Legal E-News*
Winter 2004-05: Volume 1, Issue 1
Contributing Editor: Celia Ann Rooney, Esq.
What to do if you are injured in an accident:
Most people don't know what to do when they or someone they love have been injured in an accident. The aftermath of an accident can be a chaotic time: getting to the doctors or physical therapy, paying the bills, losing time at work, taking care of the family, getting the car fixed and arranging alternate transportation, dealing with the insurance companies, wondering what the future will bring. If you are lucky, these will be temporary concerns and losses and time will bring improvements. But if you have a more serious injury that will be with you for a long time and may even be permanent, you probably need to call a lawyer. What if you don't know at first whether you will need a lawyer or not?
Here's how to protect your rights in case your injuries don't heal up and you need help later:
- If there is an injury and/or property damage in the accident, call the police and stay at the scene
- Cooperate fully with investigating officers at the scene
- Call your insurance company to verify your coverage and notify them
- If you need medical attention, don't wait: go to the emergency room or see your doctor
- Often, what may seem like minor injuries will get worse rather than better in the days after the accident--if this happens to you, see your doctor
- Get someone to take photos of the scene, the vehicles, and your injuries--if you don't preserve the evidence of your accident, you won't have it when you need it
- Write down the information on the other drivers and note whether they were driving a vehicle with corporate or business names on it
- Call a lawyer: At ROONEY & ROONEY, we take care of this investigation and protect your rights for you so that you can concentrate on getting well and taking care of your family. We can also evaluate the situation to help you decide what is next: if you have a case because someone was negligent and caused injuries--then his or her insurance company should pay for the damages and harm the accident caused: that's why we all pay insurance premiums. If the negligent driver does not have liability coverage, then your attorney can review your uninsured motorist coverage on your claim.
If you decide to contact ROONEY & ROONEY: We can help. The initial consultation, investigation, and evaluation are free. If there is no recovery, there is no fee. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can get started preserving the evidence and protecting your rights.
Time is more important than you may think! Did you know that under some statutes, you only have 90 days to give notice of your claim to the government if, say, a garbage truck or other government vehicle negligently hits your car and causes injuries? That's incredibly fast--but that's the law in New Jersey. Did you know that for other types of accidents, you have two years to file suit in court or you can never bring it (with few exceptions)? Contact us or e-mail today.
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Identity Theft: What You Can Do to Protect Yourself!
You read about it, hear about it, see commercials about it every day: Identity Theft can turn your life into a nightmare. Creditors will hound you. Your credit will be ruined. You'll have black marks on your record that may prevent you from buying a new home or a new car. It's awful and it's messy. And it can also be very time-consuming and costly for an innocent victim to fix. So what can you do? Everything possible to protect your good name and good credit!
Here's a checklist to start protecting yourself today:
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*Don't ever give out your social security number
*Shred your important documents when it's time to dispose of them
*Destroy those credit card advertisements that come in the mail
*Be vigilant for scams--on-line, by e-mail, on the phone, at your front door
*Only deal with companies you know and trust on-line
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Ms. Rooney's Product Liability 2005 Cumulative Supplement Published by George T. Bisel Publishers
Rooney & Rooney is pleased to announce that George T. Bisel Publishing House in Philadelphia has published the second annual cumulative supplement to the Product Liability volume in its Trial Guide series written by Celia Ann Rooney, Esq. Attorneys who want to order this or any of the Trial Guide volumes or other Bisel publications are welcome to view the Bisel catalog on-line on the Bisel website (www.bisel.com).
Securities Fraud: Red Flags to Hold onto Your Money!
Legal E-News Alert: There are many scam artists out there who want to take your money and run. And some deals just sound too good to be true--because they are. The best way to keep your hard-earned money from being taken away by unscrupulous dealers in unregistered securities, is to check it out thoroughly before you invest.
Red Flags to put you on notice:
* It sounds too good to be true: Promises that you will double your money in a short time or earn huge interest rates are a hallmark of the scam artist.
* "It's a sure thing!" This assurance by a scam artist is just that: don't believe it. Some investments are riskier than others, but almost nothing in this life is "sure," especially in the world of securities.
* "This is such a good deal that I got my mother to go in on it, too!" Right.
