Big rig accidents are possibly the worst types of wrecks, largely because of the devastation they cause. Very few people survive a crash, and those that do are never the same again. Many face living the rest of their lives in pain, disabled and in some instances, not even cognizant of their circumstances, requiring 24/7 care. This is one of the main reasons you need to speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer about obtaining sufficient damages to care for yourself for the rest of your life.

When accidents like this happen, it is crucial to conduct a post-crash investigation. Seeing the scene, examining the debris, searching for skid marks or defective parts is a large part of mounting an effective personal injury case. You need your attorney to get to the scene as fast as possible. This is because the insurance carrier for the trucking company will already have someone on the way to the crash scene; sometimes within an hour.

They have someone on the scene that fast because truckers who have been in an accident know to call their employers immediately. The employer in turn calls their insurance company, who dispatches an agent quickly. Sometimes they arrive so fast, the victims wonder how on earth they could have done that, and not only that, they usually bring an accident reconstructionist with them.

On scene, the lawyer immediately tells the trucker to keep his mouth shut and say absolutely nothing. In the background, the accident specialist starts measuring the site and constructing a back story. This typically happens before the seriously injured victim has a chance to get a grip on what happened to them. They may not even have come to grips with having been involved in an 18-wheeler wreck and are stunned into shock with their injuries. They usually don’t think about the fact they will need a lawyer to defend their rights, and obtain compensation for their injuries.

Obviously, in the above scenario, the defense has an enormous jump start on the case. When your own Austin personal injury lawyer asks for an account of what happened, they get a well rehearsed story. When they demand the log books for the truck, or the onboard black box, it has sometimes magically gone missing. All of these things are serious disadvantages for the plaintiff. The injured needs protection because the trucking company, their lawyers and its insurance company will not help them, even if they were in the wrong.

While it is true that there are rules and regulations in place for truckers to follow that does not mean that they do follow the rules. It’s well known that many will bend the rules to get their load to their destination fast, even if that means driving overtime. Trucking companies often look the other way when this happens, or conversely, quietly encourage it to be done. Why? It affects their bottom line, and money is what makes the world go around. Thus, they will fight any lawsuit that has the potential to cost them money.

An Austin personal injury lawyer knows where to look for the information they need to prove the trucker and/or the trucking company was negligent. That may involve the driver being on the road too many hours, driving while distracted or driving a poorly maintained vehicle. No matter what the reason for the accident, your lawyer will find a way to ensure justice is done in your case.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

This case happened during a world championship for powerboats, and resulted in the drowning death of a well known, long time racer, who was experienced when it came to this kind of sport. The man was at the helm of his race boat with the boat’s owner when it overturned during the final lap of the second race. The owner was able to climb through an escape hatch in the cockpit, but the race driver was trapped in his seat.

The driver was alive and not injured immediately after the accident, and tried desperately to free himself from his safety harness. He was able to breathe using an emergency air tank. Overhead, there was a crew of certified dive paramedics waiting to deploy. However, for some strange reason they were not given the okay signal to go ahead. Instead, the Association’s president designated two other untrained individuals as rescuers. He evidently wanted to save money and not use the trained rescue team.

The delay in appointing two other inexperienced people to perform a rescue resulted in the boat starting to ship and sink, shutting the hatch. The race driver ran out of air and drowned. The wrongful death lawsuit filed stated if the defendants had followed the specified rules, regulations and protocols for a situation like this, the driver would have still been alive. The suit further suggests that the president would not allow rescue personnel to perform pre-race safety checks to get to know the features on the race boats.

This is likely to be a complex case, fraught with he said/they said moments. In situations like this, that is virtually inevitable when so many people are involved and have so much at stake. Will this case win? It may. That will, in large part, depend on the kind of proof there is relating to the president choosing to use inexperienced people to attempt a rescue. This is where there may be a credibility issue that the court will have to weigh.

If you have lost someone you cared about and need information about filing a wrongful death lawsuit, do not hesitate to call an Austin personal injury lawyer. It is their job to assess the case and explain how a wrongful death lawsuit differs from criminal charges, and what to expect should a case go to court. For justice and equity, hire an Austin personal injury lawyer. It’s the best investment you could make.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

It’s no secret that there are other immigrants living in the U.S., and some of them are here even after their B2 tourism visa expires. Does anyone recall the latest story about a Moroccan immigrant plotting to bomb the Capitol? The 29-year-old man was living in Virginia, where he had been since 1999, and where he supposedly devised a plan to blow up the White House.

For those of you wondering how this could possibly happen, the bad news is the U.S. does not have any kind of a reliable system that confirms visitors here on visas have left the country. The very thought of a mass of illegal immigrants, and possibly terrorists, still living in the U.S. once their visas have expired, makes one tense.

And to be honest, it makes many Americans very uneasy in the still bitter wake of 9/11. We all know that those with less than honest intentions have been known to take advantage of serious weaknesses in the immigration system. Unless something is done about issues like this one, history may repeat itself in yet another devastating way.

Is it time for a visa exit system? Some would argue it is. Some would argue there is no money to implement one. Both of those arguments are right, which makes this issue yet another conundrum involving the reality of what needs to be done, mixed with the reality that there are no funds (or political will) to make it happen. There is talk of biometric scanners or mandatory follow-up inspections. Who would conduct those? Most people are losing their jobs and few are hiring because of the economy, and that includes the government.

Homeland Security is making noises that they are working on an exit system, but funding is an issue and it is nowhere near being ready to deploy. This is a bit like a car sitting in mud and gravel, spinning its tires to get out and getting nowhere. A tow truck is needed to provide some oomph to move it. In this case, the government needs money to move the issue forward. Obviously it isn’t going anywhere, given the state of their finances. And so, the issue dangles, or does it?

Homeland Security says they have, in lieu of an exit system, created a biographic system that tracks visa holders through multiple databases, providing immigration officials with a picture of where people are. Sounds nice, but we all know that a data system is only as good as the input and those who run it. This kind of a system does not work the same as a biometric one, but Homeland Security says it gives them some kind of control. One wonders if they had enough money to develop the biographic system, why didn’t they sink those funds into a biometric system instead?

Standing back and taking a look at the whole picture, one is struck by the mayhem and mismanagement going on all over the world. We did not used to live in fear of airplanes hitting buildings, of people packing body bombs to take out buildings and kill people. We had a fairly normal life, where peace and tranquility were the norm, not the exception. What happened? Somewhere along the line religion and politics got mixed together and a flash point was born; a reason to kill.

Will immigration reform deal with the way the world is now? Will immigration reform take care of border security issues when drug cartels want nothing more than revenge and money? Will immigration reform turn our nation into a bunker? Will immigration reform affect our constitutional rights? Food for thought. The 21^st century isn’t shaping up to be what we’d all hoped it might be.

Sally Odell – Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, PA is an immigration lawyer in Miami with immigration law offices in Orlando and Miami Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com.

This case revealed some highly distressing information about the medical health system in the county where the 14-year-old boy was born. He is confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak, but he can think clearly and understand what is being said to him. Nonetheless, he requires around the clock care that is currently provided by his mom.

During the process of bearing her child in 1997, the young mother was given drugs to stimulate her labor. However, she was given far too much of the drug, which virtually starved the baby of oxygen. The hospital did not initiate prompt corrective action either, and as a result of the difficult birth and oxygen starvation, the baby boy was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy.

Fast forward to 2012 and the Florida House panel approving the boy’s $31 million claim. In a 12 – 1 vote, the Civil Justice Committee passed the claims bill. HB 965 will be the largest claim paid out in the history of the state, and will mandate the publically run health system and hospital where they lived to pay the award to the family.

The defendants in this case are not happy, as they state they did not cause the boy’s condition. But the information that angered many is that the hospital system involved in this case does not have insurance. Does not have insurance, what a shocking revelation. What hospital in their right mind operates without liability insurance?

In fact, a spokesperson for the system without insurance suggested the state should pay between $2 and $6 million, and the system would contribute the same amount towards children’s health care. Asking the state to pay for their screw up was, without a doubt, an audaciously dumb move.

Hopefully this kind of disturbing revelation isn’t just the tip of the iceberg. The very thought of other hospitals in other states not having liability insurance is a deeply frightening thing to contemplate. What that says about hospital administration, medical malpractice liability issues and patient’s rights is even more distressing.

In order to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit, you would need the assistance of a qualified Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. These cases are often time consuming, convoluted, fraught with setbacks and filled with anxiety for the plaintiffs. With the compassionate assistance of a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, the process is not as difficult to handle.

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

This case is disturbing as the drunk that killed another person was a 32-year-old son of a cop. He was totally drunk and driving his Jeep Cherokee down the highway at 73 miles per hour. Inevitably, he lost control, swerved across several lanes of traffic, careened off a guardrail and rammed into a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup. The force of the impact flipped the pickup over the guardrail, where it burst into flames. The driver was partially ejected and killed instantly.

As it happened, there was a police car on patrol in the vicinity of the wreck, and it made it to the scene within minutes. The police captain driving the cruiser was stunned to see the Cherokee driver trying to yank the truck driver out of his vehicle. The man was a family friend. His father was a cop too. On closer inspection of the scene, the captain noticed the Cherokee driver had difficulty talking, his eyes were bloodshot and he could not keep his balance.

The man failed a field sobriety test with a blood-alcohol content of .197, just about 2.5 times the state’s legal limit. The man admitted he had been drinking beer before he got behind the wheel of his Cherokee and killed someone. The driver eventually pled guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, and was handed a four year sentence along with a license suspension for three years to life. In court, the man offered sincere apologies to the dead man’s family.

While this was a gesture of contrition, it does not bring back the dead man to his family. His death will always leave a gaping hole in their lives. But for the stupidity of drinking enough beers to be 2 .5 times over the legal drinking limit, the deceased would still be alive. If the man could not talk, walk or see very well, what on earth possessed him to drive? Many others in the same condition think they are invincible and invulnerable, when in reality they are mobile accidents, looking for a place to happen.

If you have been involved in a collision with a drunk driver, do not second guess what your legal rights are. Find out by immediately calling an Austin personal injury lawyer that is trained in dealing with egregious accidents like this one. They know how to get you justice. An Austin personal injury lawyer will protect your rights.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

This case did not have to happen, but for a trucker who ran a red light because he was in a hurry. That decision cost four women their lives. They were on their way home from a birthday party, when they were broadsided in the middle of an intersection – despite the fact they had the right of way and the green light. Four families were left in shock. Relatives of one of the deceased women chose to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucker and his employer.

The statement of claim alleged that the trucker showed a wanton and willful disregard for the safety of others on the road. But more than that, the lawsuit outlines the trucking company had a history of leaky brakes on their rigs and a whole host of other mechanical issues that indicated poor and slipshod maintenance. In fact, the trucking company’s record for unsafe driving was cited as being far worse than 64.1 percent of all federally authorized trucking companies between 2009 and 2011, and its vehicle maintenance violations were worse than 71.4 percent.

The rig being driven that day was an accident looking for a place to happen. Whether or not the trucker did not stop because he wanted to get to where he was going sooner, or whether he elected not to stop because his brakes were not working, is a moot point. The decision to run the red light was negligent. The lawsuit seeks damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, loss of guidance, affection, support and companionship.

Will this case be successful? Chances are it will. The evidence is clear and compelling. The man ran a red light and was driving a poorly maintained truck with questionable brakes. He knew the rig was in poor shape, yet still drove it. His employer was also aware their semis were not properly maintained, and yet let them out on the road. It doesn’t much matter what the reasons were for why the trucker ran the red light. The fact is he did and that the resulting crash killed four innocent people.

Cases like this one are as near as one can get to being open and shut. The evidence speaks for itself and the Austin personal injury lawyer that handles this case knows precisely how to ensure the family gets justice. They have lost someone they loved and they don’t need to lose anything more, or be left in economic desperation by that loss. If you have been in a similar situation, do not hesitate to call a veteran Austin personal injury lawyer. That is their job, to help victims find some sense of closure and justice.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

Last year was dismal for farmers thanks to a significant shortage of workers. This year doesn’t look to be much better, which is prompting many U.S. farmers to check out the federal foreign guest worker program. Ironically, this labor shortage is quite a concern for Washington farmers. So much so, that Washington’s agriculture director has been heard to say an uprising, like the civil rights agitation in the 60s, would likely get immigration reform on track and in place.

Like many others involved in agriculture in the U.S., the belief is that comprehensive immigration reform would solve the labor shortage in their sector. However, like others, the industry seems to realize that reform is more smoke and mirrors than genuine substance. Without a major upheaval, or major reform, agriculture goes into decline, and the whole nation, not to mention other countries that import U.S. goods, start to have food shortages and price increases. Immigration reform is not just about the U.S. It impacts the world in other ways.

Farm interests are ramping up to insist that reform needs to include some type of guest worker program that will let non-residents come to the U.S. legally and work in agriculture. The truth behind this story is that without itinerant workers to perform seasonal work, it does not get done. Americans, despite saying they need jobs, will not work in the fields for the current wages. Who else will do the work? Non-residents, and yet there is resistance to this type of solution.

Frankly, immigration reform has become a war of words, a heap of hopes and a dismal pile of broken promises and dreams. Political gurus are indicating it is highly unlikely any kind of reform will be attempted in this election. What is even more disappointing is that these same government watchers don’t see any movement in 2013 either. So where will that leave the nation? Who knows, other than in the same boat it is in right now?

Part of the prevailing problem with a worker shortage in the agricultural sector is that people do not understand that without workers, the whole industry founders. The other side of that issue is people focus on wanting secure borders, no more illegal aliens and for the illegal trafficking in drugs and guns to stop. It’s rather short-sighted to only focus on one part of the immigration problem, say border security, when the spin offs are far greater than just securing the border.

Overall, the only solution is the political will to just get immigration reform done. That is obviously lacking and in the meantime, a sluggish economy is also impeding the implementation of government programs. Two strikes and people are looking for the third, in the skeptical manner of those who have been there, done that and don’t believe or trust a thing the government says. This hardly bodes well for immigration reform being achieved.

The revolving door of immigration reform will continue to flounder until someone, somehow figures a way to pull the economy out of the toilet. Given what is going on right now, it seems unlikely these issues will be addressed anytime soon.

Sally Odell – Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, PA is an immigration lawyer in Miami with immigration law offices in Orlando and Miami, Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com.

Birth injury symptoms often do not appear in the delivery room and sometimes they do not show up for weeks or months. Late-showing symptoms include delays in reaching milestones of child development like sitting up, standing and walking.

Spotting birth injury symptoms often is a result of knowing what is not happening in the child’s development. Each developmental stage has its own milestones that a growing baby should be meeting for movement, visual cues, and hearing.

A one-month old should be able to bring its hands up to its mouth, for example, and turn toward familiar sounds and voices. A three-month-old, on the other hand, should be able to follow moving objects with its eyes and support its upper-body with its arms when lying on its stomach. There are more milestones for seven-month old children and still more for children at 12 months. Keeping an eye on where children are in their movement, visual and hearing milestones can be an important part of understanding whether a child may have a birth injury.

The next step is to understand the causes of birth injury. There are many natural movements that happen in a woman’s body when she delivers a baby and occasionally the contortions and contractions can be hard on an infant. Other times an infant can be injured during birth because of an error or negligence by the doctor, nurse or midwife in charge.

There are several factors that can potentially contribute to an injury to the infant in the delivery room:
• Negligence or improper care
• Lack of oxygen to a baby’s brain during delivery or labor
• Baby’s shoulders get stuck behind mother’s pubic bone and proper techniques are not used during delivery to free the shoulder
• High birth weight babies can be injured during a vaginal birth
• A fetus with a large head can prolong delivery
• Exposure to dangerous birthplace chemicals
• Incorrect use of surgical instruments
• Baby presents in a way other than headfirst

Any of these problems can occur in a delivery room. Oftentimes a parent will not even know that anything went wrong during the delivery. Since it may be months before the baby shows any symptoms, parents need to get legal advice when they are concerned about birth injuries

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer and Chicago birth injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit BriskmanandBriskman.com/.

If you have ever been the victim of medical malpractice, you will know how passionate you have become about making sure the medical professionals who harmed you are held responsible. It becomes a quest for many patients that have been victims of medical malpractice, and they hope what happened to them will never happen to someone else.

If the Florida Legislature gets its way, holding doctors accountable for medical malpractice will become a virtual impossibility. This is not good news for any state, not just Florida, for what passes there, may well be passed in other jurisdictions like Ohio. As a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, this type of Draconian legislation makes the blood run cold.

The Florida Bill is supposed to reduce the medical malpractice liability of medical professionals in that state. It is deeply disturbing for many reasons. It acts as a shield for doctors from liability for harming a patient. For example, if a physician is negligent in not ordering necessary tests, the result could seriously harm or kill a patient. If there is a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, a patient may not survive. This bill states the patient needs to show clear and convincing evidence that the doctor was negligent in not performing other tests.

Most patients are not doctors. Putting them in the position of having to clearly prove the doctor was negligent is like handing a stick of dynamite to a toddler and telling them not to play with the matches sitting on the table in plain sight. No one in their right mind would risk a child’s life like that, but the state of Florida is willing to risk an innocent patient’s life to continue to let a negligent doctor practice. What is wrong with that picture?

Patients went to the doctor because they trusted them, needed care and expected, because of the doctor’s higher standard of training, that they would be helped. If they are seriously harmed or killed by the very person they trusted, they would be hung out to dry by this proposed bill. Patients just do not, and in most cases never will, have enough evidence to satisfy such a high legal burden.

If this bill passes, they will not be able to receive the compensation they would deserve if they were harmed by their medical doctor. That means patients may face catastrophic injuries, at the hands of a doctor, that they have to pay for, for the rest of their lives. How is this fair?

A serious warning note is being sounded by another provision in this same bill; the drive to discourage doctors from ordering tests that would pinpoint grave illnesses before they got to the point of no return. If doctors are being encouraged to not order tests that could prevent a needless death, more people will die for no good reason. It makes you wonder what legislators regard as good medical care and if they needed tests, would they expect them? Likely they would, but they don’t want you to have them.

If it isn’t bad enough that the bill wants to rip away patient’s protection against medical malpractice, it also invades their privacy. It proposes letting a doctor’s lawyer interview the patient’s other doctors without the patient or the patient’s lawyer being there at the same time. This is a clear violation of patient rights. It gives defense unfettered access to health information that is not relevant to a lawsuit, and provides defense attorneys with an unfair advantage. It is the patient, harmed by the doctor that is to be protected, not the doctor who negligently committed medical malpractice. Attacking tort victims as if they were the enemy makes no sense. Hopefully Florida comes to its senses before passing something that will set patient’s rights and protections back to the Dark Ages.

Christopher Mellino is a <a href=”http://www.christophermellino.com/”>Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer</a> specializing in <a href=”http://www.christophermellino.com/”>Cleveland Medical Malpractice</a> cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com

Sometimes, children want pieces of a collection, but many times they do not or they want pieces that have significantly different values.

Putting children in charge of selling an art collection that they did not collect and do not know much about can create problems for the estate. The children parsing a valuable art collection could be forced to spend time and money understanding the value of a collection that the collector should have documented and settled long before passing it along.

A conversation with an estate’s beneficiaries needs to be open and honest. Children and grandchildren who are not in a similar financial place as their parents may fear that inheriting a $2 million art collection will affect the amount of cash they inherit.

An important first step is to determine whether the beneficiaries want the collection at all. If the pieces are large or require extra insurance, they may be more of a burden on children or grandchildren. If each of the beneficiaries wants a smaller, less valuable piece, then the rest can be donated or sold upon the owner’s death. All of this can be arranged beforehand so that the beneficiaries understand what will happen and will be less likely to squabble over the details. They also will not be saddled with the financial responsibility of determining the value of the pieces and finding a company to auction them off.

Children also may be naturally drawn to art with drastically different values. Managing the difference is something that should happen early in the estate planning process.

It is almost always a bad idea to allow children to try and “share” a piece of art. Whether it is a valuable musical instrument or a statue or a painting, sharing valuables usually ends with strained relationships.

Collections that should stay together can be tricky to handle if there are multiple beneficiaries to consider. If it makes sense to keep the collection intact, then selling it intact may be the best option unless there is a beneficiary who wants to keep it and the rest of the estate can be balanced to make up for it.

Putting the art in a trust can be considered just like people do with real estate as long as everyone stars on the right side of the IRS.

Art can be a beautiful thing to pass from generation to generation. It can be a more contentious piece of the estate because there are values combines with emotions. People will get every bit as emotional about artwork that they will about a piece of property or a vintage automobile.

O. Reginald (“Reggie”) Osenton is the Owner and President of Osenton Law Offices, P.A. If you need a Brandon estate planning lawyer, call 813.654.5777 or visit Brandonlawoffice.com.

This case is pretty controversial, largely for the reason that a Massachusetts court has decided that people who play host for bring your own booze partiers are not liable if underage drinkers get drunk and drive. To many that is unconscionable not to make the hosts responsible to watch their guests’ consumption while on their property. Someone needs to step up and be responsible if the kids are not being smart enough. That’s what adults are for.

The Massachusetts high court handed down a ruling that said social hosts cannot be expected to be the booze police if they are not supplying the alcohol for the gathering. However, should they hold a party or get together and supply the liquor they can be held liable for damages caused by drunk guests. Many parents find this ruling an abomination, wondering whatever happened to the concept of social responsibility.

Underage drinkers should not be drinking in the first place, and if they are bringing alcohol to a party that would be considered to be illegal, not to mention the issue of how they obtained it in the first place and how it is acceptable for someone to host a party where there is illegal drinking going on. The world is a strange place, and it’s not made any better by a court suggesting parents may abdicate their moral ethics, parental responsibility, and allow underage drinking on their premises.

The court indicated a social host may be liable for injuries to third parties caused by a drunk guest only in situations where they served alcohol or made it available. In other words, they would only be liable if they have effective control over the booze. Just because an underage drinker brings alcohol to a party does not mean the social hosts should just leave things be and let them get drunk right under their noses. While there may be prior court cases like this, the decision just does not sit right.

What started this lawsuit was an injury accident that happened when two partygoers left the hosts’ home. The male and his 16-year-old girlfriend slammed into a utility pole, resulting in serious injuries for the female. The 18-year-old host was the named defendant. The male driver supplied all the booze at the party and consumed two mixed drinks and up to seven beers. He had hauled in a 30-pack of beer and a bottle of rum, and it is doubtful he would have expected to drink the whole cache.

The lawsuit suggested the host should be considered negligent for letting the male drink on her property. The court said no, the host is not responsible for their guests’ consumption when they do not control the supply of booze. That clearly begs the question that if the male brought all the alcohol to the party, then why couldn’t the host control the supply of booze? It was on her property for others, including the host, to drink. Who’s to say the male did not pick the booze up for the host?

