Product liability law is designed to give consumers protection against defective products that harm them. While most people tend to think of defective cars, baby cribs, toys, grills, blinds and other items, not many people think about the possibility of a knee replacement implant failing. Unfortunately, this is what is happening with the Zimmer NexGen knee replacement implants.

It looks like a fair number of people across the US are getting ready to file lawsuits against the company citing product liability, failure to warn and negligence, thanks to knee replacement patients and their surgeons discovering the implants are defective. Being sued won’t be a first for this company, as they are also being taken to task for defective hip replacements – the Zimmer Durom Cups. Despite people insisting the knee implants be recalled, they are still on the market. However many surgeons are not recommending they be used for knee replacement surgery.

While the synthetic knee implant is a good idea, it apparently does not hold up under actual field conditions – meaning that once it is implanted it tends to become loose and cause excruciating pain, not to mention the possibility of another surgery to fix it. You might be able to see how this could possibly cause a whole slew of personal injury lawsuits, based on a defective product.

The technology is porous fiber metal with a cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy that caps the thigh bone where it connects to the tibia. No cement is used in this process. Since the implant’s introduction to the medical device market in 2003, it has consistently racked up high failure rates – up to 36% of the implants are loose after only two years. Over 150,000 of these devices have been sold in the US, making Zimmer a tidy profit of approximately $1.75 billion for 2009. The 36% failure rate means at least 54,000 people may have trouble with their “new” knees.

If this has happened to you, you may be entitled to compensation for your personal injuries. To find out if you do qualify, speak to an attorney with experience in handling products liability cases; a Sacramento personal injury attorney.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento personal injury lawyer in California. To learn more, visit www.lawbarron.com.

It’s a well-known fact that more and more seniors will eventually need the services offered by a nursing home. The sad part is that the prices charged to care for seniors do not, in many cases, reflect the kind and quality of care residents actually get.

“The average cost of nursing care for one year in the US is $71,000, and for that kind of money, the family and the resident would expect a good level of care. What is happening instead is their family members are being abused and every day face substandard care because the nursing home is understaffed and overwhelmed,” outlined Barron, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California.

In homes where the staffing is pushed to the straining point and people are hard pressed to keep up, there are often incidents of abuse and neglect. “Whether or not it is as a direct result of being understaffed, having inadequately trained staff or the abuse is isolated, it should not be happening. Aside from this being a human rights issue, where the elderly deserve to be cared for with respect and dignity, no one deserves to be abused in ‘any’ fashion,” added Barron.

Most of the nursing homes in the US are profit oriented and in many cases, just don’t have enough staff to handle their patient load. In fact, roughly 90% of nursing homes can’t keep up with the care demands of their patients. Not only are many employees overworked, but they are underpaid for the work performed, leading many of them to quit. There are actually some homes that see a complete staffing turn over every year. This is a recipe for disaster when it comes to caring for the elderly.

“Currently, there is a focused effort in Washington to try and make changes coming in the form of the Elder Justice Act. It sets aside hundreds of millions of ‘federal’ dollars to battle elder abuse. Its companion act is the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act, and it’s aimed at those in long-term care,” indicated Barron. There is a great deal of hope with the passage of these two Acts that elder abuse will be put to a stop.

In the meantime, if anyone suspects their relative is being abused or neglected, take those suspicions to a Sacramento personal injury attorney with experience in this area. “If you want to protect your family member and others from being harmed, we can help,” said Barron.

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

That is one of the biggest questions a good intellectual property lawyer gets asked all the time: “Can I copyright my slogan, logo, title or brand name?” “The short answer is no,” commented Deborah Barron, a Sacramento business lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California. “Brand names, slogans, other short phrases and business names can’t be copyrighted. In fact, they are explicitly excluded from protection,” she added.

This exclusion applies to “any” kind of name, catch phrase, and title or short ad expression. For those who write cookbooks for a living, and those who copy recipes to try at home – ingredient lists, recipes, formulas and labels are not protected by copyright. “Just hang on one second though, the text descriptions, explanations and even the directions may be copyrightable, so tread carefully,” advised Barron.

“Let’s look at someone who wants to use a name in commerce. In this instance, ideas for slogans, brand names and even business names can be protected, as trademark law protects those things ‘used in commerce’ to make your product different to the other guys product,” explained Barron. According to trademark law, it grants exclusive rights to trademark to the “first” user, but only under various conditions; something that would need to be discussed with an attorney.

