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As a small business owner, you’re probably more focused on your product than on employee pensions, but if an employee dies, knowing how your company and the state deal with death benefits could come in handy. So here’s a primer on what death benefits are, who’s eligible to receive them, and how they could impact your business. Insurance Death Benefits As the name implies, death benefits are insurance payments to a spouse, children, or other dependents when an employee dies....

Running a stop sign can be three points on your license. A DUI can be four points. And speeding can be anywhere from two to six points, depending on how fast you were going. Every state has a system for assigning point values to different kinds of traffic offenses, and they can often function in very different ways. So where do these points come from, and how can points affect your license?...

It may only be two years old, but it appears as though New York’s Yankee Stadium is already causing trouble for some fans. Portia Walton, a 54-year-old Yankees fan, is suing the ballpark, alleging that an exposed outlet gave her the shock of her life during an April 4 game against the Minnesota Twins. While waiting for a friend outside the stadium’s Hard Rock Cafe, Portia Walton alleges that she stepped on an exposed power outlet that was connected to an electrical cord serving a nearby souvenir stand....

Hire an attorney. Though personal bankruptcies can sometimes be handled by non-attorneys, for a small business bankruptcy you will need to file in bankruptcy court, and will have to represented by a licensed attorney. Seek referrals and recommendations, and consult online directories such as FindLaw’s Lawyer Directory to research your local options. Look at the attorney’s website, consider their experience with filing for personal business bankruptcy, and then do a phone or in-person consultation before engaging an attorney to represent you....

A new study suggests preventable hospital deaths may be far more common than most people realize. As many as 440,000 people die may each year from preventable medical errors, and not the illnesses that landed them in the hospital in the first place, researchers estimate in the Journal of Patient Safety. Some of these preventable mishaps include simple but grave errors such as a sponge being left inside a surgical patient, improper medication being injected, or equipment being contaminated, Forbes reports....

Prescription drugs can save lives. But they can also be dangerous. Along with the life-saving effects of these drugs, they also come with potentially harmful side effects. And, in some cases, pharmaceutical companies can be liable for injuries from side effects of prescription drugs. Here’s a quick rundown of the five most dangerous prescription drugs, their medical potential, and their potential side effects: Drug companies can be liable for side effects if they failed to adequately warn users or prescribers (like doctors or pharmacists) about the known dangers of the drug....

With travel between states simplified by the advent of cars, trains, and airplanes, many people find themselves embroiled in legal matters away from their home state. A common question that FindLaw gets from our readers is whether an attorney can practice in any state. The simple answer is no: Attorneys must be admitted to the bar in each state they wish to practice in. However, legal answers are rarely so simple, and indeed, there are exceptions that would allow an attorney from one state to practice in another state....

A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union revealed that Catholic-run hospitals regularly deny female patients certain reproductive health care options based on religious directives. The report also notes that in some states, 40 percent of all hospital beds are in a facility that complies with Catholic directives on health care. Denial of certain care options can be life-threatening. So what kind of procedures are Catholic hospitals prohibiting and is it even legal to deny medical care for religious reasons?...

Contrary to a popular myth among renters, a landlord can attempt to evict a tenant during any time of the year, even the dead of winter. Despite the seemingly cruel notion of kicking a person out of their home when the weather outside is frightful, for a landlord, business pressures often require goodwill towards mankind to take a backseat. Sadly, winter time evictions can have fatal results for the elderly and impoverished....

R.J. Reynolds was ordered to pay an additional $15.7 million in interest to Barbara Izzarelli, a Norwich resident who developed larynx cancer. She was previously awarded $13.9 million by a jury, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Barbara Izzarelli first filed suit in 1999 and offered to settle for $400,000. R.J. Reynolds declined the offer. Now they have to foot the bill for the misstep. When R.J. Reynolds complained the interest was excessive, Judge Stefan Underhill rejected their claim....

Workers’ compensation is the insurance coverage most employers are required to purchase or provide to compensate employees who are injured in the course of employment. It generally acts as a substitute for a lawsuit against your employer (although in some instances you may still be able to file a lawsuit to recover for workplace injuries). But just because an employer is typically required to provide workers’ compensation coverage doesn’t mean that your workers’ compensation claim will necessarily be approved....

You need an organ. Doctors warn that it will take a while unless you are willing to risk taking an organ from a less than ideal donor. What do you do? And if something goes wrong, who will you successfully sue? A Massachusetts case decided last week provides a scary but interesting perspective. Doctors and an organ bank that transferred a diseased kidney from an alcoholic homeless man to a patient in need of a transplant, giving him a rare rodent virus, were found not guilty of negligence in a medical context by a jury last week....

They neither hover, nor are they boards, yet we persist in calling them hoverboards. And despite the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s warning that no hoverboard is safe, we persist in buying them, riding them, extracting teeth while riding them, doing drive-by shootings from them, and, yes, dying from them. Now the families of two girls killed in house fire started by a hoverboard that burst into flames while charging are suing the distributors of LayZ Board self-balancing scooters, seeking around $700,00 in damages....

Despite gas prices marching toward the $5 mark, the travel industry is predicting that Americans appear ready to travel again this summer. Whether you intend to brave the gas pump sticker shock and take a road trip or head abroad, it’s important to plan ahead. Border Crossings Before you cross the border into Canada, Mexico or another country, check the laws about entering that country. For example, if you intend to travel into Canada, you may not be allowed to enter if you’re asked and you admit to a charge of driving under the influence, according to FindLaw....

Getting sued can be a scary prospect, but there are ways to defend a car accident injury lawsuit. Don’t Admit Fault This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people doom their own cases in a rush to apologize or explain how a car accident happened. Figuring out who is at fault in a car crash can be a complicated procedure; one that’s better left to the courts....

If you’re involved in a car chase, who’s liable if it ends in a crash? This is one of many questions being raised after a violent car crash that occurred in Detroit last month. Police claim a man was allegedly chasing his girlfriend on the freeway. The girlfriend drove over a guardrail and crashed into an oncoming pickup truck, killing four people. The boyfriend who allegedly started the chase was taken into custody, Detroit’s WJBK-TV reports....

Thanks to a new article by the Pew Research Center, a 2009 study on whether divorce is “contagious” has resurfaced and made a big splash in the media – even comedian Stephen Colbert has weighed in on it. The study finds that you may be more likely to get a divorce if friends or close relatives call it quits with their spouses. Considering the divorce rate for couples over 50 has doubled, it’s no surprise why the provocative study has piqued the public’s interest....

A judge has put a stop to new Texas rules which would have prevented certain individuals with valid visas from getting driver’s licenses or ID cards, the AP reports. The Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF) sued the Texas Department of Public Safety on behalf of five immigrants who had “permission to work in the country and a Lewisville landscaping business that employs seasonal foreign workers through a federal program....

Keurig is recalling nearly 7.2 million of its MINI Plus Brewing Systems after reports that the machines have caused dozens of burn injuries. The recall includes about 6.6 million MINI Plus Brewing Systems in the United States and another 564,000 in Canada, reports USA Today. The recall was issued after the company received more than 200 reports of hot liquid escaping from the machine, causing at least 90 burn-related injuries....

Moving into a new house or apartment may not come with a guide telling you how to deal with noisy neighbors, but that doesn’t mean that they are not a problem. Noisy neighbors can be distracting, disruptive, and difficult to deal with. While it may not seem like a difficult task, you’ll want to deal with noisy neighbors with caution. Many common and instinctive responses involve anger, calling the police, or ignoring the issue....