Florida Probate Attorney

The Signs of Intoxication on the Road

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

Because an officer cannot simply pull someone over and administer a breath or blood test without just cause, they are trained to look for various signs that someone is inebriated. It is a good idea to know these signs yourself so that you can keep your friends or family from driving when under the influence of alcohol. The impacts of such activities can have far reaching effects – both legally and potentially in terms of their lives.

The Signs

Signs of intoxication can range wildly, and while the first sign for an officer is erratic driving, recklessness or overly cautious slow speeds, someone who is not yet driving will need to be checked for physical symptoms. These can include bloodshot or watery eyes, flushed face, red lines in the eyes or patches around the nose and forehead, a dishevelled appearance, and of course the scent of alcohol.

Other symptoms that might present themselves include an inability to control the volume of their voice, slurred or slower speech, poor motor skills when retrieving an item, problems getting out of the vehicle and poor balance or coordination. These latter effects will come out only when someone is drawn from their vehicle for a test of their motor skills and balance. Before driving, they should be evident in how someone walks as well.

Knowing When Alcohol is an Issue

In most cases, it is safest to assume someone is not able to drive if they have been drinking at all. It is unsafe to get behind the wheel under the influence of any alcohol and it can be incredibly dangerous to walk the line. Unfortunately, not everyone will be honest about their alcohol intake. In that case, you should check them carefully for these symptoms.

Ask them to walk carefully, to check their motor skills, and even smell their breath before you allow them to get behind the wheel. It may seem excessive in many ways, but there is a reason why the police use these very same tactics to test someone when they pull them over. This article is not meant to provide legal advice. If you need legal assistance, contact a lawyer.

Click here to visit Will & Will – criminal defence lawyers in Riverside, CA.

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Bail Bond Agents

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

Bail bond agents (bondsman) are those people (or, in some cases, a corporation) which will pledge money to the court system for purposes of bail. The posted bail will then act as a surety in relation to the guaranteed appearance of a criminal defendant in court. In most cases, a bank or some other financial organization would be willing to act as a surety when it comes to other types of contracts. These contracts may involve the construction of a building or other business projects. However, these types of financial institutions are not willing to take on the risks involved with posting a bail. Bail bond agents, in contrast, are actually in business to address the needs of criminal defendants. In many cases, they can secure the defendant’s immediate release from custody within just a few hours, day or night.

Bail Bond Agents Around the World
Bail bond agents are limited to the United States since, in other countries, bail amounts are usually much less and bounty hunting is an illegal profession.

History in the US
The first appearance of bail bonds agents occurred in the United States in 1898. This was the first time that a system was put into place, by a private agency, to post a court specified bail cash amount – thus guaranteeing a defendant’s appearance in court.

Security
Local court officials have established security agreements with bail bond agents in which a promised “blanket” bond will be put into place that is legally irrevocable. The blanket bond stipulates that the full amount of the court specified bond will be paid by the bond company, should the defendant not appear on their court date. In turn, the bail bond organization has an agreement with a bank or other credit provider to obtain the security needed to complete this transaction – even during non-banking hours. In this manner, it is not necessary for the bail bond agent to deposit money or property with the court each time a new client is bonded out.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

If you would like to know more, you can visit criminal law attorney Gary R. Jodat, at his website in Sarasota, Florida, by following this link.

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Dealing With Employment Disputes

Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

It takes a good deal of nerve to stand up to one’s employer, but nerve alone is not enough to win the case. Many workers have filed and lost discrimination complaints–and lost their jobs in the process–because of poor or nonexistent strategy. Below are some things every employee should keep in mind when dealing with employment disputes.

Assuming and finding fault

Disadvantaged workers are prone to the “victim syndrome,” wherein they assume they did nothing to deserve unequal treatment. While nothing excuses unfair treatment, many problems can be prevented with a bit more initiative. Employees can be more proactive by self-monitoring their work, developing new skills, and making backup plans. Studies show that workers who do so seldom get overlooked or terminated in the first place.

Communicating properly

Poor communication is said to be the leading cause of layoffs, but also the least recognized. Employees who are fired or refused promotions tend to act impulsively, often by writing or talking negatively about their employers or telling them off directly. Needless to say, this only aggravates the problem. As mentioned above, the employer often has as much to say about a disadvantaged worker as the other way around.

