Are Helmets Required in Pennsylvania and New Jersey?
As most riders know, wearing a helmet is mandatory in New Jersey. Not so in Pennsylvania where anyone 21 years of age or older and has been licensed to operate a motorcycle for not less than two full calendar years OR has completed a motorcycle safety course approved by PennDOT or the Motorcycle Safety Foundation can ride without one. Beyond the arguments for or against mandatory helmet laws is the reality of the dangers associated with riding without one. A few years ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article on the Pennsylvania law that permits riders to forgo a helmet and State Representative Dan Frankel’s effort to reinstate a mandatory helmet law. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute, in New Jersey for the year 2007, there were 85 …
Judicial “Discretion” in 1787
by Raoul Berger EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an excerpt of the book (chapter 16) Government by Judiciary: The Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment, Foreword by Forrest McDonald (2nd ed.) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1997). A common historicist fallacy is to import our twentieth-century conceptions into the minds of the Founders. At the adoption of the Constitution the notion that judges, for example, could make law as an instrument of social change was altogether alien to colonial thinking. “Instrumentalism” was yet to come. In a valuable essay Morton J. Horwitz observed that “fear of judicial discretion had long been part of colonial political rhetoric” and described the prevalent jural conceptions that combined to circumscribe the judicial function in the eighteenth century. There was first …
Speed
Happy New Year! OK I am a month late but better late than never eh? Well that’s fine I suppose for my New Year greetings but some things can’t be late, like claim payments on ATE policies. How many times have you completed a claim form and submitted it, only for the ATE insurance provider to ignore it for weeks and then perhaps ask for copies of the file or correspondence. Did you forget to tick that box on the form? Oh dear, never mind, I am sure the Defendant insurer will understand! They don’t though do they. Have you had any default costs orders against you due to your ATE insurer dragging their feet? Hurts doesn’t it? If you are subject to …
New law – fundamental dishonesty in PI claims
The government brought into force last week a new law preventing claimants from recovering damages for personal injury when they have been fundamentally dishonest, unless it would cause substantial injustice. In the case of Summers v Fairclough Homes Ltd [2012] UKSC 26 the claimant was injured in an accident at work and claimed more than £800,000 from his employer. Surveillance revealed him to have grossly exaggerated the effect of his injuries. At trial he was found to have fraudulently misstated the extent of his claim but the judge declined to strike out his claim and awarded £88,716. The defendant appealed and the Supreme Court held that it had jurisdiction to strike out the claimant’s statement of case but that it would only be done in exceptional…
Man secures seven figure damages settlement after life changing industrial accident, 17th April 2015
A 35-year-old Middlesbrough man who underwent a lower limb amputation after being crushed and then dragged for six feet by a piece of machinery has secured a seven-figure compensation settlement with the help of Thompsons Solicitors.
Mesothelioma Compensation Center Updates "Must Do" List to Help Diagnosed … – PR Newswire (press release)
PR Newswire (press release)Mesothelioma Compensation Center Updates "Must Do" List to Help Diagnosed …PR Newswire (press release)WASHINGTON, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The Mesothelioma Compensation Center is now offering all diagnosed victims of this rare cancer, or their family members, an updated list that is 100{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872} focused on making certain that the diagnosed victim gets the …
Children’s Pajamas Recalled Over Burn Fears
When we purchase clothes for young children, we normally think about how they will fit and whether they will look good. We normally do not worry about whether they present an unreasonable risk of burn injuries due to a defective design. We don’t concern ourselves about this because we assume manufacturers of children’s clothing have followed the law and all recommended safety guidelines and do everything in their power to avoid safety risks. We also assume if a company learns of a problem, it will immediately issue a voluntary safety recall and notify the public. According to a recent news article from WFLA News, one manufacturer of children’s pajamas is recalling its products as a result of a violation of the federal flammability regulation. Officials have reported …
OSHA: Lack of Proper Safety Controls Leads to Amputation
OSHA has cited Wellington Stamping for seven serious violations.
How Do you Qualify for Social Security Disability?
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must first have worked in jobs covered by Social Security. Then you must have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s definition of disability. In general, we pay monthly cash benefits to people who are unable to work for a year or more because of a disability. Benefits usually continue until you are able to work again on a regular basis. There are also a number of special rules, called “work incentives,” that provide continued benefits and health care coverage to help you make the transition back to work. If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount remains the …
Asbestos-Victim Families May Face Govt. Repayment Issue – Huffington Post
Asbestos-Victim Families May Face Govt. Repayment IssueHuffington PostIn the hardball political world of mesothelioma litigation, the asbestos-related cancer that fuels all those commercials, it's getting hard to tell if some victims are going to be branded as Medicare "scofflaws" or embraced as important whistleblowers …
Why my New Jersey Workers ’ Compensation is Paid in Weekly Increments Rather Than a Lump Sum and is There Any Way to Receive it Now?
Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits in New Jersey are considered to be wage replacement benefits, so they are paid in the same manner as wages, which is weekly. These benefits accrue from the date of the last payment of temporary disability benefits. In many cases, the entire award has not accrued at the time of the settlement hearing and the injured worker will receive payments weekly until the award has been paid in full. Once the award has been entered, the benefits are due and payable to the injured worker or his dependents should he die during the period of the payout. In certain rare circumstances, an injured worker may petition the court requesting that all or some of the award be paid in a …
Analysis: Delays all too common in negligence cases – Irish Times
Irish TimesAnalysis: Delays all too common in negligence casesIrish TimesMedical negligence cases tend to set two types of record: for the sum of money awarded and for the time it takes to settle. The case of 12-year-old Matthew McGrath, who was left paralysed due to poor care provided by Wexford General Hospital, follows …and more »