On the whole, this case has too many holes in it to make good social sense. It is plain as day that drinking and driving, especially by underage individuals, is a serious problem and society has a duty to limit or prevent this happening in any way they can. A hands off attitude just does not cut it.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Unusual things happen when a collision occurs. In this case though, not many people had ever heard of a missing driver. When he was found, no one could explain how he got to be where he was in the river, downstream from his vehicle on a bridge. The police have no idea how he died – yet.

Apparently, after the collision, and during the scene being worked by EMTs and the police, they determined there was a missing driver that should have been in or near his Ford F150. The crash happened on a Monday and the man’s body was not found until the following day, about a mile downstream from the bridge where the accident happened, and this was no ordinary accident either.

The best accident reconstructionists have been able to determine is that it was likely slippery road conditions that caused the man’s truck to slam into a guard rail on the bridge. That was the beginning of a series of other crashes. It looked like the man’s truck had come to rest across both eastbound lanes of the highway. What followed was a driver in a 2007 Nissan that once he saw the truck in the middle of the road attempted to swerve to miss it. However, his car hit the bridge and perhaps the truck in the middle of the road.

Mere minutes after the second crash, another truck hit the Nissan, followed by a freightliner semi pulling a box trailer. It slammed into the Nissan and the first man’s truck, shoving both vehicles to the east side of the bridge. By the time rescue crews got to the scene, those present knew a driver was missing. The question was, what happened to him and where did he go?

The initial findings of the investigation were that the missing man, whose name was found on his vehicle registration, was ejected after hitting the bridge, or that he was hit by another car after getting out of the truck, and tossed over the bridge. The driver of the second vehicle involved in this wreck said he did not see anyone at the scene after he crashed into the truck. This may mean the man was ejected on impact.

What a truly bizarre event. How would this accident shape up legally for those involved? It needs to be determined if the first driver was speeding, driving while distracted or driving too fast for road conditions – meaning he was negligent. From there on out, each person who hit his truck, or another vehicle because his truck was in the middle of the road, would have a personal injury case to file.

The lesson here? Accidents are not always what they seem to be, and by the time this one is put to bed, there may be other revelations that will affect any cases filed. If you have been in a situation similar to this, do not hesitate to call an experienced Brattleboro personal injury lawyer. Damage recovery for your injuries will depend on the Brattleboro personal injury lawyer doing their job, and sorting out the messy details. They know what needs to be done to get justice.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

These health insurance plans are rapidly gaining in popularity, as they are considered to be very practical. However, they are also found in the indemnity category, and not the insurance category, meaning an indemnity will pay out for damages, injuries or loss, in cash to the insured or the health care provider. These are pretty good plans, and are guarantee issue, so you don’t have to answer a whole bunch of health questions when you want to sign up. So far, this is looking pretty attractive.

What about ER care, urgent care or choosing a doctor? Good news; those with this type of health insurance plan get benefits with any doctor or ER at any hospital or any urgent care facility. They may choose their benefit amounts, ranging from a face value of $2,500 to $10,000 and this is the amount paid per injury accident. The typical deductible is $100 dollars and any other bills are paid to the maximum of the policy. An example would be an individual needing a broken arm set. They would only be out of pocket by $100 and could choose their surgeon for the $6,000 to $8,000 surgery.

This type of accident insurance, also called by several other names, is based on a membership plan and has monthly payments or dues. It is made very clear when someone signs up for a plan that is not insurance in the traditional sense, but an accident medical expense plan. The other thing to note is that this kind of plan is specifically for injuries – period. If you have ever had a high deductible plan and landed in the ER for something, you know just how many bills will follow you home.
The major benefits of plans like this are everyone is qualified up to age 64 to buy one without answering a whole bunch of questions and their monthly dues are very affordable, not to mention the fact that the benefits are paid in combination with any licensed medical professional or facility. For many people who are not able to afford traditional health insurance coverage, this may help them out.

If you like the idea of flexible coverage for a low price, benefits that make sense economically and being able to pay a reasonable monthly due, this may be an viable alternative for you. It might well be worth checking out.

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.

But when employees try to use those smartphones while driving for their jobs, it becomes a safety issue both for the employee and for the public.

That’s why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is launching a new initiative aimed at stopping workers from texting while driving for work.

OSHA can claim great strides in worker safety over the years. It is a sign of how safe the workplace is becoming that motor vehicle collisions have become the leading cause of death in the American workforce. Distracted driving is part of the reason OSHA has been unable to bring down the numbers of workers killed and injured at work while in the car.

Many industries require some amount of driving for work. Sales representatives have to get out there and chase down leads. Caterers put employees in vans to deliver food across town or across the state. Photographers need to be on the scene for photo shoots and large animal veterinarians have to visit barns throughout their territory. Whether an employee is being paid for mileage while driving for work does not make a difference. If they are doing something work related and using their car to get it done, then it is work.

OSHA is asking all employers to crack down on assignments that require or even encourage employees to text while driving. That means not sending texts to employees while they are driving and ensuring that texting from the road is not a necessary part of the job.

Employers will face more tort claims and worker compensation costs as texting while driving becomes an accepted part of business. OSHA is trying to educate industries to make sure they are aware that they are responsible if their employees feel they have to engage in this dangerous behavior to keep up in their job.

“We want to send a clear message to managers, supervisors and workers that their company must neither require nor condone sending or reading text or e-mail messages while driving,” wrote Dr. David Michaels in his OSHA blog in October.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago workers’ compensation attorney and Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit BriskmanandBriskman.

When someone goes to the hospital, they expect they will come home in one piece and with all of their mental faculties. What happened in this reported case is just shocking. The woman went to her local teaching hospital in 2006 because she was suffering from unexplained, painful headaches accompanied by other odd symptoms. She was 35-years-old at the time.

Tests revealed she was suffering from a non-bleeding brain aneurysm, which a surgeon operated on, inserting coils into it. The surgery and the insertion went well, but for one major and ultimately catastrophic detail. The team operating on her punctured an artery in her brain. From that moment forward, things went very wrong as a result of many medical errors.

The woman was on a blood-thinner, and after her surgery she had signs of a stroke. A nurse, watching this behavior noted it, but kept giving her the medication. This was a negligent move, and by the time the doctors figured out what was going on, it was too late to do much to help her. Her brain was filled with blood and there was catastrophic damage that paralyzed her on one side, affected her sight and created a whole new collection of medical issues, all of which could not be reversed. In other words, her life would never be the same again, and she would need permanent, around-the-clock care.

Since her surgery, she has been in and out of the hospital numerous times for a variety of infections, is in constant pain and unable to care for her children. Her husband quit work to care for her and the children were placed with relatives. The life the woman once lived no longer existed thanks to medical malpractice of the highest order.

Do you think this is a case to cap medical malpractice damages? Think about that because this could happen to you, and if you live in a state where medical malpractice damage awards are capped, you would be hard pressed to get enough money to live out the rest of your life and get the care you need.
The nurse who kept giving the woman Heparin settled out of court for $1 million and the $23 million she was also awarded will help provide her 24/7 care. It’s a sad case and the devastation it caused will never fade. If you think you have been the victim of medical negligence, do not wait to call a Manchester medical malpractice lawyer. They are specially trained to help you get justice and an award that is fair and equitable.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

Searching for affordable health insurance quotes is a bit like grocery shopping, you go until you find the best price. However, you don’t always buy the least expensive can on the shelf, as you have preferences, and want high quality as well. If you do buy the very cheapest can, you might get what you paid for, and that is the same thing when shopping for affordable health insurance quotes. Do not shop by price alone. Keep in mind what you need and want, and make budget adjustments as you determine what works the best for you.

Most Americans think health insurance is too expensive and they just can’t afford it. Truth is, they can’t afford to not have it. No health insurance means a formidable medical bill if you need care at some point. Money is scarce today, and if you don’t have health insurance when you need it, you may be facing bankruptcy later. That said, you can most definitely find affordable insurance quotes.

Start your search on the web. Ask for several quotes. Start comparing them. Choose the one that best suits you. While that might sound easy, it does take a bit of time to find what you need. But look at it this way, it takes time to find a good bargain when searching for a car, formal graduation dress, or new bicycle and once you find precisely what you wanted at a reasonable price, you buy it. The same thing holds true for health insurance. You will know when you find a policy that fits all of your requirements and budget.

When checking out how various quotes compare to one another, remember to check and see if they are all offering the same coverage. If not, make sure any further quotes you get do offer the same kind of coverage. Try for up to six quotes, if you like, but three will work just as well. It’s what works for you, and what you feel comfortable doing. In most cases, when you ask for affordable health insurance quotes, you pretty much get what you need done in just one click and the quotes may even come back to you while you are online.

Take those quotes, log off and take the time to read and compare them. Then, go to the various insurance websites and search for more complete information. Make a phone call to the agent to get specific questions answered. This is because you won’t find everything you need online, as it is just not possible to put every last detail you need to know up on a website. This is a simple method to find what you need, and it will only take as long as you want it to. That’s much less stress than you expected, right?

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.

Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, the author of the study and a Harvard medicine professor, said the study shows that some physicians are not “…focused first and foremost on the needs of patients.” Spinning the facts to a patient, whether you downplay or overexaggerate the facts, can cause a patient harm in the months and years to come. In a profession that has standards for ethics, honesty, and open communication, these doctors must be accountable for their actions.

The study also showed how roughly 35 percent of doctors did not inform their patients about financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies. Next year a national disclosure law will go into effect that will change this behavior. Companies will have to report payments of more than $10 to doctors as a part of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. Doctors should be prescribing medication, devices, and procedures that truly will help the patient, not simply further big pharma’s profits or the doctor’s compensation.

“Some physicians might not tell patients the full truth, to avoid upsetting them or causing them to lose hope,” the study showed.

Iezzoni recommended that while delivering bad news or not so attractive options can be difficult for those in the medical field, it is a conversation that must happen for patients to have greater health and longevity. Perhaps the conversation with a patient can include how a patient wants to be told information.

Departing from accepted medical standards can have severe consequences for a patient and their loved one. When serious injuries or a wrongful death occur, the doctor or medical professional can be liable for lying, stretching the truth, or omitting critical information. Unfortunately, this can happen in any medical setting – doctors, surgeons, dentists, nursing homes, outpatient centers – and change the course of someone’s life.

If you have a feeling something suspicious is going on with your medical care, you have a right to request your medical records and contact a medical malpractice attorney to see if you are not being given the standard of care that you deserve. Especially if you are suffering from extensive injuries because of a doctor’s negligence or carelessness, you need to get prompt legal help to find out what happened.

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.

Highway safety advocates got together about seven years ago to devise a plan to attack speeding and lower the injury and death rates from high-speed crashes. In the ensuing time, seven states raised their speed limits while only two increased speeding fines, according to USA Today.

The progress made in attempting to cut down on speeding in the United States has stalled, as other issues like distracted driving have taken a more prominent role among activists.

Progress has been made in other safety-related areas. There has been a 23 percent drop in deaths related to the non-use of seat belts since 2000. Drunk-driving related deaths have dropped about 3 percent in that same time period.

In fact, highway deaths were down about 3 percent in 2010 from 2009, even as the number of miles driven ticked up almost 1 percent. But speed-related deaths have gone up about 7 percent since 2000.

The fatality rate on American highways fell in 2010 to the lowest point since the government started tracking the data in the 1940s. The rate is calculated as deaths per 100 million miles driven. In 2010, the number dropped to 1.09 from 1.13 the year before.

“Last year’s drop in traffic fatalities is welcome news, and it proves that we can make a difference,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Still, too many of our friends and neighbors are killed in preventable roadway tragedies every day. We will continue doing everything possible to make cars safer, increase seat belt use, put a stop to drunk driving and distracted driving and encourage drivers to put safety first.”

By failing to mention speeding as a major factor in highway fatalities, LaHood underscores the frustration advocates face in trying to draw attention to the issue.

Groups that advocated for raising the speed limit in 1995 point to statistics showing that overall deaths have fallen dramatically since the federal government repealed the limit.

“The bottom line is that the roads have never been safer,” said John Bowman with the National Motorists Association, which lobbied for the repeal of the national speed limit. “Traffic fatality rates have been steadily dropping since 1995…They’ve been steadily decreasing, and that’s with higher speed.”

Speed limits should be set by state highway engineers and local public works directors, Bowman said. He also noted that aggressive driving should be more of a focus than simply speeding.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago car accident lawyer and Chicago car accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The news is filled with far too many deaths as a result of wrong-way crashes. There was yet another one in New York, involving a Nissan Maxima and a Dodge Caravan. All reports, police and eyewitness, indicate the Maxima was heading north in the southbound lane. The inevitable happened. It creamed a Dodge Caravan, causing a Mazda to rear-end the Caravan.

Needless to say, given the rate of speed, the male driver of the Nissan and the Caravan’s driver were killed instantly in the carnage. The two occupants of the Mazda made it to the hospital in fairly stable condition but with serious injuries.

There is a lot of clean-up work to do in cases like this. The Nissan only had one occupant, who died at the scene, so the investigation will require autopsy findings to determine why the 26-year-old man was driving the wrong way that night. The police suspect alcohol and/or drugs may have played a factor in this senseless accident. Two were killed ostensibly because someone wanted an extra drink or was driving high.

What will the victims do in this case? It’s highly likely the family of the 53-year-old Caravan driver will file a wrongful death lawsuit. The two surviving individuals in the Mazda will want to talk to a personal injury accident lawyer, and find out how to recover compensation for their injuries. This group of people will have enormous bills and no way to pay them from their regular incomes. What can they do as they wait for justice? They can apply for lawsuit funding.

Litigation funding, also referred to as lawsuit financing, is an emergency loan to an approved plaintiff, to help them handle all of their expenses until their case is resolved. All a plaintiff needs to do to apply for lawsuit settlement funding is to contact a litigation funding company. The case is reviewed and once it is approved, based on the chances it will win, the pre-settlement funding is sent directly to the plaintiff’s bank account.

A lawsuit loan helps the plaintiff get back on their feet financially, and once those pressing necessity bills are paid, they can just wait until their case is decided. There is no pressure to deal with insurance companies, and should the case lose in court, and that does happen sometimes, the plaintiff walks away, keeping the lawsuit funding without any strings attached.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.

The dispute stems from the fact that Airbus had been discussing the designs with Aviation Partners for five years, reports the Wall Street Journal. They even had a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture. But all the while Airbus was creating its own model to “keep its options open.” When Airbus showed Aviation Partners the Sharklet sketches, the company claimed it was similar to their blended winglets and demanded royalties.

Airbus then filed a federal lawsuit against Aviation Partners seeking to invalidate the winglets patent and avoid royalty payments. The two parties are now warring over which court should hear the case. Airbus filed suit in Austin, Texas’ U.S. District Court. Aviation Partners wants the case moved to Seattle where it is based.

Aviation Partners asserts this business litigation and patent case is a classic example of a big company trying to exert its influence over the underdog. Aviation Partners has 13 employees and yearly revenue of just under $500 million. Airbus and its parent company bring in $60.4 billion. Airbus feels differently and says that the winglet patent royalty demands are “…a significant hindrance” that makes them have a “…complete disadvantage.”

The lawsuit comes down to wanting a bigger share of the global aircraft market. For example, Southwest Airlines has blended winglets on at least 80 percent or more of their Boeing 737s. Currently, 100 other airlines use them too.

Patent disputes such as this one merit an aggressive business litigation attorney to resolve the matter in the most expeditious, cost effective way. These issues can impact a business’ bottom line and battles over coveted intellectual property assets merit a skilled litigator to uphold a business’ rights. The stakes are high, so retaining a patent attorney that is skilled in the technical details and is a respected opponent in the courtroom is key.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business lawyer, Austin patent attorney, and Austin business litigation attorney. To learn more, visit Theaustintriallawyer.

Under the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizens are protected against unlawful search and seizure. While the constitution does not have a “right to privacy” clause or even the word “privacy” in it, Bill of Rights does offer many protections to citizens that protect their privacy. Never are these protections more important than when someone is accused of a crime.

The high profile case of United States vs. Jones involves a nightclub owner and drug dealer named Antoine Jones. Washington D.C. Police installed a GPS tracking device to his vehicle and monitored his movements for 28 days as part of their investigation. This is certainly not the first time the police have used GPS tracking devices as part of their investigation.

During the 2003 investigation of now convicted murderer, Scott Peterson, Modesto, Calif., police installed GPS tracking devices on four vehicles used by Peterson in an effort to gather evidence and find the body of his missing wife, Laci Peterson. During the trial, Peterson’s defense attorney Mark Geragos did not argue about the constitutionality of the GPS tracking device but instead argued the accuracy of the technology.

His argument included the fact that the FAA had not approved GPS technology to be used in the landing of aircraft thus arguing that it did not provide a level of accuracy worthy of credibility, especially in a capital murder trial. However, the judge allowed the GPS data to be used in the trial.

While GPS technology has improved since then, the accuracy of the devices was not in question in the recent Supreme Court case but rather the invasive, warrantless nature of the devices. The justices found the devices to be more intrusive on a citizen then low-tech methods of tracking like following and personal surveillance.

During the case, the attorney arguing on behalf of the United States was asked by Chief Justice John Roberts, “You could tomorrow decide that you put a GPS device on every one of our cars, follow us for a month, no problem, under the Constitution?”

Deputy Solicitor General Michael R. Dreeben replied with “yes.”

With their ruling against unwarranted GPS tracking devices, the Supreme Court extended a privacy right to U.S. citizens suspected of crimes. Often times, individuals that are known suspects in a crime make the mistake of believing their innocence alone is substantial to maintain their freedom. If suspected or charged with a crime, one should immediately contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer that can make sure the police are not overstepping their boundaries and infringing upon their rights.

To learn more about Polk County criminal defense lawyer or Polk County DUI lawyer Thomas Grajek, go to http://www.flcrimedefense.com/ or call 863-688-4606.

The campaign hopes to show government officials and transportation authorities how these specific roads do not help pedestrians or bicyclists be safe. The roads are designed for large volumes of vehicles, with little to no infrastructure for bike lanes, sidewalks, or safe crosswalks.

“The real issue facing pedestrian safety is the fatalities are occurring on roads that are designed to move cars as fast as possible, with little regard for how to accommodate pedestrians,” said Ryan Lynch, the campaign’s policy director.

Pedestrian accidents and deaths have been rising across the nation. The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that injuries jumped to 19 percent and deaths increased 4.2 percent from the previous year. In the four previous years of data pedestrian incidents had decreased, so the reversal is causing much-needed attention to our streets and walking environments.

Due to economic reasons such as high gas prices, some experts say that more people are walking to conserve costs. Others think that because people are more distracted by handheld devices, distractions are causing more of the accidents. Texting, checking email, or posting on social media can take your eyes off the road and cause an accident within seconds. Walkers can be just as guilty of using a cellphone and not paying attention to what is going on around them.

The NHTSA has also found that being intoxicated plays a major role in pedestrian accidents. Of all pedestrian fatalities, 48 percent were due to alcohol impairment. In 6 percent of the crashes, both the auto driver and the pedestrian were drunk. Calling a sober friend or cab is by far a better tactic than risking your life walking.

Cities can also make efforts to plan for better pedestrian and road design. Adequate lighting, sidewalks, and paved shoulders can make a big difference in urban and rural areas. Yield to pedestrian signs, curb ramps for those with disabilities for easier access, and pedestrian countdown signals are a few ways to help make walking safer.

The Federal Highway Administration recommends that for wide streets with two-way traffic, cities should incorporate pedestrian crossing islands where possible. A pedestrian can walk until he or she crosses to the island and then look again to ensure that no traffic is coming the opposing way. This strategy has cut down accidents by 40 percent in areas where it is utilized.

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.

Who would have thought that a hospital would tell a mother in active labor to go home? It seems to be an unthinkable thing to do, but it actually happened. Not surprisingly, the woman filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital.

The woman went to her local hospital in 2009 with severe pelvic pain. Evidently, for whatever reasons, other than negligence, she was told to go home. She was not screened to see if she had started labor and she was not stabilized. By the time she arrived home, she was in agony and shortly thereafter, went into full blown labor. She delivered her baby at home with the help of two EMTs.

The lawsuit claims that due to the delay in delivery, her baby was harmed and she is seeking damages for mental anguish, medical expenses, loss of consortium, physical impairment and pain and suffering. Does this case stand a chance of winning? It may. However, that would largely depend on the nature of the harm caused to the baby and to the mother. More to the point is if the baby was delivered at home, with the help of EMTs, and suffered harm, why were they not named in the lawsuit as well?

While this is a touch and go case, as what hospital in their right mind discharges a woman in active labor, there are other facets to also consider. For instance, loss of consortium would be a typical result of delivering a baby, but were there some specific damages done during delivery that made it impossible to have intercourse? Again, this would have more to do with the people who delivered the child, and not the hospital.

As you can see, not all medical malpractice cases are clear cut and black and white. Then there is also the question of delaying the delivery. Was the delivery delayed? Or did it progress on its own timeline? Was she expecting to be induced or deliver naturally? If she expected to be induced, she would view the situation as delayed delivery. If the baby was on its own timetable, it would have come later, as it did.

What and who caused the actual harm, and what that harm is, are the key determining factors in this lawsuit, and frankly, it could go either way depending on what medical experts weigh in during the trial. The thing with medical malpractice lawsuits is that not all bad outcomes with a doctor are necessarily medical negligence. There is a fine line there that a good Nashua medical malpractice lawyer will outline for you if you feel you have been the victim of a medical professional.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

The accident happened to a Florida man, who was smoking in his study, enjoying his e-cigarette, when all of a sudden it was like being hit by lightening. The cigarette blew up, sounding like a Fourth of July firecracker. The man sustained serious mouth damage. He lost part of his tongue and all of his teeth. A fire also started in the room; all of this mayhem caused by something as small as a cigarette?

Investigators on the scene are pointing fingers at a faulty lithium battery, brand unknown, as nothing was left of it after it exploded. All that remained was evidence of a recharging station near the 57-year-old man’s chair. While these portable and smoke free little electronic cigarettes are the latest trend to help smokers quit inhaling tobacco, tar and other carcinogens, they may be in their own way just as deadly. This explosion makes that quite clear.

End result? This victim may not be able to speak properly, will likely require either dental implants, dentures, or expensive dental surgery to remove any roots left behind after the explosion. It will be a long, painful process for him, and an incredibly expensive one. How will he pay for all these bills and his regular financial obligations?

After consulting his personal injury attorney, he may wish to investigate whether he qualifies for litigation funding. This is an emergency lawsuit “loan” designed to help plaintiffs like the unfortunate e-cigarette victim get out of the money pit of medical expenses while waiting for a personal injury case to be resolved. Pre-settlement funding takes care of all of the important expenses and allows the victim to wait for justice without worrying how day-to-day bills and expenses will be paid.

Lawsuit funding can be used for medical expenses, home, car or other bills, as well. All a victim needs to do is call a litigation funding company, provide his lawyer’s name and case details, have his case reviewed, approved and receive his money by wire within 48 hours. Litigation funding is the backup the victim needs in a lawsuit.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

When people are in a rush to buy health insurance because they know they need it or are running out of time to get it, thanks to health care reform, they sometimes don’t pay attention to where they are buying it. They look at policies, think to ask questions about co-pays and deductibles, about what is covered and what is not, but don’t check on the company selling the policies. How do you know when you are dealing with a good company?

