Month: February 2017

Do you really need a lawyer to work on your personal injury cases? No, says Liberty Law. The average person can handle their own personal injury claims if they aren’t too complicated. All you need is basic knowledge of how accident claims work, organization skills, and a lot of patience. If you can work through it on your own, you won’t have to deal with an unruly insurance company later too. Depending on how minor your losses are, you can work the law in your favor and gain more compensation in the end because lawyer fees will not be an issue.

What Types of Claims Can You Handle?

The common claims you can handle on your own include car accidents, bike accidents, and pedestrian accidents. Slipping, tripping and falling at home or on the road are also minor enough to handle on your own. You can also go it alone if you suffered a minor injury from a bad product you were using. Now, you shouldn’t just take for granted that all personal injury claims can be handled on your own.

There are times when you need a lawyer to help you get the most out of your case. Serious accidents that result in trips to the hospital and possible disability are examples of these. If you weren’t hurt badly and you didn’t lose a lot in terms of damages, representing yourself might be a good choice, as long as you feel confident enough to do so.

Personal Injury Claims are Simple

While lawyers who want your money will try to convince you otherwise, personal injury claims are actually among the easiest to handle and settle. You typically won’t have to do much other than writing a few letters and making some calls to an insurance negotiator. Most of the people you talk to won’t know anything about the legal part of the proceedings, so you won’t even need technical knowledge.

Claims are Paid Out Procedurally

You aren’t paid at random for your claims. The amount you are paid is the product of a complicated, but structured, calculation that takes into account the details of your accidents, the injuries that resulted from it, as well as your medical costs in the end. Whether or not you employ a lawyer, the overall claim will be just about the same.

You’re the Only One Who Knows Your Claim

Since you were the person involved in the accident, you’re the person with the best knowledge of what happened. At the end of the day, you were present, and they weren’t. You know exactly how you suffered, what you suffered from, and what caused it. Use this to your advantage to gain the upper hand in a claim settlement negotiation.

Remember that hiring a lawyer is never a bad idea. It just makes more sense to do things on your own at times. That said, try to keep a lawyer on hand if you ever need backup, such as if your claim is challenged in court.

Accidents can happen anytime anywhere. Often, it catches you unaware or when you least expect it. It can happen while at work or on the road or even while having fun with co-workers during a company event. Some may require a trip to the ER while others can require hospitalization. Though many preach about prevention, in-house lawyers in PaceLawFirm.com highly recommend that you gain knowledge about how to tackle a personal injury claim. Fortunately, there are various ways to maximize your personal injury claim.

1. Know your claim’s triennium. Illness or injury claims have a triennium or limitation period. Most of these carry a time limit of 3 years while those in behalf of children stretch as far as a child’s eighteenth birthday. A quick check at PaceLawFirm.com via its toll free number or free consultation form will help in this quest. Be reminded that different types of personal injury sustained also carry different time limits.

2. Handpick a reliable personal injury lawyer. Do not just settle for a general practitioner but rather, choose a specialist who has extensive credentials on personal injury cases. Before you choose, however, it is crucial that you carefully scrutinize the trustworthiness and reliability of the lawyer. Lawyers are quite aplenty these days. Picking the right one requires research and, if possible, recommendations from people you know. Also, make sure to hire one that’s accredited or living in your area for convenience and ease of access.

3. Always record the injury sustained at work in the company’s logbook. Most businesses have their own operational logbook. If there is none, feel free to consult a doctor or go directly to the ER. Take pictures or video recordings of the incident—and make sure to put a time stamp to it. Make sure to email concern to your employer or via the HR department to ensure that incident be put on record.

4. Do make sure that your doctor has all the necessary information on the incident or any previous mishaps and, most importantly, be committed to your medical appointments. Your lawyer will most likely arrange a specialist on your sustained injuries to help give an expert medical opinion. Aside from following the appointment calendar, it is also important to be as honest as you can with your attending physician.

5. Never lie to your attending physician during an accident. Insurance companies tend to

You were stopped, asked questions, told to get out of your care, and subjected to all manner of tests and tasks. You were then arrested and charged with DWI. All that happened that evening comes back to you as a living nightmare. The charge still hangs over your head and threatens to ruin your reputation and career.

Don’t Let Injustice Rob You Of Your Future

There are many legal strategies that can be devised to resolve the troubles you face. And with the help of a good attorney, such as those found at Keller Law Offices, you can begin to pursue one or more of them.

