the road and for vehicle drivers to follow the rules of the road.   In addition, drivers should be more careful knowing that bicyclists are susceptible to greater injuries.

The law provides protection for bicyclists and recourse for damages a bicyclist sustains as a result of the negligence of a driver.  Assaad Law, PLLC is dedicated to protecting the right of a bicyclist that was injured as a result of the negligence of another.

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