Law Office of Matthew Vance, P.C., Personal Injury Law Blog

A U.S. Magistrate Judge recently ruled in favor of a plaintiff seeking discovery to aid his prosecution of a personal injury case. The plaintiff had sought to obtain certain information from the defendant Home Depot, including a response to an interrogatory posed to the defendant concerning prior customer claims for injuries that the stores allegedly…

Proposed federal legislation could prevent states including New Mexico from regulating the safety of autonomous vehicles. These vehicles are sometimes referred to as “driverless.” If the proposed federal laws are enacted, they could limit the role of states to registration and licensing of driverless vehicles and oversight over safety inspections, traffic laws and crash investigations.…

In some cases, a person who brings a civil law suit can decide whether to assert claims under state law, federal law, or both. The decision comes with consequences because a defendant may prefer to defend the suit or seek its dismissal in state court under some circumstances, and federal court in others. In a…

Claims are subject to dismissal through summary judgment when a party can establish that there are no genuine issues of material fact with respect to the claims, and the claims cannot succeed as a matter of law. A summary judgment motion can seek the dismissal of a complaint in its entirety or be a partial…

Insurance companies sometimes try to change the forum for lawsuits filed against them or their insureds as part of their litigation strategy. A common strategy is to try to remove a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs against them in state court to federal court and then make a motion to dismiss in order to try to…

New Mexico’s Department of Transportation recently held a summit on autonomous vehicles. The theme was that New Mexico needs to be ready. Semi-autonomous vehicles are operated with a driver behind the wheel. Some semi-autonomous vehicles are already on the roads. Fully autonomous vehicles are anticipated to hit roads in the coming years – cars and…

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico has handed down a ruling denying a motion to dismiss a New Mexico personal injury complaint alleging claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The court rejected the defendant’s contention that a waiver signed by the plaintiff should result in the dismissal of her…

A state court in Albuquerque has ruled that the New Mexico legislature exceeded its constitutional authority in enacting the New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act to the extent that the Act restricts the right of plaintiffs to receive an unaltered jury verdict. The New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act does not limit recoveries for punitive damages, medical…

Courts can rule for or against parties as a matter of law by granting motions for summary judgment. If a motion for summary judgment is granted, absent a reversal on appeal, the issues it decides will not be presented to the trier of fact, which in New Mexico personal injury cases is often a jury.…

Prosecuting a case pro se, in other words on one’s own behalf, can be difficult for a litigant. A pro se plaintiff suing Hershey for an injury he alleged occurred when he bit into a chocolate product that contained a metal item recently sought a stay for a second time. A successful motion to stay…