The Jones Act is a vital piece of maritime law that incorporates nearly every maritime job in the United States. Of course, before running off to find the world’s best maritime injury lawyer, one should be sure that their injury at sea qualifies under the Jones Act.

Injury at sea can be incredibly dangerous and those who put their lives in harm’s way are likely to experience some sort of injury during a lifetime of service. Injuries covered under the Jones Act range from large to small, and of course, there are special addendums to cover accidental death at sea.

Under specific admiralty law, maritime injuries require covered under this special clause are to be deemed accidental in the case of a seaman of servitude. The term servitude covers a wide range of sea going occupations, including but not limited to merchant sea-persons, commercial fishing, shrimp boats, water taxi and ferry personnel, as well as divers, drivers, and all other underwater personnel. In the event that a sea-person of servitude does not receive the appropriate compensation for an injury obtained at sea, the natural course of action is to retain an appropriate maritime injury lawyer to determine the eligible status of the injury and its related circumstances.

The law is not as simple as most believe. It isn’t always a simple correlation between injury and lawsuit. Sometimes a person can get hurt, fault can be determined, and a maritime attorney can file the appropriate lawsuit. Other cases are much more complicated and there are circumstances where a maritime attorney can do nothing on behalf of the injured party. This is why it is vital that the appropriate maritime injury lawyer is sought out and consulted with.

In some cases, the Jones Act will apply to a sailing instructor and even a camp counselor at a sailing camp. Depending on various factors involved, sometimes the Jones Act doesn’t apply. While the maritime injury lawyers are quite busy keeping up with changes to existing law, lay people should refrain from making assumptions about what applies to them and what doesn’t. Sometimes, it is all simply a matter of circumstance. Without a consultation, it is nearly impossible to determine an injured party’s eligibility for protection under the Jones Act.

Admiralty law was designed to protect the merchants and the sea-persons who have continuously placed their lives at risk in servitude to their country’s defense. While this was originally an English inclusion (as it applies to the United States) admiralty law has grown to cover various aspect of a life at sea. The protection under the laws which were granted are in place to not only compliment existing laws regarding workplace safety and liability, but also to intercede and assist judgments and final rulings in cases that are in direct conflict with maritime law.

After all many maritime laws are not necessarily on equal footing with laws of the land. When these laws were originally concocted for the appropriate protections pertaining to seamen, many lived without setting foot on dry land for years on end, with no desire to ever become a land dweller.

While times have changed since the original English inception of maritime law, the laws haven’t always adhered to modern day interpretations of maritime life. This means that a maritime attorney is the only viable resource for determining the effects of the law pertaining to an injury at sea.

A maritime injury lawyer may be able to procure large settlements and award judgments for those who have sustained an injury at sea, while at the same time, depending on the language of the law and the circumstances surrounding the injury itself, a maritime injury lawyer may not be able to procure even the most nominal medical expense for the injured party.

Life at sea, whether it is an entire life, a whole life, or a season of a life, is vastly different from life on land. While there are numerous unmatchable beauties and thrills that coincide with a life at sea, there are also innumerable dangers. It can not be assumed that just because one has gone to sea regularly for the past thirty years without incident that their luck will hold out.

Even the best of vigilance, precaution, maintenance, and care can not always prevent the unforeseen and the unpredictability of the weather. Life at sea is for a very select few, and those select few understand the implications of entering life among the waves. After all, if they didn’t, they would simply stay ashore.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on cases involving maritime injury, maritime contracts, and the Jones Act Law. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com

Mesothelioma lawsuits are among the most highly publicized personal injury and tort lawsuits filed in the country. For the past several years, many states and the federal government have been under pressure from the insurance companies for big businesses that exposed thousands of workers to asbestos to stem the tide of lawsuits against them. The federal government attempted year after year to forge a law that would preserve the rights of those who were injured by their exposure to asbestos while “protecting” the insurance companies and asbestos makers from bankruptcy. At the same time, a number of states were working on their own legislation to help control mesothelioma litigation that was choking their courts. In 2005, Texas became one of the first states in the nation to pass an asbestos litigation reform law. The asbestos reform law in Texas was designed to address several problems with mesothelioma lawsuits in the Texas courts.

