Other than fire claims, no type of insurance claim generates more insurance suspicion than a claim that property has been stolen. Why is that? What should you do if you’re the victim of theft and need to make a property claim under your insurance policy? Let’s discuss.
Read MoreAfter an accident involving only property damage or seemingly no or only minor injuries, it can be tempting to simply exchange information with the other driver and leave the scene without calling or waiting for the police. That’s a bad idea for your possible future negligence claim against the other driver. We explain why.
Read MoreThe interior of grocery stores can be an adventure for shoppers. That’s especially true for modern stores with onsite food and beverage options that are essentially combination restaurants, bars, and grocery stores. A shopper can encounter wooden pallets, stacks of boxes, floors wet from cleaning, grease and other substances from spilled food, liquid from spilled beverages, snow, slush, and water tracked in by customers and employees. When can a store be liable for a customer’s fall and resulting injuries because of one of those issues?
Read MoreWe’re asked to help with personal injury claims, including car accidents and motorcycle accidents, every week. We then advocate for our clients against insurance companies or in court. One key point that we’ve learned as a result of those efforts is that timely and consistent medical treatment is crucial to a personal injury claim.
Read MoreIt seems to be a standard practice for employees to provide “two-weeks notice” before quitting. That’s not necessarily a good idea. Let’s review the reasons why.
Read MoreMany homeowners contact us about concerns that the sellers of their home didn’t disclose major issues with the house. A recent decision from the Iowa Court of Appeals covered two issues that frequently arise in such cases. First, proving that the homeowner’s liable for the nondisclosure. Second, establishing that the undisclosed problem has caused or will cause meaningful damage to the new owner. Let’s review.
Read MoreThere are common misconceptions about what a former employer can say about you to potential employers, or to anyone for that matter. Employers aren’t limited to confirming dates of employment. They can even disclose the circumstances surrounding the end of your employment. Although many employers adhere to confidentiality restrictions as a matter of internal policy, Iowa law recognizes very little in the way of such employment confidentiality. Let’s discuss those laws.
Read MoreTubing down Iowa’s rivers is a popular summer activity. It’s also potentially dangerous, even deadly. Let’s discuss ways to remain safe while river tubing.
Read MoreIt’s estimated that 10% of all vehicles on Iowa’s roads are uninsured. And many of the vehicles that are insured have minimal insurance coverage, often the minimum required by Iowa law. Let’s discuss how you can protect yourself from such drivers.
Read MoreOn February 16, 2022 the Iowa Court of Appeals determined that a murder victim’s family members couldn’t sue the owner of the farm where the murder happened or an employee of the farm. We discuss why the farm owner and his employee couldn’t be sued for negligence.
Read MoreCurrently, for various reasons employers find themselves with too few employees. Employers have had to require employees to perform double-duty to fill empty positions. That can cause problems from a federal overtime standpoint.
Read MoreWe’ve recently received a number of calls regarding issues with repair contractors and the 2020 derecho or the recent severe hail event in central Iowa. Especially for the derecho, people have been victimized by “storm chaser” contractors. We discuss how to protect yourself.
Read MoreThere’s a hidden trap in construction defect cases that many homeowners overlook until it’s too late. Please read on so that I can warn you about that trap.
Read MoreThere’s been much confusion over employers’ ability to mandate COVID vaccination for employees. The most common argument we hear from employees references their rights to determine what goes into their bodies and their rights to work. Employers’ most frequent response is their obligation to create a safe environment for their employees, customers, and visitors. Let’s discuss this legal dilemma.
Read MoreI’ve written about boundary line disputes and the issues that can arise in such situations. I’ve also discussed your legal rights when a neighbor’s tree is encroaching on your property. There’s also a potential combination of those two problems — Tree or shrub removal that crosses property lines without authorization. In that situation, the person doing the removal may find themselves facing liability.
Read MoreDirt bikes, street bikes, touring bikes, and racers all have one thing in common — Two tires. Only half of a standard motor vehicle. Properly maintaining the tires on your motorcycle may be the single biggest safety step that you can take. Yet it’s estimated that approximately half of all motorcycles on the road are rolling on underinflated tires.
Read MoreWe’ve received a number of calls lately from employees who have Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) intermittent leave available but are receiving attendance points and discipline, even being fired, for not properly reporting their intermittent FMLA absences per their employers’ policies and procedures. Their question is always whether the employer can mandate adherence to call-in procedures even though the employer knows that the employee has intermittent FMLA leave available. Let’s discuss that.
Read MoreThe next time you buy something in a store or order an item online, take a look at the fine print that accompanies the item. Few people read or even notice that fine print, but it can become very important if a legal claim arises over the product’s quality or performance.
Read MoreI’ve frequently written about the need for expert testimony in cases that involve water. Those cases usually involve landowner disputes, in which one owner sues another because of water flowing onto the owner’s land. Those cases usually fail without an expert witness regarding the source and cause of the water intrusion. But in Putnam v. Walther, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that such expert testimony is also necessary in a case in which Putnam, a real estate buyer, sued the sellers of her home, the Walthers, claiming that they failed to disclose issues with the home that allowed water intrusion.
Read MoreA major concern about the freewheeling social media commentary is whether people and businesses are still protected from defamatory statements, even if those statements are merely made in a social media post or comment to a post. Defamation concerns false statements of fact that tend to injure the reputation of a person or business. Do the traditional principles of defamation still apply in the wild west of social media commentary? A recent Iowa Court of Appeals decision says that they do, although the court cautioned that people and business need to have a thicker skin regarding social media commentary given the prevalence of social media criticism that occurs nowadays.
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