Analyzing leverage

Employees seldom have useful leverage in workplace disputes; the little they do have usually pales in comparison to their employers’. For instance, the company can simply choose to fire workers who complain on the spot. An employee’s leverage is more or less equal to his performance: if one is on good terms with the management, works well, and is a valuable member of the team, he may have better chances of steering things his way.

Understanding laws (and how they are enforced)

It’s true that there are many laws ensuring the fair treatment of employees, but their enforcement is not automatic. Employees often make the mistake of demanding rights based on the mere existence of these laws, which, more often than not, costs them their job. Particularly in big companies, a worker has to file a formal request (or a complaint if they have been previously denied) in order to get FMLA leaves and other such benefits.

This article is not to be taken as legal advice.

Additional legal resource: Florida Labor Law Firm Shavitz Law Group, P.A. Serving clients throughout Florida.

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Construction Site Injuries

Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

There is no doubt that the construction workers deal with some of the most dangerous working environment faced by employees in any industry. They are exposed to loads of heavy equipment, machinery and large vehicles and they face a variety of hazards including electrocution and falls. Each year, thousands of people are seriously injured or killed in construction site accidents.

Most Common Construction Site Injuries

• Head injury – such as traumatic brain injury, closed head injury, concussion.
• Spinal Cord Injuries- caused by falls or equipment failures on a construction site
• Broken/ fractured bones
• Severe burns – from electrical or chemical burns
• Amputation
• Dislocations
• Eye injuries
• Crush injuries

These are among the most common construction injuries that can permanently affect your life. All these can render you unable to enjoy the former activities of your daily routine. Even with more moderate injuries, you may be unable to return to work or fully enjoy physical activities.

What to do after a Construction Site Injury

• It is essential that you seek immediate medical attention if you are injured in a construction accident. If you were injured while on the job, then you should be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
• Try securing photographs of your personal injury, accident scene, machinery or any evidence related to your injury. Preservation of evidence is a vital element in a case involving a construction accident
• Get the names and contact information of anyone who may have witnessed the accident.
• You should notify your employer or construction site manager immediately after sustaining your injury. Be sure to write down the name and position of the person notified.
• It is also essential to inform and contact the investigating authorities, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
• Contact a qualified construction site lawyer as soon as possible to help you determine whether you can claim damages or file suit.

This article is not intended to take the place of legal advice. Always consult a competent lawyer before making important decisions arising out of a construction injury.

Related Legal Resource: For additional information on construction injuries, please visit The Kelley and Uustal Law Firm. Serving clients in the State of Florida.

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How Can I Avoid Unwanted Benzene Exposure?

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

There are a number of different toxins in the world around you each day. The air you breathe, the water you drink, and the clothes you wear are all filled with toxins. Most of those toxins are not overly harmful in small doses. However, Benzene, a toxin used in almost all hazardous chemicals and manufacturing processes, has been shown to cause a number of health problems in men and women of all ages. Avoiding benzene exposure should not be hard in today’s environment, where it is so highly regulated. However, here are some tips on what to avoid if you want to keep benzene out of your body.

Where Benzene Might Infiltrate Your Defenses
Benzene is used in the manufacture of a number of things. From detergents to synthetic fibers like polyester, to rubber, paint, plastic, and dyes of various kinds, benzene is a versatile chemical for any number of manufacturing processes. Items you ingest no longer contain benzene due to government regulations – with the exception of cigarettes which contain relatively high levels of the chemical.

In addition to the contamination of benzene in the air from factories and cars, you can be exposed to it in drinking water when it enters the water supply, as well as through inadvertent ingestion from detergents and plastics. Safety levels have been set by the government, but those levels are not always met, which can lead to legal allegations against manufacturers.

Symptoms of Benzene Exposure
If you are exposed to benzene, you may start to show any number of symptoms, including nausea, dizziness, vomiting, anemia, headache, irritation of the mouth, nose, and throat, convulsions and even death in extreme cases. Long term low-level exposure can cause reproductive harm, birth defects, and even leukemia. Many of these health problems will not manifest for years or even at all in some people, but can still be passed on to children in the womb.

Anyone who suspects that their ill feelings are because of benzene exposure should immediately contact a doctor and be tested to ensure they are not suffering from benzene toxicity. This article is not mean to provide legal or medical advice.

Get the facts: Weinstein Law Firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida can help.

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Don’t Break The “Trust”: Paying Payroll Taxes Responsibly

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

In the business of doing business, one of the legal responsibilities that employers take on is the payment of income taxes on behalf of their employees. An employer withholds income tax, social security, and healthcare taxes from employees’ payroll, held in trust until paid to the Treasury, thus, collectively called trust fund money.

