Truck Accidents

Truck accident litigation involves claims against negligent truck drivers and the trucking companies who hire them. Under Federal law as well as Texas law, a driver of a large truck is considered to have an even greater standard of care than other drivers, because of the injuries that their large trucks can cause. Truck drivers break federal laws by driving while fatigued, in excess of the amount of hours they are allowed to drive, at an excessive speed, with overloaded or over sized trucks, and improperly maintained trucks.

Collisions caused by a truck’s failure, faulty inspection and maintenance, or a truck driver’s negligence, can lead to catastrophic injuries.When you put something that heavy on our roads at speeds topping 60 miles an hour, you get a potentially very dangerous situation, with a massive motor vehicle that can run over almost anything in its path. If you add the growing problem of driver fatigue and truck drivers’ being under constant pressure to move cargo – there can be deadly consequences.

Today, with the ever-changing advancements in technology, there is a lot we can learn from analyzing every detailed involved in an accident. Our attorneys and experts use the following information tools to properly help our client's case, truck maintenance records, driving records, driving log books, driver employee records, drug test results, on board computer (black box) data, Department of Transportation data.

Once our investigation of the trucking accident is complete, we head into settlement negotiations or to trial with evidence on our side. Our attorneys know how to prepare and win cases. Our truck accident lawyers work on a contingent fee basis, which means that there is never a fee that you have to pay unless we successfully resolve your truck accident case.

To recover the cost of medical bills, lost wages, and emotional trauma, truck accident victims should contact an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Our lawyers swiftly consult experts such as accident reconstruction experts to gather facts and begin a thorough and far-reaching investigation. Our truck accident attorneys speak with and take depositions from eye-witnesses and company employees.

If you, or some one you know have been injured by a truck accident, please contact The Báez Law Firm, P.C at (210) 979-9777 or visit our websites: http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com http://www.baezlaw.com http://www.sanantoniopersonalinjurytriallawyers.com or http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com/car_and_truck_accident_victims.html for a free initial consultation about your case. That is why we say "We care about your legal needs."

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Pedestrian killed in Fresno Bus Accident had Right of Way

The police investigation recently confirmed that 74 year old man who was killed in a bus accident in Fresno had right of way when the accident occurred.

Initially, it appears that a Fresno Area Express bus was maneuvering a U-turn from Fresno Street onto M Street when the victim, who was crossing M Street at about the same time, was struck by the bus.

After the investigation, the police believe that the bus was about to stop at the intersection when all of a sudden the light turns green. So it proceeded to turn into the intersection, thus hitting the pedestrian which the driver didn’t probably notice. It means then that the victim was in the right.

Statistics shows that there are at least 360 million bus passengers in the US each year, while there are 30,000 commercial buses for tours, charters, special operations and regular route services.

With the rise in numbers is the rise in bus accidents. From year 1990 to 2001, there were recorded 50,000 to 63,000 bus accidents in the US. The figure includes school, transit and intercity buses. Death toll is rather low, fortunately, but injuries reached a staggering figure of 15,000 to 21,000.

In this particular case, civil suit for recovery of compensation must be vehemently and strongly pursued by the family of the old man. This is not to enrich them but to vindicate them for the loss of a loved one.

If the bus was operating illegally such as when it turned out that the bus company was not authorized to operate as a carrier in intestate commerce, then it may be facing more legal repercussion that its owners or operators care to imagine.

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Never, ever ignore a decision-maker’s psychology

Yesterday afternoon I got lucky.

At 4:01 pm CDT yesterday, after watching Intrade’s gyrations as GOP VP predictive market investors had Romney and Pawlenty positions fighting it out for the lead, I commented on this blog that a decision-maker’s psychology is critical to their decisions:



"I am reflecting on how decisions reflect the decision-maker’s psychology. If you were McCain the Maverick, who would you choose? The market leader or an outsider / outlier surprise?”



This morning’s news that Senator McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate in the upcoming Presidential election is a reminder to us all that we ignore a decision-maker’s psychology at our peril.


