The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky, deciding that if an immigrant is wrongly advised by his criminal defense attorney about the immigration consequences of a crime that the pertinent information is prejudiced and cannot serve as grounds for automatic deportation. Padilla, a Vietnam veteran, had been a permanent resident for more than 40 years. He was charged with drug distribution charges in Kentucky and his criminal defense attorney had instructed him to plead guilty, and that such a pleading would have no immigration consequences. The state of Kentucky said that Mr. Padilla had no right to withdraw his plea when he learned of the deportation consequence. The attorney was wrong, and Padilla was sent for deportation. The March 31, 2010, Supreme Court decision reverses the Kentucky court and also rejected the federal government’s position (which had been adopted by several courts) that a noncitizen is protected only from “affirmative misadvice” and not from a lawyer’s failure to provide any advice about the immigration consequences of a plea.

Annie Banerjee, an immigration lawyer based in the Houston area, found this judgment particularly intriguing. “What is astonishing is that this conservative Supreme Court recognized that deportation laws are extremely harsh now. While once there was only a narrow class of deportable offenses and judges wielded broad discretionary authority to prevent deportation. Immigration reforms have expanded the class of deportable offenses and limited judges’ authority to alleviate deportation’s harsh consequences. Because the drastic measure of deportation or removal is now virtually inevitable for a vast number of noncitizens convicted of crimes, the importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important. Thus, as a matter of federal law, deportation is an integral part of the penalty that may be imposed on noncitizen defendants who plead guilty to specified crimes, “Banerjee explained.

According to Banerjee, criminal defense lawyers have an affirmative duty to learn and advise clients about the immigration consequences of a crime.

This Supreme Court decision was applauded by the American Immigration Council.
“The right to counsel is at the inner core of our criminal justice system,” concluded Banerjee.

To learn more, visit Visatous.com.

Ever heard of the I-140 Educational and Work experience equivalency? Immigration is the only niche within the legal arena where quotas are still allowed. It is common knowledge that employment-based visas, such as the coveted H-1B, aren’t easily obtained by professionals wishing to immigrate to the United States from India and China. These are populous nations teeming with qualified professional people, and their national quotas get filled quickly resulting in lengthy wait times, especially for third preference visas. So it is only natural that everybody is striving for the Second Preference. Fine and dandy, but there are some caveats.
For instance, your experience must be post-degree and a pre-Petitioning Company. You say that you have experience in the same job at the petitioning company? This isn’t enough because if the employer is able to train the beneficiary, he’d prefer training an American – not you.

Oh, you have a Master’s Degree? If it’s not from the U.S., the problem of congruence can arise – as your Masters isn’t likely to match your Bachelors as a credential.

Did you know that evaluations are for advisory purposes only, and that the USCIS does not have to follow them? In the same vein, work experience can’t be substituted for years in a degree program – as the H-1B allows.

Recommendations by the Nebraska Service Center for Degree equivalency could also be pertinent.
If you do possess a U.S. master’s degree – if it’s in the field required, no additional documents would be required.

Your 4 year bachelor’s degree + 2 year master’s degree obtained in India with need to be “subbed” by degrees in the same or related fields to equal a U.S. master’s degree.

If you possess a 3 year bachelor’s degree + 1 year postgraduate diploma + 2 year master’s degree obtained in India, to become acceptable for educational preference you’ll require degrees in the same or similar field or a bachelor’s degree + one additional year of education, to measure up. If you have 5 years of progressive experience, this combination could be acceptable as a master’s degree equivalency.

Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

“I heard about this particular case, and it raises some very serious questions about the drugs on board EMS ambulances. While this instance was reported in Georgia, the ramifications could apply across the US, even down to a local ambulance service provider,” insisted Donahue.

“It was time for state inspections for ambulance crews and the results of the inspection in one county were quite disturbing. At least two of the local ambulances had expired drugs on board; drugs that are commonly used to save lives. For instance calcium chloride, the drug used to kick start a failing heart and EpiPen, used for people with severe allergies who are going into or have gone into anaphylactic shock,” recounted Charlie Donahue who is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States.

Granted, not all drugs that reach their expiry date have gone “bad,” and in fact the shelf life of some of the drugs is a great deal longer. However, expiry dates are stamped on them for a reason; a “what-if something happened if we gave someone an expired drug and it harmed them” kind of reason. “More to the point, if anyone should have up-to-date drugs, it should be paramedic crews. That is mandated by law,” stated Donahue.