The trust fund is collected (withheld) every month from employees’ paychecks, which will become their monthly contribution towards retirement benefits and the income tax reported on their tax returns. But what if the employer cannot turn over the trust fund to the Treasury on time?

TFRP and Responsibility
To ensure that employers pay over the trust fund responsibly and on time, the United States Congress passed the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP). The penalty applies to any employer when the unpaid trust fund taxes cannot be immediately collected from the business. The business does not necessarily to have ceased operations in order for the TFRP to be assessed.

It can be assessed against any person who is responsible for collecting and paying withheld income and employment taxes, or paying collected excise taxes, and willfully fails to pay them.  A responsible person is any person or corporation with authority over funds to direct disbursement, including an officer or employee of a corporation and a member or employee of a partnership, among others.

Calculating the Penalty
The amount of the TFRP is equal to the unpaid balance of the trust fund tax. To compute this, the unpaid income taxes and the employee’s portion of the withheld FICA taxes are determined. For collected taxes, the unpaid amount of collected excise taxes is the basis.

The responsible person will receive a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which states intent of assessment of the TFRP against the person. He or she will have 60 days (75, if address outside the U.S.) to appeal. If no response is received, the IRS will assess the penalty and send a Notice and Demand for Payment. If a person receives such notice, the IRS can take collection action against that person’s personal assets.

This article is intended solely to offer general information on the subject. None of the content should be considered as legal advice.

Visit this website for more information on the Thorn Law Group, protecting business interests for clients in Washington, D.C.

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The Safest Seat on a Plane

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

A study conducted by Popular Mechanics in 2007 showed that passengers who were seated in the rear of a plane had a 40% greater chance of surviving a crash than those seated up front. This article also mentions, though, that the FAA and Boeing both state that there is no such thing as a “safest seat”. The article is flawed in that it only studied 20 aircraft crashes and did not take into account subsequent safety developments. Even so, it should be noted that the flight data recorder (which is used to provide information in the even of a crash) is located in the tail section of planes. The reason for this is that the recorder is more likely to survive, in the event of a severe plane crash, if it’s mounted in the rear of the plane.

1972 Crash Survivor
Even though there is no statistical evidence that points to the rear of an aircraft as the safest part of the plane, a passenger who survived a 1972 Andes crash had something interesting to say, regarding his survival. While speaking in a 1973 interview, he noted that he had a strange feeling that there was going to be an accident – which led him to attempt to secure a seat in the rear of the aircraft. After being informed by the aircraft crew that all of the seats in the rear of the plane were taken, he moved to the middle of the plane. In the ensuing accident, the plane’s tail section became detached and his life was saved by not sitting in the rear of the aircraft.

2008 Crash Survivor
In other interviews, a survivor (one of only a few to survive) of a Madrid crash, in 2008, noted that because she was seated in row #6, she was thrown to safety since she was in the exact spot where the plane was torn into two pieces. From these statements, it can be concluded that the best location to be seated in an aircraft accident is directly related to the accident, itself, and that there is no general “safe place to sit’.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

You can find further detailed information by contacting aviation disaster attorney Chris Searcy – located in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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Defining Wrongful Death

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

Every year, you hear of men and women bringing wrongful death lawsuits against any number of defendants. If you feel that your family or loved ones may be the victim of wrongful death, it is important to know exactly what the term entails and who is able to file a claim.

Wrongful Death
A lawsuit of wrongful death is one brought against a person who is held legally liable for the death of the victim – either through negligence, murder, manslaughter, or intentional attack. Whereas the criminal element is brought in a criminal court with a charge of homicide or manslaughter, a wrongful death case is a civil case, brought by relatives close to the deceased. Not all wrongful death suits are the result of a crime, but many are. Successfully claiming wrongful death requires that the plaintiff prove four different elements.

First, the defendant needs to have caused – in part or in whole – the death of the victim through their actions. Second, they must show there was negligence that lead to the death. Third, there must be a surviving relative to collect damages in the case. Finally, the damages related to the death include expenses related to the death, future earnings, loss of benefits, pain and suffering, and in some states, punitive damages.

Wrongful Death Limitations
There are also limitations on who can file a wrongful death suit. For example, a family member cannot bring such a suit against a family member. There are also varying statutes of limitation in each state. In fact, most states have widely varying laws regarding wrongful death – making it important to talk to a lawyer about your case before taking any additional steps.

