An Oregon man found out that being “extremely bored” doesn’t make skipping jury duty okay. Grant Faber, 25, “just couldn’t take it” anymore so he decided not to come back to jury service from a lunch break. The judge, understandably displeased, put out an arrest warrant for Faber based on contempt of court. Now Faber’s situation was pretty extreme, considering he did actually show up and just decided to leave in front of the court’s face....
Having a pacemaker put in requires heart surgery, which is a very serious operation. Pacemakers are little devices that keep the heart beating in proper rhythm. Generally, the device is surgically implanted in the shoulder, stomach, or near the heart, and wires are attached from the device to the heart. The device works by constantly measuring the rhythm of the heartbeat and using little electric shocks to keep the heartbeat at the proper rhythm....
You know it’s not a good idea to play Pokemon Go while you drive. But you just can’t help it! The game is so captivating and you feel – unsurprisingly considering the hype about this augmented reality app – that you gotta catch ’em all. Since its release, Pokemon Go has already been involved in a lot of accidents, injuries, and even crimes. Police departments have been tweeting at players to pay attention on the road to no avail, and even pedestrians are having trouble staying safe while playing....
This week is the SBA’s Small Business Week, so we’ll be featuring legal advice for small businesses all week long. Today’s topic is closing up the shop you opened – how to sell or end your business. Most entrepreneurs don’t want to think about walking away from the companies they’ve founded, but that day comes for almost all of them. Whether you’re moving on to the next big challenge or riding off into the sunset of retirement, the day will come when you and your small business part ways, so here’s how to be prepared and to sell or end your business in the right way at the right time....
When suing a hospital or a doctor, you usually seek to recover past and future medical bills, lost wages, and other financial losses. But you can also seek compensation for pain and suffering. Generally, a person can pursue a claim for pain and suffering when they are injured due to negligence and experience either pain or suffering, individually or combined. Pain and suffering compensation is essentially what it sounds like. If a person experiences physical pain, or suffers mentally from things like stress, anxiety, or depression, and the pain and/or suffering can be attributed to a compensable injury, then money can be awarded for it....
The Supreme Court overturned a man’s conviction for making violent threats on Facebook. Anthony Douglas Elonis had been found guilty for posting about killing his ex-wife, law enforcement officials, and even a kindergarten class under a federal threat statute. Elonis had defended the posts, saying they were similar to rap lyrics and they were not intended as threats. It was the intent portion of the statute that the Court had a problem with....
The “ringleader” in the 2008 assaults on young football team members at a training camp was sentenced in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last week. Mark Gallegos pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual penetration, three counts of attempted criminal sexual penetration and a count of conspiracy. He was sentenced as a juvenile by State District Judge Mark Macaron. “Mr. Gallegos, your life is not over because of this. It could have been 30 years,” Judge Macaron said, according to a report by the New Mexican....
The technological advances in the medical field can be life-altering and life-saving. Unfortunately, they can also be life-threatening in some cases. Some new medical devices have fatal flaws, and even perfect devices can be deadly in imperfect hands. Manufacturers of medical devices can be held liable for devices that are defective or cause injury to patients. Here’s a look at three recent medical device lawsuits, from our archives: 1. Superbug Injury Risk From Olympus Medical Scopes Olympus is probably more well-known for their personal cameras, but they also make medical cameras and scopes, namely a duodenoscope that’s used to inspect the top of the small intestine....
While a father’s rights regarding his unborn child are limited compared to those of the mother, they aren’t nonexistent. There is still an important role for the father to play as well as some important decisions that he can be a part of. Most of those decision-making rights are retained by the mother, but the father can have a vital role in the unborn child’s life, both emotionally and legally....
While most people tend to think of discrimination in terms of race, gender, disability, ethnicity, and age, another category exists that many people are unaware of entirely: genetic information. Not only do civil rights laws protect against discrimination on the basis of a person’s genetic information, there are strong prohibitions against employers even conducting genetic testing on their employees. A person’s genetic information can include information that may not necessarily reflect a disability, but rather a personal trait, medical information, or other characteristics....
It seems like every time we read about a legal decision, whether in a civil or criminal case, the losing party is promising to appeal. And one of the great features of our justice system is that very few decisions are final – many legal rulings, whether by judges, juries, or administrative officials are subject to review via an appeals process. But that process can vary depending on the type of case and the kind of appeal being filed....
By Guest Writer Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. Not paying the rent for your commercial lease can have long term negative consequences for your business. A negative credit report can affect your application for a business loan and for the lease of another location. Plus, your personal credit can be affected. You are still liable for the rent if you personally guaranteed the lease. This means your personal assets, bank accounts, and home are at risk....
Cigarette manufacturer RJ Reynolds has been slapped with a $23.6 billion jury verdict, with more than 99 percent of the vast sum made up by punitive damages. Putting it mildly, juries’ love affair with tobacco companies has cooled in the last few decades, but it’s still surprising to see a jury want to punish RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company this much. Plaintiff’s attorney Willie Gary told the Pensacola News Journal that jurors “wanted to make a difference” after hearing how RJ Reynolds and others “lied and failed to disclose information that could have saved lives....
Sadly, animal attacks and bites occur all too frequently. Sometimes it’s a sneaky raccoon slipping in the pet door, sometimes we’re bitten by snakes trying to protect our pets, and other times we’re bitten by snakes that are our pets. And then there are the times when our pets bite a stranger or even a family member. Liability in all these instances can vary, depending on the ownership or care of the animal and where the attack happens....
Sometimes, getting compensation for your injuries can be as easy as writing a strong and convincing demand letter. Here are some tips to help you write a powerful personal injury demand letter: Before you write anything down, make sure you’ve gone to a doctor and had all your injuries diagnosed. Keep and gather any doctor’s notes and medical invoices. Get pay stubs if you missed any days of work and lost wages....
Even if you know you and your spouse aren’t right for each other, getting a divorce can be a scary process. Of course there are the big questions – what happens to the kids, or the house? But also all those little questions you may not have thought about – how could this affect my taxes, or my business? We’ve got those answers and more in our seven best legal tips when you’re getting divorced....
The recent death of actress Natasha Richardson, who suffered a fatal head injury after a seemingly minor skiing accident, has drawn attention to serious head injuries and the role that helmet laws might play in their prevention. While there is no definitive proof that a helmet would have prevented Richardson’s death, there is no doubt that use of a safety helmet can go a long way toward protecting you from severe head injuries....
One of the tropes often trotted out in immigration debates is the notion that undocumented immigrants are getting services meant for citizens without paying into the system that funds those services. While this has been proven untrue (Pew Research estimates 8 million undocumented workers and their employers paid $13 billion in payroll taxes in 2010), the myth of undocumented immigrants getting a free ride in the U.S. persists. And few forums are as ripe for this sentiment as public education....
Many businesses that plan to show the Super Bowl this Sunday don’t plan on getting sued for doing it. But unless you’re very careful about copyright law, the NFL’s lawyers could potentially come knocking at your door. So how can a business get sued for showing the Super Bowl? Part of the problem of airing something like the Super Bowl at your bar, restaurant, or even electronics store is that you have not paid the NFL for the license to display the Super Bowl and make a buck off it....
A California cancer patient was fired after limiting his travel during his ongoing treatment. Charles Wideman was 59 when he was discharged. He had planned on working for his employer, Acme Electric, until age 67. Acme Electric, a Wisconsin-based company, said that they fired Wideman because he was not living up to his job duties - which included traveling to meet with customers, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Commission disagreed, saying that the company’s conduct was discriminatory....
