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April

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2023
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April

How Will AI Transform the Practice of Personal Injury Law?

Written By Christopher Dolan and Cioffi Remmer

This week’s question comes from Robert in Oakland, CA, who asks: How will AI and the ChatGPT app impact the practice of personal injury law?

Dear Robert,

The public’s interest in Artificial Intelligence has surged recently with the introduction of “ChatGPT,” OpenAI’s Artificial Intelligence application. On ChatGPT, you can prompt the AI program to write essays, articles, speeches, book reports, answer questions, and even write software code.  To answer your question, I asked ChatGPT to write an article on AI’s impact on practicing personal injury law in the next five, ten, and 20 years.  Here’s what ChatGPT wrote:

“Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various industries, and the legal industry is no exception. AI-powered applications like ChatGPT have the potential to revolutionize the practice of personal injury law in the coming years. In this article, we will explore the impact of AI on personal injury law over the next five, ten, and 20 years.

Personal injury law involves cases in which a person is injured due to the negligence of another party. Such cases can be complex and time-consuming, requiring extensive research and analysis of legal precedents and statutes. This is where AI-powered applications like ChatGPT can be particularly useful.

In the next five years, AI-powered legal research tools will become increasingly common. These tools can quickly and accurately analyze large volumes of legal data, including court opinions, statutes, and regulations. This will allow lawyers to conduct legal research more efficiently and effectively, saving time and money for their clients.

Furthermore, AI-powered applications can assist lawyers in predicting case outcomes and settlement values. By analyzing data from past cases and considering various factors, AI algorithms can provide insights into the potential outcomes of a case. This can help lawyers to make better-informed decisions and advise their clients accordingly.

In the next ten years, we can expect to see AI-powered applications being used to streamline the litigation process. For example, AI algorithms can analyze medical records and other evidence to help lawyers build stronger cases. This can reduce the need for expensive expert witnesses and simplify the discovery process.

Moreover, AI-powered applications can assist lawyers in drafting legal documents, such as pleadings and motions. These applications can analyze past cases and legal precedents to generate documents that are tailored to the specific needs of a particular case. This can save lawyers a significant amount of time and improve the quality of their work.

In the next 20 years, AI-powered applications may even be able to assist with settlement negotiations and courtroom arguments. For example, AI algorithms could analyze the personalities and behavior of judges and opposing counsel to predict their responses to certain arguments. This could help lawyers to craft more persuasive arguments and negotiate more favorable settlements for their clients.

However, as with any technological advancement, there are also potential drawbacks to the increasing use of AI in personal injury law. One concern is the potential for bias in AI algorithms. If these algorithms are trained on biased data, they may perpetuate existing inequalities and injustices in the legal system. Moreover, the use of AI may raise ethical concerns around the role of lawyers and the potential de-skilling of certain legal tasks.

In conclusion, AI-powered applications like ChatGPT have the potential to significantly impact the practice of personal injury law in the coming years. While there are potential risks and challenges associated with the increasing use of AI in the legal industry, there are also significant benefits to be gained. As AI continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative applications being developed to assist lawyers in their work.”

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The PG&E Safety Net Program: What You Need to Know

Written By Chris Dolan and Nicolette Rae Bencito

This week’s question comes from Frederic from San Francisco, CA who asks: My neighbors and I last had power for three days! We rely on PG&E, but they are still making repairs to the power pole that was damaged in the recent storms. What is a reasonable time for them to fix the problem? Can my neighbors and I seek compensation?

Dear Frederic,

Thank you for your question. It can be incredibly frustrating to be without power for this long, and we hope PG&E can make the necessary repairs soon. PG&E can generally be held responsible for damages that result from their serious misconduct or “gross negligence.” Suppose any person, business, or property is damaged because PG&E does something unreasonable or fails to do something they should have been done. In that case, PG&E must reimburse the injured party for reasonable damages. 

However, holding PG&E liable for any damages resulting from forces beyond their control would be difficult. These forces include power outages or voltage fluctuations caused by weather conditions like lightning, floods, heavy storms, extreme heat, and strong winds. While it would be challenging to hold PG&E liable for the initial outages that occurred due to the storm, PG&E is responsible for making repairs as soon as it is safe. Any unreasonable delays to making the necessary repairs to restore power could be considered “gross negligence” that would cause PG&E to face impending legal action from the city or other injured parties.

If you are experiencing an outage due to severe storm conditions, you may be eligible for automatic payments through PG&E’s Safety Net Program. The PG&E Safety Net Program compensates residential customers who lose power for at least 48 due to severe storm conditions. This program makes payments in increments of $25, based on the length of a customer’s outage:

  • 48-72 hours: $25
  • 72-96 hours: $50
  • 96-120 hours: $75
  • 120 hours or more: $100

Payments are generally issued 45 to 60 days following the storm outage.

If you experience an outage for any other reason, you may be eligible for compensation under PG&E’s Service Guarantees. According to PG&E’s Service Guarantee #7:

“PG&E will restore electric service within 24 hours, unless the cause is absolutely beyond our control, or we will automatically credit your account $30 for each 24-hour period you are without service.”

It is important to note that compensation under the Service Guarantees does not apply when planned service interruptions, serious emergencies, or storm conditions cause outages. 

Additionally, if you experience any other losses that you believe PG&E may have caused, you can always file a claim for reimbursement. You can file a claim against PG&E in three ways:

  1. through PG&E’s claims service,
  2. through your insurance, or
  3. through court action.