At first, you won’t have much of an idea which company is which unless you have the low-down from a friend or family member. Fair enough, but hang tight on choosing a company until you know more about other companies as well. First, start by looking for affordable health insurance online. There are, as you will soon discover, a whole lot of websites selling insurance; some are reputable, some may not be. There are large, medium and smaller companies as well. Don’t count out anyone until you see what they have to offer.

This isn’t intended to imply that you need to spend forever and a day searching for affordable health insurance. Just start the process of finding what you want by asking for four to five quotes. This will give you a base to compare policies and companies. Anything more than six companies and things get really confusing, unless you are a whiz at reading insurance jargon. Frankly, most people would rather have a root canal than read too much insurance language.

Start with your first set of quotes and you will begin to see that prices vary quite widely. The reason is insurance the industry is competitive, and many companies are willing to offer good pricing to attract and keep customers. The main point is that by comparing the pricing and the tone, attitude, professionalism and customer service, you can get a fix on the company, and whether or not they might be the ones you want to do business with. There is no hurry to choose, so take your time and find a company you feel confident will be there for you when you need them.

Just remember that before you start, you need to know what you want, and that what you want will be priced differently by each insurance company. This is why it is vitally important that when you ask for quotes from various companies, you give them all the same information. Also understand that the quote is just that; a quote. It may change if you have forgotten to mention an illness or that you smoke or are overweight or take drugs for asthma.

It’s common for people to not mention they take drugs when they don’t use a medication very often or don’t think about it when they ask for a quote. Just be honest, and the quote you get will be close enough to a final price when you make your buying decision.

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.

A recent study showed that barely half of the recommended services get performed as prescribed because there just is not enough time in the day.

The preventative services include screenings, tests and conversations that are done at a certain time in the patient’s life. A 42-year-old woman will have a different list of preventative services than an 80-year-old man, for example. On average there are fewer than six services, such as screenings and counseling per patient, but they are not all done – not by a long shot.

As few as 12 percent of the patients received all of the services that they should have expected for prevention, according to the study.

During a study, researchers listened in on almost 300 visits to family physicians and general internists over the course of about three years. They learned that patients receive only about half of the preventative services.

“If you put it into context and you think about how little the incentives and the structure of the U.S. health system support prevention, it’s probably a pretty good rate,” said Jennifer Elston Lafata, the co-leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. “You have to remember that a 100 percent rate is likely not feasible or even desirable, once you consider patient preferences and medical needs.”

If another medical concern pops up during a routine physical exam, it is naturally going to take precedence over a checklist because it is an immediate need. Then, time constraints kick in and the physician and the patient rarely catch up to get to everything on the list, Lafata said.

The study included patients from age 50 to 80. A full 93 percent of patients who were due for a colorectal cancer screening were given one, making it the most consistent of the preventative services. Counseling about aspirin use was the conversation that most often fell between the cracks. Those talks happened only about 18 percent of the time.

The doctor visits in the study tended to last less than a half hour. The visits that lasted longer tended to be more comprehensive.

Preventative care breaks down into three basic categories: counseling, screenings and immunizations. Screenings happened about 74 percent of the time in the study. Counseling happened about 45 percent of the time and immunizations happened only about 34 percent of the time, according to the study. If all preventative care is not addressed during annual physicals, many serious and oftentimes life-threatening conditions, can go undetected.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

It’s true that at one time, finding health insurance quotes that were reasonable was almost impossible. This is largely because people just did not know where to look. Truth is that websites back then were not as well developed as they are now, and did not provide surfers with information they understood or could use. Today, with technology changing as fast as it is, insurance websites are alive with information for everyone and they are easy to find.

With the advent of the latest in social media and the ‘just around the corner’ presence of health care reform in the U.S., insurance companies need to remain competitive in order to get and keep their customers. It used to be that insurance companies would discount the first year and then, year after year, raise the premiums. While that may still happen in some instances, insurers are realizing they have to give a little to get a lot more policyholders.

Honestly though, insurance companies are in business for themselves to make money, and that is as simple as it gets. To that end, they have the smarts to offer various policies for the broadest demographics as possible, but you still will pay a reasonable price for the premiums. You can’t expect an insurance carrier to risk covering your health, if you live a high-risk lifestyle. Those that don’t tend to have lower rates.

It’s not rocket science, but many people don’t understand why insurance companies don’t want to insure smokers, sky divers, rodeo riders and others who live life on the edge. Insurance companies run a business that only survives if it makes money. If it does not, it goes out of business, end of story. High-risk clients mean shelling out more money. That being said, it is possible to find reasonably priced health insurance quotes. Just be aware of what you want before you start. It helps eliminate some of the stress of trying to find something that works for you and your budget.

There are some things that you should understand before you make any buying decisions. For instance, don’t buy anything until you know what is and is not covered. Some plans cover only drugs and doctor visits. Others only cover emergencies. Know your policy, or get stuck between a rock and a hard place. Knowing what you really need will help you choose the right insurance. In other words, know what are you getting before you shell out money.

Check out the insurance company you want to deal with. How is their customer service? Are they professional? Responsive to complaints? Prompt in resolving claims disputes? What is their reputation? Read reviews online to find out and check with your close circle of friends. How much of a deductible do you want? Keeping it and your co-pay low is important, largely because this is money you pay out of your own pocket. So, choose a deductible and co-pay that make sense budget-wise.

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.

A bipartisan group of House members recently passed an amendment to H.R. 7 that will cut restrict the ability of trucking companies to fill the highways with heavier and more dangerous trucks.

The amendment also struck a provision in the bill called the “state option” that would have allowed states to individually increase the weight limit for trucks by 17,000 pounds from 80,000 to 97,000. Opponents of the state option argued that each state legislature would be intimidated into signing the increase for fear of being seen as anti-business.

Statistics show that the heavier the trucks get, the less safe the roads become. Even though highway crash fatalities fell in 2010 to their lowest numbers since the 1940s, truck crash fatalities jumped 8.7 percent. In 2010, there were 3,675 people killed in accidents involving trucks – up from 3,380 in 2009. In 2007, 802 truck drivers lost their life while performing their job. That made the trucking and transportation industry among the most dangerous in the country, according to the Truck Safety Coalition.

The coalition argues that truck drivers are asked to meet demanding schedules often without enough rest or time at home. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently revised rules about truck drivers and the amount of rest they receive to ensure that commercial drivers are safe on the roads.

The new hours-of-service rules reduce the total amount a driver is allowed to work in a seven-day period from 82 hours down to 70 hours. There are also new provisions requiring drivers to rest more at night when the body’s natural instinct is to sleep. The new hours-of-service rules will be enforced by fines to the truck drivers and the companies that hire them.

Trucking lobbyists are pushing for longer combination vehicles like triple-trailer trucks that could get more than 100 feet long and potentially weigh more than 100,000 pounds. There are also proposals for trucks called turnpike doubles that can get up to 120-feet long and weigh more than 135,000 pounds.

Double trailer trucks are significantly more likely to be involved in fatal highway crashes than traditional single-trailer trucks, according to the Truck Safety Coalition. The risk goes up 200 percent for highway crashes and it goes up 32 percent for highway fatalities when an additional trailer is tacked to the back of the first trailer.

Statistics from the Truck Safety Coalition indicate that trucks weighing 80,000 pounds get into fatal crashes about twice as often as those weighing only 50,000 pounds.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago truck accident lawyer and Chicago truck accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

An 80-year-old dementia patient at an Oak Park, Ill., nursing home was beaten to death in February by a fellow resident 14 years his junior. Recently released documents from the Illinois Department of Public Health show that despite evidence of aggressive behavior from both men, nothing was written in the patients’ treatment plan to show how to handle the men.

The victim’s family filed a lawsuit against Oak Park Medical Center for wrongful death for failing to supervise a patient that posed an immediate threat to Anibal Calderon. The OPMC’s parent company agreed to correct deficiencies outlined by the IDPH report but has not accepted responsibility for the attack, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The family claims in the lawsuit that Oak Park Healthcare Center broke state and federal nursing home rules and did not protect their patient from neglect and abuse, according to the Sun-Times. The suit also claims that the business failed to hire adequate staffing to sufficiently monitor its patients. Finally, the suit claims the facility did not report suspicious behavior and ignored complaints about residents.

The case at Oak Park shines a light on a broader issue about how many nurses are needed to care for the residents and how many of those nurses need to be trained registered nurses as opposed to certified nursing assistants or licensed practical nurses. A 2010 nursing home reform law mandates increased staffing.

The challenge, predictably, is that RNs are more experienced and demand higher salaries. More RNs means less revenue. Illinois state government officials are working this spring to push for more RNs who should be better equipped to ascertain changes in patient behavior like that of the man who is accused of killing Anibal Calderon.

The new Illinois laws require more than an hour more per day per resident of nursing and personal care in the next two years.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago wrongful death attorney and Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Drunk driving deaths have declined every year since a high in 2005 of 13,582, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Total traffic deaths also are down during the same period.

Yet, there still is a traffic fatality in the United States every 51 minutes that is caused by alcohol impairment, according to the study by the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Traffic fatalities are only one of the ways alcohol-related dangers can be tracked. There were about 1.5 million arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That means about one arrest for every 141 licensed drivers in 2008, which is the most recent year for which data is available.

A new study from the NHTSA found that women are being arrested more often for drinking and driving, and the numbers of women who cause accidents because of alcohol consumption is not decreasing like it is in the general population in many states. The number of women who were arrested for drinking and driving went up about 30 percent from 1998 to 2007, according to the FBI. During that same period, arrests for men went down by about 7.5 percent.

During the first part of this year, new court decisions expanded liability for accidents involving alcohol.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court found that a social host can be held liable if someone served at a party injured someone off-premises while driving drunk. The court also ruled that hosts cannot be held responsible for alcohol related crashes if they did not supply the alcohol at the party. So, if the party was a “bring your own” gathering, then the party host is not held responsible.

Apart from the statistics that show the dangers of drinking while operating a motor vehicle, there are other significant health risks to be aware of during Alcohol Awareness Month. Alcohol is a factor in more than half of the drownings, homicides and fatal burn injuries. Birth defects also are a well-documented result of alcohol use during pregnancy.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago personal injury lawyer and Chicago personal injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lives of children are saved every year by child safety seats. There were almost 9,000 confirmed instances when a child’s life was saved because he or she was properly secured in a seat made for their body size between 1975 and 2008. Those statistics come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Laws mandating that children ride only when secured in a safety seat have not proven to be enough. NHTSA studies have shown that as many as three out of every four children are not as secure as they should be in the car because their seats are not the right size or they are not being used correctly.

The NHTSA has launched its new campaign to help parents and caregivers get children correctly strapped in to the right sized seat. This includes rear-facing seats, booster seats forward-facing seats and even seat belts.

“The Right Seat” campaign is a series of public service announcements and billboards, along with a new website helping show parents how to choose the right seat for their child and properly strap them into that seat.

The television and radio commercials have been recoded in English and in Spanish.

The new website has resources and tools for helping caregivers and parents keep children safe in and around cars.

Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 threat to the life of a child. It is the leading cause of death for children between one and 12 years old, according to the Department of Transportation. More than 4,000 children under 12 were killed in car crashes in the United States between 2006 and 2010. More than a half million children were injured in that same time frame, according to DOT data. The campaign to help get children in the right sized car seat is aimed at this at-risk group.

The NHTSA has been putting together advertising campaigns with the Ad Council for more than 25 years. In that time campaigns have been targeted at specific stages of child safety seats like booster seats or the LATCH system. This is the first campaign to address getting children in the correct seat.

“Safety is our top priority for everyone on our roadways, and we’re calling on parents to do everything they can to protect our most vulnerable passengers,” said Department of Transportation Secretary LaHood. “The new public service announcement and website will help parents understand the differences in child safety seats, make sure they choose the right seat for their child, and properly secure them every time they get behind the wheel.”

Robert Alston is with Alston & Baker, PA. To contact a Zephyrhills personal injury lawyer, Zephyrhills divorce lawyer, or Zephyrhills social security lawyer, call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.

Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and came back from war with PTSD were twice as likely to be given prescriptions for painkillers that have proven to be addictive compared to vets with only physical pain, according to the study.

Caregivers were approximately four times more likely to give the drugs to veterans with PTSD and a history of problems with substance abuse.

The study was paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs and it was based on the VA’s data. It was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

All of the veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq who were diagnosed with physical pain between October of 2005 and December of 2010 were involved in the study, which equals 141,029 servicemen and servicewomen.

Vets with PTSD who were given morphine and other strong painkillers had a higher risk of suicide, alcohol and drug overdoses and self-inflicted injuries, according to the study. These consequences were rare, but still notable.

The study shows that it is a difficult task to treat painful injuries as well as painful memories. The study’s authors and other experts indicate other treatments including therapy and other drugs would be less risky, according to FoxNews.

Some doctors could be prescribing powerful, opium-based drugs like hydrocodone and morphine precisely because of their strength to potentially dull extreme physical pain or help reduce emotional distress. Opioids often make psychological problems worse, according to sources speaking to FoxNews.

In 2009, the VA adopted a pain management philosophy that requires opiate prescriptions be accompanied by non-drug mental health care. This came at the end of the study.

The VA distributed a press release about the study indicating that the agency’s pain management approach is a model of effective care, but “…we recognize that more work needs to be done.”

There were 15,676 veterans given opiate prescriptions in the study for physical pain. Those numbers included 18 percent of the vets with PTSD and about 12 percent of those with different mental health diagnoses. The opiate prescriptions were given to only about 7 percent of the veterans without those problems.

Since many veterans coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are young, they are often struggling to find their place in civilian life, according to a Yale University teacher and doctor who spoke with FoxNews. Dr. William Becker works with veterans on substance abuse problems. The best treatment in that environment is therapy and behavioral management for the PTSD and separate chronic pain management for the physical injuries of war. He said the study “…brings much needed attention to the complexity of this problem.”

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

Digital badges have taken on an increased importance recently as more people try to move into the civilian workforce after some time away in the military, taking online classes or even volunteering and doing charity work.

Badges are envisioned as supplements to a traditional resume that have a digital link where prospective employers can determine their authenticity. The MacArthur Foundation in Chicago is leading the badges revolution. The foundation gave a $1 million grant to the Mozilla Foundation to develop a consistent standard for badges that can be used across platforms.

The VA contest winner will design badges to help translate military experience into classroom credit or work-related training, according to a press release from the VA.

“We are looking for ways to make it easy for employers to see Veterans for who they are: highly qualified individuals in any job applicant pool,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said in the release. “We want to help good jobs find Veterans and help Veterans find good jobs.”
Along with the VA, the “Badges for Vets” contest also is being sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor and Energy. The contest is part of the larger MacArthur Foundation project called the Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition.
The VA Innovation Initiative announced three finalists in the competition in March.
• TopCoder Inc. is an IT consulting company that developed a way to issue badges representing military experience and training to help qualify veterans for a specific assignment.
• Western Governors University has a program to award transfer credit to veterans who have earned badges for corresponding training in the military.
• The Manufacturing Institute has a plan to use badges to help veterans find jobs on its jobs and talent matching platform online.
A winner from among those three will be announced after Memorial Day, according to the release.

The contest calls for $25,000 in prizes for the winners in five categories for companies to design and deliver badges that are representative of veterans’ transferable skills from the battlefield to the cubicle.

Other industries using badge systems to help bridge people’s skillsets with potential employers include NASA, Disney and the library and manufacturing industries.

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

The high court is scheduled to begin hearing the case on April 25. One day earlier, Schumer will have the state bill’s original author at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship. Schumer is the chairman of that committee.

Schumer asked Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to come before the subcommittee hearing on immigration to speak about the law. She will already be in Washington, D.C., to testify before the Supreme Court. She declined his invitation, calling it a publicity stunt.

Former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce will testify before Schumer’s subcommittee despite losing a recall election last year brought about partly because of the outrage over the bill, according to the Huffington Post.

Schumer wrote a letter to Gov. Brewer asking for her participation in a dialogue about the border.

“As you frequently ask the President to visit the southern border to discuss border security, we expect that you will be eager to engage in a productive dialogue with the Congressional Committee responsible for acting upon any border security recommendations you provide,” Schumer wrote, according to the Arizona Republic.

Arizona’s SB 1070, the anti-illegal immigration law that has sparked controversy across the country, makes it a misdemeanor for an alien to be in the state without proper documents. A federal court judge in Arizona struck down the portion of the law that requires law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of people at traffic stops and make routine arrests. The Supreme Court will make a decision this year in part because other states are passing similar immigration laws.

Federal efforts have had a profound affect on border security over the past two years since the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act pushed more than $600 million to support law enforcement. Border patrol numbers are up and illegal crossings are down significantly. Seizures of guns, cash and drugs are all up as well, according to the Post.
Schumer said he would like Brewer to speak to his subcommittee to explain if she thinks the bill is still necessary since federal efforts have been so successful. He said he would like her to share whether she thinks the new law will always be necessary.
For her part, Brewer has explained the law on countless television programs, radio broadcasts and interviews with media of a variety of political leanings.
With the spotlight on illegal immigration, it has been difficult for those who want progress on reforming the legal immigration laws to be heard. Efforts to reform the visa program are moving through Congress, but with significantly less press attention than Arizona’s law.

Annie Banerjee is an immigration lawyer in Houston, Texas, who helps legal immigrants come to this country to seek permanent citizenship or for travel or work.

Contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their web site at http://www.visatous.com.

It used to be that filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy was a very long process and considered to be expensive. The main reason it was expensive was the amount of running around the debtor had to do, making hundreds of photocopies of various documents and ensuring they were mailed to every creditor you owed money. For some, that was a long list and postage added to their expenses. While much of this running around still needs to be done, depending on the circumstances of the case, thanks to technology, debtors may file from home using their personal computer.

It should be understood that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also referred to as a liquidation bankruptcy, banishes most debts. For the exceptions, you would need to speak with an experienced Iowa bankruptcy lawyer. That out of the way, and knowing you are eligible to file, you may now electronically sign and file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition.

Following that, the process from start to eventual finish, is the same. Once the debtor had filed, all the applicant’s assets become the property of the bankruptcy estate, and a trustee is assigned to administer that estate and sell nonexempt property to pay unsecured creditors.

Many debtors wishing to file electronically ask the about the requirement that bankruptcy documents must be signed, and whether or not by filing via the Internet would be committing perjury. While the law does specifically state that each debtor must sign their petition, those filing electronically are assigned a login and unique password that becomes their signature. Your Iowa bankruptcy lawyer will also instruct you that if you efile, your documents need to have /s/ on them, followed by your typed name.

In the United States, efiling is done under the auspices of a program called the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system. This system is under the purview of the federal judiciary, and using this system allows a debtor to submit just about every item they need relevant to their case 24/7.

Many debtors are concerned about the lack of privacy when it comes to filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, as once they do file it becomes a matter of public record. Anyone may access the online, signed forms through a system called the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). This is largely used as a search program, and debtors cannot file their bankruptcy documents this way. For more information on what this may mean to you, speak to a seasoned Iowa bankruptcy lawyer.

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.

Nowy Dziennik, a Polish-language newspaper published in New York launched a new online campaign to raise awareness at dropvisasforpoland.org.

David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee wrote an opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune in October refreshing American memories of all the times Poland has stood by the United States during wartime and has been a pivotal ally.

“Ask any Pole,” Harris wrote. “I have on many occasions and always received the same answer: The issue is seen as a slap in the face to Poland and its traditional friendship with the U.S.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, mentioned Poland’s eligibility for the VWP as he sponsored legislation called the Enhanced Security and Reform Act to update the program.

“Since the end of the Cold War, Poland has become one of the United States’ strongest allies, and it makes sense that we should change the law governing visa waivers to reflect the world we live in today,” Pascall said in a press release.

The Visa Waiver Program was started in 1986 as a way to cut down on administrative costs and to promote goodwill between the United States and individual countries. Citizens of the 36 countries on the list are able to travel to the United States for tourism or business without a visa for up to 90 days. To get on the VWP and to remain on it, countries must have advanced passport security technology and a low non-immigrant refusal rate.

Poland misses out on the VWP because its refusal rate is too high, which means the consular officers there believed that many of the visa applicants would overstay their 90-day trip. Some advocates of reform have suggested using actual overstay numbers instead of refusal rates to determine eligibility.

Citizens of countries that must go through the visa process to visit the United States on vacation or business must wait longer, fill out more forms, pay more fees and sit through interviews with their consulate. Advocates of keeping the VWP list short say the consular interviews and forms help keep the United States safe. All moves to open the borders for tourists or businesspeople no matter where they are from is going to be met with caution from the Department of Homeland Security.

Poland is on the short list of “road map” countries being considered for inclusion in the VWP.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Schedule 1 is a form required by the bankruptcy court, and it is otherwise referred to as Current Income of Individual Debtor. If you are a veteran, and are filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13 or Chapter 7, then this form must be included. If you have a spouse, there is a place for them to be added on the form. While these forms may seem complex, if they are discussed with a qualified Iowa bankruptcy lawyer, most of the questions would be clearly answered.

As with many rules and regulations, there are some exemptions to this rule. In this instance, there are certain items that are considered to be exempt from liquidation under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Those exemptions include alimony, child support, Social Security, unemployment and veteran’s benefits. Even though the veteran’s benefits are exempt, they are still used to calculate a debtor’s financial situation.

For example, if a veteran is getting regular wages, those need to be listed in Schedule I as the gross amount along with any overtime. Any payroll deductions must be taken off wages for the net take home pay. For items 7 to 13, if the veteran debtor has other forms of income, these must be listed. Section 11 would be the area in which to include veteran’s benefits, on the line that asks for ‘Other Monthly Income.’

If a veteran is in a situation where Veteran’s Affairs is only paying them benefits temporarily for a disability, such as an illness that they will recover from, they need to know when the payments end within the year. Then, they would fill in line 17 on Schedule 1 outlining the reasons the benefit is temporary. Again, theses forms can be filled out with the help of an Iowa bankruptcy lawyer.

While filling out all the forms may seem unnecessary, they are required in order to match them up with the means test that all debtors must go through to determine their eligibility for filing bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. There is always the possibility that an applicant does not qualify, and this is something that can be figured out with the assistance of a skilled Iowa bankruptcy lawyer. For those that do not qualify for Chapter 13, they may instead, be eligible for Chapter 7. It all depends on the means test and the corollary information filed to initiate the process of seeking bankruptcy protection.

Although Schedule I is used for both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, the Chapter 13 forms will demonstrate to the trustee how much money is being earned in the household. This, when paired with Schedule J listing debtor’s expenses, will show if there is enough income to pay back some of the debt or not.

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.

