Sunday, July 5, 2009

Coping With a Wrongful Death

Don't let the wrongful death of a family member be the emotional death of you!

Regardless of the situation, the loss of a family member is possibly the most stressful experience that most of us will go though in our lifetime. That irreplaceable loss is made considerably harder when the departed passed away needlessly, or if somebody else is obviously responsible for their demise. For some years, there was no recourse for the surviving members of the deceased, as every legal suit was considered to pass away with the decedent. To maintain fairness, today all fifty states have wrongful death statutes which are designed to deal with this type of loss. Lawfully, the definition of wrongful death is "death caused by the fault of another." Here are some examples of instances of being responsible for a wrongful death: driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI, DWI), the manufacture of a defective product (or acting in the capacity of the retail distributor that sold the product in question), constructing an unsafe/unusable house or building or structure, a doctor's failure to identify an obviously deadly illness or improper diagnosis and treatment of a condition resulting in death. These are some of the most common instances of wrongful death. However, wrongful death cases are not limited to the examples given here. If you believe that a recently deceased family member died in a wrongful death situation, call a local personal injury attorney and let him/her examine your circumstances, in order to help you understand the laws and clear up all your questions. A wrongful death lawyer can help you get the justice you seek and assist you in building your claim.

A wrongful death lawyer will look into the conditions of your wrongful death claim and, if suitable, assist you in filing a grievance (complaint) and see your claim all the way through to the finish. Statutes of limitations vary from state to state. For this reason it is imperative to be familiar with the statute of limitations in place in your state. The statute of limitations in each state sets the quantity of time during which you can file a suit. This quantity of time typically starts at the time of demise and lasts for a year or longer. Despite the emotional pain you are experiencing due to the loss of a loved one, it is vital that you get in contact with a wrongful death lawyer before too much time goes by and you lose your right to file a suit because time ran out for you to file. In some cases, if the true reason of demise is revealed well after the demise and wrongful death is alleged, the statute of limitations may be extended until the issue has legal resolve. However, the significance of making contact with a lawyer in a timely manner can not be stressed enough.

Like any lawsuit, you are probably going to encounter a number of obstacles and road blocks throughout your case. Typical difficulties that you may encounter can usually be avoided by straightforward truthfulness with your attorney. If you think there is any factual error in your deceased relative's life insurance policy, this could become an obstacle in your case moving forward. For instance, if a smoker stated that he/she did not smoke, or if the person insured by the policy was older than he/she said they were when the paper work was filled out, then the claim could be thrown out. Additional, less ordinary problems can come about; this is why it is critical that you create a trusting association with your wrongful death lawyer. Common types of compensation/reimbursement you may recuperate are medical/hospital bills and funeral costs, expectation of the decedent's future wages, the loss of health and retirement benefits, loss of inheritance, reimbursement for suffering and mental pain, loss of parental care for surviving children, and wide-ranging penal damages. If you think someone in your family has passed away such under wrongful death circumstances that were avoidable, get in touch with a wrongful death lawyer today. The law is on your side, and is ready and willing to help.

Las Vegas DUI attorney: What you NEED to know!

Over 1.4 million drivers in America were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs during 2001. Because of different outcries form different organization such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) law enforcement officers have stepped up their enforcement of drunken driving laws. Las Vegas the home of casinos and entertainment has not fallen short either. That is why if you find yourself caught up in this crackdown it is important to find a Las Vegas DUI attorney. This article will help you better explore the legal side of a DUI and the importance of a Vegas DUI attorney.

If you are facing a drunk driving charge you could face steep consequences, such as jail or prison time, a heavy fine, and suspension of your driver's license. That is why if you are facing these types of charges you should not under any matter hesitate to contact a Las Vegas DUI attorney. An experienced DUI lawyer in DUI defense and drink driving laws can explain the spectrum of possible punishments of DUI offenders and explain the different legal possibilities one can take to defend themselves. A Las Vegas DUI attorney should be able to easily advise on what the best course of action to take after being charged to avoid further persecution.

