Behind the push to attract immigrants is also another hard hitting factor that many U.S. cities have been struggling with for a number of years since the beginning of the latest depression cycle: the ever increasing depopulation of industrial cities. According to Audrey Singer, a Brookings Institution senior fellow, two things start to happen after attracting immigrants: the population increases and there is an uptick in economic activity.
Instead of being viewed as unwelcome aliens that take jobs away from American citizens, these programs view immigration as a dynamic, driving force that holds the key to a better economy and a thriving city. In a manner of speaking, they hold the keys to the city, and are the recipe for revival in desperate times. It is a refreshing change of opinion and begs the question: if American cities are implementing their own alternative to immigration reform, then what is to happen with reform on the grander scale?
Therein lies a can of worms that politicians do not wish to touch. Perhaps the best way to move forward into the future is embrace the concept of global cities. It has been done before, and with success. Now is the time for a recurrence to help America get back on its feet. While it may be a different approach and a contentious one, it is the present reality. When reality calls, it is time to answer, adapt, adjust and move forward.
Technology professionals have unparalleled access to a tech-reliant American audience. Still seeing enormous growth, tech companies have the money to make things happen — spending millions on ads, lobbying conservatives, mounting hackathons and more. Unfortunately, they have still run into the same roadblocks that have stalled immigration reform for decades.
To date, there have been no results. Even Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues have been unable to spark real action in Congress.
Joe Green, Zuckerberg’s former Harvard roommate and the president of FWD.us, postulated the goal of ensuring the success of America by passing immigration reform. Green believes that lobby groups need to work through politics to succeed.
The group raised an enormous amount of capital (more than $50 million) and attracted well-known names to publicly back immigration reform. A large part of the funds raised went to media buys and other targeted campaigns involving TV and radio. FWD.us dropped more than $5 million during the lead-up to last year’s Senate vote, which did end with the passage of an immigration bill.
FWD.us launched well, but it garnered negative media attention with an ad campaign that eventually alienated a good part of the tech community. Since the bill passage last year, everything has stalled — both Green’s efforts and immigration reform itself.
As the Congressional election approaches, legislation has put on hold and immigration reform set to the side. No amount of money raised by outsiders wanting change can cure indifference fueled by political divisiveness. Polarization is a dangerous and detrimental thing. So far, even the strongest of U.S. industries have been unable to overcome it.
The post Powerful IT Immigration Reform Proponents Fail to Spark Poltical Change first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Sisters Victoria and Norma Velasquez-Cabrera were crossing Hillsborough Avenue on the 2500 block to get to Middleton High at about 7:15 a.m. on a recent Tuesday. A car in the center lane stopped to let them cross. But a car approaching from the far lane, driven by Deja Johnson, aged 17 and a fellow student, continued past. Johnson struck the two girls, and Norma passed away after a four-day coma.
Tampa personal injury attorney Robert Joyce calls attention to the fact that this is not the first fatal accident involving a Middleton student crossing six-lane Hillsborough Avenue.
“In 2011, a 15-year-old named Shenika Davis was killed while walking to Middleton as well,” Mr. Joyce says.
Tampa police have ramped up enforcement efforts in the area for both drivers and pedestrians. Both of the girls who were killed on their way to school were crossing between crosswalks. Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis says that, since November 1, 2013, police have issued 946 citations and 504 warnings to drivers and pedestrians.
Also, Middleton High held an assembly for all students with a 30-minute pedestrian-safety presentation imploring them to wear bright colors, cross at crosswalks and be alert.
Police say that a preliminary investigation showed Johnson had no fault in the accident. But Velasquez-Cabrera’s family wants to see the city do more to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“It’s not a safe street,” Mauricio Guttierez, Norma and Victoria’s uncle, told the Tampa Bay Times. “How many more victims do we have to wait for?”
Mr. Joyce says that enforcement efforts should make a difference for as long as they go on, but may not have a lasting impact.
“Can the city afford to keep extra officers there indefinitely?” he wonders. “If not, enforcement may not solve the safety problem.”
If you need to speak with a wrongful death attorney or lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.
The post Joyce and Reyes Personal Injury Attorney Cites Ongoing Safety Concerns Following Tampa Student Pedestrian’s Death first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While immigration reform is still being debated, mauled, massaged, ignored and reviled, with the light at the end of the tunnel being an immigration reform bill, maybe this year, there are still some hot-to-trot voters that think the idea is an anathema. Consider the latest news from a Florida dairy farmer, unable to use a guest-worker program because his operation is year-round. Cows don’t just need to be milked for about four months. Consequently, he and other farmers in the same or similar boat, vocally support immigration reform.
The minute his story hit the news wire he was inundated with nasty emails, calls and faxes from people around the country suggesting they were insulted by his comments and that he had no inkling about immigration. Some suggested he use the H-2A guest-worker program, a clear indication they did not read his full story, that a dairy needs year-round workers.
On the contrary, it appears that those with that opinion are the ones that do not grasp the nature of how immigration reform could positively affect agriculture, and get milk into their fridges across the U.S. In short, immigration reform and agriculture are inextricably linked —- you cannot have one without the other, not if you want your produce, in edible and beverage form, to hit the marketplace and be reasonably priced.
The Florida farmer who spoke out about immigration reform and his growing uncertainty about the wishy-washy Republicans, did not expect to be a target of ill formed and not so righteous wrath. He is uncertain how the negative comments will benefit anyone, let alone be a benefit to obtaining a workable immigration reform bill that would address that nation’s needs, and those of waiting illegal immigrants.
One thing is patently clear: the typical American voter seems to have no real clue how immigration currently affects the U.S. or how it could affect the U.S. in the future, should a reform bill be introduced into law. That being said, he does get why Republicans run, hide, duck and divert the issue as much as they can, as no one likes being the target of such blind and uninformed hatred.
If this level of anger exists in the general public over a farmer that needs year round workers and the current system does not work for him, what will happen if the politicians do cobble together an immigration reform bill? The results might be explosive.
The post It’s not just politicians that do not understand how immigration reform affects agriculture first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Word from the Hill indicates politicians are actually working on something relating to immigration reform. Are they getting along while doing it? Not according to the media, or those who are close to the situation but not allowed to comment, because they don’t have the authority. Notice that they are commenting anyway. In a nutshell, a bipartisan group in the House is making noise that they are close to wrapping up work on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, a bill that would include a path to citizenship for the close to 13 million illegal people living in the U.S.
The fly in the ointment is what to do or how to handle temporary laborers that arrive to do seasonal work in the fields. While no one is specifically explaining what the issue is relating to temporary workers, many aides and media speculation has it that a finished product is very close. Consider this, though. The House is working on a bill and the Senate is working on a broad immigration bill. What are the chances bipartisan agreement will continue when each faction has their own version of a bill? If the party’s track records are any indication, it might be touch and go, at which point, immigration reform may end up as wallpaper once again.
Nonetheless, those watching the process of give, take, haggle and revise are relatively confident a deal will be reached. At this point, it’s often in the best interests of groups that are holding their breath for immigration reform to become reality, to remain silent on their hopes and just wait. Too many things can get in the way of a deal.
The Senate indicates they would like to introduce their bill in April, for debate in either June or July. If all goes well, and that is a big “if,” Senate debate would deal with it in June or July. The House hopes to pass their version of a bill sometime this year. There are a lot of ifs, maybes, and hopes in this mixture. However, the good thing is that the parties are mostly getting their acts together to do something about immigration reform.
This is not a topic that too many people or politicians agree on, and given the contentious nature of immigration reform, there is a huge chance the proposals on either side of the House could go off the rails. Of course what started the process is Obama’s stunning election win. It made Republicans sit up and take notice that their hard-nosed attitude about immigration, securing the border and sourcing skilled workers was archaic, and punitive, not to mention walking a thin line when it came to violating human rights.
One more possible hold-up to immigration reform is the split personality syndrome many Republicans still hold on to when it comes to giving illegal aliens that live in the U.S. already a path to citizenship (despite the fact they are already citizens in all the ways that count, like paying taxes). They are reluctant to grant citizenship, as they feel it would reward them for breaking the law and trigger a new wave of illegal residents. Hold on for the ride that might become a rollercoaster this year.
The post When a bipartisan reform bill cometh, immigration reform may get on a roll first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are different types and different levels of long-term care, including:
Home Care. Home care encompasses care from home aides or personal assistants, people who come to your home to help with bathing, dressing and personal needs. They may also do light housekeeping, assist with shopping and do minor errands. Personal assistants and home aides usually are not medically trained and do not cover medical issues. A home health care nurse or attendant with medical training can also be hired to provide basic medical care, such as dispensing medication, checking blood pressure, changing dressings, etc.
Day Programs. Day programs offer meals, activities and social interaction for adults who do not need 24-hour care, but may wish to go on supervised trips to museums, concerts, and shopping, or to get exercise and attend classes. Some day programs also provide transportation to and from the care center and offer some medical services.
Senior Housing. Senior housing may include different configurations of independent rental apartments, with a central hub for meals and socializing, as well as housekeeping and scheduled activities.
Assisted Living. An assisted living facility is more hands-on, with on-premises staff members who oversee bathing and dressing as well as meals, housekeeping and medications.
Nursing Home. A nursing home has 24-hour nursing care. A nursing home may be a long-term residence for an individual who needs full-time care, or may be a shorter duration stay for someone recovering from surgery, an illness or an injury.
What level of care you choose depends on what services you will need, and what services you can afford. Many people erroneously believe that Medicare will cover their long-term care needs, but Medicare is a federal program for people over age 65 as well as for those with certain disabilities, and generally does not pay for long-term care. Medicaid is state-federal program that is designed for people with certain low-income requirements and limited assets. Importantly, Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) is the only government program that can pay all or a portion of nursing home care.
Unexpected long-term care can deplete even extensive savings and retirement reserves. The most prudent way to prepare for the likelihood that long-term care will be needed in the future is to sign up for long-term care insurance. Just as with health insurance, signing up for a policy and making monthly premiums will ensure that your long-term care will be covered.
If you do not have long-term care insurance and the need for such care has arisen, you need to learn about planning steps you can take to protect your assets and maximize availability of government programs such as Medicaid/Medi-Cal.
It is important to work with an elder law or estate planning attorney at Gilfix & La Poll to ensure that you get safe and affordable care while simultaneously protecting your assets.
Michael Gilfix is an estate planning attorney in Palo Alto California and is one of the pioneers of elder law. To learn more, visit Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP at http://www.gilfix.com/.
The post Long-Term Care: An Overview first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While dropping insurance may seem necessary in the short term in order to meet other financial obligations, it could easily come back to bite them, should a large medical malpractice judgment force a hospital to declare bankruptcy. Many states do not require hospitals to carry malpractice insurance. In some area hospitals in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Florida, the cost of malpractice can seem prohibitive to hospital executives, so they gamble and hope there won’t be dire consequences if they forego malpractice insurance.
New York State Department of Health surveyed “self-insured” hospitals in 2009 and found that one dozen New York-based hospitals acknowledge that they did not carry malpractice insurance and instead were partially self-insured or had some mix of primary coverage and excessive coverage. In addition, several hospital administrators stated that the house physicians had their own, subsidized insurance.
When they do not have malpractice insurance, some hospitals have a separate reserve of funds with which they plan to cover claims, but according to The New York Times, several hospitals investigated did not have sufficient funds in case of a large malpractice judgment, while two had no funds set aside at all.
Hospitals are cutting costs in other ways too, which sometimes means an actual denial of services. In Ohio, for example, some smaller hospitals no longer offer obstetric deliveries due to rising costs; malpractice insurance for obstetrics is particularly high. According to the Ohio Department of Health, there are 23 counties in Ohio that do not offer maternity units in their hospitals, with 19 separate hospitals no longer offering maternity services since 2004.
When an uninsured hospital becomes bankrupt, the creditors—which can include malpractice plaintiffs—often find they are unable to do anything but accept less of a payment than they were awarded via litigation.
Nathan Williams is a Brunswick personal injury lawyer, Brunswick divorce attorney, criminal defense and Brunswick DUI lawyer in Southeast Georgia. Visit http://www.thewilliamslitigationgroup.com or call 1.912.264.0848.
The post Patient Beware: Some Hospitals Do Not Carry Medical Malpractice Insurance first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“It is no secret that Accutane has serious side effects, side effects both doctors and the durg makers are aware of. Nonetheless, it continues to be prescribed,” said Charlie Donahue, a Manchester injury and medical malpractice lawyer with offices in Keene, New Hampshire. “This drug is the basis of thousands of lawsuits across the country, with one plaintiff recently receiving $25 million for his inflammatory bowel disease.”
Inflammatory bowel disease is one of the most severe side effects of taking Accutane, but it was not until 2009 that the drug maker, Hoffman-LaRoche, yanked it from the market. But it was too late. The company was inundated with lawsuits and up to its ears in litigation costs and payouts. Prescribing doctors and the drug company were named as defendants. For the physicians, they faced medical negligence suits for knowingly prescribing this horrific drug. For the drug company, they faced personal injury lawsuits for the damage their drug had done in the lives of many individuals.
This drug is responsible for causing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, diseases that manifest themselves with inflammation, abdominal cramping, irritation of the gastrointestinal organs, bleeding ulcers, perianal disease, bowel cancer, fistulas, intestinal blockages and ruptured bowel. The pain and discomfort of these side effects is unbelievable. There is no cure for inflammatory bowel disease.
“We go to the doctor to treat acne and are given a prescription for a drug that could severely harm or kill us. The doctor knows about the side effects but writes a script for it anyhow. Medical negligence? Yes. Worth talking to a medical malpractice lawyer? Yes, emphatically so,” said Donahue. “Even the doctor is capable of reading warning labels, as ineffective as they may be. And if the patient does not want to sue their doctor, there may be a case for suing the drug maker.”
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warn Americans they should not buy Accutane or its generic companion, Isotretinoin, over the Internet. “While that is a nice touch, they should be warning them not to buy it – period,” Donahue said.
If you suspect you have an issue with a drug that was prescribed to you, don’t wait, thinking the symptoms may subside. Contact a lawyer and find out your rights.
To learn more, visit http://www.donahuelawfirm.com.
The post Acne Medications Can Lead to Serious Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Says Manchester Injury and Medical Malpractice Lawyer first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The EPA New England office has levied enforcement actions against 13 companies who have violated the Clean Air Act and distribute or warehouse chemicals. Companies that handle hazardous chemicals must comply with federal laws, not just OSHA Process Safety Management regulations for chemicals.
Hubbard-Hall stored chemicals that were incompatible very close together, and the EPA noted that if they were to spill or be released a violent chemical reaction could cause an explosion or fire. If this were to occur, the public and the environment could be seriously harmed. Hubbard-Hall also did not have a risk management plan in use at either of its locations. When large quantities of chemicals such as very concentrated hydrofluoric acid are stored, these RMP plans are a must.
RMP plans also help to outline how employees can prevent chemical releases and store chemicals properly. The RMP explains the risks with specific chemicals a company uses and can assist emergency responders when an accidental release occurs. Prior to the early February fine, the EPA had issued both Hubbard-Hall locations with administrative orders for violating RMP regulations and the Clean Air Act’s General Duty Clause.
Facilities that store or distribute chemicals must comply with the following regulations:
− Must stay at or below federal regulatory thresholds for chemical inventories
− Containment systems must be in good condition, in a stable way, and aisle space must be adequate for emergency responders
− Incompatible chemicals must be properly separated
− Facilities must be designed for safety with proper fire protections
− Inspections that occur on a routine basis to verify the integrity of chemical tanks
− Report chemical inventories via a Tier II Chemical Inventory Report to state authorities, local emergency planning departments, and the local fire department with jurisdiction over the facility
Serious injuries, environmental hazards and industrial accidents can happen when companies fail to take the necessary steps to maintain a safe environment. Not only could this affect workers, but toxic gases could hurt innocent people that need legal representation to uphold their rights and heal from extensive injuries.
Alexandra Reed writes for Connecticut personal injury law firm, Stratton Faxon. Contact Stratton Faxon to speak with a Connecticut accident lawyer about your personal injury, wrongful death, or Connecticut malpractice case. To learn more, visit Strattonfaxon.com.
The post Connecticut Chemical Companies Should Comply with Regulations to Protect Workers and General Public first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Unfortunately, many individuals, including many professionals, believe these two planning options are mutually exclusive and that one negates the need for the other. In fact, a carefully planned and cost-effective strategy to guard against the high costs of long-term care often includes both asset protection planning and long-term care insurance.
When used effectively, Medicaid planning can help individuals reduce prospective costs of long term care insurance, and long-term care insurance can provide certain services that New Jersey Medicaid doesn’t fund. What families need to know is which expenses are worthwhile and which can be cut.
Those looking for the simplest, least expensive asset protection plan must not forget that even partially implemented plans are often useless. Typically, individuals are concerned about protecting their residences from state liens and are willing to engage in legal planning for this purpose. Yet, on occasion, families are unwilling to take further steps that are necessary to protect stock accounts, IRA’s, CD’s, and other assets. Medicaid laws are extremely strict, and the financial requirements are definitive.
To qualify for benefits in New Jersey, an individual must not have countable assets in excess of $2,000, or, under certain programs, $4,000. A spouse’s assets are also subject to limitations. If an individual’s or couple’s liquid assets exceed the Medicaid resource limits, Medicaid will require that these be depleted before benefits begin. Therefore, as with long-term care insurance, certain costs of legal planning can be minimized while others cannot be compromised or the plan will be ineffective.
When engaging in asset protection planning, individuals must create a strategy that includes the possibility of remaining in one’s home and to the extent possible, receiving benefits to pay for in-home care. However, a large percentage of would-be Medicaid applicants are not eligible for in-home care subsidized by Medicaid in New Jersey because their monthly incomes are too high.
This year, the income limit to receive in-home care is $2,022 per month. Because many New Jersey residents are disqualified due to income level from Medicaid home care, individuals who anticipate reasonably high retirement incomes would be wise to purchase long-term care insurance with a home care rider, even if such an option results in somewhat higher premiums.
While trying to minimize costs, individuals cannot compromise certain aspects of the insurance and legal planning. For instance, insurance purchasers must not lose sight of the fact that the benefit amount they choose must cover the cost of care, taking prospective income and other expenses into account. Most of our clients are paying approximately $9,500 per month for a semi-private room in a nursing home and costs in excess of $6,000 in assisted living facilities. In trying to cut costs, purchasers must make sure they have ample coverage. Because the cost of nursing homes rises significantly and rapidly, inflation protection should be considered. Many policies offer this feature and allow the policy owner to pay the same premium over time while coverage increases.
While certain options should not be compromised, implementing a strategy that includes both long-term care insurance and asset protection planning can save individuals substantial assets in life savings and insurance premiums. While cutting the monthly insurance benefit amount is not recommended, individuals can save money on their long-term care insurance purchases by limiting the length of the benefit. Rather than choosing a policy that would pay out over the lifetime of the individual, individuals can still be adequately prepared to meet the costs of long-term care by selecting a policy that pays for nursing home care for a limited period of time.
Five years is an ample amount of time for the insurance benefit period because the Medicaid lookback period for a transfer of assets is set by federal law at 60 months. Those who consider long-term care insurance may wish to select an insurance benefit period of not more than five years. While the benefit period is occurring, the asset protection plan can be implemented and completed so that once the benefit payout ends, the Medicaid applicant can continue receiving the same level of care for which the insurance was paying and make a smooth transition to Medicaid benefits.
Even an insurance payout period as short as three years can make a large difference in clients’ abilities to protect their assets. Depending upon clients’ income and asset levels, many individuals can become eligible for Medicaid in less than five years from the time they first enter a facility. For those clients, a three year insurance payout term would still give a long-term care insurance policy owner ample time to protect savings through an asset protection plan and thereby still meet the primary goals of asset protection. A solid asset protection plan accounts for: reserving enough assets to meet care needs beyond the minimum for which Medicaid pays, protecting the spouse and helping maintain the family home and lifestyle, leaving an inheritance to children, and avoiding state liens.
Because federal law sets the Medicaid lookback period at five years, individuals must begin asset protection planning early to protect their savings. While many clients can become eligible for benefits prior to the expiration of five years from the time they begin asset protection planning, a majority of individuals would be well advised to begin legal planning when the possibility of nursing home care still seems extremely remote. On the other hand, individuals and couples that have purchased long-term care insurance have more flexibility as to when they might decide to begin asset protection planning since their savings will not recede as quickly as the accounts of individuals who are paying an average of $9,500 per month in nursing home care with no long-term care insurance.
Attorney Dana E. Bookbinder focuses much of her practice on elder law, and routinely recommends that clients investigate their long-term care insurance options. She practices with Begley Law Group, P.C., in Moorestown, Princeton, and Stone Harbor, New Jersey where clients seek her expertise in asset protection, disability planning, estate planning, and estate administration. However, when that option is foreclosed, she assists individuals in protecting their life savings through legal planning. When long-term care insurance and an asset protection plan are established in tandem at an early stage, these separate strategies will work together harmoniously to comprise a comprehensive, protective plan that maximizes savings for families.
Ms. Bookbinder has been certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the ABA accredited National Elder Law Foundation. She is a past Chair of the Elder and Disability Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association and past chair of the Burlington County Probate Committee. She has authored several articles on legal devices for asset, estate and tax planning in publications including the New Jersey Law Journal’s Financial Planning Supplement. She also lectures to civic and retirement groups and holds seminars sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is also a member of NAELA and a life member of The National Registry of Who’s Who. Ms. Bookbinder is a member of the New Jersey State, Pennsylvania and District of Columbia Bar Associations. She received her bachelor’s degree with distinction from Cornell University and her juris doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School.
For more information:
Begley Law Group
http://www.begleylawyer.com
509 S. Lenola Road, Building 7
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Tel: 800.533.7227
Fax: 856.273.1062
With the cost of nursing homes now averaging approximately $9,500 a month for a semi-private room in New Jersey, this situation could be financially catastrophic. Because Medicare covers only an extremely limited amount of nursing home care, the cost of such care can devastate an estate, leave a spouse with inadequate assets to maintain the marital residence, or eliminate the chance of leaving an inheritance to one’s children.
Moreover, the stress of having a spouse in a facility and paying the bills for such care can ultimately impact the health of the spouse living at home. Those concerned about long-term care owe themselves the opportunity to investigate all options to protect their savings and current family financial situation.
All too often, couples who are seeking long-term care insurance find out they have begun their planning a little late when one of them learns that they can qualify for the insurance, but the other cannot. In the event that the spouse who is not covered by the insurance requires long-term care, both spouses’ estates will be dramatically impacted.
While being turned down by the insurance company is a disappointment and may encourage the spouses to consider how they can improve their health, the rejection in itself should not be allowed to lead the couple down a path of financial devastation. By being informed and proactive, couples can protect their savings even when one becomes sick. To maximize control over your financial future, keep the following in mind:
1. Begin early. When researching legal protection planning options and especially long-term care insurance, everyone must begin early. Generally, once an individual acquires a long-term illness, the person can no longer acquire long-term care insurance. This by no means suggests that the individual is unable to save substantial assets by engaging in legal planning, however. In fact, even after an individual enters a nursing home, the individual can still save substantial assets for his or her family through asset protection planning. Such legal planning is most effective when it is done early, usually before the prospective long-term care resident enters a facility. Every Medicaid application is also subject to a five-year lookback as established by federal law. Therefore, just as insurance premiums will be much lower the earlier one purchases the insurance, the savings through planning will be substantially greater. In addition, early planning gives families peace of mind and the security that generally comes from being proactive.
2. Select your advisor carefully. When purchasing insurance or considering legal planning, it is important to carefully select a provider. Increasingly, professionals are amassing more knowledge of Medicaid. However, the Medicaid asset transfer rules are complex, so partial knowledge of the subject is likely to place the client in a worse situation than if no planning had been done at all. Because many seniors discuss long-term care planning amongst themselves and with their trusted advisors, many myths abound. In New Jersey, for example, many professionals still try to sell annuities under the guise that these products will expedite Medicaid eligibility. While such claims may be true in limited cases, an annuity purchase by a senior citizen who is contemplating Medicaid eligibility is more likely to benefit the financial advisor than the purchaser. The most seasoned legal advisors to the elderly are likely to be members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) or Certified Elder Law Attorneys (CELAs), accredited by the National Elder Law Foundation. Those seeking elder law advice should refer to www.naela.org.
Likewise, when choosing a long-term care insurance company, the selection must be done carefully. It is critical to choose a stable company that will be in existence for many more decades to come. Many insurance brokers agree that even a slight increase in premiums is worth the stability and security that a large company offers. Purchasers are best advised to select a broker who represents several companies so that they can review and compare different prices and features. Any long-term care insurance discussion should include a comparison of home care benefits to be paid out, including whether the policy has an inflation rider and a comparison of “elimination periods,” which show how long it will take before the policy begins to pay once the individual is incapacitated enough to trigger the benefit.
