Coping with Head Injuries

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Posted on 2nd February 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Head injuries are among the most common of personal injuries and can range from the every day bump to the life-threatening and fatal. Head injuries can occur almost anywhere though some places or activities carry more risk than others.

High risk areas and activities for head injuries include:

Construction sites or anywhere there is a risk of falling from a height

Contact sports

Diving into water

Car crashes

Cycling

Children’ playgrounds

Falling objects can occur from anywhere including the home and office.

Many things can be done to reduce the risk factors involved. Wearing appropriate safety headgear is essential for cycling, construction sites and many contact sports. Never dive into any water where you are unsure of the depth or whether any hidden objects may be lying underwater. While falls from playgrounds and trees are common in youngsters try to ensure any playground they use has a safety based material underneath. Don’t overload shelving or try to reach top shelves without on your tip toes.

There are three main types of head injury that can occur.

  1. Skull fractures.
  2. Intracranial bleeding – where fluid bleeds from and into the cranial cavity this often causes pressure on the brain.
  3. Closed head injuries – concussion.

Many people become frightened when they see bleeding from the head as it is often profuse. This is simply because the blood vessels are close to the surface. Goose eggs occur for the same reason and are usually not an indication of severe injury.

It is usually best not to immediately try to clean severe bleeding from the head though as this can prevent clotting. If you suspect a skull fracture don’t apply direct pressure to try stop bleeding.

Seeing an object protruding from the head can be particularly frightening. Never try to remove any object embedded in the head. Get straight to the hospital or call an ambulance.

Concussion occurs when the brain is shaken, or strikes the skull. It can cause long term damage. Concussion is sometimes one of the hardest head injuries to tell and sometimes goes unnoticed, particularly in car crash situations. This kind of head injury can accompany whiplash too so it pays to get checked out by a doctor especially if you think you may need to make a personal injury claim.

Any injury to the head should always be watched closely for 24 hours. If a person becomes confused, has difficulty walking or speaking and is difficult to rouse from sleep seek medical attention immediately. Bleeding or fluid coming from the nose or mouth is a sign of major head injury and should be treated as an emergency. If an infant has suffered a blow to the head take them to a doctor anyway, the signs of injury are harder for the average person to read.

As said, some damage caused by head injuries may not show up for some time following the actual accident. Intracranial bleeding and concussions are particularly so. If you live alone, either seek medical attention or find a friend to stay with the first 24 hour period so you can be watched. Many injuries are not severe but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Additional Resources: Dealing With Personal Injury Claims in Coral Springs, Florida, Visit The Weinstein Law Firm.

Preventing and Dealing With Burns

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Posted on 2nd February 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Burns can be one of the most painful types of personal injury. The best way to deal with them of course is to prevent them happening in the first place. Basic safety precautions in the home and workplace can do a lot to reduce the risk of burns occurring.

Kitchens and bathrooms are the most burn prone areas of the home. Reduce risk by:

  1. Turning your hot water temperature down. The recommended level especially if you have children is 120_F (49_C). At this level it would take 10 minutes to burn a child’s hand.
  2. Always test the temperature of bath or shower water with your hand before getting in, particularly for children.
  3. Always keep pot handles facing inwards. Not only can children grab hold of them and pull them down, but adults can catch their clothes on them, jumping cats and dogs may not see them and knock them over too.
  4. Never leave anything cooking unattended.
  5. Use pot mitts when handling hot plates and food. Often things don’t feel too hot when you first touch, but by the time you get that dish to the table it will be burning.
  6. If removing plastic wrap or any kind of lid, be cautious of steam burns. Always remove a lid or any covering away from yourself.

Barbeques are another major area of burn risk. Help prevent risk by:

  1. Keeping your BBQ clean. Old drippings and food bits can catch fire easily.
  2. Never leave a barbeque unattended, especially if children are around.
  3. If you are using gas, make sure the cylinder is checked regularly and turned off after use.
  4. Never ever use accelerants such as gasoline or turpentine to try to start a barbeque. You not only run the risk of burns but of a major fire.
  5. Use good long handled tools to handle cooking food and oven mitts for moving dishes.