Unfortunately, one ambulance had nine expired drugs and another was found with two expired drugs. This was not only a breach of safety regulations, but a potential accident looking for a place to happen. There are a lot of people today that are drug sensitive. If they’d been administered an expired drug and the result was serious personal injury or death, the fault would lie with the paramedics and the ambulance company.

The scary part is that all paramedics in this particular county (and quite likely in other locations as well) are obligated to verify that all on board meds have “not” gone past their expiry dates. In fact, all drugs were/are to be checked the first day of every month and daily before responding to any calls. “Granted that an expired drug doesn’t go bad immediately, the point remains the same: having expired drugs on an emergency vehicle is simple not a safe option. The consequences could spell disaster for some unsuspecting person in need of medical assistance,” Donahue outlined.

Cases like this are tough ones because it is only the luck of the draw that uncovers the fact that there may be a potential serious issue. “A more difficult thing to comprehend is someone not doing their job and checking the on rig medications, as required by law. If you think something like this may have happened to you, you might want to check in with a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer to find out what your rights are, and if it is possible to file a lawsuit what your next step should be,” added Donahue.

To learn more, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

Being a New Hampshire personal injury attorney, I often have the chance to read about other cases that involve things like car crashes, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, and medical malpractice and wrongful death. This one case stood out for me because it seemed senseless. It involved a rollover that killed one and injured four others, including a toddler.

This was a single vehicle crash and from the looks of the police report, it happened when a silver Infiniti was heading east on the highway, when the driver tried to pass a slower vehicle on the left. Just as the passing Infiniti got to the midway point in passing, the driver saw another oncoming car, swerved right suddenly and hit the right shoulder, causing the vehicle to flip over and land on its roof in the ditch.

When EMS crews arrived they immediately took the backseat passenger, a 60-year-old man, to the local hospital. He was dead on arrival. The driver, a 32-year-old man, his wife and two kids (2 and 12) were taken to the hospital by other rescue teams. Thankfully, although badly shaken up and sporting a variety of crash related injuries, they were all treated and released. Narcotics were found on the 60-year-old man who died in the hospital. There will be a full investigation.

The presence of narcotics raises a lot of unanswered questions, and it’s a good bet the local police will be running tests on the driver of the car to check for drugs and other substances. No one knows for sure if the man in the back seat was related in any way to the driver and his wife, or was a friend.

This would raise the issue of whether the man’s family could file a wrongful death lawsuit for the negligence of the 32-year-old driver for attempting to pass while it was not safe. If the investigation shows negligence, a civil suit can be expected. There may also be a chance of a criminal investigation. In circumstances like this, you sometimes you get both. “Frankly, it looks like someone screwed up, because passing while unsafe to do so is negligence, plain and simple, and this case screams for a civil suit,” added Donahue.

Like many personal injury car crashes, sometimes things look one way on the surface, and yet on further investigation, they turn out to be something else. If you have been involved in a car accident or other vehicle crash, and you suspect drugs may have been involved on the part of the other driver, you might want to speak to a seasoned New Hampshire personal injury lawyer; one whose only job is to help injury victims.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.

If anyone has taken the time to read some of the warnings printed on products or in user’s manuals, the inevitable conclusion is that someone must have actually “done” some of the harebrained things listed as being a hazard (and sued over it) or it wouldn’t be mentioned. This should give one pause when thinking about the law and how it is supposed to protect us from grave injustices and remedy personal injury wrongs, etc.

Sadly, a great many businesses these days are under a virtually constant threat of being sued for something; incidents that could range from scalding coffee being spilled, to a person slipping, tripping and falling outside a business. Some of these lawsuits may very well be frivolous, some may not. Really, most businesses these days need to know what to do about customers or clients blaming them for client errors or things beyond anyone’s control.

Nowhere is this risk more evident than when it comes to products liability cases. In this area of the law, manufacturers are in the position where they must tell an end user how to use their product, and how “not” to use it. They are also required to warn people what may happen if they misuse an item.

Gone are the days when a product maker could assume a consumer would use the product for its intended purpose. Nowadays, the things people think of to do with some products are utterly unbelievable and may cause serious personal injuries or death.