3. If one spouse is rejected from insurance coverage, consider both legal planning and insurance. In situations where one spouse is sick, the couple can plan for each of their care by purchasing long-term care insurance for the healthy spouse and engaging in asset protection planning for the ill spouse. This is commonly done, but couples are well advised to remember that Medicaid does look at the assets of the healthy spouse as well as the ill spouse when an application is filed. Therefore, while adequate insurance coverage will guarantee that the healthy spouse can retain assets and property in his or her name and still pay for long-term care if it is needed for him or her, a comprehensive asset protection plan is still necessary. Without legal planning, if the spouse without the insurance required institutionalization, the couple could be faced with an estimate of $9,500 of nursing home bills. On the other hand, through legal planning, the couple could convey the marital residence to the spouse who is covered by insurance and protect it if the other spouse ever requires Medicaid. They could also transfer certain other assets as consistent with state and federal law to the covered spouse, and in some cases to other family members, to minimize the financial impact of privately paying for care. Ideally, the spouse living at home can protect his or her standard of living, including being able to afford long-term care insurance premiums.
Attorney Dana E. Bookbinder counsels clients in asset protection, disability planning, estate planning, and estate administration. She has seen many clients that should be utilizing both a long-term insurance plan and asset protection plan to safeguard their life’s work and family. As a certified Elder Law Attorney at Begley Law Group, P.C. in Moorestown, Princeton, and Stone Harbor, New Jersey, she is skilled in helping individuals and families investigate their long-term care insurance options and plans for savings. The firm is highly respected for its successful track record and attention to their client’s needs to create a comprehensive, protective plan that maximizes a family’s savings and livelihood.
For more information:
Begley Law Group
http://www.begleylawyer.com
509 S. Lenola Road, Building 7
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Tel: 800.533.7227
Fax: 856.273.1062
A business should protect its website and all the content, design and graphics by copyrighting it. This way, it protects all the original works of authorship as well as the look and feel of the website. Be sure to request ownership of the copyright in a written agreement if an outside company creates the website. This could increase the fees from the graphic design company but then later on the business could have the authority to use the same graphics and content on promotional materials such as brochures and mailings.
Copyright protection starts when the work is fixed in a tangible medium. Use the copyright symbol to inform others that the business has control over the display of the website, its production and distribution. State in the fine print that the business has created the website and is copyrighted. By copyrighting a website, it will be easier to seek court enforcement of the copyright should a copycat come along.
“A business and its employees work hard to create and maintain an Internet presence that will generate revenues and continue the marketing efforts,” said Anthony Spotora, Los Angeles business and intellectual property lawyer. “A good lawyer will help their clients protect their Internet business assets through copyright protection services.”
Copyright infringement is a very serious matter and should a programmer even copy code from another website, a business could be on the wrong side of the law. Websites can be shut down without notice as a part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and “blacklisted” from Google. Google will remove sites that infringe on another’s intellectual property, program its spiders to avoid the site, and ban it from its Adwords and Adsense programs.
It pays to hire a business and intellectual property attorney to assist with trademarks for domain names and unique business phrases, copyrights for the website, and contractual agreements for creative services done both for the website and with vendors used during daily business transactions.
Spotora & Associates has more than a decade of experience representing clients from start-ups to established national corporations with their website and intellectual property concerns. They are skilled in researching, registering, and protecting intellectual property rights throughout the United States and abroad.
To learn more, visit http://www.spotoralaw.com/.
The post It Pays to Protect a Business Website from Copycats and Hackers first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>A number of issues arise in connection with these loans including legal, ethical, Medicaid and practical concerns that must be considered in determining whether applying for such a loan is appropriate.
PURPOSE OF THE LOAN
The purpose of pre-settlement lending is usually to enable the injured party and/or his family to meet their living expenses during the period of time when the lawsuit is pending.
LOANS INVOLVING MINORS AND INCAPACITATED PERSONS
If the lending agreement is made directly with the injured adult plaintiff, it is much easier than if the lending agreement is made with parents on behalf of a minor child or an incapacitated adult plaintiff whether acting as natural guardian or legally-appointed guardian of the plaintiff. In cases involving a minor or incapacitated plaintiff, many courts will refuse to enforce the terms of the lending agreement, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the funds were used for the direct benefit of the injured minor or incapacitated person. Excellent recordkeeping is critical.
For example, if a parent misses considerable time from work superintending a catastrophically injured child and falls behind in mortgage payments, a court may question whether a pre-settlement lending agreement used by the parent to bring the mortgage payments current was for the direct benefit of the child and, therefore, enforceable. On the other hand, if the parent is the injured party, unable to work because of the injury, and assuming the pre-settlement lending was used to make mortgage payments, there should be no enforceability issue based on the fact that the “borrower” does have an interest in the lawsuit.
BORROWER’S CREDIT
In most situations involving a loan, the borrower’s credit is paramount. Even if the loan is secured by a real estate mortgage, most lenders will want to see that the borrower is credit-worthy because of today’s sensitive lending environment. In pre-settlement lending transactions, the borrower’s credit is immaterial, because the pre-settlement lending company is looking to the proceeds of the lawsuit as collateral for the loan.
The Begley Law Group, PC has assisted individuals and families with their legal and financial decisions for more than 75 years. They are highly respected for their successful track record and attention to their clients’ needs first and foremost. Thomas D. Begley Jr., Esquire and CELA, has extensive experience in personal injury, disability law, special needs trusts, Medicaid planning and elder law.
For more information:
Begley Law Group
509 S. Lenola Road, Building 7
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Tel: 800.533.7227
Fax: 856.273.1062
The post Borrower Profile and Credit Concerns in Pre-Settlement Lending in Personal Injury Cases first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Moorestown, N.J. – Estate planning for parents with disabled children is a very delicate and important proposition. During their lifetime, parents are able to provide emotional and financial support to their children. This support greatly enhances needs-based government benefits, which are frequently utilized by the disabled through supplemental security income and Medicaid.
But when parents pass away, these special children lose emotional support that can never be regained and are at crossroads financially as well. Without proper planning, these children could lose financial support and government benefits.
The Begley Law Group, PC will host a free presentation on special needs trusts on Tuesday, February 15 Tuesday, Feb. 15 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the NAMI Mercer Center in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
“We will show you how to plan for the legal and support services so your loved one will have a good future,” said Thomas Begley III, New Jersey special needs planning lawyer at the Begley Law Group. “A properly designed and executed special needs trust will supplement public benefits such as SSI and Medicaid without jeopardizing eligibility.”
Begley Law Group, PC is very experienced in assisting clients with disabilities and helped start the Special Needs Alliance, a national group of accomplished attorneys who specialize in special needs planning and trusts. They are well versed in public benefits law, trust law, and the tax law affecting trusts and public benefits.
“Our goal is to ensure that your family and your disabled child has the best quality of life possible,” said Begley III, who also is the recipient of the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of AV that is awarded to lawyers operating at the highest level of professional excellence and upholding the highest ethical standards and is recognized as a New Jersey Super Lawyer. “We get to know you and your family to tailor a plan specific to the needs and long-term care your child deserves as well as point out programs and documents that will help your child for life.”
Registration is required for the free session:
609-799-8994
For more information:
The post New Jersey Special Needs Lawyer Highlights the Importance of Estate Planning for Parents of Disabled Children first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“A lot of people do not realize that they can get mortgage refinancing after bankruptcy. In fact, there are a variety of options. One of them is using a qualified attorney who specializes in helping borrowers to file that kind of paperwork. It is a good idea to have a skilled bankruptcy lawyer on your side, as they help mediate with your creditors. The ideal attorney is up-to-date and very knowledgeable about legal finance procedures and may be able to assist you in getting a good loan,” said Kevin Ahrenholz, an Iowa bankruptcy lawyer.
It is inevitable that after declaring bankruptcy an individual’s credit rating will affect the kind of loan he or she is able to obtain. A low credit score will put an individual out of the ballpark for some kinds of loans, because creditors view the low numbers with a jaundiced eye. Mortgage refinance loans may also be available, but they may also come with sky-high interest rates, because loaning to someone who has gone bankrupt is viewed as a high-risk venture.
“For this reason, check the refinancing fees first. You may make the decision at that time to wait a few years to prove you are able to handle your debts now. Doing that will put you back in the driver’s seat and you will have a chance to apply for cheaper loans,” Ahrenholz said.
In the crush of information that those who have gone through bankruptcy face, they may not know it is a smart move to pre-qualify before going for a bankruptcy mortgage refinance loan. The long and short of it is that being pre-qualified gives the individual a solid idea of how much he or she can borrow.
“From there, it’s usually just a matter of finding mortgage lenders who offer ‘damaged credit’ programs. It’s not as hard as you may think to still find a way to re-finance your home. With good legal assistance, your bankruptcy should proceed smoothly and you will come out the other side with a new perspective on life. While facing bankruptcy is difficult, it doesn’t need to be when you have the right kind of help,” Ahrenholz said.
Kevin Ahrenholz is an Iowa bankruptcy lawyer and Iowa bankruptcy attorney. To contact him, visit http://www.iowachapter7.com or call 1.877.888.1766.
The post Mortgage Refinancing May Still be Obtained After Bankruptcy Indicates Iowa Bankruptcy Lawyer first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Children who are under 18 might not be allowed to testify as a judge could determine that their age and maturity levels will not be admissible in court. And sometimes they will deny the parents’ requests if the judge and attorneys do not have the qualifications or training in these matters.
“The court could choose to appoint a guardian ad litem, parent coordinator or order a parenting plan evaluation,” said Laurel A. Tesmer, Esq. a Brandon, Fla. divorce and family law attorney at the Osenton Law Firm. “It is extremely important to speak to a knowledgeable attorney to weigh each scenario and analyze the way it could affect your child custody case.”
Having children testify should be the last resort in court, as it will rock their emotions and put them between their mother and father. Courts want to maintain the child’s mental health, security and future emotional well-being. Insisting that they testify could hurt the custody petition more than it could help. If a child’s testimony cannot be avoided, the child will most likely be taken into the judge’s chambers as it is a less threatening environment than being in the middle of a courtroom.
The younger the child, the less weight will be given to his or her testimony. And if it is clear that the parent the child picks to live with is not capable of financially or emotionally taking care of the child, the court can override the child’s decision.
“Parents can become very self absorbed when their marriage starts to crumble,” Tesmer said. “Children need steady, consistent supervision and need their parent to stay calm and focused even when this big stressor is weighing on them. You need a sensitive and competent lawyer to help you start the next chapter of your life.”
Osenton Law Offices counsel parents in child custody cases with tenacity and compassion in Tampa and Brandon, Fla. They are experienced in a broad spectrum of divorce matters, including divorce, child custody, alimony, stepparent adoptions, visitation and time sharing, enforcement and contempt proceedings, and modifications.
To learn more visit, Brandonlawoffice.com.
The post The Complexities Of A Testimony From A Child Could Outweigh The Benefits In A Divorce Case first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It goes without saying that large companies these days have an enormous amount of intellectual property behind them. It is what made them the success there are today. The most valuable thing for any company, but the larger ones in particular, is their brand and IP value. This leads to an interesting question. How much more do you think a company would be valued at if they actually invested more in IP registration and identification? It is food for thought.
For those major players on the block in the corporate world, such as BMW or Coke, they have gone to the trouble to clearly identify, maintain and keep their IP rights secure. It is obvious these efforts have played a big part in their successes as well. IP rights affect their operations, their appeal to current and potential investors, the ability to choose certain partnerships and increase the business value for a merger or sale.
What is the attraction here? What is more important than fixed assets? The answer is information. Information is more valuable now than actual physical property. Information has the added benefit of being a highly tradable asset when it is protected by IP laws, etc. This is what increases the value of a company and this is why you need to have even a passing knowledge of how IP works and why you need to make sure it is legally protected.
Still in the dark? Here are some of the areas you may create IP in, beginning with trade secrets. Trade secrets protect proprietary information, such as what is in the Coke formula, how do they run their company and what systems do they have that makes them successfully competitive? IP also comes in the form of trademarks that protect parts of your general brand. E.g. names, pictures and slogans.
Copyright is a very big part of IP and acts to protect things like recordings, pictures, books, documents and videos. There are of course exceptions to every rule and if you do not understand how IP works, then it is usually best to discuss your concerns with a competent Los Angeles trademark and copyright lawyer. You may also want to ask about inventions, processes and types of ideas, an area that deal with industrial designs and patents. It is a big and confusing world out there and knowledge is power for your business.
Where do you start? The first thing to do is identify what you currently have for IP in your company. If you are not certain how to do that or what to do and what classifies as IP, make that call to an experienced Los Angeles trademark and copyright lawyer and find out. Once you know what you have, the next step is tracking and managing it and registering it. While that may sound simple, it is not always that easy to do. That is why a good IP lawyer is worth their weight in gold, not to mention the fact that with the right legal advice, your business will be worth its weight in gold.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit Daviderikson.com. Mr. Erikson specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
The post Intellectual Property Rights Are Your Key to Business Profitability first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>At the end of August, the VA added ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia to the list of diseases connected to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. The VA announced that sufferers of those diseases may now be eligible for additional benefits because of their exposure.
More than 163,000 veterans or survivors of veterans have a pending claim related to these diseases. The VA hopes to have them all paid out by October of 2011. To meet this goal, some believe the VA has given special attention to the new cases and other veterans may see longer waiting times as a result.
“We have been hearing from the VA that the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has told it to process these claims prior to ruling on other claims,” said James G. Fausone, a lawyer who works for Legal Help For Veterans, PLLC. “As a result, we have been receiving word from local Regional Offices that the normal ‘slow’ process at VA has been slowed even further because the VA has been focusing on these claims and not working on the other claims.”
Prior to the announcement, 93,000 previously denied claims hung in limbo in the system. After the announcement, 70,000 more veterans stormed the system, claiming that they suffered from the new diseases covered under the announcement. The VA expects five to 10 percent of the previously denied claims to be rejected once again due to “imprecision” in diagnostic codes and because they simply cannot reach many veterans due to movings or death.
“This announcement is great for the veterans who put their lives on the line in Vietnam, were exposed to dangerous herbicides without knowledge that they were harmful, and suffered negative health effects as a consequence,” Fausone said. “It is unfortunate that many who have suffered because of Agent Orange had to wait so long for care. It is equally unfortunate that the system cannot handle all of these claims more quickly and efficiently, so veterans can move on with their lives.”
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com.
The post Legal Help For Veterans Foresees Long Waits After Agent Orange Case first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>A person may be able to contest their loved one’s will if the person has good reason to believe that it is invalid. Contesting a will is a process that is based on a person’s firm belief that something is wrong with his or her loved one’s will or in the manner in which it was signed or procured.
A person should not contest a will simply because he or she thinks the loved one made a distribution of which he or she does not approve. Rather, one must have valid grounds to make the contest. To begin with, a will is presumed valid if it appears valid on its face, i.e. contains the signature of the loved one and the requisite signatures of disinterested witnesses in accordance with state law. In order to challenge a will, the challenger has the burden of coming forward with legally valid evidence that would justify a court of law in setting the will aside. There are only certain circumstances that would warrant a court doing so:
If the person can prove that the person making the will (also known as the testator) was suffering from mental incapacity to the degree that he did not know that he was making a will and/or did not know the nature or extent of his assets, nor the identity of his family, one may be able to establish that he lacked the requisite mental capacity to make a will. Evidence in this regard may include medical records, witnesses who had interaction with the testator and, possibly, the opinion of a forensic psychiatrist.
If a person believes that another person applied undue pressure upon the testator to change the distribution made in a prior will and/or to disinherit someone who would be the natural object of his bounty, that circumstance may perhaps show undue influence, which is often another basis to challenge a will.
Fraud is another basis to contest the will. For example, if a person can prove that the testator signed the will document without knowing or realizing that it was actually a will, or that he was given misinformation that caused him to sign the will in its present form or to change the distribution plan of a prior will, one may be able to establish that he was fraudulently influenced.
Further, if a person can show that the will was not properly executed according to state law, this may furnish another basis to contest a will. Example: the testator did not sign in the presence of the required number of disinterested witnesses, or that the actual signing was not properly witnessed.
“If you believe that your situation is similar to any of the above circumstances, you may wish to contact an attorney immediately to help you file a claim to ensure the proper distribution of your loved one’s estate,” said Gene L Osofsky, an elder law and estate planning attorney with the Law Offices of Osofsky Osofsky, with experience in trust administration and estate planning. “Also, be mindful of time limits. Usually a will contest must be filed before the will is admitted to probate. Speed may therefore be essential.”
To learn more about elder law and The Law Offices of Osofsky & Osofsky, visit http://www.lawyerforseniors.com/.
The post The Law Offices of Osofsky and Osofsky Offers Tips on Contesting the Will first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This year, for a fee, the government and even some airlines are helping to ease that pain.
The U.S. government (and some foreign governments as well, like Holland) has introduced the Global Entry Program. U.S. citizens over the age of 14 can pay a fee of $100 (valid for 5 years) and enroll in the program. They have to enter their data in the following website:
After the completion of the process, there will be a one-time CBP interview.
However, once it’s complete, you do not need to stand in any immigration line. There are kiosks in most major airports. The traveler has to scan in their passport at airport kiosks, and zoom down to luggage claim.
Similarly, in Houston IAH, international travelers who are U.S. citizens and have no checked luggage can go through the lines used by pilots and flight attendants for faster processing.
This process can be used by anyone, but because of the lengthy process to get into the program, it is probably feasible for frequent business travelers only. The travelers also get expedited check-in kiosks at other participating countries, as well. As more countries sign on, the price may come down.
There is a chance that this may simply become a requirement for foreign travel in the future. It will save money on personnel for countries participating in this program. Additionally, some airlines are also letting passengers cut in line for boarding the plane or for checking in for a fee. Both American and Southwest airlines are going to be offering this perk for a fee ranging from $10 to $50 per ticket.
This will be the future of travel, in a world increasingly short for time. But then, in this world, will there even be time for vacations?
Annie Banerjee, J.D.
281-242-9139
To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.
The post Speedy Travel at the Airport first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Although originally intended for businesses, individuals can be required to file for this chapter if their debt exceeds the limits of Chapter 13 bankruptcy,” said Reginald Osenton of Osenton Law Offices in Brandon, Florida.
Currently, the limits of Chapter 13 bankruptcy are $1,081,500 for secured debt and $360,525 for unsecured debt. The threshold changes every three years in proportion to the Consumer Price Index.
Chapter 11 bankruptcies can be more advantageous in some cases for individuals. Here are some examples of how:
-Chapter 11 has no debt limits, unlike Chapter 13. As more and more consumers have taken advantage of larger amounts of credit that are being extended, this is an important point.
-Chapter 11 gives the debtor more freedom because there usually is no trustee appointed. This also saves the cost of having to pay for a trustee. There is also more flexibility with proposing a repayment plan.
-Debtors have the ability to modify their secured debts. With Chapter 13 cases, it is necessary to wait a certain length of time before the loan of an item can be reduced to the current value of the product. But with Chapter 11, there is no time limit. So that motorcycle that was purchased 14 months ago and is currently worth less than its loan? It can be reduced to the bike’s present worth.
For Businesses
Chapter 11 bankruptcy is also used by businesses. When a company is going out of business, Florida law provides a process for liquidation. But in the case of businesses that want to continue operating, Chapter 11 can help.
“Chapter 11 helps a business restructure its secured debts so they sometimes are extended and lowered. Also, there are no debts that are considered dischargeable,” Osenton said.
For individuals who are considering filing for Chapter 11 for business or personal reasons, or for information on another form of bankruptcy, it is important to speak with an experienced attorney who can answer any pertinent questions.
To learn more visit, http://www.brandonlawoffice.com.
The post Osenton Says Individuals With High Debt May Wish To Consider Chapter 11 first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Who hasn’t fallen at one time or another, picked themselves up, dusted off their hands and clothing, made a small joke and got on with their day? It’s easy to do. You maybe miss a step on the way up or down a flight of stairs or you didn’t see the coffee spill on the mall promenade. Falling hard, as the result of a slip, can cause untold problems either immediately or later, as we’re not made to slam into hard surfaces and not sustain some kind of injury,” said Charlie Donahue, a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States.
A person trips on an exposed brick in the sidewalk in front of a store. While a fall may not seem like a big deal when it happens, with the passage of time it might turn out that the kneecap that hit the pavement like a ton of hammers is cracked, impeding movement and causing agonizing pain. It’s time to talk to a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer about recovering damages to pay medical bills, which are likely going to be high as a result of surgery, therapy, medications and other tests.
What started out as a simple tumble has now taken on the proportions of a colossal uphill battle with the owner of the store whose sidewalk was uneven. “The owner knew about the brick, but had not gotten around to fixing it. That is unfortunate, however, it is his responsibility to fix it; to keep his premises safe for a person who comes onto his property. That includes the sidewalk in front of the store. Rather than argue with the owner, take your case to a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer and leave it in their capable hands. That’s their job; to get you justice from those who were negligent,” Donahue said.
It’s also the lawyer’s job to obtain a fair and equitable settlement that will cover the bills that accumulate during time off work as a result of medical treatments, tests, etc. Financially speaking, victims in many slip and fall cases have a hard road to hoe because they are losing money from being off work. That means not being paid or being paid a reduced amount, and in today’s economy, this may spell disaster for an injured plaintiff.
“If you want financial compensation to cope with your injuries, then you will need a personal injury lawyer to go to bat for you. Whether you tripped over an uneven brick or slipped on a slick puddle of coffee, the responsible party ought to have liability insurance that will pay your medical bills and time off work. Trying to secure a settlement on your own usually doesn’t work. That’s my job, my only job, and I don’t get paid until you do. If you have questions, give my office a call,” Donahue said.
To learn more, visit http://www.donahuelawfirm.com.
The post Donahue Warns Against Understating Slip and Fall Incidents first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>What is an LLC?
A “Limited Liability Company” (LLC) is a hybrid between a partnership and a corporation. It has the operating flexibility and “pass through” tax treatment of a partnership with the limited liability for its “members” accorded to corporate shareholders. “While an LLC is a business entity, it is best to think of it as an unincorporated association,” said Anthony Spotora, a Los Angeles-based business attorney. “Although sometimes incorrectly referred to as Limited Liability Corporations, they are in fact not corporations.”
Further Benefits
LLCs are highly attractive to some because of the flexibility in tax choices. LLC business ventures qualify for a single layer of taxation, which prevents ownership from being double-taxed under the corporate tax structure.
“However, LLCs may also elect to be taxed under a corporate tax structure if they wish,” Spotora said. “In fact, the full list of taxation choices for LLCs are as a sole proprietor, a partnership and either an S- or C- Corporation.”
LLCs also often require much less administrative paperwork and record-keeping than do corporations. The laws also allow LLCs to customize the rules for how the LLC is best operated.
Drawbacks
Some people feel that LLCs do have disadvantages, however.
In California and a handful of other states, LLCs must pay a franchise or capital values tax on the business.
LLC’s in California must pay an annual tax to the state’s Franchise Tax Board. The fee is $800 per year, though if the LLC’s net annual income exceeds $250,000, then there will be an additional fee that must be paid, too.
Also, some people believe LLCs have a more difficult time raising financial capital because investors may be more comfortable investing funds into corporate firms.
If a person is considering making their new business venture a Limited Liability Company, it is important for them to speak with an experienced attorney.
Anthony Spotora is a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and Los Angeles business attorney. To learn more, visit Spotoralaw.com.
The post Spotora Explains Benefits of Forming a Limited Liability Company first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It’s not a secret that medical malpractice lawsuits are growing every year, despite some states capping a victim’s award. Companion cases to medical errors made by surgeons, doctors, nurses and dentists are pharmaceutical mistakes that are growing by leaps and bounds every year. In fact, close to 1.3 million people will die in the U.S. this year as a result of incorrectly prescribed or wrongly filled prescriptions.
“This is alarming, as just about everyone you may know has taken or is taking some kind of pills prescribed by a doctor. Taking drugs is a common daily occurrence for just about three quarters or more of the population. Consider what would happen if the drugs you are taking cause deadly side effects because the dose was wrong or it was the wrong drug? It’s happened, because humans make mistakes, whether they are medical professionals or not,” said Brooks Schuelke, an Austin personal lawyer with Perlmutter & Schuelke, L.L.P.
Those taking their daily medications might want to pause and read the label closely, just to make sure it is the correct drug in the proper dosage. They might also want to double check any prescription they are handed by a doctor to verify what they’re being told to take and why, and then check again at the drug store to see if the right drug is dispensed. It’s not too far-fetched to find that the drug in the bottle is not the one it is supposed to be, because they looked similar on the shelf.
Pharmaceutical errors happen just about anywhere within the medical system; in a hospital room, in a nursing home, at the drug store and in the doctor’s office. Medical professionals are human and humans make mistakes, despite their best intentions. Taking the wrong pill has the potential to cause grave side effects or even death. Once someone takes the wrong pill or wrong dose, it’s in the body and it can’t come out.