Just as gas barbeques should be checked regularly, so should any heaters you have in your home. If you have an open fire or use heaters always be sure to keep a guard around them. This is absolutely essential if you have children in the home.

If you or another person should catch on fire the flame needs to be smothered. Stop, drop and roll. Roll on the ground; roll in a blanket if available.

Treating burns

When burns do occur they need to be treated quickly.

Any burn from whatever cause needs immediate treatment. Ten minutes under running cold water. If running water is not available then any cold water will do. Ten minutes is the best time for two reasons. Firstly burning will be continuing under the skin and it can take that full ten minutes to reach and stop further damage. If you leave the water running longer than ten minutes it can start to destroy the skin and underlying tissue.

For any burn that covers a skin surface larger than the circle made by putting your thumb and first finger together should be seen by a doctor. For extensive burns call an ambulance immediately!

Legal Resource: Tallahassee Florida Personal Injury Attorneys at Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley. Will Help You With Your Claim.

Dealing with Cancer and Medication Management

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Posted on 1st February 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Cancer encompasses a class of cellular diseases in which cells begin growing uncontrollably, while damaging surrounding tissues. Cancer can also spread to other parts of the body (metastasis) through blood or lymph circulation – effectively shutting down bodily functions. This process is known as a malignancy and is different from benign tumors which are self-limiting and will not spread, invade tissues or metastasize.

Although cancer will most often present itself in the form of a tumor, other cancers, such as leukemia, do not. Oncology is the branch of medicine associated with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Cancer can affect a person at any age but the risk factors will increase as a person ages. About 7.6 million patients died of cancer in 2007, which is about 13% percent of all deaths.

Cancer is caused by an abnormality in the affected cell’s genetic material and can be related to carcinogenic materials found in tobacco, radioactive material, certain chemicals and infectious materials. However, random genetic abnormalities can also cause cancer – such as DNA replication errors or inheritance factors. In these cases, the cancer-causing cells may even be present from the time of birth.

Studies related to cancer patients indicate that the majority of cancer patients experience cancer-related pain of varying degrees at some point of the illness and subsequent treatment. It has also been noted that cancer-related pain levels can impair functionality and quality of life. These findings are reflected in studies throughout developed countries where patients are able to receive tertiary cancer medical care. Increased levels of pain are likely, as the disease progresses and pain medications, such as morphine, may be prescribed to manage those pain levels.

Morphine is commonly used since it will not accelerate the cancer process while alleviating the cancer-associated pain. Morphine is a member of a class of medications known as opioids which are usually referred to as “narcotics”. Their primary function is to alter the way that the brain perceives pain. There can be some effects of morphine use that may include dependence and interference of perception and judgment. Even with those side effects, morphine is highly effective in improving the quality of life for many cancer patients.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

If you need to know more about the ramifications of end care cancer, you can visit the website of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A., located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Personal Injury and Automobile Accidents

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Posted on 29th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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If you’ve ever been in an auto accident, you know how disorienting the experience can be. Your immediate concern may be the assessment of any injuries, or potential injuries. If a loved one was in the vehicle with you, you may be focused entirely on them. Of course, there is also damage to your vehicle and the physical welfare of the party or parties in any other vehicles that were involved. In essence, life has become a blur.

However, this is the time that you need to do your best in order to remain calm. If there is no debilitating injury to you, personally, you will have to focus on what needs to be done, directly after an auto accident. The actions you take and the observations you make can directly influence the ultimate outcome of subsequent events.

Besides any needed medical care, your primary goal should be to make sure that you’re fairly compensated for any losses sustained by you and any passengers that were traveling with you, at the time of the accident. This means that, despite the initial shock that can follow an auto accident; you’ll need to take note of the details surrounding this traumatic occurrence.

We will include here, a brief checklist that you may find extremely useful should you find yourself in this unfortunate situation. You may wish to write these items down and carry this list in your vehicle – thus assisting you in the event you are involved in an auto accident and find it hard to focus your efforts. The items on this list can then be used when communicating with your insurance company or with an attorney.