If you want to get and keep customers on your insurance website, you need to offer them something they want. Typically, that would be instant quotes. And, you want to have them very visible and simple to use. The 21st Century has brought us some good things, but it has also made people impatient to get information as quickly as possible. If you can offer instant quotes on your insurance website, you have a leg up over the competition.

When it comes to a quoting engine, you will want to ensure customers have the ability to get at least three quotes at once. They can get more, but three are a good place to start. People are initially looking for price comparisons to suit their budget. The nitty gritty of what the insurance policy contains and covers may come later. Some individuals just do not read their insurance policies, so this is not essential on the instant quote engine. Thus, you need to strive to provide prospects with enough salient information to help them understand what you offer and what it means to them when they buy from you.

If you do not have relevant information on your insurance website, you can count on your visitors clicking away and going someplace else. That is a potential lost sale. Do you have the time to work with your website, make it easy to navigate, pack it with great information, have instant quotes and use the right, relevant keywords? There is a good chance the answer to that is “no.” Really, would you have the time to do that? Most busy agents do not.

Remember, when people visit your insurance website, they are not visiting just because you offer instant quotes, although that is part of the reason. They are visiting because they want to find out more about you and your services. They want to check out the blog, the articles, the tone of the site and how it presents itself.

When your site is clean, well laid out, navigationally friendly, offers relevant material people need and will use, you are well on your way to converting a visitor to a sale. To live up to the expectations of today’s Internet surfers, you need a search engine optimization (SEO) team to tweak your site to maximize its effectiveness and get it to a better ranking. Get a team that knows the insurance marketing industry and the SEO side of business. These are dollars well invested.

ReadytoQuote.com specializes in marketing insurance websites online. Learn more at http://www.readytoquote.com.

-Is the object heavily used or prominent?

-Is the object depicted in a negative manner?

-Is using the object going to look like an endorsement of it?

-Does the object have a logo that is visible and trademarked?

-Does the object have another element on it that has separate copyright protection?

In some instances, entertainment companies will blur a logo or obtain necessary clearances to use an object that is critical to the success of a scene. It can be costly, but if it is an essential element, it will be worth the time and fees.

Otherwise, a person or entity that is affected by the use of its object can litigate to recover damages from improper use of its intellectual property. Sometimes, a company will be proactive and flex its power in court ahead of time to get what it wants. Recently, the gaming powerhouse of Electronic Arts did just that. EA’s Battlefield games have life-like helicopters and weapons to make it more of a realistic wargame. Because EA has been sued before by Textron, which makes military helicopters, this time EA sued Textron for declaratory relief so that a judge will rule whether they can use a similar Textron-like helicopter in their video games.

Video game companies have been gaining ground in the courts lately, such as in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn. that found video game companies do have First Amendment fair use rights. Especially in light of a Battlefield 3 packaging disclaimer that reads “…the appearance of real-world weapons and vehicles doesn’t constitute any official endorsement by their maker,” the preemptive case could be sided in their favor. EA has also been successful in other cases involving likenesses of college basketball stars.

Textron says that EA’s use of helicopters that look like its AH-1Z Viper, UH-1Y transport helicopter, and a V-22 Osprey are trade dress infringement and dilution. EA’s case takes place in the same venue that decided in favor of fair use rights last year, so onlookers are curious to see if the case will bring new decisions or uphold First Amendment rights for the big game publisher.

Anthony Spotora is a Los Angeles entertainment litigation lawyer and Los Angeles trademark attorney. To learn more, visit Spotoralaw.com.

This case was shocking, as it was pivotal to pending regulations to change the hours of service a trucker may put in on the road. A woman who was driving home from a family reunion was killed instantly when she and her son were hit by a triple-trailer truck. The driver drifted off to sleep behind the wheel. The consequences? The needless death of the woman and her 12-year-old son was left permanently disabled.

The trucker was sentenced to five years in prison, a fact that brings no joy to those who were left behind after her sudden, untimely death. He pled guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicle assault and one count of aggravated vehicular homicide. The story spread around the country, acting as a wakeup call for those campaigning to lower service hours on the road in the trucking industry. The group wanted 10 hours. The hours remained the same, set at 11, but they did not go up as most trucking outfits would have preferred.

Trucking for 11 hours a day is causing horrific accidents in every state, and yet, the driving force behind the industry is not to make the truckers or those on the roads with them safer, but to make more money by campaigning for even more hours. Along with going to sleep at the wheel, texting, using a cell phone or other mobile device while driving, watching a laptop movie or picking up something from the floor of the cab, all these reasons and more, are the cause of 18-wheeler accidents that maim and kill.

Big rig accidents are highly complex due to the nature of the industry and who is insured. The industry will fight tooth and nail to keep any settlements low, as that is what is best for the bottom line. Do not let an insurance company guide you in making any decisions if you have been seriously hurt in an accident. Consult with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and get the real facts about what happens in a case like this. You will come to understand that part of the case strategy is focusing on the number of hours a trucker is behind the wheel.

It is not unheard of for truckers and their companies to falsify their service records. They do that by keeping two sets of books. More time on the road is what drives the trucking companies, as the loads are money when they are delivered on time and in good shape. If that means driving more hours in a day, then the almighty dollar dictates a trucker to keep on trucking.

This is negligence. It’s just that simple, and this is a discussion you will have with your Atlanta personal injury lawyer about what way the case will roll, why, and what arguments will be used to make a point for more compensation for injuries. While lawyers cannot restore your complete health, they can make sure you have sufficient compensation to care for yourself for the rest of your life.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

You already know that in order to make a living online, your website needs to perform seamlessly with Web 2.0 applications. Period. The older the website, the more problems newer browsers will have accessing and displaying it. The older the website, the more difficult it is to access in the first place. Some or all of the elements do not work properly, forms are not functional and, well you get the idea. Your insurance website is a potential goldmine, so it needs to be optimized and ready for today’s visitors.

Insurance marketing, on or offline, is about consistency, attention to detail, getting the company name out there, and providing superior customer service. It is about keeping your website up-to-date, fresh, interesting, and compatible with social media. So when do you find time to run your business? Fair question. The answer is, you need a team of search engine optimization (SEO) pros to promote your business consistently and with integrity by using the right keywords and phrases.

The reality is that there are not enough hours in a day to do online marketing and keep a website current. Handling the other aspects of your insurance business is a full time job in and of itself. Add in the learning curve to get the SEO right and suddenly the day ends with the feeling that not much was done. One person just cannot do everything on their own. They need a team of SEO specialists with insurance industry experience who know how to drive traffic to your insurance website.

Imagine your own insurance website that offers fresh content frequently, interesting blogs with thought provoking information, articles with unique information and news releases that put your company in the position of being an expert in the insurance marketing industry. A site like that featuring interesting things for everyone who visits is pretty appealing, and it can be yours for the asking by finding the right insurance search engine optimization company.

Why would you place your trust in such a company? The answer to that is easy. If the company co-founder worked in insurance marketing for more than 25 years, can get you more conversions and keep your own insurance website on page one of Google over time, you need to look into having a SEO expert help your insurance company.

ReadytoQuote.com specializes in marketing insurance websites online. Learn more at http://www.readytoquote.com.

The new subtypes help bridge the gap between solely for-profit, traditional corporations and nonprofit corporations that purely promote social benefits. Many entrepreneurs want to have social or green initiatives and be able to raise venture capital, which these new subtypes now allow. An already existing company that wishes to convert to such a subtype must have 2/3 of its shareholders vote to become one.

An experienced entity formation attorney or business incorporation attorney can help entrepreneurs and investors explore the pros and cons of each subtype, and counsel on how they affect debts, obligations, and liabilities.

The new subtypes must include additional statements in the Articles of Incorporation. The specific public benefits that the benefit corporation will be organized around must be specified. This can include:

-helping low income or under-served populations with products or services that benefit them

-promoting economic opportunity beyond creating jobs for people and communities

-environmental preservation

-improving human health

-promoting the sciences, arts, and knowledge

-increasing capital flow to entities that have a public benefit purpose

-accomplishing other particular benefits for the environment or society

A flexible purpose corporation must identify in its statement what it is to engage in as its specific purpose. These purposes can be chosen from the list included in the California

Corporation Code section 2602(b)(2), including promoting short or long-term positive effects or minimizing adverse effects for:

-a corporation’s workers, vendors, clients, and creditors

-the society and community

-the environment

The California Corporations Code sections 2500-3503 provide further guidance overall. Filing fees are still the same as general stock corporations. Articles of Incorporation are more free-form for these subtypes rather than using the California Secretary of State’s simple form, and thus the need for legal assistance.

It is also important to get legal counsel when these types of business subtypes occur during merger, acquisition, and selling transactions. A seasoned business attorney can provide reliable formation services and comprehensive business advice to get your business started and running efficiently.

Anthony Spotora is a Los Angeles business lawyer, Los Angeles entity formation attorney, and Los Angeles business incorporation attorney. To learn more, visit Spotoralaw.com.

Just when you thought you had heard all there was about traumatic brain injury in football and hockey, you then find out this type of injury is prevalent in soccer. Players perform a move referred to as heading, which refers to using their head (sans protection), to redirect or stop a soccer ball. Soccer balls travel at very high speeds, and the force of impact on the skull tosses the brain around. The result? Concussion, also called traumatic brain injury.

While the cognitive impairment may be mild in the case of athletes heading the ball, if a string of these incidents were sustained over a period of time, the cumulative effect could be detrimental. Given the number of soccer players worldwide, this is an issue that bears investigation. Like football, the long-term effects of continually heading may not be known until later in a player’s career or if they donate their brains to science for study. For instance, renowned British footballer Jeffrey Astle, noted for his slamming headers, died of degenerative brain disease in 2002. His damaged brain showed the trademark signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

In a smart move to be proactive, rather than reactive, researchers have published an article about heading in the January 2012 issue of Neurosurgery, indicating caution is the better part of valor. Since many young children play this sport, it would make sense to urge them to refrain from heading the ball until they develop the correct neck strength and proper body control to head a ball properly. Despite knowing the right technique, this is not to say accidents will not happen, because they do.

In anticipation of the debate growing even more strident, many soccer clubs are considering headgear of some sort to absorb the shock of the ball aS it connects with the skull. Soccer balls today are not made of leather, which may lighten their impact as leather is noted to absorb water that creates a deadlier head hit.

Even though those who play sports are playing with the knowledge that they may be injured, there is a line that should not be crossed. That line is the teams fully informing all players of the potential risks of playing the game, including the chance they may suffer cognitive impairment and death from cumulative head hits. You may recall that 21 former National Football League players filed a class action lawsuit against the league for not telling them that they knew about the risks of repeated traumatic brain injuries.

Generally speaking, if negligence is involved in a sport, such as not informing players of all the risks, there may be a good case for filing a lawsuit with the assistance of an Austin personal injury lawyer. Not all cases are the same, and each one has its own set of facts that will determine how a lawsuit may proceed. It is the Austin personal injury lawyer’s job to advise you if you have a case, if it stands a chance of winning and how you may expect your case to develop as it heads toward a settlement or a jury verdict.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

This reported case did go to settlement largely because if it had gone to court, the family of the deceased would likely have been awarded more. As it was, the city approved a half million dollar settlement for the family of the dead teens and an unborn baby.

Although the city did step up and make a settlement offer, they also added that just because they were considering a settlement did not mean they were admitting guilt on their part or on the part of the officer involved. It’s hard to assume that if they are willing to pay out a settlement that they do not assume some degree of guilt.

Most cases where settlements are offered are resolved because one party knows the other one has enough to mount a substantial case against them. Rather than face a possibly significant jury verdict, offering a settlement gives the defendant some control over their financial liability. In some instances, and this may happen in states with damage caps, a family may sue for a maximum of $250,000 per person.

In this case where the accident killed two teens and an unborn child (considered in that jurisdiction to be a person), the jury total could be $750,000. However, it is capped at $500,000 for one incident. In other words, where this accident happened, whether the case did make it to court or not, the half million dollars would be the ceiling for wrongful death damages. This is why it is so important to consult with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer to find out what you need to do to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. Every state has different rules when it comes to wrongful death claims.

Was this accident caused by the police officer’s negligence? On the face of the evidence, the answer is yes. Accident reconstruction technicians proved that he was travelling 80 mph in a 45 mph zone, and he was not responding to a call. He was suspended without pay indefinitely, just shortly after the police department learned he had not told his supervisor he was on medication that could impair his ability to work.

The rest of the facts of the case will not see the light of day, thanks to the settlement. However, it is worth considering those details when it comes right down to the wire. There was obviously negligence here based on the speed the officer was doing when he hit the teen’s car. Factor in the medical issue, and you have an accident looking for a place to happen. It did happen and three people died. It could be said the settlement is not enough, considering the circumstances.

These factors and many others play an integral part in any wrongful death case handled by an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you have been in a similar situation, or are dealing with a wrongful death claim, find out what your rights are, when to file, whether or not there are damage caps in your state and what to expect when the case is resolved.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

The Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children recently announced that there is cause enough to get CCCHD screenings for newborns, which is a severe type of heart defect that is life-threatening.

The Health and Human Services Department now recommends adding CCCHD to the newborn screening panel, according to a release from the Health Resources & Services Administration. The recommendation is supported by a variety of groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Heart Foundation.

The Secretary’s Advisory Committee added the screening recommendation, but also noted that more research needs to take place quickly to ensure the whole process is working correctly. This means the National Institutes of Health will now research the entire screening process. The Health Resources and Services Administration will look closely at standards, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will look at outcomes after completing its study, according to a release from HRSA.

Missed or even delayed diagnosis of CCCHD can result in injury or infant death. The newborn injuries can include morbidity or injury to vital organs that can be permanent.

The existing CCHD detection approach of ultrasounds and physical exams in the nursery have failed to identify enough cases of the heart disease, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ website. Studies have shown that pulse oximetry ¨C a painless, non-invasive technology ¨C is universally available to add to newborn assessments.

The motion-sensitive pulse oximeters come in both disposable and reusable varieties, and both options are acceptable detection devices, according to the Pediatrics website. To reduce the number of false-positive results, Pediatrics recommends that screening occurs more than 24 hours after the birth or as close to the time of discharge from the hospital as possible.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that CCCHD will be added to the recommended uniform screening panel in September. It is up to each state to determine how to incorporate the new screenings into their own programs, according to the Pediatrics website.

The HRSA has pledged to develop training and educational materials for parents and relevant health care professionals. Public health and professional health care organizations will help the development, but it will be funded by the HRSA.

If a medical professional fails to order a critical test that leads to a birth injury or fails to diagnose a heart problem that needs immediate care, the family has the right to seek compensation for additional health care costs and pain and suffering caused from the missed diagnosis.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago birth injury lawyer and Chicago birth injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

By helping employers find creative ways to bring injured employees back into the workforce, JAN saves companies money while helping employees get back to full salaries, according to the network’s website.

The group has consultants who help companies comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act among other laws. JAN also offers self-employment and entrepreneurship resources for people with disabilities.

About 80 percent of the requests JAN receives are from companies looking to retain a current employee after that worker’s ability level has changed because of an accident or illness.

In a recent blog post in the JAN quarterly online newsletter, a case study outlined the obstacles that can make re-entry into a workplace a daunting challenge. In the case study, a man tore his knee at work as an equipment mechanic. When his knee healed he came back to work, but quickly re-injured it. Because his job required him to squat frequently and maneuver around equipment, he was never going to be able to perform his job in the same way as prior to his injury. The company told him to go home and wait for them to figure something out for him (at reduced wages).

The man feared he would never make a living again doing his old job, but he got a call a few days later to find that the company had found a $2,667 hydraulic lift that allowed the man (and his coworkers) to work on the equipment at waist level. This meant that he would be able to continue to earn a living at his previous salary and his coworkers would potentially avoid injuries as well.

JAN applauded the company’s team collaboration. The nonprofit specializes in helping both individuals and companies – from industrial manufacturers to professional services.

Employees who are injured on the job have the right to be compensated for their lost wages, health care and rehabilitation, and the permanent disability caused by their injury. Those employees also have a right to expect their company will make every reasonable effort to accommodate their changed ability status when they come back to work.

That accommodation can come in the form of changing a work site to make it more accessible to the employee. It also can be vocational in nature, helping an employee learn a new skill to match their new physical ability level.

An experienced worker’s compensation attorney can help employees who have been injured on the job to get back to work at the same salary level or better than they had when they were originally injured.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago workers’ compensation attorney and Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has been leading campaigns since 2007 to improve driver behavior and increase safety on the roads, according to a CVSA press release.

CVSA statistics have shown that some demographics are far less careful when driving around commercial vehicles. Accordingly, some campaigns to increase highway safety have been targeted to those groups. The Teens & Trucks Program helps educate young drivers about safe driving practices near commercial vehicles. This campaign has had a significant effect on fatality statistics in the 16- to 20-year-old group.

Using statistics gathered from 2006 to 2010, fatalities from highway crashes fell most sharply among young drivers. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows an almost 40 percent drop in the number of fatalities for young drivers and a drop of only about 23 percent in overall fatalities, according to the release.

While some campaigns have focused on teaching better driving habits to teenagers, other campaigns have aimed at educating the general public about the dangers of using technology while driving.

Last year, the CVSA began targeting its Defeating Distracted Drivers campaign to a commercial driver audience. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute did a study of commercial drivers and found that texting is a significant distraction in truck cabs. The study indicated that texting makes truck drivers 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or a near crash, according to the CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver website.

For four years, the Operation Safe Driver campaign has been collecting data at roadside inspections. In 2011, the roadside inspections led to about 4.7 percent of drivers being placed out of service. This was a decrease of more than a half percent from the year before. Similarly, about 24.6 percent of the inspections led to vehicles being removed from service. That number was down from 27.4 percent the year before.

Removing unsafe drivers and unsafe vehicles is a priority of the CVSA. “Campaigns that target and remove unsafe drivers from the road, like CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver, are yielding positive results,” said the group’s executive director, Stephen A. Keppler. “CVSA will continue to educate the driving public ¨C
and especially teens ¨C about the risks they take when speeding and cutting off vehicles.”

Efforts to reduce the number of crash-related deaths and injuries have grown stronger recently. An experienced attorney can help crash victims seek compensation for health care costs, pain and suffering and even lost wages.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago car accident lawyer and Chicago car accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The study involved surveying about 1,800 physicians from across the country in a variety of practice areas and specialties. Researchers found that 20 percent of these physicians had not revealed a medical error in the past year because they were concerned about being sued. An even larger group ¨C about 35 percent ¨Creported that they did not “completely agree” if they should disclose medical errors considered serious to their patients, according to the Huffington Post.

More than a third of the surveyed physicians did not “completely agree” that they needed to disclose a financial relationship with a drug company or a medical device company. Alarmingly, more than half of the respondents said they had described a prognosis in a more positive light than was warranted, according to Fox Business online. More than 10 percent of the surveyed physicians admitted they had told a patient an untruth in the past 12 months.

The study aimed to reveal physicians’ attitudes about communications with patients. According to the Charter on Medical Professionalism, communication is among the three principles that guide physicians. The study relies on the charter’s communication claims as a guide for pursuing more data about how physicians communicate with patients and their families. General surgeons were more likely than their physician counterparts to agree that medical errors needed to be revealed to patients. The study also found that about 25 percent of physicians admitted that they had revealed unauthorized information about a patient.

There are many reasons that physicians feel the need to bend the truth, according to the study’s author, Dr. Lisa I. Iezzoni, who is the director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Morgan Institute for Health Policy.

A bad prognosis can be difficult to give especially if the physician and patient have a history together, Iezzoni said. Some doctors give a rosier prognosis than is warranted because it is less stressful for the patient, but that is not in the best interest of the patient, she said. Hiding medical errors might be more justifiable in terms of reducing patient stress, Iezzoni said. She emphasized that patients with more information will be able to better understand their condition and how to confront it.

The Physician Payment Sunshine Act of 2009 will require companies to disclose payments to physicians of more than $10. This law goes into effect in 2013. The study points out that once this law goes into effect, patients will want to have more conversations about the relationships their physicians have with drug companies and medical device companies, according to Fox Business.

Patients who suffered because they made medical decisions based on bad information from physicians who were trying to “protect” them from the truth have the right to consider seeking a claim. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can advise patients on how best to proceed against a physician who was not honest about a diagnosis.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The new hours-of-service (HOS) rule is aimed at preventing highway accidents by reducing work fatigue among commercial truck drivers. The rule ought to save lives by changing the work environment into one where commercial drivers are more rested and alert, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The HOS final rule cuts the total number of hours that a commercial truck driver is allowed to work in a seven-day period by 12 hours ¨C from 82 to 70 hours. Drivers who maximize this 70-hour workweek must include at least two nights of rest during the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. period when the body’s internal clock needs sleep the most, according to the release.

Once during a seven-day workweek, a driver may exercise a 34-hour restart provision. That means if a driver takes a 34-hour break, then he or she can restart the clock on the seven-day workweek.

The rule goes on to dictate that all drivers must take at least a half-hour break for every eight hours of driving time. That break can happen at any time during the eight-hour shift. Professional truck drivers are allowed to continue with the existing 11-hour workday limit that has been the industry maximum under the previous rule.

Heavy fines will be imposed on violators. Trucking companies caught allowing drivers to break the 11-hour-per-day driving limit by more than three hours will be fined $11,000 per offense. Drivers that break this rule can face penalties of as much as $2,750 per offense. The new rule goes into effect July 1, 2013. The DOT expects the new rule will cut down on the number of injuries from truck-related accidents especially in the middle of the night.

A recent highway crash on I-57 in Illinois highlights the dangers created when professional drivers work through the night. At 4:06 a.m., a commercial driver hauling a trailer full of produce rolled the truck over, blocking the Interstate and forcing officials to close the road for four hours during clean up. No one was seriously injured in the wreck and icy conditions played a role in the crash, but the DOT showed its concern about commercial drivers working at that hour with the new rule.

Truck accidents like the one on an icy I-57 at 4:06 in the morning often severely injure or kill the commercial driver operating the truck or other drivers on the road. Professional drivers or other victims of highway truck accidents have a right to be compensated for injuries caused by the negligence of another driver.

In addition to medical bills, accident victims have a right to pursue compensation for pain and suffering and lost wages that are a direct result of the accident.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago truck accident lawyer and Chicago truck accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The complaint accuses the Granite City nursing home of failing to properly care for Bonner Sr. by allowing him to fall multiple times. Meredith Bonner is the executor of Bonner Sr.’s estate and she filed the wrongful death lawsuit. She claims the staff was made aware of Bonner Sr.’s falling issues since he sustained brain trauma in a fall. Following his initial injury, Bonner Sr. fell frequently.

In the claim, Meredith Bonner asserts that the staff and management at the nursing home knew Bonner Sr. had a high likelihood of falling again, but did not provide him proper assistance and supervision. As a result, Bonner Sr. fell repeatedly while at the nursing home, according to the complaint. In July of 2010, just six months after arriving at Granite Nursing Home, Bonner Sr. suffered a severe head injury in a fall and was taken to Gateway Regional Medical Center.