“The bottom line is that we trust our doctors and medical professionals to do what is in our best interests. We trust they understand the effects of the drug they want us to take and that they prescribe drugs that won’t harm us. In this day and age, it’s best to be your own advocate when it comes to keeping track of your medications. It’s your body, your health and your life and you want to get it right,” said Schuelke, the Austin personal injury lawyer.
For those who have suffered as a result of pharmaceutical negligence, consult with a seasoned Austin personal injury lawyer to find out about eligibility for compensation for pain and suffering and mental and emotional trauma.
Contact Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP at http://www.civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
The post The Law Firm of Perlmutter & Schuelke Explains Pharmaceutical Errors Increasing first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“It never ceases to amaze me what people do when they are driving vehicles, which can easily kill someone if they are not paying attention to what they are doing. This case that I recently read about involved a school bus crash that took the life of a 9-year-old girl. While the case did not involve talking on a cell phone or the abuse of drugs, it hinged on two other negligent actions: listening to an iPod while driving and falling asleep behind the wheel while entrusted with a bus load of school children,” said Chicago injury lawyer Michael Osborne. The Law Office of Michael Osborne helps accident, wrongful death, and personal injury victims in Chicago, Illinois.
The bus was driving on a highway when it veered sharply on to the shoulder, smashing into a gravel truck parked doing mechanical maintenance. The bus continued on and hit a light pole. The driver did admit to police she was using an iPod and had likely fallen asleep, as she didn’t know what happened. There were 11 children on the 30-passenger vehicle and all of them sustained injuries that required them being taken to hospital by EMS responders.
There was no evidence of emergency brakes being applied or any form of emergency steering being used and the police opted to charge her with careless driving. The driver ultimately paid a fine and had her license suspended for 90 days. The consequences of her actions will haunt the family of the young girl who lost her life because of someone else’s recklessness; a family who may choose to file a wrongful death lawsuit in order to find justice for their daughter.
“Cases like this are never easy. The family needs to know what their rights are, how a court case will affect them and what they may expect while waiting for their case to be dealt with. They also need to know what kinds of damages they may ask the court to award and how long their case may take to settle. That is my job, should you come to me with a case similar to this. I am here to answer your questions and would be pleased to discuss your case with you should you call my firm,” Osborne said.
The Law Office of Michael Osborne helps accident, wrongful death, and personal injury victims. To contact a Chicago personal injury attorney or learn more, visit http://www.michaelosbornelaw.com or call (312) 315-1765.
The post Attorney Osborne Examines Bus Driver’s Negligence in Wrongful Death of 9-Year-Old Girl first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>When aliens seeking work in the U.S. qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher, they also qualify for First Employment Based Preference (or EB-1, for short). Usually an employer would sponsor the person to hold a tenure track or a permanent position, for example. If an employer does not sponsor an alien, he or she may still qualify under EB-1 if the person holds “Extraordinary Ability”, or under the Second Employment Based Preference (EB-2) for National Interest Waivers (NIW).
“The difference between Extraordinary Ability and National Interest Waivers is that the requirements are higher for Extraordinary Ability. Generally, the higher the preference, the shorter time to get permanent residency,” said Annie Banerjee from the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee.
Extraordinary Ability Aliens must meet at least three requirements, one more requirement than Extraordinary Aliens must meet. The requirements are: The alien must have nationally or internationally recognized prizes and be members of an association that requires outstanding achievements. The alien should have substantial publications in major journals and should list all publications. Also, others should have cited your work in a publication. It would help if you had participated in a panel or have judged the qualifications of others in a peer review. Also weighing heavily is evidence of original scientific or artistic contributions such as patents or copyrights. Lastly, evidence of earning a high salary would also be one of the requirements.
For National Interest Waivers, one must have a master’s degree or higher and must meet all three of the following qualifications: Work must be of substantial intrinsic merit. For example, it can not an esoteric field of law. Secondly, the scope of the work is national and not merely local; it must appear in national journals, for example. Lastly, the work benefits the national interest to a “substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.” This means that it significantly exceeds the norm in some way. It must establish that there is no need to protect normal U.S. workers through a labor certification process.
Banerjee also stresses the importance of reference letters. “Reference letters from professors or researchers in the field is always very useful for all the categories,” Banerjee said.
To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.
The post The Law Office of Annie Banerjee Helps with EB-1 and NIW first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The program, Secure Communities, allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) to examine detainee fingerprints sent from local law enforcement agencies. ICE searches for a fingerprint match in the Department of Homeland Security databases, which contains data on both lawful and unlawful foreign nationals. ICE then makes a determination whether to initiate removal proceedings.
Opponents of the program argue that it is open to abuse because an individual’s immigration history is investigated regardless of the crime.
“This leaves the door open to a pretext arrest of a person whom the police believe looks like an illegal immigrant,” said Dallas-based immigration attorney Stewart Rabinowitz of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. “If the police are correct, ICE will detain and remove the person and there will never be trial on the charges prompting the arrest. Police only need to allege the commission of a crime – regardless of probable cause.”There are no safeguards in place to prevent this from happening, as ICE does not monitor local law enforcement agencies for procedural or civil rights violations.
Proponents of the program cite the removal of large numbers of foreign nationals from the United States and frequently look no further. But the Department of Homeland Security and ICE set annual priorities, and chief among them is the removal of dangerous, criminal aliens from the United States.
Measured by the number of dangerous criminals removed, ICE’s own statistics reveal that Secure Communities has been ineffective. From October 2009 to August 2010, only 16 percent of people deported were found to have committed serious crimes. “The program is supposed to protect the U.S. from people who pose a danger to public safety, but it ends up doing much more than that. It deports people who pose no threat, while dangerous criminal aliens still remain at large,” Rabinowitz said. “Secure Communities as an unchecked federal program enables racial profiling.”
And the Department of Homeland Security has told those localities that have decided to no longer participate in Secure Communities because of its perceived adverse affects on police-community relations that localities cannot opt out of the program.
ICE plans to extend the program to every state in the U.S. by next year, and hopes to be in all 3,100 state and local jails by 2013.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
The post ICE Releases Secure Communities Data Showing the Program Ineffective in Removing Dangerous Criminal Aliens; Program Remains Open to Abuse, Rabinowitz Says first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“If you’re in the situation where you need to place a loved one in a nursing home, you want to know they will be safe, treated with respect and dignity and will be well cared for. The last thing you want to find out is that they are being abused. While you might not want to think about that, this does happen in a great number of nursing homes. Your loved one may be facing physical or emotional abuse on a daily basis. Are you aware of what is going on in the nursing home?” asked Michael Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer.
Those who aren’t certain what is going on in a nursing home and whether or not their relative is indeed safe should watch for the sometimes-subtle warning signs. This is actually a very significant responsibility for those with family members in a home, as seniors are not throwaway people to be ignored and treated badly. They are people who deserve respect and protection. If they are not getting what they deserve, it’s crucial to consult with an Arkansas injury lawyer to put a stop to the abuse.
Physical abuse tops the list of atrocities that seniors may face every day; abuse that inflicts physical harm. This may involve slapping, hitting, pinching, shoving or other forms of direct physical contact. There is also a more subtle form of indirect abuse that may involve food deprivation or withholding needed medications. This kind of abuse virtually ensures long-term trauma for seniors who have to rely on the help of others while in the home.
“While it might seem obvious to say look for bruises, I don’t necessarily mean bruises on their hands and arms, although that is a common location. There may be bruising and welts in other locations as well. Be aware of their physical condition at all times, as any change may signal they are being abused. For instance, inner leg bruising may indicate sexual abuse. If you don’t know, don’t waste time arguing with management, contact a skilled personal injury lawyer and find out what can be done,” Smith said.
In some cases, abuse manifests itself as broken bones, sprains and dislocations in the hip area; usually a result of being shoved and pushed about by a caregiver. This causes hip dislocation and a possible fall. Shoulder injuries may also arise from rough handling.
“Look for broken glasses that may be a result of someone applying force to their face. Also be alert for rope marks on wrists, a sign of illegal restraint. The bottom line is, if the nursing home isn’t happy to have you visit your mom or dad or grandparents alone, be wary and alert,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
The post Arkansas Injury Lawyer Smith Advises Bruises May Be Sign Of Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are new changes in state law regarding California’s skilled nursing homes.
Nursing homes will now face fines if they do not maintain state-mandated staffing requirements under the reauthorization of AB 1629 signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 19. The state will now have new tools to enforce the existing staffing requirement of 3.2 nursing hours per patient per day, required of all nursing homes licensed in California that receive Medi-Cal or Medicare payments.
These changes were established for accountability’s sake to ensure that all nursing homes meet state requirements. They were designed to reinforce the Long Term Care Reimbursement Act of 2004, which increased funding for nursing homes to help them meet these staffing requirements. Until now, the 2004 act had not fully met its goal of improving patient care.
The new law will also increase the number of auditors investigating the nursing homes. It will also establish fines for those who are non-compliant.
“The reason for this legislation was to provide better enforcement of the required staffing ratios in nursing homes, in order to improve the quality of patient care,” said Gene Osofsky of the Law Offices of Osofsky and Osofsky, which specializes in elder law, estate planning and trust administration.
Skilled nursing homes and care facilities will face penalties and fines if they do not meet the staffing requirements as required by law. Although some nursing homes already staff at the state’s requirement, others will now be forced to comply through imposition of fines and penalties. “We hope that the new law will provide better enforcement of the required staffing and improve the quality of care for patients,” Osofsky said.
Gene Osofsky also gives tips on how to choose and evaluate a proper nursing care facility. Gene Osofsky is a lawyer who also deals with nursing care issues.
“What’s more important than a nice looking facility is the quality of care. One must look at how the residents in the nursing home are being attended to and how well they are being treated and respected. Try to visit a facility at a time that hasn’t been prearranged in order to get an unrehearsed version of how the place operates,” Osofsky said.
To learn more about elder law and The Law Offices of Osofsky & Osofsky, visit http://www.lawyerforseniors.com/.
The post California’s Nursing Home Law Reaffirms Requirement of Proper Staffing Ratios in Nursing Care Facilities first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“It’s always nice to be able to beat a big insurance company in court,” said Daren Monroe, who writes for Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan. “This is a stellar case, where two personal injury lawyers took an aggressive approach to a tough case and won the day.” The verdict in this particular trial was close to a million dollars and was the result of a horrendous truck accident case. The insurance company went to court because they felt their position was defensible and they were planning to be tough about it.
The case was about a 28-year old man who was involved in a wreck with a truck. He was in good physical shape before the crash, meaning he had no lower back pain and did not have any pre-existing injuries. After the collision, he was in constant pain that escalated to the point where he required low back fusion surgery.
This didn’t make much of an impression on the insurance company, whose trial tactics were to focus on the lack of visible damage to his car, dispute liability for the accident in total, and suggest the man was faking his injury. “The insurance company even went so far as to hire a private investigator to follow him around and gather evidence. But there was nothing to find,” Monroe said.
The part about the plaintiff faking his injuries is usually referred to as the MIST defense, which breaks out to minimal impact, soft tissue. In a nutshell, insurance companies aim to convince a jury that very serious personal injuries, like this plaintiff’s back injury, can’t possibly happen as a result of low damage accidents.
“The MIST defense is a bit of hogwash, as people have been catastrophically injured or even killed in low damage accidents, while others in total wrecks walk away unscathed,” Monroe said. “Put another way, there is no correlation between injury and vehicle damage.”
Waiting for the verdict in this case would have been very financially difficult for the plaintiff, who was trying to recover from significant back surgery and major pain. He would have likely needed money to pay his bills, but didn’t know where that would come from and how he could manage his expenses. This situation would be ideal one for the plaintiff to apply for a lawsuit loan.
It’s easy to apply for litigation funding. It is a no hassle process, as the legal finance company knows how much the plaintiff has already gone through to get to them in the first place. To that end, anyone who applies and qualifies for pre-settlement funding does not pay to apply for funds, does not have to shell out upfront fees, does not have to make monthly payments and does not need to go through a credit check or have a job.
Litigation funding is worth checking into, as it could set the plaintiff back on their feet financially, until the case is settled. In the process, they don’t have to take any offers from the insurance company, not with a lawsuit cash advance in the bank.
To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com/.
The post MIST defense defeated at trial of severely injured man first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“This case that we read about recently involved a young girl who suffered severe birth injuries – brain injuries. It was interesting in that it proves that these kinds of cases are always radically different, just sometimes similar, and that to get justice, a plaintiff needs the assistance of a seasoned personal injury lawyer,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.
The first jury that heard the initial case in 2008 handed down a “shockingly low” award, particularly given the extreme severity of the girl’s injuries, Ozcomert said. The first medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against the hospital in 2002. It took six years for a verdict.
The parents of the young girl stated that their obstetrician, an anesthesiologist and a nurse were negligent for not properly monitoring and managing the mother’s labor. This ultimately resulted in a delayed C-section, which in turn caused severe and permanent neurological injuries to the baby because she was deprived of oxygen.
The baby was 6 years old when the case went to court and the mother provided testimony that the child could not crawl (only wiggle and kick her feet), feed herself (she is intubated to be fed), speak or walk and that she would be in diapers her whole life. The child’s assessed cognitive age was set at between two and three months. The girl was diagnosed with permanent brain damage, cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia and developmental retardation. She couldn’t hear very well and had regular seizures. The pediatric expert witness at trial said no improvement is expected and that she may live until the age of 28 years old.
“The defense in this case tried in another state insisted the condition happened due to a prior in utero event that was so severe that earlier delivery wouldn’t have made any difference. While that may be hard to believe that something so drastic would have happened without the mother knowing, it was what the defense argued. In the final analysis, the jury found the doctor negligent and that her negligence was a significant factor that caused the baby’s injuries,” Ozcomert said.
“Here’s where things got a bit hazy as to reasoning for the award. The child was awarded $3,807,832 for future life care expenses, zero for the loss of future earning capacity and $150,000 for her pain and suffering and disability. The parents were awarded $527,284 for past expenses and $150,000 for past and future loss of their child’s companionship and society. These are very low awards, and both sides appealed,” Ozcomert said.
On appeal, the court agreed with the parents that the damage award was unreasonably low and shocking and a new trial was ordered. The child in this case is effectively frozen in time and unable to move forward and will never be more than an infant. The $150,000 award(s) were painfully low and abhorrent, as was the jury decision to not award money for lost earnings, according to Ozcomert. The new trial is yet to be scheduled.
“This type of case happens more often than you might think and in situations like this, it’s vital to have a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer handle your case. The family will need maximum compensation to care for their child. It’s just that simple and obvious. If you are in a situation like this and your child has been injured due to medical malpractice, you will have questions about your case. If you choose to call my office, I would be happy to explain the law to you and what your rights are,” Ozcomert said.
To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Cases May Be Tried Twice, Malpractice Attorney Ozcomert Says first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Big rig collisions happen every day; a statistic many Americans would rather not entertain as a part of their daily news. Unfortunately, many families have either experienced a collision with a tractor trailer first hand or know of someone who was badly injured in one or who died. The statistics for 18-wheeler crashes are depressing, but still, they are a reality that drivers deal with every day when they take to the highways and byways across the country.
“This crash case involved two semis colliding with one another at an intersection. It came to our attention because it’s not often this kind of thing happens. It serves to point out that anything can and does happen when operating a big rig, but that the consequences, given the size of the vehicles, are usually far more devastating,” said a spokesperson for R.W. Lee Law in Austin, Texas.
Preliminary police reports indicated that one semi was westbound on a drive when it proceeded to make a left hand turn right into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer headed east. Both rigs met in the middle of the intersection. Why the westbound semi thought it was safe to turn in front of an oncoming tractor-trailer is anyone’s guess. The police will attempt to sort that issue out before making any decisions about laying charges.
“This is another issue that many people don’t fully understand – that while an accident may look like one thing on the surface, it rarely is what they think. The police don’t jump to conclusions first and ask questions later. This is crucial as well when building a case for a client. We always make certain to know the complete details, particularly in situations involving semis, as these tend to be complex cases that involve a lot of people and entities, including insurance companies,” said the spokesperson for R.W. Lee Law of Austin, Texas.
As a result of the accident, one trucker was taken to the nearest hospital; the other driver’s injuries were not known and may be evaluated later. Both of the trucks sustained significant front end damage. The clean-up began when the dust settled from the collision. The driver that was injured may well have a case against the other driver once the details are sorted out as to how this accident happened in the first place.
For those who have been in an accident with a semi and lived to tell the tale, the smartest move to make is to secure the future financially by speaking to an Austin personal injury lawyer. Their expertise will ensure compensation for what may be lifelong, life-altering injuries that require continuous care.
To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.
The post R.W. Lee Law Firm Explains How Big Rig Collisions are Handled first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Unfortunately, motorcycle accidents have increased over the last five years, largely due to the fact that many people have given up their expensive cars to save money,” said Scott Atkinson, a New Mexico personal injury lawyer and wrongful death lawyer with the Atkinson Law Firm, Ltd. “Whether or not the riders are wearing helmets doesn’t seem to matter much. What matters is that the increase in wrecks appears to be a result of inattentiveness and carelessness, usually on the part of other vehicles that don’t see the biker until it’s too late.”
At issue in cases such as a motorcycle wreck is not so much whether the biker was wearing a helmet, but if the individual is alive. Those who do make it out of a collision alive and are able to assist counsel with their cases usually find their resolutions are more successful. Their first-hand experience and demonstrable injuries usually help a jury to understand the ramifications of a motorcycle collision.
Even with devastating injuries, clients can assist legal counsel to put together a case by directing them to important medical records, police reports, eyewitnesses and other information needed to prepare a case. If a biker has been severely injured and unable to do much in the way of helping their lawyer, the lawyer virtually becomes the client in order to track down relevant and pertinent information.
“Typically speaking, the worse the accident, the higher the compensation; for the simple reason that someone who sustained life altering injuries will likely need care for the rest of their lives. What’s crucially important in any accident case, but perhaps more so in a car versus motorcycle crash, is the question of who is at fault. Fault and negligence go hand in hand. Once negligence is proven, fault is not far behind,” Atkinson said.
At trial, the goal in cases like this is to aim for the maximum compensation possible. There is often no other way for a critically injured victim to obtain funds to live out the rest of his or her life other than a court award or settlement. Motorcyclists who have been involved in a crash should not wait too long before seeking advice and considering filing a personal injury lawsuit.
“Most states have limits on the time a person can file a lawsuit, and if the person misses that limit – referred to as the statute of limitations – he or she loses the right to sue. This is not something an injured person would want to lose when his or her whole lifestyle is at stake,” Atkinson said.
“When an accident changes your life from something you once enjoyed; an active affair with millions of things to do, to the specter of living in a wheelchair or having limited mobility, it’s time to talk to an experience New Mexico personal injury lawyer. This is my job, to help those who have been hurt due to no fault of their own,” Atkinson said.
To learn more about Scott Atkinson visit http://www.attorneynewmexico.com
The post Atkinson Says Lawyer Must Become The Victim When Severe Injuries Prevent A Biker From Assisting Legal Counsel first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>William Dotson of Hartford, a 34-year-old Connecticut man, filed suit on July 9, against Reverend Stephen Bzydra for sexually molesting him while he was an altar boy at St. Francis Church in New Haven, Conn. and Saint Hedwig Church in Naugatuck, Conn. between 1985 and 1990. Dotson was found to be entitled to a $10 million attachment based on demoralizing evidence of repeated and horrific sexual abuse in October 2010.
“William is very grateful that the court ruled in his favor supporting his case. The pedophile priest’s lawyer Hugh Keefe should be ashamed of himself for attacking William the way he did in court,” said Joel T. Faxon of Stratton Faxon, the trial law firm in Connecticut that represented Dotson. “The pedophile should come forward and take responsibility for his actions. The diocese and the Vatican should remove Bzdyra from his priestly duties immediately to protect the thousands of children of Connecticut from a Bzdyra attack. Bzdyra is able to troll around the parks and playgrounds of Connecticut with impunity. This disgusting monster should be in jail. We have already forwarded the judge’s decision to the State’s Attorney’s office in hopes that he can be criminally prosecuted.”
The Catholic Diocese placed Bzdyra, the accused priest, on administrative leave in August pending their investigation. He had served as priest and religious education teacher at St. Hedwig’s Church in Naugatuck during the mid-1980s and early ’90s.
“There was more than adequate evidence to support the plaintiff’s claim that Bzdyra sexually abused him when he was a young boy,” said Justice Robert Berdon after a contested hearing. “The court finds that the testimony of the plaintiff was credible and overwhelming. The court finds that the abuse included anal rape, forced oral sex with Bzdyra, that Bzdyra compelled the plaintiff to masturbate him and Bzdyra ejaculated in the face of the plaintiff. This conduct went on for several years.”
To learn more, visit http://www.strattonfaxon.com.
The post Sexual Abuse Victim Is Entitled to $10M Attachment Against Disgraced Pedophile Priest’s Assets, Supreme Rule Says first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Republicans on a committee dealing with this issue are arguing that illegal immigrants take jobs away from the unemployed. Democrats argue that if unemployed Americans wanted those agricultural jobs, they’d already be working in them. The fact that they are not sends an interesting message to the politicians who have yet to acknowledge that migrant workers are what keep the country’s produce moving.
Sometimes there are issues that are best left alone, unless the government wants to poke about and make things worse. The burning issue in relation to immigrants working in agricultural jobs is that their presence means Americans don’t have that work. While that is true on the surface, the question then becomes where are the Americans who will work this kind of job?
On one side of the fence is a group that thinks allowing low skilled guest workers to take jobs from poor whites, black and legal Hispanics is counterintuitive. On the other side of the fence is the faction that says some agricultural jobs are not a good fit for unemployed people. These days it would seem that the issue is having work and paying the bills, not whether or not the job is a good fit. If this is to say that some people don’t like toiling in the fields, then why would they think the American taxpayers should pick up their living expenses in the form of welfare?
Evidently, most of the agricultural jobs are seasonal, which means workers would have to move where the work is located. Wages are also considered to be very low for the number of hours required. Also at issue is that migrant farm laborers have fewer rights than other laborers.
These three factors are essentially a turnoff for American workers. That said, a job is a job and if someone does not have one, but there is work to be had, it’s hardly acceptable to not take work because it’s not attractive. Today’s economy dictates that people need to do what they can to get food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
The ultimate hitch with this Rubik’s cube of a problem is that without enough migrant workers to pull the product out of the field, agricultural production could stop, growers lose crops and farms go out of business. Since the nation relies of farms for food, this would be a crisis of major proportions. Right now, the legal method to let migrant workers into America is extremely slow. Many argue that Visa reform is critical.
Workers in the fields now are under a shaky H-2A guest worker program, which is highly unreliable. This leaves employers with the choice of taking that slow route when they need workers immediately, or taking documents that look good from migrant workers who may be here illegally, or hiring Americans, if any chose to apply.
The number of workers needed to keep the wheels of agriculture turning in the U.S. is 2 million and only 5,000 visas are earmarked each year for migrant workers. Where is the remainder of workers to come from? This is the conundrum yet to be solved.
To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com
The post Miami Immigration Lawyers Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff Indicate the Debate Over Unemployed Americans Wanting Farm Jobs is Heating Up first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In an interesting international development, U.S.-based Smart Blocks Inc., a maker of construction toys, sued the Danish company Lego A/S, noted as one of Europe’s largest toymakers. Smart Blocks petitioned the federal court for a determination that they were not infringing on Lego trademarks.
Evidently, Smart Blocks, whose headquarters are in San Marcos, Calif., are noted for their talking building blocks that feature six built-in depressible pins. The toys are marketed in seven different colors and have a variety of themes that appeal to children.
Smart Blocks had a shipment worth close to $200,000 blocked by U.S. Customs at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Port in July because there was a trademark issue with Lego. Two months later, the shipment was still on stall and there were no signs it would be released. The company ended up paying thousands of dollars for detention and storage courtesy of U.S. Customs.
“As you can well imagine, this was a significant setback for the company who indicated it had a limited supply of blocks on hand and if they were delayed any further, they may be forced to go out of business,” said David Alden Erikson, who specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
On the other side of the globe, Lego was saying Smart Blocks packaging is infringing on their trademark. “Smart Blocks says they are not, and there is the rub. Lego actually lost a court challenge asking for European Union trademark rights for the shape of their toy bricks. The question is whether or not they will also lose this case,” Erikson said.
Right now, Smart Blocks is asking the federal court to declare its packaging and products are not infringing on Lego’s trademark and they want Lego to stop saying that they are. In addition, they also want their shipment released and the cancelation of several Lego trademarks because they are generic or invalid.
“Where will this case end up? At this point, that is anyone’s guess, but largely, this case depends on how the court views Smart Blocks products in relation to Lego’s products. On the surface, they sound different and look different, but their inherent design may become the key issue. This is yet another good case to watch to learn about trademark infringement,” Erikson said.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit http://www.daviderikson.com.
