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Tuesday 30 April 2013
Disability Insurance Bad Faith, Part 4
In part 4 of the Disability Insurance Bad Faith series, California insurance attorney Eric Ratinoff explains what constitutes a good own-occupation disability policy. 
How to Drive Safely Despite Wintertime Conditions
Dallas survived snow on Christmas Day (Wasn’t that fun for all the kids?), and we should get past New Year’s Eve with no ice on the roads. But this is still a good time for some winter driving tips. This guest post is from Richard McMunn:
Although there is a simple method that motorists can use to prevent wintertime accidents, in the form of avoiding the road altogether under bad conditions, that is not a practical solution for most individuals. Sometimes motorists must brave the roads despite poor visibility, frozen or semi-frozen precipitation, and almost invisible patches of black ice on the asphalt. These motorists should adopt cautious driving practices and have their vehicles readied for winter, while also keeping supplies on hand to handle bad contingencies.
Motorists should get their vehicles checked out even before winter has arrived. Wintertime conditions are often more stressful on vehicles, meaning that the chances of vehicle failure are higher during winter. Similarly, the consequences of vehicle failure are also more serious during winter, meaning that motorists should have greater incentive to make sure that their vehicles are in top condition. Not a single aspect should be neglected, not even the lights and windshield. Depending on the local climate and road conditions, motorists should also get their tires replaced. All-season tires might be suitable in more temperate climates, but such tires are not meant to handle either ice or snow and should be replaced with snow tires. Motorists who have questions about the best preparation for local wintertime driving conditions should never hesitate to consult their mechanics.
Once out on the road, motorists should exercise additional care appropriate to their current driving conditions. For example, if there is precipitation falling, motorists should turn on their lights to alert oncoming vehicles, reduce their driving speed, and maintain more distance between vehicles to compensate. Similarly, motorists should not come to sudden stops as that can send vehicles skidding, which is more reason to maintain the additional distance. Inexperienced motorists should take particular care when passing over less-traveled roads that are prone to freezing over due to the absence of traffic. On a related note, both experienced and inexperienced motorists should tell someone their travel route in case they get lost or become stranded out in the cold.
Motorists should also take care to maintain a kit to get them through roadside emergencies. In general, such kits contain tools and supplies for both getting them out of roadside emergencies and handling the aftermath. For example, beacons and flares tend to be essential to wintertime kits, as are rope, shovels, and salt that can be used to dislodge stuck vehicles. Similarly, most kits should also contain booster cables, spare tires, and tire sealant. For survival purposes, wintertime kits should also include food, water, warm clothing, a flashlight, either a blanket or a sleeping bag, plus a first aid kit that also contains needed medications. Stranded motorists should remain in their vehicles for shelter, rely on light sources to flag down passing vehicles, try to avoid strenuous labor, and avoid running their engines. Of course, all motorists should also bring along cell phones to contact the proper authorities in case of need.
Richard McMunn is the director and founder of How2become.com; a career and recruitment specialist. Richard has written a number of books and helped numerous applicants prepare for and pass recruitment processes. Connect with How2become on Twitter.
References:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/winterdrive/winterdrive.shtml
http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/drivingsafety/drivingsafetytips/snow.htm
Source: http://www.pissd.com/2012/12/how-to-drive-safely-despite-wintertime-conditions/
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VA and Social Security Won’t Use Paper Checks After March 2013
I wrote in 2011 about the change coming to Social Security or VA benefits — there will be no more paper checks after March 2013. Recipients must have their benefit money deposited directly to a bank account or must sign up for a Direct Express debit card.
The Direct Express card was created so that the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs could send benefits to people who don’t have bank accounts. Under the program, the government would add your monthly benefits to your Direct Express card. The card can be used to make purchases, pay bills, or get cash.
To apply for a Direct Express card, call Social Security at (800) 333-1795 or visit GoDirect.org.
Source: http://www.pissd.com/2013/02/va-and-social-security-wont-use-paper-checks-after-march-2013/
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Colorado Health Warns Dr. Stephen Stein Patients To Get Tested for HIV, Hepatitis
LawyersandSettlements.com just posted an important alert from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment—patients of facial and oral surgeon, Dr. Stephen Stein, who had practices in Highlands Ranch, CO and Denver, CO—are urged to get tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Patients of Dr. Stein may have been exposed to infection, the Colorado health department reports, as Stein had been found to have re-used needles for procedures on multiple patients.
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Traumatic Brain Injuries, Part 3: Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
In part 3 of the Traumatic Brain Injury series, California brain injury attorney Eric Ratinoff discusses what causes traumatic brain injuries, and offers some statistics about brain injury in the United States. 
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What Does A Smile Mean? (Updated)
Jeff Bauman in the hospital after the Boston Marathon bombing
Jeff Bauman is in the picture to the right. He is in the news right now because he had the great misfortune of being near one of the Boston Marathon bombs.
