Wednesday, July 27, 2022

93.1. Kiss FM – Ask A Lawyer – Part 2 – June 23, 2022

Tricia: You’re listening to 93.1, KISS FM.

Mike: “Ask a Lawyer With Michael Gopin” is the feature that we’re doing. It’s our monthly feature. Again, if you’d like us to put a legal question in front of Mr. Gopin next month when he’s back, just tap the free 93.1, KISS FM mobile app, or submit on kisselpaso.com. Look for “Ask a Lawyer” at the top of the page.

Tricia: And we’ve got a question from Timothy Berkshire. Hello, I am a 20-year military vet with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. We used those earplugs during our tour. Can you tell me more about the earplug cases?

Mr. Gopin: Yes. If people had used the earplugs between 2003 and 2015, those are the years and the devices that cause the problems for people. If you had tinnitus, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, all those type of hearing symptoms and problems, you’d be eligible for this case. Time is really of the essence. Now, there’s been many, many trials. They call them Bellwether Trials to determine kind of the range of damages that people have had. And they’re going to start negotiating these cases really soon, and there’s, you know, hundreds of thousands of them. But time is really of the essence. So if you have one, give us a call, we’ll be happy to help and get it in on time.

Mike: And why Bellwether?

Mr. Gopin: Well, Bellwether just means that they pick each side, 3M and the plaintiffs pick a group of cases that they actually go to trial on and get verdicts.

Mike: Oh, because these are class action?

Mr. Gopin: This is the class actions. There’s hundreds of thousands of cases. But the Bellwether means it’s like a trial of a trial. So, you’re just trying to get a idea of what the juries think of these cases. So, there’s been many, many trials and most of them have gone very well for the plaintiff’s side and have been huge verdicts which is really, really good. Doesn’t mean that everybody’s gonna get huge multimillion-dollar settlements, but they kind of get a range of what the cases are worth and they negotiate cases based on that. So, it could be, well, if you had this percentage of hearing loss, you’re going to be able to get this kind of money. If you just had tinnitus, you get X dollars. And then they’re gonna settle them all at the same time, all the hundreds of thousands of cases. And there’s over 200,000.

Mike: Okay. And then is there like a deadline for this?

Mr. Gopin: There’s not a strict deadline, but there’s going to be a point in time where they’re not gonna accept any more cases. The judge in Florida will just say, “That’s it, we’re done.” But that’s coming up really soon.

Mike: Okay. All right. “Ask a Lawyer Michael Gopin.”

Tricia: Theresa Martinez is asking, she’s saying, “Our mother was in a nursing home abuse situation. The staff was mean to her, didn’t change her when she needed to be changed, gave her medication on time and she just recently passed away. Is there anything we can do here, Mr. Gopin?”

Mr. Gopin: I’m really sorry to hear about your mother Theresa. I know how painful that is. It’s my mom’s birthday actually today. So I totally understand how you feel. With regards to the potential case, there’s a lot of questions I have for you. Did you notify the nursing home at all about these problems while your mom was still alive? Did you complain? Did you have anything documented regarding the problems that you were having like she needed to be changed and wasn’t, the medication? All these problems now that your mom isn’t here to discuss them and tell them, we would need some type of documentation to prove that there was nursing home abuse.

I don’t know if you’re claiming by your message here that her death was potentially because of the abuse or not. It may have, it may not be related at all, I have no idea based on what you told us. But those are some of the questions that we need to answer. Yes, you do have a potential case, but the real question here, did you document it? Did you complain before? Or did you, you know, now that things are passed, remembering all the problems and are angry, which I totally understand? So those are some of the things that we would need to look at.

Mike: And it would only be a case if her passing away was related to the mistreatment?

Mr. Gopin: Well, that would be a wrongful death case against the home, but there’s also, you know, just abuse by neglect and things like that that caused her damages along the way, that didn’t cause her death, but caused her suffering and so forth, like not changing her, maybe she had bed sores that were…or diaper rash or things that were documented in her medical records that we could show.

