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In May of 1973, America was fixated on the Senate Watergate hearings. I will forever remember Senator Howard Baker’s frequent question, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” Allegedly, he was given the question by none other than Fred Thompson, the future actor, Senator, and Presidential candidate.
This question has great applicability to personal injury cases, especially those involving accidents on the premises of a defendant. If a dangerous condition exists, you want your lawyer to probe how long it existed, whether the defendant had actual knowledge of its existence, and at what point the defendant acquired that knowledge. There is an element in a personal injury case that permits liability if the defendant did not have actual knowledge but should have had knowledge of a dangerous condition. This is known as constructive knowledge and can create liability even if there is not actual knowledge. The point of the Howard Baker question is, at what point did the defendant learn of the dangerous condition or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have learned of the existence of a dangerous condition. As a result, your lawyer could do worse than ask, “What did the defendant know and when did he know it?” There are some technical observers who might be disturbed that that is a compound question. If so, it can easily be broken into two parts without sacrificing its use.
Feinberg & Alban, P.C. fervently protects your rights
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Colleen is a Wonderful lawyer and communicated with us throughout the whole process and answered emails and phone calls in a timely manner. We highly recommend this law firm and Colleen Santora!
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Perry Feinberg represented me in a personal injury case. He was always accessible and very clear in his communications. I was very upset when the process commenced because thinking about the accident upset me greatly, but Perry was extremely patient ...
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Colleen Santora Has been amazing throughout this whole process. I am 100% satisfied with how she has been there and represented me.
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I worked with Perry Feinberg, as my personal injury attorney for an auto accident, Perry was very responsive, and available to answer all my questions. They are good at communicating with you and keep you informed. I’m finally able to put this acc...
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