“Generally speaking, some trademark protection kicks in automatically if you use your marks in business or commerce. However, having said that, you need to register that trademark federally to have nationwide protection,” Barron added.

“Back to the recipe revelation,” said Barron, “which means recipes and formulas are not protected by either trademark law or copyright law. If you seriously want to protect them, you need to patent them or consider them to be trade secrets. Keep in mind though that the formula or recipe can only be patented if it is ‘new’ and not an obvious combination of things already known,” she explained.

While one may be excused for thinking that the formula for Coca-Cola is a recipe (and it is actually) it is also a formula and is maintained in secrecy as a trade secret. Trade secret protection is indefinite so long as people keep it a secret. A patent may grant up to 20 years protection.

“The simple rule of thumb is if you don’t know for sure if what you have may qualify for a patent or may be copyrightable, then ask a lawyer who is familiar with this area of the law. Better to be safe now than sorry later,” stated Deborah Barron, a Sacramento business lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California.

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

Abuse doesn’t just refer to sexual abuse, although that may also be the case in a nursing home; it refers to financial, verbal, physical, mental, emotional and psychological abuse cruelty. “Even though the Senate study concluded in 2001, the results are as valid today – perhaps even more so – as they were then,” said Deborah Barron, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California. In fact, if you read the news or listen to radio or TV, elder abuse is on a dramatic upswing due to the recession.

One of the things the Senate study clearly indicated in their report was that the figures they found to be true for elder abuse in the US would likely increase. Not that this study was intended to be a prognosis for the future, but instead a good social barometer of the human race and where it is going. “Sadly, that report’s extrapolations have come to pass. Only now there is some light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the Elder Justice Act and its companion act, the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act, aimed at those in long-term care,” Barron added.

There seems to be no end of creative ways to take advantage of seniors in the 21^st century and one wonders why some people spend their time thinking up ways to torture the elderly and make their life miserable. Nursing home abuse is about many things from chemical restraints to pushing and shoving, and from pinching and twisting an arm or leg to allowing a resident to sleep on the floor to heal broken ribs. It just defies logic that a human being would do that to an elderly citizen; someone in no position to fight back.

It isn’t always easy to spot abuse in a nursing home, largely because the resident may be too frightened to say anything for fear of retaliation. And something else to remember as well; the abuse may be carried out by the staff of the home and/or another resident. There seems to be no end to the despicable things perpetrated on the elderly.

Be on the lookout for signs that an elderly relative is unusually agitated, particularly around a staff member, or if the staff are unwilling to let you spend time alone with the individual. If there is any suspicion the patient shows signs of physical neglect or abuse, immediately contact a skilled personal injury lawyer,” added Deborah Barron, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California.

To learn more, visit “http://www.lawbarron.com” .

No one was really reading the whole thing, as the health care reform bill is massive and in language only a lawyer could interpret. Many think that this is the beginning of the end of health care as we know it in the US. Some hail the coming changes as the only way to kick-start reform. “Thanks to the single-minded focus on the health care aspects of the bill, not many caught something that would mean elder abuse may be stopped in its tracks,” said Deborah Barron, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California.

There is a section in this bill that is widely thought to be one of the most comprehensive federal efforts to fight elder neglect, exploitation and abuse. This is a concept whose time has come, insistently and urgently. “Included in the legislation is something people have demanded for years – the Elder Justice Act. It sets aside hundreds of millions of ‘federal’ dollars to battle elder abuse. It has a companion act – the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act – that is aimed at those in long-term care,” indicated Barron.

It’s virtually a no-brainer to state that elder abuse is a horrendous and hugely significant problem. While there have been efforts made on the local level to deal with this crime, there hasn’t been much of a response on the federal level, until now. “It’s hoped these two bills will have the impact needed to put a stop to this unthinkable abuse,” added Barron.

Abuse is rampant these days and with the next wave of baby boomers about to hit the system, if something isn’t done right now, the problem will be totally out of control. No one deserves the kind of abuse being dished out in private homes, assisted living facilities and long-term care facilities. From chemical restraints to withholding pain medications, and from beatings to isolation, elder abuse is a special kind of nasty that has no place in our society.

It’s a well-known fact that abuse leads to serious mental and physical problems and destitute elderly people struggling to cope from day-to-day. “Sadly, studies have also shown that elder abuse victims have three times the risk of premature death. We have got to stop this in its tracks, as no one deserves to be abused. It’s completely unthinkable, unconscionable, unnecessary, unethical and illegal,” Barron commented.