The post LA Business Litigation Attorney Erikson Discusses International Trademark Infringement Case first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Applying for Permanent Residency can be a daunting lengthy process; therefore, it is helpful to know how many employment-based permanent residency categories there are and which closely describes you,” said Annie Banerjee of The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee, a Houston-based immigration lawyer.
There are five categories under employment-based green cards. Note that there are labor certification requirements for all categories except EB-1 and EB-5, which go directly to 1-480 (Visa Petition status) or the 1-485 (Adjustment of Status).
(Employment Based) EB-1 is generally for L-1A managers, outstanding professors or researchers and extraordinary ability aliens. They do not require labor certification like the others but they have high standards and requirements to meet and would only need to file I-140 and I-485.
With an EB-2, a labor certification is required and is for the beneficiary who holds an advanced degree – a minimum of a master’s degree. He or she would have to meet the Exceptional Ability requirements.
EB-3 holders are usually members of a profession holding at least a bachelor’s degree. They would also need a labor certification and EB-4s are reserved for religious workers.
Investors need an EB-5. Although there is no labor certification required, they must at least invest $1 million in cities – or $500,000 in “targeted employment” – and employ at least 10 full-time U.S. employees.
A qualified immigration law office can guide skillful aliens through the application process and advise them of the steps and requirements they would need for an employment based permanent residency Green Card.
To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.
The post Banerjee Explains How to Apply for Permanent Residency through Employment first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It’s obvious what kind of physical repercussion an attack can have on a victim, but most people have no idea how dog bite laws can affect them, too, such as the “first bite” or “one bite” rules.
Most states follow the “one bite rule,” which says that owners are not liable for a dog’s first attack provided the owner was not negligent in some manner. The rule, however, does not apply if the owner had previous knowledge that the dog was aggressive or dangerous, or had a propensity to harm people.
In Georgia, it can be difficult for dog-bite victims to prove that an owner was negligent. To do so, the incident must pass a two-part test.
“First, it must be proven that the dog had a previous tendency to bite or attack people and, second, that the owner had knowledge of such behavior,” said Robert Webb of the Atlanta-based personal injury law firm Webb & D’Orazio.
The other way to prove liability against a dog owner under the state statute is to show that the owner violated a local or county leash law when the event occurred.
Statistics show that when dogs attack, the most common victim is a child. Dog attacks cannot only bring physical scars to youngsters, but emotional ones too that lead to a fear of animals for the rest of his or her life.
“In the wake of a dog attack, it is important to understand the particular procedure that may follow, in regard to filing a dog bite lawsuit and seeking financial compensation for your injuries,” Webb said. “If you would like to discuss whether you may have grounds for a civil lawsuit against the owner of the dog that was responsible for your injuries, you should seek the advice of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney.”
To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.
The post Webb Says Dog Bites a Common Problem first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“What causes whiplash? Usually car accidents take the lead for the highest number of cases. However, they are certainly not the only way to wind up with whiplash. That can happen to anyone riding a bicycle, skiing, taking a spin on a motorcycle, riding a horse or even on skateboards. It gives one pause for thought, doesn’t it?” asked Charlie Donahue, a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States.
Take the case of a young man – henceforth referred to as Mike – who was skateboarding down a familiar trail one day, when all of a sudden he realized there were construction barriers up at the end of the trail. He hadn’t expected them to be there, because they weren’t there the last time he’d skated. Unable to stop his high-speed trajectory, Mike plowed into a metal barrier and did a complete, full stop-on-a-dime body stop with the metal bar in his mid-section. His head whipped forward and then backwards in a snapping motion and he crumpled to the ground. Did Mike suffer whiplash?
“Yes, he sure did, and it will take him a long time to recover. He first had just a dull ache in his neck, which rapidly progressed to shooting pains down his shoulders. A passerby took him to hospital where he was diagnosed with whiplash. It was thankfully a relatively mild case given his accident, but whiplash doesn’t differentiate grades when it comes to pain,” Donahue said.
One of the worst examples of whiplash is shaken baby syndrome. Cases like this make ER personnel and the police very angry. Things like that should not happen to kids. They deserve only the best in life. Being shaken violently usually happens to a small child, most often five years old or younger, when a caretaker wants them to be quiet. Believe it or not, this shaking action creates the same type of sudden acceleration/deceleration that a car wreck does.
“Let’s just say this isn’t pretty and the kids really go through a lot of agony,” Donahue said.
Whiplash symptoms may include blurred vision, memory loss, headaches, stiff neck and shoulders, difficulty turning either right or left, shooting pains down the torso, mood swings, the inability to concentrate and irritability. “Whiplash isn’t a lot of fun for the victim and what’s worse is that many insurance companies figure that if they can’t see it, then it’s not as bad as the victim is making out. In other words, they’ll try just about anything to reduce or deny a whiplash accident claim. This is one of the reasons you will want an experienced New Hampshire personal injury lawyer in your corner; to get justice,” Donahue said.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you feel OK the day of the accident, that you are OK. Many whiplash symptoms don’t show up right away. If you don’t deal with it when it makes itself known, you run the risk of having pain for the rest of your life, time off work and pricey medical bills. If you’ve been in a car wreck or hurt on a skateboard, give me a call. We’ll talk,” Donahue said.
To learn more, visit http://www.donahuelawfirm.com.
The post Lawyer Donahue Advises that Whiplash Can Be Dangerous first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Music is everywhere in the world of entertainment: Movies, television, radio advertisements and commercials. There is always a need for top-notch songs and artists.
“For an upcoming composer, licensing music is a vital step in growing a career,” said Anthony Spotora, a Los Angeles-based entertainment and business lawyer. “Licensing music means that your creation is not only protected from illegal use but can also bring a source of income and bigger name recognition. If the people behind a commercial or feature film like your composition, for instance, they will request a music license for the piece.”
While music licensing can be lucrative, it is important to become educated about the process and to receive adequate representation to secure the best deals for oneself.
There are several options for music licensing. One of the best-known options is to register and become a member of ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, which are also known as performing rights organizations (“PRO”).
Such companies collect millions of dollars annually for composers and publishers for so-called performance royalties, but you must be registered as a member to see this income.
“Performing rights organizations act as middlemen, essentially,” Spotora said. “When a song is ‘performed’ – this includes usage in commercials, airplay, etc. – the user pays the PRO rather than the copyright holder directly. The copyright holder is then paid a royalty by the PRO.”
A separate option is to connect with a publishing company. The publisher will handle issues such as music licensing, collecting royalties and negotiating licensing figures. If your publisher works hard and is well-connected, it can generate serious income for you as a composer and catapult your career to new heights.
If you are a composer, it is important you understand how to properly protect your music as well as secure the most desirable music licensing deals. For questions about legal matters pertaining to music licensing, contact an experienced entertainment attorney.
Anthony Spotora is a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and Los Angeles business attorney. To learn more, visit Spotoralaw.com.
The post Spotora Urges Composer To Get Serious About Music Licensing first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>A very recent study on heart attack diagnosis released by the Physician Insurers Association revealed that malpractice in this area is quite high among family practitioners and general internists. They have the highest number of med mal claims and the highest average indemnity payments of any group of doctors.
“What this suggests is that heart attacks are difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic a wealth of other conditions,” said Austin personal injury lawyer Brooks Schuelke, of Perlmutter & Schuelke L.L.P.
The study also indicates that acute myocardial infarction is the third most expensive medical condition that often ends up in claims against doctors, following closely behind birth injuries involving brain damaged babies and breast cancer. The numbers in this study reach back to 1985 and show that the insurance companies in the study paid out on 349 cases relating to heart attack misdiagnosis with a total indemnity of more than $91 million.
“There were 27 insurance companies that took part in this study, so if you extrapolate to include other insurance companies over the same period of time, the number of heart attack cases would be significantly higher, along with the final indemnity statistics. What that means is the rate of misdiagnosis for heart attacks is alarming and if you have had this happen to you, you will want to discuss your case with a skilled Austin personal injury lawyer,” Schuelke said.
The group with the highest number of claims filed (160 of 423 defendants) were general practitioners, often referred to as family doctors, followed by internal medicine medical professionals, who took the lead in indemnity payments, averaging roughly $252,100. The patient demographics indicated that at least one-quarter of the total payments (16 percent) were made to those under the age of 40, and 47 percent under the age of 50.
“For people in those age ranges, with a lot of living left to do, being misdiagnosed for a heart attack can and has resulted in fatal consequences,” Schuelke said. “The biggest concern is that the symptoms are clever mimics of other diseases. Having a heart attack and not being diagnosed correctly has become one of the most frightening situations to be in today, as the symptoms may be mistaken for gastrointestinal distress, a respiratory problem like bronchitis, asthma, anxiety or pneumonia.”
The best advice for someone who feels their heart attack was misdiagnosed as something else and that this medical error gravely affected their life is to speak to a seasoned Austin personal injury lawyer and find out precisely what can be done to move forward.
Contact Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP at http://www.civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
The post Austin Personal Injury Lawyer Brooks Schuelke Indicates Medical Misdiagnosis is on the Rise first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Over the years that I’ve been practicing law, I’ve seen a fair number of traumatic brain injury victims. Each one has their particular story and each one manifests their injury in a different way. Typically speaking, some of the similarities amongst victims are loss of short-term memory, cognitive impairment, slowed reaction time, inability to make quick decisions, inability to express themselves and for some, slurred speech that may sound like they are drunk,” said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Sounding inebriated is just the tip of the iceberg, as people who are not familiar with traumatic brain injury may mistake the person as being under the influence and treat them accordingly. Take the case of a Nova Scotia, Canada man who was involved in an extremely serious car crash 25 years ago. It left him with slurred speech and brain damage.
This now 52-year old gentleman was boarding a bus and the driver ordered him to the back, then turned to the rest of the passengers and made a comment about how he normally boots drunks off the bus. The man tried to explain he was not drunk, but instead had a speech impairment. No one on the bus listened and he was shunned for the remainder of his trip. This isn’t the first time the man has had difficulties making himself understood to others.
“As you may have already guessed, he has spent a night or two in a police lockup being ordered to take repetitive breathalyser tests and has had his car impounded for drunk driving. However, he doesn’t drink. People are not taking the time to realize what’s going on and instead jump to conclusions. There is a valuable lesson in this for juries who hear traumatic brain injury cases; that what you see is not necessarily what you get and you need to look deeper than the surface injuries,” Mellino said.
Chances are, if there were more awareness of the consequences of traumatic brain injury in areas where it counts – such as first line responders, police officers, teachers and other health care professionals, people would get a true picture of what a brain injury involves.
“There are at least 1.5 million people in the US alone who live with brain injuries and that means you may run into someone trying to deal with their radically altered life at any time,” Mellino said.
“If you have been in an accident and have sustained traumatic brain injury, call my office and we can discuss your case. There are many things you will need to know to move forward, and that’s my job; to help you get fair and equitable compensation for your injuries,” he said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Malpractice Lawyer Mellino Asks People To Be Mindful of TBI Victims first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>People use social networking websites for numerous reasons – to keep in touch with family across long distances, to search for romantic partners and sometimes even to find completely new friends based on similar interests. Many users choose to connect with people they do not know in the outside world to enhance the amount of virtual “friends” they have to appear more popular. On most social networks, this means that the new “friend” can see all of the user’s private information, as well as any correspondence the user has with close friends or family.
“Connecting to people you don’t actually know is a terrible idea,” said Dallas-based immigration attorney Stewart Rabinowitz of the firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz. “There is nothing wrong with creating a private profile to stay in contact with close friends and family, but allowing total strangers to view personal information is a mistake.”
When a user posts information on a social networking site, it creates a public record and timeline of his or her activities. Users can set privacy settings to strict levels on most sites, allowing only friends to view this information. However, privacy settings are worthless when a user connects to strangers.
“People who post personal information on social networking websites and become friends with mass amounts of people they do not know could potentially be opening themselves up to easy surveillance,” Rabinowitz said. “The government knows these sites exist. There are documented cases where law enforcement officials and immigration officers tracked social networking users and used the information they posted against them in court.”
The process of creating a social networking profile is simple on most sites. The user often needs only to submit an e-mail address and a password to create an individual page. The user can then post whatever personal information and photographs he or she wants, even if the information is untrue or the photographs are of someone else.
That someone else could be a spammer, a data thief or even an agent from the Fraud Detection and National Security office, which recently issued a memo that said, “Social Networking gives FDNS an opportunity to reveal fraud by browsing these sites to see if petitioners and beneficiaries are in a valid relationship or are attempting to deceive [the U.S. Bureau of Citizen and Immigration Services] about their relationship.”
“The attractive girl from California who sent you that friend request because she saw you both like the beach might actually be someone who wants to track what you post. Use your discretion. Set privacy levels to the strictest settings, post as little personal information as possible and only connect to people you actually know. You never know who could be trying to access your information,” Rabinowitz said.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
The post As Government Turns to Social Networking Sites to Track Users, Immigration Attorney Rabinowitz Advises Discretion first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“If your doctor said that he or she was really sorry about what happened to you, would you perhaps make the decision to not sue them for medical malpractice?” asked Michael Smith, an Arkansas accident lawyer. It seems that might just happen in some instances.
This is a new approach to doing medicine being implemented in the University of Michigan health system and is a deceptively simple program that has resulted in a dramatic drop in medical malpractice lawsuits. “What does it involve? Well, oddly enough, the program promotes medical professionals taking complete responsibility for any medical error they made and acknowledging it was an error. Evidently, malpractice suits have dropped by 60 percent,” Smith said.
This new way to practice medicine is patterned after the Texas program dubbed “Sorry Works,” and it seems to be working well for the University of Michigan. The program sees those who have made medical errors admit to the error, say they are sorry for the mistake, implement procedures to avoid it happening again and offering reasonable compensation for any harm caused. This simple, yet effective approach has diverted a lot of malpractice suits.
“Stop and think about that one for a minute. If you had come to harm at the hands of your doctor and they in turn denied responsibility and liability for the error, how would you feel? Most patients would feel victimized and want to sue to recover compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, etc,” said Arkansas accident lawyer Smith.
“On the other hand, if the doctor came to you and said right upfront that they made a mistake and were very sorry for it and worked to ensure it never happened again and even offered you compensation, what would your reaction be?” he asked. Chances are, if a patient injured at the hands of a medical professional gets a heartfelt apology, they won’t sue. Human beings appreciate sincerity and honesty, even when it comes to medical mistakes that may have harmed them.
This kind of an open approach to dealing with malpractice is a refreshing change from the deny everything routine and hiring the best defense lawyers going to squash the claim and the claimant. All victims really want is for someone to take responsibility for their mistakes, and that includes medical professionals – who are, after all, human beings who can and do make mistakes.
When it’s evident a mistake has been made and the doctor/nurse denies it, many patients seek legal redress out of desperation and a sense of being wronged. “Which, when you mull that over, makes perfect sense. It’s being betrayed by someone you are supposed to trust and when they don’t take responsibility for their screw up, it hurts, angers, aggravates and drives people to sue,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
The post Arkansas Accident Lawyer Smith Sees Drop in Lawsuits When Doctors Say Sorry first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Each state in the United States sets its own statute of limitations, which can vary from one to six years. Here in the Peach State, the limit is two years from the date of injury. For a minor, however, the situation is different: The statute of limitations does not begin until the minor has reached 18 years of age. That means if a youngster is injured at age 14, he or she may file to recover damages up until the age of 20.
“Sometimes after an accident, it is immediately clear whether you are injured,” said Robert Webb, of the Atlanta-based personal injury law firm Webb & D’Orazio. “At other times, it is not. It is in your best interest to retain an attorney to help you settle your claim in a timely and efficient manner.”
Personal-injury accidents can be physically and emotionally damaging so it is important to find a lawyer who shows both zeal and compassion.
When considering filing a formal claim, there are several steps that one can take to help the claim process along. Many of these actions can be taken by the injured person’s attorney, too, of course. The steps include:
•Making notes of the incident. What happened? What are the injuries? What were the circumstances and conditions surrounding the incident? When did it occur?
•Keeping evidence of what caused the accident, if possible, and taking pictures to illustrate important details about the incident.
•Taking note of important witnesses who can verify what happened and help the injured person prove his or her case. Find out how an attorney can get in touch with them at a later date.
“If you or someone you know has experienced a personal injury, you should seek the advice of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can help you seek justice for your injuries,” Webb added.
To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.
The post Don’t Waste Time To File A Claim After Being Injured, Webb & D’Orazio Firm Says first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Misdiagnosis of breast cancer sometimes happens. And when it happens, the patient and the patient’s family are left with the devastation of the news of finding out that the disease is at its later stages and treatment will not help. Such things as misdiagnosis and the carelessness handling of diagnostic testing can lead to this kind of negligence.
“Mammograms are important in detecting the malignant tumor in the breast, and is why misreading a mammogram or inattention or neglect of the x-ray or other diagnostic tests are unfortunate determinants of a patient’s fate,” said Attorney Joel T. Faxon of Stratton Faxon, a trial law firm in Connecticut.
But finding a solid mass in the X-ray is one indicator of breast cancer. There are other diagnostic tests such MRIs, PET scans, lymph node biopsies and hormone tests, which determine whether the breast cancer has spread. Misdiagnosis in any of these tests can also be devastating. The breast lump might also be too small to even see or feel, or the patient may be experiencing symptoms that may resemble or mimic other diseases. Therefore, delayed treatment can occur, prolonging diagnosis and proper treatment.
According to Center for Disease Control, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer for women. It is the number one cancer killer in Hispanic women and number two for blacks, Caucasian, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American women. In 2006, 191,410 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,820 women died from it. It is obvious from those statistics alone how early detection is imperative to prevent the progression of the disease which often times leads to death.
“If you suspect that you have been misdiagnosed and experienced delayed treatment because of misdiagnosis or misinterpretation of the tests, contact your nearest experienced medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible,” Faxon said. “Even if you are unsure, listen to your gut-feeling and do so immediately.”
To learn more, visit http://www.strattonfaxon.com.
The post Stratton Faxon Helps Those Who are Misdiagnosed or Experienced Delayed Treatment for Breast Cancer first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>A food packaging company may have crossed the line with its fruit-juice packaging and infringed on Coca-Cola’s trademarks. Where that line actually is often causes lawsuit like this one, but behind these types of lawsuits is the desire to protect a well-known brand and not confuse consumers.
Johanna Foods of New Jersey filed a suit in federal court asking for a ruling that says it is not infringing on the trade dress and design patents for Coca-Cola’s Simply Orange brand juices packaging.
“While this may seem to many like a tempest in a teapot, these are important issues to Coco-Cola, which wants to ensure its trademarks (trade dress) are clearly recognizable to its customers. If someone uses a mark close to Coca-Cola’s and causes confusion, not only does Coca-Cola lose business, the consumer is cheated out of an original product,” said David Alden Erikson, a Los Angeles business litigation attorney. Mr. Erikson specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, Internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
A letter from Coca-Cola’s counsel warned the New Jersey-based company that other companies who had used the carafe-shaped container for their juices had been sued and if they persisted in using the same container, they could expect to land in court. Johanna uses an eerily similar bottle for its line of Nature’s Nectar and Tree Ripe juices, although the labels are different than the ones Coca-Cola uses. Johanna disputes Coke’s contention that the design is an indicator or origin and thus protected by trademark law.
“Counsel for Johanna states that the carafe shaped container is mostly a functional object and therefore can’t be inherently distinctive and that consumers aren’t very likely to be confused by using its containers as opposed to Coke’s,” Erikson said.
This will be an interesting case to watch, as Coke has deep pockets and can hang in there for a substantial amount of time to try and make a point. On the other hand, the court may just make a point of its own based on the interpretation of the functionality of the carafe-shaped bottle design.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit http://www.daviderikson.com.
The post LA Business Litigation Attorney Erikson Says Even Bottles May Be Subject to Trade Dress Lawsuits first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“No one expects they’re going to go to the store and come home with a defective product, especially one that will harm you. You go to buy something that you trust will do the job. Say, for instance, a chainsaw. You want to take down some trees in your yard. You didn’t expect that the hand guard on the chain saw was so poorly attached that it could come off by accidentally banging it. That product ‘flaw’ just about cost you your hand,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.
Unfortunately, defective products seem to take the lead in the marketplace. Goods made to last a lifetime were replaced by goods made to last for the shortest period of time possible. Thanks to inferior components, cutting corners, altering trustworthy designs and products made with cheap materials, the number of defective product cases in the U.S. is on the rise.
Granted, getting home and finding out a certain product doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do isn’t a big deal; after all, one can go get a refund. But what if the product is something used to seal caulking in the bathroom and the instructions on the spray can don’t mention it should not be used in a closed room?
“You use the product and wind up in ER with severe lung damage, having just squeaked by being dead instead. That product was not properly labeled and you have a right to sue the company for compensation for your injuries,” Ozcomert said.
“Would you want to talk to a lawyer about your accident and who would pay for your hospital bills? No doubt you would and while we’re at it, we would cover what your legal rights are with regard to compensation and what you may expect from manufacturers and defective products,” he said.
The bottom line in most, if not all, product liability cases is that if a manufacturer is providing a service or product to the marketplace and millions of consumers, they must stick to very strict guidelines for safety when making, labeling, selling and distributing their goods/services. If they fail in this task, they might well expect to be sued for compensation for medical bills, etc.
“More often than not, defective products tend to fall in to several categories. Consumers need to be alert and aware when it comes to product hazards and product recalls. Perhaps reading a product recall list is about as exciting as watching paint peel, but it may save a life – yours or someone in your family. Be on the lookout for defective products in the categories of surgical supplies, food contamination, medical equipment, cars, toys and cosmetic enhancements. An alert consumer is a safe one,” Ozcomert said.
To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.
The post Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Ozcomert Advises Clients to Inspect Recall Lists first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This fatal accident took place on the Burlington-Bristol Bridge when a metal bar came off a dump truck loaded with stone and heading for New Jersey. According to police reports, the dump truck suddenly crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a vehicle. The bar pierced the windshield of the vehicle hit by the truck, causing the driver’s death. Rather than wait at the scene of the accident, the trucker took off.
“It so happens that the bridge authorities keep surveillance tapes and caught not only the accident on tape, but the trucker fleeing the scene and ultimately pulling into a parking lot after crossing the bridge and then using back roads to get to his destination,” said Daren Monroe, who writes for Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan.
Thanks to the tape, the police were able to find the owner of the truck, Aldeep Enterprises. The trucker who was driving at the time of the fatal accident eventually surrendered to the police and found himself facing charges of obstructing government function and several motor vehicle counts.
“He was taken to jail and held on $75,000 bail. A quick check of his driving record showed a series of minor moving violations and at least 11 suspensions for administrative reasons,” Monroe said.
“There’s not much question about who was liable for this accident, and it’s likely the family of the person killed in the accident will want to speak to a wrongful death lawyer about filing a lawsuit. They will need to know their rights and how to deal with the crushing loss of their loved one,” Monroe said.
The family might find themselves in financial difficulties due to the death of their loved one and not know how they are going to be able to pay their bills. The solution to this dilemma is to apply for litigation funding to help tide them over until their case is settled or goes to court and a verdict is handed down.
Pre-settlement funding is applied for by filling out an application online at the litigation finance company website. It is easy to fill out and only takes a few minutes. Once the case has been assessed, the lawsuit cash advance is sent out within 24 to 48 hours by check or wire.
“Applicants for lawsuit funding do not have a whole bunch of hoops to go through to get their legal financing in place and they don’t have to pay any upfront fees either. In fact, there is no cost to apply for pre-settlement funding and the plaintiff will not be shelling out any monthly payments to pay the lawsuit loan back,” Monroe said. If the case is lost in court, the plaintiff keeps the lawsuit loan; free and clear.
When a family is cash strapped due to the sudden loss of a loved one, litigation funding is an emergency loan to tide them over until they get justice. It allows them to pay every last bill they may owe and keep current on the rest of them. It also has the added advantage of allowing the victims to decline any offers that aren’t reasonable made by an insurance company. Litigation funding is well worth checking out.
To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com/.
The post Truck driver flees the scene of fatal accident first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“While it’s great living in the U.S., it is amazing how many defective products on the market these days – products that are causing Americans minor to serious injuries or even death,” said Scott Atkinson, a New Mexico personal injury lawyer and wrongful death lawyer with the Atkinson Law Firm, Ltd. “There are rules and regulations in place to protect us, but who is enforcing them and who is paying attention to the flood of questionable goods in the marketplace?”
It would be one thing if an odd product here and there got recalled for a defect. However, over a dozen different products were recalled in September 2010 alone. These products include things such as tainted food, medications with previously unknown side effects, shoddily designed tools, vehicles with critical flaws (think Toyota) and toys that can cause children to choke or even poison them with lead.
Fortunately for the consumer, there are civil and criminal punishments on the books that are specifically designed to punish companies that knowingly violate accepted safety standards.
“You have to also realize that some entrepreneurs are not driven by the need to keep people safe, but instead, are driven by the need to make as much money as they can,” Atkinson said. Consumers who have purchased a product that harmed them do have a variety of options available, and one of them is to speak to an experienced New Mexico personal injury lawyer.