Manufacturers are now in the awkward position of trying to “guess” what a consumer “may” do with their item that could harm them. Quite a stretch of the imagination in many cases, but that is how far the law in this area has gone. For example, who would have thought that a consumer would use a portable chain saw propped up at the top end of a metal pole to try and trim tree branches or use a hair dryer while asleep?

Simply put, the law in the 21st century mandates that a business protect itself from some really ridiculous happenstances. After assuming the worst case scenario, a business must then guess what might happen and then issue a warning. In instances like this, it’s obvious that manufacturers are going to have to also assume their consumers are none too bright. However, having said that, there is a large gap between what products liability law says and how it gets applied.

Thankfully the law doesn’t say that a business has to guard against personal injuries or a death as the result of a consumer’s bad or poor judgment. However, when a case gets to court, it may be a different story and the consumer will triumph. For this and many other reasons, it only makes good common sense to discuss any personal injury case or products liability case with a skilled personal injury attorney.

It’s best to make sense of a bad situation in the eyes of how the law is applied prior to assuming something that might not be the case in actual practice when all is said and done. Put another way, have a well seasoned business attorney create systems, procedures and company policies to deal with those “frivolous” cases that defy explanation to even a reasonable person.

To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

Although the CLASS Act is buried deep in both bills and has garnered little media attention, its potential impact is significant, making real changes to the way seniors may pay for long-term care.

The CLASS Act would, for the first time, create a federally run long-term care insurance program. Funds for the program would be provided by premiums deducted from workers’ paychecks. After paying premiums for five years, qualified individuals would be entitled to a modest daily benefit of between $50 and $75. In order to qualify for the benefit, individuals would have to require assistance with two aspects of daily living, such as  bathing or dressing.

Proponents of the measure see several advantages for seniors, adults with disabilities, and their families. The first of these is that the benefit paid by the program could be used at the discretion of the beneficiary. This stands in contrast to Medicaid, which must be used for nursing home care. Individuals receiving a benefit from the proposed plan could use it to pay for in-home care or to outfit a home for accessibility, thus allowing more people to stay in their homes. The cash benefit would provide more flexibility for families who do not wish to place loved ones into nursing homes.

Currently, very few Americans have long-term care insurance. As a result, Medicaid pays for about 40% of all care for seniors and individuals with disabilities. As these costs increase, the burden on states, the federal government, and families continues to grow. The price of nursing home care varies by location, with the national average hovering around $90,000 per year and some areas seeing costs of up to $200,000 per year. Medicaid also requires that individuals “spend down” their assets in order to qualify. According to supporters of the act, keeping more people out of Medicaid and in their homes would lessen the burden on families and taxpayers.

Some skeptics are concerned about the new program’s long-term solvency and potentially low enrollment. Supporters agree that whatever the final manifestation of the plan, it must pay for itself. In order to address concerns about cost and participation, some critics have offered suggestions such as requiring employers to offer payroll withholding, giving tax benefits for premium payments, and imposing a penalty for delayed enrollment, similar to that in Medicare Part D.

Although the CLASS Act remains in each of the health reform bills, its passage and the shape it will ultimately take still remain in question. However, the act deserves attention. If it does ultimately become law, it has the potential to make serious changes in the way individuals and the country as a whole pay for and provide long-term care.

Bernard Krooks is a New York Elder Law and New York Estate Planning lawyer with offices in White Plains, Fishkill, and New York, New York. To learn more, visit Littmankrooks.com.

It was a case that rocked the legal landscape and rightfully so, as it involved a very unusual manner of wrongful death; death by consuming too much water, or water intoxication. “This isn’t something that happens too often, and this wrongful death left three young children without a mother, and a grieving husband behind,” said Daren Monroe, Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan.

It started out innocently enough when Jennifer entered a local radio station contest to win a Wii. The whole idea behind the contest was that those entered were to drink as much water as possible without urinating. If they won, they’d win a Nintendo Wii gaming console. What a perfect prize for Jennifer’s three kids.

The contest went as expected, with everyone drinking copious quantities of water. “Jennifer downed just about two gallons in just over three hours. She did so in good spirits, but did complain to the disc jockey’s that she was in pain,” Monroe added. She didn’t win the Nintendo Wii; she took second place and won a pair of concert tickets.