This reminder is especially important to law firm competitive intelligence professionals who support their firms’ business development efforts. CI professionals working in law firms should be able to develop psychological profiles of prospective clients, particularly those who make the final hiring decision.

And please don’t anybody freak out—developing psychological profiles is a common CI function. Heck, my mother and four sisters do this countless times each day. It’s also how Mrs. Marple solved all those mysteries.

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More forecasting with predictive markets?

Earlier this week, I posted about the possible use of predictive markets to develop competitive intelligence, citing InTrade’s and InklingMarkets’ early warnings that Senator Biden would be the Democratic VP nominee. These tools were brought to my attention by Tom Davis at Cygnus Associates

Late last night watching the Democratic Convention, I heard CNN report that the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, has settled on his pick for a VP running mate. So I trotted over to Intrade to look at the action on Republican VP front-runners. During the preceding 24 hours, Governor Romney’s stock had fallen $20, from $65 to $45, but had started to crawl up again. His price was almost twice that of the next-highest contender, Tim Pawlenty, who was at $24.20.

This morning at 7:30 a.m. I see that Romney’s stock continued climbing overnight and is now up $13.50 at $58.50. In other words, the market predicts there’s a 58.5% chance he will become the nominee. Since midnight, Pawlenty is down by $2.20 to $22.00.

I’m not sure if this is CI or just political obsession, but stay tuned.

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Social Media—in Law Firms and in Life

Although this blog focuses on competitive intelligence, some readers have noticed that the subject of social media (social networks, blogs, listservs, wikis, sharing of photos and video, etc.) has already made a frequent appearance here.

Social media, circa 2008, is a boiling hot topic. A few days ago, Jayne Navarre put up an excellent post over at http://legalwatercooler.blogspot.com about WilmerHale’s four associate blogs. And earlier today the Legal Marketing Association published a report, Humans Seek Connections: The Case for Online Social Networking for law firm marketing and business development.

If you liked the WilmerHale blogs idea, then run, don’t walk, over to www.mashable.com and be inspired by 35+ Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action that are beautifully illustrated by SnapShots. At least half of those examples could be lifted and installed nearly as-is in many law firms to great effect.

For aiding my ongoing education in social media, I thank the team at DuoConsulting, whose links I clicked to discover the 35+ Examples and the following interesting results of the first statistically significant longitudinal study on corporate use of social media conducted by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. The study compares the use of social media by Inc. 500 companies and Fortune 500 companies:

• 39% of Inc. 500 companies have blogs, compared to 11.6% of Fortune 500 companies

• In the past year, 20% more Inc. 500 companies started blogging, compared to 3.6% more Fortune 500s

• 44% of Inc. 500s think social media [are] very important to their business/marketing strategy, compared to 25% last year

• Inc. 500s are most familiar with social networking, while wikis have seen the most growth in terms of familiarity

• 77% of Inc. 500 companies report using at least some social media tool

One possible prophecy based on these findings is that because mainline Fortune 500s are slow to adopt social media, corporate law firms that serve them will also be slow on this front. Yet I will wager that even if your grandfather’s law firm hasn’t yet adopted these tools, the law firm of the future (which all Am Law firms will start mimicking in about 45 minutes) is already embracing them. Social media tools, applied intelligently, can help law firms:

• Create legal knowledge
• Develop competitive intelligence
• Assimilate new lawyers
• Strengthen multi-office legal teams
• Build who-does-what-where directories
• Cement client relationships.

Perhaps you wonder why I’m such an evangelist about social media when I’m no expert and still have so much to learn about it. Perhaps it’s because over twelve years ago, while hanging out on an online writers bulletin board, I met the man who is now my husband. For the next two months, while living 700 miles apart, we traded more than 50 personal essays on everything from poetry to gun control to family values. (Today those essays would be called blogs.) Readers who know Del and me know that our decision to marry was one of the best decisions of our lives.

I urge everyone to learn more about social media. Participate in social media. Use your common sense. Teach others. Relax and let what you learn there inform your decisions—whether those decisions are about which friends to spend more time with, whom to do business with, or whom to marry.