For example if you are stopped and an officer conducts a random sobriety field test on you and you admit to driving under the influence your case is very hard to fight because you have already placed yourself as guilty. Another example is that when approached to breath a breathalyzer and you refuse to take it, may result in automatic drivers-license suspension or revocation. Nevertheless a Las Vegas DUI attorney may fight that action by stating that refusing to take a breathalyzer does not automatically make you guilty of the charge.

Different states have different limits to considering someone as being a drunk driver. Most states consider that a 0.8 is the limit of their Blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) bloodstream after drinking alcohol. Even though 0.8 may be the official intoxication level many states may act differently when it comes to punishment and charging. A Las Vegas a href="http://www.duiphoenixarizona.com/">DUI attorney must have knowledge of the specific laws in Las Vegas in order to preserve a criminal defense and strike a fair battle in court.

There are many different ways to defend yourself from a DUI charge in Las Vegas, but for most your first line of defense is having a Las Vegas DUI attorney. Not only will you need a strong DUI defense from your Las Vegas DUI attorney, you will also need to understand and have a general knowledge of being charged with driving under the influence. Nonetheless, it is still important, to avoid these types of situations and when going to drink prepare yourself by driving a couple hours after you drink or by having a designated driver.

How Innocent People get convicted of DUI.

Many people are not concerned about DUI laws as they say they will never drink and drive. Such people assume their actual innocence immunizes them from arrest. Unfortunately, actual guilt is not a predicate for DUI arrest --- all it takes is an officer who says you are drinking.

Police officers are not very good at discerning between people who are .08 and people who are .00. Indeed, few people are very good at determining who is "legally drunk" at .08 and who have no alcohol at all. The reason the police do not detect impairment in subjects with .08 is that there is usually no impairment to see. The .08 standard is an arbitrary standard -- most people are not impaired at .08 despite what MADD, the media and the government tells you. For that reason, in today's America, the police arrest anyone they believe smells of an alcohol beverage.

If this hypothesis is true, that smell by itself merits arrest, then there should be a lot of .00 people who are wrongfully arrested. People who smell of alcohol or the police believe smell of alcohol but actually have no alcohol in their system. Thomas Workman, an electrical engineer with many years of work experience who is also a patent attorney, has done a detailed analysis of Florida's breath alcohol testing program results. Mr. Workman found that one out of every twenty Florida citizen tested for alcohol had two zero (0.000) samples. No alcohol was found. From April 1 2006 to November 30 2007 there are more than 3,900 citizens who provided two samples of 0.000, for DUI tests.

From April 1 2006 to November 30 2007 there are about 58,000 citizen tests with results above 0.000

This works out to 6.7% for Florida as a whole. But do some police officers arrest more innocent people than others?

When you look at the data and identify the arresting officer, some disturbing patterns emerge. The same officers are making these "double 0.000" tests, over and over. While Florida Dept of Law Enforcement claims to be monitoring the tests, they do not look for these kinds of patterns, or if they are, they ignore what they see. This is not the whole story according to Mr. Workman.

For citizens who supply a first sample that satisfies all of the requirements set by Florida, and who then are charged with a refusal, because a second adequate sample is not supplied, it is shocking to look at what the first sample was measured to be.

Of all citizens who do supply a first sample, and then fail to supply a second sample, over 90% of these first samples measure to be 0.000. This means that a citizen is punished for a refusal, which includes the possibility of a jail sentence, when the officer knows that the citizen has no impairment. Why would a citizen with no alcohol in their system refuse to give a second sample?

These citizens, who represent 1% of all tests of citizens, are treated far worse, because they do not have the benefit of the 0.000 result, and they likely are prosecuted, and many convicted. They can also be convicted of the crime of failing to provide a sample, even though it is likely that the second sample was prevented by the officer (again, why would a sober person refuse to provide a second sample?)

Friday, July 3, 2009

Las Vegas DUI attorney: What you NEED to know!