During the show there were a number of phone calls from listeners, issuing warnings that drinking too much water was dangerous and could cause death. Evidently at some point, one of the disc jockeys expressed awareness of the proposed danger, but contestants had signed a waiver, relieving the station of responsibility. After the contest was over, Jennifer left, called in sick to work, went home and died in her bathroom.

“When the case finally came to trial, two years later, plaintiff won a verdict in the amount of $16.5 million for Jennifer’s wrongful death,” explained Monroe. The husband expressed hope that the verdict will send a message to other corporations and to the public that this type of “accident” was preventable; the radio station had ample information about the possibility of water intoxication death, months prior to the contest, and proceeded anyway.

The defense suggested Jennifer should bear responsibility for knowing that drinking water, excessively, could be deadly. However, the plaintiff’s attorney pointed out she acted as any normal person would in the same situation. The jury found the phone calls to the station the most damning evidence against the station in reaching their decision to award damages to the plaintiff.

“Over the last two years, the victim’s husband has been taking life one day at a time, one step at a time. Trying to live without his wife and the mother of his three small children has been difficult to say the least. The family financial responsibilities had to be met; expenses for three small children are never ending,” added Monroe.

In other words, life goes on. The family had to struggle with funeral expenses while coping with the loss of a loving companion and parent. “It was a difficult time for them; lawsuit funding might have eased their financial burden during difficult financial and emotional times, while waiting for justice through settlement or jury verdict,” commented Daren Monroe, Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan.

People in situations similar to that faced by the Stranges may be eligible for cash advances against their personal injury or wrongful death cases. Litigation funding alleviates the pressure to settle early and cheaply; it gives the attorney precious time to pursue the case and ensure the fairest possible outcome for the plaintiff,” stated Monroe.

To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

It’s when economic setbacks hit that one really finds out how well run a business happens to be. It’s essential for them to be paid on time and get the money right to the bank. Now is not the time to cut corners on things like sound advice from a Sacramento business lawyer. It doesn’t cost that much to draft a set of tightly knit terms and conditions to make sure the company is running well and in the black.

There are definitely several matters that need to be included in such a legal document. One of those is to make sure the terms and conditions laid out are the terms of the actual “business” for performing and delivering on its contract, not the terms of clients or customers.

=Definitely lay out very precisely when payment is expected for services or products. Chances are the terms the company was initially following were a tad too generous. For example, many invoices state payment is due 30 days after the date the invoice was sent.

Doing the math will reveal that those terms may delay payment by up to two months. This is a serious impediment to cash flow, so reducing the payment period to 14 days makes a great deal of sense, and this is something a Sacramento business lawyer will explain. Since cash is what drives a business and keeps it afloat, tightening up the terms and conditions of payment is a smart business move.

While some companies feel that charging interest on unpaid bills is “not the thing to do to upset a customer,” there is a legal right to charge for that interest. When doing this, include all the pertinent details, such as the amount of charges and how they are applied, etc. Interest rates should also be laid out very clearly in any terms and conditions.

Never rely on a verbal contract because despite what people may think, it could end up being a binding contract. The terms of agreements made under those conditions are enforceable under some circumstances. Instead, have any contract entered written by a Sacramento business lawyer.

The terms and conditions have been spelled out clearly, or have they? This is something that needs to be checked. If the terms and conditions are not as clear as one would think, there may be ways to circumvent them. What any business should hope to accomplish with their terms and conditions is to have them so clear that there is no way they would land in court in the first place. This can be accomplished by an experienced Sacramento business lawyer.

Never assume that because any terms and conditions that have been written for the business are clear to customers or clients. This may not be the case. The firm has to take steps to ensure anyone that does business with it are totally aware of the terms and conditions under which the firm operates. This will go a long way toward avoiding any potential disagreements. With firm terms and conditions in place and by adhering to them, economic recovery is just that much easier in the long-term.

To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

It’s a fact that being in the construction industry is a nod to putting your life on the line to get the job done. No one wants to be hurt or injured while on the work site and most workers do use caution to avoid the most obvious of possible accidents. It’s the things that happen unexpectedly that may cause devastating personal injury or death.

Not all work site accidents are life threatening or serious. They may just relate to repetitive strain injury or pulled muscles from lifting the wrong way. Nevertheless, hazards continually stalk every construction site.
The most common accident on a construction site is falling. While the height might not be that great in terms of distance to fall, even a short distance may result in severe injuries or death, e.g. traumatic brain injury due to the head hitting a solid object. Falling objects are another very common happenstance at a work site. This could include everything from bricks to iron girders. Most often this injury comes as a surprise to the worker who suddenly gets hit from above.

