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Most products we buy on the market usually work as advertised. Occasionally, this isn’t the case and something goes wrong.

Can consumers do anything about a product that doesn’t live up to its advertising? In a word, yes. If it doesn’t do what it is supposed to do, the person who shelled out bucks for it may choose to hold the maker of that product responsible for either a total refund, repairs, or damages for personal injuries.

If the product caused an injury, the person who sustained that harm may be able to hold the product’s maker liable. If the product in question is unsafe or even defective, customers might be able to prove the company who made the item(s) should have been alert and aware of the danger. In knowing that danger, they should then have made certain to prevent those injuries from happening.

In circumstances like this, an injured shopper may wish to talk to a highly skilled Sacramento personal injury attorney to file a product liability suit to get compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical bills. The tricky part about these kinds of cases is that the prosecution has to prove it was the product that caused an injury and it did not happen as a result of the purchaser improperly using the item or a mistake made by the buyer.

People who were in the line of fire as the result of defective products should get medical attention right away and document the injuries they received in great detail. Photos are priceless and need to be taken at the scene of the accident and of the product. Make notes of the incident as well and try to ensure the offending product is kept intact.

By all means, speak to an expert Sacramento personal injury lawyer with extensive experience in this area of the law. While outlining a potential case for the attorney, give them the product that caused the injuries, provide the documentation, offer all the written material included with the product (instruction manuals, warranties, warnings, etc.) and get possession of all medical records relating to the injury, along with any bills for medical expenses.

Other things that consumers need to know when dealing with defective products are that product liability cases usually revolve around the fact that the product was defective and was the direct cause of an injury; that manufacturers really need to clearly label products with warnings about hazardous use; and that defective products need to be yanked off the shelves immediately. If this does not happen, the failure to do so may result in serious legal consequences for the manufacturer.

To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

Is there really any difference between a concussion and traumatic brain injury?

The question of whether or not a concussion is a more benign form of head injury as compared to traumatic brain injury is a good one. By all reports however, concussion and traumatic brain injury are the same thing and merely distinguished by degrees

Put another way, concussion is a milder form of traumatic brain injury, but certainly nothing to be downplayed, as even though it may be a mild concussion, it may still have serious consequences.

Witness any football game in the US, or anywhere else for that matter, and one will see bone jarring hits and collisions that often result in players being trucked off to the hospital for observation. Blows to the head are especially problematic.

While many sportscasters and players refer to a head blow as a concussion, most medical staff call it a traumatic brain injury. Oddly enough, in the world of sports, a hit to the head is often regarded as being funny and couched in terms like “the player got his bell rung.” There is definitely nothing funny about a mild concussion or any form of traumatic brain injury.

For those who don’t understand the term traumatic brain injury, it occurs when the brain is smacked up against the skull resulting in temporary neurological impairment. Other cellular processes that routinely happen in the brain are also disrupted for days or weeks after the initial impact, largely depending on the grade of the concussion. Concussions range in grade from 1 to 3, and concussion and mild traumatic brain injury are the same thing.

Grade III concussions are considered to be any loss of consciousness due to a blow to the head or by something else like whiplash. Even with lesser grades of concussion, they may lead to things like epidural hematoma; the cause of film star Natasha Richardson’s death. Richardson’s death was the impetus for school athletes to stay away from sports for several “months” if they’ve sustained even “one” mild traumatic brain injury.

Playing sports like football, soccer and hockey come with inherent risks, and that risk relates to things like brain injuries. Nonetheless, if someone has been injured as a result of a slip and fall accident, a car crash or by playing sports without the proper safety gear, and negligence is present in the equation, consulting an expert personal injury attorney is a smart idea.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

On the surface, tort reform sounds like it might be a fine idea, but the underlying premise is flawed and would actually hurt those it is supposed to help.

The great health care debate has actually dragged up more for discussion besides health issues, and one of those issues deals with the concept of tort reform. Tort reform sounds like not a bad idea until one really takes a close look at what it means to victims of medical malpractice whose lives have been devastated.

Typically, medical malpractice lawsuits that make it to court are the ones in which the victim has sustained serious injuries; injuries that have altered their lifestyles to the point where they need ongoing medical care of one type or another. They may also need therapy, medications, regular treatments, counseling, in-home care and renovations to make their house livable. In instances such as this, juries have been known to hand out high awards to pay for such serious damages.