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Two-thirds of Am Law 200 have CI units

A recent survey of Am Law 200 law firms reveals that nearly two-thirds (64%) of those firms now have CI units, more than I had realized.

The CI units at these firms report to:


Marketing - 59%
Library - 33%
Marketing and the library - 8%


Consistent with surveys I’ve seen over the last three years, this latest information comes to us via Law Firm Inc.’s sixth annual survey of law firm librarians. A couple of cogent articles about the survey findings and librarians’ CI roles appeared recently in that publication, both reported by Alan Cohen:


Survey: CI on the Rise at Firm Libraries
Survey Says Librarians Like Their Jobs but Are Displeased With Vendors

The articles spotlight librarians’ enthusiasm for competitive intelligence work, although their CI role is growing slowly: CI took up 9% in library staff time in 2007 compared to 7% in 2006.

The survey also reports that at those firms responding to the survey the CI group reports to marketing at 38% of the firms, to the library at 21% of the firms, and to both marketing and the library at 5% of the firms. I assume the other 36% of firms responding do not have CI units.

If I interpret these findings correctly, this means approximately two-thirds (64%) of Am Law 200 firms now have some kind of explicit CI unit. That’s more firms than I’d imagined had taken the CI plunge.

As the saying goes, “First quantity, then quality.”

I’ll take that challenge!

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Paranoia and law firm CI

I guess it was bound to happen.

In tomorrow’s issue of The National Law Journal you can read a "Special to ..." article called "Competitive Intelligence: What are lawyers' limits?" written by the marketing partner of the Texas law firm Winstead. She proposes that it's time for state bars to start providing regulatory oversight of lawyers' and law firms' competitive intelligence activities.

The article expresses the opinion that lawyers and law firms may not have sufficient judgment, ethics, and morals (yes, morals—read the article) to develop and use competitive intelligence. Don't miss the parts about stalking prospects' children's MySpace pages and Sunday School classes to gain mysterious business development advantages.

Because context is always important, it’s worth noting that the author, who is her firm’s marketing partner, appears to be the only lawyer at her firm who does not permit her photograph to be published on the firm’s Web site.

Now on to the article itself.

The author was apparently motivated to write this article in part after reading a basic CI primer I wrote that was published in the March 2008 issue of the ABA's Law Practice magazine, "How to Create and Use Competitive Intelligence: 45 Tips for Law Firms." What's not clear from the The NLJ author's article is what, if anything, about the 45 Tips piece raised an alarm.

The author comes a bit late to the CI conversation, stating that “At least one vendor offers a software program that compiles legal, financial and business content combined with tools to create informative and tactical reports.” Actually, off the top of my head, I can think of more than 30 vendors providing this kind of content to law firms.

She then urges that lawyers and law firms refrain from using all information that is publicly available to build competitive intelligence, implying it’s not only unsporting, but unethical:


CI research on a target client can be generated legally, yet yield information that a target wants to keep confidential: the value of homesteads or mortgages, payments and standings, criminal history, religious affiliations, school affiliations, civic affiliations, taxes and more. It is a murky area requiring more attention, and many disagree on what is ethical and what is not.

After worrying about the shadiness of those who troll MySpace sites, she goes on to pose one of the oddest key intelligence topics I’ve never thought of before: “Should cancer patients receive letters from estate planners because lawyers can buy wig vendors' client lists?”

To which, after ROTFL, I loudly answer, “Of course not!” I could also pose, as could anyone with a creative streak and time on their hands, about 400 other horrifying, hilarious, and completely bogus red herring key intelligence topics no law firm in the world would ever investigate. I must also admit that I had no idea lawyers could buy wig vendors' client lists.