* The person trying to sell you the deal (perhaps an insurance broker or dealer who has sold you insurance and even given you other advice on investments in the past) offers to take you and your checkbook to Florida for an all expense-paid, wining and dining excursion to the headquarters of the company in Florida: Be wary of any opportunity for dealers to get you away from family and friends and business associates whose advice you may want to ask before writing that big check. Sometimes an insurance agent, even one you have trusted in the past, may be lured in himself by the promise of a big commission to rope you in on the deal. Check it out.
* High pressure sales tactics: "This won't last!" "You better write that check today before you lose this chance to double your money." While many investments are time-sensitive, beware of situations where you feel someone is trying to take your money too fast. You can always tell them that you will have to discuss it with a trusted family member, friend or financial advisor. You have a right to counsel before giving up your hard-earned cash! |
Here are some ways to protect yourself:
First, go to the Securities and Exchange Commission website and research the particular securities deal that you've been offered.
Second, check your state's securities and consumer protection websites for particular information in your area.
Third, plug in the name of the dealer or salesperson to find out whether he or she is properly registered with the SEC and your state authority.
Fourth, you can sometimes find out about class action lawsuits, SEC lawsuits, and other actions on-line in your favorite search engine.
Fifth, call a lawyer if you've already put your money into an investment scheme gone bad. There are possible actions based on securities statutes at the federal and state levels, as well as common law fraud, which may help you get your money back and additional damages (such as the interest your money would have earned if it had been put somewhere else, attorneys' fees and costs, and sometimes treble damages or punitive damages in cases of willful and wanton deceit). There are also consumer protection statutes in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey which apply to such cases.
If you have questions about an investment you have made, call ROONEY & ROONEY or use our convenient Contact form or send us an email today for a free consultation.
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Medical Mistakes: The Tragedy of Seeking Help and Getting Hurt
You've heard about a few of the tragedies in the news. You've heard the doctors complain about high insurance premiums. You've heard the insurance companies blame the trial lawyers, over and over again. You may have heard that certain insurance companies are refusing to provide information about their high premiums and payments on claims, even under subpoena by a number of DA's offices or state Attorney Generals' Offices. Insurance companies and trial lawyers who represent injured individuals and their families are in heated debate over whether to fix the system with insurance reform or tort reform.
For all the controversy, the purpose of tort law, including medical malpractice or negligence, is to provide remedies to people who get hurt by the fault of another. This concept goes back at least to the Old Testament (check out Exodus Chapters 21 and 22 for laws about paying back a person you have harmed intentionally or negligently and taking care of the injured person's family while he is recuperating). And as part of the American culture, what parent doesn't teach that principle to a child who throws a baseball through a neighbor's window? You take him or her by the hand to the neighbor's door so he or she can take responsibility for the damage, apologize, and fix the damage.
We also should keep in mind that tort law and negligence involve financial liability for harm that one person has caused to another through the breach of a duty to protect that person. Everyone seems to understand that principle when it comes to automobile accidents: if you're not paying attention and run through the stop sign or red light and hit someone, causing harm to the occupants of the other car, no one would dispute that you should pay for the harm you caused. That's why we pay large amounts of money to insurance companies for liability insurance. Even though you have to name the driver who was at fault, the likelihood is that he has insurance, and it is the insurance company which then has a duty to hire the lawyer to present a defense--in the effort to avoid paying the damages to the injured person.
Well, what happens in the medical arena? Let's say, for example, a mother takes her 12 year-old son to the hospital for a routine procedure like tonsilectomy. While the boy is on the operating table, too much anesthetic is given to him and he dies. The mother is devastated at the loss of her child.
What are the duties of the doctor and the hospital when the mother brings her child to them for care? In a nutshell, the doctor has a duty to use his professional medical skills to treat the patient at or above the standard of care for that procedure. It usually takes an expert in the medical field to testify in the case as to what the standard is and how the doctor didn't meet it. It also takes a medical expert to identify the particular harm that was caused by the doctor's failure to meed the standard. It is very important to understand that you must have proof of all the elements of negligence in order to pursue a medical malpractice claim: a (1) duty derived from the standard of care, which was (2) breached because the doctor or others under his supervision didn't meet the standard, (3) causing (4) harm. Everyone has heard the expression, "No harm, no foul." The same is true in medical malpractice. There are medical situations in which a doctor or nurse does something wrong, but there is no damage from it. You must be able to show your damages to prove negligence.