“The consumer needs to know his or her rights when it comes to situations like this,” Atkinson said. “The reason for that is just because a product does not work does not necessarily make it defective. There is a distinction to be made here and it’s important the consumer know this. Discussing the details of their accident or experience will let me outline the law to them and we can then discuss if they have a case or not.”
More often than not, the products that have turned out to be potentially dangerous to the public are prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, tainted food (mostly produce and meat), childcare products or toys, auto parts and the cars themselves.
“Just pick up any local newspaper and chances are one of the headlines will be about yet another item being recalled. Does it ever end?” Atkinson said.
To learn more about Scott Atkinson visit http://www.attorneynewmexico.com
The post Atkinson Explains That Product Recalls Can Be Both Good And Bad For Consumers first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>When the DREAM Act was defeated, the president went on TV to talk about immigration reform as he knows it. He was asked if he would use administrative powers to take care of the outrageous abuses of the immigration system. This is lieu of a direct path to citizenship via a stalled CIR Bill. The answer was interesting, because Obama said it was hard to do administratively.
This was an interesting stance, as it’s fairly well known that putting a stop to mass deportations would be easy to do administratively. There isn’t a law anywhere on the books that says or directs the Department of Homeland Security to obsessively strive for record breaking deportation numbers, which is what is happening right now. The fact is if the administration wanted to stop what some regard as an obscene practice, they could. Period. Throw in an election and things inexplicably change.
What’s going on right now, in the face of a November election, is that deportation numbers are at an all time high and CIR is nowhere to be seen. In other words, nothing is being done about reform, unless it deals with enforcement.
It’s not politically correct to be seen supporting CIR, not when animosity in the country over this proposed bill is so high. Those supporting CIR may face a rough road during their campaign for re-election, which accounts for why so many politicians have seemingly changed sides and flip-flopped over this issue. The voters aren’t stupid. Many Latinos will be voting with their feet in the election by staying home or casting their ballot for the other guy.
A quick look back at this year so far shows no DREAM Act passed and no CIR. What does the government have to recommend it for re-election based on these two issues besides stepped up enforcement, which is not going over well. Dangling the carrot of passing the CIR after the election isn’t getting the response the politicians thought it would. In fact, in many states, the fate of the incumbents may lie in the balance based on their stance on CIR.
There is still no direct path to citizenship and seems that there isn’t one on its way. That does not bode well for the millions of immigrants who need to know what their status is or isn’t. Dangling a carrot in front of desperate people who are fed up with waiting isn’t a good tactic. The election may bring the nation some surprises.
To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com
The post Miami Immigration Lawyers Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff Suggest There Are no Carrots When Dealing with Comprehensive Immigration Reform first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“If you were around in the ’70s, you may recall a study done on medical malpractice insurance. It was actually commissioned by the California Hospital and Medical Associations. It revealed that one out of every 20 patients suffered injuries as a result of med mal and furthermore, that one in 10 died. It was hoped at that time that the numbers would go down over the next 10 years or so,” said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Unfortunately, the numbers crept up instead. When a similar study was done in New York by a Harvard team in the ’80s, it was found that of the 50 hospitals surveyed and the 31,000 medical records examined in detail, that one in four patients presented with possible medical injuries. “If you’re thinking the numbers are likely even higher now, you’d be right. Just about 100,000 people across the U.S. die every year as a result of med mal,” Mellino said.
The most common forms of med mal include birth injuries, surgical injuries, infection, septicemia, bleeding, failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis and medication errors. “That’s pretty scary stuff when you stop to think about it, because it covers a whole gamut of things that could go wrong when you are under the care of a doctor,” Mellino said.
Birth injuries are not just injuries to the baby; they also include the mother and may happen if the doctor does not provide adequate care prior to, during or after the birth. It may be that no blood tests were given to detect abnormalities, that fetal distress was not recognized in time, that a necessary C-section was delayed or that in a rush to deliver the baby, bones were broken.
“Any one of those errors or a combination of them could end in the baby being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, a clavical fracture and facial paralysis. It’s not much wonder that mothers worry themselves sick over what may happen during birth,” Mellino said. “For the most part, doctors do a fine job of delivering babies. It’s just that sometimes, bad things happen, and when they do, something needs to be done about it.”
Operating room injuries are the subject of horror movies and indeed, many people who have been injured as a result of a surgical error certainly feel like they’ve been in a horror movie. After all, they trusted their doctor and thought they would get better. Instead, they may end up in worse condition than when they went into surgery or die on the table.
There are many things that can go wrong in the OR, such as the anesthetist giving the wrong dose of anesthesia at the wrong time, puncturing or cutting an internal organ, operating on the wrong body part or patient, leaving instruments or sponges in the patient on closing or failing to treat infections that may arise after an operation. This isn’t to say this happens all the time, but the numbers do indicate things like this happen with a greater frequency than we might like.
“If you’ve been there and done that and feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice, you will want to find out what your options are and what kind of compensation you may be eligible for from the courts. I’d be happy to talk to you about your case if you wish to call for information,” Mellino said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer Warns Medical Malpractice More Common Than Most Think first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In a 5-2 decision, Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to a statute that exempts med mal cases from the rule that statutes of limitation are tolled for the mentally incompetent. “This particular decision upheld an earlier ruling that a plaintiff’s med mal lawsuit was barred by the two-year limit. The major distinction here is that the case that resulted in this decision was a medical malpractice case and not a general civil action,” said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Ken Deen went to see a dentist in 2005, complaining of an infected tooth. He was sent to endodontist Dr. Randolph Stevens. Stevens indicated Deen needed a root canal and put him on antibiotics. Deen collapsed the next month and was diagnosed with brain infection. The infection left him mentally and physically incompetent. His wife, Linda, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging professional negligence in 2008, and Deen died in 2009.
The endodontist’s lawyer asked for the case to be dismissed, as it was filed after the two-year statute of limitations for med mal actions expired, and that a section of the statute being argued by the plaintiff also applied to people who are legally incompetent. “The plaintiff’s attorney argued another section of the statute, which tolled the applicable statute of limitations due to mental disability, and further argued that applying the non-tolling statute was a violation of her constitutional right to equal protection by discriminating against the mentally incompetent,” said Mellino, a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Unfortunately, the section of the statute the plaintiff was relying on is only applicable in general civil actions.
The court’s ratio is best summed up by one of the justices, who wrote that Georgia state law typically tolls statutes of limitation for mental incompetence – except for a 1976 statute that expressly excludes med mal actions. It was, according to the court, clear that the legislature enacted the med mal exemption to avert the possibility of the cessation of medical services, to assist in stabilizing insurance and medical care expenses, to put a stop to outdated med mal claims and to, in general, ensure public safety, health and welfare.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also weighed in on this issue by rejecting the notion that any legislation affecting mentally incompetent people differently than others should be reviewed by courts on a “stricter than rational basis.” “Typically, the fewer exceptions a statute of limitations has, the further it upholds the original intentions of the legislature,” Mellino said.
“For those facing situations similar to this case, it’s best to take your legal matter to a qualified medical malpractice lawyer. Find out what the Statute of Limitations is in your state and don’t wait until it’s too late or justice may never be done. If you have questions, call me, I’d be happy to assess your case,” Mellino said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Mental incompetence does not apply to med mal statute of limitations in Georgia first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Generally speaking, most consumer products are tested in many ways prior to being put on the market. Whether or not the testing is as complete as we’d like to think is another question. And, while dangerous products constantly stalk the marketplace, there are none more disturbing that those items made for kids. One wonders how hard it is to “think like a child,” and adapt toys or other product designs accordingly to be safer.
“Many of the product recalls for children’s items that we’ve witnessed over the past few years, weeks even, involve dangerous components or hazardous materials. Think small pieces detaching and choking a baby, sharp edges that shear fingers off, items with attractive cords posing a strangulation risk and toys with lead content so high it virtually sets off alarm bells,” said Christopher Mellino of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio. Just about any scary scenario is a reality these days. While millions of items are recalled every year because of safety concerns, it’s typical that a recall is not instituted until someone has been harmed.
Recalls that have been launched because a concern was caught shortly after product dispersal are dangerous for several reasons. There may have been no incidents reported yet, because the recall action was launched quickly. But even if the recall was initiated rapidly, there is always the chance that the product in question was purchased by someone who will not know or hear about any recalls.
There’s a lot to be said about doing things right the first time, before sending a product out for millions of consumers to buy. This concern is even more valid given the global marketplace of the 21st century, where many items are made in other countries for U.S. businesses, thus lacking the quality control of home.
Many consumers these days are label shopping, and who can blame them? With the number of unprecedented recalls of items, it’s frightening to think that our lives are at the mercy of someone who makes a product with a potentially fatal flaw. It’s even more worrisome that product manufacturers, in their haste to make money, don’t stop and check things twice before promoting their products.
“For those who have been in a situation where a product you thought was safe wasn’t and it harmed you or your family, bring your case to me for an initial assessment. I’ll be able to explain product liability law to you as we discuss the details of your case,” Mellino said. “You may be eligible to obtain compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and, in extreme cases, the wrongful death of your child.”
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Be alert for dangerous products when shopping for children first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In a criminal case, the person charged goes to a criminal court and is dealt with accordingly. They may be found guilty or not guilty. Either way, once that process is concluded, the person can also be sued again, but civilly. For the best example of a situation like that, think the O. J. Simpson case.
“Let’s say we’re dealing with the wrongful death of a loved one as a result of vehicular homicide. The criminal case has been dealt with, but the family wishes to recover compensation for the loss of their loved one. A wrongful death lawsuit is filed under a wrongful death statute and is the civil recourse for families whose loved one was killed because of the negligence/intentional acts of another. It is their route to justice outside of the criminal courts,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.
While filing a wrongful death lawsuit will not bring the deceased back, it is a step in the grieving process that may help the family deal with their loss. By changing their focus to economic recovery, they may be able to handle the loss in a different light. Wrongful death suits also try to quantify the value of the deceased’s life by examining things like loss of inheritance, loss of earnings and potential earnings and medical and/or funeral costs.
“At best, the process to calculate the worth of a life is difficult, as there are things that defy being pegged successfully, such as the value of loss of comfort and companionship, emotional support and guidance. Thus, typically speaking, the compensation you would get from a wrongful death action may not be as complete as one would like, but it comes close in most cases,” Ozcomert said.
Most, if not all, wrongful death lawsuits need the assistance of qualified counsel. The process is complex and the lawyer knows how to proceed to get a family the most compensation possible given the circumstances of the case.
“Don’t wait too long to call a lawyer and ask about your case, as you may miss the deadline for the Statute of Limitations. If that happens, you lose your right to sue,” Ozcomert said.
To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.
The post Ozcomert suggests civil litigation in wrongful death cases to recover economic compensation first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Most people, when they hear the words ‘professional malpractice,’ think it refers to lawyers or doctors. While it may well refer to them, it is also a term used when talking about accounting malpractice. Simply put, accounting malpractice happens if any accounting professional is negligent in the performance of their duties,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.
To further explain professional standards for various individuals who are certified to practice, it’s vital to know that the institutes that certify these professionals have a list that outlines what the standard of care is for their members to provide to their customers. The list says what standards of care need to be met to protect the public from harm, deceit, malfeasance, etc.
This isn’t to say that all accountants, lawyers or doctors will abuse their positions, because most professionals are trustworthy and reliable. If the standard of care is not met in a profession, this may be considered negligence.
“In a case involving accounting malpractice, the plaintiff has to show the defendant was negligent and didn’t meet the level of care expected – the common or customary care – in the accounting profession. An example of that would be the accountant not filing a client’s tax return on time or not properly filling out the return and it results in a financial penalty to the client,” Ozcomert said.
Generally speaking, there are four elements a plaintiff needs to meet to be successful in an accounting malpractice lawsuit. It must be shown that the accountant had a clear responsibility to the client; that the accountant didn’t act responsibly; that the client was injured and that the accountant’s actions were the proximate cause of the injury.
Not all cases are clear cut and straightforward and for this reason, if someone feels they have been financially harmed by the misdeeds of an accountant, talk to an Atlanta malpractice lawyer.
“You need to know your rights, what options you have and whether or not your potential case is actually malpractice or not, as some cases may not be malpractice. If you have questions about what you feel is a malpractice case, call me and we can discuss the details,” Ozcomert said.
To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.
The post Professional malpractice also refers to accountants first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“In any business, even though the people running it are partners, and perhaps friends, anything can and does happen. While they may agree on the day-to-day running of their venture, they may not agree on the smaller details that make up the larger picture. Most businesses would do well to have mediation and conflict resolution options to help them solve such disputes when they do happen,” said Ty Gomez, a Dallas employment and business lawyer.
Sometimes, a dispute starts with something seemingly innocuous that someone else may take the wrong way. Some of the more common reasons for workplace disagreements involve discrimination – which may come in the guise of age, disability, marital status, race or sex – a difference of opinion over payment or one’s salary, misunderstandings about maternity leave or even an unfair dismissal.
It’s not just internal disputes that an owner has to deal with, as they may also face business-to-business differences of opinions. That’s not too hard to understand, given the nature of the global business community these days. Many B2B relationships are complex entities and involve different cultures, as well. Negotiations can be delicate and one wrong step can bring the whole house of cards tumbling down.
“Generally speaking, disputes that arise on this level are not just personal differences of opinion; they are larger and involve serious issues. In cases like that, the parties usually need either professional mediation or a good business lawyer to sort things out,” Gomez said. Then too, the same may be said of partners getting into a dispute over philosophical differences. These kinds of disputes may come up due to one partner wanting a change in direction the other one isn’t amenable to or they could arise as a result in disagreeing over the hiring procedures for a new manager.
Perhaps the most serious types of disputes tend to involve breach of financial agreements and/or breach of contract. These are severe rifts, as contracts are legally binding and one way or another, they must be adhered to for the good of the participants and the company.
Gomez Law Group is a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit http://www.gomezlawyers.com.
The post Tricky business disputes need finesse or legal assistance to settle first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It seems that each year, the IRS has an issue to pursue that is near and dear to its heart. This year is no exception, with the laser-like focus on wage and hour compliance. Businesses need to be alert for this issue and also be aware that the IRS and the Department of Labor are just two avenues of enforcement that may be in place this year. Others may include state or local tax agencies interested in enforcing the rules and regulations in the area.
The biggest problems generally relate to things such as proper classification, differences between federal and state regulations and not applying wage and hour rules properly. “There are two big classification errors that generally occur,” said Ty Gomez, a Dallas employment lawyer and business lawyer. “The first one is usually the independent contractor versus employee mistake. Internal Revenue has rigid laws about who is legitimately classified as an independent contractor. If you have wrongly classified a worker, you could face crushing penalties and intense scrutiny.”
On the other side of the coin is the exempt versus non-exempt status classification. First of all, the worker needs to be an employee. Next is the determination of whether or not he or she is an exempt worker. “This means a person exempt from minimum wage and overtime regulations and other wage and hour requirements. To be exempt, the worker must meet the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements. If you don’t get this one right, once again, there are stiff penalties,” Gomez said.
“Not every state has the same standards as those in the FLSA, so it’s best to consult with an experienced Dallas business lawyer to find out what you need to know. For example, in just about every situation where a federal and a state law differ, the employer makes an attempt to follow the rule most beneficial to the employee,” Gomez said. If the federal minimum wage is $6.75 per hour and in Florida the current state minimum wage is $7.75, companies must say the minimum wage is $7.75 because it is better for the workers.
What this ultimately means is that people need to know what the state’s specific wage and hour regulations are and how to apply them. “For instance, in Texas, the minimum wage law doesn’t have dollar minimums. The State adopts the Federal minimum wage rate by reference,” Gomez said.
The last major category that employers tend to get wrong is improperly applying wage and hour rules. There are so many regulations that can be misapplied, it would be impossible to cover them all. There are more than enough to confuse any businessperson who isn’t familiar with them. For instance, errors tend to happen with final pay, improper deductions from paychecks, overtime, minimum wage, reporting time pay, call back pay, meals and rest periods, on-call time or standby time and training and travel time.
“As you can see, this is not an easy area to keep up-to-date on and it’s best to consult with a Dallas business lawyer who deals with material like this every day. If you get on the wrong side of the rules and regulations, you’ll have a lot of grief getting it sorted out,” Gomez said.
Gomez Law Group is a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit http://www.gomezlawyers.com.
The post Proper wage classifications are crucial first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It’s the law that property owners are obligated to keep their property safe. It’s just that simple. Or is it simple? In some cases, it may not seem to be fairly straightforward, particularly if a trespasser is injured on the property and sues for damages. “While you might think they’d be out of luck, the truth is in some cases, if the owner could have anticipated someone may trespass, they may still be liable. Each case is different,” said Chicago injury lawyer Michael Osborne. The Law Office of Michael Osborne helps accident, wrongful death, and personal injury victims in Chicago, Illinois.
Generally speaking, when there are unsafe conditions on a property, owners are required to post warnings that there is a hazard. This applies even if it is private property. Since premises liability is considered to be a tort or a wrong, if someone gets hurt on another’s land, the end result may be a personal injury lawsuit.
“Having said that, you should also know that premises liability laws do vary depending on what kind of property you have. For instance, if it’s a private residence and you have really obvious hazards that no one could possibly miss, you don’t need to post a warning. But, less obvious ones – like if you step on a certain part of the porch, you’ll fall through – need to be posted. In a nutshell, if you have hidden hazards and don’t post, anyone may sue you, despite their status,” said Chicago injury lawyer Osborne. Status refers to whether or not the person is an invited guest or trespasser.
Let’s say someone owns a business and people come there regularly. If this property is open to the public, it must be maintained properly and there must not be any hazards. If there is a hazard present, for instance a puddle of water in an aisle, there must be a warning sign. “If you don’t put up a warning sign and someone slips in the water, trips over a loose tile or brick or falls over something that fell from a shelf, they may be able to sue for compensation for their injuries,” Osborne said.
“If you’ve been in a similar situation and have fallen and injured yourself, give me a call. I can explain how premises liability works and also talk to you about the various kinds of situations that are classified as falling under premises liability law. For example, toxic mold, staircase injuries, elevator malfunctions, swimming pools and lead paint. I’d be happy to talk to you about your case,” he said.
The Law Office of Michael Osborne helps accident, wrongful death, and personal injury victims. To contact a Chicago personal injury attorney or learn more, visit http://www.michaelosbornelaw.com or call (312) 315-1765.
The post Where a person lives may dictate property owner’s responsibilities to others first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>On Aug. 25, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Piegan, Sweetgrass, Sunburst, and Havre, Montana, with Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin to tour CBP operations and meet with state and local officials, law enforcement personnel, and private sector stakeholders regarding DHS’s efforts to secure the northern border.
“We have made critical security enhancements along our northern border, investing in additional personnel, technology, and infrastructure to meet the security and operational requirements of our post-9/11 world,” Napolitano said. “DHS is committed to working closely with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners with the citizens of Montana to protect the border while facilitating legal trade and travel.”
State of the art technologies now put in place at Piegan and Sweetgrass ports of entry include thermal camera systems and Mobile Surveillance Systems. A roundtable discussion was held in Sunburst, Montana involving federal, state, local, tribal, and Canadian law enforcement to discuss potential methods of combating transnational crime and illicit drug smuggling along the northern border. DHS expects to have more than 2,200 Border Patrol agents along the northern border by the end of 2010 – a 700 percent increase since Sept. 11, 2001 – in addition to the approximately 5,800 CBP officers already stationed in northern border states.
“While more stringent security and safeguards are expected in the wake of the events which so traumatized Americans nine years ago, especially since several of the nineteen hijackers of jet planes were known to have entered the United States via Canadian routes to wreak their havoc, I question if the right questions are being asked when security and safeguards are being formulated, let alone being implemented. Are we as a nation simply being reactive or truly proactive – in the primarily enforcement-focused measures being taken, repetitively and continually, during the years since?” asked Dallas-based immigration attorney Stewart Rabinowitz, of the firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz.
Rabinowitz wonders about immigration patterns, scrutiny and leeway being granted or denied, and about excess concern with U.S.-Canada trade interactions, as individuals are too often lost in the paranoiac shuffle, or worse, subject to CBP abuses committed in the name of enhanced security. “These may have far reaching consequences too,” Rabinowitz said.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
The post DHS to Deploy Additional Agents first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants – sometimes referred to in the mainstream media as “illegal immigrants,” or in an even less favorable light as “illegals” – was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8 percent in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States – to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007, according to the estimates. The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades.
“You would think that this would be a major news story, and be getting a lot of attention from the U.S. media,” said Dallas-based immigration attorney Stewart Rabinowitz of the firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz. “But for some reason, the opposite message – that unauthorized immigration is out of control and continues to increase at unprecedented rates – is what anti-immigration voices in the media trumpet and what even so-called ‘moderate’ voices acquiesce to. Unfortunately, the reasons for this are best explained as political and part of an agenda.”
The Pew Hispanic Center’s analysis also finds that the most marked decline in the population of unauthorized immigrants has been among those who come from Latin American countries other than Mexico. From 2007 to 2009, the size of this group from the Caribbean, Central America and South America decreased 22 percent.
“Often some of the anti-immigration pundits and commentators will exaggerate and use hyperbole to say that next to Mexico, many other dark-skinned persons from points further south are sneaking in across the U.S.-Mexican border, although they will use language a bit more toned down than that, and they make their intent well-known,” Rabinowitz said. “What they are saying on talk radio tends to be thinly veiled.”
Lack of a factual basis fails to deter anti-immigration voices. The Pew Center’s analysis also noted that the inflow of Mexican unauthorized immigrants peaked at 7 million in 2007 and has since leveled off.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
The post Recent Unauthorized Immigration Drops Sharply first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>S corporations are unique in that they don’t pay federal income taxes. The incomes and losses are divided among the corporation’s individual shareholders instead. Unlike C corporations, S corporations are not double-taxed through the company’s profits and shareholder dividends, which is perhaps the most important part of S corporation status. Predictably, this can result in substantial income savings.
There are a variety of other benefits a corporation can gain from electing to be treated as an S corporation, including the ability to offset losses against taxable income from other sources. Also, some corporate penalties and the federal alternative minimum tax do not come into play for an S corporation.
It is important to note that while S corporations have many advantages, there are other operational matters that should be considered. Firstly, there are other costs associated to S-Corp election, such as filing an annual S corporation tax return and quarterly and annual payroll tax paperwork. Individual and corporate assets also need to be separated.
Regardless, S corporations are becoming ever-popular in the United States. There were about 725,000 in the United States as of the mid-1980s, yet these numbers grew to more than 3 million by the early 2000s. They are currently the number one type of corporate entity.
But the Internal Revenue Service has had ongoing problems with S corporations, only 25 percent of which are believed to be in compliance. The IRS in recent years has worked to increase the number of taxes collected for S corporations.
The complete S corporation rules are contained in Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code (sections 1361 through 1379). It is a good idea to consult an experienced attorney to learn the ins and outs, advantages and disadvantages, of becoming an S corporation.
To learn more, visit http://www.spotoralaw.com/.
The post IRS Cracks Down On S-Corps first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Without a doubt, the trucking industry is a major backbone of the American economy. Without trucks, many goods could not be moved from point A to point B, vital equipment would not be delivered, homes could not be moved, gas would not reach the furthest corners of the nation and grain and other foodstuffs would never make it to market. This means 18-wheelers and heavy trucks of all sizes and shapes are on the roads virtually 24/7/365. It’s not much wonder accidents involving these behemoths can and do happen.
The major complication in trucking wrecks is often determining just who the defendants are in the case. “While you’d think this would be fairly obvious, as in it’s the truck driver, this isn’t always true. So, really, the answer to who is going to be sued in a trucking accident is kind of tricky at times. For instance, if the trucker works for a logistics transport company, they may be an employee of that firm or they may be considered to be an independent contractor. If the driver is an employee, that means the trucking company should be the defendant,” said Brooks Schuelke, an Austin accident lawyer with Perlmutter & Schuelke, L.L.P.
Aside from determining who the party at fault is in a big rig crash, there are other facets of accidents like this that need serious attention. While things may look one way at first glance, often probing deeper into the crash will reveal other things the lawyer needs to know to make a good case. This may include things like finding out if the trucker was speeding, driving aggressively, under the influence of a drug, driving while distracted or driving without enough sleep.
Take the case of the trucker who was watching a movie on his laptop while he was driving his big rig. He struck and killed a mother and her young baby as she was crossing the road. “No question the driver in that instance was negligent. These are the kinds of things we need to find out to take a case to settlement or verdict. It’s information like this that can drive up the amount of the damage award as well. For example, in the case of the trucker watching his laptop movie, there were punitive damages awarded, as well as compensatory damages,” Schuelke said.
For those that have been in a trucking accident and survived to tell their story, contact a skilled and dedicated Austin personal injury lawyer for help.