At the time of the accident:

1) Obtain driver information: You’ll need to calmly (and without any hostility) exchange information with all other drivers, that were involved in the accident, such as name, driver’s license number, license tag number, insurance company name and policy number.

2) Photographs: When possible, take photographs of all damages to the involved vehicles and all your personal and passenger injuries. A general view of the accident scene is also needed. If your cell phone has a camera – that would be especially helpful.

3) Police report: Obtain a copy of the accident report if police responded. Ask the officers at the accident scene where you can obtain that copy (get a precinct phone number for directions).

4) Witnesses: Try to get down all names of witnesses, their addresses, phone numbers and any email addresses.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

If you’ve suffered an injury relating to an automobile accident, more information can be obtained from Bloom Legal, serving New Orleans, Louisiana.– visit them at http://www.bloomlegal.com/

Grandparents and Child Custody

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Child custody battles affect the entire family, which includes the grandparents. Hearing your child is getting divorced is not an easy burden to bear. So many grandparents have questions about how they can help their own child and if they will be able to continue seeing their grandchildren.  There are also circumstances where the grandparents need to get involved in seeking custody of their grandchildren. There are many questions, as a grandparent, you may want answers to.  Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions regarding grandparent’s rights dealing with child custody.

How Can I Be There For My Child?

There is no one particular answer to this question given that fact that not all cases are the same.  The most common answer to this however, is to be there for your child as a support system. Let them know you are there to listen to them without making any judgments. Your child will need your help now more than ever so try to be available when you can to help with babysitting or financial burdens. If you are not sure you should ask your child how you can help them, a majority will just tell you.

Do I Have Visitation Rights?

The laws regarding grandparent’s visitation rights vary from state to state. However, the grandparent usually doesn’t have legally binding visitation. The only time this generally changes is if the grandparent is awarded custody or if the courts see a justifiable reason for visitation. Your best option is to keep in close contact and keep a healthy relationship with both parents.

How Can I Talk About These Issues With My Grandchildren?

The answer to this depends on your grandchild. Many grandparents want to be able to do all that they can for their family, so it is only natural to want to be there for your grandchild as well. The answer may not be in explaining the situation to the child in depth. It may actually be that you just simply let them talk, as they need someone to listen to them too.  Just remember to speak appropriately for a child, no negative remarks on either party and try to be as unbiased as possible. This will help eliminate the possibility of confusing the child and causing other problems to arise.

Can I Get Legal Custody?

There are certain circumstances where a grandparent can get custody of their grandchildren. If you have valid proof that both parents are unfit or incapable, you will need to provide it to the courts. You will also need to prove that it is in the child’s best interest and you have been a part of their life for some time.

What Is The Difference Between Guardianship And Custody?

There are many grandparents who chose to file for guardianship rather than custody because it is much simpler. Guardianship allows you to make legal decisions and be a parental figure to the child. This generally occurs when the parent and child move in with you, which will then allow both you and the child’s parent to be responsible for the child.

Additional Legal Source: For more information on child custody please visit WurtzelLaw.com

Employment Tax Disputes

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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The IRS has decided to hand the amount and depth of audits and investigations they perform into compliance by NTT East and taxpayers who are required to pay federal employment taxes.  They will be focusing on:

  • The Classification of Workers;
  • Any Reimbursed Expenses;
  • Executive and Officer Payments; and
  • Fringe Benefits.

When the IRS performs audits they will consist of examining the business’ compliance with regulations that involve:

  • Withholdings;
  • Income Taxes;
  • Recordkeeping Regulations;
  • Trust Fund Recovery Penalties; and
  • Take Compliance.

Employment Tax Reporting

By law employers are obligated to report to the IRS any information concerning who they hired, how much they paid their employees and the amount that was withheld from their employee’s paycheck.  Failure to accurately do so can have a consequence of considerable penalties for the employer.  Along with these penalties if the employer does not report this information in a timely fashion, they may be issued to a worker classification audit, mostly if they report their employees as independent contractors.