Blunt force trauma to Bonner Sr.’s head while in the care of the nursing home led to swelling and bleeding in his brain, according to the complaint. He died in the hospital in early August. Meredith Bonner asserts in the complaint that it was the nursing home’s carelessness and negligence that led to Bonner Sr.’s death.

She claims the nursing home did not keep close enough watch on Bonner Sr. and failed to notice his injuries or treat them in a timely manner. Meredith Bonner expected more from the Granite City Nursing Home. She expected the staff would listen to her family as they explained Bonner Sr.’s abilities and challenges. She expected the staff to do their own analysis of Bonner Sr.’s needs and then meet those needs. She expected the home to care for Bonner Sr. and instead she claims their negligence led to his death.

Medical and legal professionals suggest thoroughly understanding what the nursing home offers and to set expectations in writing. Different elder care companies offer various levels of health care and observation of clients. Families leaving loved ones in the care of a professional elder care home need to understand the nursing home option they have chosen and what it offers.

Families with loved ones who have been injured or neglected have a right to seek compensation for health care costs and lost wages because of time spent addressing the home’s neglect.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death attorney and Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The toolkit is designed to help engage patients, community and staff at every level in patient safety. The NPSF encourages health care providers to prominently display the program materials and the campaign logo. The group provides educational resources to the staff of the hospital or health center. Health care professionals also can customize a Patient Safety Awareness Toolkit to better meet specific organizational needs.

The National Patient Safety Foundation has led and promoted the safety awareness week activities since 2002. A variety of efforts are being made in the United States and abroad to improve patient safety, including campaigns to prevent wrong side surgeries and other medical errors.

The NPSF also is promoting the Universal Patient Compact, which creates a framework for effective partnerships between patients and providers. The compact encourages providers to include the patients and families on the health care team.

Promoters hope Be Aware for Safe Care resonates with everyone in the health care process from the patients and their families to the staff of the medical center to the health care professionals attending to the patients. The theme for 2011’s Patient Safety Awareness Week was “Commit to Safe Health Care.” That campaign encouraged everyone in the health care industry to stay involved, informed and invested in every patient’s care.

Studies have shown that medical record documentation is the largest contributor to patient risk. There are campaigns under way to standardize medical record keeping to make it easier for caregivers to find patient allergies marked in different places in the records or ensure consistent dosing information.

Patient Safety Awareness Week has become a tradition in many hospitals and medical centers. The annual event is an opportunity for administrators to refocus caregivers, patients and families on the importance of safety and communication in the health care industry.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago personal injury lawyer and Chicago personal injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Those days have passed. Many people planning their estates today keep track of more accounts digitally than they do with paper. This means people planning their estates must provide passwords and a thorough list of all digital assets.

Passwords can be tricky. Most professional estate planners do not want to be responsible for the passwords of the living. If someone hacked into a client’s account, there would be no way to prove where the hacker got the information. Some estate planning attorneys suggest keeping a list of digital accounts and the passwords to those accounts in a home safe or a safe deposit box. If the passwords change, then it is imperative to change the notes stored in the safe.

The range of information stored digitally will continue to grow. From professional photographs and manuscripts to domain names and other online documents, people have a great number of assets stored electronically now. Managing that information is important so that value and wealth is not lost.

An estate planner needs a comprehensive list of assets and liabilities stored digitally because he or she will need to know what potential value and liability exists and where it is. A fiduciary will need the correct power of attorney to administer the estate and find the passwords to access the digital information.

Estate planners look at passwords as keys. For example, they do not need the keys to a client’s car in order to execute a will, but they need to know where the keys are kept.

Many times, survivors are unaware of the assets and liabilities stored in the computer of the deceased. Trade secrets or other sensitive information could be left on a computer and donated. If that computer is compromised, then the estate could be liable for the information left on the computer. Likewise, a survivor might not know about domain names registered by the deceased that would be instantly valuable to a buyer.

People putting together an estate plan must disclose the estimated value of the information they have stored digitally. Estate planners may not know what to look for if the client does not outline all of the assets. This will help the fiduciary manage the estate accurately.

It is important to hire an attorney with estate planning experience. Today’s tech-savvy clients should look for estate planning attorneys who understand the challenges to planning in a digital world.

O. Reginald (“Reggie”) Osenton is the Owner and President of Osenton Law Offices, P.A. If you need a Brandon bankruptcy lawyer, Tampa bankruptcy lawyer, or Tampa bankruptcy attorney, call 813.654.5777 or visit Brandonlawoffice.com.

During the last six months of 2011, delinquency referrals fell 16 percent compared to the same period during 2010. A referral is a misdemeanor or felony arrest for a crime committed on school grounds. The statistics fell in 46 of the Sunshine State’s 67 counties, according to a press release from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Schools are working with the DJJ to take advantage of effective arrest alternatives like civil litigation. With fewer students getting an arrest record for committing acts of misconduct, the system is free to process criminal threats.

The majority of arrests for school-related activities are misdemeanors, according to the release. The DJJ must process all juvenile delinquents through the courts. So, the fewer the charges, the more efficient the system.

Florida began offering civil citations as an option last spring after the state legislature passed the measure. Gov. Rick Scott trumpeted the move as a significant advance in juvenile justice policy that will make the Sunshine State an example for the nation.

The legislation allows officers to issue a civil citation if he or she suspects a youth of a first-time misdemeanor. Then the young person must admit to the offense, potentially participate in intervention services and perform community service.

Supporters of the civil citation program say it allows for an intervention for non-violent youth before they get a criminal record while still holding them accountable for their actions. By intercepting young people early, criminal justice professionals and community leaders hope to turn lives around before they get too deep into the criminal justice system, according to a release.

The program also saves the state millions of dollars that normally would have been spent in the criminal justice system. The hope is that the civil citation intervention will prevent youth offenders from ever being in the criminal justice system. Numbers for the first year have been dramatic and encouraging, according to the DJJ release.

The state’s goal of a pure prevention model ¨C emphasizing education and using enforcement as a last resort ¨C seems to be working quickly in south Florida. In Miami-Dade, the juvenile delinquency rates dropped by 60 percent during the second half of last year compared to the same period in 2010. The school system had 585 school referrals in the fall of 2010 and only 232 in the fall of 2011.

Miami-Dade is the most populous county in the state, so for it to have the biggest drop is meaningful. Families with a child who has been caught up in the juvenile justice system should call a criminal lawyer with experience in juvenile cases.

To learn more about Polk County criminal defense lawyer or Polk County criminal defense attorney Thomas Grajek, go to http://www.flcrimedefense.com/ or call 863-688-4606.

In dumping the program, Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady wrote, “The Court has reviewed the reports on the program and determined it cannot justify continuation of the program.”

A statewide report produced in January 2011 showed barely six percent of homeowners engaged in the mediation program were able to resolve their mortgage problems, according to the Palm Beach Post. The state study revealed that mediators were able to contact borrowers referred to them by the courts less than half of the time. Among those contacted, barely a third bothered to come in for a session.

There are 20 Circuit Courts in the state. Only seven of those courts were included in the report. Some had not been using the program long enough to have results that could be studied.

Mediation experts told the Palm Beach Post that many borrowers may have ignored the solicitation from court mediators because they already had a deal worked out with their lender. Other borrowers may not have replied because they were simply overwhelmed with letters and phone calls or they left town.

The mediation was paid for by the banks at $750 per case, but the borrower had to take foreclosure counseling and divulge all of their financial information. That proved to be a stumbling block for the program because many borrowers did not want the bank to know that much about their finances, according to the story in the Palm Beach Post.

Possible settlements through mediation included short sale, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or, in a best-case scenario, a loan modification. By most accounts, the program failed to provide financial relief to homeowners and it struggled to move logjammed foreclosure cases through the system.

The chief justice’s order included a reiteration that the court’s job is “prompt and efficient administration of justice.” To that end, the order included language that said Circuit Court judges must “…adopt or employ any measures permitted by statute or court rule to manage pending and new residential mortgage foreclosure cases, including referral of cases to mediation on a case-by-case basis.”

The fate of the short-lived program had been known for months. According to the Miami Herald, a task force of judges recommended ending the program in October because of its poor success rate.

O. Reginald (“Reggie”) Osenton is the Owner and President of Osenton Law Offices, P.A. If you need a Brandon bankruptcy lawyer, Tampa bankruptcy lawyer, or Tampa bankruptcy attorney, call 813.654.5777 or visit Brandonlawoffice.com.

Those big rigs you see on the highways across the nation carry anything ¨C literally ¨C and in this case the truck involved in this accident was packing ammunition. The trucker had to be hoping he would not get into an accident. One needs to be careful what they wish for, as sure enough, the driver was involved in a wreck.

The UPS 18-wheeler actually jack-knifed and burst into flames in the northbound lane of the highway. How did this happen? The driver was distracted just moments before the accident. Whether distracted meant he was on the cell phone, texting, using his computer, playing a computer game, picking something up off the floor or drifting off to sleep will be the subject of an intense investigation.

EMS crews and other support emergency workers, such as fire trucks and police cars were on the scene in minutes. They were marshaling to get maximum access to get the driver out of the wreck when the worst thing you could think of happened; a bullet exploded and streaked towards a fire truck, ricocheting off its side. After everyone picked themselves up off the ground, rescue efforts continued unabated. Luckily, there were no serious injuries and the trucker was listed in good condition with minor injuries.

This accident would have been a lot worse than it was and could have involved an explosion. The point of this case is that truckers are handling big rigs while driving negligently and the results are not always as fortunate as in this case. Driving while distracted is dangerous and in other cases, innocent people have paid with their lives for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It goes without saying that the trucker needs to have some common sense and not only follow the rules, but drive with safety in mind. In this instance, whatever he was doing before he jack-knifed his rig was utterly irresponsible. The on board black box will tell its story when it is recovered, and the police will take the matter from there.

But for the fate of being on the road in the early hours of the morning when traffic was light, this truck with its load of ammunition could have caused a whole other serious problem by erupting into a deadly fireball filled with projectiles that could maim or kill. Think what might have happened had the truck been hauling dynamite, gelignite or other highly volatile chemicals.

Being involved in an accident with a tractor trailer is something few people survive, and those that do often find their lives a mere shadow of what they once were. They typically require ongoing and extensive medical care for the rest of their lives. If you have been in a road wreck with one of these big rigs, do not hesitate to call an Austin personal injury lawyer with experience in resolving these kinds of cases. You will need compensation to survive and someone to stand up for your rights. An Austin personal injury lawyer is the answer.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

No matter who you listen to, the issues are the same nationwide, but they are talked about differently, phrased differently and right to the very last vote, uniformly ignored later. Right now, the issue is not so much the economy, immigration reform, education, or health care, it is getting re-elected. In other words, don’t count on a hill of beans getting done any time soon. Frankly, don’t count on anything getting done, even after the election. Words of promise no longer seem to carry the import they once used to carry. Gone are the days when a man’s word was gold. Now a politician’s word is smoke and mirrors.

What’s going on lately with regard to immigration reform? It is hard to tell reading the news, but nonetheless, many of the candidates are going full tilt ahead to garner the Latino vote. Take Mitt Romney’s perhaps tongue-in-cheek comment about what he could do to encourage them to vote Republican. If feels if he can swing that vote, he would pretty much be the frontrunner. However, what he does, should he get there, will be the acid test.

It’s not rocket science to figure out the Latino vote is close to 9 percent of the whole electorate, and rising. Without doing the math, you just know it’s a large figure, which means their vote packs a punch. It got Obama to the White House, and it can take him out or put him back in. Of course, Obama is vying for the Latinos again as well, albeit from a somewhat leveraged position. However, he hasn’t made good on his immigration reform promises, so you can bet this election will hold some surprises, many of which may not be good.

The overall irony is that candidates, even those espousing a hard line on immigration, are trying to win favor with the Hispanic vote. Just how do you do that? Ask someone to vote for you when you voted to have them booted out of the country, put up killer border security and broke up families to deport someone? If anyone has an answer to that, it would be interesting to hear it. And the ultimate affront to Hispanic voters?

They have to listen to half baked promises from loose cannons that want them gone from the U.S. and decide whether or not to trust them. That would be a tough decision to make. Oddly, most of the politicos chasing the Latin voters don’t see that their real positions when they get to the Hill are hurting their chances of securing the very votes they need. It’s that, or they are so myopic they are missing the point, in which case, no one should vote for them.

For now, Spanish speaking voters get to listen to political ads in Spanish, with the politician even speaking Spanish to make a point. And the point is? The point is they couldn’t be bothered to make any kind of concession like that in the past, not until they wanted to run for election and land the Latin vote. The electorate is not stupid, but one wonders about politicians at times.

Sally Odell – Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, PA is an immigration lawyer in Miami with immigration law offices in Orlando and Miami Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com.

“Victims of violent sex crimes already suffer physical trauma, fear, and an assault on their privacy and dignity,” said Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, who recently introduced the bill. “To require them also to pay their abuser alimony or to give them a share of their pension or household goods is cruel and makes a mockery of the intent behind the laws governing the fair division of assets in a divorce.”

A victim of marital rape, sodomy, and forced oral copulation urged lawmakers to make this change in the divorce and spousal support laws. Crystal Harris was ordered to pay $1,000 a month before her husband Shawn Harris was convicted and sent to state prison for six years. The San Diego Superior Court judge considered the domestic violence when figuring the spousal support and reduced her obligation from $3,000 to $1,000. Crystal had a financial consultant job whereas her husband had been out of work for several years when their 12-year marriage ended. She was also ordered to pay $47,000 of the $100,000 legal fees from the divorce proceedings. Crystal felt victimized again when she was ordered to pay this even though he had committed three serious felonies.

Since Shawn is in prison, he does not receive spousal support but when he gets out, he could currently ask the courts for spousal support unless AB1522 passes. AB1522 would also allow the injured spouse to not pay the legal and attorney fees the convicted spouse owes in any divorce proceedings. This would make a big difference throughout all of California for victims of spousal assault and sex crimes.

Victims should contact a divorce and domestic violence attorney that can promptly and effectively uphold your rights when a situation occurs that harms you or the children. An experienced attorney can be your ally to help with legal and safety concerns in these times of need.

Renee Cary writes for Irvine divorce attorney, Gerald Maggio of The Maggio Law Firm. To learn more about Irvine divorce lawyer, Gerald Maggio visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

This reported case is a prime example of a medical procedure gone wrong when done by someone who was not as well trained as the primary doctor on the case. The 29-year-old woman suffered a miscarriage in 2007 and was slated for a dilation and curettage. She assumed that her obstetrician would be doing the job. It turned out to be a hospital resident who perforated her uterus with ring forceps, snagged a section of her bowel and tore her rectum. What a nightmare.

As a result of the torn bowel, the woman needed an ileostomy in place for three months while she healed. However, she sustained permanent injuries that included the loss of a section of her bowel and her rectum. She is no longer able to have regular bowel movements and suffers intense pain from scarring. In other words, her life has been permanently turned upside down.

The medical malpractice lawsuit filed in this case resulted in a $2.5 million medical malpractice verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Medical negligence? In a word, yes. However, this isn’t the only issue raised by this case. The other issue is who is performing your medical procedures? Most people simply assume their regular doctor or the specialist they have seen will be doing the work. What happens in some cases is that new doctors, just graduating, garner experience in teaching hospitals. How else would they get experience?

While this may be well and good, and getting experience is indeed necessary, it is incumbent on the more senior and experienced doctor to properly supervise those new doctors. Patient safety needs to be their first priority in all cases. Without proper supervision, bad things may happen, just like this case demonstrates. This is where informed consent comes in. The patient must be told everything that is relevant to their treatment, and that includes the fact that their medical procedure may be performed by someone else. Anything less is a recipe for disaster as this story so clearly illustrates.

Have you been in a situation like this? Did you discover after a medical procedure that your doctor did not do it and you have serious issues as a result of the operation? This is something that needs to be discussed with a knowledgeable Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. This is a serious issue and the lawyer will have you review everything that happened to you.

If your life has been turned completely inside out as a result of medical negligence, the person responsible must be held accountable. This is why your situation needs to be assessed by a competent Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. If you have a case, you will know about it right away.

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

A lot of strange cases cross the police blotter. Some are bizarre. Some are perplexing and others gut-wrenchingly stupid. This case is one of those. What this woman was thinking, and it is clear that she was not, is beyond comprehension.

The 41-year-old woman, arrested by police for drunk driving and causing an accident, was so dead-set on getting and staying drunk that she left her 3-year-old daughter home by herself at night. Three years old and her mother goes out on the town. Life is stranger than fiction. While mom was out kicking a few back and being sociable, she also decided she was able to drive. Why not? She left her 3-year-old at home alone, thinking that was ok. Why not drink and drive as well?

Predictably, the woman nailed another car that had been trying to turn left onto an avenue. Did she stay at the scene? No, she fled. The police found her later, sitting in her parked car, with the airbag deployed and serious front end damage from the accident, silently regarding her steering wheel like it was an alien object. This is likely since she was so loaded. It was not rocket science to ascertain the woman was drunk. What rocked the police officer taking her statement was the admission her 3-year-old was alone at home, and sure enough she was, crying because she was afraid to be alone without her mom.

The cop promptly called social services, and the youngster was taken to a family member’s home until her mother sobered up. That may turn out to be a long time, as she was charged with DWI, neglect and cruelty to a child, was cited for fleeing the scene of an accident, refusing a breathalyzer test, and careless driving.

The other person involved in this accident was thankfully not badly injured, but their car was heavily damaged. Nonetheless, the other driver did head to the hospital to get checked over. What rights does that other driver have? They have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the woman to recover damages for personal injuries and damage to their vehicle. Will the case go to court? It may, but if insurance is involved, an Austin personal injury lawyer may be able to negotiate a reasonable settlement with the insurance company. Don’t try this on your own. The insurance company would rather make you take their first low ball offer, than help you.

Any time you are faced with a mess like this accident, call an Austin personal injury lawyer and find out if you have a case. Never assume you have nothing, or conversely, have something without talking to qualified legal counsel. Knowledge is power and offers you the right information on which to proceed.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Every major country in the world needs to rein in their economy. The U.S. is no different. The health of that economy is typically built on the populace working and paying taxes. You get the idea. Those with top notch skills make the most, and thus pay higher taxes, leading to the conclusion that the nation needs more highly skilled people like engineers and applied technologists. Sadly, there are not as many as there could be, for two reasons.

American students are not heading into those areas, which will prompt a serious shortage of American talent to fill those positions. If you can’t fill the positions at home, you fill them from outside the country, despite the complaints that would pour in. This is quite similar to the argument that aliens are taking American jobs in the agricultural sector, when in reality Americans don’t want those jobs and won’t work them. This is why, in part, immigration is such a contentious issue, and has been for so many years.

Simply put, if American students are not applying for engineering and technology jobs in the numbers needed for the future, employers will look elsewhere. What is the solution to this conundrum? The obvious one is to encourage American students to study in the fields that will drive our nation’s future. That means more resources to hawk the necessity of such a career and how it will ultimately affect our future. If the country needs more engineering and technology graduates, they need to take action. In the meantime, to deal with the issue now, immigration reform needs to become a reality.

While most Americans tend to regard the immigration reform issue as one of securing the border and keeping out illegal immigrants, the issue has far greater ramifications than one could possibly imagine. The lack of U.S. engineers and technologists is just one of them. Again, if we can’t find what we need at home, employers turn to cross border recruitment. But also consider this, America is a nation of immigrants, some of them here illegally, that could fill engineering and technology positions if they were legal. You see the issue?

Right now, major engineering and technology companies virtually have their hands tied when it comes to hiring outside of the U.S. They find a good candidate, but getting the permission to hire them is a dog and pony show with immigration issues. The irony is that our universities train some of the top people in these fields; talent that wants to stay in the U.S. and talent that is not American born. Thanks to the mess the immigration system is in, nine times out of ten, these individuals are driven out of the country instead. How does this make sense? It doesn’t, and more people are realizing this.

Immigration lawyers have known this for years, but no one listens. Employers have known this for years, but no one listens. Immigrants have known this for years, but no one listens. Now, there are some beginning to pay attention to the message. Business leaders and well placed political advocates are pointing out that our ability to compete in the global marketplace depends on our talent. If we, as a nation, are indeed serious about making changing to resolve the lousy economic situation, we need to provide the tools to succeed to those who are working to become our future, and that means doing something about the immigration system.

Sally Odell – Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, PA is an immigration lawyer in Miami with immigration law offices in Orlando and Miami Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com.

The new conditions were introduced in December as part of an ongoing effort to innovate and streamline the agency’s work, according to Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue.

The conditions that were added to the list mostly are immune system, mental and neurological disorders, according to a press release from the agency. They include the following:

• Malignant Multiple Sclerosis

• ALS or Parkinsonism Dementia Complex

• Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma

• Angelman Syndrome

• Paraneoplastic Pemphigus

• Multicentric Castleman Disease

• Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

• Lewy Body Dementia

• Primary Effusion Lymphoma

• Corticobasal Degeneration

• Lowe Syndrome

• Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

• Multiple System Atrophy

The SSA’s Compassionate Allowances program spots conditions that always meet the standard of disability for the purpose of Social Security Disability Insurance. This way, once an individual is diagnosed with the specific condition, their case can be moved more quickly through the system.

“We need to keep innovating and making our work more efficient,” Astrue said in a press release. “With our Compassionate Allowances program, we quickly approved disability benefits for more than 60,000 people with severe disabilities in the past fiscal year. We have made significant improvements, but we can always do more.”

The Compassionate Allowances program began in 2008 with only 50 conditions. The original list included cancers, rare genetic disorders, adult brain disorders and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. With the addition of 13 in December, the program now lists 113 conditions that can be moved through the agency with less stress for the individual, according to the release.

New technologies made available to the agency allow for faster identification of individuals with Compassionate Allowances so that quick decisions can be made.

The agency is committed to the relatively young program as an efficient upgrade of protocol. In the fall, the Social Security Administration launched a grant program available to graduate students to help the agency improve its list. The agency already awarded a grant worth $1.5 million over the course of five years to a group called Policy Research Inc.

The Disability Determination Process Small Grant Program is designed to improve the disability process. The program is actively looking for graduate students to apply for grant stipends for relevant research that is innovative in the field of disabilities.

The agency also recently upgraded the disability application online for individuals with conditions on the Compassionate Allowances list.

Robert Alston is with Alston & Baker, PA. To contact a Zephyrhills Social Security Disability Insurance attorney or Zephyrhills Social Security lawyer, call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.

Some parents battle with the scenario of their ex always paying late or never the full amount.

What is sad is that some exes do this to spite their ex-wife or ex-husband, but it really hurts the child. In turn, millions of kids are not receiving the support that helps them live a happier, healthier life. Before things get out of hand, there are enforcement methods to make every effort to get an ex to pay. Custodial parents should not just give up, and child support attorneys can help to make sure your child support order is followed. Courts can also require an obligor to pay one year of child support up front. Your ex must show proof of the deposit. This child support “security deposit” will get put into an interest-bearing account and withdrawals can only happen with court authorization.