Mike: Is this the type of a case that you take as well?

Mr. Gopin: We don’t typically take these cases. We can certainly find a lawyer who’d be able to help you with the nursing home abuse case.

Mike: Okay.

Mr. Gopin: But those are the things that are important and would be necessary to go forward on one.

Mike: Right. Okay. All right. This brings us to the next question.

Tricia: We have Tanya Montoya, who’s saying, I was in a really bad accident about a year and a half ago, and I’m still paying the medicals from this accident. I didn’t hire an attorney and the insurance company barely gave me anything to cover the medical bills. Can I reopen my case?

Mr. Gopin: Well, Tanya, I’m sorry about your accident. The question is is did you sign a release? That’s the entire question here. It’s not too late if you did not, because it is a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the accident to file a claim. But if you signed a release and they gave you money, you’re out of luck. So that’s the question here.

Mike: And they’re not going to give you money if you don’t huh?

Mr. Gopin: Yeah. Right. If they signed away, it’s over forever, regardless of if you had a lawyer or not. If you signed a release saying that this is it, that’s over. And the insurance company is notorious for running to the scene of the accident and getting you to sign a release for $500. Don’t do it, ask a lawyer first because, you know, once you sign we can’t help you.

Mike: It’s over. Yeah. Okay.

Mr. Gopin: So if you sign Tanya, the case is over. If it’s not, then you do have time, but time is coming here quick, because it’s been a year and a half, so you only have six months left.

Mike: Okay.

Tricia: Nice.

Mike: All right. That brings us to our final, “Ask a Lawyer Question With Michael Gopin.”

Tricia: And this is from Vilma Diaz. “My wife was assaulted at a local bar for being too intoxicated. The bouncers grabbed her, causing her to fall and fracture her right wrist, and she has an elbow strain. We went to the ER and she now has a cast on her arm. The bar is denying anything happened. What can we do?” That’s interesting.

Mr. Gopin: Well, I would definitely need more information from you. I don’t quite understand why they assaulted her. Was she being outrageous, her conduct at the bar? Was she doing things she shouldn’t have been doing, so they tried to restrain her? Was it because of the intoxication? I mean, just because you’re intoxicated, I wouldn’t expect a bouncer her to grab you and throw you to the floor. So we would need to find out all the facts of what’s going on at the bar that day. I don’t know if she was with other people at the bar that we could have some witnesses that can’t afford. Even some video of someone actually taped what was going on. But yeah, if the bouncers did so without provocation and caused her these damages, yes, you could certainly have a case against the bouncers in the bar for what happened. The question is really exactly what happened, why they restrained her, and how she was involved with her conduct here.

Mike: Yeah, in this day and age…

Tricia: There’s videos that…

Mike: Don’t you think?

Tricia: Well, the bars have…

Mike: The cameras too

Tricia: …the camera, but I mean, does the bar have to give them or can they say no, we’re not going to give you the…

Mr. Gopin: Well, they could… Once you file lawsuit, they’re gonna have to turn it over. So in pre-litigation, they don’t have to turn it over if they don’t want to. Of course, if it helps them, you know, they’re gonna want it turn over.

Tricia: Yes, if they see it and they’re like, nothing happened, here you go. That’s true.

Mr. Gopin: So it just depends, but I would gather up some information, see who the witnesses are and we’d be happy to talk to you about the possible case.

Mike: Like I saw one recently on FitFam.

Tricia: That’s why I was like, “Is it this one?”

Mike: Yeah. Where the guy…

Tricia: Carried her out…

Mike: …was carrying her.

Tricia: …and she was kicking her feet back and forth.

Mike: Yeah, but then she was also like falling asleep or something. I don’t know what it was, but it looked really funny. It looked like when you win those giant teddy bears at the carnival.

Tricia: And you’re walking?