Payroll Taxes and Withholding

When the employee has taxes withheld from their paycheck the taxes are the income and Social Security taxes.  In the case that the employer has any non-U.S. employee, they may be responsible for withholding additional taxes.  If the employer does not withhold and pay the taxes to the IRS they will be at risk for monetary fines and penalties such as a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.  The IRS is very insistent on tracking unpaid payroll taxes.  In addition to these fines and penalties the government is also willing to criminally prosecute any individual or business who purposely do not file the payroll tax returns and refuse to pay the payroll taxes.

Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

The IRS can choose to charge the taxpayer who decides not to punctually have the withheld income and employment taxes.  Especially, an individual who is accountable for withholding, accounting for, or depositing and/or paying these taxes and purposely refuses to do so can be individually responsible for a fine equal to the entire amount of the unpaid taxes, in addition to interest.  Individuals who are held personally responsible can be an officer of a corporation, a sole proprietor, a partner, or an employee of any form of establishment if they are responsible of the payout of funds.
Worker Classification Audits
There are two types of workers for federal and state tax reasons: a worker can be either an employee or an independent contractor.  Either type of worker can be a legitimate choice for the business; however, distinguishing between these two types is vital because it has a significant impact on the tax liabilities of the business as well as workers.
When it comes to a business in accurately classifying their workers, the government has put forth a plan to enforce proper classification.  A rise in the amount of misclassification of workers has led the IRS to pay strict attention to this issue. The IRS has decided to join forces with state workforce agencies to lower the number of employees that are classified incorrectly.

Additional Legal Tools: The Thorn Law Group Representing Tax Disputes. Serving all of Virginia and nationwide.

Wrongful Death Cases

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Sometimes a wrongful death cannot be proved deliberate enough to cause criminal action against the guilty party.  The determining factor is intent.  This is often the case in negligent death.  An example of this will be if a person were to run a stop sign due to not seeing it.  If this resulted in death, the act was not deliberate enough to be considered a criminal act.

Someone may cause a deliberate death and be charged at the criminal level, but also be charged with a wrongful death as well.  Not all wrongful deaths are a criminal act.  It is the gray areas that a personal injury and wrongful death attorney can help you with.

No one expects a loved one to die at the expense of another person.  You need to find a personal injury and wrongful death attorney that can let you know what your rights are as a family and the rights of your loved one.  If you are not sure what to do, many attorneys will give you a free consultation so that you know exactly what to expect through the whole process.  They will be with you through the whole process if you decide to proceed with your lawsuit.  Make sure to get an experience law firm on your side.

This article is for informational purposes only.

Legal Pages: Personal Injury Attorneys Abrahamson & Uiterwyk. Helping victims in Clearwater, Florida.

Discrimination of Age of Disability

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Employees come in all shapes and sizes. Some are young or old; some are in perfect health or a few medical conditions. Whatever the case, these characteristics should have little or no importance in the workplace as long as the applicant is able to do their job as well or better than any other employee.  Two forms of common discrimination in the workplace deals with age or disability.

Age Discrimination

Age discrimination is just as prohibited as any other form of discrimination in the workplace.  The government has set forth The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) that ensures employers follow a certain set of guidelines for older employees.  Examples of age discrimination include:

  • An employer forces an employee to retire or fires the employee after a certain age even though the employee is still fully capable of performing the required job duties.
  • An employee over a certain age is discontinued from the employer’s benefit plan or has a reduction in compensation without a pertinent reason.
  • Employees 40 years or older are excluded from job opportunities such as promotions, bonuses, etc.
  • An employer passes over an older applicant for a younger applicant who has less experience or qualifications than the older applicant.
  • Employers are required to treat employees of all ages equally. Using comments such as “grandpa/ma, old-timer, etc.” is considered harassment and a violation of the employees rights.

Disability Discrimination

The government has acknowledged that some forms of disability do not interfere with a person’s ability to work.  There for laws such as The US Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) have been put into effect to protect those with disabilities from being treated unfairly in the workplace.  Examples of discrimination of a disability include:

  • An employer refuses to hire an application that has a disability, such as a being in a wheel chair, though the applicant can perform all tasks required in a timely and adequate manner.
  • An employer deliberately harasses or singles out a disabled employee from opportunities such as promotions or any company gathering.
  • An employer is violating the disabled employee’s right if he or she asks irrelevant questions pertaining to the employee’s disability, medical history, or if they require a physical with no grounds for the exam.