She then suggests that the new influence of competitive intelligence in law firms may lead to the weakening of lawyers’ moral fiber:

Experts agree it is unethical to misrepresent one's status or position to obtain information. But what about failing to identify yourself in a public place when others around you are talking about a competitor's proprietary information? Is an act of omission (failing to identify yourself) in the gathering of CI unethical? Is taking advantage of someone else's mistake unethical? What about misrepresenting intent versus identity in gathering CI (saying you are conducting a legal industry survey when you are really only interested in gathering CI regarding a particular subject)? These questions highlight the dichotomy between moral conduct and current ethical
standards.

It seems clear to me that the above so-called moral questions have confronted human beings (including lawyers and investment bankers and husbands and wives and lovers) ever since the appearance of the cocktail party. But by mentioning them here, the author seems to suggest that law firm advertising really was the gateway drug that has now led us to these queasy CI crossroads.

The article concludes with a call that “law firms should take the lead” in getting state bar associations to start regulating lawyers' and law firms' CI activities:



Ideally, as they have done with advertising, each state's bar association or other regulatory body should create a code of ethical conduct relating to the generation and use of CI. In the interim, each law firm should consider the creation of its own clear ethical standard or perhaps, at a minimum, require their professionals to join SCIP and adhere to its ethical code.

Undoubtedly, if individual lawyers and law firms are not proactive in this regard, then at some point in the future, the public disclosure of one lawyer's offensive CI research methodology or use will cause the profession to address these issues publicly — but only after the reputation of the legal profession has been damaged once again.

Here, finally, is something I agree with. Anyone who works in a CI position should join SCIP, thereby requiring them to agree to SCIP’s code of ethics. I and many others (thousands of us working in CI, actually) have said and done this for years. And to any law firm that wants to go SCIP one better, I say, Go for it!

But surely getting state bar associations involved to oversee law firms’ CI activities is overkill, to say the least. And even if they did get involved, how would they oversee lawyers’ and law firm employees’ participation and behavior at:

• Facebook and other social networking sites?
• Blogs?
• Parties, restaurants, and ballgames?
• Airports?
• The steps of churches, synagogues, and mosques?

More problematic is the question of who and why and under what circumstances someone would decide to file a competitive intelligence grievance? And what evidence would constitute proof of a CI offense?

At the heart of this article is a fully expressed apprehension about the financial and societal transparency that information aggregators and the Internet now offer anyone with basic research skills. The article also grieves, understandably, at the erosion of privacy some of us who are older (including me) used to enjoy.


But although I appreciate and sympathize with these discomforts, I cannot support the conceit that lawyers and their employees will behave professionally and appropriately only when their good taste, common sense, and morals are even more highly regulated by local state bar associations.

I look forward to everyone’s comments on this one.

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Predictive markets = skin in the game

This isn't a political blog. But this past week's deliberations about the VP picks offer us an opportunity to think about how markets and events can be predicted.

(Note that this post is being written before the Democratic vice presidential choice has been officially announced.)

This past Tuesday, August 18, I received an email (as some of you may have also) from Cygnus Associates, a company that designs and deploys "predictive markets for business." The subject line read: Predictive Markets Signaling Biden as Obama VP Pick.

This subject line referred to predictions made by markets like the real-money market at InTrade and the paper money one at InklingMarkets. On Tuesday last, Biden was selling at Intrade just below $50 with volume up sharply on both markets, meaning real bucks were saying there was a 50% chance Biden would be Obama's VP pick.

At the time of this post, it's four days later and just after midnight on Saturday morning, August 23, an hour or so after ABC news reported a Secret Service detail has been sent to cover Senator Biden. His price on Intrade has now risen to almost $99 and to $94 on Inklingmarkets.

In other words, Senator Biden is as close to a sure thing as it's possible to be before the event happens. And there were strong early warnings earlier this week that he was a sure thing.

So how might predictive markets be useful for law firms that want to make better decisions? First, consider that both voting and investing money (whether real or paper) are two ways in which people communicate what they want for their future. Second, voting and investing (betting and re-betting) require individuals to gather, synthesize and distill all the information they have into intelligence. Predictive markets pool that intelligence and perfect the crowd's wisdom.

No one knows for sure what's over the horizon or what the next new thing is. But when we put some of our own skin into a game, we're more likely to participate in important ways that shape the game's outcomes. And that's certainly something every law firm's leaders would like to see all partners do -- participate more.