Mike: And you’re walking with the giant teddy bear, that’s what it looked like.

Mr. Gopin: The teddy bear was kicking, right?

Mike: Yes.

Tricia: Yes. That’s a live teddy bear.

Mike: That’s what it looked like, it really did. And it looked like she was just standing outside, like she wasn’t in the bar just yet, but she was clearly from the video intoxicated. Yeah. So in a situation like that, you see her, you see that she’s picked up.

Mr. Gopin: Right.

Male Speaker: So, I mean, that would be like when he put her down and she fell, would that be a situation like…?

Mr. Gopin: Well, I mean, it’s a tricky situation, because I mean, the bouncers were doing what they needed to do.

Tricia: Their job.

Mr. Gopin: In this particular case, they needed to remove her from the situation. She was obviously out of hand, kicking, screaming out control. So, if they, you know, the video would tell the story, but if they did so gently, and the real reason that she fell was because of her intoxication, that’s on her.

Tricia: That’s true.

Mr. Gopin: So, it’s just a fact question and something we’d need to discover.

Mike: Yeah. Okay.

Mr. Gopin: But I hope, you know, your wife recovers from those injuries really quickly.

Mike: Yeah. They sound painful, man.

Mr. Gopin: Yeah, no doubt.

Mike: Okay. All right. Well, we thank you again. We appreciate your coming here…

Mr. Gopin: Well, you’re welcome, buddy, nice to be here.

Mike: …and giving us your legal expertise. So he’s gonna be back next month at the end of the month, “Ask a Lawyer With Michael Gopin.” If you have a legal question that you would like him to look into and answer, again, go to the free 93.1, KISS FM mobile app, or go to kisselpaso.com. Look for “Ask Michael Gopin” at the top of the page and submit your question there. Mr. Gopin, thank you again.

Mr. Gopin: Thank you very much, guys.

Mike: Have a wonderful day.

Mr. Gopin: You too.

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93.1. Kiss FM – Ask A Lawyer – Part 1 – June 23, 2022

Female Speaker 1: You’re listening to 93.1 Kiss FM.

Steve: “Ask A Lawyer” on 93.1 Kiss FM, that lawyer being Michael Gopin. You sent in your questions. We have the man with the answers. Hello, Mr. Gopin.

Michael: Good morning. How are you?

Steve: We are doing fine. You look good yourself.

Michael: Well, thank you very much.

Steve: You look well rested for us, right?

Michael: [inaudible 00:00:22]

Steve: Right. Haven’t the last couple of days just been so amazing?

Michael: They’ve been awesome. They’re great temperatures.

Iris: Nice and cloudy.

Steve: Yeah. Yeah. I understand the other day, the 80-degree day was like a record.

Iris: A record.

Steve: The coolest it’s been this time of the year.

Michael: Oh, it was unbelievably nice.

Steve: Yeah.

Iris: It was nice.

Steve: But yeah, no, that’s all going to change and it’s going to be pretty much back to normal. All right. So we have a whole list of questions. Iris has taken over the question asking duties.

Iris: I’m going to try and be as like as, how Steve would do it with a motion. So I’m going to try. I’m going to try. So, Steve, this one’s for you.

Steve: Okay.

Iris: All right.

Steve: Here we go. With the first question.

Iris: All right. So we have Martha Jimenez who’s asking, “I have a few questions regarding the new knee replacement commercials I recently saw. I’ve had several knee replacement issues and two were because of infection. Does this qualify me for this case?”

Michael: Hi, Martha, I’m sorry to hear about your knee replacements or replacement, but no, the infection itself wouldn’t be a cause for a case. The cases that we’re talking about are if you had the implant Exactech. Now, those aren’t the only type of implants that they have for knees and ankles and so forth and hips. But if you had the Exactech implant, those were recalled by the FDA. And the reason was because they were improperly packaged. They didn’t have the necessary vacuum technology that’s meant to preserve the material so the implants deteriorate quicker and cause problems. So the FDA took those off the market. You can’t have them anymore. But if you had issues and problems and a possible revision, it may have been an Exactech implant. And if it is that’s when we can help.

