Explore our legal content, spanning diverse legal topics, court decisions, legislative changes, and expert analysis, as we bring you the pulse of the legal world in a succinct and informative format.
USED CARS – The Unseen Threat
After floods strike communities, most people rally and support each other. However, an unscrupulous few may seek to profit. Flood-damaged vehicles are frequently sent to auction or junkyards, where parts can be salvaged. Some people/businesses buy flood-damaged vehicles, dry them out, repair them, and then resell them. All of this can be done legally in most states. However, scammers essentially try to hide the damage, have no intention of properly repairing the cars, and sell them without noting their watery...Read More
PAIN and SUFFERING from a LEGAL STANDPOINT
“Pain and suffering” is a key component in many personal injury cases. There are two types: physical pain and suffering, and mental pain and suffering. Physical pain and suffering covers not only the ill physical effects that a claimant has suffered to date, but also what they are likely to endure in the future as a result of someone negligence. Mental pain and suffering is a result of the claimant’s physical injuries and the trauma of an accident. It can...Read More
PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES
According to Governors Highway Safety Association data, in 2024 there were over 7,100 pedestrian fatalities in the U.S., nearly 20 per day. That’s a staggering 48% increase from 2014 and seven times the rate of population growth over that span. There are multiple reasons for this disturbing trend. Distracted driving has become a huge problem over the past 15 years. One 2022 study found that the average driver spends about two minutes per hour interacting with people on their phones...Read More
PIECING THINGS TOGETHER
Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley, born in 1797, penned the classic Frankenstein. A tale of horror with deep moral implications might seem heady for a teenager, but Shelley was intellectually gifted and likely influenced by her mother’s history and the significant medical/scientific developments of the time. In 1795, Shelley’s mother attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge in London. Just prior, she expressed in a letter her hope that she would not be “snatched from the death.” A valid concern, as in...Read More
When Decks Give Way
Decks are part of summer’s ambience — morning coffee, parties, barbecues. On occasion, however, decks collapse, leaving injuries and fatalities in their wake. Deck collapses might not be frequent, but they’re not rare either. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in a recent four-year span, 2,900+ injuries were associated with collapses. The North American Deck and Railing Association notes that there are approximately 60 million decks in the U.S. — residential and commercial. Over 30 million are believed to...Read More
Crusing the Waterways
Going out on a boat is often thought of as a relaxing leisure-time activity. Most times it is … if the boat is marine safe, and operated by a competent Captain. Operator error is a common cause of boating accidents. Driving too fast in congested or turbulent waters makes a craft more difficult to control, decreases reaction time, and raises the risk of serious injury and drowning. Distracted driving is problematic, too. There are fewer boats out on the water...Read More
What Goes Up Must Come Down
Following World War II, the Allied forces divided Germany into four zones: one each for France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Same thing for Germany’s capital city of Berlin, which was located entirely in the Soviet zone. However, cooperation between the Soviet Union and other Allied forces deteriorated quickly. Germany eventually became East Germany (Soviets) and West Germany (Western Europe). The Allied-controlled portion of Berlin became an island of democracy, with freedom and a thriving economy....Read More
The Highest of Highs
On July 20, 1919, Mt. Everest’s nemesis was born: famed mountain climber Edmund Hillary of Aukland, New Zealand. Hillary’s first job was beekeeper, the income from which funded his early mountain-climbing excursions — in New Zealand, the Alps, and finally the Himalayas, where he scaled 11 peaks exceeding 20,000 feet in elevation. Between 1920 and 1952, seven major expeditions to conquer Mt. Everest had failed. That changed on May 29, 1953. Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese sherpa, outlasted the...Read More
Dangers of Co2 – A Sneaky, Deadly Menace
Carbon monoxide (CO) is frequently linked to any engine or device that uses gasoline, diesel, kerosene, charcoal, or wood as fuel. These fuels emit CO when they are burned. While CO is generally harmless in an outdoor environment, it can be lethal when it accumulates in an enclosed setting. CO is even more sinister in that it is colorless and odorless, providing no clues that dangerous levels are present. And, it can strike quickly. Telltale symptoms of CO poisoning include...Read More
Don’t Underestimate Sparklers!
Fireworks are 4th of July tradition: colorful, booming, thrilling. When people think of fireworks-related injuries, thoughts often gravitate to high powered, and most likely illegal, fireworks such as M-80s, M-100s, cherry bombs, and silver salutes, among others. Legal fireworks such as firecrackers, bottle rockets, and roman candles might come to mind, too. (Fireworks laws vary from state to state and municipality to municipality.) And then there’s the occasional incident at a professional fireworks display that grabs headlines. Unfortunately, sparklers are...Read More