Reduce number of mesothelioma lawsuits
Until 2005, the statute of limitations for filing a mesothelioma lawsuit pushed many victims of asbestos exposure into filing suit when they first learned of the exposure rather than risk losing their right to any compensation at all. The existing tort law imposed a statute of limitations that was never meant to apply to a disease that could take up to thirty years to manifest after exposure to its cause. Texas tort law started the clock ticking toward the statute at the time that a plaintiff first learned that they had been exposed to asbestos.

The problem with this method was that a person diagnosed with asbestosis, for example, has a far higher risk of developing mesothelioma, but there’s no clear cut way to tell if that will happen, nor is there a set timeline. Some people diagnosed with asbestosis don’t develop mesothelioma for decades, and some don’t develop it at all. If mesothelioma didn’t develop before the statute of limitations ran out, the exposed person was out of luck. Instead of giving up any right to compensation for astronomical medical expenses, many people chose to file suit for damages based on their exposure and heightened risk rather than wait and see if they developed the illness.

The 2005 tort reform addressed the issue in two ways:

- It changed the point where the clock for the statute of limitations for filing begins to run so that those who learn that they have been exposed but are not yet ill can preserve their right to file a mesothelioma lawsuit if they do become ill. This is a countermeasure to the requirement to show illness. By changing the statute of limitations, the legislature ensured that those who learn they’ve been exposed to asbestos don’t lose their right to file for compensation due to the disease’s slow progress.
- The law now requires that those who file a mesothelioma lawsuit show proof that they are suffering from an impairment caused by an asbestos related disease. This measure is expected to reduce the number of mesothelioma lawsuits by only allowing lawsuits filed by those who are actually ill.

While both of these measures reduce the court time and costs for dealing with mesothelioma suits and claims, they also make it more complex to file a mesothelioma suit in the Texas courts. As the law stands now, the plaintiff must show:

- That the exposed person has been diagnosed by a board-certified physician with mesothelioma or other related cancer OR
- That the exposed person has been diagnosed by a board-certified physician and has an actual physical impairment because of exposure to asbestos, and that impairment must meet certain medical requirements

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos related cancer, the 2005 law directly affects how your case will be handled by the Texas courts. There are deadlines that must be met in filing your case, and in responding to answers and motions from the defendants. It’s more important than ever that you consult a top mesothelioma lawyer in Texas who understands the laws, and can ensure that all the procedures are followed to the letter.

The law firms that deal with Texas mesothelioma lawsuits on a regular basis can do more than argue your case in court. A top Texas mesothelioma lawyer can provide you with assistance in assembling the medical papers and proofs that you need, as well as researching your case to help pinpoint how, when and where you were exposed to asbestos. When you consult with an experienced law office, your lawyers will have access to years worth of research and contacts and experience in case law.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Fen-Phen and PPH, Paxil, Mesothelioma and Nursing Home Abuse. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com

The legal system is a very complex arena which requires people to pursue various types of legal advice and representation. The legal services programs in many States have been divided into several areas in order to help people handle their legal needs in a fast and efficient manner. Some legal services are provided on strictly an educational level and people can get quick answers when they have questions.

On area of the legal system that people seek legal advice on is housing laws and how these laws protect people who live in public housing areas. Many people with low incomes are afforded the opportunity to live in these housing units are lower prices that are based on income. Certain activities will affect the eligibility of a person to live in these communities and people will seek legal advice on a variety of matters.

Other people might use the legal services areas of the State government to learn about all of the public benefits that they can apply for. Some families have many children and there are many support programs that will provide food and shelter to families. There is a complex system in place that determines who is eligible for these programs and the legal services offices can advise people about eligibility.

