Our Law Blog

Due to its treatment in the media and common-sounding name, whiplash is often considered a minor injury by those outside the medical profession. In truth, whiplash refers to a severe soft tissue injury that can lead to chronic pain and a host of other debilitating symptoms.

Whiplash is most commonly suffered in front-end and rear-end vehicle collisions. In this type of accident, the body is violently thrown forward and backward against the interior of the vehicle and the seat belt. This jarring movement can put a significant strain on muscles, tendons and ligaments throughout the body. The neck, however, often bears the brunt of this motion. A cervical strain, commonly referred to as whiplash, might take hours or days to show symptoms.

You went to the hospital for care, but you ended up with an infection that your body can't seem to shake. You've been hospitalized for weeks, taking antibiotics, receiving fluids and generally struggling to survive. You didn't expect your emergency room visit to end up with a severe complication from a hospital-acquired infection, but it has. It may be due to a medical provider making a mistake that led to your infection.

In some cases, a delay in treatment of an existing infection can cause severe complications. When you sought treatment, the staff placed you in the waiting room. You complained that you weren't well, but they kept taking other patients back. After several hours of delays, you nearly collapsed at the front desk and finally got help. By then, you required a series of antibiotics and surgery to stop the spread of sepsis and the deterioration of your body.

Is it true that firearm manufacturers can't be sued for negligence?

No. Contrary to what many believe, firearms manufacturers, and even firearm distributors and gun store retailers, can be sued for firearm injuries and firearm misuse as a result of negligence.

It is true, however, that gun companies can't be sued when one of the firearms they made or sold is used in a crime AND the gun company wasn't negligent.

There are two important laws to understand when it comes to liability for firearm injuries or deaths.

First, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) insulates firearm companies from liability from the misuse of the firearms they make or sell as long as the companies don't encourage the misuse nor are they negligent in their business.

Second, the firearms industry is outside the control of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) because they are one of the few industries that pay a federal excise tax on their products. This means that a recall of a product can not be forced for public safety the concerns - the firearms industry must regulate itself and it is in each manufacturer's discretion whether to recall a firearm.

This leaves two big areas where gun companies can be sued as a result of someone being injured or killed with a firearm:

(1) A firearm is used in a crime and the gun company (firearm manufacturer, distributor, and/or retailer) is partly to blame because of their negligence, or

(2) Someone is injured or killed due to a defective gun or unsafe firearm design and the manufacturer either failed to identify the problem or failed to remedy it.

Let's explore each of these scenarios to learn when a firearm company may be partly to blame for an injury involving a firearm suffered by yourself or a loved one.

*note - It is often said, "guns don't kill people, people kill people." This is true. A firearm is an inanimate object, a tool. People are injured or killed either by a person using the firearm or by a company who negligently designed/sold a firearm. In both of these cases, someone is at fault.

Hospital-acquired infections can make any patient's injuries even worse as a result of poor healing. Many infections in hospitals are particularly resistant to antibiotics and other treatments because of their constant exposure to these methods of treatment.

Health care-associated infections are contracted by around one in 20 patients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which leaves the patients open to worsening conditions. Patients are more likely to acquire these infections than the staff at a hospital due to suppressed immune systems and being in close quarters with other infected individuals. However, with good safety techniques and clean behaviors, hospital staff members can reduce the risk of acquiring an infection.