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Reporting a Boat Accident

Due to its proximity to the ocean, boating has become a foremost recreation in California. Even boating enthusiasts from other states come to the place to experience the joys of sailing.

But accidents happen when we least expect it – even at sea.

The article “Boat Catches on Fire in Marina Del Rey” posted on August 19, 2008, tells of a boat, which caught fire near the north jetty of Marina del Rey. Luckily, for the two people on board, they were immediately rescued by responding firefighters. The cause of the fire was yet to be determined.

Urgent response is always required for an emergency like this. Anyone involved in a boating accident that results in serious injury, death or disappearance must notify authorities as soon as possible.

A boat operator is required by law to file a boating accident report (BAR) when an accident happens. The Code of Federal Regulations 33 CFR 173.55 (2001) requires a BAR to be filed with the nearest state boating authority under the following circumstances:

1. when a person dies

2. when a person is injured and requires medical treatment

3. when damage to vessels and other property totals $2,000 or more or there is a complete loss of any vessel

4. when person disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury

If you happen to get involved in a boating accident, you must file an accident report with the Department of Boating and Waterways if:

• a person dies, disappears or is injured and requires treatment beyond first aid

• property damage exceeds $500 or there is complete loss of a vessel

Accident reports must be filed within 48 hours of the occurrence if a person dies within 24 hours of the accident, is injured and requires medical treatment beyond first-aid, or disappears from a vessel.

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How Discretionary is Discretionary bonus

Now that the ‘-ber’ months is coming, we usually think of bonus, among other things. And when we talk of bonus; the issue of whether the same is discretionary or non-discretionary will come into picture.

Determining whether your bonus is discretionary or not, is important. The legal implication with each kind varies.

Discretionary bonus, as a rule, can be withheld from the employee provided it is done in good faith. Non-discretionary bonus, again as a general rule, cannot be withheld.

Issues branch out when we speak of discretionary bonus. Questions arise like have the employers all the power to withdraw discretionary bonus because in the first place, it is that – discretionary?

Can the employer exercise discretion in not paying discretionary bonus?

In both instances, the employer cannot. As mentioned, the exercise of discretion to withhold the bonus must be made in good faith. It must not be withdrawn from the employee capriciously or irrationally.

The discretion to mean at employer’s will and want is not absolute after all. An employer must always be fair and just in his dealings with his employees. His rights, though clearly his, must be exercised in good faith and in reasonable grounds.

Lack or absence of good faith and reasonable ground would constitute a cause of action against the employer by the employee. For those who have been unfairly treated and denied discretionary bonus, it is imperative to speak with a labor or employment attorney right away and stand for your right.

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CI and LinkedIn redux

Last week, the Marketing the Law Firm newsletter published an article called "LinkedIn: A Competitive Intelligence Tool." Because the article was repurposed on law.com it got more coverage than it deserved.

The gist of the article was: "Look at the fascinating competitive intelligence that can be harvested from the information that lawyers display on LinkedIn!"

To which I say: Phooey!

The patterns the author thinks she found (and, for some reason, values) in the LI data she reviewed could have been investigated much more accurately by reviewing law firms' Web sites, Martindale data, and LexisNexis and Thomson info-aggregator tools.

I won't pile on much more, since the article's been appropriately excoriated by Jayne Navarre and others on the Legal Marketing Association's listserv and at The Legal Watercooler, where an anonymous commenter aptly described the article as "CI numerology." What a wonderful term of art that is, and one I plan to borrow.

But more frustrating than the overreaching interpretations in this article is that it continues to confuse law firm readers by suggesting that any of this mess is intelligence. It's not. There's nothing that a firm would or could or should do as a result of discovering any of these patterns she claims to see.

Information strives to answer the question: "So what does this mean?"

Intelligence strives to answer the question: "So what does this mean we should do?"

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Time for a law firm CI blog?

For some time I've thought it's time we had a blog on competitive intelligence that serves the business development and growth needs of law firms.