One of the easiest ways to ensure child support is paid for is through wage assignment. The employer of the obligor can be served an earnings assignment order, which means that the child support will be automatically deducted from the ex’s earnings. These orders also show that the ex must notify you about a change of employment, and the new employer’s contact info, within 10 days of being on a new job.

A judgment lien can also get assessed on your ex’s real property if they owe past due child support. The lien is recorded with an Abstract of Support Judgment. Then, when the debtor tries to sell the property or get a loan from the asset with the lien, he or she will be forced to pay it off. Most lenders and purchasers of this property will be unable to proceed when there is a lien on the property, so this effective enforcement method should be reviewed.

A custodial parent can also enforce child support payments through a writ of execution. A county sheriff, marshal, or registered process server will serve the obligor with the writ of execution. This will seize the funds, real or tangible personal property, or sell the real or tangible personal property and deliver to proceeds to the custodial parent.

Custodial parents should know that timely action is needed to get the child support you are due. Contempt proceedings can be held to enforce the child support order or judgment. Every month where your ex has not paid in full can be punished as separate count. And they can be responsible for paying the custodial parent’s legal costs due to the enforcement proceedings.

Renee Cary writes for Irvine divorce attorney, Gerald Maggio of The Maggio Law Firm. To learn more about Irvine divorce lawyer, Gerald Maggio visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

This reported medical negligence case strikes close to home for many Americans who do not like getting needles, or who are afraid of something bad happening after they get a shot. That is precisely what happened in this instance; a young teen lost both arms and legs as the result of a vaccination error made 13 years ago.

Here is what happened. When Jane Doe was born, she had intestinal problems. As a result of that, her spleen and some other organs were removed. This meant that since the spleen filters bacteria and incipient viruses, she needed medications to prevent infections. With that information, her mother took her daughter to the medical school’s pediatric unit for a checkup in 1998.

A medical assistant injected her daughter with a special concoction designed to protect those without spleens. Unfortunately, the vaccine had expired five months before it was given. In other words, this case boiled down to medical negligence, a medication error. Eight months after the injection, the little girl became deathly ill with a bacterial infection; an infection that promoted the formation of blood clots in her arms and legs. This led to gangrene and the emergency amputation of her arms and legs above the joints. The girl contracted the very disease she was supposed to have been inoculated against.

The jury awarded $12.6 million, an award that will be cut nearly in half, as the jury also found the mother to be 40 percent at fault. The reason the jury assessed a 40 percent fault to the mother was based on an argument made by defense counsel that suggested the baby would have become sick despite the expired vaccine. A medical expert testified the mother had not given her enough medication to help her fend off the infection.

Medical negligence comes in many forms, and medication errors are just one of those forms. For any individual who has had a bad outcome in a medical situation, they need to speak with a qualified, competent Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Medical malpractice cases are exceedingly difficult for everyone, and often take a long time to be resolved. This case took 13 years to be determined.

However, one thing should be noted, and that is not all instances of a bad medical outcome are classified as medical malpractice. This is the main reason why it is crucial to discuss your case details with an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to get an idea if you have a case. The lawyer is able to explain what constitutes malpractice and whether or not your situation may be one of malpractice or not.

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

This is one of those cases where you wonder where people left their brains. The driver of the pickup that caused this fatal wreck was more than drunk when he attempted to drive home at 3 a.m. He wasn’t doing a very good job of staying between the lines or staying on the road at all. In fact, his driving was so erratic that he slammed into a car carrying three younger men who happened to be heading in the same direction the 28-year-old pick-up driver was going.

But for a night out on the town, three men would still be alive today. The pickup driver survived but was in critical condition. The other three victims never had a chance. The hospitalized survivor was charged with driving with a blood alcohol content over .08, impaired driving causing death and manslaughter. While it is unusual to also lay a manslaughter charge in a case like this, there were several factors the police considered: the aggressively high rate of speed the drunk was maintaining and the level of impairment, which was objectively dangerous enough to kill someone.

Whatever happened to common sense? It appears to have gone out the window when the pickup driver made the assumption, or glaringly bad judgment, to attempt to drive when he was totally drunk. The families of the three dead young men have sought legal counsel in this matter, and it is safe to say that all three will likely file wrongful death lawsuits. The families are left with nothing but memories. The survivor is left with memories, but one imagines they won’t make him quit drinking. Somehow, that never happens. Instead, the deaths become another reason to continue getting drunk.

Death by drunk driver is one of the toughest types of accidents to understand and for good reason. The accident just never should have happened in the first place. Those who drive are responsible for the safety of others on the road. That is just the way it is. Those who speed, drive recklessly, drive under the influence of something or drive negligently are responsible for their actions and for their negligence that maimed or killed others.

If you have been involved in an accident with a drunk driver, call an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer to understand what your rights are and how to pursue a lawsuit to recover compensation for your injuries. While cases like this may take some time to go through the court system or be settled, with a seasoned Austin personal injury lawyer handling the case, justice will be done.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Recently, an interesting report was released to the public dealing with U.S. medical malpractice insurance, and the fact that it was tied directly to the structure of health care delivery. This should be of interest to many Americans, as very few of us escape dealing with a doctor over the course of our lives. Evidently, from the research conducted, the future health and success of the medical malpractice insurance market depends on how health care will be delivered.

Maybe that’s not so far-fetched come to think of it. Everyone knows health care is in turmoil and trying to pay for medical care can just about bankrupt anyone who gets a bill and tries to pay it.

The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act will favor physicians operating in an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). This move is anticipated to have a significant impact on the medical malpractice insurance market immediately and likely in the long-term too. This is largely because hospitals are more aggressively trying to absorb independent solo or smaller doctor’s practices and their patient base with an eye on creating bigger ACOs for themselves.

The bigger the ACO, the more money there is to be made. Along with that though comes the sure knowledge that the bigger an organization, the greater the chance for screw-ups and medical malpractice lawsuits. That’s a virtual given as the bigger businesses get, the less they seem to be able to communicate properly or accurately. Once again, patient safety and welfare will be at risk.

How will this affect the medical malpractice insurance market? Larger malpractice insurance companies should survive, as they have the customer base to support change, but smaller insurers may go the way of ghost towns. If that does happen, look for the larger companies to acquire the smaller ones. Bigger insurance companies may offer lower prices on health insurance policies or they may not because they would have a market monopoly and can do what they please.

Changes are necessary for the affordability of health care in the United States. However, change is not always welcome to patients or doctors for that matter. No matter what does happen though, medical malpractice insurers will always be around. It’s too lucrative a market to miss out on, which just goes to point out that when it comes to insurance companies, their bottom line is making money and not caring for their customers.

If they did care for their customers, they would not work tirelessly to reduce, diminish or deny valid claims by finding obscure loopholes in policies. If customers truly understood what really drives an insurance company, meaning their motive to be in business, they would be rightfully horrified. What will the future bring? Who knows, but if you need insurance, get it now while you can as the prices are somewhat competitive.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

No one knew how their co-worker got tangled up in a press machine. No one apparently saw what happened the night the man was killed, and the police will spend time trying to find out if something was wrong with the machine as well.

Brady Perkins worked a late shift at a sign making company. Somehow, he managed to get stuck in a press machine and was crushed to death. The pickup truck sized machine was known to be dangerous, and workers were trained to handle it with care. How Perkins got into the machine and got crushed without someone hearing him is still unclear.

What is clear is that the man is dead and his family is in serious shock over the incident. How could it have happened? What was he doing that would make him climb into the machine? Was there something wrong with it? A mechanical failure of some sort? Was he cleaning it? Servicing it? Did someone come by, not see him in the machine and turn it on? For sure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be onsite to conduct their own investigation into the death.

This man’s family will need expert counsel from a competent personal injury attorney with a track record in representing families in wrongful death cases. Something went wrong here, and once it is figured out, the family will likely opt to file a lawsuit. They just lost their major breadwinner and will be desperate for money to pay bills, burial and funeral expenses. It will be a nightmare for them.

In order to deal with their death expenses, the family might want to find out more about accessing litigation funding. It is not unusual for them to find themselves facing a major crisis financially speaking, and waiting for a lawsuit to be settled or make its way through court might take a very long time. Over time, financial difficulties will get worse. The good news is pre-settlement funding can help.

A litigation funding company offers a lawsuit cash advance. It is funding for the plaintiff and if they are approved, they will get it in advance of a pending settlement or jury verdict. With a lawsuit loan in the bank, the victim may pay medical bills for any necessary surgeries, medications and any other financial obligations. They do not need to suffer economically when litigation funding is accessible for eligible plaintiffs.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

This is a good question, and the answer is that it would depend on what kind of bankruptcy is filed. There are two commonly filed bankruptcies, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is usually the quickest and easiest form of bankruptcy. A Chapter 13, also called the wage earners plan, lets a debtor with a regular paycheck create a repayment plan to get rid of part of or all of their debts during a three to five year period.

In the case of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, if medical care was provided before the debtor filed, those debts are considered to be a part of the bankruptcy process. In that case, they would be discharged. On the other hand, if the medical care was rendered after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is filed, that debt is not a part of the proceeding. This means the debtor would have to pay the bill on their own.

No one can predict when they are going to be hurt and need to go to the hospital or need on-going medical care. Unexpected bills happen to everyone from time to time. This means you need to move forward with caution when filing. After you have filed a Chapter 7, you must wait eight years before filing another Chapter 7. If you are unable to or do not want to pay medical creditors, they have the option to pursue filing a lawsuit against you. If they are successful, they may be able to foreclose on your property, attach liens, garnish wages or seize assets.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your disposal income is a part of the process of bankruptcy, and it is used to make monthly payments in accordance with the repayment plan you submitted to the courts. In other words, it is an ongoing plan, and that means you may amend the schedule as you move forward to include medical debts. They are prioritized and added in to the order of payments. Any unpaid, unsecured debt, such as medical bills may be discharged.

Even though it is possible to add medical debt repayment to a Chapter 13, there are other consequences. The biggest one is the added expense you face to try and meet your debt repayment plan. If you are unable to pay, or miss payments, the plan may be dismissed. This would put you right back where you started from in the first place.

There are exceptions to be considered in either instance, and it is wise to contact a qualified Iowa bankruptcy lawyer and find out what options are open to you in your particular case.

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.

There is over-prescribing, as in a bit too much for the body weight and age of a person. Usually, there is no harm done and the dose is adjusted. However, there is over-prescribing, as in way too much to be tolerated by just about anyone. The results? Severe reactions or death. In this case, there was a death.

This is a story about an endocrinologist who, for some unknown reason, handed a man a prescription for thyroid medication, but it was not what would be considered a normal dose. It was several times higher than what is typically recommended by the drug maker. So what happened?

Patient X took a trip to see an endocrinologist about problems he was having. She diagnosed him with thyroid problems, and handed him a prescription for thyroid medication. On the surface this is a normal enough thing, but when the man got home, he noticed the dose prescribed was several times higher than usually recommended. He took it anyway. What patient wouldn’t think to not take it? The doctor handed it out, so it must be right.

Never assume that a medication with an oddly high dose is the correct amount to take. Call the pharmacist, check online or get a second opinion. It’s your health, which raises another interesting question. What was the drug store doing handing over a really high dose of thyroid medications to a patient without checking with the doctor or having a discussion with the patient?

The man died of a massive health attack within a few days after starting to take the medication. His family spoke to a personal injury lawyer about filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Eventually, an arbitrator handed down a $1.2 million award in this case. The reason? The doctor had committed medical malpractice by over-prescribing the man’s thyroid medication. Did you know that this kind of medical error is far too common, and that lawyers handling medical malpractice cases see this type of case a lot? That should make you want to double check any and all medicines you get.

During the course of the arbitration process between the parties it was pointed out, and rightfully so, that even the doctor should follow the drug maker’s instructions to figure out what dose is right for a patient. That is what they are trained to do; do no harm by being cautious and using common sense. Every medication has age and weight guidelines to be used while also factoring in pre-existing conditions and the patient’s medical history. It looks like the doctor did not bother to check any of that and that Patient X became one of the 20,000-plus deaths chalked up to drug overdosing in 2011.

All medications have age and weight recommendations on the label, and while they may not be accurate for some people, the dose would still be low enough to adjust it to the right level without killing the patient. No one in their right mind would double or triple a dose of a medication without gradually increasing it within the accepted parameters of patient safety. What this doctor was thinking is a complete mystery to the deceased’s family, their lawyer and the arbitrator, which accounts for the $1.2 million award.

If you have ever been overdosed, for whatever reason, and have suffered some untenable results, speak to a qualified Brattleboro medical malpractice lawyer. Do not wait until the statute of limitations has run out, or you will not be able to file a lawsuit. While you are discussing your case with a Brattleboro medical malpractice lawyer, ask him to explain what does and does not constitute medical malpractice. Many people think every bad outcome with a doctor is medical negligence. It is not. Know the difference.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

This is one of the worst types of accidents on record due to death by decapitation that was caused by a wood chipper. It’s difficult to imagine that kind of a thing happening, but it did, much to the shock and horror of the man’s family. Evidently, the man was handling various types of debris and tree branches while feeding them into the wood chipper. On the surface, this is a fairly straightforward job, but one that needs to follow safety precautions.

The man operating the wood chipper was guiding a very large piece of wood through it when it appears the guide rope got stuck during the process. The rope wrapped around the man’s neck, slicing his head off. He had no chance to save himself, as his hand was nowhere near the shut-off switch.

Police at the scene feel that the rope was tangled in the brush being chipped, got caught on one of the tines and yanked him off his feet with such force he could not get untangled or reach the off switch. It appeared that the machine was a chuck-and-duck chipper, referring to the speed materials were processed through and dropped into the drum. These wood chippers are noted as having major safety issues, such as operators getting snagged on material being fed into the machine.

The initial assessment of the death was that it was an accident. Further investigation will reveal if it was or not. Consider if the wood chipper was faulty and this accident was as a result of an improperly maintained machine, an imbalance in the internal feeder mechanism, or lack of proper safety training. There are a number of explanations for the death, other than by misadventure on the part of the deceased. Should that be the case, the manufacturer of the chipper would be named in the lawsuit and perhaps the company that owned the chipper and employed the dead man.

For the family left behind in the wake of this shocking event, their first course of action should involve contacting a wrongful death lawyer and discussing their options. Should they be able to file a wrongful death action, they will need to know where they may source funding to allow them to wait until their case is handled by the justice system.

They might want to start their search by contacting a litigation funding company; a firm that specializes in lawsuit loans, approved in advance of an expected court settlement. Pre-settlement funding is designed to help victims (and their families) move forward in a financially secure way to deal with their bills. Lawsuit loans are often used to pay medical expenses, but they may be used to pay for anything such as student loans, mortgages or car loans.

Litigation funding is considered to be an emergency loan to help the plaintiff deal with their financial situation and give them breathing room while their lawyer deals with their case. If the case is lost, the plaintiff does not pay the legal funding back. It’s a good deal for plaintiffs, and worth checking out.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

There are a number of debt reduction companies in the marketplace that say they can negotiate you a lower interest rate, cut what you owe by at least 50 percent and not affect your credit rating. It does sound good. However, these agencies often do not deliver what they promise, and there is a difference between bankruptcy and debt reduction.

For those individuals who owe more than they can pay, finding help through a debt reduction company or declaring bankruptcy are two of the leading options available to them. However, it is wise to know the differences before you proceed. Bankruptcy is a legal option that lets debtors either eliminate all or most of their debts via filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Typically Chapter 7 clears all debts. Chapter 13 is a renegotiated debt with a more affordable payment.

Each state has different bankruptcy laws, and so it is wise to speak with an Iowa bankruptcy lawyer to understand what your options are in Iowa. During that discussion, you will find out if bankruptcy will help you with your particular circumstances. While declaring bankruptcy does provide financial relief, there are consequences. The biggest one is the reduction of your credit score that remains on your record for up to ten years.

If you are considering debt reduction, also referred to as consolidation, with a company that says it can help you, you will discover they help by combining all your payments into one payment a month, usually lower than what you currently pay. This sounds good. However, most of these types of companies do not have a debtor’s best interests at heart. Their main goal seems to be scaring the debtor into using their services by telling them how bad their credit report will be, which is a given, even if you declare bankruptcy. This is not news.

Most of these companies are able to come up with a lower monthly total, because it is spread out over a much longer period of time. This means you will pay quite a lot more to retire your debt. While this option might suit you, and you may not mind paying back more over a longer period of time, it is wise to consider both bankruptcy and debt reduction before making any final decisions. If you are not certain which route to take, consider speaking with a qualified Iowa bankruptcy lawyer.

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 Department of Veterans Affairs has earmarked about $792 million of the fiscal year 2012 budget toward the final stages of completion for the new hospitals. That is less than one half of a percent of the VA’s massive $140 billion budget.

The new VA Hospital in New Orleans is under construction in the mid-city area of town. Congress appropriated funds for a new VA hospital in New Orleans in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city’s former facility.

The Replacement Medical Center in New Orleans is a 1.5 million square foot hospital with 120 inpatient beds and 60 beds for transitional care. The new VA hospital is being built to withstand hurricanes like the one that shut down its predecessor. It will be able to run for a week without resupply, it has a heliport and boat docks for evacuations and all mission-critical technologies are stored 20 feet above ground, according to the VA.

The new VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System in Las Vegas is scheduled to open this year. The Vegas VA hospital will have 201 beds in both inpatient and nursing home/extended care. It will be more than 1 million square feet on about 150 acres at 6900 N. Pecos Road in Las Vegas.

The new hospital will have a diagnosis and treatment building, an ambulatory care building, a community center and a mental health building, according to the VA.

In Orlando, Fla., the new VA Medical Center will be co-located with the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, the Nemours Children’s Hospital, the Burnham Institute and the University of Florida College of Medicine in an area known as Medical City.

The 314-bed Orlando VA will have 1.2 million square feet and cost about $665 million. The beds will be split between inpatient services, a community living center and a domiciliary. The Orlando VA hospital is expected to open in 2012.

Finally, the new VA hospital development in Denver, known as Project Eagle, is a $580.2 million facility on the site of the former Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center. The 180-bed Denver VA Medical Center will include a 30-bed center for spinal cord injuries and disorders. Project Eagle is expected to finish in early 2015.

The next four cities on the VA’s list for new medical centers are Seattle, St. Louis, Dallas and Palo Alto, Calif., according to the VA’s 2013 fiscal year budget proposal. All of these centers will be dedicated to the treatment and care of America’s 22 million veterans and more than a million new veterans expected to leave active duty during the next five years.

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

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.

“Even in this tough economy, people still buy and sell homes; even those on a budget. It is possible, provided you choose with care. For instance, one of the best ways to remodel a home is by using marble mosaic tiles. You don’t have to go whole home; just do a bit here and there and keep working on it over time. The results will be quite amazing and very attractive,” assured Dean Dupre, who owns Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company.

Marble mosaic tiles add style to a home with their beautiful artistry. Additionally, they come in ready-to-install sizes and shapes. What could possibly be easier? These mosaic tiles are not only easy to install, they are easy to clean and maintain. The polished tiles are typically the tile of choice, largely due to their water resistance. “So if you want to liven up a room or two, you could put these attractive tiles in the kitchen and bathroom or by the outdoor pool,” Dupre suggested.

Every home could have marble mosaic tiles on the same block and no one would have the same thing. They come in an enormous range of colors and texture, and a buyer can get literally anything they want. Whether they choose to buy online or visit a showroom, the price of marble mosaic tiles is still affordable, and the results are stunningly impressive.

“If you’re looking for long lasting tiles that are cost effective, decorative and easy to self install, marble mosaic tiles would fit the bill. Yes, it takes patience to install if you’re doing it yourself, plus an eye for detail, but it can be done. If you’re not certain about wanting to tackle such a job, you might want to call a Tampa flooring specialist and have them quote the job,” Dupre suggested. It is always better to hire an expert if there any doubts about the quality and ease of self installation.

There is a myth floating around that marble mosaic tiles take a lot of time to clean. Typically, if there are serious spills, frequent exposure to moisture and improper care, this would be true. However, if a homeowner takes the time to care for their tiles, they are easy to maintain. “If you want, you can cover the flooring with a rug and sweep it daily to keep the grit factor at bay. It would be a shame to cover such a beautiful floor with carpet, but the choice is ultimately yours to make. Just know that marble mosaic tile is a breeze to care for and will retain its beauty for years to come,” stated Dupre.

To learn more, visit http://www.champtile.com.

The summit was a long-awaited breakthrough for critics of U.S. immigration law ¨C particularly as it pertains to visas for post-graduate professionals.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started the Entrepreneurs in Residence program last October to gather industry expertise from both the private and the public sector in an attempt to spur job growth through the employment based visa program.

“USCIS gained invaluable insights from prominent entrepreneurs and industry leaders on immigration issues critical to our nation’s economic prosperity,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas after the Feb. 22 summit.

More than 150 representatives of the business community, government agencies and academia attended the summit to help USCIS use immigration law reform as a tool to promote entrepreneurship and bolster American prosperity, according to a press release from USCIS.

“The introduction of expert views from the private and public sectors will help us ensure that our policies and processes fully realize the immigration laws’ potential to grow our economy and create American jobs,” Mayorkas said in the release.

The summit was organized to give some direction to the Entrepreneurs in Residence’s new tactical team. The tactical team is made up of USCIS employees and business experts working to create clear, consistent immigration pathways for foreign entrepreneurs. All of this is being done to align visa policy with current business realities, according to the release.

The team is designed to streamline USCIS policy across all of the non-immigrant visa categories that entrepreneurs use in business.

The slowdown of the U.S. economy since the financial and housing market crash of 2008 has inspired the USCIS to begin thinking of ways to affect economic growth through smart visa policy. This inspiration has happened, in part, because of the chorus of voices from the technology industry begging for reform.

USCIS announced the Entrepreneurs in Residence initiative during President Barak Obama’s Council of Jobs and Competitiveness in Pittsburgh in October of 2011.

At the February summit, Mayorkas recognized five entrepreneurs who are American immigrants as Outstanding Americans by Choice. Those five entrepreneurs, who are now naturalized citizens, are researcher and writer Vivek Wadhwa; Michael Moritz, partner at Sequoia Capital; Christopher Che, president and CEO of the Che International Group; Shervin Pishervar, managing partner at Menlo Ventures; and Ping Fu, president and CEO of Geomagic.

The Outstanding American by Choice is an honor given to naturalized citizens for achievements in professional achievement, civic participation and responsible citizenship.

Mayorkas also performed a naturalization ceremony, welcoming 20 Silicon Valley residents to become U.S. citizens.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

When Aston Meadows bought the land, no oil and gas production was occurring. But in 2007, they sued Devon and its parent company for allegedly drilling horizontally under their property. Aston claimed that Devon’s lease was invalid because it was not recorded in Tarrant County’s records. Aston claimed they were owed damages for trespass, conversion, breach of contract and unpaid royalties, and that they were entitled to injunctive relief.

