Hollywood’s Coyote Ugly is the movie that made bar dancing with beautiful young ladies famous – and a restaurant chain in Nashville, Tenn. by the same name also gained fame when the film was released back in 2000. The restaurant continues to glamorize the scene by asking young ladies if they would like to dance on the bar.

But according to an article in The Tennessean, dancing on the bar recently went a little too far when Brittany Barnes – a young college student – fell off and hit her head. She suffered brain injuries from the incident.

The night the incident occurred, Barnes was visiting her friends in Nashville. They had dinner and decided to hit the downtown bars. When they went into the Coyote Ugly, the bar staff invited them to dance on the bar, which is when she slipped and fell.

She is suing the Tennessee company for $500,000 – claiming the bar was negligent. She claimed due to the wet conditions on the bar- she fell back onto the floor and hit her head. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and treated for her injuries. Due to the head injuries, Barnes claims she lost her sense of smell.

In the lawsuit, Barnes also states that the bar employees could have done more to prevent the accident since the bar was wet. It should have been dry if they were inviting people to dance on it.

According to the Tennessean, Barnes’ personal injury attorney Rob Shelton stated the establishment has a “duty under Tennessee law to provide a safe place for their patrons.” He continued to state that Barnes may have had a few drinks but she was not intoxicated.

Coyote Ugly claims the employees were not negligent in this case and that Barnes should have exorcised caution when climbing up on the bar to dance. The company had no further comments.

Signs are now posted at the bar that state: “Attention Ladies, dance on the bar at your own risk.” There are also signs posted at the entry way to provide fair warning to any patrons who decide to climb on the bar and dance.

Hopefully the signage will help make Coyote Ugly a safer environment, and this one incident won’t cause the bar to break its bar-dancing tradition forever.

According to a Detroit Free Press article, a member of the Highland Park School Board filed a lawsuit last Thursday because the board allegedly violated Michigan’s Open Meeting Act by using a telephone vote at a recent board meeting, and misrepresented some of the members’ votes.

The current board president has requested that the board fund her $150 cell phone bill - and via a phone vote, the board allegedly agreed to do so - and they even decided to post-date it so she received a $5,700.00 check to reimburse her for all her cell phone bills throughout her term to date.

The board member who has filed the lawsuit is a former board president whose cell phone bill was also paid by the board - however he claims he had to provide a receipt or bill for the amount he was paid every month. He alleges that the current president does not have the same requirement, and therefore should not receive the stipend for the post-dated months.

Megan Mullally - known for her role as Karen, the overbearing friend on the popular TV show Will and Grace - was in a car accident last week that left her with minor injuries, according to TMZ.com.

The actress was forced to cancel two theatrical performances as a result of the accident. She is currently performing in her play “The Receptionist” in Los Angeles.

Mullally was back on stage donning a wrist brace just four days after the two-car accident in Beverly Hills.

As of yet, no injury lawsuits have been filed, and according to TMZ.com, no party has been determined ‘at fault’ for the accident.

Chicago resident Michael Cordell Payne died at the scene according to the Cook County Medical Examiner, when a Chicago Transit Authority bus struck him on the city’s south side.

According to Chicago’s WBBM News Radio 780, Payne, 51, was hit by a No. 14 Jeffrey Ave. bus heading north. Payne was neither boarding or exiting the bus, and the bus driver was very shaken-up after the accident.

Witnesses of the accident say conflicting things, and an autopsy will be performed to help determine any possibility of foul play. The bus was in service and had passengers on board - but no one on board was injured.

At this point, there are no injury lawsuits. No further information is currently available.

Almost everyone flies at some point these days, and in our modern, fast-paced society, travelers wish to arrive at destinations the quickest way possible.

Some may have fears about planes crashing - but even the experience of a bumpy ride can be disconcerting.

According to a Washington Post report, in the past year, there have been eight incidents in which passengers suffered serious injuries from turbulence, and 42 incidents where minor injuries have occurred from rough rides in the air.

The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) reports that turbulence is the leading cause of injuries to both passengers and airline staff. For some it has caused severe injuries and there are even reports of death.

One Florida woman found out the dangers of turbulence on her flight back to Tampa, Fla. Jeanne Holton Carufel was using the restroom on a United Airlines flight when she heard the announcement to stay in your seats and to buckle the seat belts as the flight was experiencing turbulence. But unfortunately she did not arrive to her seat in time and suffered injuries to her head and back.

According to the Washington Post Holten Carufel said she “couldn’t’ get back to her seat fast enough. The plane took a big dive and she hit the roof of the plane and fell back to the ground.”

The paramedics arrived at the airport at 9:30 p.m. when the plane landed, and Holten Carufel was taken to the Reston Hospital Center where she was treated for her head and back injuries. She was never actually admitted to the hospital for these injuries, and was set to fly home a couple days after the incident.

The New York Times reports that most turbulence-related injuries occur when people are not seated with their seatbelts securely fastened. In most cases flight attendants advise fliers to remain seated during the flight especially if turbulence occurs, but they do not force anyone to take a seat.

United Airlines did confirm there was turbulence but will not release any other information about the flight. There is no information as to whether any personal injury lawsuits have been filed or even if they could be - since sufficient warnings are issued by the airlines when turbulence occurs.

Fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy hockey - fantasy sports. Millions of Americans join fantasy sport leagues every season - drafting players from the pros to hype up their teams. So what happens when one of your virtual team members gets hurt in real life? He’s benched, and your team suffers.

Chew on this: How about insurance for your virtual players? This idea is being explored by some attorneys and insurance companies. FSI, or fantasy sports insurance, is a growing trend in the fantasy sports world.

It’s a product that joins several others specifically geared at the $800 million industry of fantasy sports, according to CNN.

Other organizations profiting from the Fantasy Sports craze include LeagueSafe, a company that stores entry fees in a bank until a payout issued at the end of the season; trophy companies; and fantasy dispute resolution, which allows participants to have disagreements regarding leagues settled by an actual lawyer.

Fantasy sports insurance is still relatively new to the industry, but some injury lawyers are already getting involved. For the full story, visit CNN’s fantasy sports insurance story.

Last year, the New York Times published 15 articles on devastating results of repeated concussions related to athletics.  The cases included high school kids, college students and professional athletes. Almost all the concussed athletes returned to the field after the first blow to the head, but after a second or third time, most were no longer able to play.

Many different types of athletes are susceptible to head injuries, including participants in the following sports:

• Football
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Lacrosse
• Boxing
• Wrestling

All athletes should be aware of how to protect themselves if hit in the head not just once, but in some cases several times.

According to the New York Times report, studies have shown that it takes female athletes longer to recover from head injuries then it does male athletes; and younger athlete takes longer to recover then the older ones because they are more vulnerable to brain damage.

Most of these injuries could have been prevented if everyone involved in the sports recognized and knew about the symptoms of concussions. They could take the proper steps ensuring that the athletes’ brains were allowed to fully heal.

Symptoms of concussions can include headaches, sleepiness, short attention span, memory loss, mood swings, and personality changes. Other symptoms of concussions may include blurred visions, nausea, dizziness, sensitivity to noise and light.

Repeated concussions could cause long lasting and sometimes permanent effects. Sometimes the results even led to death.

In America last year, at least four students died from head injuries, the New York Times reported. They suffered from what is called second-impact syndrome, which impairs brain activity when a person receives another hit to the head before the brain has fully recovered from a prior concussion.

According to Dr. Cantu, a clinical professor at Boston University School of Medicine, anyone responsible for an athlete’s well-being and physical health should use the 25-item graded system checklist to determine the seriousness of the concussion. This may prevent repeat concussions and protect the athlete from any further damage.

For younger athletes who suffer a severe blow to the head, it’s advised they don’t be placed back into the game.  Their brains are more vulnerable to damage and need to be protected. Even if the player appears to be fine after a twenty minute period, they should still stay put on the bench.

If they suffer a repeat concussion, then it might be best to let them rest for a week or so longer.

Dt. Cantu also stressed the importance of allowing an injured brain to rest. If this time is not allowed than the symptoms can worsen, prolonging recovery and causing permanent damages. This occurs when the brain cells die because there has not been enough time for them to recover.

Special helmets have been developed to track the intensity of hit and relay it back through wireless signals to computers on the sidelines. This alerts coaches to possible concussions and allows them to look out for their players. In many cases, players might not want to tell their coaches that they are hurt, so they can remain in the game.

Everyone involved should learn the consequences and damages caused by severe hits to the head to prevent and protect all athletes from any further personal injuries.

Laser hair removal has become a popular cosmetic procedure - and it’s admittedly painful - but that’s just part of the procedure, right?

Not for all patients. Filing personal injury lawsuits against spas that perform laser hair removal is not that out of the ordinary. According to a report from News Inferno, regulations at the facilities that handle the procedures are not incredibly strict, which could lead to a plethora of lawsuits in the future.

The procedures can burn and scar patients - causing sometimes severe injuries - and that is what is sparking the lawsuits. The spas need to make sure all the risks are made known to patients, and require a signature - if that isn’t already required.

Toyota is facing a class action lawsuit for illegally hiding evidence from car accidents across the country.

The automaker giant has been accused of concealing and destroying evidence that should have been provided to consumers filing personal injury lawsuits against the company, according to a CBS report.

The class action lawsuit wants to reopen cases either won or settled by Toyota, in order to get the plaintiffs in the cases what they might actually deserve.

Toyota’s company lawyers have allegedly not yet had time to review the class action complaint - so as of right now no action is being taken by the car company.

According to Life Mojo, bicycling injuries account for 75 percent of all transportation related injuries, but only seven percent of those injuries involve another vehicle.

Here are some of the most common bicycle injuries:

• Back and Neck Injuries - Soreness in the back or neck can be caused by improper bicycle fit, or by a fall or collision.
• Knee Injuries - Very common in cyclists, because the knee joints are overused when riding your bike frequently.
• Hand Injuries - Can be detected by tingling or numbness in your hands.
• Shoulder Injuries - Usually occur on long bike rides, caused by putting too much weight on your hands while riding.
• Sprains and Contusions - Normally occur when there is a fall or collision with another bike/vehicle/stationary object.
• Fractures - Occur in a fall or collision. Collar bone fractures can be common in cyclists.
• Abrasions - General scrapes and cuts that come from falling off your bike or being involved in an accident.

If you are injured in a bicycle accident that does involve another vehicle, talk to an injury lawyer to explore your options.