With a background as a paralegal, focusing on criminal defense and civil rights, Sandra Dalton launched her freelance writing career in 2000 with a weekly column on Freedom for Suite 101 and pro bono projects for individuals and organizations supporting causes close to her heart. One of her first projects was for the Police Compliant Center writing about police misconduct. Sandra’s legal writing quickly expanded to include personal injury, animal welfare, criminal defense, disability discrimination, family law and much more.

There Are No Accidents, Just Bad Decisions

We use the term “accident” when referring to car wrecks and other collisions, because most of them are unintentional. But there’s a big problem with that. It’s just too easy to slide from unintentional to unavoidable, in our minds. And that makes it far too easy to overlook the bad decisions that lead to these […]

Dry Drowning is Real – What You Need to Know to Protect Your Child

On Saturday, June 4, 2017, a 4-year-old boy in Harris County, Texas, died from “dry drowning”. Nearly a week had passed since Frankie had gone swimming. The only symptoms he displayed in the days before he suddenly stopped breathing were gastrointestinal. Until that moment, his parents thought he had a stomach bug. After efforts to […]

Will I Lose My Personal Injury Case Because I Have a Criminal Record?

If you are completely honest and up-front with your attorney from the very beginning, your criminal record should not cost you your case. Your lawyers need to know so they can prepare a strategy to deal with it, because it will come out at some point. If your attorney doesn’t know and gets blindsided with […]

Kids Cause Distracted Driving Accidents

We hear a lot of distracted driving these days. Most of what we hear is about drivers texting or posting to social media while they drive. So it might surprise you to hear that one of the worst distractions, today, is also one of the oldest. Having children in the car is 12 times more […]

Can I Sue for Wrongful Death if My Partner and I Were Not Married?

Wrongful death laws are different in each state, but no state allows for wrongful death claims brought by a girlfriend or boyfriend. You must be a family member in the eyes of the law. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you had to be formally married to have spousal rights. And, even if you do not […]

Who’s at Fault in Lane Change Accidents?

In lane change and merging accidents, some say that the driver who was changing lanes or merging is always at fault. But, determining liability in lane change accidents is not that simple. Proving what really happened and who was to blame can be very difficult. You need the help of a highly skilled car accident […]

Memorial Day Accidents – You Need a Local Lawyer

When it comes to car crashes, Memorial Day weekend is the deadliest weekend of the year, according to ValuePenguine, averaging 312 fatal accidents per year. That means that the number of injury accidents are much higher. If you are injured in an accident while travelling, for Memorial Day or any other summer holiday, you need […]

What Does “Pain and Suffering” Really Mean?

The type of pain and suffering you experience depends on the nature and severity of your injuries and how they affect your life. Examples of pain and suffering include: Physical pain caused by your injuries Depression Anxiety Fear Anger Humiliation Mood swings Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Loss of appetite Sleep disorders Sexual dysfunction Loss of […]

What a Life Care Plan Does for You

Your life care plan is used to show the jury what your needs will be, as a result of your injuries, and what it will cost for the rest of your life or as long as your injuries are expected to affect you. It is comprehensive, including your future medical care, rehabilitation, medications, and much […]