Posts

Kevin Pearce was living the dream until he suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. An international snowboarding sensation, Pearce was training for the 2010 Olympic trials when he did a trick and crashed. His Olympic dreams were dashed but not his fighting spirit. Pearce and his brother founded Love Your Brain, an organization which supports brain injury survivors and their caregivers. He also helps by sharing his story, which is proof positive that it’s possible to recover from a traumatic brain injury....

We want to take care of our parents and elderly friends and family, and with so many stories of elder abuse out there, trying to choose the right caregiver can be troubling. Any wrong decision could have disastrous consequences, so how do you get it right? To be sure, there are compassionate, considerate, and caring professionals out there that can help elderly loved ones live their best life for their remaining years....

Summer is now officially upon us. Along with the long days, warm nights, and summer vacations, millions of people will be driving to the beach for some fun in the sun. However, when it comes to driving in beachwear (like flip flops or extra dark sunglasses), for the most part, there’s nothing to worry about it, at least legally. However, some choices are better than others. Here are five frequently asked legal questions about driving in beachwear, and information to help keep you safe....

Hopefully you already know that protecting your small business’s intellectual property is essential to your success. But you might not know the best ways to do it. For example, the differences between trademarks, copyrights, and patents can be difficult to discern, and there are cases where you may not need to actually file a trademark to have the benefits of trademark protection. You may not even know the questions you need to ask to get started....

Three elderly women from Florida allege that they were the victims of a TSA strip search while leaving JFK Airport last week. Each of the three suffers from an ailment requiring a medical device. One has a defibrillator and back brace; another wears a colostomy bag; and the third wears an insulin pump to treat diabetes. Lenore Zimmerman, 84, was the first to go public. She claims that she was intimately searched after requesting not to go through the body scanner....

While lots of bosses want their employees to think that they are a cool, funny and approachable, they should be aware that there is a line that should not be crossed. The Navy is currently investigating whether that line was crossed when Capt. Owen Honors aired a series of “clearly inappropriate” videos aboard the USS Enterprise replete with gay slurs, mimicked masturbation, men in drag, a mock rectal examination, and last but not least, women who appear to be showering together....

The recent hack of the Office of Personnel Management exposed the personal information of some 21.5 million people. That’s almost 15 percent of the country. So understandably, it may take some time to notify all those people. Could you be one of them? Here’s what the OPM does, and why they may have your personal information. Federal HR The OPM handles job postings for the federal government, sets policies for hiring those positions, and conducts the background investigations for prospective employees and contractors....

By now you should know whether your small business has to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). What you may not know is whether you can be a little overzealous in asking about the health of your employees. As it turns out, the ADA prohibits employers from subjecting employees to “overly broad medical inquiries,” as a trucking company found out when it required all of its drivers to notify the company of any contact with a medical professional....

When you win a lawsuit, you may think you’ll be getting the full amount of the jury award - but be aware, many states have enacted damages caps that might limit the amount of damages that you receive. What are damages caps, anyway? Say you have a claim against a doctor who may have been negligent in providing you care. This means you might have a medical malpractice claim. Essentially, medical malpractice claims are usually for injuries or wrongful death as a result of the doctor’s negligence....

Tax Day came and went and you did nothing. Well, you probably did something – you just didn’t file your taxes. You didn’t even file for an extension like we told you. And now you might be wondering whether the IRS will come calling for their money. Can they arrest you for not filing your taxes? Send you to debtor’s prison? The good news is you’re probably not going to jail, yet....

Starting a new business, particularly a tech startup, can be filled with legal pitfalls for the unprepared. If a company is not ready to address legal problems that can arise early on, then VCs will be unlikely to invest, and the startup may not be able to survive past infancy. Since each business is different, the potential legal problems tend to vary, even within industries. Below, you’ll find three of the more common legal risks that tech startups face....

Jeff Bush was asleep in his Florida home when a giant sinkhole opened under his bedroom. The 37-year-old man is presumed dead in this very unfortunate accident, Reuters reports. But can anyone sue over this sinkhole? Or was it simply a freak accident for which no one is to blame? It doesn’t happen often, but sinkholes have been known to form and cause massive damage. This is especially true in parts of Florida....

Right after a car accident, it may be impossible to know whether you or one of the others drivers will file a lawsuit. Fortunately, you don’t need to be able to see the future to know what you need to do, just in case. And because you can’t go back in time to the accident, you need to know how to prepare for a legal claim before a car accident happens....

You entrust your child to the care of another and hope the person will treat your kid well. Usually everything works out, but sometimes kids get hurt. It happens, and sometimes an accident is not anyone’s fault. So you want to know what will happen if your kid is hurt when with a babysitter. Can you sue the sitter? The answer as it so often is in the law is yes, but it depends on the circumstances....

Gay marriage bans in Arkansas and Mississippi were struck down as unconstitutional in separate federal courts late Tuesday. Within hours of each other, Judges Kristine Baker in Little Rock, Arkansas and Carlton Reeves in Jackson, Mississippi ruled that their respective state’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law. Reuters reports that as of Tuesday, there are 35 states where gay marriage is legal, but these rulings may bump up that number....

You probably can’t sue if you’re struck by lightning, but you may be able to sue if a tree falls on you while camping. At first blush, both may seem like random acts of God. However, while lightning strikes are probably completely unpredictable and happen in an instance, the fact is that trees usually take some time to fall and there are steps that a park can take to prevent injury....

What do bloggers, baristas, and construction workers have in common? They all suffer from repetitive motion injuries at work! Repetitive motion injuries, also known as cumulative trauma injuries or repetitive stress injuries, are caused when overuse or repetitive motions puts strain on certain muscles, tendons, or bones, causing pain or injury. Common repetitive stress injuries include carpal tunnel, tendonitis, and bursitis. A FindLaw survey has found that repetitive motion injuries constitute 20 percent of workplace injuries....

The holiday season is mostly behind us, but there is still a big one ahead. New Year’s Day is a secular occasion that inspires celebration in people of many cultures. We raise a glass, relieved that the past is done, and we resolve to make the year ahead better than the last. New Year’s celebrations can be a great way to clear the slate. But the law does not require private employers to pay time-and-a-half to workers who toil on special occasions....

Drones are all the rage these days, and they can make for a dangerous rage. When they’re not crashing into crowds at tennis tournaments, they’re being shot at by your neighbor. And in more severe cases, they can cause serious injury when not operated with care. Here are five of the worst of those cases: While the FAA is still sorting out its drone regulations, negligent drone operators could be held liable for any injuries they cause....

As strange as this story may sound, it might become a whole lot more familiar over the following months given the current state of foreclosure fraud litigation. A family in Simi Valley, California, moved into their home on October 9, but they had to jimmy the locks to do it. The home belonging to the Earl family had been foreclosed on and sold, not once, but twice. However, the new owners are going to have a heck of a time moving in, the Earl family is all moved in and set up and their household includes nine kids, two cats and a dog....