They say that time slows down during a car accident, and everything seems to be going in slow motion. But what about after? With adrenaline, injuries, and police reports, time can fly by. And later, dealing with insurance companies can make it feel like time is grinding to a stop. This can make it hard to see that dealing with a car accident occurs on a long timeline, as opposed to isolated events....
You don’t have to be a large retailer to take advantage of holiday shopping, and you don’t need a permanent store to reach customers. A holiday pop-up shop can be the perfect boost to your small business’s revenue, provided you do it right. There are quite a few legal hoops you’ve got to jump through when prepping your holiday pop-up store, and we’ve got them all in a handy checklist for you....
A New York father has filed a $4.5 million lawsuit against the makers of a plastic T-ball bat that allegedly caused his 5-year-old son to suffer severe facial injuries and permanent scarring. The lawsuit claims that the Adjust-A-Hit T-Ball set was defectively designed, reports the New York Daily News. Daniel Ducalo was injured when a section of the plastic bat – which adjusts in length telescopically – came apart, sending a jagged piece of plastic into the boy’s face, causing a wound that required more than 300 stitches....
Drugs that contain the pain-killing ingredient propoxyphene – including the popular prescription medications Darvon and Darvocet – will need to carry stronger warnings and detailed instructions on safe use by patients, under orders issued today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The action is aimed at reducing the growing number of fatal overdoses linked to drugs containing propoxyphene, and it’s part of the FDA’s larger effort to appropriately assess and regulate the safety of painkiller medications flooding the U....
You should strive to be in your best shape when applying for a new job, but potential employers can’t just write you off for past injuries. Case in point: A patrol officer applicant named Russell Holt sued BNSF Railway Co. after the Texas-based company yanked his job offer when Holt disclosed a prior back injury. The EEOC has now filed a lawsuit on Holt’s behalf, claiming that BNSF discriminated against him on the basis of a disability....
According to the Dodd-Frank Act, “No employer may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, directly or indirectly, or in any other manner discriminate against, a whistleblower in the terms and conditions of employment.” So, while you may be angry enough to fire the guy that turned you in to the SEC, don’t. You could be setting yourself and your business up for even more legal troubles and monetary sanctions. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you avoid a whistleblower retaliation claim:...
The less paper the better, right? But what about when you need a customer’s John Hancock or a vendor needs yours? In an e-commerce world, are e-signatures valid? Both technology and the law are creating more instances where businesses can employ electronic signatures, so let’s look at if and when your business should use them. Signature Statutes Two major laws determine whether electronic signatures are valid. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (“UETA”) is a proposed uniform act recognizing electronic signatures, and has been adopted by 47 states and the District of Columbia....
An employee is claiming harassment at work. The problem is that the employee doesn’t know the identity of the harasser. How can you, the employer, resolve the harassment issue if you don’t even know who to blame? Can you just ignore harassment when the harasser is anonymous? In the case of Pryor v. United Air Lines, Inc., an African-American flight attendant was being terrorized by an anonymous harasser who left notes depicting a lynching captioned with offensive language....
It’s Girl Scout cookie time, and you have no doubt seen the treats being sold outside local grocery stores, on street corners, and even in the workplace. So should you have a Girl Scout cookie policy at work? Forbidding sales altogether may seem drastic, or in poor taste. But the reality is that this type of activity may be unwanted in the workplace, and could even hurt your business. Here’s a look at three reasons you may want to enact a policy to restrict Girl Scout cookie sales at work:...
If you plan on opening a bar, club, restaurant, or even a convenience store that sells alcohol, you’re likely going to need to know how to get a liquor license. The administration of liquor licenses is typically governed by local agencies like municipalities, cities, counties, etc. So the laws and requirements will vary greatly even among jurisdictions in the same state. Still, there are some general things you should know about getting a liquor license, as written by Dummies....
Welcome to the new FindLaw series, “If I Find,” where we’ll discuss the rule of finders keepers as it applies to different topics. We hope you’ll check back regularly! As Marilyn Monroe said, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” However, buying diamonds can be pricy and out of many people’s reach. Wouldn’t it be lucky to find a diamond on the ground for free instead? So, if you find a diamond, can you keep it?...
Yesterday morning, an Amtrak commuter train left the track south of Seattle and sent cars plummeting off an overpass onto I-5, killing three and injuring dozens more. Early reports indicate that the train, making its first run on a new route, may have been traveling over 80 miles per hour a quarter mile before the crash site, where the speed limits drops from 79 mph to 30 mph to accommodate a curve in the track....
A speech delivered by Melania Trump, wife of presidential candidate Donald Trump, garnered all kinds of attention for all the wrong reasons at the Republican National Convention this week. As many have pointed out, a large segment of her speech seems to have been lifted from a speech given first lady Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. A trump aide has since admitted to inadvertently included phrasing from Mrs....
The sad plastic surgery death of Ms. Solange Magnano in Argentina illustrates the need for patients to ask questions before undergoing any type of plastic surgery. We’ve previously discussed the dangers of plastic surgery tourism.. However, the US is not immune to plastic surgery death. CNN reports that while plastic surgery death rates are not high, they still occur. The FDA says that there are between three and 100 deaths for every 100,000 liposuction procedures in the United States....
Are you unsure about how to revise your will? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The exact requirements to revise a will vary state-by-state and can be tough to grasp. As a general rule of thumb, check your state’s laws before you attempt to amend or revise your will. Here’s a general overview of the dos and don’ts on how to revise your will: Need More Help? As you can see, revising a will can be tricky and requires close attention to your state’s rules....
A Michigan mom who gave up her son for adoption and later found on the Internet via Facebook has been convicted of having sex with her own teenaged son. Aimee Louise Sword, 36, pleaded guilty to having sex with her 14-year-old biological son and apologized during her sentencing, the New York Daily News reports. According to reports, Aimee Sword tracked her teenage son, who is now 16, on Facebook in 2008 after she didn’t receive an annual update from the boy’s adoptive family in Grand Rapids....
How far would you go to get a good performance review? Would you breach national security to study codes off the clock in the comfort of your own home? Pho, a 68-year-old former National Security Agency (NSA) employee residing in Maryland, worked as a Tailored Access Operations (TAO) developer. Pho was set to retire in a few years, and wanted to do so at a higher pay grade to increase pension payments....
An Oklahoma federal judge struck down the state’s gay marriage ban Tuesday, stating it violated the U.S. Constitution. But the judge also stayed his own ruling, pending a possible appeal. Judge Terence C. Kern of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma – seated in Tulsa – blasted the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment as an “irrational exclusion” of LGBT Oklahomans from government benefits, reports The New York Times....
“We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere.” Thus begins a Pennsylvania grand jury report into sexual abuse allegations in six of the eight Catholic dioceses in the state, covering over three hundred “predator priests” and a number of child victims estimated in the thousands....
Tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods…the ways in which homes and businesses can be destroyed are nearly endless. Right now there are a lot of businesses and homeowners in Tennessee, Connecticut and Kentucky dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters. It’s hard to find any good news in the middle of a disaster, but fortunately there is help available. SBA Disaster loans from the Small Business Administration can help homeowners, renters, profit and non-profit organizations to fund rebuilding....
