Articles Posted in Personal Injury

It’s summer in Rhode Island and we’ve been fortunate to have beautiful weather. Understandably so, RI motorcyclists are taking advantage of ideal riding conditions. Whether there are more motorcycles on the road due to the warm temperatures or not, we do know that motorcycle accident fatalities are up in Rhode Island this year. According to…

After a dramatic 84% rise in incidents involving emotional support dogs, Delta Air Lines has revised its policies. Effective July 10, 2018, Delta will no longer allow “pit bull type dogs” to serve as service or emotional support dogs on its flights. The policy revision comes after a string of several incidents involving Delta employees,…

Slips, trips, and falls are some of the most common types of injury and account for over 1 million ER visits each year in the U.S. Though most falls are minor and result in a bump or bruise, 1 in 5 falls causes a serious injury like a broken bone or head injury, according to…

Effective Monday, June 11th, tractor trailer trucks passing through Rhode Island will now be charged a toll when passing through two points on Route 95. The new tolls, located at Exit 2 near the Hopkinton and Richmond border and Exit 5 in Exeter, cost $3.25 and $3.50 respectively. Rhode Islanders may see this as a…

A jury has awarded $31.3 million to an Iraq War veteran paralyzed in a swimming accident at the University of Rhode Island’s Alton Jones campus. The accident took place in 2014 and left Brett Smith of Farmington, CT, paralyzed from the chest down with limited use of his hands. The jury awarded $28 million to…

Keyless ignition is yet another big convenience added to our vehicles over the last decade or two. No longer having to fumble with a key to start up the car? Sounds great. At Tapalian Law, RI personal injury lawyer David Tapalian is all for the latest and greatest safety technology and convenience features to make…

Falls are the most common reason for emergency room visits in the U.S. each year. This type of accident accounts for 1 million ER visits yearly. A slip and fall can happen anyplace, in a residential setting or a commercial setting. Falls frequently take place at a grocery store, big box store, hotels, and in…

Each year, over 350,000 dog bite victims visit the emergency room. In 2017, 39 people were killed in the United States by dogs. Spring has finally sprung in Rhode Island and we are all happy to get back outdoors after being cooped up all winter. It’s time for the pets to get some fresh air…

Polaris Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of recreational off-road vehicles, has agreed to pay a $27.25 million civil penalty for failing to immediately report to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) defects in its off-road vehicles, also known as off-highway vehicles (OHVs). CPSC determined that the defects could cause an unreasonable risk of…

Rhode Island recently joined the ranks of six other states to ban a particular style of highway guardrail, the Lindsay X-LITE, due to concerns over the barriers crash safety. The X-LITE guardrails are believed by some to cause potential death or personal injury in car accidents by piercing, or impaling, the vehicles that come into…