Steve: Okay. So if the infection was caused by that specific brand?

Michael: Right. But it most likely would not be, because infection is right at the time of surgery. And we’re talking about down the road after you’ve had it because it deteriorates over time. So the infection is something that’s pretty much a common thing or can be a normal repercussion of the surgery. So I don’t think that that’s going to be related at all to her particular issue.

Steve: Yeah. That’s one of the things you sign away on.

Michael: True.

Steve: Right.

Michael: Infection is a possible consequence, yeah.

Steve: Yeah. Okay. All right. “Ask A Lawyer” with Michael Gopin.

Iris: Next question is from Robert Castro. Hello. What do you suggest we do for a hit and run? I was recently in an accident and the driver just took off.

Michael: Well, there’s a couple questions I have for you, Robert. Do you know what type of car? Do you have the license plate number of this vehicle? If you do, it can be tracked, and you can find out who this person was and if they have coverage, and so forth. If they just took off, you have no information, you could possibly go to neighbors or stores nearby that possibly had a video of the accident. It’s possible sometimes if you’re in a major intersection that could happen, you could find the license plate that way. Perhaps there are witnesses who stopped, maybe they have the license plate. If all those fails and you have no information on this driver, the only possible thing that you can do is file an uninsured motorist claim. We’ve talked about that here before. It’s really important coverage to have. So look on your auto policy. If you have coverage that protects you, it only protects you and your family. So it’s really highly recommended that you get this coverage. If you have it, you can have a claim against your own company. They can’t hold it against you also. But it would be able to recover for uninsured damage.

Steve: Yeah. That happened to my son a couple of years ago.

Michael: Sure. It’s very common.

Steve: Yeah. A hit and run from behind and yeah, we did have the uninsured underinsured.

Michael: So you were lucky.

Steve: Yeah. Yeah. So they took care of it.

Michael: Yeah. That’s the answer if you can’t find any information, Robert.

Steve: Okay. It’s “Ask A Lawyer’ with Michael Gopin.

Iris: The next question is for Monica Michaels. I collided with another vehicle on my way home from work because of all the rain, it made it difficult to see. The other driver was at fault for the accident, but now the insurance is trying to say that I am liable also, since I mentioned that I couldn’t see very well. Can they do this?

Michael: Well, they’re going to try to do everything they can to blame you partially or all for the accident. So yes, they can do this. I don’t know the facts of the accident from your description. But they’re certainly going to try to hold you comparatively negligent. It’s always best not to give a statement to the insurance company because they’re going to only try to trick you and trap you and gather information that you may not realize is going to be harmful for your case. I would recommend talking to us or another attorney here in town because those facts can be argued. The insurance company doesn’t get to determine all by themselves what the liability is, whether it be 20% of you at fault or 50% or whatever they decide, it’s arbitrary, and certainly, it can be argued the other way.

Steve: So like, even now?

Michael: Even now.

Steve: Even though he’s already made the statement?

Michael: Right. Well, just because she can’t see that well, we could argue back, well, of course, she couldn’t see that well, it was raining hard. So there’s an explanation of why, so it’s logical that she couldn’t see that well. But this just gives them a little ammunition to [inaudible 00:05:33] to it.

Steve: Sure. Sure. And so what about like, on the time of the accident and let’s say the cops show up, do you tell them anything?

Michael: I would keep it very simple. Certainly, you’re going to be cooperative and answer questions about how the accident happened, but do not admit fault. Do not admit that you were …

Steve: You were on the phone …

Michael: Exactly.

Steve: … and couldn’t see.

Michael: Anything that could be detrimental to your case, is not a good thing to…

Steve: Somebody distracted you.