Tort reform would stack the deck even further against the victims. Physicians and hospitals already have a significant advantage going into a medical malpractice lawsuit because med mal cases have the shortest statute of limitations for any case. Mounting a complex med mal lawsuit with only a year to get things together is nigh onto impossible. While the clock is ticking in favor of the defendants, the plaintiffs are struggling to get evidence together to prove their case.

In addition, a lawsuit cannot be filed against a doctor or hospital unless it has been certified by a qualified medical expert to be a lawsuit of merit so these are not frivolous lawsuits.

If these points are not enough to ponder, add in that any incriminating evidence or information uncovered by internal investigations into an injury or death cannot be discovered by the patient or the patient’s family. Talk about prejudicial actions.

Furthermore, insurance companies protecting the doctor and/or hospital have financial and other resources and access to experts that far exceed the resources available to most patients. Add to this that the primary evidence in any medical malpractice case is the medical chart, which is authored by the doctor(s) and other medical personnel at a hospital, and the patient has no say in what goes in that chart, nor any control over it. Once again, the deck is stacked in favor of the medical profession and the victim is left hanging out in the wind trying to make a case.

Unfortunately for the victims of med mal, jurors are usually more sympathetic to a doctor being sued than the patient, particularly if it is the patient’s family who has brought the suit to court. Even if a plaintiff/patient does stick to their guns and pursues the case, 48 out of 50 states have capped the limit on the amount of damages that may be recovered. This cap has no relation to actual injuries and is only in place so the insurance companies may have a “fixed” cost when insuring negligent doctors.

In a nutshell, tort reform means patients having to give up constitutional rights just to have access to health care, and insurance companies coming out ahead by limiting their claim payouts. The person who needs the most help is the patient, and tort reform does anything “but” help a patient who has suffered at the hands of the medical establishment. Victims of medical malpractice need to get an experienced med mal attorney to help level the playing field.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Who drives medical malpractice lawsuits and are they as prevalent as people actually think?

In actual fact, lawsuits are usually driven by plaintiffs. If that is the case, then it is reasonable to assume that medical malpractice lawsuits are a rapidly burgeoning sector within the total lawsuit industry. It appears that med mal lawsuits are beginning to play a greater role than they have ever played before, for a variety of reasons.

There are recent surveys that indicate medical errors are on the increase even in the face of new technology. The reasons for that vary, but by and large the main reason for the increase in errors is a lack of time. In the 21st century the American health system is in total shambles and seriously overburdened. Doctors and other medical professionals are overworked and dead on their feet from trying to keep up with the constant demand for medical services.

While it’s nice to have new technology, it takes time to learn that technology and what it is able to achieve. If there is no time because the physicians are running to keep up with non-emergency cases, the hospital ERs are jammed with people who should not be there and the clock is ticking, medical errors will still happen.
The more medical mistakes happen, the greater the potential for lawsuits, as it seems that today’s patients are more aware of what constitutes medical malpractice and are willing to file a lawsuit to seek justice.

Never assume that you do have a case of medical malpractice without consulting with a highly trained medical malpractice attorney. Choose one who has an extensive record handling all kinds of medical malpractice suits, who knows how difficult these cases are and who is prepared to ensure you receive the proper compensation for any injuries you may have sustained.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Traumatic brain injury is popping up in the news more and more these days in association with high-contact sports.

It used to be that most people associated traumatic brain injury with car accidents or slip and falls. These days, however, it is occurring more often when people are playing sports. This isn’t too much of a surprise as traditionally boxing has indeed been a sport associated with a high degree of minor concussions (traumatic brain injuries) on a smaller scale.

Nowadays the spotlight is focused on hockey, football, soccer and other sports that see hard hits and even harder falls. In either case, the brain stands a high likelihood of being rattled around inside the skull and leaving the individual confused and dazed. Interestingly enough, many of these “mini-concussions” are going undiagnosed and over the course of a season, the player may suffer multiple traumatic brain injuries.

Another interesting fact is also beginning to emerge as professionals study this particular phenomenon. It seems that people who have already experienced at least one concussion are more susceptible to getting further, similar injuries during other playing seasons. The reason for this doesn’t seem to be entirely clear, but the theory is that once the brain has been shaken up badly enough, it doesn’t take much to disturb it again if it sustains a thump.

While these “smaller” concussions are often referred to as mild, the fact is if they happen often enough, multiple concussions are linked to dementia and other neurological diseases later in life. One of the more classic cases is boxer Muhammad Ali, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome in 1984, a result of the frequent concussions he sustained during his fighting career.