I'm a likely candidate to blog on this topic, since I work in the area of law firm CI. But for years I've thought of myself as an unlikely blogger, with the usual objections:

1. I'm too busy (true)

2. I'm afraid I'll look foolish if I publish something I haven't fully thought through (will surely happen)

3. What if nobody cares (that would surely eliminate concern #2 above)

So how's about I just hang out here and don't tell anybody about this blog until I get the hang of it.

Sounds good. Let's go.

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California: Boating Accident Capital?

The article, “California Leads in Boating Accidents Nationwide”, posted in August 11, 2008, has placed the state in the map of accident-prone areas, particularly for its high incidence of boating accidents. In contrast to this image of the state, the information may actually do more harm than good to California, which is better known for having “some of the most perfect conditions for sailing”, owing to its extensive coastline and good beaches.

However, no less than the state Department of Boating and Waterways has confirmed this information, recording approximately 804 boating accidents last year, making California the second leading state with the most number of boating fatalities.

The agency data also noted a steady increase in the number of victims at 30 percent from 42 percent the previous year.

The department has enough reasons to be alarmed. In a study done recently, it identified some of the common causes linked to boating accidents. They are:

• operator inattention

• inexperience of the operator

• excessive speed

• other external factors such as weather conditions or boat defects

What’s surprising is that most of these accidents (the Department says) may be avoided or preventable. For instance, the study also showed that of the 71 percent fatalities that drowned, at least 87 percent of them were not wearing life jackets.

Basic safety precautions like wearing of life jackets and following proper and safe boating practices can help in reducing the number of boat accidents. The US Coast Guard recommends boating safety guidelines that all boating enthusiasts may follow.

Boating accidents, like all other accidents, can actually be prevented. With adherence to safety guidelines and learning of some basic boating skills, one can avoid accidents or know how to deal or confront when the situation arises.

If people will only heed the call to maintain safety when sailing or boating, then perhaps California may regain the pride of being a safe destination for boating enthusiasts all over the country.

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Battling Motor Vehicle Accidents in Los Angeles

For quite a long number of years, Los Angeles is experiencing great troubles in dealing with various types of motor vehicle accidents that results to thousands of people injured and even killed.

Most of these untoward incidents are being caused by those people who are negligent and careless with their behavior. Further, during these recent years, famous celebrities are also facing annoyance and dangers in dealing with paparazzi photographers who frequently go beyond their limits just to take a close shot on them.

Enough is enough for these irresponsible acts as many Hollywood stars echoed their appeal against paparazzi. During an inaugural meeting, held at the LA City Hall, celebrities gave their testimonies of dangerous chases and dreadful experiences with paparazzi.

However, the Police Department seems so sluggish and uninterested in forming a task force to battle these occurrences. They said that all the existing rules and operations are just enough to handle paparazzi problems.

In my opinion, I think that it is just time to establish a group operating against paparazzi. We should not wait until such major accidents occur due to these dangerous dealings.

Even our celebrities have their right to protection on the roads – and creating a special task force may keep them safe from those people who earn money at their expense.

Paparazzi photographers must learn to respect the privacy of these celebrities at some point. They must also be aware that our laws will apply if they have caused injuries and damages resulting from such performances.

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The Prevalence of Multi-Vehicle Collisions on Freeways

Commonly referred to as one of the most fatal incidents on streets, multi-vehicle collisions or pile-up accidents bring about more than a thousand of injuries and deaths in California alone. That is, since the state envelopes some of the most dangerous highways and freeways in the United States.

As reported recently, a multi-vehicle accident again happened in one of the busiest freeways in California. Three different types of vehicles have been the subject of such accident, which killed two young victims. It involved a truck trailer that rear-ended a car situated on the back of a motorcycle, which stopped along the freeway for unknown reasons.

The drivers of the car and the motorcycle, who happen to be siblings, died on the spot due to the impact created by the raging truck that failed to make a timely stop.