You should not have to be penalized for an incident or action that you were not involved in. For the fact is that law enforcement officials often get it wrong. Let a lawyer who specializes in DWI cases help you out of your legal situation, so that you can go back to the pursuit of your dreams.

Contacting a lawyer is the best option when you’ve been taken into custody or have a summons to appear in court. The law regarding DWI can be complex and intricate and the penalties can be serious and severe. Let a lawyer help you. Lawyers are specifically trained to give you the comfort and advice you need to achieve a favorable outcome.

Lawyers are important in preserving your rights under the law. And when you are looking for someone to represent you, you want to ensure they are experienced, knowledgeable, and honest.

Why The Charge May Not Bear Scrutiny

Drunk driving is not a minor charge. The consequences of being convicted can be severe; it is therefore vital that you take the matter seriously. Your family is behind you. The few friends you’ve told are also supportive. What you need now is an attorney who can pick the prosecution’s case apart and show where and how they’ve gone wrong.

Police and prosecutors can sometimes rush to judgment when it comes to levying charges. They do not always follow the strict letter of the law when it comes to DWI cases. There are many actions that the person who pulled you over and arrested you had no right to take. You may have stood up for yourself at the time and not complied with everything he asked you to do. However, there are no grounds for convicting you of a DUI just because you refused a breathalyzer. And the officer may have acted illegally in stopping you to begin with. These are all things that need to be looked at closely. And your defense attorney is the one to do it.

If you are confronted with DWI charges, a lawyer can help you handle your case with thoroughness and professionalism. It is not an easy situation to be in. You must remember, however, that you are not guilty unless proven to be so. Fight your corner and get the legal help, advice, and assistance you need to do effectively.

If you or a loved one was harmed in a car wreck caused by the carelessness of another driver, you probably have the grounds to file a personal injury claim against the other driver and seek financial restitution for your harms and losses.  If you are looking for a car accident injury settlement that properly compensates you for your medical bills, time missed from work, and pain and suffering, you will need to negotiate with an insurance adjuster. This is primarily because auto insurance companies do not make the “best” settlement offer at the beginning. In fact, they routinely take advantage of injured drivers by making low-ball settlement offers and convincing drivers that the low dollar amount is “better” than hiring an attorney and going to court. Always remember, an insurance company is focused on generating profit and they do this by minimizing their financial liability after an insured driver causes a serious accident and harms other drivers.

Never Forget – the Auto Insurance Adjuster is Not Your Friend

If you get seriously hurt in an auto accident, do not be surprised if an insurance adjuster for the other driver’s insurance company calls you within 24 hours. They may, initially, act quite friendly and sound like they are on your side.

Do not fall for this ruse.

The objective of an insurance claims adjuster is to get a personal injury claim resolved for the least amount of money as possible. This is why they often call you right away, even before you’ve had a chance to undergo a thorough medical examination by your primary care physician. They’ll ask to record your phone conversation in the hopes that you may say that you’re “feeling fine” (which they may try to use if your claim escalates to litigation).

If you want to avoid the hassle and stress associated with speaking to an insurance adjuster and negotiating a settlement, you should contact an experienced Virginia Beach car accident lawyer to represent you. A personal injury attorney takes the burden of negotiating your claim off your shoulders and works to get you the compensation you deserve.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Personal Injury Settlement?

The length of time to settle a case depends on many factors, including the type of accident, the extent of your injuries, the amount of damages in question, the amount of available auto insurance coverage, and so forth. It is important to keep track of the amount of time it takes to try and settle your claim because if negotiations break down, you can only file a lawsuit if you are within the applicable time period prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Again, retaining an experienced car accident injury attorney in Virginia Beach will make your life easier because, once hired, they will keep track of all the necessary deadlines and ensure your lawsuit gets filed on time, if needed.

 

 

Whenever a celebrity is arrested, it’s easy to shrug off the convictions and assume they will never face any actual consequences. After all, how many times has Justin Bieber been stopped by the police and walked away scot-free? It seems like money and notoriety can get you out of anything. However, this isn’t always the case. Even if they don’t go to jail, many celebs pay for their crimes through hits to their reputations or lifestyles. Here are four celebrities who fought the law — and the law won.

Lindsay Lohan

Image via Flickr by Luca Venturi Oslo

Lohan is one of the first people who comes to mind when anyone talks about celebrities getting into trouble with the law. Lohan seems to constantly be in court for cocaine possession, disturbing the peace, and other questionable behavior. Needless to say, this one-time Disney star is not a role model that parents want their kids looking up to.