Contact Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP at http://www.civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
The post Naming a defendant in trucking wreck can be difficult first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“When someone is hired for a job in construction, management doesn’t typically spend a lot of time talking about workplace injury claims or even workers’ compensation, other than to make sure the new hire gets signed up for it. Even if it’s not mentioned, keep one thing in mind for the future: if something happens to you on the job, keep very detailed records of everything that happens, including filing your accident report with management. You will also want in depth medical records that are easily accessible,” said Brooks Schuelke, an Austin accident lawyer with Perlmutter & Schuelke, L.L.P.
When a mishap does happen at a workplace, the employer is required by law to keep records of the details of the accident in an official accident report book. This is a part of the reporting procedure for disasters in a workplace. Ideally, the overall recordkeeping will indicate any inherent patterns to accidents and let management fix what’s wrong. “The crucial thing to remember is that if the accident is not recorded in the official record book, it may be more difficult to recover compensation,” Schuelke said.
Another thing workers need to know up front is that if they are going to file a workers’ compensation claim, they need to document all of their injuries at once. That, of course, means all the injuries need to be treated at the same time as well. “At this point, you need to also ensure all of your injuries and medical treatments are documented in full detail for future reference. This is so you have something to show a lawyer if you have trouble processing your workplace injury claim,” Schuelke said.
Keep every receipt for every medical test, surgery, therapy session, counseling assistance, medication, etc., because these things are needed when it comes to figuring out the amount of the claim settlement. “Ideally, if you have a witness, it certainly helps your case. That could be another worker, a supervisor or pedestrian who saw the accident,” he said.
While some workplace injury claims go well and things are settled to the satisfaction of both parties, this seems to be the exception, rather than the rule. For this reason, it’s a good strategic move to hire an Austin accident lawyer to make sure the case gets moved along promptly and that it doesn’t get bogged down in bureaucratic inertia.
Typically, compensation claims tend to come in at a lower settlement offer than one would expect. There is a reason for this. Workers’ compensation is insurance and insurance companies are famous for wanting to maintain their bottom line at the expense of those covered. This is one of the major reasons why hiring an Austin accident lawyer will, in the long run, be a benefit. That benefit will pay off in a higher claim settlement.
“Be aware that there is usually, by statute, a two year period to file on-the-job injury claims. However, having said that, don’t wait that long to do something about your claim or injury. The faster you deal with it, the quicker things get handled. Ideally, aim to process your claim within two months from the date of your accident, or sooner. Why? Because the details are still fresh in your mind. Have questions? I’m here to help you. Don’t hesitate to give me a call,” Schuelke said.
Contact Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP at http://www.civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
The post Keep detailed workplace injury records first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Some states do tend to differentiate between charges involving driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while impaired (DWI). In actual fact, these are the same offense and are not usually considered to be separate and distinct crimes.
There is a prevailing belief about the distinctions between DUI and DWI. Most believe that DUI means driving under the influence of something, which could mean drugs – either street or prescription – and that DWI means driving while drunk/impaired, since impaired is generally a term used in reference to drinking and driving.
Realistically speaking, the distinction is actually minimal, as the key here is being under the influence or impaired by something. Put another way, drugs or alcohol will impair a driver, making them “under the influence” of drugs or booze.
The bottom line here is that the terms DWI and DUI mean the same thing, and the charge is usually read as operation of a vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When it comes right down to it, this is one of those instances where the difference is without distinction in the eyes of the law in some parts of the U.S., but not necessarily the public. The fact is, that even some states make a distinction between the severities of the crimes. This is one very good reason to discuss a case with a seasoned Austin personal injury attorney.
For instance, some states consider a DUI a lesser offense than DWI. Their reasoning is that there is a distinction between being under the influence and actually being drunk. Basically, they believe that it implies there is a different level of impairment going on affecting a driver’s motor skills and coordination.
In other states, DUI/DWI is one and the same, in that there is a legal limit for being drunk, and anyone blowing over the limit is treated the same way. The differences come in at the punishment stage in court, where a judge may have the discretion to take different levels of intoxication into consideration. Only an experienced Austin personal injury attorney can outline the possible outcome in court cases where there is a prior record of DUI/DWI.
If a driver lives in a state where DWI and DUI are separate and distinct, they are best off to hire a DUI attorney to get the charges pled down. If a bad driving record is a part of the pleadings, this will affect the sentence, and ultimately mean that the difference (in certain states) between a DUI and DWI lies in how much jail time each one may result in.
To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.
The post Some states differentiate between DUI and DWI first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Surprisingly enough, burn injuries are not always the result of being burned by open flames or electricity. Many other burns happen as a result of things going wrong in the workplace. In fact, burns affect at least 1 million people very year; most of which are sustained on the job and should be discussed promptly with an Austin personal injury attorney.
Workplace burn injuries tend to happen in a variety of ways. For instance, anyone who works in an industry that uses fire to produce a product or to destroy a product is at risk for sustaining burns. Metalworking companies are prime locations for burns, since the materials they work with are melted down at exceedingly high temperatures to be molded into something new. While instances like this do involve open flames, other burn injuries don’t come from fire.
There are many other materials that have the potential to cause burns when they come into direct contact with the skin. Chemicals and acids may actually be even more dangerous than fire when direct exposure to the skin is involved. There are also some pharmaceutical companies that use highly caustic chemicals with deadly potential.
If workers are not properly trained on how to handle these chemicals and are not provided with the mandatory safety gear, there will be problems. Injured workers should seek counsel to recover compensation by hiring a seasoned Austin personal injury attorney.
Skin burns, acid ingestion, breathing in chemicals – all these things result in burns to various parts of the victim’s body. Inhaling dangerous chemicals burns the throat lining and the lungs; a pain so excruciating, the victim requires immediate medical attention. Whether the burn sustained was from flames from a fire, electrical shock, acid or other chemicals, the cost to treat these kinds of injuries is significant. It’s very rare that treating burns is a simple affair. Most cases are complex and require skin grafts and many years of surgery. The victim may never look the same again.
Generally speaking, it is the employer’s responsibility to provide all employees with a safe workplace, provide them with training on how to handle various dangerous chemicals/materials, make sure they are equipped with the proper safety gear, ensure fire protection procedures are in place and have clear and precise evacuation plans in the event of a fire.
For those who whose burns resulted from the negligence of someone else, make sure to contact a skilled Austin personal injury attorney and find out what rights a plaintiff has and how to file a lawsuit to recover damages/compensation.
To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.
The post Burn injuries are not always caused by flames first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>These people should be paying the bills for the victims. After all, the accident was their fault. While it may have been the other person’s fault, many people shrug off the responsibility of the consequences of an accident because of the money involved. In fact, the person or people at fault could even have been uninsured or underinsured, driving without a license or driving while suspended.
“Many people involved in an accident don’t want to get wrapped up in a court case that drags out and costs them money. They need a quick resolution to their claim so they can recover lost wages and/or pay their medical bills. Unfortunately, they can’t accomplish that on their own, as dealing with insurance companies is something best left to competent accident lawyer with experience in handling them,” said Michael Smith, an Arkansas accident lawyer.
Insurance companies are not accident victim’s friends. They are running a business. The bottom line of that business is to save money on accident claims and not pay it out in high amounts, whether the settlement is warranted or not. “If you have a lawyer working with you on your car accident claim, chances are you will get a much higher settlement because they know you are serious about going to court if the claims negotiation process does not work,” Smith said.
Those who think they can handle their own insurance claim often find out later that they signed something that they shouldn’t have – something that gave away their rights to sue. Unfortunately, once a claimant has signed away his or her rights, the insurance case file can’t be re-opened. It’s for this reason that it’s smart for the victim to not sign anything until he or she has spoken to an Arkansas accident lawyer.
“In fact, I’d suggest you bring any papers the insurance company wants you to sign to me. I will go over them and we can discuss precisely what they mean to your claim and how they may affect your rights,” Smith said. For example, a victim may well be entitled to current, past and future lost wages and medical bills for therapy. The claim may also apply to living expenses. Unfortunately, those trying to handle their own claims don’t think about these things and/or don’t know about them, and you can bet the insurance company won’t tell you about them, because they cost money.
“If you have an accident claim, let’s discuss it and see how to best ensure you get a fair settlement without having to deal with any of the runaround typically handed out by insurance companies. While we’re discussing your claim, I will also let you know what your legal rights are,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
The post Personal injury responsibilities that others don’t take seriously first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Usually one of the first things that a criminal defense lawyer does when someone has been accused of committing a crime is to contact a private investigator. Ultimately, it is expected that this step will garner the accused the very best possible defense by finding additional facts and details pertaining to the case. But many defendants don’t know what the investigator does for them.
“More often than not, the private investigator digs deep to find hidden information about your case. They get a wide variety of facts from various sources, including using the computer to track files or a digital trail. These days, a necessary skill is the ability to tackle encrypted files, determine if passwords have been altered and/or if certain documents have been deleted. The 21st century has created an electronic milieu for everyone to conduct their activities. However, they leave traces of what they did and where they’ve been that may be tracked later,” said Robert Webb, of Webb & D’Orazio, personal injury lawyers practicing personal injury law, business law, and criminal defense in Atlanta Georgia.
A good detective looks at all the various angles of a case to see who else may be involved, who may be building a case against you, what they are looking for and any inconsistencies or holes the defense could utilize while in court. Public and private records are scoured from top to bottom in the search for evidence the defense may use. “And if we need a certain witness, the investigator will track that person down in order for us to build a solid criminal defense case,” Webb said.
While not all law firms use private investigators, they definitely have their use when it comes to helping a criminal defense lawyer build a good case for a person accused of a crime. Investigators work with witnesses, various types of surveillance equipment and work legally and ethically – or they could not present the evidence in court.
“If you need a tenacious criminal defense lawyer, give us a call. We’ve got your back and have ‘been there and done that’, so we know the system. Let’s talk about your case,” Webb said.
To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.
The post Investigators often make a criminal defense case fly first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Anyone who has ever been through some kind of medical treatment is likely aware that just one slip up, one small mistake, one misunderstanding can result in medical malpractice. Unfortunately, even though the medical profession does a fine job under difficult circumstances, bad things do happen and patients get improper treatment or the wrong treatment altogether.
The wrong treatment puts a patient’s health and welfare on the thin edge of the razor; a fine line to walk when dealing with another person’s life. The wrong treatment means the real cause of the illness is undetermined and untreated, which means the patient will get worse. The long-term consequences of this medical missed diagnosis may result in serious harm or death.
“Typically, improper treatment may happen in a variety of ways,” said Robert Webb, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio in Georgia. “For example, the patient gets either not enough medication or too much or the individual is treated for the wrong illness/disease, because they were misdiagnosed.”
While there are other things that may happen to an unsuspecting patient, the other most common error is when a health services worker (doctor, nurse, charge nurse, etc.) makes a clerical error and a patient gets the wrong medication. “Of course, any of these scenarios may cause irreversible harm to someone or kill them and if you have been in a situation like this and lived to tell the tale, you will want to discuss your case with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer,” Webb said.
The major difficulty with not treating a disease is that it continues on its course unabated and may, over time, become untreatable. Those who have been victims of improper treatment may very well be entitled to financial compensation for their medical malpractice injuries. “If you have any questions about a situation you have been in, give me a call. I would be happy to discuss your case with you,” Webb said.
To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.
The post Botched medical treatments may result in serious injury or death first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Wrongful death is a bit of an unusual term, because there is no such thing as a death that is right. As awkward as it may seem, to understand what wrongful death is, you have to look at the bigger picture. When someone dies as the result of the negligence or inaction of another person or an entity, this is called wrongful death. It may sound simple on the surface, but it rarely is, as any Atlanta personal injury lawyer will tell you.
For those who have died at the hands of another, there may be fairly large damage awards for the deceased’s loved ones. Wrongful death has no particular niche. It strikes at anytime, anywhere and may be the result of a car accident, medical malpractice or even not maintaining property to ensure it is safe for others to visit. Another form of wrongful death may happen when a 911 call for help is not handled properly or promptly.
An improperly handled 911 call would involve the dispatcher handling the call in a negligent manner or being careless about the information he or she gathered and sent out. If someone dies as a result of those errors, the operator may be held liable for the wrongful death. One enormous oversight made by 911 dispatchers is not getting enough information from the caller.
For example, not getting the right address or all the details of the emergency situation may result in emergency responders going to the wrong location or not sending the right kind of emergency personnel to the scene. Not having a complete understanding of the severity of a situation a caller is describing may also result in an untimely and unnecessary death.
Take the case of the baby who had stopped breathing in a small town. The family called the dispatch center six times over a 15-minute period but the calls went unanswered. For some reason they were not going through to the dispatch center, either due to operator error or a technical glitch. Finally, the last call for help was answered by an operator in the next county. Unfortunately, the baby died while help was on the way. While there are several facets of this case to be delved into, the result was a wrongful death.
If you have any questions about how a wrongful death lawsuit is handled in your state, make sure you call and ask a skilled personal injury lawyer. While every state has a wrongful death statute, each state also has slightly different rules and regulations. If you live in Georgia, make that call to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.
Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.
The post Emergency call negligence may result in wrongful death first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The only one thing that remains a given – as far as it can be, that is – is the fact that the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act 2009 has been tabled. That should mean that the subcommittees working on it, citizenship, refugees, international law, border security and immigration, should really enact it. But Bill HR4321 languishes on the table.
Politics has once again reared its ugly head and the fate of millions of immigrants hangs in limbo, while petty differences of opinion hold up a major bill that could change the lives of those involved. The premise behind this bill is a good one, and that is, if the system can be fixed by working together to find a complete and equitable solution that keeps the border secure, enforces the law and acknowledges the mixed heritage of Americans, it would be a win-win situation for all. It would ultimately mean that immigration would be driven by what is in the best economic interests of the nation and the American worker.
This sounds fine in theory. This sounds fine in debate. This sounds fine in a bill. However, that’s as far as it’s gotten – sounding fine. No one can seem to get it implemented due to politics. To accomplish comprehensive immigration reform, the political parties need to work together to make it happen for the people who elected them. That’s not happening because no one can agree on how to make it happen without stepping on a whole lot of toes.
This has been going on for too long. No wonder things are up in the air and comprehensive immigration reform is only proceeding on the enforcement front. It’s the easiest area to do something visible in. It’s rather obvious that the only way something will give is to shove politics to the side and get comprehensive immigration reform handled.
To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com
The post Shoving politics to the side is the only way to accomplish CIR first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It’s amazing how people coin various terms when they’re trying to make a point about something. The new term, “anchor babies,” likely would never have surfaced had it not been for the call for a reassessment of the 14th Amendment. Some feel that it wrongly protects the children of undocumented immigrants.
The whole debate started to heat up after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham described the “drop and leave” tactics that he said seems to be growing in popularity with pregnant illegal aliens. It involves the mother coming to the U.S. for one reason – to have a child there. Doing that means the baby is granted American citizenship, which is an “anchor” that parents may use later for legal residency.
The interesting thing about Graham’s remarks is that at one time he (and John McCain) was an insistent promoter of comprehensive immigration reform. He wanted to find a way to offer undocumented and illegal aliens a legal way to become citizens.
Graham and a cadre of others have suddenly shuffled their political position to attacking the citizenship clause in the Constitution. It’s a typical political move, but disturbing nonetheless. It makes one wonder why anyone would believe what a politician says and brings new meaning to that old saying that actions speak louder than words. Likely, if voters paid more attention to political action in an election year than words, our representation in government may be totally different than what it is today.
This debate, in part, centers on the practice of a country granting birthright citizenship. The U.S. is one of 33 countries that allow this, despite what many hear on the news. The practice is called jus soli.
It is now not just a term used in discussions about comprehensive immigration reform, as it’s also raising its head when it comes to terrorist organizations and well-to-do birth tourists. Some politicians and pundits are arguing that terrorists are utilizing jus soli to plant babies who will grow up to become legal American terrorists. Does this kind of dire warning ring true? This is something many people need to decide for themselves. Frankly, when it comes to pre-election shenanigans, this type of scare tactic is pretty familiar as a diversion. Yes, illegal aliens do have their babies in the U.S., but to suggest they drop and leave to sabotage the country might be somewhat of a leap.
Look to the U.S. Supreme Court as being the final arbiter in this debate. The facts can’t be changed and this is the law. The court has dealt with the wording of the 14th Amendment on numerous occasions, and the law says that for the U.S. to change a birthright citizenship policy, the 14th Amendment must be changed or past Supreme Court decisions must be overturned. This isn’t likely going to happen any time soon. So, once again, comprehensive immigration reform becomes a tempest in a teapot over an issue that’s not really relevant to the big picture. And this is likely due to the upcoming November elections.
To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com
The post Hispanic birthrights in the US are becoming a flash point in CIR first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>First, it’s important to ask whether this is the answer to your financial problems. Filing for bankruptcy is a serious decision and should only be undertaken if there are no other alternatives. Having a bankruptcy on your credit file can affect buying a house or car in the future and will remain on your records for years to come.
“To file, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code also requires that a filer obtains some credit counseling from a court-approved counseling agency before submitting a bankruptcy petition,” said Reginald Osenton of Osenton Law Offices in Brandon, Florida.
The next step is to determine what type of bankruptcy is right for your situation. There is Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which offers immediate relief, but it is not available to all debtors under bankruptcy law. The other alternative is Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is a restructuring of debt typically over a 3 to 5 year period.
While there are some people who file bankruptcy paperwork without the assistance of an attorney, this is highly discouraged. Bankruptcy is a serious and complex matter that can have ramifications for years to come. It is best to seek an expert attorney on this decision.
The lawyer should meet with you to go over your options and financial matters. If your initial meeting is with a paralegal or assistant, and not an attorney, you should seek another law firm. After discussing your situation, the attorney should inform you what the legal fee and court costs would be to proceed.
Once you retain a lawyer, refer all creditors to him or her. After you file the bankruptcy petition, the court will set the first meeting of creditors, which is a time for the bankruptcy trustee and creditors to ask you questions about your case. In most cases, this is the only time you will appear in court. The creditors then have a certain time period to respond to your request of a discharge or restructuring of debt.
Again, choosing to file for bankruptcy is a serious matter. “It is imperative to seek the advice and guidance of a competent attorney with experience in bankruptcy,” Osenton said.
To learn more visit, http://www.brandonlawoffice.com.
The post How Do I Know If I Should File for Bankruptcy? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Think filing for bankruptcy will absolve child or spousal support payments? Not so.
“Child support payments and spousal support payments generally cannot be discharged in bankruptcy,” said Reginald Osenton of Osenton Law Offices in Brandon, Florida. “This means that a parent who owes child support cannot usually escape meeting those obligations, no matter whether it is Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.”
Section 523 of the United States Bankruptcy Code states that an individual debtor may not be discharged from debt “to a spouse, former spouse, or child of the debtor, for alimony to, maintenance for, or support of such spouse or child, in connection with a separation agreement, divorce decree or other order of a court of record, determination made in accordance with State or territorial law by a governmental unit, or property settlement agreement.”
Spouses who file for bankruptcy often are behind in support payments. Bankruptcy law even mandates that the nonpaying spouse be among those creditors first in line to be paid. Nonpaying spouses are also to be kept apprised of the status of the bankruptcy proceedings.
“But there are some exceptions, however,” Osenton added. “Discharges in spousal or child support may be granted if the debt, for example, is assigned to a third party such as the state or federal government.”
With the rising number of bankruptcies this year, there is more concern than ever about how this will affect child/spousal support payments. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the number of total filings is up 14 percent during the first half of 2010 when compared to the first half of 2009.
The above information about bankruptcy and how it can impact child and spousal support obligations is offered as general advice. If you are currently experiencing difficulty in either paying or receiving child support or alimony, however, contact your divorce attorney for more in-depth advice and counseling.
To learn more visit, http://www.brandonlawoffice.com.
The post How Bankruptcy Affects Spousal and Child Support first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Social Security turned 75 on August 14. While some celebrated its successes, the dominant narrative was instead that Social Security is in trouble. Politicians and pundits took note of Social Security’s anniversary amid renewed warnings about the dire challenges the program is facing.
In the political realm, discussion of Social Security has degraded more to the level of insult slinging and demagoguery than actual policy discussion. Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to dismantle the nation’s most popular social insurance program (which they are) and Republicans are accusing Democrats of scare mongering about Republicans’ plans (which they are).
However, as is increasingly and unfortunately the case, the additional attention currently being paid to Social Security is not contributing to a better understanding of the program.
Debates about the health of Social Security are not new. Since President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, the program has never met a 75-year test for solubility. [1] Yet, 75 years later, Social Security is still paying all promised benefits to retirees and individuals with disabilities.
President George W. Bush made Social Security “reform” a key goal early in his presidency. However, even with non-stop media coverage and in some cases flat out fear-mongering, the idea of privatizing some or all of the nation’s Social Security program simply did not appeal to the majority of Americans. The inability to pass any changes to Social Security after making “reform” key to his agenda was one of President Bush’s larger legislative failures.
The debate over what, if any, changes should be made to the Social Security system was quieted during the later years of the Bush presidency, but has resurfaced with vigor as President Barack Obama approaches the midway point of his first term. The resurgence of the debate can be attributed to several factors. Republicans, pandering to an increasingly extreme base in the coming 2010 mid-term elections, are using public confusion about the program to foment an atmosphere of fear and panic over looming budget deficits. Ideology also plays a roll. Conservatives do not like Social Security. It is a popular, effective government program that runs counter to the dogma that government can do no good. Finally, some politicians and economists are engaged in a good faith effort to make sure seniors who rely on Social Security and workers who have been promised Social Security will continue to receive benefits into the foreseeable future.
One key group investigating the future of Social Security is President Obama’s deficit commission. In February, the president created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and tasked the commission with developing solutions to help maintain the nation’s long-term fiscal solubility. Social Security leads the commission’s agenda, and members are mandated to produce a series of recommendations by Dec. 1, 2010. [2]
From its inception, the commission has received criticism from the left for its conservative makeup, being comprised of Republicans and moderate- to conservative-leaning Democrats. In a recent Washington Post article, Ezra Klein scored the six Republicans and six Democrats on the commission using DW-NOMINATE rankings. He found that the Senate Democrats on the committee are more conservative than the average Senate Democrat and that the Senate Republicans on the commission are also more conservative than most of their Senate Republican colleagues. The result, in his view, being a committee evenly split in terms of partisan affiliation but right leaning in terms of ideology. [3]
Klein’s analysis of the commission follows a wave of criticism directed at its co-chair, former Republican Senator Alan Simpson. Simpson, proving himself out of touch with working Americans, described Social Security as a “a milk cow with 310 million tits.” In addition to showing a striking lack of tact (the quote coming from a letter written to the head of the National Older Women’s League), Simpson’s rant proves he either does not care about or does not understand the actual workings of the Social Security insurance program. Social Security, funded separately from rest of the federal budget, quite simply pays benefits to those who have paid in. In order to qualify to draw Social Security, an individual must work and contribute to the program for 10 years. Social Security is not means tested; benefits are paid progressively as a percentage of former earnings and contributions.
The mean Social Security benefit is around $14,000 a year, providing 40 percent of retirement income for the average American. [4] According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Social Security lifts 20 million Americans out of poverty. [5] And, according to a recent national survey commissioned by the AARP, 85 percent of adults oppose cutting Social Security and half of non-retired adults support paying higher payroll taxes to ensure the systems stays solvent. Younger Americans, while skeptical about the program’s future, are particularly supportive of the program. 90 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 said they believe Social Security is important. [6]
However, while Social Security is popular, many Americans, particularly young Americans, are skeptical about its future. Much of this can be attributed to the misunderstandings and mistruths that are continuously perpetrated by some in Congress and in the media. Here are the truths behind some of the more common Social Security myths.
1. Social Security adds to the deficit.
Social Security, by law, cannot add to the deficit. It is a separate program, paid into through FICA contributions, with benefits paid only from the revenue it raises. If the trust fund were to be exhausted and current contributions were not adequate to pay benefits, Social Security could not borrow from the general budget. Federal law prohibits Social Security from borrowing.
2. Social Security is broke, and there is no “Trust Fund.”
Conventional wisdom among Social Security skeptics is that the program is out of money now and that there is no Social Security Trust Fund. This is fueled largely by the fact that Social Security did begin to pay more in benefits than it received in taxes earlier than was projected due to the depth of the 2008 recession. Regardless of this fact, The Social Security Trust Fund currently runs a $2.5 trillion surplus. The Economic Policy Institute estimates the surplus will peak at $4.2 trillion in 2024 [7]
Trust Fund intact, with no changes to the program, Social Security is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of benefits until the year 2037. After 2037, Social Security will still be able to pay 75 percent of benefits. [8] A program projected to meet costs almost 4 decades into the future with no adjustments is not a system in crisis. Other government programs would be hard pressed to meet such a standard.
