Snow Injuries

Property owners must make their property safe by cleaning the snow and ice as soon as it is practical to do so. If a person falls and is seriously injured due to snow and ice, it is very important to do the following three things:

1. Look around to see what caused him/her to slip and fall. Notice the surrounding conditions.

2. To preserve evidence of what the area looked like at the time of the fall, take photographs of the condition as soon as possible. Take photographs from all different angles, including the street signs, the building, and an address of the fall.

3. Call an ambulance to the scene and go to the hospital immediately. If there are any witnesses to the accident, write down their information, such as name, address and phone number.

Rutgers Death Lawsuit

This is a very sad story with tragic end. Everyone in this situation, can sympathize with the parents for the untimely death of their son.

From the legal perspective, however, to sue Rutgers University for this student’s suicide, is most likely a lost proposition. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to prove the element of causation between Rutgers and the death of the student. The only people responsible are the two students who had invaded the privacy of the victim by publishing the video of his sexual encounter. If Rutgers had no prior knowledge of this and/or similar incidents, they cannot be held responsible for this cruel act.

Toyota Settles

It is likely that Toyota has decided to pay a $10 – Million settlement because they could be facing much larger verdicts and this was a reasonable amount under the circumstances. It is common practice that once a settlement is reached, there is no admission of liability and the amount of settlement is undisclosed.

Given the severity of the claims resulting in mass tort litigation, the Judge in this case has acted appropriately in unsealing the terms of the settlement. This decision is the stepping stone for the plaintiffs in other similar lawsuits against Toyota and the injured parties should have the right to know as to what to expect in terms of compensation

Students Say L.A. Film School Pulled a Fast One

Students Say L.A. Film School Pulled a Fast One

Link to Story: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/07/32370.htm

If the allegations by the students are proven to be true, which will be evident at discovery stages, the school should be shut down and tuition money refunded. The accreditation is a rigorous process and it is meant to provide students with proper education leading to employment opportunities. Any educational institution that does not comply with the rules and regulations should not be allowed to operate.

Textbook Case of Discrimination, Woman Says

Textbook Case of Discrimination, Woman Says

Link to Story: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/08/32411.htm

Discrimination cases are difficult to prove, the burden is on the employee to prove that he or she has been treated differently from other employees based on race, gender, or age. In order to prevail in her discrimination claim, the plaintiff, Tiffany Donaldson will have to show by witness testimony that she has, in fact, been discriminated based on her race. Her former employees’ defense will be to show that Ms. Donaldson was simply fired for poor performance.

5 Steps to to take if you get into an auto acciden

5 Steps to Take If You Get Into An Auto Accident

1. Don’t Panic

2. Call police

3. Call Ambulance and go to the hospital

4. Take pictures at the accident scene and exchange information with other driver

5. Call WeSettle.com for further instructions

TSA Class Action Lawsuit?

Since there have been numerous complaints from passengers about new TSA security measures at the airports, a class action lawsuit may be a viable option in addressing the invasive procedures imposed upon the unsuspecting victims of the flying public.

It is not unusual to bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of a particular class of victims, and not only for the monetary damages, but also to change a bad policy, by bringing attention to a particular wrongful action or inaction, which affects a large number of people similarly situated.

Recent TSA’s controversy, steaming up body images, while spewing low radiation upon traveling public at our Nation’s airports, or in the alternative, rubber gloved officials humiliating passengers with their invasive pat-downs, the key issues in potential class action lawsuits will turn on the protections of the Fourth Amendment, to wit, whether the Government’s security measures amount to unreasonable searches and seizures. The courts will have to decide whether the Government’s security measures are reasonable when balanced with the risks to public safety.

It appears that the Government officials, in their attempts to prevent potential terrorists from blowing up planes in midair, have gone wild by getting into the underwear of every man, woman and child in the security lines. I cannot help but to think of New York’s Naked Cowboy as the prophet, perhaps we all should follow in his footsteps when planning our next trip to the airport.