In addition, a report commissioned by the National Football League in the U.S. shows that former football players were struck down by Alzheimer’s or other memory-related diseases at an astonishing rate of 19 times the norm for men between 30 and 49 years of age. Sobering statistics to say the least and it poses the question of what will happen to the younger players coming up through the ranks.

It should go without saying that those who sustain a concussion during rough sports need to have “more” attention paid to them and a very thorough medical evaluation, mild concussion or not. The fact of the matter is that any blow to the head could be dangerous now and in the future. More particularly, cumulative concussions have the potential to alter a person’s life by bringing on dementia a lot earlier in life.

Does having helmets and/or the right safety gear play a role in reducing head injuries? This is one of the questions that should be discussed with a skilled personal injury lawyer if you have been the victim of a head trauma that may have been avoided if you had been provided and were wearing the right safety gear.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Amelia Nosehart liked to fly through the malls to get a head start on Christmas. But a policy she’d purchased from California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard literally helped save her sight when “shopping” went horribly wrong.

Amelia Nosehart’s favorite day of the year was the day after Thanksgiving when Rancho Bernardo shoppers could get a head start on their Christmas shopping with early bird specials. Retail stores in neighboring burbs would open at two, three, four, five a.m. in efforts to woo obsessed shoppers just like Amelia. But at Ye Olde Pet Shoppe what should have been a touch exotic, as 3:37 a.m. sprees go, almost turned deadly.

The chain store’s “exotic reptile” section was selling “baby spitting cobras” for an amazing $1.99 each. As Amelia joined the crazed throng of “early birders” she knew she had to have two or three of the venomous little critters, assuming they’d been defanged of course, as pets for her nephews Josh and Andy, both notoriously difficult to buy for. As Amelia nearly “flew” through to the front of the frenzied crowd of typical Black Friday bargain hunters, a glass case accidentally cracked open in the madness and she heard a slight “hsst” and felt excruciating pain in her left eye, the one with astigmatism.

Rushed to the nearest hospital for obligatory anti-venom treatment and eye cleansing, Amelia was obliged to stay overnight as a precaution, and called Matt Lockard, her friendly California Health Insurance agent at his office in Ventura, just to let him know what had happened at Ye Olde Pet Shoppe.

“Matt. Guess who this is? It’s Amelia. I’m in the hospital,” she said.

He kind of recognized her. “Like the legend?”

“Yes, sort of,” she said, “Guess what happened to me on Black Friday.”

“What?” he asked, remembering the policy he’d sold her just a few months back, covering just about any kind of emergency.

She provided the gory details, about the crowds, the frenzy, the early morning madness, and the baby snakes for her nephews.

“You’re lucky you can still see out of that eye,” Matt opined.

“I can’t at the moment. They gave me a patch. It’s still light-sensitive.”

“Oh,” Matt said, “but you sound so happy.”

“Why shouldn’t I be happy?” explained Amelia, “Ye Olde Pet Shoppe not only gave me the baby cobras for free, they threw in an EXTRA pair. They’re all in my semi-private room with me now in a convenient ‘holiday’ Plexiglas case. Josh and Andy are going to be absolutely thrilled!”

“I hope they have been defanged,” Matt offered.

Amelia squinted, feeling a twinge.

Go to Mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote and to learn more about California health insurance, California medicare supplements, California health insurance quotes.

In a nutshell, strict product liability means liability of all the people involved in the manufacturing process from start to finish to distribution.

Not a lot of people truly realize that strict product liability is as all encompassing as it is. It actually covers the point of origin of a product right on down the chain to the final distribution point of the article or item. In other words, this will include the maker of an item, the place where it was assembled, and the retail outlet where the product is eventually sold to the public.

Strict product liability actually goes even further than this in that if an item does have a defect that causes harm to a customer or a friend of a customer (who either borrowed the item or got it as a gift) then all of these people are considered to be defendants in a product liability suit.

Most people relate product liability to tangible products, or physical property, but this isn’t always the case. It may include real estate, books, navigational charts, gas and even pets. Interestingly, California law requires all makers of products to label them clearly with a printed warning, particularly if the product contains lead paint or other harmful pieces. Think small parts that kids could swallow.

To successfully prove a strict product liability case, the plaintiff must be able to show the product was indeed defective. In this area of the law, there are three kinds of product defects often launched in liability lawsuits: marketing defects, manufacturing defects and design defects.