In our example, if the administration of the anesthetic was negligent or careless, there is very likely a wrongful death action that may be brought against the anesthesiologist, the surgeon (as the "captain of the ship"), and the hospital as well. A careful investigation will have to be made to find out exactly who did what wrong to cause this tragedy.
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Do I need a Lawyer?
People ask us this a lot, and sometimes the answer is "yes" and sometimes the answer is "no."
There are several legal documents, for example, that are easy to do without a lawyer. Writing a simple will, for example, with the proper form and when there are no complications, is easy to do yourself, once you've decided who gets what. You Complications may occur, however, in the following situations: You own a business or real property. You had a will drawn up in a previous marriage and now you are remarried to someone else. You have both children and step-children in your family. You own property located in a state other than your residence. For any of these or similar situations, you should contact a lawyer for advice. You can still reduce hourly fees by doing some of the "legwork" and educating yourself before you see a lawyer. You can contact your local bar association to get information on fees, forms, and referrals to lawyers if you don't have one. Many law schools have free legal clinics as well, where you can get help from a law student or new lawyer who is supervised. If you need estate planning, hire an experienced lawyer.
"Uncontested" divorces can also be done without a lawyer. Be forewarned, though: it doesn't take much to turn an uncontested matter into a hotly contested one. Also be forewarned that if one spouse calls a lawyer, then the lawyer represents the one who first calls and not the other spouse. If a conflict arises, the unrepresented spouse must get his or her own counsel. And the first lawyer must withdraw, so another lawyer must be retained as well. If there are children, even if you do the papers on your own, have an attorney review everything to make sure your agreement properly protects the children. Consider counseling and mediation to help you through a stressful time.
Living wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives are other documents which many people do on their own. Forms and instructions are widely available in libraries, at hospitals, and even on the internet. The hard part about these documents is deciding how you want things handled in the event you become unable to make decisions yourself. Often a trusted family member, perhaps with consultation or agreement of two or three treating doctors, is given the right to make such decisions. A case recently in the news demonstrates how important it could be for you to make your wishes known in writing before you become unable to do so. In that case, the husband and the parents of a young woman in a coma have been embroiled in a long-term legal battle over whether or not to withdraw the machines keeping her alive. You can avoid all of that by making yours wishes known in advance.
Check back with us for a future section of helpful links to websites we think you may find useful when you have a simple, uncontested matter that you want to try to do on your own. Even if you hire an attorney later for a final review or if the matter becomes more complicated than you thought, a little self-education and "legwork" can go a long way toward better communicating your needs to your lawyer and reducing the fees you will have to pay.
If you have specific questions or problems and want to consult with ROONEY & ROONEY, click to send us an email or use our convenient Contact Us form.
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Should I Write an "Ethical Will"? What is it, anyway? Do I Need Help?
Articles and stories about ethical wills are popping up in the media more frequently. Should you write one? Do you know what an ethical will is? And will you need help to write one?
An ethical will leaves something far more lasting and important than your money or property. It leaves for your children and grandchildren the story of your life, how you were raised, and most importantly, the "life lessons" and moral values which you have learned and lived by in your life. In the times we live in, while everything seems to be flying by and families become scattered across the country, taking the time to reflect about your life and times with a view to leaving something lasting for your descendants could be a most valuable exercise--both for them and for you. An ethical will takes planning. It also takes organization, and of course, some writing skill. The initial preparation could be in outline form, usually chronologically. There are books and forms available to help you get started, often giving you questions to answer to trigger the memories and reflections. There are also companies which can take your family photos or videos and make a video of your life, and an ethical will describing the significant events of your life and the values you have lived by could be an excellent edition to the production.
If you have good writing skills, you can certainly do this yourself. If you don't, you could consider doing an outline of events in your life, describing life lessons learned and the moral values you have lived by, and then seek help to write it all out in final form. Or you could write a draft and seek assistance with editing and proofreading. There are samples available on-line and books to help you. Some people are more comfortable speaking than writing, and if you are like that, consider recording on audio or videotape and transcript could be later transcribed, preserving your words in written form.
If you are interested in writing an ethical will, you can send me an email for further information.
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Consumers and the Law: How does the law protect me from unscrupulous sellers?