Some areas of government provide legal services at no cost to people that can not afford them. Many lawyers will volunteer to provide legal services for low income families and perform many legal services for those clients at one time. Some families need legal help with long term contracts, Wills or they might ask for help in completing a power of attorney or assigning someone as an Executor to a Will.

The division of some legal services can be quite complex at times because people need help with issues dealing with family law and this is especially true if a State human resource office is involved. Some people might consult an attorney at a legal services office for some legal help with a child support case. This can be an emotional issue that is handled in a variety of ways but with the welfare of a child in mind at all times.

Some families will seek the help of an attorney after a child has been removed from the home due to abuse or neglect. When State agencies get involved in family law matters, there are a variety of changes that could take place in a short period of time and people seek legal advice on these matters from legal services offered by attorneys that provide their services at no cost.

Keeping legal services separated has allowed States to identify needs and make appropriate allocations of money to areas that need it most. People have come to realize that the separation of housing, family law and public benefits matters have helped to speed up the legal process in many courts systems. Governments can hire additional case workers and attorneys to handle the legal needs of an entire community and they are better suited to know when to build more housing when a need is noted.

James Brown writes about USAFIS bargains, Rocket Lawyer coupons and LegalMatch coupon codes

Will making isn’t something that people think about on a regular basis. Whether this is because they don’t realise what they’re worth, think they have plenty of time to do it or just don’t think about it, it is important to consider having one written just in case.

The main reason why will making is so important is because without one, your family could be left with nothing. A will specifies who you want your money, property, possessions and even children to go to should something happen. Once you have done this you can be assured that the things you care about the most will be going into good hands.

A lot of people use will making as a method of stating specific instructions for their burial and if they wish to donate organs to medical research. If you wish to donate your organs but this hasn’t been specified anywhere then it will not be possible to do so as no instructions will have been given.

If will making is something you have never thought of before then now is the time to start considering it. Without a will all of your assets will be divided by the State which means that someone else will decide who receives everything that you left. It isn’t nice to think that the people you love the most could be left with nothing and someone else gets everything you worked so hard for.

Will making is important because a lot of people automatically assume that the person they are married to will get everything. This isn’t necessarily always the case as children, parents, brothers and sisters may all have a claim even if you haven’t seen them for years.

Even if you don’t own much it is still beneficial to think about will making. Certain things like jewellery may have sentimental value and it would therefore be heartbreaking if it had to get taken away. People are often worth more than they realise anyway because the cost of a house, car and furniture all add up. Will making can be especially important if you haven’t got much because it would mean that the little amount there is will become even less once it has been divided amongst everybody.

Although will making isn’t something that people like to think about and they tend to leave until later on in life, regardless of how old you are or what you own it should definitely be done sooner rather than later.

Affinity will making is one of the leading firms of independent Will writers in the United Kingdom with over 100 years collective experience, specialising in Will drafting, Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate.

When selling a business, the seller will naturally try to increase the company’s value and reduce its post closing risks or losses. These need to be accomplished, of course, without causing any disruption to current operations. Before putting the business up for sale, the seller must first identify areas of concern. This way the seller will be well-prepared to deal with term sheets and letters of intent, negotiating the terms of the sale, and addressing the issues that may arise during the sales transaction. If a seller fails to address pre-sale planning considerations, it is very likely that the outcome will be unsuccessful.

In order to increase a company’s value and achieve a successful sale, sellers should be mindful of these considerations:

1. Organize Corporate Records: sellers must anticipate that the buyer will be interested in the company’s corporate records. Due diligence disclosures that are anticipated must be updated and reviewed. These records should include key corporate, financial, accounting and operational records as well as all legal documents.

2. Show Company Growth: sellers must be able to confirm the historical as well as projected company growth, both for the short-term and long-term. This can be done by preparing a financial model that covers acquisition opportunities displayed on a time-line basis.