A design defect is considered to be one that is built into the product. It (the defect) is in the design itself and is present prior to the manufacturing process. While the article may perform adequately for a consumer, it has the potential to be dangerous because of its flawed design.

On the other hand, manufacturing defects usually take place when the product is made, yet not all of the products made are defective. Marketing defects refer to poorly written instructions or the failure to warn a consumer about potential product dangers.

Product liability is a strict liability offense, and cases like this are not focused on how careful the defendant was or was not. Typically then, a defendant is liable when a product/item is defective – period. Speak to a well qualified personal injury lawyer who will be able to assist in receiving compensation for any injuries suffered.

To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

Which business entity do I choose?

Your business has been doing so well you are amazed. For the last couple of years it has continued to grow despite the severe recession. You’re rather proud of the fact that you ran it on a shoestring budget too, and kept just enough employees to do marketing and fill orders. Now that business is beginning to show a profit and you can actually take money out of it instead of plowing it back into the venture, you are beginning to worry about the fact you’ve been doing business under a fictitious business name. It’s time to make a call to a business attorney and find out how personally exposed you are and what you may do to protect yourself from business liabilities.

The first thing you find out is that you have been running the business as a sole proprietor despite having registered a fictitious business name. What that means is you have personal liability for all the obligations and other liabilities of the firm. It gets worse yet. The debts you’ve shouldered are business rather than personal or consumer debts. Your lawyer explains many of the protections you enjoy from consumer debts like credit cards or installment purchases don’t apply when you incur the debt in connection with operating your business.

Not without some trepidation, you ask the attorney if there is anything you can do to change the situation because you don’t want to start all over since you have a success on your hands. Fortunately for you the answer is there are a number of options that will let you change your company from a sole proprietorship to a business vehicle like a corporation or limited liability company. If this is done correctly, you can change the form of doing business tax free as well.

The attorney explains incorporating a going business or organizing it into a limited liability company is permitted in California and if properly done, neither the IRS nor the California Franchise Tax Board will see it as a sale from you to the business. Specifically, you may be able to contribute the assets of your business to the limited liability company in exchange for your membership interest without it being viewed as a taxable sale between you and your limited liability company.

What do you choose? You find out that corporations are an older form of business entity with less flexibility of operation over the limited liability company, the more modern form of business entity. On the other hand, when you do business in California in a limited liability form, it may be subject to a gross receipt tax which can be significant for a small business – if gross income attributable to California is more than $250,000, the fee will be imposed from a low of $900 to $11,790 if the total gross income exceeds $5,000,000.

Both entities are in common enough use that for most small businesses, institutional lenders are available to provide financing. For many tax professionals, the potential gross receipts tax is reason enough to opt for the use of a corporation which elects to Sub-Chapter S status. The advantage of an S election is that it avoids taxation at the corporate level, permitting items of income and loss to flow through directly to you, the shareholder. What is most important about either form of doing business is that it affords protection against personal liability.

Your lawyer says that as a practical matter, many lenders and landlords require personal guaranties by the shareholders or members of small business corporations or limited liability companies. Finally, in order to transfer the business into the selected business entity, your lawyer will work through each of your business assets and liabilities transferring title from you personally to the new entity.

Some of your liabilities, such as bank loans, may not be so easily converted into company obligations, at least without an accompanying personal guaranty. The good news is that once completed and all customers, vendors and other creditors are given notice of the change, future obligations or liabilities should belong to the company and will not be yours. Unfortunately, you learn that the legal and accounting costs are significantly more when incorporating a going business, or contributing the assets of a going business to a new limited liability company.

It is easy to see that our friend would have been better served had he spent a little more in the beginning to save significant legal and accounting outlays later, not to mention the time he may have to devote to gathering critical business information so that the process can be completed……at least that is what this lawyer thinks.

Roni Balint writes for the Law Office of Alan M. Insul. The content contained within this feature is not intended as legal advice and does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. To learn more, contact Los Angeles business attorney and California corporate lawyer, Alan M. Insul by visiting Insullaw.com.

If your commercial real estate is foreclosed, what is your personal exposure?

There was optimism that the real estate market was making a comeback and then – experts said it was looking really bad for commercial property owners and getting worse. This doesn’t sit well with you when you realize that the vacancies in your 100 unit apartment building have soared upwards from 5% to 15%.

It’s no small wonder then that you have also been forking over more money every month to make the mortgage payments on both the first and second mortgages. One night while reviewing the dismal situation, you decide to quit throwing good money after bad and make a resolution to let the lender take the property in foreclosure.

