Asbestos Lawsuits - Protecting Your Rights

By : Tim Dillard
Asbestos lawsuits have become a major issue in many states. The high damages that have been awarded to many plaintiffs have encouraged people suffering from asbestos related conditions to file their own asbestos lawsuits in the hope of recovering some of the financial costs of treating mesothelioma, asbestosis and other medical costs arising from exposure to asbestos. Because so many people have been affected by asbestos exposure, the courts in many states have become bogged down with hundreds and sometimes thousands of asbestos lawsuits awaiting trial.

To ease the crush of asbestos lawsuits awaiting trial, many states have taken a second look at the way that their court systems deal with asbestos related cases. In some cases, this has led to legislation that changes the statute of limitations on bringing an asbestos lawsuit, or in changing requirements for filing a lawsuit related to asbestos exposure.

The intent of most such legislation has been to reduce the number of suits filed and make it easier for those who are the sickest to have their cases heard in court the soonest. In California, for instance, asbestos lawsuits where the plaintiff has been diagnosed with mesothelioma go to the front of the queue for court scheduling.

Among the changes that are being considered in many states are laws that would restrict who can file an asbestos lawsuit in their courts, the time limits for filing asbestos related suits, and the type of suits that are allowed. Some courts will only hear asbestos lawsuits if the defendant or plaintiff reside in or do business in their district.

Others interpret jurisdiction far more liberally. Still others have passed legislation that discourages or prohibits the bundling of many asbestos plaintiffs into one case. In some states, you must have a diagnosed asbestos related disease in order to file suit, but at least one judge has ruled that plaintiffs may bring suit based on their risk of developing mesothelioma, citing the heightened awareness and fear of developing mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure.

The "asbestos crisis" has even prompted federal action. Since the mid-1990s, the federal government has been attempting to pass legislation that would remove the right to bring asbestos lawsuits from the hundreds of thousands of people who have been and may still be exposed to asbestos and become ill as a result.

These bills are highly supported by the insurance industry and those companies who have been held accountable for exposing their employees and the public to asbestos in the workplace and the environment.

The most recent iteration of federal asbestos legislation was the 2005 FAIR (Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution) bill. The bill laid out the structure of a national fund that would pay out specific monetary awards to people who could document particular illnesses, based on how sick they were.

The awards were to be funded by a trust made up of contributions from many of the companies who were guilty of exposing their workers to asbestos. The FAIR bill would have removed the right for people who were injured by asbestos to sue those responsible, and limited the amounts that they could recover to prescribed amounts.

The intent of the FAIR bill, according to its supporters, was to ensure that those who actually suffered damages from asbestos exposure are fairly compensated for their injuries without having to face months and years of trial.

While the intent sounds noble, the true purpose of the FAIR bill is to limit the financial accountability of industry for the damages that it has caused. According to most medical and legal experts who examined the 2005 FAIR bill, it was seriously flawed in a number of ways.

- It seriously underfunded the trust that was meant to completely compensate those who were ill with asbestos related diseases. The amount that it called for, said those experts, wouldn't even be enough to cover the current cases awaiting trial, let alone the several thousand new cases that are diagnosed annually.

- The FAIR bill would have removed the rights of those who were exposed to asbestos outside the workplace, either because their family members brought home asbestos dust on their clothing and in their hair, or because they lived in the vicinity of a plant that processed asbestos. Under the provisions of the FAIR bill, those people would not be able to file asbestos lawsuits despite the fact that the bill made no provision for compensating them for their injuries.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos related disease, you may have the right to recover compensation for your injuries and loss. Find out about your rights to file an asbestos lawsuit before the changing laws take them away for good.

Article Source: http://www.articleblender.com


Tim Dillard is a marketing executive who has worked with some of the largest law firms in America. Dillard is currently the president of Dillard Local Branding (www.dlbllc.com), a Houston-based web design, Internet marketing and search engine marketing firm.

SUV Rollover Accident Lawyers

By: Tim Dillard
The worst has happened and you are dealing with the aftermath of a death or deaths caused by an SUV rollover. As you and your family struggle to pick up the pieces and move on with life, there are many appropriate and necessary actions to attend to, including a funeral and burial for the person or people who have been killed.

Many who have lost loved ones then decide upon an additional plan of action, which includes investigating legal options. Consulting with SUV rollover accident lawyers is a good way to get started to see if there are any legal options that can be chosen in order to deal with your tremendous loss. These very same lawyers can be consulted if you are seeking compensation for grievous injuries caused.

When consulting with an SUV rollover accident lawyer, it is important to establish two main pieces of the case. First, what is the jurisdiction within which the case will proceed? Your lawyer will help you to specifically pinpoint areas on which to focus. The second main piece of getting started on a case is establishing the standing to sue. This process is a bit more time consuming, but is ultimately very important. Without the standing to sue, you have no case.