This example tells us how risky it is to be driving on major highways and freeways where thousands vehicles of various kinds run wild. Many motorists are still unaware of the dangers of driving without caution.

Primarily, negligence is the root cause of most multi-vehicle accidents. These irresponsible individuals still assume that they own the road and fail to care about the safety of other travelers. As a result, they tend to cause great injuries and damages.

Now, to at least the accounts of these accidents and misfortunes, I guess the authorities should strictly implement more laws that will castigate these negligent drivers. Also, they should conduct more seminars and campaigns about road safety.

Nevertheless, our motorists should me more vigilant in traveling. They should know how to foresee accidents in various conditions.

Finally, for those who have already been injured in a multi-vehicle catastrophe, they should understand their legal rights. Consulting a credible vehicle accident lawyer can then be advantageous in pursuing a legal action against the liable parties.

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Frequency of Roll over Accidents

Most of us spend most of our time on the road traveling from one place to another for work, leisure activity or fun. Expectedly, we face great risk of meeting an accident – a roll over crash for instance.

True enough, when a family of five was on their way home from a fishing trip, a roll over crash spoiled their day. They were sent to the hospital although sustaining minor injuries. The reports failed to state the reason for the accident.

In a more recent roll over accident involving two vehicles - Chrysler sedan and a Chevrolet Suburban, it appeared that defects in the design of one of the vehicles were apparent.

The said accident had been the subject of a blog “Three Injured in Santa Rosa Chevy Suburban Rollover Accident” posted on August 3, 2008.

These accidents happened only in two months!

Ultimately, roll over accidents or crashes pertain to the vehicle’s stability in making turns. It usually happens to pickup trucks or sport-utility vehicles. The typical cause is that the vehicle is either so loaded or simply defective.

Regardless of the cause of the accident, we should be alarmed. Accident like that should not suppose to happen at all much more on a monthly basis. Action should be taken to prevent, if not completely eliminate, this kind of accident.

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Frequency of Roll over Accidents

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Do We Need a New Law to Protect Disabled Employees from Discrimination?

Last 25 June, the US House of Representatives approved an amendment to the ADA or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The ADA is a law which prohibits “private employers, state and local governments and employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, or in the terms, conditions and privileges of employment.”

Also in places of public acomodation such as schools, restaurants, parks, etc.

This time, the law, termed the ADA Restoration Act of 2008, is born to restore the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

In order to give the law more tooth in preventing further discrimination of our disabled citizens, the law is amended to make clear the following, among others.

The ADA should be interpreted broadly to provide ample protection for people who experience disability discrimination.

Impairment that “substantially limits a major life activity, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working”, does not need to limit another major life activity to be considered a disability.”

An episodic impairment or impairment in remission is still a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when it is active.

It is improper to take into consideration most measures that would reduce the impact of impairment, such as medication, prosthetics, or other technology, when determining if an individual is disabled.

Employees are protected from discrimination if their employers discriminate them because they perceive the employee to have a disability, even in fact there was none.

The law is still “wait and see”, pending approval of the Senate and the signature of the President.

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Do We Need a New Law to Protect Disabled Employees from Discrimination?

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Swimming pool Accident

Swimming pools are essentially attractive and eye-catching but with inherent hazards especially for children. These so-called ornaments have caught our attention with so much case of accidents and drowning scenarios.

Like in the recent case of the 6-year-old daughter Ruby, of Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood, where it was held in critical condition following pool accident that happened at the home of Fleetwood’s family friend in Los Angeles.

Ruby was the victim of an accident that is extremely serious, as held by the doctors treating her. According to the hospital spokespeople, she has made remarkable progress and doing quite well though, she still has not made a complete recovery. The doctors and the Fleetwood’ are optimistic that she will recover fully from the injuries she suffered.

Setting aside speculations on what really transpired in the incident, if anything the swimming pool accident and like cases underscores, was the importance of maintaining pool safety at all times, especially where there are children involved.

Whether the pool is situated in private homes, hotels or in public, pool safety must be taken huge considerations (at all times) by swimming pool owners or operators, as these provisions are common source of accidents especially for the sector of the kids.