Dealing with situations like these can be challenging, however, companies have departments that are regulated to handle these disputes. All employees have the right to file a report with the human resources or specified department.  A company is required by law to follow up with the dispute, and provide the employee with any information regarding their company policies and regulations.

Additional Legal Resources: Age Discrimination and Disability Discrimination resources. Serving Florida.

The Basics of Whiplash

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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Whiplash is a common injury, particularly after a motor vehicle accident. While whiplash is not typically a life-threatening injury, it can have serious repercussions in terms of long-term pain and disability. In addition, the cost of treating whiplash can have a serious impact on an accident victim and his family. This article will provide the basics about this neck injury, along with what you should do if you sustained a whiplash injury through no fault of your own.

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash, also known as a neck sprain, is an injury to the muscles and ligaments of the neck. It occurs when the neck is forced into a hyper-extended state, which results in the muscles and ligaments in the area getting stretched beyond their typical range of motion. Severe whiplash can also affect other areas of the spine, or result in fractures of the vertebrae, which take much more treatment to resolve and require a much longer recovery time.

Causes of Whiplash

The majority of whiplash injuries occur when the neck and head are subjected to extreme acceleration or deceleration, such as what might occur during a motor vehicle accident. Whiplash cases are seen most frequently when a driver’s car is rear-ended by another vehicle. The car does not even have to be going very fast to cause significant damage to the neck muscles, particularly if the car in front is at a complete standstill. Whiplash can also occur during contact sports or in slip and fall accidents.

Additional Legal Tools: Personal Injury Lawyer Gary Jodat. Serving clients throughout the Bradenton, FL area.

Appealing Your Conviction

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by admin in Uncategorized

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The good thing about the criminal system our government has is that the accused individual has the right to defend themselves in court. A conviction is dependent on a few factors such as the testimony of those involved, evidence, and what the courts perceive as guilt or innocence.  Once the bulk of the trial is over, there will be a verdict of guilt or innocence and then the trial will be completed.  If an individual was convicted and feels it was wrong, they have the option to appeal to the court system.

The criminal justice system offers defendants the opportunity to prove that they are innocent in the court of law. Despite the conviction, the defendant is able to appeal the verdict and possibly have a second trial.  The process of appeals relies on finding evidence that shows the verdict may not have been justified.

Filing An Appeal

The appeal process will begin when the defendant submits a request for their attorney files an appeal of the conviction. The lawyer will file a brief with a higher court or the appellate court.  The courts may request that the transcripts from the original trial, original evidence, and oral argument be submitted with the brief. The appellate court will investigate the first trial and determine if it was a fair conviction. If they feel an error occurred there will be a second trial.

Errors

Some errors the court may find include:

  • Harmful errors- the court will oppose the verdict.
  • Harmless error- an error that possibly didn’t have an effect on the verdict.
  • Fundamental error- an error found in the overall arguments.
  • Reversible error- an error that could be changed and have an effect on the verdict.

The Appeal Process

The appeal is a result of the defendant’s displeasure of the verdict.  The courts will review the decision to determine if there was a serious legal error in the process of the trial. The order of the government levels means that the higher court can overturn a conviction from the lower court. The good news is that defendants have an easier time appealing the verdict compared to the prosecution appealing an aquittal.  Thanks to the Fifth Amendment the defendant is free from being tried twice for the same crime or “double jeopardy”. This prohibits the prosecution from appealing a not guilty verdict.

What Does the Appellate Court Examine?

The appellate court is geared towards investigating whether or not the appropriate procedures were followed throughout the entire trial.  They are not necessarily concerned with proving guilt or innocence.  They will investigate the evidence used to see whether or not it was actually relevant or supporting of the verdict.  It is difficult to prove that the court violated the defendant’s basic civil rights, but it has been known to happen in some cases. However, if the appellate court does not find proof of violation of rights or nay other errors the appeal will be denied and the defendant will have to try another route to have their verdict overruled.

Related legal pages for more information: Attorney Michael Lowe of Dallas, TX. Serving all of Texas.

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