Over 1.4 million drivers in America were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs during 2001. Because of different outcries form different organization such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) law enforcement officers have stepped up their enforcement of drunken driving laws. Las Vegas the home of casinos and entertainment has not fallen short either. That is why if you find yourself caught up in this crackdown it is important to find a Las Vegas DUI attorney. This article will help you better explore the legal side of a DUI and the importance of a Vegas DUI attorney.

If you are facing a drunk driving charge you could face steep consequences, such as jail or prison time, a heavy fine, and suspension of your driver's license. That is why if you are facing these types of charges you should not under any matter hesitate to contact a Las Vegas DUI attorney. An experienced DUI lawyer in DUI defense and drink driving laws can explain the spectrum of possible punishments of DUI offenders and explain the different legal possibilities one can take to defend themselves. A Las Vegas DUI attorney should be able to easily advise on what the best course of action to take after being charged to avoid further persecution.

For example if you are stopped and an officer conducts a random sobriety field test on you and you admit to driving under the influence your case is very hard to fight because you have already placed yourself as guilty. Another example is that when approached to breath a breathalyzer and you refuse to take it, may result in automatic drivers-license suspension or revocation. Nevertheless a Las Vegas DUI attorney may fight that action by stating that refusing to take a breathalyzer does not automatically make you guilty of the charge.

Different states have different limits to considering someone as being a drunk driver. Most states consider that a 0.8 is the limit of their Blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) bloodstream after drinking alcohol. Even though 0.8 may be the official intoxication level many states may act differently when it comes to punishment and charging. A Las Vegas a href="http://www.duiphoenixarizona.com/">DUI attorney must have knowledge of the specific laws in Las Vegas in order to preserve a criminal defense and strike a fair battle in court.

There are many different ways to defend yourself from a DUI charge in Las Vegas, but for most your first line of defense is having a Las Vegas DUI attorney. Not only will you need a strong DUI defense from your Las Vegas DUI attorney, you will also need to understand and have a general knowledge of being charged with driving under the influence. Nonetheless, it is still important, to avoid these types of situations and when going to drink prepare yourself by driving a couple hours after you drink or by having a designated driver.

How Innocent People get convicted of DUI.

Copyright (c) 2008 Robert Keefer

Many people are not concerned about DUI laws as they say they will never drink and drive. Such people assume their actual innocence immunizes them from arrest. Unfortunately, actual guilt is not a predicate for DUI arrest --- all it takes is an officer who says you are drinking.

Police officers are not very good at discerning between people who are .08 and people who are .00. Indeed, few people are very good at determining who is "legally drunk" at .08 and who have no alcohol at all. The reason the police do not detect impairment in subjects with .08 is that there is usually no impairment to see. The .08 standard is an arbitrary standard -- most people are not impaired at .08 despite what MADD, the media and the government tells you. For that reason, in today's America, the police arrest anyone they believe smells of an alcohol beverage.

If this hypothesis is true, that smell by itself merits arrest, then there should be a lot of .00 people who are wrongfully arrested. People who smell of alcohol or the police believe smell of alcohol but actually have no alcohol in their system. Thomas Workman, an electrical engineer with many years of work experience who is also a patent attorney, has done a detailed analysis of Florida's breath alcohol testing program results. Mr. Workman found that one out of every twenty Florida citizen tested for alcohol had two zero (0.000) samples. No alcohol was found. From April 1 2006 to November 30 2007 there are more than 3,900 citizens who provided two samples of 0.000, for DUI tests.

From April 1 2006 to November 30 2007 there are about 58,000 citizen tests with results above 0.000

This works out to 6.7% for Florida as a whole. But do some police officers arrest more innocent people than others?

When you look at the data and identify the arresting officer, some disturbing patterns emerge. The same officers are making these "double 0.000" tests, over and over. While Florida Dept of Law Enforcement claims to be monitoring the tests, they do not look for these kinds of patterns, or if they are, they ignore what they see. This is not the whole story according to Mr. Workman.

For citizens who supply a first sample that satisfies all of the requirements set by Florida, and who then are charged with a refusal, because a second adequate sample is not supplied, it is shocking to look at what the first sample was measured to be.