3. Explain Company Performance: sellers must be prepared to defend the financial performance of the company, explaining in detail any fluctuations in profit, operational expenses, selling costs and other overhead expenses including salaries and material.

4. Describe Return on Investment: sellers must help the buyer confirm its company valuation by showing detailed reports on return on investments for every item classified as capital expenditure, together with an anticipated time frame.

5. Highlight the Management Team: if the buyer is considering making an investment in the existing management team, sellers must make sure that they will highlight the manager’s experience and contribution to the company. Also, providing the buyer with a detailed assessment of the low-level managers who can be considered assets should also be performed.

6. Operate the Company: although the sales process will consume much of the senior managers’ time and efforts, operations must never be disrupted. The senior management should not forget to continue to meet their business goals and targets during this period.

7. Enter Into a Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreement: sellers must not forget to enter into a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement with all potential buyers in order to protect the proprietary company information which may be shared during the course of sales negotiations.

8. Negotiate the Terms of a Letter of Intent: sellers should negotiate the terms of the sales and make sure that they are properly reflected in the Letter of Intent. This should include ancillary provisions, material economic terms, payment arrangements, limitations or restrictions on the indemnification obligations, extent and nature of warranties and representations and the period for the buyer’s right to perform. By preparing a detailed Letter of Intent, sellers and buyers can be assured that they both agree on important business points, respective obligations and legal terms before finalizing the sales documents. This will help them avoid delays and additional sales transaction costs.

9. Employee Incentives: the awareness of an impending sale might result in making the employees anxious. In order to avoid any negative effects on day-to-day operations and potential harm to the planned sales transaction, it is important that sellers give their employees incentives. These incentives can be in the form of bonuses, benefits, and perhaps even equity participation.

10. Select an Investment Banker: the services provided by an experienced investment banker might come in handy for sellers. These services include identifying financial and strategic buyers, gathering realistic information pertaining to the valuation of the company and obtaining data on market intelligence. Sellers should consider factors such as experience, reputation and professionalism when looking for an investment banker.

11. Obtain Accounting, Financial and Tax Advisors: sellers should have accounting and tax advisors that will review and analyze all considerations during the sales transactions in order to foresee possible problems and eliminate them as early as possible.

12. Obtain Sarbanes-Oxley Act Counsel: sellers must seek counsel who are expert in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, this legislation covers requirements that may be important to the acquisition of the company. If the seller targets compliancy to this Act, company valuation will improve.

Robert Masud, Esq. is the principal of Masud & Company LLC, a law firm for the world of business, finance and the internet.
Find out how our lawyers can help you at http://www.masudco.com.

Whether will making is something that you are familiar with or not, everyone should know that it is extremely important to keep it somewhere safe after it has been drawn up. If it cannot be found when you die, the law states that it does not exist. This means that your loved ones may not get the possessions you wanted them to have.

Once will making has been complete there are a number of options available as to where you can store it. Some will making companies offer a will making service which can be one of the best options available as you can guarantee its security.

These after care services begin as soon as will making is complete to assure you that your will is in safe hands. Typically, there will be a series of follow – ups after your will making documents have been sent to you, once you are sure that you are happy with the content you sign them and then return them.

A will making after care service also makes it very easy for you if circumstances change so you need to change your will. This can be done in correspondence or even by email which greatly reduces costs and can even be free of charge sometimes. The after care service will even help you to decide whether you need to make changes or not by publishing a newsletter. It is important to read this because it contains vital information on various things that may affect your estate.

You will even receive a copy of your will to keep at home to give you piece of mind. On top of this you will receive certificates of deposit for your will making document so there will always be evidence that you made one. You can leave these with whoever you feel the most appropriate as they ensure that everyone knows exactly where will making documents are being kept and what action needs to be taken when the documents are needed.

There are many benefits to using this service including the fact that when you die the company in question can give your Executors free advice. This means any questions or queries they have can be answered quickly, easily and honestly. As well as this, they can help with the general administration of your estate which can save hundreds of pounds.