The Texas Property Code generally provides that a property transaction is properly recorded when it is recorded in the county wherein a “…part of the property is located”. This thereby gives notice to everyone of “…the existence of the instrument”. When a piece of land crosses multiple counties, if a transfer involving that land is recorded in either county, it is usually deemed sufficient constructive notice to all persons of the transfer.

Since the lease owned by Devon Energy spanned two counties and was recorded in one of them, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment in Devon’s favor.

Oil and gas disputes can be complex. They involve precious land assets and may turn on intricate issues of title. Aston Meadow’s title policy did not show the lease as an encumbrance. Nevertheless, Aston lost their case. This case illustrates why it is crucial to have a knowledgeable and experienced Texas oil and gas attorney in your corner if you are dealing with an oil company or involved in an oil and gas dispute.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin oil and gas attorney, Austin oil and gas litigation attorney, and Austin business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit Theaustintriallawyer.com.

This increase in veterans to serve means a larger budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs. President Barack Obama’s proposed budget includes $140.3 billion for the VA to cover the 2012 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The budget proposal now must be approved by Congress. It is about a 10 percent increase over the last VA budget.

The VA must balance their budget while caring for the needs of soldiers returning from more than 10 years of war in the Middle East with the agency’s commitments to veterans from previous conflicts.

The requested budget includes $76 billion for mandatory spending, mostly for pensions and disability compensation. It also includes $64 billion in discretionary funds, most of which goes into medical care, according to the VA.

The VA’s budget supports a health care system with 8.8 million beneficiaries and its programs service 12 million veterans, families and servicemembers. It also supports home loan guarantees, education benefits, the eighth largest program for life insurance in the country, and America’s largest cemetery system.

The VA expects almost 6.5 million patients will use the agency for their health care during the next fiscal year. The President’s budget includes a medical care increase of about 4.1 percent over last year to $52.7 billion. These increases include upgrades in funding for mental health care and gender-specific health care for female veterans coming home from war, according to the VA.

The health care budget also includes $792 million to activate new health care facilities in Orlando, Fla., New Orleans, Denver and Las Vegas. Almost $400 million is flagged for continued construction on medical units in St. Louis, Dallas, Seattle and Palo Alto, Calif.

The proposed VA budget also includes funding for a new jobs program called the Veterans Jobs Corps. This new initiative is designed to leverage skills that veterans attained during military service for a variety of jobs in the United States. The Veterans Jobs Corps could put as many as 20,000 veterans to work here rebuilding or restoring public lands.

The budget also funds efforts to combat veteran homelessness issues. There is almost $1.4 billion set aside for efforts that will treat or prevent homelessness among veterans in the FY 2013 budget. This 33 percent increase represents a commitment to end veteran homelessness by 2015.

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

The act would cover approximately 70,000 miles of railroad track nationwide. The National Transportation Safety Board has promoted this technology for more than 20 years, as it notes that most accidents are a result of human error. Passengers are due a safe ride and communities that surround the tracks deserve to be free of accidents that can unleash hazardous materials into their neighborhoods. NTSB investigators say that 21 train wrecks could have been avoided since 2001 if PTC had been installed, thus preventing 53 deaths and 1,000 injuries.

A PTC system monitors a train via GPS, wireless technology, and central control centers. PTC can stop a train if it enters the wrong track or is about to go through a red light. Connecticut has 634 rail crossings and since 2000, 70 people have died in rail accidents, reports the Greenwich Times. The five most dangerous crossings in the state are: Crescent Street in Stamford, Flatbush Avenue in West Hartford, Bridge Street in Windsor Locks, Commerce Street in Norwalk, and Division Street in Ansonia.

The rail corridor from New Haven to Springfield is currently being upgraded, and 38 crossings will either be enhanced or closed, according to the Greenwich Times. The upgrades also will allow double the amount of trains to be on current lines, such as through Meriden and Wallingford, and drastically increase speeds from 38 miles per hour to 110 in certain areas. In Connecticut, as in many other states with active train riding and transportation modes, tracks go over private driveways, busy urban streets, office areas, factories, and recreational areas. The chances for catastrophic injuries increase as speeds go higher, PTC is not installed, and the general public is left vulnerable.

A personal injury attorney can help an individual or their loved ones who are dealing with a serious injury or wrongful death due to a railroad accident. Railroad companies are responsible for making sure their tracks, railroad cars, and employees are accountable for their carelessness or negligence. Until PTC is on more tracks, more injuries and deaths will occur because of inaction.

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 bathroom is likely the second most frequented place in the home, right after the kitchen. Why not make it look marvelous? After all, if you spend a lot of time in there, it might as well be appealing. If you’re thinking about upgrading it, take some time to sit down and sketch out some bathroom designs. For this, you will want to take a look at what is on the market in terms of bathroom tile, and visit a Clearwater flooring contractor to see what is popular,” suggested Dean Dupre, who owns Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company.

There are so many different types of bathroom tiles on the market today that it should not be hard to find something to make the powder room come alive. The sky is the limit, and when considering what would work in the bathroom, go with what is appealing, colorful, unique and creates a relaxing atmosphere. “After all, it’s your bathroom and you can do what you want in it,” added Dupre.

For those that would rather let a Clearwater flooring contractor do the work, they might want to spend some time finding out what types of tile would work in their living space and what kind of tile would add value to the home and improve its overall appearance and presentation.

Selecting tile for the bathroom is more about determining the mood that makes everyone feel like they want to spend time in there. It is about themes, textures, patterns and eye appeal. “Based on what you want, like and feel comfortable with, you can pick anything that appeals to you, and even have it suit your budget as well,” Dupre indicated.

Remember that when choosing bathroom tile, making the right selection for the moisture levels is a main consideration. There are a wide range of tiles to consider, including natural stone tiles, glass mosaic tiles, ceramic and porcelain tiles. “If you want a very distinctive look and feel to the bathroom, you might want to consider natural stone tiles. They are in big demand, plus they are virtually ageless and will appeal to just about everyone,” he added.

For those that like the appeal of bright and bold colors, the world of tiles is full of choices. Consider different graphics, appealing and unique patterns, natural stones, vibrant tiles or something subtle and elegant. Ideally, staying away from darker colors is a smart move, as that can make an area look smaller. “If your bathroom is a postage stamp, try neutral colors or lighter shades. It will liven the whole room up,” Dupre suggested.

To learn more, visit http://www.champtile.com.

There are a number of criteria a country must meet to participate in the program. At least one of the program’s requirements is being reviewed by Congress.

Here are some of the criteria participating countries must meet to be a part of the program.
• Must have a reciprocal program with the United States
• Must issue secure, machine-readable passports
• Must be on track to include biometric identifiers in passports
• Must report theft of blank passports to the U.S. Department of State
• Must have a low nonimmigrant refusal rate.

Refusal rates are used as a measure of the likelihood a foreign national would overstay his or her trip to the United States.

Critics argue that the overstay rates themselves would be a better measure of the propensity of a person on a business trip or vacation to stay beyond his or her allotted 90 days.

Refusal rates can be skewed if the same person is refused several times, for example. By comparison, nationals from a country with a high overstay rate likely need a visa from the State Department before visiting the United States.

There are bills before the U.S. House and Senate that would replace refusal rates with overstay rates among other tweaks to the program.

There are 36 countries in the Visa Waiver Program. About 40 million people visit the United States every year for business or vacation. Among those, almost half enter the United States from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The State Department has been under some pressure during the down economy to loosen restrictions on business and leisure travel to the United States. Travel and tourism can be a big boost on a struggling economy.

But the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have a responsibility to keep people out of the country who pose a threat to law and order or national security. There also is political pressure to keep foreign nationals out of the country who intend to stay here illegally.

There also is a movement to expand the number of countries who participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Adding countries to the list would increase the number of visitors from those countries for both business and recreation. An expanded list might also be better for security.

The United States gets more information and more useful data about counterterrorism and criminal enforcement from member nations than it does from non-member nations.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled website at http://www.visatous.com.

This story will make your blood run cold. It is about a deceased doctor in Connecticut who allegedly sexually abused hundreds of children, right under the noses of the hospital administration where he worked. This case has been in the works for a few years while negotiations were launched. Currently, the hospital is staring down the prospect of settling 17 lawsuits related to this doctor’s actions.

The former deceased employee was Dr. George Reardon, their former chief endocrinologist, accused of using a growth study to take pictures of more than 500 naked children over a 30 year period. The only reason this abuse came to light was because the people who bought Reardon’s old home found close to 60,000 pornographic pictures sealed behind a false wall.

According to the case records, the man practiced at the Hartford facility of the St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. According to the hospital’s insurance company, what they dub an incident should fall under medical malpractice coverage and not general liability coverage. If a judge agrees, this will save the insurance company millions of dollars. In other words, to avoid paying out too much, the insurance company is trying to put this horrid case into another category, instead of where it likely belongs.

There are 17 settlements that should be in the final stages of being formalized. None of the amounts involved in these cases have been revealed, and it is not expected that any further settlements of the 48 remaining cases will be available for the public to read. The remaining cases are not able to proceed until a judge rules on the insurance company’s contention that they should pay restitution out of a different liability fund.

Insurance companies exist for two reasons: to stay in business and make money from those they insure. If they have to pay out more on a claim than they get from the insured individual, they lose money. Losing money means they could go out of business. To save money, insurance companies rely on a formula called the four D’s of handling claims: “diminish, dismiss, deny and delay”, no matter how valid they may be. In this case, they are trying to deny the claims are medical malpractice to save money and delay settlements by going to court.

To be honest, this is one of those cases that speaks for itself, and no amount of fudging where the payments come from is going to change that. If the insurance company just paid out under the medical malpractice category, the issue would be put to rest. However, in the name of money, they want the rest of the victims to wait until they find out if they can swing a different opinion so they don’t have to pay what they should owe. That’s disturbing and borders on unethical.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

In some cases, the wrong lens was implanted or the surgery mishaps were discovered during the procedure. But in all cases, the patients or their loved ones should have been made aware. In a separate incident, a patient was administered Versed, which the patient was allergic to. Three medical staff had noted this on the patient’s records but the nurse went ahead and gave the medicine. No evidence was available that showed the patient or their loved ones were notified of the incident.

DPH inspectors also noted record-keeping violations at the center. They reviewed a sample of 22 records and found 18 incomplete records. Inaccurate or incomplete records can lead to mishaps and patient harm. The Waterford facility must issue a correction plan for each violation to the state.

In Bridgeport, the Robbins Eye Center also had an incident where the doctor performed eye surgery on the wrong eye. The DPH report noted that the center did not investigate how this occurred or what steps would be taken to prevent this from happening again. Follow up after surgery was also inadequate and a substantial number of patients were not assessed by either an anesthesiologist or a registered nurse after surgery. The state found that their Post Anesthesia Care Unit Manager was not even a licensed nurse and did not have proof of work experience in a surgery facility.

Inadequate sanitation was also a concern at the Bridgeport facility. DPH’s inspector found that their infection control procedures were not updated since 2007 and they did not have an infection control nurse. Also, when staff was cleaning up the operating room from a surgery, other staff were prepping and opening sterile packages for the next surgery. Infection control guidelines state that operating rooms should be fully cleaned before preparations are made for the next procedure. With all of these violations, this facility must also send a corrective action plan to the DPH.

All these incidents put patients at risk for infections and serious complications. When facilities or their staff fail to provide a standard of care or adequate services to prevent harm, they can be liable for medical malpractice and injuries they cause because of their carelessness or negligence. Patients and their loved ones have the right to file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their pain and suffering, medical bills, and other related costs.

Alexandra Reed writes forConnecticut 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.

This is an interesting situation and it serves to point out that those who do not think immigration and immigration reform is an issue sometimes get a rude awakening. It is no secret that the government has been seriously pursuing immigration enforcement in a big way, racking up large numbers of deportations.

This story involves a big hit to a national chain restaurant that employed hundreds of undocumented workers. As the result of a silent raid, one where Immigration and Customs Enforcement examines a company’s records, the national chain was found to have over 500 undocumented workers. The Denver-based company also had to lay off over half of their 900 workers in Minnesota and lost countless others in Virginia and Washington.

Needless to say, this move just about halted the company, and left it in the awkward situation of having virtually no one to run their chains. The managers that they did have left were scrambling to find replacements. This became a serious issue, as qualified workers are hard to find and to be honest, despite claims that undocumented workers are taking jobs away from Americans, the fact is few Americans want restaurant or agricultural work. Where it once only took ten interviews to find a qualified worker, managers reported interviewing up to 40 candidates to find one person to fill a position.

As a net result of losing all those workers in one swoop, the head of the restaurant chain suddenly became a proponent of overhauling the immigration system. He got the message and now had one for the government, and it is simple – fix this type of situation as something needs to be done about it. Come to think of it, if you look at what those who are for reform want, it’s the very same thing – just fix what is broken and let’s get on with our lives.

One of the suggestions to fix situations where Americans don’t want the jobs, but someone has to fill the positions is a temporary guest-worker program for the agricultural sector. However, that kind of a solution does not work when employers need qualified labor 365 days a year. In this particular case, the restaurant chain expects to have 165 outlets in operation in 2012. This is an operation that will ultimately have about 30,000 workers, half of which are Latinos.

Immigration is certainly messed up. Is someone going to fix it? Who knows?
Sally Odell – Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, PA is an immigration lawyer in Miami with immigration law offices in Orlando and Miami Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com.

Each country has its own Country Code Top Level Domains, also known as CCTLDs. Each country has its own standards, so that is why working with a skilled intellectual property attorney can help determine what legally needs to be done to get your domain up in the countries desired. Some countries require a trademark, others need local business registration, and some still require a company to have a local address to get that country’s domain attached. It is important to select a domain name that is not similar to a competitor’s name or trademark to minimize disputes.

But if you should find that someone else has taken your business’ name in bad faith and for their gain, an intellectual property lawyer can pursue the allegation of cyber squatting. Settling cross-border disputes involves showing that your business name is distinctive and that the domain name is being used in bad faith. Having a trademark already established can be crucial to protecting your business’ intellectual property.

A person or company might have obtained the domain name in bad faith, which could mean that they did so for no other reason than to resell it to you at an inflated price, to appear as though they are related to your business, or for economic gain off of your company’s good name. Cybersquatting costs $1 billion annually for U.S. businesses, reports CNN World. Countries have varying dispute resolution policies, so an attorney can help your business uphold your trademark, seek relief from the damages incurred, and halt the squatter from continuing to erode the business’ livelihood.

During the dispute resolution or court proceeding, you must show that you own a trademark that is the same or confusingly similar to the opposing party’s domain. It must be proven that the party that took the domain name has no legitimate interest in that name, and that it was registered and operated in bad faith. When these three points are evidenced, the domain name can be cancelled or transferred to the rightful trademark owner.

Anthony Spotora is a Los Angeles intellectual property lawyer and Los Angeles business attorney. To learn more, visit Spotoralaw.com.

The Law Offices of Spotora & Associates had national and international experience in domain name and intellectual property disputes. Anthony Spotora is a respected Los Angeles intellectual property lawyer and Los Angeles business attorney. To learn more, visit http://www.spotoralaw.com/.

It is no secret that medical malpractice lawsuits can be very long and drawn out, costly, and frustrating. This drawback has frustrated plaintiffs and attorneys alike, who have often been heard to say that something needs to be done about the long delay between the injury and the denouement of justice.

There have been attempts over the years to shorten up the time lag, but nothing has really been successful. You may recall that one of the efforts to speed things up was capping damages, aka tort reform, and we all know how well that did not go over since the victim gets hurt twice by the system in the process. However, there may be some hope that the process can be sped up into a shorter time period.

Typically, when a medical malpractice case is being built, the discovery process and evidence gathering may take years and involve more than one judge. Settlement talks usually do not take place until a trial is about to go to court. However, with the innovation of a new program in New York launched by a Bronx County Supreme Court administrative judge things may be expedited for such cases.

In this particular program, one judge takes care of the whole case from start to finish, with an eye on commencing negotiation talks early in the process to save time and money. This is referred to as judge-directed negotiation, and it started as an agreement in 2002 between the judge and a collective of New York hospitals and the city Health and Hospitals Corporation.

What happens in this program is that a judge with medical malpractice experience assists negotiations but does not mandate or impose any settlement figures. If those taking part in the process are not happy, they have the choice to have their case proceed through the courts in the usual way. Over time, it has been demonstrated that the parties participating in this program have found a faster resolution and financial payout very appealing.

In 2010, the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality gave them a $3 million grant and expanded the program, which is now being regarded as a viable model for a national litigation program. It’s nice that someone has been thinking out of the box to address problems. But, does this process work? It seems that it does, as by and large, medical malpractice lawsuits take up to three years and sometimes longer to resolve. Cases that were put into the New York program were handled within six to nine months. That’s a phenomenal savings of time and money.

Think this program has a place as a national medical malpractice litigation program? Let’s hope it does come to pass for the sake of those who need it the most, the victims.

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

When you can lighten up your hatred toward the ex, you can be happier when you drop them off on the ex’s parenting week or weekend or during special occasions. Treat the ex almost like a business colleague so you can keep focused on the kids’ development and your sanity. A child’s self esteem grows when they can have quality time with both parents, and does not have to be a messenger between his or her parent.

Tara Fass, a family therapist, says, “To cultivate resilience in your children, try to turn down the anger on your anxiety, disappointment and rage. How you co-parent today affects generations to come and your lineage forever. The choice is yours.”

Inevitably as the kids grow and dynamics change, the parenting agreement might need to be modified. When there are valid reasons to update the agreement – extracurricular activities the child is involved in, work schedules, summer vacation – a family law attorney can help the parents revise the agreement. It is best if both parents can work out the revisions versus having to go back to a judge to decide what is fair. As Fass states, “…dissolving couples who require a judge’s assistance to co-parent are adults viewed as children in a tantrum-like frame of mind and emotion.”

Children greatly benefit from structure, smooth transitions between households, and an environment where a parent listens and truly cares about their child growing up as normal as possible. Co-parents will have their own personalities but “As long as you are both using good judgment and are acting in safe/healthy ways, then some parenting differences will actually create benefits for your child,” noted the We Can Parent Together website. “Problems with co-parenting during the infant, toddler, preschool, and elementary school years have been related to a wide variety of child problems, including problems with social adaptation, poorer preschool and school achievement, anxiety, and aggressiveness,” said the authors of “When People Parent Together”.

For many child therapists, divorce is not problematic in and of itself. It only becomes a strain on the child’s development when conflict, inadequate parenting, and unstable routines create an unhealthy childhood. If the co-parenting agreement is creating more problems than resolving them, seek the guidance of an expert family law attorney. Taking action early on will have great benefits for everyone in the family for the long term.

Renee Cary writes for Orange County divorce attorney, Gerald Maggio of The Maggio Law Firm. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald Maggio visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

The numbers are falling because of efforts by the military to understand behavior that lead to suicide among soldiers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Among active-duty soldiers and those in the Reserves and the National Guard, 278 took their own life in 2011. That number is down by nine percent from the 305 in 2010 and finally stops an annual rise in the numbers.

Army officials told the Wall Street Journal they consider the numbers to be “leveling off” in part because of mental health screening and a better understanding of post traumatic stress disorder and concussions. The draw down of troops deployed overseas also is playing a role in the changing statistics, according to the report.

The numbers started to climb in 2005 as troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan became longer and more frequent. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries have been more regular injuries among soldiers because of the roadside bombs that are a signature of the two wars, according to the WSJ.

The suicide rate in the Army, 24 per 100,000, continues to be higher than that of the general population in the United States, about 19 for every 100,000 people. For soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rate is about 38 per 100,000.

In studying the suicide rates, the Army found that concussions have become a serious problem among soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Screening for mental health issues has brought to light a concussion rate that has gone up five times in 10 years. Traumatic brain injuries can be especially difficult on the mental health of the victim.

While announcing the good news about suicide rates, the Army also announced bad news about domestic abuse and child abuse among soldiers.

Soldiers charged with sexual assault jumped 41 percent since 2006 to 2,290. Domestic violence went up 85 percent since 2001 to 2,699 reported occurrences. The Pentagon has proposed a strategy for addressing these crimes.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli discussed the numbers in January while announcing the Pentagon’s proposals for addressing gaps in policy that could lead to better mental health care.

Chiarelli also proposed a name change for the often-diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If the health care community drops the word “disorder” then soldiers and veterans might be more inclined to seek help, he said.

“I just want to get rid of the ‘D,’” Chiarelli said. “You can have the best treatments in the world, but if you can’t get someone to come in and get the treatment because they don’t want to admit that they have a [disorder], they aren’t going to come in.”

Veterans having a difficult time getting the legal help they need to fight for their health care benefits should contact a qualified attorney.

James G. Fausone is a Veterans disability lawyer and Veterans attorney with Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC. Learn more at http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com.

There are some days where it is not even safe to have a nap on the couch in your living room. You never know what might come through the wall. Consider this reported case of an 8-year-old, having a nap on the living room sofa, when a car came off the highway and slammed into the house. It smashed into a wall, just mere inches from the young girl’s head.

It is an awful story, but unfortunately, a typical one; one that is played out in hundreds of other locations across America. The cause of this bizarre accident and near miss? Speeding and not paying attention to the posted limit in the area by the house. The 18-year-old that was driving at the time of the accident was ripping through a 45 mph zone, doing between 70 and 80 mph. Speed limits are posted for a reason. Evidently the teen thought they did not apply to him.

But there is more to this story. Not only did the car plow through the wall of the house trailer, it first smacked into the family’s truck, shoving it a good 25 to 30 feet, and then launched itself onto the porch and rammed through the wall. The home’s owner, a trained paramedic, frantically searched for his daughter before finding her safe on the couch just inches from the car. He then offered aid to the passenger in the car and the driver. They were transported to local hospitals for care.

If the truck had not been in the way and slowed the car down, it would have plowed clear through the mobile home and could have seriously injured or killed the three family members inside. According to the home owner, the stretch of road in front of their house seems to be a common area where drivers speed.

End results? Two injured people in the car, a wrecked mobile home and one scared little girl. The passenger in the car definitely has a cause of action to seek compensation for her injuries as the driver was careless and reckless, not to mention negligent. Should it turn out that the car went out of control because of a mechanical failure that would be another issue altogether. In this instance, it was confirmed the driver was speeding.

Pay attention to the rules of the road, because when you don’t, you won’t like the consequences, and the aftermath of a crash may haunt you for the rest of your life. Negligence is the cause of more than 100,000 traffic fatalities every year. If you do not want to become a statistic or seriously injure or kill another person, smarten up and drive safely.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

According to GBS International, a group that promotes awareness of Group B Strep, the condition is the most likely cause of infections in newborns.

GBS does not infect every newborn that is exposed and women who carry the bacteria do not carry it consistently. Babies are most likely to become infected with the bacteria as they pass through the birth canal.

GBS can leave a baby with handicaps like deafness, blindness or cerebral palsy, according to GBS International.