Lohan’s first arrest actually came from a DUI in 2007. It’s easily one of the most Memorable Celebrity DUIs of our time because it set off a laundry list of criminal problems for the star. Almost 10 years later, Lohan is still struggling to stay sober and on the right side of the law.

Matthew McConaughey

McConaughey is known to be a laid-back celebrity, so it makes sense that his criminal charges would center around him relaxing at home. Back in October 1999, police arrived at McConaughey’s Texas home with a call of a noise complaint. They found the actor sitting naked and playing the bongos. While that isn’t a crime (at least not in your own home), marijuana use is.

For the most part, McConaughey’s reputation has bounced back, but the star did learn a valuable lesson about respecting his neighbors’ right to sleep at two in the morning.

Robert Downey Jr.

Downey Jr. can give Lindsay Lohan hope for the future. If he can get out of his rut, she can, too. Between 1996 and 2001, the Iron Man star racked up a list of arrests related to cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. After the first arrest, RDJ was sentenced to three years of probation. The next year he violated his probation and was sentenced to six months in prison.

In 2015, the actor was officially pardoned for his crimes by California’s governor. Today, he is worth $180 million.

Stephanie Pratt

In 2006, The Hills actress was arrested for shoplifting more than $1,300 worth of clothing. Pratt was only 20 at the time, and she and a friend were taken to police headquarters where their bags were searched — and drugs were found. This added to her charges.

Even when she was filming on The Hills, the actress struggled with the law. She received a DUI and had to agree to a 30-day rehab program in order to continue on the show.

These weren’t the first celebrities to get arrested, and they certainly won’t be the last. Fame offers a lot of temptations, and it’s easy to think you’re immune from the law — until the law catches up with you.

A lawyer is someone that most people hope they will never need to hire. However, it is basically inevitable that you will need to secure the services of competent legal counsel at some point in your life. It is critical that the lawyer you choose for this important task is very good at his or her job. Otherwise, the chances of you winning your case could go out the window. Hiring a lawyer is not an easy thing to do. There are so many lawyers and all of them claim to be the best at what they do. How can you tell which lawyers are best suited to represent you during your case? Here are several tips that should set you on the right path.

1. Will the lawyer agree to be paid on a contingency basis?

Lawyers have many different methods in which they are willing to be paid. You should try very hard to find a lawyer who is willing to receive his or her payment on a contingency basis. This is just a fancy way of saying that your lawyer will not receive any payment unless he or she wins your case. This gives your lawyer extra incentive to do the best possible job to win your case. Your lawyer might not be motivated to work very hard on your behalf if he or she knows that your payment will be coming regardless of the outcome of the case.

2. What type of track record does the lawyer have?

This is not the sort of info that you will be able to find out on the website of any lawyer. You will need to dig deep into their background in order to discover if they have ever been sued for negligence. Have they ever had their law license suspended for any reason. It goes without saying that this is very crucial info that you need to know before you hire a lawyer.

3. How many years has the lawyer been practicing law?

You should only hire New Port Richey attorneys who have been on the job for a considerable length of time. You should not consider being represented by a lawyer who has been practicing for less than six years. This amount of experience will be enough for you to have peace of mind that your lawyer will do a good job.

The shock and suddenness of an accident can throw your world into complete upheaval. The process of recovery can take months, if not years. There is also accumulation of bills and the missed opportunities for work. All of this can take a toll on both you and your family.

The law offers remedies. A slip and fall, a pedestrian accident, a car crash, a bust or motorcycle accident—all can fall under the purview of the law, and you can get compensation is you have been involved in any of these accidents.

Getting Justice Is Not Always Comfortable

You have always tried to right by others. You have never been the kind of person to stir up trouble or disrupt other people’s lives. But doing what is right is not always comfortable. Your mild mannered nature should not keep you from getting justice. More importantly, you and your family should not have to suffer because someone else was reckless or people in business could not bother to take certain safety precautions.

Filing a personal injury suit against another individual or against a company is not about revenge or greed; it is about justice, it is about doing right by yourself and the people whose welfare you’re responsible for.

The Kind Of Attorney You Need

If you think you’re owed money for the pain and joblessness you’ve suffered, then lawyers such as those found at the Cogburn Law Office can provide you the services you require. A car accident, a bus or track accident, or even a slip-and-fall can lay you up in a hospital bed with bills to pay and time off work; indeed, such an accident may even lead to your losing your job. Don’t take it. Get the money you deserve for damages.