So how can you tell if you have the standing necessary to proceed within a court case? If your best friend's mother's college room mate's nephew, who you met at his first cousin's Bar Mitzvah, has an accident which upsets you terrible, you probably have no standing to sue.

While you may be emotionally affected by the death, the courts will only recognize standing when the person seeking to sue is directly, physically and psychologically impacted by the death that has been caused. Again, there has to be a logical connection between the person seeking to sue and the person who has died.

If you consult a lawyer regarding an injury caused by an SUV rollover, the only person with standing to sue is typically the one injured, unless the injured party is a minor child or is in some other way dependant upon you. Any case that will come about as a result of your lawyer consultation must be filed within a fairly quick time frame, if you are to hope to succeed. Juries are far more sympathetic when they can see injuries right in front of them, rather than hearing detached accounts of what happened.

Second, before consulting with an SUV rollover accident lawyer, it is important for you to decide what exactly your objectives are for that meeting. Are you seeking to have medical bills paid for someone who survived, or funeral bills funded for someone who didn't? Seeking that type of response is to seek compensatory damages.

In other words, you would be compensated for your loss directly. Other forms of damages can be sought as well in cases include SUV rollovers, injuries and deaths. Punitive damages are often sought in the event of horrendous accidents where the cause lies with another party.

Not much is ever heard of cases where the award is ten thousand to offset the cost of a funeral, but the cases where large amounts of punitive damages are sought are on television programming and the front page of the danger. While greed may become a factor, it is important to keep all expectations reasonable and in line with what has occurred. Expecting large amounts of punitive compensation can lead to cases being thrown out of court and termed frivolous.

SUV rollover accident lawyers can also help to facilitate other processes that may need to be completed when you have either suffered an injury due to an SUV rollover or your family has suffered a death. These lawyers can help you to file for appropriate disability benefits you may be due after your accident.

In cases where a death has occurred, the lawyer you consult can help to file for Social Security death benefits and a variety of other benefits payable upon death, both in the form of life insurance and assistance for minor children and dependant spouses.

Dealing with the aftermath of an SUV rollover can be terribly frustrating and confusing. Instead of muddling through on your own, turn to a qualified expert who can help you tremendously in this distressing time. SUV rollover accident lawyers are committed to helping you become whole again after an accident which has caused injury or death, and will be by your side every step of the way.

Article Source: http://www.articleblender.com


Tim Dillard is a marketing executive who has worked with some of the largest law firms in America. Dillard is currently the president of Dillard Local Branding (www.dlbllc.com), a Houston-based web design, Internet marketing and search engine marketing firm.

Streamlining Probate Law - Execute the Executor and Avoid Probate Completely

By: Andrew Stratton
Probate law primarily concerns the execution, interpretation, and contest of legal wills and estates. A probate court may be known by various names depending on where it is, however, probate law always concerns how a deceased person's estate is handled by his executor or heirs. The word probate describes the process through which a person's final wishes are carried out with regard to who should administer the process, how assets will be sold and divided, and what will happen to any existing estate. The estate is the term used to refer to the legal entity that is comprised of a decedent's assets after they themselves have died. An estate may own property, profit, pay taxes, be sued, and owe debts.

A will is a legal document that exists under civil law. It is considered to be the last, definitive, and dying wish made by a person before their death, and for a will that has been ratified by a court, the legally appointed administrator of this process - the executor - usually either a legal professional or a competent friend or colleague of the deceased, has an obligation to ensure that the decedent's last wishes are carried out to the extent that is practical, legal, and affordable. Under probate law, the executor is entitled to charge the estate a reasonable fee for their services.

A will may include simple instructions for dividing the property of an estate between the children of the deceased, or it may include detailed instructions for using the estate to establish a scholarship committee, or trust. Despite the finality of a will, it is possible to legally contest even a will that has been ratified by a court. If an executor is suspected of mishandling the affairs of an estate, beneficiaries are permitted to request that court ask the executor to account for their actions while administering the will.

When a person who has left a will dies, a named executor is responsible for administering the will. They are under no obligation to agree to this, as it is a time-consuming process that an administrator accepts a considerable deal of personal liability for managing. If the named executor refuses (or one is not named), the duty falls to the most senior beneficiary of the will. Except in emergencies, it usually takes longer than a month to appoint an executor.

All recipients in the will, and all people who would legally be recipients if no will were left must be informed of the death by post, giving them the opportunity to prepare a challenge to the will or appointment of an administrator or executor. Before any division of assets can occur, the deceased's estate must pay all outstanding taxes that were owed at death, or have been incurred by the estate itself. Finally, during probate, all creditors are given an opportunity to come forward in order to be compensated by the estate for any outstanding debts that the deceased carried at debt.