For otherwise, the failure of the owners or operators to maintain their swimming pool in safe conditions or of them deficient in providing pool safety measures, will hold them liable for any accident or injury that may happen thereto. Specifically, a constitutive premise liability case can be filed against them.

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Swimming pool Accident

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Employee and independent contractor: A comparison

Often times, employers are confused on how to treat someone working for them, whether to treat them as employee or an independent contractor.

To avoid misconceptions and confusions, the California’s Employment Development Department (EDD), in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is offering a seminar on employment status issues.

This information had been the subject of the blog, “Employee versus Independent Contractor”. The author relayed that the seminar is available from time to time. An online webinar or CD is also available for free.

Well, this will be useful especially to employers. Knowing the difference between the two will greatly affect employer’s dealing on matters such as withholding of income taxes or withholding insurance or medical taxes.

My professors in law school taught me that in determining whether the person providing service is an employee or an independent contractor, the degree of control and independence must be considered.

An employer must have control over the employee’s means and method. Regardless what the employment contract states, if all evidence points to the existence of an employee-employer relationship, then that will hold true.

Now that I am practicing law myself, my guide is to examine the entire relationship and look into the degree or extent of the right to direct and control. Only after doing those steps that I can arrive at a conclusion.


The keys are to look at the entire relationship, consider the degree or extent of the right to direct and control, and finally, to document each of the factors used in coming up with the determination.

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Employee and independent contractor: A comparison

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Another Vehicular Accident in California freeway

Another vehicular accident, particularly one involving a big truck, happened in one of California’s freeways just a couple of days ago.

The accident was reported to have occurred on the I-5 Freeway. It involved a big rig truck and an SUV near the San Clemente State Beach. The SUV was the first vehicle to figure in an accident when the truck struck it causing the latter to rollover several times.

The big truck was then reportedly carrying 60,000 pounds of food cargo.

When the two vehicles collide, both the SUV and the truck caught fire. The truck driver was airlifted to a hospital. The SUV driver was lucky to be uninjured.

Vehicular accident, such as this one, is one of the common sources of personal bodily injuries and deaths in the US.

In California freeways in particular, it is very common to see accidents involving large trucks.

For those who are involved, one thing I could suggest is to go after whosoever is responsible for the damage. Under the law, they may sue the driver, or the owner or anyone which contributed to the accident.

They may recover damages by hiring a competent car accident or personal injury lawyer. In doing so, they may realize that they can get a lot more than to grab hasty settlements from insurance companies.

A good accident lawyer is the key.

In the US, there are more than 6 million car accidents and from that figure, 42,642 lost their lives.

One person dies every 13 minutes or 115 each day. Others suffer bodily injury which range from temporary to permanent injuries.

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Another Vehicular Accident in California freeway

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The Right to Recover Full Amount Billed for Medical Services

The Court decisions in Hanif v. Housing Authority (1988) 200 Cal. App. 3rd 635 and Nishihama v. City and County of San Francisco (2001) 93 Cal. App. 4th 298 are to the effect that when a personal injury victim is insured, the damages that may be recovered is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred, not the amount stated in the actual medical billing.

These decisions draw disapproval from some, especially personal injury lawyers who represents the victims.

For starter, the insured victim pays premium to the insurance company. And if any one is entitled to benefit from such “investment” it is he who pays the same.

In effect, the decisions negate this simple logic.

It allows the defendant to benefit from the victim’s prudence and from the output of negotiation between the insurer and the hospital, clinic or medical institution as the case may be, which wouldn’t have materialized in the first place if the victim didn’t insure himself.

That was the concurring opinion in another more latter case. But, being a mere opinion, it has no binding effect to future cases with the same points in issue.

The court will still follow Hanif and Nishihama.

It may or may not be overturned in the near future. Let’s just hope that the Supreme Court uphold what is more beneficial to the injured person.

After all, the victim had already suffered personal injury. It’s not right that he suffers once more.

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The Right to Recover Full Amount Billed for Medical Services

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