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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.
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5.0/5.0I just wanted to drop a quick note to say thank you to Santora Colleen for securing such a great outcome on my wife case. We really appreciate all your hard work, the way you handled the negotiations, and how you kept us informed every step of the wa...
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Colleen has been incredibly thoughtful, supportive, and professional throughout every step of our case. She guided us carefully through the process, always taking the time to answer our questions and ensure we understood our options. She consistently...
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I had the pleasure of working with Attorney Colleen Santora after I was involved in a car accident. She was very attentive, professional, and courteous throughout our entire case involvement. I appreciate everything she did to help me. She is wonderf...
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I was in a terrible car accident. I was referred to Colleen by a friend. She is amazing! Answered my every call, text and fought for me. Being a hairdresser for 40yrs it was horrible trying to cut hair with a broken hand, but in the end Colleen got m...
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Colleen Santora is an outstanding attorney. I reached out to her after I was hit by a car as a pedestrian and she walked me through every step of the process with clarity and patience. She’s a fantastic communicator, extremely responsive and alway...
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