Personal injury lawyers have the knowledge and expertise to get you the money you have coming. Litigation in such matters can be quite vexing, but with the right lawyer on your side you can ensure that you receive a fair settlement. Litigators are important in preserving your rights under the law. And when you are looking for someone to represent you, you want to ensure they are experienced, knowledgeable, and honest. You also want service that is efficient and courteous.

Getting the right legal advice for your particular situation can help you pursue the justice you’re looking for in the right way. Litigators are trained to bring all of their knowledge and expertise to bear on your case. And they can help you get the compensation and closure you need to get on with your life. This can be of great importance during periods such a period of vulnerability.

Fight Back

It can be especially intimidating to take on a big company that has through negligence caused you to suffer. However, even rich and prosperous corporations must answer to the law. They may try to silence you or give you an inequitable settlement. You do not have to give in. Hiring an attorney will help you fight back.

In the wake of numerous scandals like Enron where companies have exploited the public and committed fraud, the government now requires publicly traded companies to have a robust ethics and compliance program in place. The requirements have been changed or added by regulators over the years as they enact detailed laws and step up enforcement in a number of areas. Today, it has become the norm for Fortune 500 companies to have rigorous compliance training programs, have compliance professionals on staff as well as detailed policy manuals. But, what about non-Fortune 500 companies? Should they have a compliance program in place?

Here are the top five reasons for every business to adopt a compliance program:

Reason 1: Stay out of trouble

One of the most important reasons for adopting and enforcing a good ethics and compliance program is to prevent a violation of the law. When you have implemented a good corporate compliance program, you will be able to identify the problem areas early and prevent costly mistakes. There is no need for a good compliance program to be expensive and it should be tailored as per the company’s operations and business. In this way, it will be able to focus more on areas of higher risk, whether it is employment, environmental, government procurement, ethics, antitrust, employment or any area where federal, state or local laws provide for corporate civil or criminal liability. Here’s an interesting page with more information in this regard: https://www.minutesdepot.com/press

Reason 2: Stay out of court

With a robust compliance policy, a business can be protected from adverse legal action, depending on the kind of offense. When subcontractors, employees or business partners make bad decisions, a knowledgeable corporate counsel and a solid compliance program can convince prosecutors or regulators not to press charges.

Reason 3: Create business advantage

Government entities, large companies and foreign concerns are looking for business partners who have effective corporate policies. A good compliance program and a reputation of being an ethical business can lure in top talent and also make your business an attractive option for potential partnerships, acquisition or merger considerations and for contract opportunities.

Reason 4: Protect your reputation

As far as compliance mistakes and ethical violations is concerned, the adage ‘any press is good press’ doesn’t really apply. Even rumored or suspected violations can damage the reputation of your business and provide competitors with a solid advantage. When a compliance program is implemented, it sensitizes employees to key issues and also strengthens your reputation as an ethical and diligent business.

Reason 5: Mitigate your damages

If a problem does arise, courts and enforcement officials generally look favorably on businesses that had solid corporate policies in place for preventing problems. As a matter of fact, a business that cooperates with investigation can actually get a 95% reduction in fines as per the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, as long as they maintained an effective ethics and compliance at the time of violation.

These are some excellent reasons for adopting an effective ethics and compliance program for your business in the long run.

There is one area of expertise that requires a lot of precision. I am thinking here about the law. Even the smallest of mistakes can mean the difference between losing or winning a case and this is why everything has to be written in a very clear and precise way. In other words, Legal translation is something that matters a lot if you happen to be in the business.

So what is legal translation anyway and why such a fuss about it? Why is it so important to entrust the fate of your legal documents to somebody who is experienced enough to handle them the right way? Since the main principle of legal translation is to explain and convert of legal documents written in a precise language into another, it is no wonder that only the most skilled of translators are able to undertake the task. What is more, many of such translators also have a very vast knowledge about the law, which further allows them to make the well-informed decisions when it comes to translating some of the toughest of documents one can possibly imagine. What is more, legal translation is all about the transformation of written material, but at the same time taking into consideration the legal structure of the country the translator is working for.

if you have a legal practice and are faced with a task of having to translate some of your documents into another language, you will be better off if you are going to hire a professional translator to do everything for you. Even if you feel like you know another language, this might not be enough to convert a legal document into a text that makes sense in an another foreign language. Very often, the services of legal translators are required in order to accomplish the goal of as precise translation as possible.