3. The Trust Fund has been raided and is just full of IOUs.
Those who decry the vacuous trust fund, eliciting imagery of a big room with lonely piles of IOUs, are in reality making claims against the creditworthiness of the United States government. True, the Social Security Trust Fund is not sitting around in a lock box as Al Gore eloquently stated. The funds are invested in Treasury Bonds, “full faith and credit” notes that the government issues to many of its creditors. Since the federal government has never missed a payment on its debt, and is not expected to anytime soon, to claim the Trust Fund is full of useless IOUs is disingenuous.
4. The retirement age must be raised because people are living longer
The retirement age argument is tricky because two things are the case: more baby-boomers are soon to retire, and people, on average, are living longer. The argument seems logical on its face, but the reality is very different.
The crux of the issue surrounding the retirement age is that the rise in life expectancy since 1935 is largely due to lower infant mortality rates and is unevenly spread among income levels. Since 1972, life expectancy has increased by 6.5 years for top earners, but by less than two years for workers in the bottom half of the earnings bracket. [9] Because of this disparity, the less affluent, those who most need social security, will see the greatest benefit cut. It is not as difficult to imagine staying in a well-paying office job for a couple more years as it is to continue working lower-paying labor-intensive jobs until age 70.
In addition, the retirement age is already set to increase gradually, due to a 1983 law, until it reaches 67 for people born after 1959.
5. Benefit cuts are needed
To the extent that there will be shortfalls in the Social Security budget in the future, they are minor in relation to other budget expenditures, and can be corrected without cutting benefits. In 1983, when Social Security actually did run out of funds, a “deal” was made with workers to put Social Security back in the black. Payroll taxes were raised, significantly, on middle and lower income workers. The tax increase was highly regressive, but, coupled with a raise in the retirement age, was responsible for building the large surplus Social Security enjoys today.
The increase in taxes on lower income individuals also allowed Reagan to cut taxes on those earning higher incomes. At the time, implicit in the deal was the idea that lower income workers would overpay their taxes for 30 years, at which point higher income individuals would pitch in to relieve some of the burden and cover any funding shortfalls. After a period of overpayment of payroll taxes, the tables would turn, and middle and lower income individuals would begin to underpay payroll taxes with the difference being covered by a raise in income taxes on higher earners. [10]
Thirty years later, the second part of that deal has been conveniently forgotten. Without cutting benefits, and in the spirit of Alan Greenspan’s 1983 recommendations, creating new sources of revenue could increase funds. The cap on Social Security taxed-income, currently $106,800, could be raised or eliminated. Other taxes, like a proposed financial transactions tax, could be implemented. The 75-year projected Social Security deficit is roughly equal to the cost of extending President Bush’s tax cuts on those earning over $250,000 a year for the same period. [11]
The logic, as Paul Krugman stated, is that benefits have to be cut to avoid cuts in benefits. That logic does not add up. [12]
6. Social Security faces the same issues as Medicare and Medicaid.
Social Security often gets lumped in with Medicare and Medicaid as a problem “entitlement” program. It is true, Medicaid and Medicare do face funding problems, but much of this is due to the ballooning costs of health care. Social Security does not face the same problems as Medicare and Medicaid as payouts are not affected by rising health care costs.
Even with these realities, many watching the Social Security debate expect the deficit commission to offer a package of several cuts, including an increase in the retirement age. It is anticipated these cuts will be coupled with some sort of an increase in payroll taxes for wealthier Americans.
Current and future retirees would be well served if politicians would stop confusing the distinction between cuts in Social Security and cuts in the national debt. Mounting deficits are a legitimate concern, but can in no way be attributed to Social Security. Americans, both those receiving Social Security benefits, and those planning to receive benefits in the future, acknowledge the significance of the Social Security. A program that is so important to so many Americans deserves an honest debate.
SOURCES
1. http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/webfeatures_viewpoints_ss_myth/
2. http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/
3. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/the_republicans_on_the_deficit.html
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-miller/its-time-to-bolster-socia_b_696327.html
5. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3260
6. http://www.aarp.org/work/social-security/info-08-2010/social_security_75th.html
7. http://www.epi.org/analysis_and_opinion/entry/fact_check_has_social_security_begun_tapping_its_trust_funds/
8. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2010/index.html
9. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/more_on_raising_the_retirement.html
10. http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/deal
12. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/opinion/16krugman.html?_r=1&hp
The post Social Security and the Deficit Commission: Myths and Realities first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Having a baby is not exactly stress or danger free, no matter what anyone tells you. Good labor or not, there is still the possibility of complications arising at any given point from start to delivery finish. The main thing is, it’s not just the baby that’s at risk during a birth; it’s the mother as well. While equipment such as forceps and vacuums may assist in the birth, if they are not used correctly, the mother may sustain damage to her womb or the baby may suffer any one of a number of birth injuries ranging from shoulder dystocia to cerebral palsy.
One of the more dangerous tools often used in delivery rooms is the forceps. In the hands of a skilled doctor, they make an enormous difference in the delivery. In the hands of an unskilled doctor, or one that is careless or negligent, the baby could sustain facial nerve injuries, or worse. Going through a delivery where various tools are necessary is downright frightening given the variety of things that could happen.
“Even though modern medicine has made giant leaps and bounds when it comes to the birthing process for the child and mother, mistakes still cause injuries. There is no way around that. If forceps are used incorrectly, the mother may sustain tissue tears in her womb and/or painful vaginal lacerations. Yes, the human body is a marvel at minimizing damage to itself, but when you toss in the intervention of another human armed with tools, the playing field isn’t level any longer,” said Charlie Donahue, a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States.
Forceps injuries usually occur if the doctor clenched the child’s face too tightly. If that happens, the forceps can impair the main facial nerve, the one that is responsible for motor functions in the eyes and lips. If the doctor’s mistake or negligence is serious enough, a botched forceps delivery can lead to facial paralysis and a permanent disability or disfigurement.
Head bruising is another injury that may result from the pressure of forceps or a tight passage through the vaginal canal. Generally speaking, a cephalohematoma fades over time, but it is also possible that this in an indication of a skull fracture that could turn into something far worse.
“If you suspect your child’s injuries are due to medical malpractice at the time of birth, give me a call. We’ll talk about your rights and how to defend them,” said New Hampshire personal injury lawyer Charlie Donahue.
To learn more, visit http://www.donahuelawfirm.com.
The post Forceps delivery may cause birth injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Most physicians and surgeons do a really good job and have hundreds of happy patients. However, doctors are humans and humans do make mistakes now and then. If the error is small, it’s forgivable and forgotten. If the error severely injures someone or his or her life, this is medical malpractice with negligence and it is grounds for a lawsuit.
“Take the case of a woman that we read about who had a partial knee replacement and the doctor never took an X-ray of her knee to see if the hardware was in the right spot until after the surgery. Despite what the X-rays showed, that there was some question about the placement of the hardware, nothing was done about it and the patient was waved on to go to physiotherapy,” said Charlie Donahue, a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States.
As time passed, the patient kept having severe problems with pain that would not quit. In desperation, the woman finally went to an orthopedist to find out what was wrong. He took an X-ray to see what was going on in the knee and lo and behold, it showed the hardware was in the wrong place. That meant the patient needed corrective surgery, less than three months after first having the initial operation.
“To say that the woman was not a happy camper would be an understatement, largely because while she initially went for a partial knee replacement, she now needed a total knee replacement,” New Hampshire personal injury lawyer Donahue said. The first partial knee replacement was intended to last for 10 to 12 years. However, because the first doctor didn’t do his job correctly and place the hardware in the right location, the woman needed surgery earlier than expected under general anesthesia.
In this case, the first surgeon didn’t do his job. He didn’t take an X-ray until the operation was over and then, even when he did take an X-ray and was questioning if the knee hardware was properly placed, he chose to do nothing about what he saw in the X-ray and sent the patient to physiotherapy. Ultimately, the agony she went through initially was a result of medical negligence.
“Does this lady have a viable medical malpractice case? Yes, and she should be able to recover medical expenses for both surgeries, pain and suffering, medications, therapy and other related costs. When things go wrong with your doctor and you wind up hurting, call me. I’d be pleased to assess your case, discuss your rights and outline how medical malpractice cases proceed,” Donahue said. “It’s your life, your body and your future. You depended on a doctor that let you down and changed how you will live the rest of your life. Things like this need to be talked about.”
To learn more, visit http://www.donahuelawfirm.com.
The post Knee replacement surgery resulted in incorrectly placed hardware first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This trial will be fairly long given the bizarre nature of this case. This medical malpractice lawsuit was the result of an organ transplantation that turned out to be deadly for the recipient. “The plaintiff is the widow of a man who died of uterine cancer after his kidney transplant. Yes, I did say uterine cancer. This is a very unusual case,” said Daren Monroe, who writes for Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan.
The man who first received the kidney transplant suffered from diabetes-induced kidney damage and was on dialysis. Vincent Liew was on a waiting list for five years prior to getting a call in 2002 that a kidney match had been found. The transplant operation took place in February, 2002, but Liew’s condition did not improve. In fact, he was in unending pain and wanted the kidney removed. It was taken out in August of 2002.
At that time, the family was advised that Liew had uterine cancer; a disease usually limited to women. Doctors at NYU stated the chances of Liew getting uterine cancer was less than 1 percent, since he did not have a uterus. Whatever the statistics said, Liew died in September 2002 and an autopsy cited uterine cancer as the cause; cancer originally found on the transplanted kidney.
“Organs are not supposed to be donated if the donor died of cancer,” Monroe said. “Obviously, something went wrong at the donating hospital, which was sued by NYU for not properly screening the diseased organ.” Of course, the major question here asks how the transplant team could miss the fact that the kidney was contaminated with tumors.
Key evidence in this case was provided by Dr. Thomas Diflo, an organ transplant specialist who apparently found out vital information about the kidney’s donor. The NY Organ Donor Network indicated that the donor was a woman who died of uterine cancer and that the kidney was covered in tumors. Something obviously went terribly wrong in this case, and finding out who was at fault will take some time.
Mrs. Liew will no doubt be extremely worried about how she is going to pay her bills and continue with her life. She will be coping with trying to pay all of the medical debt from 2002 until 2009, when her husband died. Even if the couple had medical insurance coverage, chances are it ran out a long time ago. This case would be a perfect candidate for pre-settlement funding; an emergency lawsuit loan that lets the widow deal with her enormous medical bills and also keep current with the usual bills she would have to pay.
Litigation funding, also referred to as litigation financing, is fast cash that may be applied for online or by phone by calling a legal finance company. Once the case has been assessed and the lawsuit loan approved, it is sent on its way to the plaintiff by check or wire. Once the funds arrive, they pay their bills and then get to wait for justice to be done. In other words, they don’t need to accept any ridiculous offers from an insurance company.
To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com/.
The post Man dies of uterine cancer after defective kidney transplant first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a bizarre case where a high school football coach got carried away during what he referred to as a football “total immersion” camp.
“This particular football camp took place at the local high school and required the players to camp overnight on the school campus for this event. There were three practices slated every day that included weight training,” said Daren Monroe, who writes for Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan. The whole event was being put on under the auspices of the new coach, Jeff Kearin.
It seems that Mr. Kearin pushed things just a bit too far for the kids involved in this camp. By mid-week, there were a number of kids complaining about major swelling on their arms. Those players were rushed to the hospital for treatment. “Evidently, three of the boys were diagnosed with compartment syndrome, which means a fluid buildup combined with swelling. Four other players looked like they would need surgery and were placed under observation,” Monroe said.
Just when it seemed like things were tapering off, 24 more students got very ill and were tested for high enzyme levels. Sixteen players showed high risk levels and were rushed to hospital. One boy needed surgery and three others were admitted immediately.
Interestingly enough, the players stood up for their coach and said the workouts weren’t as bad as what they had to go through for wrestling practices. However, there are a number of very unimpressed parents discussing legal action. They feel this is high school football, not college pro ball or even the NFL and that workouts like that for kids were just too much for them to handle.
The school district isn’t sure if it will pay medical expenses and they aren’t sure if it will discipline the coaching staff. In the meantime, there are a number of parents talking to personal injury lawyers about trying to recover compensation for their son’s medical bills.
“Any one of the families of the boys that were seriously injured and who may have also required surgery would be entitled to not only file a personal injury lawsuit, but to also apply for interim legal financing from a litigation funding company,” Monroe said.
Pre-settlement funding is ideal for cases like this, where the families may be just barely making ends meet during this tough economy and are not sure how they will pay for their son’s medical bills. They might be able to keep up with their regular bills but don’t know where they will find the money to handle anything else. A lawsuit cash advance may be the perfect answer for them.
The unfortunate victims and their families in this case should check to see if they are eligible for lawsuit funding. If they are, the fast cash is delivered within 24 to 48 hours and would handle their immediate medical expenses, the costs of surgery, rehabilitation, medications, etc., as well as their usual bills. Being approved to receive pre-settlement funding will let the families wait for a decent settlement or verdict and not have to take the first offer that an insurance company makes.
To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com/.
The post Immersion football camp injures 31 first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Wrongful death lawsuits are not like the ones you see on TV, largely because those cases tend to deal with criminal offenses. In addition, nothing in the real world gets wrapped up from start to finish within an hour, minus commercials. In the real world, a wrongful death lawsuit is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal one, and it is a suit that is aimed at recovering compensation for the death of a loved one due to another person or entity,” said Scott Atkinson, a New Mexico personal injury lawyer and wrongful death lawyer with the Atkinson Law Firm, Ltd.
“Just about every state has a wrongful death statute, but their provisions differ, so it’s a good idea to find out from a New Mexico wrongful death lawyer what the statute in your state says,” he said.
“If you lost a loved one due to a homicide or manslaughter, the state (in the guise of the District Attorney) charges the offender and pursues legal action against them. They have complete control of the case. Family members need to file a civil lawsuit for compensation for their loved one’s death and they do so under the auspices of a wrongful death statute,” Atkinson said. Typically, most criminal cases are filed and dealt with first before a civil suit proceeds.
While no amount of money will ever bring back a deceased loved one, filing for compensation will allow the family to be able to continue on with their lives. By focusing on economic recovery, a wrongful death action quantifies the value of the deceased’s live by factoring in things like loss of earnings, loss of inheritance, loss of earning potential, medical and funeral expenses – to name a just a few things.
Trying to calculate what a person’s life is worth is extremely difficult, as there are a number of assumptions that need to go into the final figure. Frankly, most of the economic models don’t come close to capturing the complete value of a loved one’s life. Some of the factors involved include loss of comfort, guidance, emotional support and companionship; things that are just about impossible to quantify. Of course, there is then the risk that they won’t be included in the loss suffered by the survivors.
Ultimately, while economic recovery may come close to approximating what a life is worth, it’s not an optimal solution to a devastating loss. However, the family would at least have some recompense for their loss, to help them to get on with their lives and manage financially after the sudden death of the main breadwinner.
“In order to get a fair and reasonable settlement or verdict in a wrongful death case, you really need the competent assistance of New Mexico wrongful death lawyer who understands the pain and anguish you are trying to deal with as a result of your loss. Having a skilled lawyer on your side is very influential in terms of the outcome of your case,” Atkinson said.
To learn more about Scott Atkinson visit http://www.attorneynewmexico.com
The post Economic recovery never seems adequate in wrongful death cases first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“It’s one of those givens, that when a biker is involved in a motorcycle crash, that they tend to get ejected and thrown great distances. The result of the force of the impact and the impact of a hard landing usually results in multiple bone fractures, or worse. It’s not just being thrown that may break bones either. If the biker has to lay their bike down, fractures may result for that as well,” said Scott Atkinson, a New Mexico personal injury lawyer and wrongful death lawyer with the Atkinson Law Firm, Ltd.
Unfortunately, there are a number of different types of bone breaks. Knowing what kind of break is involved in the accident will give a New Mexico personal injury lawyer a good idea of how serious the injury is and what economic recovery may be possible. If the biker is lucky, they may sustain a simple crack; something that may be cast, if the break isn’t difficult to treat. In addition, as long as the bone is healing, it will not need to be re-broken. Arms and legs are relatively easy to deal with, but if a biker breaks a jaw or chin, the situation may become infinitely more difficult. Think wired jaws and drinking sustenance through a straw.
“Typically, there are two categories of bone fractures that we deal with when it comes to court cases,” said Atkinson. “Those are displaced and non-displaced; somewhat fancy terms for how the bones were broken. For instance, a displaced fracture is one where a bone snaps in two or more parts/pieces. You might be familiar with medical shows on TV that discuss comminuted fractures. This is when a bone breaks into many pieces.”
As for non-displaced fractures, this refers to a break where the bone cracks either partially or right through the bone. These type of fractures are referred to as either open or closed. Open means the bone came through the skin and is exposed; a very serious break that may lead to bone infections.
“As you can see, getting into an accident while on your ride may result in some very serious injuries that may be life-altering. Dealing with breaks as serious as some of the ones I have just discussed is a long and hard road to follow. If there was negligence involved in the accident, you stand a good chance of recovering compensation to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.,” Atkinson said. “If you will never be able to work again or walk properly without help, this may put you into a totally different compensation category for court. Give me a call if you have questions, I’d be happy to talk to you about your case.”
To learn more about Scott Atkinson visit http://www.attorneynewmexico.com
The post The breaks of motorcycle accidents may cause permanent injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>You may have noticed that sculpture downtown in the middle of the rotunda at your local city hall. At least you “think” it’s a sculpture, but then again, it might also be a bike rack. That’s the prevailing problem with art – what is it? This is actually a question that has been argued in many courts across the nation, and frankly, no one is even close to being able to define what art really is and they may never be.
The reason for that? It changes all the time. One year the “in” thing may be pictures of soda cans in a back alley depicting the angst of modern society and their throwaway habits – and this will be considered to be art. The next year, and honestly sometimes even the next month, those same soda cans become passé and the newest hot item is something that passes for finger painting done on steel panels. Go figure. Nonetheless, someone somewhere may find their “art” being knocked off and the battle may be on in the form of a lawsuit.
When defending the rights of the creator of the “art,” the main issue is what belongs to whom, and let’s also not forget who actually owns the “art.” While most would say the creator of the art is the owner, are they really? They don’t have anything appropriated to their work once it’s not in the studio.
Then, there is the often contentious issue of the relationship the artist has with the gallery. The artist is the worker who produces the work, but the gallery also has ownership rights to the work because they represent the artist. Often they get a whopping 50% cut of the final sale price for the work because they promoted it, showed it and raved about it and that got the artist and the work noticed.
Ownership changes hands through sale of the work, or does it? That’s the multi-million dollar question and one that poses an endless conundrum for those with a philosophical bent. It also poses some interesting questions in legal cases as well.
Here is an example of the problem of legality and ownership issues. Have you heard about Associated Press (AP) suing Shephard Fairey? They sued him over the Obama Hope posters that he artistically interpreted. Problem is that AP says his posters amount to copyright infringement because he mass produced a photo originally owned by AP without their permission. Fairey didn’t use the exact photo, he artistically interpreted it.
Fairey’s portrait version of the original image was based on a photo taken in April 2006 by AP photographer Mannie Garcia. AP kicked up a stink and in reply Fairey sued for a declaratory judgment that his poster, despite its origin, was “fair use” of the original photo. This is just one example of the kinds of issues that are floating around in the world of art law with the underlying confusion threaded into the mixture of what happens when you give art a primary holder. Is its meaning, which only the artist seems to know and understand, affected by giving it an owner?
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit Daviderikson.com. Mr. Erikson specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
The post When Is Art, Art? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Autism is far more common than we realize, but what many people don’t realize is that most health insurance plans do not provide coverage for this neurological condition. Generally speaking, since each autistic individual is different, autism causes them to have mild to severe problems communicating with others and also struggle with social interactions. In many cases, the most opportune time for intervention is in early childhood and working with a variety of programs that will help them to be able to live a near normal life.
As you might expect, treatment for this disorder runs to the tens of thousands of dollars each year and most parents don’t have access to that kind of money. Sadly, most health insurance plans won’t cover it either. However, there is encouraging news on the horizon, in the form of a bill in the works in Missouri that would require many health insurance carriers to cover autism.
The legislation mandates health insurance plans to cover up to $45,000 annually for applied behavioral analysis therapy (from a licensed provider) for kids under 18. To avoid the possibility of fraud from people posing as therapists, or less than honest therapists wanting to cash in on the insurance wagon, the state is planning on creating a new licensing process. If the bill is signed by the governor, the new rules would roll out on the 1st of January, 2011.
One of the other benefits of this bill is that it includes an annual adjustment of the cap that is tagged to inflation. While it sounds good on first read, those with autistic children do need to know there are some potential catches. Those catches would be that the law would only apply to group health insurance plans regulated by the state; that would mean plans bought through small to mid-sized companies.
For larger corporations, ones who self-insure, this bill would not apply, as they are federally regulated. For any small business that has fewer than 50 workers, an exemption may apply if they prove that the mandate caused their rates to rise over 2.5% the previous year. In a nutshell, there will be various options that include autism coverage for treatment and for diagnosis, but this will not be attached to all of the plans sold in the state.
This is great news that may have many other applications nationwide if the bill proves to be a success and keeps the overall health care budget down, thanks to early intervention allowing those with autism to live a fairly normal life.
Clelland Green is with Benepath.com, a leader in providing health insurance quotes. Benepath provides individuals, families, and businesses with affordable health insurance quotes in just a few mouse clicks. To learn more, visit http://www.benepath.com.
The post Most Health Insurance Plans Don’t Cover Autism first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Being in business means dealing with everything that comes up. That includes copyright issues.
“Copyright is almost a four letter word for many in the world of business these days. While it’s something they know they need to deal with, they would rather not. This is largely due to the fact that this particular area of the law is complex, complicated and ultimately, a royal pain to deal with without the help of an attorney with experience in this area,” commented David Alden Erikson, a Los Angeles business litigation attorney with extensive background in this area of the law.
“To sum it up, copyright protects authorship of original works and that includes artwork, music and the written word, not to mention intellectual property. But, for now, I’m only going to deal with copyright to try and simplify things,” added Erikson.
Copyright actually protects more than just published works – meaning things you may read, write, etc. – it is applicable to “things” put out there in the public domain, such as exhibited, performed or made accessible by the Internet. This is where any similarities between countries ends. Every country has its own copyright laws. “If you don’t know what laws apply in your country (area), make tracks to talk to a lawyer with experience in this area. Better to be safe than find yourself being sued for violation of copyright,” Erikson remarked.
“Think copyright doesn’t apply to you because you don’t dabble in the creative arts? Think again, and then go take a look at your website copy, brochure copy and your flyers. All of those materials are affected by copyright,” explained Erikson. “You hopefully wouldn’t ‘borrow’ someone else’s copy from their site and call it your own, and you sure wouldn’t want someone pinching copy off your website either. If someone did swipe your copy without your express permission or giving you credit, this breach may result in a lawsuit,” he added.
What if the website owner did not write the copy for the site, but had someone do it for them? In a case like that, the copyright would still vest in the business. This is due to the fact that the owner would hold the copyright under “work for hire.” Work for hire is a section in the copyright act that covers situations like this where the copy is written by another person.
“While you might not develop an appreciation for the finer points of copyright law and copyright infringement, you really should have a passing acquaintance with the general highlights. Put another way, you’d likely want to know what to do if someone stole your copy and vice versa, should you make the same mistake,” suggested Erikson, a Los Angeles business litigation attorney. “If you find that copyright is about as clear as mud, give me a call for a more in-depth explanation,” he offered.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit http://www.daviderikson.com.
The post Avoiding Copyright Issues May Bite You first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The US Supreme Court has said the NFL can’t avoid antitrust laws when dealing with team jerseys.
“The last place one would expect to find the US Supreme Court is on the football field, but there they are, dealing with the sale of NFL team jerseys and hats. It was actually an interesting case and may well set precedent for the future,” remarked David Alden Erikson, a Los Angeles business litigation attorney.
The core nugget of the case decision was that the National Football League isn’t exempt from antitrust laws relating to the sale of team jerseys and hats. The decision said the NFL could be sued by someone who formerly supplied the NFL with clothing who alleged the NFL participated in “illegal restraint of trade” because they gave an exclusive licensing agreement to one company for their 32 teams.
At first, it looked like the case may have been lost at a federal appeals court when they ruled the 32 teams were acting as a single entity in offering a licensing agreement. That meant the league as a whole was then protected from restraint of trade accusations. The supplier, American Needle, took their case to the Supreme Court because they did not agree with the Chicago Federal Court ruling.
“As it turns out, that was a smart tactical move, as the Supreme Court reversed the lower court by indicating that the teams don’t just compete on the field. Indeed, they compete when it comes to dealing with trademark issues and with intellectual property. Put another way, every team has/is a source of a valuable trademark, as they are not all the same,” explained Erikson.
“So the bottom line here is that the initial idea by the NFL to license their 32 separate trademarks in a collective manner to just one person ultimately took away the independence of each team’s decision making and quashed any actual or potential competition,” Erikson clarified.
This case is also interesting for the fact that it is the first time a private plaintiff won an antitrust case since 1992. Having said that, this isn’t over yet because the case has now been shuttled back down to the lower courts to take a look at whether the NFL acting collectively to create jerseys, hats, and other items complies with antitrust laws. The NFL may still pull a goal out of this situation.