Probate is invariably a costly process, and usually far more time consuming than most people care to tolerate, so methods to avoid probate completely are being increasingly utilized. Some jurisdictions include procedures for streamlining or avoiding the probate process completely to reduce loads on courts and cost to beneficiaries. For example, in the state of California, probate law includes a provision for people whose assets were worth less than $100,000 at the time of their death by which probate can be avoided outright. Similarly, assets conferred to a living trust or jointly held by another person under joint tenancy laws (for instance, a surviving spouse) need not be subject to the probate process.

Probate law is an expensive, drawn out process that often takes up to a year to fully complete. The processes by which a decedent's assets are divided according to their last will and wishes can be quite complicated, and in many cases, vehemently contested. For this reason, anyone with doubts or questions about this area of law would be well advised to book an initial consultation with a firm that specializes in probate law.

Article Source: http://www.articleblender.com


To avoid the costly probate process, have your questions and concerns addressed. Melcher's Law Firm has over 30 years experience in wills, trusts, estate planning, and probate administration. melcherslawfirm.com>

Laws Concerning Passenger Behavior On Flights

By : Jim Brown
In the current global situations, it is not surprising that there are laws affecting passenger behavior in all fifty states of the United States, as well as other countries. Flight personnel for all airlines have received some training concerning unruly or dangerous passengers.

There have been numerous accounts in the news media over the past few years of passengers who were intoxicated, on drugs, or just plain explosively angry. No matter what the reason, it is never okay to put your hands on any other person, whether they work for the airline or are another passenger.

The first case of flight rage happened in !947, and the passenger was a man who was drunk and assaulted another passenger. The local law enforcement usually get involved any time a passenger has to be removed from a flight by security personnel.

Ever since the terrorism attacks in the United States and in other countries, the penalties for interfering with flight personnel in any way have become more severe. The airlines have also tightened the restrictions on alcohol consumption, and flight attendants are authorized to refuse to serve alcohol to any passenger who appears intoxicated.

The local law enforcement agencies where the incident occurs will arrest and detain the passenger, and they will face criminal charges. It is also against the law to take any prohibited device or item onto an airplane, or to try and smuggle anything that is prohibited through the security check points.

Airport security has the right to detain any passenger for any reason, and there have been lawsuits for claims of illegal detention. The best way for a passenger to make sure they are not breaking any laws is to behave responsibly, be civil to security and other people, and to follow all instructions you are given by the flight personnel as well as airport personnel.

The laws concerning passengers vary from state to state, and locality to locality. No matter where you are located, however, there are laws that have criminal penalties for disrupting a flight or disobeying airline personnel.

Anymore it is even prohibited to carry disposable lighters, any matches, and numerous other items onto an airplane, and trying to smuggle any of these items on board the plane will result in your removal and arrest. This is especially true with any explosive or incendiary devices or materials. These items are not allowed even in checked luggage, or on the airport premises.

Article Source: http://www.articleblender.com


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Finding Cheap Bankruptcy Lawyers For You

By: Ryan Arsendatama
In this age of living on credit cards it is not surprising to find that more and more people are filing for bankruptcy. In order to prevent the misuse of bankruptcy claim a new law called the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, was passed in 2005. If you are in a serious and genuine financial problem, the right thing to do is file for bankruptcy. But before you do that you would have to find yourself a cheap bankruptcy lawyer who can explain to you all the finer points of the new law and can get you a good deal.

Where to Find a Bankruptcy Lawyer

Your quest for finding cheap bankruptcy lawyers can start with your family and friends. Those who have gone through the bankruptcy experience can recommend some names. You will get an insight into how competent the lawyer is. If you know an attorney, he or she might be able to refer you to some good bankruptcy lawyer.

Bankruptcy is a complex legal process, therefore, it is essential to have a bankruptcy lawyer who can put forward legal methods to either wipe out the debt by liquidating your assets and distributing them amongst your creditors, or develop a repayment plan. Usually the first consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer is free, so make sure you put forward your real financial situation before him or her. Once you have hired a bankruptcy lawyer, provide him or her with a list of all the debts that you carry. This would include credit cards, medical bills, loans, cars, etc. Make sure you have your bankruptcy lawyer explain to you all the details of the new law. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Choosing a Good Bankruptcy Lawyer

A good bankruptcy lawyer will give you expert advice on how to get your financial situation back on track. A good lawyer will help you with repayment plans and debt management. Before you finalize your choice make sure you share a comfort level with your bankruptcy lawyer.

You want a lawyer who understands the system and will do a good job to represent you. It may cost you a little more but you get what you pay for. Your local bar association can probably help you decide whether a proposed fee is fair with the local standard. You can also browse online to compare some services to get an idea how much it would cost you to hire a bankruptcy lawyer.

Article Source: http://www.articleblender.com


Here you can find good bankruptcy lawyers online. Understand what a bankruptcy lawyer can help you.