Sumner & Associates, P.C. handles a multitude of cases involving automobile insurance and automobile accidents. These cases range from the more typical automobile accidents to death and catastrophic injuries, including highly complex cases involving highway design, products liability and liquor liability. Our lawyers regularly handle complex cases involving multiple defendants, including state and local governments, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and automobile manufacturers. One of our Attorneys is a former Insurance Company Lawyer and has acted as arbitrators in uninsured and underinsured motorist cases.
Liquor Liability
Liquor liability involves bodily injury or personal damage in which a person or
business can be held responsible for:
-causing or contributing to the intoxication of a person;
-furnishing alcoholic beverages to a person under the legal drinking age or
under the influence of alcohol; or
-violating any statute, ordinance or regulation relating to the sale,
distribution or use of alcoholic beverages.
As many automobile accidents involve the use or misuse of alcohol, liquor
liability holds those parties who have provided alcohol to those already
intoxicated or those under the legal drinking age responsible for their actions.
Sumner & Associates, P.C. has handled many cases involving liquor
liability.
Construction Accidents
Accidents at construction sites can often result
in serious injuries or death. Sumner & Associates, P.C. has successfully
handled many of these cases, including accidents from defective or
collapsing scaffolds and falls off or through roofing structures. Other
cases include electrocutions, ladder injuries, and injuries or death from
the collapse of floors and walls.
We begin our case by investigating the owners, architects, insurance
companies as well as the manufacturers of equipment to determine if the
proper safety regulations are followed. A Construction Management company or
General Contractor is required to provide a reasonably safe workplace which
requires it to warn of dangers on site, hire competent contractors and
employees who will work safely and initiate, supervise and coordinate the
work being performed by all contractors on site.
Construction site accidents often involve defective machinery or equipment
including scaffolding, formwork, cranes, power tools, hoists, conveyors,
ladders, tractors and forklifts.
Construction workers represent 7% of the work force yet account for 20% of
all fatalities in industrial accidents according the US Department of Labor.
One third of all fatalities result from falls from elevation. While falls
represent the majority of the cases we handle we have represented workers
injured from collapse of formwork, scaffolding and other structures,
electrical injuries, and cases where workers are “struck by” objects causing
serious injury.
At Sumner & Associates, P.C. we have represented numerous construction
workers over the years. Attorney Scott Sumner, J.D., has a degree in
Construction Management from Michigan State University and has experience in
the Construction Industry and we have committed to doing whatever needs to
be done to secure justice for our clients. We have not only achieved the
best result possible but have insisted that employers correct unsafe
practices to prevent needless pain and suffering.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Birth Trauma
A number of our medical malpractice cases have dealt with birth injuries such as
cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a muscle control disorder that occurs
when the part of the brain known as the cerebrum is damaged. Patients with
cerebral palsy have difficulty controlling their movements and may have visual,
auditory, and speech impairments as well as learning disabilities. Motor skills
are limited, and seizures can occur in some cases. Cerebral palsy usually occurs
around the time of birth and can be caused by medical malpractice. In some
cases, a doctor may not recognize problems that can occur during labor or may
fail to quickly and appropriately respond once a problem is identified. If the
doctor's negligent actions lead to a brain injury that causes cerebral palsy, he
or she may be guilty of medical malpractice.
We also represent victims of other birth injuries, including Erb's palsy,
usually the result of shoulder dystocia and brain damage. When the physician
fails to act appropriately during a birth trauma situation, he or she may be
guilty of medical negligence. Because the results of birth injuries are often
devastating to families both emotionally and financially, the law seeks to
protect victims.
Unfortunately, medical negligence can sometimes result in the death of a baby.
If a doctor does not take the necessary steps to save an infant's life, we
prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Every child deserves a chance, and
there is no excuse for negligence or malpractice that takes your child's life.
Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis of Cancer
Unfortunately, medical negligence can sometimes result
in the misdiagnosis of Cancer and other serious and deadly diseases. If a doctor
does not take the necessary steps to ensure your diagnosis and get fast action
to save a life, we prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Every person
should have an accurate diagnosis and deserves a chance, and there is no excuse
for negligence or malpractice that takes or almost takes a life, which could
have been avoided.
Wrongful Death
Losing a loved one is by far one of life's more difficult experiences. When that
death is a result of someone's negligent or wrongful behavior, pain is often
more overwhelming. A drunk driver who kills a pedestrian, a surgeon whose
negligence costs a patient their life, a manufacturer who fails to check his
product's safety leads to a consumer death - these are just a few examples of
wrongful death cases.
Slips and Falls
Sumner & Associates, P.C. has successfully handled many slip and fall cases,
some involving catastrophic injuries and death. Sumner & Associates, P.C.,
has experience in cases that involve steps, tile floors, wood floors,
sidewalks and other surfaces. When needed, we employ forensic experts, such
as engineers, who can establish coefficients of friction for various
surfaces, as well as an analysis of conditions arising from design
inadequacies or the failure to adhere to applicable building codes.
A slip and fall is a generic term for an injury that
occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or
hazardous condition on someone else's property. It includes falls as a result of
water, ice or snow, as well as abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting or even
a hidden hazard such as a gap or hard to see hole in the ground.
Property owners are responsible for injuries that occur as a result of a
dangerous or hazardous condition on their property, which the owner knew about,
or should have known about. These conditions may be obvious, such as ice or snow
on a sidewalk, or hidden, such as a hole in a lawn that may be obscured by
grass. In general, an owner will be considered to have knowledge of a dangerous
or hazardous condition if it is permanent in nature, since the owner knew, or
should have known, about the condition before the incident occurs. In cases of
temporary conditions, such as a liquid spill, the extent of time that the
condition existed before the incident actually occurred has legal significance.
If the spill occurred just before the incident, a property owner may not be
liable, since the owner could not have known about the spill before the slip and
fall occurred. However, if the spill was present for some period of time before
the incident, or occurs in an area subject to frequent spills, then the owner
may be liable, even if they were unaware the spill had occurred.
Recoverable Damages
Depending upon the jurisdiction and facts of your slip and fall case, the
following damages MAY BE recoverable:
Medical bills and expenses incurred as a result of the incident;
Lost income for time from work to recovery;
Compensation for pain and suffering as a result of the incident; and
General damages.