The Elder Justice Act is set to trigger $400 million in new funds for Adult Protective Services and $100 million for state demonstration grants to test best practices. It also delivers $32.5 million over four years in grants to support the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, $40 million over four years for training, and creates an Elder Justice Coordinating Council to make recommendations to coordinate local, state, federal and private agencies.

“This Act has more things to offer to protect seniors and honestly, it’s a breath of fresh air and long overdue. Let’s just get on with it and wake up to the fact that elder abuse will not be condoned in any way, shape or form,” stated Deborah Barron, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer of the Barron Law Office in California.

To learn more, visit “http://www.lawbarron.com” .

If you haven’t heard about the term “products liability,” you’ll find it plastered all over the news media these days. It seems like not a day goes by when something goes wrong with an item manufacturers are selling to the public.

The short version of what products liability means is that it’s a legal cause of action launched against the makers of a product, and/or anybody in the long distribution chain that sells that item with a manufacturing design defect, a manufacturing defect, or is defective because of someone else’s negligence in the chain. The end result of this is usually injury to a consumer – the end user. When in doubt about an injury you sustained due to a product, call a Sacramento personal injury lawyer.

Let’s take a closer look at what could constitute a defective product. This could be the result of the manufacturer failing to warn people about a risk they “knew” about, but didn’t tell consumers. It could also be the fact that they didn’t provide a proper warning label. Keep in mind here that not “every” dangerous use of a product can be put on a label, or in some cases you’d have a book for a label.

The news has been filled with a deluge of defective products including the Toyota Prius (and other vehicles made by them) recalls, Infantino baby slings, asbestos cases, SUV rollovers, painted wooden beads, and Evenflo Top-of-Stair Plus Wood Gates due to fall hazards. The list is substantial and may very well make you wonder what in the world is wrong with manufacturers these days. Good question.

It’s a good thing there are personal injury lawyers who take these cases to court, or there would be a lot of dangerous products on the market. Unfortunately the push and shove to make money in any way possible seems to have gotten in the way of manufacturing ethics and integrity.

The list of defective products is stunning for more than just the fact of how long it is. It is unfortunately silent on thousands of defective product cases that no one reported because they didn’t know they were hurt by a product that was inherently bad.

Product liability cases usually need the presence of expert testimony to prove there was indeed a design defect or manufacturing defect in the product in question. However, this does depend on the state in which you live. Of note, in California, products liability cases are referred to as strict liability actions provided the plaintiff meets the burden of proof. This means you don’t need to show negligence on anyone’s part in the chain of distribution.

When it comes to the bottom line, if you have been badly hurt while using a product, you need to talk to a skilled Sacramento personal injury lawyer who can analyze the facts and figure out if you have a case or not.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento personal injury lawyer in California. To learn more, visit www.lawbarron.com.

California isn’t alone in struggling with the nasty side effects of a recession. Economic pundits are now weighing in with even more dismal news – expect unemployment figures to shoot up to 10% and higher through late 2011. Who knows, that might not even be correct in terms of the end of the recession. A distinctly dismal thought.

We all know that a paying job in today’s market economy is critical, and so is understanding employment law, just ask a Sacramento employment lawyer. This isn’t an option, it’s a must. Did you know that California’s workers’ compensation system covers 15,256,000 workers for over 800,000 employers? Think about that for a minute. These people generated a gross domestic product of $1.8 “trillion” in just 2007. Along with that statistic was the additional information that 644,700 occupational illnesses and injuries were put on report, and at a minimum, there were about 229,871 compensation hearings.

With the understanding that people need a paycheck, we look at what some employers have been doing lately. They have intentionally or unintentionally neglected or refused to pay their workers. This isn’t because they don’t owe them money or their contracts are invalid. They owe them fair and square for work, provided under California law. As a Sacramento employment lawyer, I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories.

Consider this: a $17.5 million lawsuit filed by the California Labor Commission against, of all places, the Federal Loan Modification Law Center, because they hadn’t paid their workers for all the hours they worked. Not about to stop when they were on a roll, the same Commission also filed a $250,000 lawsuit against an online health care company for – you guessed it – not paying staff wages. The basis of the Commissions case winning argument was that “not” paying their workers caused undue hardship on those relying on them to feed their families.

Unfortunately, there are a great number of employers who go out of their way to not pay their workers just so they can maximize their profits. They don’t care that worker’s families are struggling to make ends meet. What these employers count on is that their workers have no clue about employment law and are afraid to confront their employers. Know your rights, not just for yourself, but for your family. And if you don’t know them, call a Sacramento employment lawyer and find out what you need to know.