Being a smart businessperson you make a call to a lawyer first to ask what your personal liability is if the first or second lender forecloses on the property. Your lawyer gives you the “it depends” answer and you’re thinking you’d rather have a straight answer instead. The straight answer only comes when she has the history of the loans in question.

When you bought the building, it was financed with a loan from your local bank with the second one provided by the building’s seller. Three years after the purchase, you refinanced loan number one for a better interest rate. The seller who held loan number two agreed to subordinate his loan to the new first loan so long as the principal of the first wasn’t greater and the interest rate was lower than the original loan.

While doing that was a smart move, the property currently can’t support either the first or the seller’s carry-back second loan. The straight answer from you lawyer, based on those facts, is that you could be personally liable to the lender holding the first trust deed but not the second. That revelation startles you and you discover that it is because the current first was securing a loan that was not used to buy the property – it was a refinance situation.

On the other hand, the seller carry-back second was used to buy the property and the refinance and subordination to the new first did not change the nature of what the seller originally financed with his second. As such, the law would not change the rule that as a purchase money loan, you had no personal liability.

In a 1991 case, Thompson v Allert (1991) 233 Cal. App. 3d 1462, the facts were quite similar to what we have discussed to this point. In that case the court outlined that the subordination to a new loan for the same amount at the same or lower interest didn’t alter the purchase money character of the loan. Under the California Code of Civil Procedure §580b, the holder of the second isn’t entitled to get a personal judgment against our apartment owner in this story – even if the first forecloses before the second and wipes out the second. Put another way, the second becomes worthless, leaving the holders with no ability to recover any of the unpaid loan amount.

By comparison, Wright V Johnston (1988) 206 Cal. App. 3d 333 provides a contrasting situation where the seller subordinated their loan to a new loan that was for a significantly greater amount then the original first trust deed so as to remove it from the borrower protections of California Code of Civil Procedure §580b. In other words, it lost its purchase money character by virtue of the changed nature of the financing risk with the refinance. Other situations which could trigger a seller carry-back losing its purchase money character are increased interest rates, balloon payments not in original first, and substantial cash-out loans.

If you’re knee deep in a commercial, industrial or multi-residential real estate property and thinking about letting it go to foreclosure, seek legal advice well in advance of letting the property go into default. This is an extremely complicated area of law where mistakes can be costly, and the need to think through the consequences of a default strategy is crucial to obtain the best possible result. At least that’s what this lawyer thinks.

Roni Balint writes for the Law Office of Alan M. Insul. The content contained within this feature is not intended as legal advice and does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. To learn more, contact Los Angeles business attorney and California corporate lawyer, Alan M. Insul by visiting Insullaw.com.

While software issues with Apple’s iPhone OS have now been resolved, it’s important to realize that the thing itself might still break. That’s where CPR comes in.

About a month ago Apple introduced an updated iPhone OS 3.1. This smartphone-related software debuted with a plethora of new features, including a Genius system to recommend new apps, new ways to organize your apps, and the ability to download ringtones wirelessly.

On October 8, 2009, Apple released another update for the iPhone OS. This most recent upgrade is 3.1.2. In the grand scheme, it’s just a minor update as updates go, but the update’s introduction has resolved issues that have arisen since 3.1. According to Apple, the latest update fixes a bug that might cause an occasional crash while streaming videos, resolves sporadic issues that may cause your iPhone to continue sleeping even after you try to wake it up, and further resolves intermittent issues with cellular network services being interrupted. This update is not only for all iPhone models, but also applies to the iPod Touch.

But what happens if your operating system is functioning fine and dandy, and your iPhone is still an itty-bitty clunker? Unless a new “cash for clunkers” program is brought onto the tables to reward you, as you so richly deserve to be rewarded, your best option is to run, don’t walk, to your nearest retail emporium with the CPR logo prominently displayed.

Claude C. Claude, a skilled CPR technician, was recently brought onboard to handle such matters, has this to say about moribund smartphones and streaming videos that show up stillborn. “I’m thrilled to be working at CPR, where my skills for fixing the smartest of the smartphones are appreciated, and where I’m beloved by both colleagues and inanimate objects. Can I, or somebody who looks like me, repair your smartphone if the thing stops working? Let me tell you this. I repaired one the other day that the customer had given up for dead, placing it in an unmarked grave in his backyard before bringing it to me. Is this a Halloween prank I asked? But the customer is always right, even when he stares back at me like a zombie.

To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.