After care services for will making are ideal because there is always someone there to answer any questions for you. It can be a confusing and stressful time so having some extra support there for you can be such a relief.

Affinity will making is one of the leading firms of independent Will writers in the United Kingdom with over 100 years collective experience, specialising in Will drafting, Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate.

When a driver is in an automobile accident with another driver who has insurance with proper coverage, recovery for damages is generally straightforward. However, not every driver carries automobile insurance, which is in violation of state compulsory automobile insurance laws, or has the proper coverage. People do drive vehicles without insurance and are cause an increasing number of accidents each year. When an automobile accident involves an uninsured/underinsured motorist, recovery for damages becomes more difficult. An uninsured motorist refers to a person who is the driver responsible for causing the automobile accident (the at fault driver) and has not insured their vehicle. An underinsured motorist refers to a person who is the driver responsible for causing the automobile accident (the at fault driver) and has insured their vehicle but at limits that are insufficient to cover all of the damages sustained in the automobile accident.

If a driver is involved in an automobile accident with another driver who is uninsured or underinsured, the driver would be compensated by their insurance company if they had purchased uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in their insurance policy. This covers property damage–such as car repairs, bodily injury–such as medical expenses, and other compensatory damages–such as pain and suffering. Uninsured motorist coverage also comes into play when injuries are sustained due to a hit-and-run automobile accident. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can also be used if a person is hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian.

It is extremely risky to drive without insurance or without proper insurance, so always be sure that your insurance is up to date and covers all of your motor vehicles’ needs. If you are properly covered, then your insurance should cover the costs of an accident, should you be at fault. If the other driver is at fault, then their insurance should pay. However, in the case that the other driver does not have insurance or their insurance is not sufficient, it is wise to have an insurance plan that covers you even if you are hit by someone without insurance.

Although a driver can possibly sue a uninsured/underinsured motorist if their insurance does not include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, there is no guarantee that the uninsured/underinsured motorist will have the money or assets to pay the judgment. Therefore, including uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in an insurance policy simply makes sense.

If you have been in an automobile accident and have suffered injuries, you may have a legal case. If you would like to contact a lawyer, please use the Find Attorney button at the top of the page.

LegalView.com is your source for everything legal. Visit http://legalview.com. Visitors to LegalView.com can get help to find a construction accident lawyer, a mesothelioma attorney, and more. You can also get help to find a car accident injury lawyer at http://crash.legalview.com.

Eyewitness testimony, which relies on the accuracy of human memory, has an enormous impact on the outcome of a trial. In criminal cases, eyewitnesses frequently play a vital role in uncovering the truth about a crime.

The evidence they provide can be critical in identifying, charging, and ultimately convicting suspected criminals. However, eyewitness testimony is not infallible. No evidence seems more convincing upon its first hearing, yet is more unreliable, than eyewitness identification testimony.

Even the most honest and objective people can make mistakes in recalling and interpreting a witnessed event. There can be no reasonable doubt that inaccurate eyewitness testimony may be one of the most prejudicial features of a criminal trial.

Time and time again, eyewitness testimony has proven to be unreliable, sometimes resulting in the conviction of innocent persons. In response, the criminal justice system has gradually implemented a variety of procedural protections which include jury instructions, line-ups, the suppression of unreliable identifications, etc.

Since jurors tend to put a lot of faith in eyewitness testimony, a mistaken identification defense requires careful planning and execution. A defense attorney’s role is to approach the subject of eyewitness testimony with a critical and skeptical eye. The defense must educate the jury about the possibility, or even probability, of mistakes.

Although the eyewitness may make a ”positive” identification of a defendant, it is imperative that the defense attorney be prepared to demonstrate that certainty is no guarantee of accuracy. Therefore, a goal of the defense is to demonstrate to the jury how an eyewitness can be honestly mistaken, by pinpointing the causes and reasons for the error.