Protecting a baby from GBS involves testing. Doctors can do a urine culture for GBS or other bacteria during the first and third trimesters. It is important for pregnant women to see a doctor immediately if they show signs of a vaginal infection. C-section babies are still at risk, according to GBS International, and IV antibiotics before the surgery can help reduce the risks of infection.

If an expectant mother tests positive for GBS during pregnancy, she should be given IV antibiotics for as long as four hours. In half of GBS infection cases, the mother showed no signs of risk factors, according to the Canadian Pediatric Society. This is why testing is an important step during pregnancy.

Symptoms of GBS include vaginal irritation or burning. The bacteria is also likely to give women bladder infections.

Pregnant women in the United States and Canada are tested as a standard of care. Even if a woman tests negative during a pregnancy, GBS International suggests being retested during the third trimester and again for each subsequent pregnancy. In a baby, GBS causes blood infections, sepsis, lung infections or infections in the fluid or the lining around the brain.

In order to reduce the risks to the unborn baby, a mother who has GBS should be given four hours of IV antibiotics before the baby is born. If the baby comes sooner than that, the hospital should observe the baby for 48 hours, according to GBS International. Breastfeeding also may supply a baby the needed antibodies to fight an infection. Everyone in the delivery room should wash their hands immediately before handling the baby, especially when the mother tested positive for GBS.

Most importantly, ask the doctor what needs to be done during every step of pregnancy and delivery if a mother has GBS. Parents of children who have tested positive for GBS should contact a medical malpractice attorney to understand their rights.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The logistics company was in violation for improperly training workers who drive forklifts and not having adequate eyewash stations for employees who could be exposed to chemicals, according to an OSHA press release.

“Deficient forklifts and improperly handled chemicals can lead to serious injuries or death,” said Diane Turek, director of OSHA’s Chicago North office, in the press release.

CTI was cited for four repeat violations totaling fines of $132,000. The company was found to have allowed forklift operators to use equipment that stayed in service even though they had been noted to be deficient.

The company was cited for eight other serious violations with fines of $30,800. Those violations included illegible forklift name plates, unlabeled hazardous materials, and improper training on handling chemicals. A serious violation is one where there is a probability of physical harm or death because of the hazard.

Central Transport also was cited for five violations deemed “other than serious” that totaled fines of another $2,000.

Illinois’ Legislature passed a bill last year that changed the way the state handles workers’ compensation claims. One of the biggest changes has to do with which doctors can be used to determine the nature and severity of an injury. The new law may require an injured worker to pick a doctor from within a preferred provider network.

The state’s new law slices medical fees to hospitals and doctors by 30 percent in hopes of saving about $700 million a year, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Other cost-saving measures include reducing the number of weeks a worker with carpel tunnel syndrome can receive benefits from 40 down to 28.5. Carpel tunnel is a repetitive stress injury that can limit the use of one or both hands. Benefits also are capped at a 15 percent loss for carpel tunnel cases.

The new law also cuts off wage differential, which used to be available over your lifetime. Wage differential is the difference between what you could make before the injury and what you can make after the injury. This is now cut off at 67 years old or five years after the injury, whichever comes later.

The new law does not address causation, or the degree to which an injury was caused by working for the employer. The law did, however, adopt AMA guidelines for determining the degree of injury.

A qualified workers’ compensation attorney can help injured workers understand the complexities of the new law and how to make sure they are compensated for their injuries.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation attorney and Chicago workers compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Distraction-related accidents took the lives of about 3,000 people on America’s highways last year, according to NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman.

The agency’s press release calling for the ban included examples of deadly crashes, injury accidents and near misses caused by distracted drivers, pilots and engineers.

The NTSB does not have the authority to make state law, but the agency’s recommendations can be used when legislators bring the issue up in capital buildings across the country.

For example, a motorcoach driver slammed into a low bridge in 2004 while using a hands-free device and injured 27 high school students. A commuter train conductor texting on his phone hit a freight train head on in 2008, killing 25 in California. Two airline pilots using their laptop computers were distracted and overflew their destination by 100 miles in 2009. A tugboat mate killed two tourists while he was using a laptop computer when his tug pushed a barge over their duckboat in the Delaware River in 2010.

The NTSB report outlined the different mishaps in assorted transportation types in an effort to show the many ways that portable electronic devices can distract the operator of a vehicle. The agency set the deadlines across all modes of transportation.

The Department of Transportation banned the use of smartphones by professional truck and motorcoach drivers in the fall. That rule was created by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Researchers say the statistical evidence backs up the NTSB’s recommendations. An analysis of 300 studies on mobile phones showed no evidence that people using hands-free devices were any less distracted than people holding a phone to their ear, according to the Associated Press.

American privacy laws have made it difficult for researchers to gather thorough data on motor vehicle accidents caused by cellphone distraction. Studies conducted in Australia and Canada have shown drivers are four times more likely to crash if they are talking on the phone regardless of whether it was hands-free or handheld.

A Carnegie Mellon study from 2008 also backed up claims that hands-free devices are just as dangerous as hand-held ones. That research showed it is the brain, not the hand, that is distracted. Driving while talking on the phone is distracting because the brainpower is being divided. Research done in driving simulators showed a loss of skills when drivers were subjected to voices talking to them, according to the AP. Investigators see personal electronic devices in increasing numbers of accident scenes.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago car accident lawyer and Chicago car accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Despite what you might think, foam floor tiles are really a good choice for businesses and homes. Just ask your local Tampa flooring specialist about the advantages of foam flooring in a business where you have to stand for long periods of time. This flooring helps cut down on your level of fatigue and will also help you avoid injuries. If you run a daycare, imagine the degree of safety for the kids, not to mention that it is highly functional, durable and not that expensive.

Light weight, portable, soft, easy to install, easy to clean and available in a wide variety of colors, the foam floor tiles might be just want you need for your recreational area or even the children’s rooms. And, if you really want the floor to look like wood, but still be foam, you can do that too.

If you do have kids, you will be pleased with the choices offered in foam puzzle tiles. Think about the story you could tell the kids about the green tiles being made from recycled rubber and plastic bottles. Kids learn all about recycling at school, and understand far more than we usually give them credit for when it comes to being environmentally conscious. Pop into the play area and find thicker tiles for the rough and tumble of play time. Go outside and find playground tiles in bright, neon colors that kids find attractive too.

Not sure you want to put these tiles in your home? Guess what – they are easy to install and can be moved, as most people install these over an existing floor. If you have any questions, contact a Tampa flooring specialist and ask about these tiles. While they may not install them, they would be able to give you their opinion on what would work for you in your particular home environment.

Doing a self install? These tiles are easy. They all interlock, just like the puzzles you create on a table. Cleaning them is a snap, and all you need is a damp mop with a bit of household cleaner splashed in. If you get one big spill, like the bottle of juice hitting the floor the wrong way, you can move the tile and wash it in the sink. Imagine how convenient that would be? And if the stuff on the floor is something you just don’t want to touch – say the pup had an accident – cart the tiles outside and spray them with a hose.

Are you wondering why you never thought of these foam tiles before? Join the crowd. They are becoming very popular, thanks to how affordable they are, not to mention how easy they are to install. It might be worth checking out if you want something different in your home or business.

Dean Dupre is with Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company. To learn more, visit Champtile.com.

This case involves yet another baffling single vehicle accident ramming into a tree. That is hard to do if you are paying attention to your driving. It appears that in this case, the driver of the UPS truck involved in this wreck may well have been driving while distracted. The police investigation will reveal more.

Here is what happened. The UPS truck went flying off an embankment, went airborne and rammed into a tree. As it was airborne, a passenger was ejected, who became pinned between the truck and tree for over 30 minutes as rescue crews worked to get him freed. The passenger was taken to the nearest hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver was treated at the scene with minor injuries.

While police do not think the UPS driver was drunk, there are questions remaining about how the vehicle happened to go off the road that need to be cleared up. The seriously injured passenger will need the answers to those questions in order to help build a personal injury case to obtain damages for his injuries. Depending on how severe the trauma was, the passenger may face life in a wheelchair, or worse. This would mean the damages awarded may be high, to reflect how the individual’s life was ruined because of an accident.

The long road to recovery for the passenger will begin by filing a personal injury lawsuit and trying to find enough cash to make it until trial. Cases like this often take a long time to be settled, and the plaintiff will need funds quickly to handle hospital bills, possible therapy, lost wages and other important bills like the mortgage, car payments and/or student loans.

Where is the plaintiff going to be able to find the kind of money needed to handle the hospital bills and everything else? The victim may wish to pursue lawsuit funding, which is a non-recourse cash advance against their pending lawsuit. This funding assists a victim who is waiting for compensation from a personal injury lawsuit and who needs cash right away. Litigation funding is fast cash and is not like a traditional loan as there are no upfront fees or payments to be made every month. You only repay the pre-settlement funding when you win your case.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

The groups did the study to help advise policymakers in hopes that immigration policy changes could spur economic growth, according to a press release from AEI.

The study found that the current immigration policy is not hurting but enhancing the job market. The agencies conducting the survey sought to use the data to advocate for specific policy changes that could boost U.S. job growth.

Researchers looked to find out if immigrants take jobs that would be filled by U.S. citizens, if they create jobs, or if there is no net effect. They also looked into what types of jobs were being taken or created by the immigrants.

The study outlined two broad schools of thought on how immigration impacts the labor market. The first idea says that immigrants and native-born Americans share the same skill sets and must compete for the same jobs. The second idea says that Americans and immigrants have different skills and complement each other in the resulting diversified work force.

Employers and policymakers both point to two groups as being critical to the U.S. economy – immigrants with advanced degrees and temporary work visa holders. Researchers looked at Census Bureau data and temporary worker applications to look at states individually to try and learn how likely an American citizen is to have a job in states with more immigrants. The study went on to look at the benefits these immigrants receive relative to their taxes.

Researchers came up with four significant findings. Immigrants with advanced degrees boost U.S. employment; temporary workers, skilled and unskilled, boost U.S. employment; no evidence shows immigrants hurt U.S. employment; and foreign-born workers pay more in U.S taxes than they use in benefits.

The data on immigrants with advanced degrees showed that workers who studied in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – at U.S. universities had a big positive impact on jobs here. For every 100 skilled workers with advanced degrees from U.S. schools, 262 jobs were created for American-born workers between 200 and 2007.

Foreign-born workers with advanced STEM degrees from schools around the world including the United States also had a positive impact on jobs with 86 jobs created for every 100 high-skilled immigrant working here.

The addition of 100 temporary workers also resulted in more jobs for native-born Americans, according to the study. H-1B workers created 183 jobs for every 100 immigrants and H-2B workers created a whopping 464 jobs for Americans.

The researchers used the data from the survey to make policy suggestions aimed at boosting the American economy.

The American Enterprise Institute suggests giving priority to immigration applicants with advanced degrees in STEM fields and increasing the number of green cards for high-skilled workers.

A qualified immigration attorney can help skilled workers and employers work with immigration services to get visas to work in the United States.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The Work Incentives Simplification Pilot is a legislative proposal being considered by Congress that could replace well-intentioned but complicated laws meant to incentivize disability beneficiaries to return to work. The work incentives proved too burdensome for an agency already fighting funding cuts.

Carolyn Colvin, deputy administrator for the Social Security Administration spoke to the U.S. House Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Social Security in late January.

She explained that the new legislation could kill regulations like trial work periods and the extended period of eligibility that are overcomplicating the work of the administration.

The law now says people on Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, are on a sliding scale as they return to work. So, for every $2 an SSI beneficiary earns, $1 is removed from their SSI benefit, she said. Improper SSI payments happen when beneficiaries fail to notify the administration of new work, new assets or a raise or reduction in salary.

Each beneficiary is a different case with a different employer and a different income. Each case has to be individually handled, which often means contact with the employer. Most cases are complicated and require small bits of work and starting and stopping until enough information is gathered to make a decision, she said.

This type of work takes considerable expertise and training and the administration simply does not have the resources to do it well, she said.

There also are plenty of crossover beneficiaries who qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance ¨C as many as 30 percent of SSI recipients also get SSDI between 18- and 64-years-old. Because the two programs are guided by two sets of rules, the labor for the Social Security Administration is overly burdensome, she said.

Officials hope the new WISP plan will address a disincentive to work by eliminating a beneficiary’s fear that if they get a job, they will lose their benefits.

The work incentive policies are difficult for beneficiaries to understand and for the administration to oversee, Colvin told the subcommittee.

The goal of WISP is to test some simplified work rules that would still be subject to tight evaluation. Officials hope the WISP will encourage people to work while reducing administrative costs, she said.

WISP also would count beneficiaries’ earnings when they are paid instead of when they are earned so that SSDI and SSI rules would be better aligned.

A qualified attorney can represent clients in Social Security cases to help make sure they fully explain their case.

Robert Alston is with Alston & Baker, PA. To contact a Zephyrhills personal injury lawyer, Zephyrhills divorce lawyer, or Zephyrhills social security lawyer, call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.

American Marazzi Tile has an estimated 254 employees in its ceramic wall and floor tile manufacturing facility. The tile company is part of OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program because it has an increased injury and illness rate when compared to other workplaces. It is also now in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, so it will have to pass follow-up inspections to be compliant with workplace laws.

“This company knowingly failed to implement necessary safety and health programs to protect employees from coming into contact with moving parts of machinery and prevent hearing loss,” said OSHA’s Dallas regional administrator John Hermanson. “It’s the employer’s responsibility to know the hazards and safeguard workers from these hazards in order to provide a working environment free of injuries and illnesses.”

The main violations involved machine guarding hazards, excessive noise levels, and protecting workers when machinery is unexpectedly turned on. Personal protective equipment was inadequate, safety training was not given and continuing education not in place, and energy control procedures were not mandated. Proper storage of hazardous chemicals and other substances were not followed and a bloodborne pathogen program was not instituted.

OSHA statistical data shows that the manufacturing industry has the third highest number of cases involving injuries and illnesses. The average time away from work to heal from an incident was eight days. Only the health care and social assistance and retail trade industries suffered more injuries and illnesses.

Workers who suffer an injury on the job should speak with a personal injury attorney to seek compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. A skilled attorney knows what it takes to prove liability and establish a value for the damages incurred. Most personal injury lawyers will take a case on a contingency fee basis. In other words, they only get paid if they obtain a settlement or verdict on your behalf. Typically, attorneys offer a free initial consultation to discuss injury cases.

John Hale is a Waxahachie personal injury attorney and Ellis County personal injury lawyer helping injury victims near Dallas, Texas. Learn more at http://www.hale911.com/

“But there is, by now, a number of studies that indicate that pedestrian distraction is real,” said professor of environmental psychology Richard Wener from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. “It’s very much like driving a car and being on a cellphone. You’re much more likely to miss something around you…The likelihood of an accident being really bad or fatal is higher when you’re not protected by 2 tons of steel.”

Poor roadway design, a long-time culprit in pedestrian injury cases, remains an area of concern for experts. Roads are being built wider for increased traffic. With more people living in suburban areas and wider roads to accommodate traffic, accidents involving pedestrians continue to increase. Areas that have missing sidewalks, no safe crossings, poor lighting and no enforcement of traffic rules for pedestrians also increase risk of pedestrian injury.

But by far the most dangerous factor threatening pedestrians is alcohol consumption. Drunk drivers and pedestrians were involved in 48 percent of fatalities, the NHTSA reports. Trying to be safe by walking instead of driving while drunk is not the solution. If you have had one too many, you should call a cab or a friend who can safely get you home.

The NHTSA attributes some of the increase in pedestrian injury to high gas prices. As the price of gas increases so does foot traffic. This is particularly true in urban areas. So as more people hit the street, more people get hit. Sometimes life just comes at you hard and fast and there isn’t much you can do about it. Oftentimes, however, accidents can be avoided by looking both ways before crossing traffic and by never assuming that a driver is paying attention or will yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.

PEDSAFE, an organization that works to improve pedestrian safety and mobility, advocates that auto drivers need to watch their speed and brake for pedestrians. Pedestrians should also take the same precautions that drivers do to stay safe when going to their destination. Pedestrians need to put away hand-held devices when walking to work, for exercise, or getting to their destination and be mindful of other modes of transportation around them.

John Hale is a Waxahachie personal injury attorney and Ellis County personal injury lawyer helping injury victims near Dallas Texas. Learn more at http://www.hale911.com/.

Bankruptcy discharge papers may not look that important, but they are official, and tell the debtor they have finished the process of discharging their debts. For a debtor that has gone through many months of filing papers, creating repayment plans, discussing their situation with a skilled Iowa bankruptcy lawyer, attending credit counseling and coping with the stress, seeing these papers in the mail is a welcome relief. The papers signal the beginning of a new financial chapter for the debtor.

Many debtors wonder why the discharge papers are so important. They are important because they legally release the debtor from paying most of their debts. There are some debts that are not discharged in a bankruptcy, and this is a discussion to have with an Iowa bankruptcy lawyer at the beginning of the process prior to filing.

The discharge papers also ban creditors from attempting to collect on any of the successfully discharged debts. There have been cases where a creditor has attempted to do that, without success, as they are in violation of the law. With these discharge papers, the debtor can be reassured they will no longer get phone calls, letters or have to worry about garnishment. Once the bankruptcy discharge papers arrive, the debt is history. A debtor can expect, though that the record of the bankruptcy will appear on their credit report for a number of years.

Many people are not certain how long it takes after a person files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy before they get their discharge papers. In most instances, the length of time is roughly four months. There may be circumstances that delay the papers being sent, which is an issue that also needs to be discussed with an experienced Iowa bankruptcy attorney. It is better to have as much information as possible about the process of filing bankruptcy, rather than find out about a delay later.

On discharge, it is a good idea to make copies of the official notice. These may be required if you are attempting to correct any mistakes/omissions on your credit report. It also serves as proof to creditors that your debt has been discharged and that they must cease trying to collect on it. If you lose your original copy, you may obtain one from the court. Often the lawyer hired to file your bankruptcy may retain a copy on his files too.

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.

It likely does not come as much of a surprise that Arizona’s Sheriff Arpaio may be in hot water again. Just recently, the Department of Justice issued a report that said he had violated the Fourth Amendment and Title VI because he practiced “unconstitutional policing”. That may well be the case, however it also seems that he keeps getting elected, year after year, because of his unconstitutional approach to keeping crime down.

The major complaint in the report is that the sheriff’s department carries out the most outrageous forms of racial profiling in the nation. In fact, one of the report’s authors commented that he has never seen tactics like this go on in other jurisdictions. This is the first time though that the sheriff has been called out in such a public manner by the current Administration, which may signal a change of policy for the coming election.

Until this report, the response from Capitol Hill has been fairly low key other than launching a challenge to Arizona’s SB 1070 bill. And, until now, the current Administration has been working to expand immigration enforcement with its Secure Communities program.

What we have here is a report generated by an inquiry begun under George W. Bush, released just prior to a critical election, although it may be argued that all elections are critical. With this one however, Obama needs support from the very people he seemingly abandoned by not enacting comprehensive immigration reform – the Latino community.

Here then is an interesting question. How will this report affect Presidential candidates who backed Arpaio? Good question and only time will reveal the voting results for 2012. The major issue is support for Obama, and whether or not this will manifest itself since he did not act on his immigration reform promises. Latinos wanted instant reform, but they got nothing. Thus, this latest condemnation of Arpaio and the Administration, for stumbling ahead and opening the door for more racist practices and discrimination via enforcement, may be all the Latino voting population needs to choose a different candidate.

What we have here is the Department of Homeland Security cutting the sheriff’s access to federal immigration programs because of the report, and quiet elation that the question of immigration reform will once more have to be put back on the table. In other words, while the report slams the sheriff and Obama, it may well accomplish something good. That however, remains to be seen.

Sally Odell – Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, PA is an immigration lawyer in Miami with immigration law offices in Orlando and Miami Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.rifkinandfoxisicoff.com.

When spinoffs occur, two or more public companies can be created andthese businesses would be well advised to hire an experienced business attorney to consider the legal issues and potential ramifications that must be addressed.

First, the board of directors must deem that a spinoff is in the best interests of shareholders and other key stakeholders. Spinoffs can be a complex, challenging task, so the board must balance their interests with the need to treat the decision with care and fairness. It is not just about increasing share price or calming shareholder activists; spin off companies should be created for best interests in the long-term.

Companies should remember that extensive disclosures to shareholders must be completed when a spinoff transaction occurs. Legal counsel can help to prepare these required disclosure documents and inform directors of the new company what their responsibilities are in conjunction with securities regulations. Thorough due diligence is also needed to separate assets and liabilities between the original company and the spinoff. Decisions on these matters can affect the company’s future growth and risk profile, so bringing in a business attorney and financial experts can make this undertaking more successful.

Spinning off can also involve decisions on how the management team will change. This can involve employment contracts, pension plans, option and incentive plans, and collective agreements. Legal counsel can review changes in these matters to ensure that the decisions are fair and appropriate. Arrangements must also be made so that any shared services and business opportunities do not create conflicts.

Spin offs can be created without big tax implications, and legal counsel can review the requirements needed to lessen or eliminate taxes. These requirements include that the company being spun off must have been operating for at least five years and will need to have three years of audited financials. Additionally, at least 80 percent of the spinoff’s equity must be distributed to existing shareholders to avoid large capital gains tax.

Anthony Spotora is a Los Angeles business lawyer and Los Angeles business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit Spotoralaw.com.

There are times in just about everyone’s life where they need a trip to the ER. The thing is, once we get there, we have no control over who we get for a doctor and sometimes we do not even have a chance to give our consent in some instances. Emergencies do happen and sometimes the niceties of life are not observed when a life hangs in the balance.

With an emergency going on, it is not too surprising that mistakes can be made. Those mistakes may result in further serious injury or death. There are a variety of emergency room errors, but there are three fairly common ones: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose or messing up test results. Mistakes in these areas have really serious consequences.

An example would be if you fell down a flight of stairs and hit your head. At the hospital you complain of tingling in your left arm, a sore neck and headache and your pain is not diminished with medications. You are sent home with some pain medications and told to rest, and that you likely wrenched your shoulder badly.

Overnight, your speech starts to slur, you have trouble walking and by morning you need an ambulance. Your diagnosis, given by another doctor, is internal brain bleeding, the result of traumatic brain injury. You need immediate surgery and may or may not lose the ability to walk.

The night before when you were in the ER, you did not display the usual signs of traumatic brain injury. The doctor did not order an MRI or any other test that would have detected traumatic brain injury. Not giving you the right type of tests that would have been indicated by the fact that you fell and hit your head would be a misdiagnosis. And, because of the misdiagnosis you may sustain irreparable brain damage or die if the surgery does not go well due to the 24-hour delay.

For those who have been in a situation similar to this, you have more than enough reason to seek experienced legal counsel from a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. This is the person you need to discuss the details of your case with so the lawyer can ascertain if you have a legitimate claim as not all bad outcomes are medical malpractice.

To find out where you stand legally, make that first phone call to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Put your mind at ease and your future in the hands of experienced counsel.

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