Saturday, April 11, 2009
Entitled to compensation..?
Many people who file a personal injury claim will also qualify to receive additional money to compensate them for lost wage earning potential and pain and suffering. The first thing to do when you have an accident at work is to make sure that you notify your supervisor right away. Even if you feel that your injury is minor, make sure to insist that you see a doctor.
In many states, you can see your own personal physician for a work accident; in other states, you will need to see an approved physician. Make sure you notify the doctor that you had an accident at work and that you will be filing an accident claim so that they can make sure to fill out the correct paperwork.
In most locations, even if you have a pre-existing condition that was a factor in your workplace injury, you are still entitled to file a compensation claim and receive compensation. In other words, it doesn't matter what caused your workplace accident –only that it occurred at work. For example, if you have lower back problems and re-injure your back while lifting boxes at work, you are still entitled to compensation, even though you already had a back problem. The next thing to do is to make sure to follow doctor's orders precisely. Fill out all paperwork required by your employer and the doctor. Do not return to work until you are certified to do so by your physician, even if your supervisor pressures you.
Make sure to check with the doctor to see if you will need accommodations before returning to work. These may include help lifting heavy objects, a desk job, half-days, or other accommodations. Finally, you will want to make sure that you obtain legal counsel to help you with your personal injury claim.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/
Friday, February 13, 2009
What An Aviation Lawyer Does When There Are No Airplane Accidents
Despite a recent report in one of the nation's top news papers detailing the surprising string of accident free years in commercial aviation, aviation lawyers have been kept busy by any number of legal and liability issues. It has been found in a recent study that commercial fights in the United States have gone two consecutive years without a related accidental death. This is the first time that in the history of United States aviation that this feat has occurred. However, the average aviation lawyer still must battle over certain safety and liability issues that have kept the need for such specialized lawyers in demand. These lawyers, while obviously not having to concern themselves with personal injury claims due to accidents in the previous years of relative safety, have still had their hands full with defining regulatory bodies and creating new and protective laws for consumers, bystanders, and workers.
While assigning liability in an accident and insuring that a claimant receives due process of law and proper compensation where deemed necessary is the primary task of an aviation lawyer, it is not the only task. These specialized lawyers must deal with a complicated set of government institutions at the state and local level, and may even have to deal with international regulatory bodies for large, commercial flights. These agencies, committees, and other regulatory bodies are largely created from case files brought through and prosecuted by lawyers. Just like criminal law, aviation law has been created by these vast networks of case files and court decisions. These regulatory bodies have sprung from these decisions. Creating these laws, therefore, dominates much of these attorneys' time and energy even when there are few commercial accidents to prosecute.
Aviation attorneys are also employed to institute safety standards. Many of these attorneys are involved in, or used to be involved in, commercial or private aviation. Many are current or former pilots and enjoy private joy flights. They are, given their concurrent knowledge of law, uniquely qualified to institute and maintain safety standards. By providing this service, they are insuring that when you buy your ticket for your next flight, you can be guaranteed of certain standards. These include safe airplane design, fully functioning safety systems (such as lighted pathways, available exits, flotation devices, etc.), regular maintenance schedules, and age limits on old aircrafts. Without these basic guarantees commercial flying could be a dangerous practice. Once these safety guidelines are established, attorneys can then use these standards to prosecute those at fault during an accident and more easily assign liability to those at fault.
Even while the United States has had two consecutive years without a death associated with the commercial airline industry, the average aviation lawyer is still busy and in demand. Despite the fact that there have been no accidents to prosecute, these specialized lawyers still must maintain strict industry safety standards, thus insuring that the unprecedented string of safe and successful flights continue, and develop and fine tune the developing field of aviation litigation and law. Therefore, these particular lawyers are still heavily in demand.
Authors : D. Zuckercorn
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=346082&ca=Legal
Accident Claim and Personal Injury Basic Guide to Claiming.
As everyone knows, life can be quite unpredictable at times. The chances are that at some point in your life you have had an accident of some form, and simply accepted it as just that: an accident that you could do nothing about. Accidents just happen, after all. But what if the accident is not your fault?
One thing that you might not have thought of if you have had an accident that was not your fault is that you could be entitled to compensation. Equally, for those who have not had an accident that was not their fault, it pays to be clued up just in case the unfortunate becomes reality for either you or even to help out relatives and close friends.
The first question you should be asking is what exactly you would be able to claim. If someone else is responsible for the accident you have had, then you will be permitted to obtain an amount of compensation in recognition of your injury. You may also be eligible to receive compensation that will cover any financial losses, alongside compensation for possible expenses incurred. This will also cover any future losses that you make as a result of your accident.
At this point you may be thinking that you have never suffered a serious physical injury so compensation does not apply to you. However, compensation for injury does not only cover just physical injury. If you have suffered mental injury then there is also the possibility that you could be able to receive compensation.
You can be compensated for pain or suffering, and, in addition to this, for the loss of amenity. Losing your amenities can take various forms. An example of this could be that the injury you have suffered has either prevented or restricted you from going back to leisure activity or a hobby that you frequented prior to your accident.
Furthermore to this, there are guidelines in place that good legal advice will alert you to, in which to help in assessing your chances of receiving compensation. Sound legal advisors will order suitable medical experts to assess you and then to provide a report in relation to both the nature and the effects of your injury. The detailed information given by the medical experts will then allow your legal advisors to counsel you upon your entitlement to compensation.