What we can say for sure here is that the NFL isn’t granted immunity, but they do ultimately get a chance to present an argument saying that the anticompetitive benefits of joint licensing outweigh anticompetitive harms.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit http://www.daviderikson.com.
The post NFL Teams Are Not a Single Entity and Not Exempt from Antitrust Laws first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The online world is indeed getting more and more sophisticated, particularly when it comes to using open-source collaborative efforts to develop programs. The most well-known example of that would be Open Office, much the same as MS Word, but users seem to feel it’s easier to use. In addition to that observation, it is also constantly updated, because it’s open source, and it’s free. You can’t beat that as a major motivator to use it.
Over ten years ago, Linux was the first company to drive the revolution to open source technology and now, a drug company is dipping its toes into the open source waters for developing a new drug. GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) is on the cutting edge of what may be the latest in creating new drugs quickly in response to perceived threats to humanity.
Just recently, GSK allowed the public to access the designs for about 13,500 chemical compounds that it feels may inhibit the parasite that causes malaria. The idea here is that by sharing information and partnering with others, scientists may find the right combination faster than if they were trying to do it by themselves.
It’s certainly not too far-fetched to think that everyone who sees the chemical compounds are going to see them they same way GSK scientists do. Often innovation and success comes from pooling the ideas and expertise from others with different approaches. At the moment, two government websites and one private one will act as hosts for the data.
This step forward into sharing what has previously been a deep, dark company secret may open the doors to the creation of drugs that are not owned by a single company. That in itself would be a giant step forward for the global community. Would it mean they would lose money or are we seeing the greening of a global sense of community responsibility for everyone affected by disease?
Interestingly, drug formulas are typically tightly guarded trade secrets and often end up being blockbuster sellouts with billions being made for the drug company. Is GSK about to give that potential up in this experiment? Chances are the answer is no, largely because malaria usually plagues poor countries and drugs for those countries aren’t famous for providing a large payback, thus reducing the drug company’s risk.
Just when you’d think Microsoft would have nothing to do with a venture of this type, up pops the information that one of the three websites hosting this open source effort is called Collaborative Drug Discovery, an Eli Lilly & Co spin off with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Flounders Fund.
While the current drug information sharing is being done to experiment with “neglected” diseases, there is some speculation this process may be viable for developing commercial drugs. That might be a bit of a stretch for the simple reason that intellectual property issues would need to be dealt with before anyone could proceed. No matter what the outcome of “this” experiment in camaraderie, it may turn out to be “the” way of doing business in the future.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit Daviderikson.com. Mr. Erikson specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
The post Open Source Drug Information May Take the World by Storm first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There is one exception to the general rule of copyright vesting in an author’s work. It’s called “work for hire.”
In a nutshell the concept of work for hire is meant to let a company train, share ideas and educate the people they employ without the underlying fear that they are creating their own future competition. Generally speaking, this is an exception to the general rule of copyright where it vests in the author of a work.
Let’s take a closer look at this doctrine. A company employer is assumed to own copyright on any work created by their workers during the scope of their job. Along with this assumption is the fact that businesses will usually also lay claim to ownership of work produced by independent contractors (if they commissioned the work); if both parties agree in writing the work was work for hire, and that the work itself fits in one of nine categories enumerated in federal law.
As you may expect, the language in the statute leaves the door fairly wide open for vigorous arguments. Let’s look at an example. What if you had a tech support person working for you during the day that went home at night and created software applications? Is that person now working outside the scope of their job at your company? What if the person used skills or ideas learned at your workplace? While you might have thought to put scenarios like this in a work for hire document, the vital question is whether or not “you” will own the work.
There is no right or wrong answer to those questions because an answer is dependent on the facts of each case individually. This is why it is critically important to speak to a Los Angeles business litigation attorney with expertise in this area to outline what you would need to protect your company.
Now, here comes the fly in the ointment – startup tech companies who need their software developed for them and they hire out work as they need it done and when they can afford it. The fly in the ointment is that computer code isn’t really in any one of the nine federal work for hire categories, which puts a crimp in what the company is supposed to do. Put another way, this means the company almost has to hope the programmer’s ethics are superior, and that they won’t use what they’re working on to start their own firm.
The good news is that a recent court decision, JustMed, Inc. v. Byce offered this area of the business world a bit of elasticity when dealing with work for hire issues. The court held that a software developer was an employee and that meant any code developed belonged to the company that hired the developer.
This is an interesting case for another reason as well. The court came to this verdict by almost flying in the face of considerations that would usually lead courts to classify a relationship as being that of an independent contractor. Those factors included: the parties never having a written employment agreement; the business didn’t withhold taxes, provide benefits or a W-2; the company didn’t offer much in the way of direction for the job; the contractor used their own equipment and worked remotely.
The bottom line here is that this area may yet be open to further interpretations as new cases develop for consideration. In the meantime, each case is based on and dealt with on its own merits virtually guaranteeing different results every time. When in doubt about the work for hire doctrine, talk to a Los Angeles business litigation attorney. It could save you some grief later.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit Daviderikson.com. Mr. Erikson specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
The post Work for Hire Has Various Interpretations first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>
“This is a great honor,” notes Krooks, “and an opportunity to contribute to changes taking place in the field. Baby boomers, parents of children with special needs – such as those with autism – and military veterans have different questions and expectations from previous generations. Estate planning professionals can play an important role in shaping more fulfilling retirements and in providing financial security to loved ones.”
Bernard Krooks has been recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” and as a “New York Super Lawyer.” He is a former president of NAELA (National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys), a former president of the Special Needs Alliance, and a past chair of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.
Littman Krooks LLP offers legal services in several areas of law, including elder law, estate planning, veterans’ benefits, special needs planning, special education advocacy, and corporate and securities. The firm’s offices are located at 655 Third Avenue, New York, New York; 399 Knollwood Road, White Plains, New York; and 300 Westage Business Center Drive, Fishkill, New York.
Learn more at http://www.littmankrooks.com.
Adviatech Corp., PR for LittmanKrooks.com
9280 Bay Plaza Blvd Suite 706
Tampa, FL 33619
1.800.728.5306
The post Bernard A. Krooks Elected President of Estate Planning Council of Westchester County first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>
With a second marriage, spouses should consider how long the second marriage has lasted and the financial situation of each partner. In addition, a great deal of thought should go into what the children from the first marriage will receive if their parent is the first spouse from the new couple to pass away. If there is no prenuptial agreement in the second marriage, it is likely that the surviving spouse will get half of the deceased spouse’s assets, and this may not be what the deceased spouse would have wanted for his or her children from a previous marriage.
While second marriages can present challenges for estate planning, these issues can be resolved if clients are thoughtful and seek the advice of an experienced estate planning attorney.
Learn more at http://www.littmankrooks.com.
The post Second Marriages and Estate Planning first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Living trusts are one of the best options for same sex couples because they provide the following benefits:
• Living trusts will give one partner the authority to handle the other’s assets in the event that one of them becomes disabled.
• Trusts offer more security than wills because they are harder to challenge, do not require that a notice of proceeding be sent to the closest heirs, offer privacy since they are not part of a public record, and do not cause the delay in accessing funds that wills sometimes do.
• Putting one partner’s name on the other’s assets, or establishing joint tenancy, is not as advantageous as establishing a living trust. With joint tenancy, one partner may be held responsible for the other partner’s debts and liabilities. Also, with joint tenancy a partner would lose control over these assets once the other partner has passed away.
• Under New York law, you can designate in your living trust who you want to be responsible for your funeral arrangements.
Without proper estate planning, GLBT couples can encounter significant problems, as they may be legally precluded from having any role in the decision-making related to a partner’s care, from managing his or her affairs, or even having access to the incapacitated partner. Creating a living trust will allow GLBT couples to provide for the security and future of their partners.
Learn more at http://www.littmankrooks.com.
The post The Benefits of Living Trusts for GLBT Couples first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>When you receive an inheritance, you will have to consider the effect this will have on your taxes. Your inheritance may incur liability for property taxes or increase your own estate so that it will be subject to estate taxes. While you are not required to pay income tax on the principal inheritance, you will have to pay income tax on the income generated by the inherited funds. Especially if the inheritance is substantial, you may want to consult an estate planning attorney to discuss the tax implications.
In addition, you may be the nominated guardian of minor children or a nominated trustee responsible for holding assets in trust for their benefit. Also, your inheritance may be held in a trust of which you are the beneficiary; your receipt of the assets is subject to the terms of that trust. These terms can sometimes be confusing and you may need an attorney to help you sort through the technical trust provisions. If you do not get along with the appointed trustee, you may need mediation or even your own estate planning attorney.
Learn more at http://www.littmankrooks.com.
The post Receiving an Inheritance first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While many people assume that prenuptial agreements are only useful when one partner brings a significant amount of wealth to the marriage, this assumption is incorrect. Prenuptial agreements are not limited to specifying the division of assets attained before the marriage. They can also be useful in specifying the division of assets that are accumulated during the marriage. There are a number of different situations which warrant a prenuptial agreement when neither partner has a lot of assets before the marriage.
A common example of a situation in which a prenuptial agreement might be necessary is when one partner agrees to support the other during professional or graduate school. Even though neither one of the partners has a lot of money at the beginning of the marriage, supporting the other partner through school can have a great impact on that partner’s future financial success. In a situation such as this, the earning potential of the partner who receives the advanced degree is likely to be much greater than that of the supportive partner.
Without a prenuptial agreement the partner who earned the advanced degree isn’t likely to be obligated to share his or her earnings with the other spouse in the event of a divorce. However, a prenuptial agreement can be used to protect the interests of the supporting spouse by specifying terms for spousal support in the future.
More and more Americans are choosing to become small business owners, and a prenuptial agreement can also protect spouses who have individual interests in forming a business and those who choose to go into business together. A prenuptial agreement can set out rules for how business assets should be handled and divided in the event of a divorce. By agreeing on these issues in advance, both spouses can be confident that their earnings will be divided fairly.
Prenuptial agreements can thus provide couples with a feeling of security about the assets couples accumulate together. An expert family law attorney can help couples draft a prenuptial agreement that will protect the interests of both parties and their future earnings.
To learn more about the Maggio Law Firm visit http://www.maggiolawfirm.com/
The post Prenuptial Agreements Allow for Division of Future Earnings first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Unfortunately, many unmarried women find themselves alone after they become pregnant and the father of their child leaves. This abandonment can be emotionally taxing for a young woman by itself, and there are a number of legal issues at stake that must be handled as well. Not only must the child’s paternity be confirmed, child support must be secured from the baby’s father, and a child custody arrangement must be worked out between the parents.
Once an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, determining the paternity of the child is essential in pursing child support. With married parents, paternity is established automatically. However, if parents are unmarried, paternity establishment is not automatic. Both parents should start the process as soon as possible, so that the child will not have to suffer. Once the child is born, unmarried parents can establish paternity by signing the voluntary Declaration of Paternity. If the father contests the paternity, a paternity test can be administered.
Once paternity is established, a family law attorney can then work to get an order of child support from the father, and the California Department of Child Support Services can assist unwed mothers with child support collection and enforcement. Securing child support is an essential step for unwed mothers, as it offers the financial support necessary to make sure that the child is properly taken care of.
Child custody arrangements between unmarried couples can be quite complex and difficult to navigate. An experienced family law attorney can help unmarried mothers construct a child custody arrangement that will work for both parents and will serve the best interests of the child. When establishing custody, the courts will take a number of factors into consideration including:
A family law attorney can provide assistance in working through all of these issues. Just because a young woman is not married when she becomes pregnant doesn’t mean that the mother, and child, do not have legal rights.
To learn more about the Maggio Law Firm visit http://www.maggiolawfirm.com/.
The post The Maggio Law Firm Encourages Unmarried Mothers to Consult a Family Law Attorney first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Trademark infringement online is not that well understood, nor do people comprehend that what they are using from someone else’s site without express permission, amounts to stealing,” Los Angeles Internet law attorney David Alden Erikson outlined.
“When it comes right down to it, trademark infringement on the Internet is out of control. Quite regularly you will see third parties using established trademarks and domain names, etc. with the trademark holder’s permission. Furthermore, the usage of third party trademarks as keywords in ads on MSN, Yahoo, Google and other ad networks is very controversial, as is using those marks in the text of ads triggered by keywords,” added Erikson.
This brings up the need to know about keyword trademark infringement. “Basically it works like this,” outlined Erikson. “Trademark law prevents third parties using established trademarks when using them would confuse consumers about the origin, sponsorship, source or affiliation between the rightful trademark holder and the third party using the mark,” he explained. Of note is that fact that keyword infringement lawsuits have been launched against companies using a trademark and companies like Google who offer the software that people use to advertise.
In a nutshell, bidding on trademarks as keywords will trigger an infringement threat letter from the holder of the trademark; which makes eminent sense, because bidding on their trademarks as a keyword for advertising competition acts to divert their consumers to the competition by taking advantage of the trademark holder’s good will.
On the other side of the fence, the person bidding for the trademark sees using it as a bonus to give consumers even more choices. In other words, the issue is whether or not keyword advertising is an illusory business or valuable marketing. The courts haven’t really delved into this issue a whole lot. Those that have agree that none of the general rules apply.
“What it all comes back down to is whether or not – the ultimate test – is whether the use of the keywords by others (than the original holder) would confuse buyers. This also brings up the concept of ‘initial interest confusion.’ This means most buyers wouldn’t be confused once they got to the competing website, but allows for a trademark infringement claim if the buyer would ‘reasonably’ have been deceived before clicking on the ad,” said David Erikson, a Los Angeles Internet law attorney.
“When push comes to shove, if you go ahead and use trademarks as keyword triggers and also use them in ad text for keyword ad programs, watch your step to avoid being sued. If in doubt, give me a call and we’ll figure it out,” offered Erikson.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit http://www.daviderikson.com.
The post Keyword Infringement Common in Cyberspace first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“If you’ve been looking at your home recently and thinking that it’s time to do some updating, the first place to start is usually with the floors,” indicated Dean Dupre who runs Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company. There are a lot of new options on the market that didn’t used to be available and the prices are also better, so it’s worth taking a look at what is out there.
If the choices are overwhelming, narrow them down a bit and make a decision between carpet and tile. Carpet has some great benefits such as adding warmth to a room and muffling the noise factor. In many cases, carpeting is used to lay over an uneven floor; call it an augmenting material. Add in the bonus that the choices out there are numerous in terms of color, style and texture, and the world becomes an oyster of possibilities.
Choosing carpet that is patterned and textured, such as multi-looped Berber, gives a certain depth to the floor visually. And thanks to modern technology, many of the rugs today are much softer and more stain resistant than ever. This is a good thing if you have children and animals, since they quite often have “accidents” on the rug and not the tile.
“If you don’t care for trying to keep a carpet clean or pick free thanks to dog and cat claws, then tile would be your better option. Tile has even ‘more’ colors, shapes, sizes and textures than ever and the only limiting factor is your imagination. The most common tile used in homes today is ceramic and it is either unglazed or glazed,” explained Dupre. Be wary about what grade of tile is selected for the home, as only the higher grades such as III and IV glazed ceramic tiles are highly scratch resistant and still withstand a certain amount of moisture.
Remember to wipe up any liquids quickly to avoid staining the grout.
“There you have it. Carpet is less expensive, but higher maintenance. Tiles are more expensive (but not by much) and way easier to keep. In most homes today, the choice is tile simply because of how easy it is to keep clean and beautiful for a longer period of time. Carpets are nice for about the first month, until the novelty wears off and the kids start eating popcorn and coloring in the living room again, or the dog decides to bring up the grass he just ate outside right on the carpet,” Dupre said.
Ultimately the choice of what to have in the home will depend on what a person’s lifestyle happens to be. This is something that may be discussed with an expert contractor who will be able to offer suggestions and options to update the home.
To learn more, visit http://www.champtile.com.
The post Tile or Carpet Dictates a Home’s Ambience first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The job of cleaning your tiles is usually the last thing anyone really wants to do on their day off. Funny how it was easy to get the tiles put in, great to admire them and show them off, but – the day came when they had to be cleaned. “The good news is if you do tile cleaning, call it maintenance on a regular basis, it’s a whole lot easier to keep the tiles looking new for longer. And honestly? It doesn’t take that much effort,” insisted Dean Dupre who runs Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company.
Some things to do to keep the floors looking their best are to sweep or even dry mop every couple of days during the week. This doesn’t have to be a marathon event, just a touch up. This keeps abrasive dirt from wearing out the grout and tiles. Spill something? Get it up right away because the grout is porous and soaks up liquids like a sponge.
“Something else you might want to consider is having rugs at entrances to the house and in high traffic areas. The rug will absorb the snow and rain and keep some of the road salt from getting in your house and doing damage to your floors. And, while you might recall your mom telling you to take your shoes off and hated doing it – there is a good reason she said that. Shoes are similar to sandpaper when we have dirt and grit on them. Imagine what that does to floors over time?” said Dupre.
Tiles are really popular in the bathroom and kitchen because of the lift they give to a room. Keep in mind that tiles are also susceptible to mold growth because of the damp conditions. Keep up with the mold and don’t allow it to get a foothold in the tiles. “And one other point to mention here is that if you allow the mold to grow in, on and around the tiles, if you want to sell your house, the mold will be a big issue with the real estate agent. So, do the tile cleaning thing regularly, and you won’t have anything to worry about,” Dupre added.
“If you’re looking at your floor right now and shaking your head because the tile and grout look like they packed it in years ago, don’t waste time trying to clean it. Call a contractor, because there are ways to save grout with special tools and products,” explained Dupre.
If that does have to be done, have the grout sealed. This is a good move to discourage staining and any further water damage. Choose just about any color that would work in the house to give it a new look and update the room without paying out big bucks.
To learn more, visit http://www.champtile.com.
The post Coming Clean with Tiles first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>No, we’re not talking about food, even though you may be forgiven for thinking that since we’re talking about back buttering – something often done with bread and butter to mop up stew from your plate. In this instance, we’re referring to tiling on a mortar bed and you find out that the tile sunk below where it’s supposed to go.
If this happens, you need to remove the tile completely and back butter. Slide something under that errant tile, generally something with a flat head, and gently apply leverage from one edge and take the tile right out from the mortar bed. Start gently in case the tile decides to just pop up. While that is rare, it can happen. In most instances, you’ll be prying up the tile to loud sounds of sucking, wet mortar. This is good. If you don’t get a sound when it comes up, something is wrong with the mortar mix, as in the consistency isn’t right or the tile wasn’t forced down hard enough.
To avoid finding out later the mortar isn’t quite right, check it first before you put it down. Here is another time saving tip as well. If you haven’t done something like this before, do a trail dry run first. It may save you a lot of grief later.
Once you have the sunken tile out, check the mortar. Is it spread out evenly? No? Then your consistency is way too dry. Sure you can add some water to thicken it up, but it’s actually better if you make a new batch and get rid of the dip in the floor. If you don’t want to do that, you can do a patch repair by sticking more mortar over the dry area under the tile and spread it out properly. Remember to do the furrows in the mortar in the same direction as the ones you already did. This is called back buttering and it gives proper adhesion and fills out those floor dips.
Also remember to put that pried up tile back down in the same direction and position it was in the first place. When you put it back in, gently pressure it with your fingertips, adding in a small twisting motion, and make sure the tile is well settled. If all goes well and you did it right, the other tiles won’t get bumped out of line and the one you just fixed will look great.
Dean Dupre is with Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company. To learn more, visit Champtile.com.
The post Talk About Mortar-Fication first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Everyone likely knows they can tile their floors, but did you know you can also have your baseboards tiled? Having baseboards that are exclusively tiles and not the usual boring wood or plastic material of some kind can make a real difference. This is one of the latest trends you might want to try in order to liven up your living space and a really creative way to add some character to your rooms.
You’ll like this easy little detail as well; you just have to glue the tile baseboards on to the foot of the wall. In other words, no hammering, varnishing or painting and what a wonderful time saver that actually makes your rooms look very “pulled together.” Add in the fact that often tile baseboards are less expensive, and you are well on your way to a snazzy new look, for a reasonable price.
Is it hard to match tile for tile baseboards? No, actually it’s not. Just use the same tiles you used on your floor and buy a few extra to do the perimeter of your walls. What’s nice about this is that you can likely use one tile and cut it three ways to make up the tiles for your baseboard. This depends on the size of the tile though, so know what it is before you start cutting and remember to properly measure your baseboard height to do the math. Most baseboards are about 4 inches tall.
Planning on using ceramic tile? Good choice, as it’s a bit easier to work with and you only have to use a ceramic tile breaker. If you want to do it another way, the other good choice is an electric wet tile saw. Just remember that using this saw takes more time to prepare the cuts and it winds up giving you uneven widths. Honestly? Stick with the ceramic tiles if you plan to do it yourself, and if not, then your tiling contractor can fiddle with the wet saw.
Don’t know how much extra to get in terms of tiles for the baseboards? If you’re using the same style of floor, all you have to do is count the number of tiles you have on each wall, add it up and divide by three to get the number you need. And one other thing? When you put the tile on the baseboards, keep the grout line in the floor in line with the grout line on the baseboard. It’s that or your floor and baseboards look really weird.
The best thing for sticking the tile on is usually a multi-purpose construction adhesive. It’s not that expensive, in fact it’s usually less than six bucks and sticks instantly, and we mean “instantly,” so handle with care and keep you animals and kids away from it. Just ask at the hardware store what would work well.
Dean Dupre is with Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company. To learn more, visit Champtile.com.
The post Tile Your Baseboards first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While a LOI is a small document, it is essential because it helps guide the transaction. Without a LOI, the parties will lack the appropriate direction to move forward with the purchase and may have differing expectations. Furthermore, they may get bogged down in the Aircraft Purchase Agreement (APA) details, and this might delay the transaction or even prevent it from occurring at all.
A Letter of Intent should cover the following:
• Contain a description of exactly what is being purchased. This should include the make, model, any serial numbers, status of maintenance, and the condition of the aircraft.
• Set the purchase price of the aircraft.
• Establish what kind of deposit is necessary for the aircraft purchase, who will hold this deposit, and what the terms will be if it is forfeited. Also, it’s important to outline who will pay the agent’s escrow fees.
• Lay out the pre-purchase aircraft inspection that includes the allocation of costs and acceptance criteria. Be sure to include details about the location of the inspection facility, the scope of the inspection, including information about test flights, timing, and who pays for the inspection and the actual movement of the aircraft to the inspection facility. In addition, you will also need to establish the parties’ rights and obligations in the event of a successful or unsuccessful inspection.
• Agree to negotiate and enter into a definitive purchase agreement within a specified amount of time.
Crafting a letter of intention is an inexpensive option that will save both buyer and seller a great amount of time. A good letter of intent will make the aircraft purchase go smoothly with as little conflict as possible.
Stewart H. Lapayowker, P.A. is an aviation attorney and aviation transaction lawyer, focusing on airplane and jet transactions. To learn more, visit Businessaviationcounsel.com.
The post The Importance of a Letter of Intent When Purchasing a Corporate Aircraft first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Heemstra was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and was later released from state prison in October 2008. While Heemstra was in jail, Lyon’s widow brought a civil suit against him and his family that resulted in punitive damages of $750,000 and $5.68 million in the form a judgment. The judge in that case ruled that Heemstra and his wife had made plans to defraud Lyon’s estate of the wrongful death judgment he had been ordered to pay. The precise words the judge used to describe the Heemstra’s actions were “conniving and motivated by greed.”
It’s now 2010 and the Lyon family has not seen one thin dime of the $5.68 million judgment or the $750,000 in punitive damages. The reason for this seems to be that the killer has disappeared. Even Heemstra’s lawyer of record is asking to be removed from the case.
Despite that one rather major glitch, the judge ruled that whether he was present or not didn’t matter, and efforts to collect on the judgment will continue by authorizing a court-appointed referee to sell Heemstra’s farmland and other real estate. The proceeds will be distributed by the court.
Even without all the twists and turns in this highly unusual wrongful death case, the plaintiff, Rona Lyons, would have had to still pay all the family bills, funeral expenses, legal expenses, mortgages, land taxes and other extremely important bills. It was not easy for her to lose her husband at the hands of a supposed neighbor and one time friend. The emotional pain and suffering would have been overwhelming.
This situation may have been helped by Lyons applying for litigation funding to allow her to wait the seven long years to justice for this death. If the case qualified, lawsuit funding may have allowed her to pay her bills immediately instead of going into debt waiting for a verdict or settlement and, in this case, a source of payment. Lawsuit financing is non-recourse funding and if she had lost her case, she would not have had to one red penny back.
Often a lawsuit cash advance is just a mere phone call away and about 48 hours in getting to the applicant. It’s an ace in the hole that lets those plaintiffs facing long legal battles wait for a fair settlement rather than take less money quickly because they need the cash.
Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.
The post The Defendant Vanished, but Judgment Collection Still Proceeds first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>