Consumer law is a matter that is covered both by statutes and the common law. The statutes are the written laws that a legislative body, whether state or federal, enacts. The statutes often cover the legal principles governing sales and purchases, such as the commercial code or consumer protection law adopted in a state. The common law is the law that comes from individual cases, decisions made by the courts, such as the common law of fraud. Consumer law developed as our economic system grew, with bigger and bigger corporations selling more and more products. The individual purchaser found himself in need of protection sometimes, due to his unequal bargaining power compared to the big companies. That is what the law of consumer protection is all about. The law of Product Liability is a special area of tort law that will be covered in a separate article in an upcoming issue of Legal E-News, so be sure to visit us again soon.
The consumer protection laws, both statutory and common law, allow consumers to sue for damages (either as a class action or individual lawsuit, depending on how many consumers were in the same boat and other circumstances) when a product they bought doesn't perform as it should or the seller engaged in "unfair trade practices" to get the consumer to buy the product. In fact, the Pennsylvania statute in this area is named the "Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law," which most lawyers abbreviate to the "UTPCPL," but even that is a mouthful. The statute has some specific unfair trade practices listed, including misrepresenting the kind or quality of a product and not selling a product as advertised. There is also a "catch-all" listed, which basically means if a practice is unfair to the consumer, the consumer has a cause of action if he relied on the seller to his detriment.
Because the amounts of damages involved may make it uneconomical to pursue consumer claims, the statutes of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey include special provisions that a consumer may be awarded more than his actual losses (i.e., the cost of the product or the difference between what he paid and the value as sold), for example, an award of three times (treble) damages, attorneys' fees, and costs of bringing the law suit. Otherwise, there would be the possibility of the costs overrunning the recovery. For individuals, this is an important part of the law, making it possible for them to stand up for their rights, even against huge corporations and their big insurance companies which have a legal department or law firms on retainer just to discourage such suits. Consumer protection law helps the individual when he or she has been wronged.
If you have a consumer law question or problem, call, email or use the Contact Us form.
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"Justice, and only justice, you shall follow..." (Deut. 16:20 ESV)
An editorial comment
When you study the Bible, you will find many of the basic principles of the law that have been passed on from generation to generation. Law from its very beginning, the divine on through to the present days, has sought to right wrongs and compensate injuries that come from wrongs. In the criminal law, individuals and business entities, can be held accountable with fines and imprisonment. In the civil law, the one at
fault is held accountable in money damages for harm caused to the person whose life, safety, or property has been damaged. In Exodus and elsewhere, there are whole chapters devoted to prescribing how one person shall be punished or held liable for harm caused intentionally or negligently. In today's era of "tort reform," we are often more concerned about the wealthy and the powerful than the rights of the injured individual and his or her family. What we don't often see is that if we do not hold negligent individuals or corporations responsible, usually out of insurance proceeds for which they have already paid premiums to protect themselves for such situations, it is the taxpayers and charities who will end up paying for the care and treatment of these injured ones.
On the other hand, the Bible also restricts the use of the law to seeking what is just, and only what is just. Everyone who works in the law is concerned about "frivolous lawsuits," which are defined as those which have no basis in law or fact. Unfortunately, insurance companies purchase (with your premium funds) enormous amounts of advertising in the media to convince you, the potential jurors of the legal system, that every lawsuit is frivolous and that no one deserves to be compensated for their injuries. It is clear that the system needs some reform, but to deny deserving individuals their day in court or compensation for the pain and suffering they have endured as the result of someone else's carelessness or disregard for their lives
and safety is simply wrong.
"Justice, and only justice, you shall follow..." means to me that if you are entitled to recover damages through the civil law, then it is justice to pursue your rights. If you are not entitled to damages, you shouldn't sue. The law should not be misused by those who pretend to be more hurt than they are or by those who try to escape paying for what they have done wrong by falsely attacking or slandering people who really are injured or have really suffered losses that should be compensated. What is just is what is fair and reasonable--that is what the law tries to accomplish. Celia Ann Rooney
Send us your feedback. If you have comments about this editorial or any section of this newsletter issue, or have a question, problem, or suggestion for topics, send me an email.
Upcoming articles in Legal E-News*:
Product Liability
Workers' Compensation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Civil Law and Criminal Law: How are they different?
The Anatomy of a Trial--A Brief Primer
...and more. Come back soon.
*Important Reminder: This is an electronic newsletter for clients, potential clients, visitors, friends and referring attorneys. It contains items of general interest only, and is not intended to nor does it constitute legal advice. If you have a legal question or problem, call us, send an email or use our convenient Contact Us form for a free consultation.
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* ©2004- Celia Ann Rooney, Esq.