Obviously, most freedom loving Americans, raised with old-fashioned family values, cannot agree with such draconian measures as imposed upon their privacy rights, and unless the political powers take the necessary steps quickly, it is most likely that legal eagles are already preparing their briefs and will be descending upon the courts shortly.

Cash for Clients?

In the court of law, who is your daddy?

Ethics rules prohibit a lawyer from giving or lending money to a client. In New York, a lawyer is likewise prohibited from participating in the loan financing of his clients’ lawsuits. However, in contingency cases, a lawyer is usually the one who puts up expenses up front out of his own pocket and is entitled to reimbursement at the end of the case.

These rules have created ample opportunity for litigation finance companies to jump in and make huge profits by lending money to plaintiffs against their future awards. Simply put, this is state authorized gambling and loan sharking.

The biggest problem is that the industry is unregulated and third-party lending creates certain conflicts, not only in terms of disclosure of confidential information, but mainly because of the third party, the lender, having direct interest in the outcome of the plaintiff’s case.

The question then becomes as to the “ownership” rights of the case. The individual plaintiff is no longer a human being, but a commodity. To make matters even more complex, the loan may be sold and resold between the financing companies, often leading to possible additional fees and even higher interest. These financial arrangements are similar to mortgage financing and needless to say, may lead to all kinds of problems down the rocky litigation road.

Further, because these financing companies are facing certain risks of never recouping their initial investments if plaintiffs do not prevail, their loans are considered “high risk”, and therefore usury laws do not apply. In my own practice, I have seen compounded interest up to 36% per year. When plaintiffs are desperate for money and are unable to work due to their injuries, their small loan amount will often turn into a staggering sum that they would have to repay, thus placing an extra burden on the decision making process as to the litigation strategy and the eventual outcome of the case.

Additional concerns should be noted as to the unscrupulous lawyers who disregard the ethics rules and get involved in money lending by setting up fraudulent schemes.  Under such circumstances, the client’s interests are not at hart as much as the lawyer’s financial gains in what could be considered “double dipping” into the client’s award.

In the other hand, since the costs of litigation are constantly raising, it is very difficult for both lawyers and their clients to be able to finance lawsuits and without proper financing, the plaintiff is left out in the cold without fair adjudication. At least with the availability of litigation funds, albeit at very high interest rates, this type of financing does provide some type of fairness and puts the plaintiff in a power play position against large corporate defendants, who will often spend more money on defense, instead of providing fair compensation to the plaintiffs.

In conclusion, plaintiffs must use extreme caution in taking out loans against their potential future lawsuit awards, and this measure should be used by both lawyers and their clients only after careful considerations of each individual set of circumstances.

No Win for DUI Victims

Unfortunately for the victim, being struck by a drunk driver is usually a no-win situation in terms of personal injury compensation. Most car insurance policies have an exclusionary provision for accidents involving a drunk driver. Simply put, the insurance company for the drunk driver is likely to decline representation and coverage, leaving the victim injured not just physically but also financially.

Under such circumstances, the victim is left to initiate a lawsuit against the driver’s personal assets and/or  against their own household policy, if there is one. There may be a possibility to file claim with MVIAC, a State fund of last resort, however, it is questionable as to whether or not, such claim will be honored. More information regarding MVIAC coverage can be found at http://www.mvaic.com/

The drunk driver facing criminal charges does not provide proper relief for the injured person.

Colonel Shcherbakov

Interesting stuff, I have just read Kommersant’s article in Russian.
Basically says that Colonel Shcherbakov was a high ranking official in Russian Secret Service and he ratted out the names of the spy ring when he came to the US.

Another interesting note is that Juan Lazaro aka Mikahil Vasenkov, thespy who was married to the Spanish newspaper journalist, had been promoted to the Rank of a Russian General and was beat up with fractured ribs by the Americans during interrogations.

This would have been a huge story but both Obama and Medvedev wanted to keep it quiet because of Medvedev’s visit to the US.

Further, as far as Colonel Shcherbakov, the “traitor”, the Russian Authorities are livid, paper says there “a contract out on him” and
even the head of the Russian Secret Service may be replaced because of this incident.