In terms of your possible financial losses, you will be permitted to recuperate your expenses incurred as a consequence of your accident. These expenses can be both past and future, and can include (but are not limited to) such measures as:
Loss of personal effects
Property damage
Policy excess or the value of your preferred vehicle of transport
Past and future loss of earnings
Loss of a pension entitlement
Past and future private treatment fees
Medication costs and or past and future care costs
Aids and appliances
Cost of home adaptations
Travel expenses
It is also important that you make a detailed record of every financial loss or expense you acquire as a result of your accident. Good legal counsel will, where possible, seek an interim payment to reimburse your loss.
Authors : Dino Skinner
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=346024&ca=Legal
Supermarket Accident Injury Claims
Supermarkets are an important part of modern life, with most people in the UK and the western world visiting supermarkets on a regular basis to purchase food and drink. In recent years supermarkets have also started to sell a whole host of other items, including clothings, electrical goods, pet products, holidays and insurance policies.
Although supermarkets are extremely popular and useful places, they are unfortunately the scene for many accidents in the UK each year. Many of these accidents will be very minor, with no physical injuries. In fact many accidents that occur in supermarkets throughout the country will not even be reported. However, many accidents do result in injury to the innocent victim.
The most common type of accident that occurs in supermarkets are slips and trips. A person may slip in a supermarket for a variety of different reasons. Due to the number of products and vast number of people that visit supermarkets each day, there is always a risk that items will be dropped or spilt. This could include items of fruit and vegetables such as grapes, yoghurt, milk or other drinks. A slip may also be caused by an unattended wet floor following the routine cleaning process or the clean up of some form of food or drink spillage. Although it is not possible for a supermarket to prevent all spillages and wet floor from occurring, they can and should take steps to minimise the potential danger. This should include regular checks and placing wet floor warning signs whether there is a spillage or a wet floor due to cleaning.
If you one of the unfortunate victims of a supermarket accident in the UK, you could be entitled to claim personal injury compensation for any physical or psychological injuries that have been caused as a result of the supermarket accident. To be entitled to claim compensation under the UK laws of negligence, the personal injury claim must be initiated within three years of the date of the accident. This three year period can be extended, but only in exceptional circumstances and would normally involve making an application to the courts. However, if the accident happens to somebody that is under the age of eighteen years old, the three year period does not begin until the day he or she turns eighteen.
Following an accident in a supermarket you should report the accident as soon as possible to a member of staff. Ideally you should report it to the manager. If possible you should also try to take some photos of the area where you have slipped. Most modern mobile phones have a built in camera, so you could use this to take a photograph of the area. It is also essential that you visit a hospital, GP or other medical professional as soon as possible after the accident so that they can assess your injuries.
To start a personal injury claim for an accident in a supermarket or other shop, you should contact a personal injury solicitor for some initial advice. If you are successful in making a supermarket accident compensation claim, you should be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries, any treatment that you require, and any loss of earnings that you have had from being unable to work.
Authors : Nicholas Tate
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=346432&ca=Legal
Denied Social Security Disability: What’s Next?
Did you know, many people are denied Social Security benefits due to insufficient documentation? To support your case for Social Security benefits, document your symptoms and write down how your disability affects your job performance. Keep documentation of every doctor’s visit, record the dates of your visits and keep track of medical records from your doctors and your laboratory and test results.
More than half of people who apply for Social Security are denied Social Security benefits at the initial application level. There are many reasons why you may have been denied Social Security Disability.
Reasons You Might be Denied:
- Insufficient medical evidence
- You are working and earn more than $940 a month
- Your disability will not last at least 12 months
- You did not follow the treatment prescribed by your doctor
- You did not submit the SSA or DDS’s requests for information
I was Denied Social Security Benefits, Now What Do I Do?
Remember, you have the right to seek legal representation to help with your disability application, appeal or reconsideration request. If you are denied Social Security Disability, remember don’t give up! There is an appeal process.
1. Apply for Reconsideration:
You should first apply for reconsideration of the denial. This appeal must be filed within 60 days of the date of the application denial. A request for reconsideration involves an informal hearing within the Social Security Office where your application was processed.
For Reconsideration, You Must:
- Complete an Appeal Disability Report
- Complete a Request for Reconsideration
- Send the forms to your local Social Security office
Approximately 85% of reconsiderations are denied. If your reconsideration is denied, the next step is to go to a hearing.
2. Attend an Administrative Hearing:
You have 60 days from the time you receive your Social Security disability denial to request a hearing.
To request a hearing, you will have to complete:
- A Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge
- An Appeal Disability Report
Both of these forms can be completed on the internet on the Social Security Disability’s website.
In an administrative hearing, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will make an independent review of your application and make a decision of your claim.
3. Appeal a Denied Social Security Claim:
If you lose at the hearing level, the next step is the Appeals Council Review. To begin the process, complete the Request for Review of Decision/Order of Administrative Law Judge and send it to your local office.
The Appeals Council rarely grants disability benefits. However, they will determine if your hearing was fair or not.
4. The Federal District Court:
If the Appeals Council refuses to review your case or denies your disability appeal, the last step is to take your case to the federal district court. You must have an attorney at this level of appeal. He or she will file a case against Social Security in District Court.
How Long Does the Appeal Process Take?
The appeal process can take a long time, sometimes years. According to the Social Security Administration, the average processing time for a request is about 7 months; but many cases may take 30 months or more.
The Benefits of Having a Social Security Attorney:
Having a Social Security attorney can significantly improve your chances of receiving social security benefits if you were denied. Attorneys know how to prepare a disability case for a hearing and they are familiar with social security rules and regulations.
Authors : Matt Berry
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=346620&ca=Legal