To submit a claim for compensation through PG&E directly, you can process your claim on an online form through PG&E’s Claims. Filing online is typically the fastest way to process a claim through PG&E, but you can also file through email, fax, or U.S. Mail. The following list serves as a guideline for photos and documentation that may be helpful to support your claim:

  • For Property Damage: Detailed repair estimates and invoices or purchase records.
  • For Personal Injury: Copy of medical records and receipts.
  • For Lost Wages: The amount of time you could not work due to personal injury, verification of lost time from your employer, and payroll stubs showing your hourly or daily pay rate.
  • For Lost Revenues: Tax records and bank statements, payroll records, revenue and expense statements, and sales receipts.
  • For Miscellaneous Losses: Hotel, restaurant, and car rental receipts.
  • For Food Spoilage: An itemized list of the costs and type of spoiled perishable food, with receipts or other documentation.

If you choose to file a claim through your own insurance company, your insurer may be able to reimburse you for your losses without an investigation. Your insurer may even pay you the replacement value for damaged items. Each insurance company has its own claims process, so contact your insurer for more information.

If you file a claim through PG&E or your insurance company, you still reserve the option to file a court action at any time during the claims process, even if PG&E or your insurance company deny your initial claim. If the value of your claim does not exceed $10,000, you can file a small claims action that does not require an attorney. Whether or not you pursue this route, we recommend seeking legal advice and working with an experienced personal injury lawyer to resolve the issue.

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Beware Of Defective Eye Drops

Written By Chris Dolan and Nancy Villatoro

This week’s question comes from Calvin from Hayward, CA, who asks: News reports have talked about defective eye drops, and they mentioned that the FDA had recalled many eye drop brands. Can you discuss why this is happening and what people can do if they are injured by them? 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state and local health departments are investigating a multistate outbreak of an extensively drug-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. According to the CDC, this bacterial outbreak has been associated with multiple eye infections nationwide. So far, this bacterial outbreak has affected 68 patients in 16 states, including patients in California. Thus far, the most severe cases include three deaths, eight people experiencing vision loss, and four undergoing enucleation, surgical eyeball removal.

Most patients affected by this bacterium have reported using artificial tears, more commonly known as eye drops. The FDA has issued a recall on three eye drop brands. The FDA and the CDC recommend that people stop using the products they have recalled. Some side effects to be vigilant for include:

  • Yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye
  • Eye pain or discomfort
  • Redness of the eye or eyelid
  • Feeling of something in your eye (foreign body sensation
  • Increased sensitivity to light
  • Blurry vision

Use the following websites to determine if your product has been recalled: FDA.gov, CPSC.gov, Recalls.gov, NHTSA.gov, FSIS.USDA.gov, and Foodsafety.gov. If you believe you have purchased and used an unsafe or mislabeled product, you may report the product to FoodSafety.gov. 

If you or a loved one have sustained an injury due to eye drops, you may be entitled to compensation under a claim of products liability. However, thoroughly understanding the legal components and requirements involving a defective product and presenting a solid case is crucial.

To build a solid products liability claim, you must ultimately do the following:

  1. Show the product was defective. 
  2. Prove liability.
  3. Prove that the defective or dangerous product resulted in your personal injury. 

Types of Product Defects 

Products liability claims generally fall into three categories:

  • Design Defect. A design defect claim argues that a product’s design is inherently dangerous or defective. This claim does not suggest that an error occurred during the manufacturing process of a product but that an entire line of products is dangerous or bound to be defective, as all products in a certain line utilize the same design. Some design defect examples include a vehicle tire that blows out at certain speeds or a clothes dryer that becomes too hot and starts a fire. In California, two tests are used to determine liability: the risk/benefit test, and the consumer expectations test.
  • Manufacturing Defect. A manufacturing defect claim arises when a product becomes flawed due to an error in manufacturing, which is then unlike the standard, other items of the product line, and subsequently causes injury. Therefore, although the product line’s design is safe, the manufacturing of a particular product varied from the specifications, resulting in a malfunction. An example is when a seatbelt is accidentally left out of a vehicle during manufacturing or a product becomes contaminated while it is being sealed.
  • Lack of Adequate Warnings or Instructions.  This claim results from a product failing to provide enough instructions regarding proper usage or warnings. An example is when a medication lacks warnings about specific drug interactions or lists possible side effects.

Proving Liability 

To prove liability in a defective product claim, you need to prove that the product was being used as intended, the product was defective, you were injured or suffered harm, and that harm was caused due to the defect. For this, evidence is key.

Evidence includes the defective product, photos and videos documenting the injuries, the defect, or even the incident, medical bills, accident reports, witness statements, insurance documents, emails, marketing materials, or memos showing the manufacturer knew of the defect.

Possible Defenses

In California, a manufacturer may have defenses to defend against fault. First, the product was misused or modified in a way that was not reasonably foreseeable, and that misuse or modification was the sole cause of the injuries. Second, the user is a “sophisticated user,” meaning that because of experience, knowledge, or skill, the user knew or should have known that the product was dangerous.

Damages 

The compensation you may receive in a product liability case varies depending on the misconduct’s type, severity, and ramifications. Specifically, in claims involving products, generally, the damages have to be primarily due to the costs of the litigation. Furthermore, it is important that if you are the victim of a defective, unsafe, or dangerous product, you keep the product to prove it was the one that caused your loss.

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