In the picture Bauman is smiling and giving a thumb’s up. He is also missing both of his legs. Actor Bradley Cooper is to the left and New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (who tweeted the picture) is to the right.
As soon as he woke up in the hospital, he asked for pen and paper to write that he saw the bomber and then went on to help the FBI.
I bring this smile photo up today because, over the years, I’ve covered several rulings by courts that deal with defense attorneys asking to fish through the Facebook and other social media sites of plaintiffs. They ask to fish because the plaintiff is smiling in a photo and claim that the smile is inconsistent with suffering.
Here are two examples: In Davids v. Novartis, drug-maker Novartis went fishing on the basis of a smile in a photograph and Magistrate Judge Williams D. Wall slapped it down, writing, “is not clear to the court, one picture of Plaintiff smiling does not contradict her claim of suffering, nor is it sufficient evidence to warrant a further search into Plaintiff’s account.”
By contrast, a Suffolk County judge permitted access to Facebook based on the same theory, writing in Romano v. Steelcase:
In this regard, it appears that plaintiff’s public profile page on Facebook shows her smiling happily in a photograph outside the confines of her home despite her claim that she has sustained permanent injuries and is largely confined to her house and bed. (see also, in contrast, Eric Goldman’s commentary on the Romano photo)
Perhaps future courts will take note of the picture of Bauman, with a smile and a thumb’s up, to note that a smile in a snapshot does not magically mean everything is well.
As Bauman makes abundantly clear in this picture, people can smile for a multitude of reasons. It may be because they are happy to be alive. Or because someone said something humorous, even at a funeral. Or simply because of instinct when someone lifts a camera and hollers, “Say cheese.”
Judges and practitioners, please take note.
Updated (4/26/13) – Another smile, this time from bombing Heather Abbott. One week after the bombing, she had her leg amputated. Prior attempts to surgically repair the leg had failed.
Three days after the amputation she appeared at a press conference. And smiled. You can see her expression here.
A smile may mean many things.
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Landlord and tenant – Indemnification
Where (1) a plaintiff was injured while attempting to enter commercial space leased by his employer from the defendant and (2) the defendant has asserted third-party claims against the employer, a motion by the employer for summary judgment must be denied, as the defendant is not barred from enforcing an indemnity clause in the parties’ lease.
Source: http://masslawyersweekly.com/2013/04/22/landlord-and-tenant-indemnification/
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Technology Increasing Dangers of Distracted Walking
I’ve written many times about the dangers of driving while distracted, whether by cell phones or conversations with passengers. But good grief — now we also have to worry about the dangers of distracted walking!
So many of us walk around with earphones blaring and focused on our smart phones, reading e-mail or sending text messages, that we’re placing ourselves in harm’s way. This problem was detailed in a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Here are excerpts:
A young man talking on a cell phone meanders along the edge of a lonely train platform at night. Suddenly he stumbles, loses his balance and pitches over the side, landing headfirst on the tracks.
Fortunately there were no trains approaching the Philadelphia-area station at that moment, because it took the man several minutes to recover enough to climb out of danger. But the incident, captured last year by a security camera, underscores the risks of what government officials and safety experts say is a growing problem: distracted walking.
On city streets, in suburban parking lots and in shopping centers, there are usually people strolling while talking on phones, texting with their heads down, listening to music or playing video games. The problem isn’t as widely discussed as distracted driving, but the danger is real.
Reports of injuries to distracted walkers treated at hospital emergency rooms have more than quadrupled in the past seven years and are almost certainly underreported. There has been a spike in pedestrians killed and injured in traffic accidents, but there is no reliable data on how many were distracted by electronics.
State and local officials are struggling to figure out how to respond, and in some cases asking how far government should go in trying to protect people from themselves.
In Delaware, highway safety officials opted for a public education campaign, placing decals on crosswalks and sidewalks at busy intersections urging pedestrians to “Look up. Drivers aren’t always looking out for you.”
Philadelphia officials are drafting a safety campaign that will be aimed in part at pedestrians who are looking at their devices instead of where they’re going. “One of the messages will certainly be ‘Pick your head up’ – I want to say ‘nitwit,’ but I probably shouldn’t call them names,” said Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation and public utilities.
A University of Maryland study found 116 cases over six years in which pedestrians were killed or seriously injured while wearing headphones.
About 1,152 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms in the United States last year for injuries suffered while walking and using a cell phone or some other electronic device, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But that’s likely an underestimate because patients may not mention they were using a device at the time they were injured, said Tom Schroeder, director of the commission’s data systems.
Source: http://www.pissd.com/2012/08/technology-increasing-dangers-of-distracted-walking/
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Monday 29 April 2013
Asbestos & Mesothelioma Litigation Part 2: Asbestos Containing Products
In part 2 of our 8-part Asbestos Litigation series, Asbestos & Mesothelioma attorney Doug Rothschild describes the type of products and environments where asbestos is typically found. 
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