Finding fault in someone else for the death of a loved one can be hard to establish on your own. Generally, the minds of relatives are clouded with grief and the desire to lay the blame somewhere. However, if you find that you have a case against someone in regards to wrongful death, be sure to keep and organize all files, correspondences, and testimonies related to the case. There are a number of factors that need to be proven for your case to be successful. As a result, you want to bring as much evidence to your lawyer as possible.

This article is not intended to be used as legal advice.

Stop wrongful death from affecting your family any further. Get more details from Ken Allen Law in Indiana.

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Disabilities Benefits

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

This article explores the various benefits available to persons with disabilities.

Education
Individuals with disabilities are entitled to have equal access to quality education. The government thru its different agencies and programs provide education to marginalized sectors of the population including persons with disabilities. Education empowers every individual with knowledge and training which could be utilized in building a more secure for the disabled individual and his family. This also helps these persons live a more independent and become productive members of society.

Employment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is tasked with ensuring that disabled persons are given the same chances of landing a job. Disabled individuals make up a significant proportion of the population and could prove to be an excellent source of manpower. These individuals are often highly skilled workers who are dedicated and creative. Numerous laws and regulations are designed to protect disabled persons in landing a job or regulate workplace conditions.

Government programs were not only designed to safeguard the rights of disabled individuals when applying for work but also provide financial help for them to start their own business. There are many resources available for both disabled persons and their families regarding the numerous job opportunities and trainings which are open to them.

Health
The growing costs of healthcare continue to trouble a large part of the population. Disabled individuals are more susceptible to the rising costs of health services mainly because these individuals often require special medical attention. Government agencies thru policies and programs extend these benefits to disabled persons by offering accessible, affordable and quality care that helps them live a longer and more productive lifestyle.

Housing
The Fair Housing Act states that individuals regardless of their disabilities have an equal opportunity of owning or renting a home. This also requires homeowners to modify home policies with respect to disabled individuals who may wish to rent or purchase their homes. There are numerous government programs that help these individuals acquire a home. Examples of these are programs designed to provide tax credits or ease them into their transfer to a new home.

Technology
Developments in science and technology have made disabled individuals perform certain jobs that were not possible a decade ago. These changes have helped disabled individuals become more productive members of society. The government thru its programs has developed a system of training which is aimed at making this segment of the population realize their full potential.

Transportation
A transportation system designed to accommodate disabled individuals is vital in giving them freedom to travel. Job opportunities which were not open to them before because of their medical condition are now opened providing these individuals a broader choice of job opportunities.

For more information on Disability Benefits click here: Law Offices of Mike Murburg, Florida Attorney

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Domestic Violence Statistics

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Admin.

It’s been shown that 25% (one in four) of all women, in the United States, has experienced an incident of domestic violence at some point in their life. This information comes as a result of studies conducted by The National Institute of Justice and the 1998 Survey of Women’s Health – published in 1999.

Domestic Violence Statistics
Due to unreported incidents, various estimates have ranged from approximately 960,000 to over 3 million women who have been physically abused by a spouse or former spouse. But the statistics don’t only name women as the victims (although they do indicate that women are disproportionately more likely to be victimized than men). 15% of victims of domestic violence consist of men, according to studies (such as the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief – 1993-2001, which was published in 2003).

Depending on the survey referenced, the estimates can even jump to between 600,000 and 6 million women becoming prey to domestic violence annually – along with between 100,000 and 6 million male victims when including casual relationships, as well .

Risk Factors for Women
The greatest risk for non-fatal domestic violence can be seen in women who are between the ages of 20-24 (according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics – Intimate Partner Violence in the United States, published in 2006).

It was noted that from 1993 to 2004, 22% of non-fatal victimizations of women from their partners consisted of intimate partner violence. For men, that percentage was 3%. The greatest risk for this type of violence came from separated and divorced men and women.

Race and Domestic Violence
The incidence of violence was equally distributed amongst women of all races according the 1995 study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Specifically, the average annual rates of domestic partner violence were nearly the same for Hispanic, as well as non-Hispanic women.

Income and Domestic Violence
Income was shown to be a factor when it comes to the risks associated with domestic partner violence. Although this type of violence can occur in any economic group, lower income brackets (under 25K, annually) were shown to have three times the risks of intimate partner violence than higher income groups (over 50K, annually).

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

The Law Offices of Michael Lowe, serving Dallas, Texas can be found at his online website by visiting www.dallasjustice.com .

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