Michael: You don’t have to give those statements. So don’t.

Steve: Yeah. So you don’t say, “Oh, Mike and Iris were so funny. I couldn’t stop laughing.”

Michael: Right. I was eating a sandwich and turned around.”

Steve: In tears because they were so funny.

Michael: Yes. I was listening to Mike on the radio and he made a joke.

Steve: You don’t say that kind of stuff.

Michael: That was distracting.

Steve: That’s not the kind of stuff you say. Okay. Just checking.

Michael: Good. Although you might want to say, “Yeah, those guys are funny, but don’t say…”

Steve: That you could say.

Iris: Yeah, but we’re not at …

Steve: I was laughing so hard, I couldn’t see the guy in front of me.

Iris: Don’t blame us, However, we are funny.

Michael: Don’t blame Mike and us.

Steve: All right. But even though, even post, you can still, you see a lawyer about this and they can try to help you out?

Michael: Oh, for sure.

Steve: Okay. All right. We’re doing “Ask A Lawyer” with Michael Gopin. We’re onto the fourth question now.

Iris: All right. This one is from Diana [inaudible 00:06:45]. My husband took out a truck under his name for a friend and the friend took over the payments. The friend … I know, right. The friend ended up getting out of the army and moving away from El Paso. Now, recently, my husband noticed that the friend stopped making the payments, which was making his credit score lower, and my husband having to pay for this truck. We reached out to the friend and he informed us that he stopped paying the truck since it’s no longer working. We want to return the truck and get the payments out of our hands, but the friend doesn’t want to give us any information as to where the truck is or what happened to it. Nothing. Can you please help?

Michael: Well, I’m sorry about your situation, Diana. It’s a difficult one. It’s always the risk that you take when you co-sign on a loan.

Steve: This wasn’t even a co-sign. I think he took on the truck on his own.

Michael: Oh, that’s right. Correct. Yeah, you’re right. So he has title to the car. So there’s a couple things that he can do. You want to see if your friend will cooperate and let you get the vehicle if possible. It doesn’t mean that you can just turn it in and be done with the payments either, because there’s a consequence there if the vehicle’s worth less than what’s owed in the vehicle, you’re out of luck on that. So here’s what you need to do. First, you need to contact your friend and tell him, you just need to pick up the truck. Be as nice as possible because being threatening and mean to him, isn’t going to probably work because he’s…

Steve: It doesn’t even seem like them being nice is working either.

Michael: Right. And it may not. So you would need to try to locate this guy. You can maybe get one of those services, and try to find him, find out where he is. If you have the VIN number of the vehicle, you could try to locate the vehicle that way. It may be gone in for service somewhere. It may have been in a wreck. There’s all sorts of things that could have happened, which may be found with the VIN number. If all those fail, you could call the police, tell them that your car was stolen. Maybe they can get information if it’s reported or found it’ll pop up. If you know where his family is or other friends of his who you could try to detective and find out where he may be, that may be good. The army may know where he was since he retired from the army.

Iris: Yeah, that’s true.

Steve: What a hassle.

Mike: Whatever, those are all ways, it’s just a horrible situation and …

Steve: Yeah. You don’t need those kinds of friends in your life.

Michael: Those are not friends.

Steve: No, not at all.

Michael: So I’m really … It’s really a difficult situation, but because you’re on the title and even if you just co-signed, it’s the same situation. You’re just in trouble.

Steve: Yeah.

Michael: Really liable.

Steve: Oh, that’s tough. That’s bad. So sorry to hear that. “Ask A Lawyer with Michael Gopin.” We do this monthly. So if there’s a legal question that you would like us to put in front of Mr. Gopin next month, you can either send it to us via the free 93.1 Kiss mobile app, or you can go to kisselpaso.com and look for “Ask A Lawyer” at the top of the page, the Must Read bar. We’ll be right back with more Michael Gopin on 93.1 Kiss FM.

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