Equipment failure or failure to operate it in the right manner is another area fraught with accidents waiting to happen. The older the equipment and the faster the worker tries to work, the higher the chances of an accident. As well, working on a construction site involves manual labor, often tough physical demands on a daily basis, which may result in lifting strains and overall wear and tear on a body.

Factor in chemical spills that may include lubricants, toxic cleansers, or other deadly substances that may cause either immediate problems (respiratory) or long-term difficulties, such as lung cancer. Along with spills, of course, come the real hazard of fires and explosions. What happens post-accident and how should those injured get compensation?

Post accident problems may include expensive medical bills, missed work and thus lost wages, inability to perform again at a pre-accident level, the loss of personal days and sick days to handle the injury, and the very real possibility that others on the construction site won’t want the “accident” reported, etc.
As you can see, it’s a real can of worms. This is why it is very important, critical in fact, to get a skilled Sacramento personal injury lawyer. They can run interference for you when it comes to dealing with insurance companies who don’t want to pay out on a personal injury claim. They will also explain your rights to you and what you may expect if your case proceeds to court.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento winery lawyer in California. To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

In 2001, registered nurse, Yuko Yamamoto, was hit by a taxi cab and knocked to the ground. She sustained serious injuries to her neck. Oddly enough, when she filed her lawsuit attempting to recover damages for pain and suffering, a judge said no trial was needed to deal with liability issues because it was obvious the cab driver caused the accident and was therefore at fault.

Since the question of liability was not at issue, the only issue that went to a jury was what amount of damages should she be awarded? “In this instance, as in a great many cases where neck injuries are involved, the jury is not able to “see” the damages and this may often mean a lower settlement because it doesn’t “look” all that bad, indicated Daren Monroe, Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan.

Even with medical records that tracked her injuries and the significant pain that accompanies those injuries, a ride to the hospital in an ambulance, negative x-rays and her release home within a few hours, the jury struggled with an award. “There was proof of follow-up medical care, missed work, extensive chiropractic treatments, the results of a nerve conduction study, and an MRI that showed herniations and bulges at C3 through 7. There was pain and weakness, a 50% loss of extension and no surgery slated by the time of the trial,” outlined Monroe. However, none of this was observable at trial.

Unfortunately, many cases such as this get bounced out of the court room as judges feel the injuries detailed in the plaintiff’s lawsuit don’t meet what is referred to as the serious injury threshold required in car accidents in the state of New York, where this case was filed. Fortunately, even though the defendant asked to have the case dismissed, the judge on appeal held there was indeed enough evidence for a jury to come to the conclusion that the nurse’s injuries did meet the statutory standard.

“At this trial, the jury awarded $175,000 despite a request for $500,000 and despite the jury finding she had a significant limitation of her cervical spine and permanent limitation to the cervical spine. No money was awarded for future pain and suffering,” Monroe explained. On appeal the plaintiff offered evidence that she would need continuing chiropractic care and testing for an unspecified period of time at the cost of roughly $6,000 a year. The Appeals court affirmed the lower court’s decision; the original verdict stood, providing nothing for future pain and suffering.

While this may seem like an unusual conclusion – awarding damages for future medical expenses but nothing for pain and suffering – the appellate judge said the jury could have come to the conclusion that offering money for regular chiropractic adjustments would alleviate the nurse’s future pain. Interesting statement, but one that does not make much sense. Future suffering and pain should, absolutely, have been included in the award.

While all of the back and forth, legal wrangling was going on, Ms. Yamamoto had to pay her usual bills, not to mention the out-of-pocket expenses of ongoing chiropractic treatment. Even though she was able to carry on with some of her duties, do some housework and play with her child, her range of motion was significantly limited. “One thing she could have considered was accessing litigation funding. And certainly that option may still be open to her should she consider appealing once again,” Monroe added.

“Contacting a lawsuit financial company with a good reputation and qualifying for funding would make her wait a lot easier. Lawsuit funding removes the pressure to settle early and inexpensively and allows the attorney the time he/she needs to get the litigant the fairest possible result,” said Daren Monroe, Litigation Funding Corporation, Southfield, Michigan.

To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.