Many jurisdictions have a preliminary hearing or probable cause hearing as a first stage proceeding. Although the Confrontation Clause guarantees do not apply at such a stage, nonetheless in many jurisdictions the complainant and/or an eyewitness will be called to testify. One of the purposes of preliminary examination, aside from discovering potential damaging testimony, is to become familiar with the witnesses, their temperaments, character, demeanor while testifying, and any other important mannerisms.

This information, sometimes as much as the actual testimony, must be previewed before the witnesses are actually called and examined before the jury at trial.

Even though defense counsel can challenge eyewitness testimony, it will be the judge or the jury who will weigh this testimony against other pieces of the evidence to determine what indeed happened at the time and place in question.

There is no denying that eyewitness testimony can be persuasive evidence before a judge or jury, especially in criminal trials. Research has shown, however, that eyewitness testimony can be systematically fallible in ways that undermine the goals of the rules of evidence.

This does not necessary mean that eyewitness testimony is always inaccurate – it just means that there are legitimate grounds (and perhaps reasonable doubt) to challenge a case when the only evidence is eyewitness testimony.

Are you a small business owner? You need to know this!

Immigration recently announced that a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is required. The legislation went into effect in July of 2008, and the new Form I-9 has significant changes.

Employers must use the amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/16/08) for all employees hired on or after June 16, 2008. Employers who fail to use the new form after that date may be subject to penalties by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). No previous editions will be accepted. Note, employers only need to complete the new version of Form I-9 for new employees. They do not need to complete new forms for existing employees. However, they must use the new I-9 Form when their employees require re-verification.

This is all part of ICE’s new aggressive workplace enforcement strategy, which has included a huge upsurge in workplace raids by ICE in response to growing political pressure. They are aggressively enforcing laws that are already on the books, which prohibit an employer from knowingly employing an unauthorized alien.

Consequently, employers need to get ready now, so that they will be prepared when Immigration knocks on the door. Here are seven secrets to surviving an Immigration Audit:

#1 Do an Internal I-9 Audit Now. Don’t wait for Immigration to raid your workplace or to send you a letter demanding to inspect your I-9 Forms within 72 hours to first review them. Do it now. Compare your payroll with your I-9 forms and make sure that you have an I-9 Form for all employees. Make sure that they all have been filled out correctly and completely and that you have started to use the new revised I-9 Form (Rev. (06/16/08).

#2 Centralize the I-9 Process. Train 1 or 2 employees in the technical process of filling out I-9 forms. Then have them always be in charge of completing the I-9s, instead of random supervisors, who may or may not be familiar with the process.

#3 Do Not Put the I-9s in the Employee’s Personnel file. Keep the I-9 forms in a separate file. You don’t want to have to turn over your employee’s personnel files to Immigration, since they contain privileged information. (You can put a copy of the I-9 in the employee’s personnel file, if you want, but keep the originals separate.)

#4 Always Examine the Original Documents – Not Copies. It is critical that you examine the original document, “green card”, drivers license or social security card, not a copy. Make sure that you are using the revised list of approved documents, effective June 16, 2008.

#5 Copy the Front and Back of All Documents that were Examined, and Attach to the I-9. Although employers are not legally required to make a photocopy of the documents that they examined, doing so, demonstrates the employer’s good faith, and if questioned, the employer can point to what documents they relied upon, even if they ultimately prove to be fraudulent.

#6 Establish a Written Policy that Fraud in the Employment Application Process, Will be Grounds for Termination. By doing so, the employer will clearly have the right to terminate an employee if it later discovers that he submitted fraudulent documents to obtain employment.

#7 If you Receive a Social Security Mismatch Letter, Contact Your Attorney First, Before Responding. The Social Security Administration is sending thousands of Social Security Mismatch Letters to Employers, informing them that there is a “mismatch” in the names and social security numbers of some of the employer’s employees. Although a Federal Court Judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing ICE from sending letters together with the SSA, there may be serious legal consequences for the employer. Therefore, immediately contact experienced legal counsel before responding.