Appeals to our state's court of appeals and supreme court afford an opportunity on behalf of our clients to make new laws and fix old laws that have become outdated or proven unfair or unsafe for our community. In fact, we have been known to take cases that many would deem losing cases in order to correct what we view as unjust laws.
The attorneys of McGinn, Montoya, Love & Curry. P.A. are national leaders in personal injury and consumer protection law. We will be glad to speak with you regarding a possible claim. Contact us today at 505-633-8796 or email us directly to request a free consultation.
Delgado V. Phelps Dodge, 131 N.M. 272, 34 P.3d 1148 (2001).
Our client's husband, Reynaldo "Junior" Delgado, was burned alive after he was ordered by his employer to drive a flammable vehicle into a pool of molten slag to retrieve a ladle of the same substance. This task was completely unnecessary. The ladle could have been removed safely and without risk to human life if the company had simply been willing to shut down production for a few hours.
This case dramatically changed the law in New Mexico after we took it all the way to the New Mexico Supreme Court. As a result, workers can now hold their employers responsible outside the Workers' Compensation Act when the employer intentionally, willfully or with utter disregard for the circumstances requires them to do something that may get them seriously injured or killed. As the supreme court said in its written decision, this change in the law will hopefully make dangerous workplaces safer for working men and women by making employers responsible for their actions.
Enriquez V. Cochran And Boy Scouts Of America, 126 N.M. 196 (Ct. App. 1998).
Rather than hire professionals to do dangerous work, the Boy Scouts of America asked volunteers, with no logging experience, to cut down a 60-feet tree. A wonderful father and husband was severely brain damaged when the top 20 feet of the tree fell backward into what he had mistakenly believed was the "safe zone." After a verdict in favor of Mr. Enriquez, the New Mexico Court of Appeals held that organizations that ask people to engage in inherently dangerous activities like cutting down large, dead trees are responsible for making sure it is done safely and providing appropriate safety equipment.
State Of New Mexico V. Nunez, 129 N.M. 63, 2 P.3d 264 (1999).
MMLC worked in conjunction with the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the lawyers representing the accused citizens as amicus curiae to write a "friend of the court" brief. We were successful in encouraging the New Mexico Supreme Court to interpret the New Mexico Constitution as granting broader double jeopardy protection than the double jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
McGinn, Montoya, Love & Curry. P.A., serves clients across New Mexico.