For instance, not a lot of workers know that they are entitled to wages if they’re forced to work through or miss a break or meal. They also don’t have a clue that companies can’t deduct, withhold or subtract the cost of doing business from a worker’s wages. Put another way, if you have to wear a uniform because your company insists on it, you do not have to pay for and maintain it. One other area where people come up short is calculating wages due for overtime.

As you can see, if you work in California, there’s a lot to know about employment law. Do you know it?

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento personal injury lawyer in California. To learn more, visit www.lawbarron.com.

If anyone has taken the time to read some of the warnings printed on products or in user’s manuals, the inevitable conclusion is that someone must have actually “done” some of the harebrained things listed as being a hazard (and sued over it) or it wouldn’t be mentioned. This should give one pause when thinking about the law and how it is supposed to protect us from grave injustices and remedy personal injury wrongs, etc.

Sadly, a great many businesses these days are under a virtually constant threat of being sued for something; incidents that could range from scalding coffee being spilled, to a person slipping, tripping and falling outside a business. Some of these lawsuits may very well be frivolous, some may not. Really, most businesses these days need to know what to do about customers or clients blaming them for client errors or things beyond anyone’s control.

Nowhere is this risk more evident than when it comes to products liability cases. In this area of the law, manufacturers are in the position where they must tell an end user how to use their product, and how “not” to use it. They are also required to warn people what may happen if they misuse an item.

Gone are the days when a product maker could assume a consumer would use the product for its intended purpose. Nowadays, the things people think of to do with some products are utterly unbelievable and may cause serious personal injuries or death.

Manufacturers are now in the awkward position of trying to “guess” what a consumer “may” do with their item that could harm them. Quite a stretch of the imagination in many cases, but that is how far the law in this area has gone. For example, who would have thought that a consumer would use a portable chain saw propped up at the top end of a metal pole to try and trim tree branches or use a hair dryer while asleep?

Simply put, the law in the 21st century mandates that a business protect itself from some really ridiculous happenstances. After assuming the worst case scenario, a business must then guess what might happen and then issue a warning. In instances like this, it’s obvious that manufacturers are going to have to also assume their consumers are none too bright. However, having said that, there is a large gap between what products liability law says and how it gets applied.

Thankfully the law doesn’t say that a business has to guard against personal injuries or a death as the result of a consumer’s bad or poor judgment. However, when a case gets to court, it may be a different story and the consumer will triumph. For this and many other reasons, it only makes good common sense to discuss any personal injury case or products liability case with a skilled personal injury attorney.

It’s best to make sense of a bad situation in the eyes of how the law is applied prior to assuming something that might not be the case in actual practice when all is said and done. Put another way, have a well seasoned business attorney create systems, procedures and company policies to deal with those “frivolous” cases that defy explanation to even a reasonable person.

To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

It’s when economic setbacks hit that one really finds out how well run a business happens to be. It’s essential for them to be paid on time and get the money right to the bank. Now is not the time to cut corners on things like sound advice from a Sacramento business lawyer. It doesn’t cost that much to draft a set of tightly knit terms and conditions to make sure the company is running well and in the black.

There are definitely several matters that need to be included in such a legal document. One of those is to make sure the terms and conditions laid out are the terms of the actual “business” for performing and delivering on its contract, not the terms of clients or customers.

=Definitely lay out very precisely when payment is expected for services or products. Chances are the terms the company was initially following were a tad too generous. For example, many invoices state payment is due 30 days after the date the invoice was sent.

Doing the math will reveal that those terms may delay payment by up to two months. This is a serious impediment to cash flow, so reducing the payment period to 14 days makes a great deal of sense, and this is something a Sacramento business lawyer will explain. Since cash is what drives a business and keeps it afloat, tightening up the terms and conditions of payment is a smart business move.

While some companies feel that charging interest on unpaid bills is “not the thing to do to upset a customer,” there is a legal right to charge for that interest. When doing this, include all the pertinent details, such as the amount of charges and how they are applied, etc. Interest rates should also be laid out very clearly in any terms and conditions.

Never rely on a verbal contract because despite what people may think, it could end up being a binding contract. The terms of agreements made under those conditions are enforceable under some circumstances. Instead, have any contract entered written by a Sacramento business lawyer.

The terms and conditions have been spelled out clearly, or have they? This is something that needs to be checked. If the terms and conditions are not as clear as one would think, there may be ways to circumvent them. What any business should hope to accomplish with their terms and conditions is to have them so clear that there is no way they would land in court in the first place. This can be accomplished by an experienced Sacramento business lawyer.

