Personal Injury Law Journal

Michael G. Donahue

mdonahue@stark-stark.com
609.895.7343

Michael G. Donahue, III, Shareholder, is a member of the Personal Injury Group and concentrates his practice on the preparation, settlement, and trial of personal injury matters. Mr. Donahue is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney.

Mr. Donahue serves as an officer of the New Jersey Association for Justice Board of Governors and sits on its Executive Committee. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Civil Trial Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Donahue is a member of the Mercer County Bar Association; New Jersey State Bar Association; and the American Association for Justice.

As discussed in a prior blog post, social media investigations can play a large role in a lawsuit. Recently, a defense law firm has been charged with alleged inappropriate activity using Facebook to obtain information about a plaintiff.

The plaintiff in the matter was a twelve-year old girl who was bitten by a dog and filed a lawsuit as a result of the injuries suffered from the bite. The Ohio-based firm allegedly hired an investigator who posed as one of the plaintiff’s friends on Facebook The private investigator posed as one of the plaintiff’s friends by illegitimately obtaining the individual’s Facebook login user name and password. Without authorization, the investigator further posed as the “friend” on Facebook to gain access to the plaintiff’s Facebook page. 

By posing as the plaintiff’s friend, the investigator obtained all of the plaintiff’s private information and posted messages and pictures. This conduct resulted in a separate lawsuit filed against the defense lawyer, its investigator and the insurance company. If the allegations are true, numerous ethical violations may have occurred.

While this case shows the extremes that may be taken using social media to obtain information about a plaintiff, one must always be careful about what information to post when using social media.

Michael Donahue is a Shareholder and in the firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, concentrating in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Donahue.

 

Passenger bus crashes are unfortunately the cause of many injuries on New Jersey roadways.  Generally speaking, they involve more complex issues than your typical car accident.  These issues may include questions about the conditions of the bus, federal safety standards, the driver’s proper licensing to operate the bus, the driver’s competence or fault, or substance abuse issues. Further, many times there are other questions involved such as ownership and operation issues.

It is important when you are involved in a matter involving a bus that you consult with a lawyer who is experienced in handling these matters.  Here at Stark & Stark, we frequently deal with bus crash cases and our team of lawyers and experts stand ready to help you if you are unfortunately the victim of one of these terrible crashes.

Michael Donahue is a Shareholder and in the firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, concentrating in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Donahue.

 

 

Since 1969, the New Jersey State Bar Association has been the only non-political element in the appointment process for judicial and prosecutorial offices in New Jersey. The State Bar Association, through an agreement with New Jersey governors since Governor Richard J. Hughes, reviews the qualifications of candidates for the nominated judicial and prosecutorial positions and reports to the governor its position regarding the candidate’s fitness to serve in the nominated position. This agreement is known as the Judicial Compact. Governor Christopher J. Christie reaffirmed the current Judicial Compact on April 10, 2010.

The Judicial Compact’s review process is handled by the State Bar Association’s Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee (JPAC). The Committee’s review operates under complete confidentiality. Once the Committee reaches a conclusion with regard to a candidate, the Chair of the JPAC communicates the Committee’s determination of whether a nominated candidate is qualified or not qualified directly to the governor’s office only. If the Governor continues to persist with the nomination despite a “not qualified” determination, the State Bar Association may testify before the State Senate Judiciary committee concerning its determination regarding the nominee’s fitness for the position of Supreme Court justice and the reasons for that position.  

Recently, Governor Christie nominated Philip Kwon and Bruce Harris as potential state Supreme Court Justices. In a statement released by New Jersey State Bar Association’s President Susan A. Feeney, the State Bar Association has fully committed to honoring the spirit and intent of the Agreement between itself and Governor Christie. The State Bar Association will continue to evaluate all candidates thoroughly and will make no comments regarding the specific nominees regarding their review until such time that the reviews are concluded.  President’s Feeney’s comments can be found online here.

Michael Donahue is a Shareholder and in the firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, concentrating in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Donahue.

As I mentioned in a previous post, tire defects can have serious consequences when not taken care of. In addition to environmental conditions which can adversely affect the performance of a tire, there are also internal design and manufacturing defects which could lead to serious injuries as well.

The exploding components of a failed multi-piece wheel assembly have earned the nickname “widow makers.” Multi-piece wheels are two or three piece assemblies which require tube type tires. They are much less common then single piece wheels but can be found on garbage trucks or other heavy duty trucks.  
    
These assemblies utilize a split ring which secures the tire to the rim. The ring can appear to be properly seated on the rim prior to inflation when in fact it is not. If inflation takes place while the ring is not properly seated, the ring may suddenly release. Inflation of these types of tires must always be performed in a tire cage. Unfortunately, explosive separation can occur once the inflation process has been completed and the tire/wheel assembly is being mounted on the vehicle.

Multi-piece explosions can result in various types of potential defect cases. First, a design defect claim can be brought based upon the availability of a single piece design which does not present the same hazards and provides the same utility in certain applications. Also, allegations of design defects have been made due to the potential to mismatch components which can result in explosions. Negligence claims may also be available if a tire mechanic improperly services the assembly resulting in an explosion and subsequent injury.  

If you, your family, or your friends are injured as a result of a tire failure, it is important to call an attorney experienced in investigating tire failure. These cases can be complex and expensive and should be handled by an attorney who has experience in this specialty.

In previous posts, we have discussed the impact of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These sites are used to communicate, using words and photographs, with close and distant “friends.” Often times, this communication occurs on impulse without consideration of who may have access to the information.  

Social networking communication may become discoverable in civil litigation and the client must understand this upon retaining a lawyer. To adequately protect a client and permit the client to protect him or herself, certain steps should be taken at the onset of representation. We previously discussed three ways to help the client and here are four more.

Consider using an outside service to monitor the social networking activities of a client. This may be useful for clients that are committed to continuing to use these sites very frequently. They can be useful for making sure the lawyer has knowledge of all communication the client participates in and friends whom the client has developed. It is also helpful for attorneys, or staff, who lack the knowledge, time or resources to perform such searches themselves.

It is also important to make certain the client is fully aware of the potential threat that “friends” can pose. Generally, privacy settings will allow “friends”, or other specially designated individuals, access to more private information shared by the client. The client must understand that making a person a friend is allowing such access and they should give careful thought and consideration to these issues before allowing someone such access. Requests from unknown persons should be denied. Additionally, the client must be careful what information they share with “friends” as this information can then be easily shared with other unknown individuals. A client must make sure their “friends” do not indiscriminately share the client’s private information.  

Further, the client should be aware that photographs can be easily shared and can be particularly damaging. Many times a photograph of a client can be misleading because it shows a smiling face, but the photos fail to reveal the pain the client is truly experiencing. Because Facebook and other sites provide nearly effortless means to share photographs, a client must understand that any photo they post may eventually be obtained by an adversary in a lawsuit.  

These are some thoughts in how a client should be made aware of the pitfalls of social networking. Next time we are going to discuss other aspects of social networking in litigation.