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It’s getting chilly outside, and for many that means it’s time to break out the space heater to keep you and your family warm. But be careful, as space heaters can potentially cause injuries. Space heaters, including wood stoves, contributed to 32 percent of home heating fires and 79 percent of home heating fire deaths between 2005 and 2009, the Cumberland Times-News reports. But you can minimize the risk of damage to your home and yourself by being aware of the most common kinds of space heater-related injuries....

A New York herpes lawsuit claims a disgraced Texas hand surgeon allegedly infected his ex-girlfriend with herpes after failing to disclose his disease. Former surgeon Michael Glyn Brown, 54, of Houston, claimed he was disease-free before he moved in with his then-girlfriend, an unidentified businesswoman in Manhattan, the New York Post reports. But after months of living together, the woman showed signs of a sexually transmitted disease. “She went to see a doctor,” her lawyer told the Post....

Most of us have never violated Facebook’s Community Standards. Then again, most of us are only posting photos of our children, vacation, or food. But as more businesses, charities, and media companies join the ranks of individual Facebook users, the limits of the site’s policy on explicit posts are bound to be stretched. (And the most vitriolic presidential campaign in recent memory doesn’t help matters.) But rather than tightening its parameters on illegal or offensive content, Facebook announced last week it is relaxing its standards on explicit posts, so long as the post has some news or public interest value....

One of the most common penalties for a drunk driving offense is having your driver’s license suspended or revoked. In addition to whatever other court costs, fees, and fines, the inability to drive – to work, the grocery store, or elsewhere – can have a huge, negative economic impact on your life. In an attempt to balance the criminal penalties for a DUI with a person’s need to pay their bills, many states offer what is known as a DUI hardship license....

With the help of Republican colleagues, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky staged a 13-hour filibuster over the potential use of domestic drone strikes to kill U.S. citizens. The filibuster, which began Wednesday and ended early Thursday, delayed the Senate’s vote to confirm White House adviser John Brennan to be director of the CIA, reports The Daily Caller. Paul said he was opposed to President Obama’s potential authority to order drone strikes on U....

While the number of Xarelto lawsuits continues to increase, the FDA issued a response to Portola Pharmaceuticals, makers of the potential Xarelto antidote, AndexXa. The FDA has requested more information which will delay the release of the antidote to the public. The manufacturer of the anti-clotting drug, Xarelto, has been sued by over 7,000 individuals as a result of an alleged failure to warn users of the side-effects. Additionally, the drug has no antidote to immediately reverse the anti-clotting effect it has on the blood....

It’s a concept that is as old as the hills: use pretty girls and their natural (or not-so-natural) assets to entice customers. Move over Hooters, Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure need a bit of room to settle their differences. A Texas-based restaurant sued a Arkansas-based restaurant over trademark infringement for its “food with a view of some substantial mountains” theme. Calling girls in tight clothing scenic is not new. But approximating another businesses’ logo and theme may not be an original-enough idea, either....

Summer is here, and business own should be polishing their employment contracts for seasonal hires. Here are the five must-have clauses for any summer employment contract: It’s important to be as specific as possible in defining the duration of a summer employee’s contract, so that there is no ambiguity as to when the position ends. A termination clause can also be folded into this area of an employment contract, specifying how either you or the summer hire can terminate employment with or without notice....

Some laws are just dumb. Some are a little funny. Then there are those passed to combat the dangers of Halloween that are so stupid they might make you scream. Here is a survey of silly rules around the nation that attempt to regulate various aspects of Halloween. From trick or treating ages and hours to appropriate costumes to use of silly string, lawmakers around the nation have thought of almost everything....

When it comes to labor laws, the regulations aren’t collected into a neat package. The system is regulated by different agencies and comes from various sources. But ignorance and good intentions won’t necessarily help you in the face of an employee lawsuit. The law requires you to treat employees in a certain way, and any failure to do that can lead to serious trouble, whether it’s intentional or not. Hopefully your lawyer is helping you stay on top of your legal responsibilities....

In recent years, there has been growing awareness of deadly infections associated with the use of gastrointestinal scopes that cannot be cleaned completely. A new congressional investigation shows that the number of potential infections is much higher than originally thought. Does this mean that you can sue if an infected gastrointestinal scope has been used on you? No. But if you have suffered an injury as a result of an infected scope’s use on you and you can prove it, then you certainly have a valid basis for a medical malpractice claim....

Going through a divorce is rarely an easy thing for anyone involved. Many people have questions about how things will work going forward, especially when they have children. A term that comes up frequently is “physical custody.” But how many people know what that really means in a legal context? This post is designed to answer the question: what is physical custody? In the course of a divorce, child custody laws come into play....

Colorado joined California, Montana, and Washington in allowing employers to fire employees who use marijuana, even if it’s legal in the state, even if it’s medical marijuana with a prescription, and even if it’s off the clock. The state Supreme Court ruled 5-1 that Dish Network was allowed to fire Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic telephone operator who used medical marijuana while he was off-duty to calm his violent muscle spasms, after he failed a random drug test....

The House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would expand the federal definition of hate crimes to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. As reported by the New York Times, the House attached the expansion of hate crime protections to a military expenditures bill. In the Senate, support for hate crimes legislation and the unwillingness of opponents to vote against authorizing the military expenditures appear likely to ensure passage of the expanded protections....

Supporters of a bill to reform Florida’s permanent alimony law say they will try again next year, after the governor’s veto killed the measure late Wednesday. Gov. Rick Scott explained his veto in a letter to the state Senate’s president. “The retroactive adjustment of alimony could result in unfair, unexpected results,” Scott said, according to The Tampa Tribune. What exactly did the now-defunct bill call for? Spousal support, or alimony, covers court ordered payments made from one ex-spouse to another....

Many people need a job these days. And unfortunately, desperate need for income is the perfect bait for scams offering too good to be true workk from home opportunities. Google has taken aim at one such alleged scam operation which Google claims used the search engine company’s trademarks to lure in consumers. Google filed a lawsuit against Pacific Webworks of Salt Lake City, Utah for trademark infringement this week. The Google lawsuit puts the spotlight on a larger home work scamthrough which the company is allegedly targeting vulnerable consumers....

When you run your own company, lawsuits can pop up out of anywhere. Nowhere is this more true than in businesses that require you or your employees to drive. Car accident suits can put a huge dent in your bottom line, but there are ways to protect your business. From 2003 to 2009, over 1,500 workers died each year from driving-related accidents, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. On average, on-the-job fatalities can cost a business over $500,000....

What would you do with a brand new, shiny credit card (number) that you don’t ever have to pay for? How about hit the mall and head over to Victoria’s Secret and the Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. Then it’s off to Lowe’s for a plasma TV and some drywall. Don’t ask. According to the Sun-Times, the key to the plan was Tijuana Leonard, who worked as a night janitor at the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation....

For various reasons, police sometimes shoot and kill dogs. But their owners typically have recourse to sue. So when police shoot your dog, when can you sue? Because dogs aren’t people, they lack Fourth Amendment rights and are considered “property” under the law. Sometimes there will be both human and dog victims of police misconduct, so both excessive force and illegal seizure claims can be made. In one such case, a Chicago jury awarded a family $243,000 when an officer killed their 9-year-old Labrador, as well as $90,000 for mistreating one of its owners....

It was around the time people operating on the Internet black market Silk Road started getting arrested that the Tor network landed on the casual observer’s radar. It sounded great – an anonymous way to surf the Internet. But it was already tied up with criminal behavior. This left many people wondering if using Tor is even legal. And while it may not get you into trouble, it may also not be as good at keeping you out of it as previously believed....