Never assume that because any terms and conditions that have been written for the business are clear to customers or clients. This may not be the case. The firm has to take steps to ensure anyone that does business with it are totally aware of the terms and conditions under which the firm operates. This will go a long way toward avoiding any potential disagreements. With firm terms and conditions in place and by adhering to them, economic recovery is just that much easier in the long-term.

To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

It’s a fact that being in the construction industry is a nod to putting your life on the line to get the job done. No one wants to be hurt or injured while on the work site and most workers do use caution to avoid the most obvious of possible accidents. It’s the things that happen unexpectedly that may cause devastating personal injury or death.

Not all work site accidents are life threatening or serious. They may just relate to repetitive strain injury or pulled muscles from lifting the wrong way. Nevertheless, hazards continually stalk every construction site.
The most common accident on a construction site is falling. While the height might not be that great in terms of distance to fall, even a short distance may result in severe injuries or death, e.g. traumatic brain injury due to the head hitting a solid object. Falling objects are another very common happenstance at a work site. This could include everything from bricks to iron girders. Most often this injury comes as a surprise to the worker who suddenly gets hit from above.

Equipment failure or failure to operate it in the right manner is another area fraught with accidents waiting to happen. The older the equipment and the faster the worker tries to work, the higher the chances of an accident. As well, working on a construction site involves manual labor, often tough physical demands on a daily basis, which may result in lifting strains and overall wear and tear on a body.

Factor in chemical spills that may include lubricants, toxic cleansers, or other deadly substances that may cause either immediate problems (respiratory) or long-term difficulties, such as lung cancer. Along with spills, of course, come the real hazard of fires and explosions. What happens post-accident and how should those injured get compensation?

Post accident problems may include expensive medical bills, missed work and thus lost wages, inability to perform again at a pre-accident level, the loss of personal days and sick days to handle the injury, and the very real possibility that others on the construction site won’t want the “accident” reported, etc.
As you can see, it’s a real can of worms. This is why it is very important, critical in fact, to get a skilled Sacramento personal injury lawyer. They can run interference for you when it comes to dealing with insurance companies who don’t want to pay out on a personal injury claim. They will also explain your rights to you and what you may expect if your case proceeds to court.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento winery lawyer in California. To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

While many think that whiplash is a silent wound and not that serious because it’s not visible, it is one of the more common injuries sustained in car crashes. Whiplash damage turns the most mundane of tasks into a painful activity and affects daily living. This is why a great majority of whiplash victims tend to file personal injury claims with a Sacramento personal injury lawyer.

What usually happens when two vehicles collide is that the impact causes you to be propelled forward rapidly (acceleration) then slapped backwards suddenly (deceleration). This whipping movement strains back muscles, shoulders and the neck, violently pulling these muscles out of shape.

Whiplash symptoms don’t always show up immediately. It may take a couple of days for the victim to realize what has happened. This kind of damage also takes a long time to heal, depending on the violence of the impact. When it comes to whiplash injuries, no two people are alike and they may act and react differently to the injury, based on their pain threshold and the flexibility of their neck muscles.

Hit from behind? If that is the case, then the person who collided with you is always liable for the crash. If you suffered whiplash because of this accident, then in most cases, you have the option to file a whiplash injury claim. If you’re not certain what to do, speak to a highly skilled Sacramento personal injury lawyer.

While there are places that represent themselves as being a whiplash claims company, you are best advised to speak to a qualified Sacramento personal injury lawyer who knows the law. When it comes to the possibility of negotiating a settlement with the insurance company or even proceeding to court, having a competent Sacramento personal injury lawyer representing you will go a long way toward a fair and just settlement.

Whiplash claims companies are only in the business of collecting information to pass along to an attorney. Why waste time and money with these claims companies when the first consultation with a knowledgeable lawyer is free?

Some of the things that your Sacramento personal injury lawyer would discuss with you are the details of the case, find out how much time you lost from work, get your medical records and get a detailed list from you about any other expenses you had to pay out of your own pocket, e.g. massage therapy or paying for a neck brace.

While it’s true that getting compensation won’t take the pain away from a whiplash injury, it will help pay for lost wages, doctor’s bills and other expenses. This is one of the main reasons you need to consult with a Sacramento personal injury lawyer to know what your rights are in relation to a whiplash claim.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento winery lawyer in California. To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.