How to deal with a Burn Injury

A burn injury can, depending on the severity of it, be extremely painful and discomforting. There are many different forms of burns injury that you can suffer from and there are many different aspects that can cause you to suffer the effect of a burn such as; heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, light and radiation or even friction even though it is usually heat that causes the most burn injuries.

It is estimated that around 112,000 people visit Accident and Emergency departments each year as a result of burns and at least another 230,000 people visit their GP surgeries due to the effect of burns. Burns units also see an average of 7800 people come through their doors each year and over 200 people die annually as a result of injuries caused by burns.

The effect that a burn can have varies from person to person in terms of the tissue that is affected as a result of it as well as the severity of the burn and the complications that arise as a result of it. When it comes to what damage can be done from a burn then you are looking at facing damage to your muscles, bones, blood vessels and epidermal tissue. Any of these areas could be damaged with subsequent pain to your nerve endings. Depending on the location affected and the degree of severity, a burn victim may experience a wide number of potentially fatal complications including shock, infection, electrolyte imbalance and respiratory distress. Beyond physical complications, burns can also result in severe psychological and emotional distress due to scarring and deformity.

A burn can happen on any part of your body; the location of a burn by no means makes it better or worse; however a burn can be classified as either first, second third or forth with forth degree burns being the worst. First degree burns are usually limited to redness (erythema) a white plaque and minor pain at the site of injury.

Second degree burns manifest as erythema with superficial blistering of the skin, and can involve more or less pain depending on the level of nerve involvement. Second-degree burns involve the superficial (papillary) dermis and may also involve the deep (reticular) dermis layer.

Third degree burns are more severe and can cause damage to the underlying ligaments, tendons and muscles. If suffering from third degree burns you will most likely exhibit charring of the skin. These types of burns are often considered painless, because nerve endings have been destroyed in the burned area. Hair follicles and sweat glands may also be lost due to complete destruction of the dermis. Third-degree burns result in scarring and may be fatal if the affected area is significantly large. If extensive enough, it can increase the risk of infection, including bacterial, and can result in death.

Forth degree burns are the most serious and can damage bone tissue, which may result in a condition called compartment syndrome, which threatens both the life of the limb and the patient. Forth degree burns are frequently fatal.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, specialists in all aspects of Burns Injuries.

Admirable characteristics of a medium size law department regarding talent

A profile of Respironics’ general counsel, Steve Fulton, has dotted throughout four commendable people practices in his department.

Strong hires and strong retention. During Fulton’s 13-year tenure, “I have never needed to terminate an attorney and none of the attorneys I hired has left” as quoted in GC Mid-Atlantic, June 2008 at 8 (See my posts of Dec. 12, 2006: low attrition in UK legal teams; March 4, 2007: rates of departure; June 24, 2007: blame the general counsel for high attrition rates; and June 15, 2008: Qwest lowers its attrition rate.).

Experienced, mature lawyers. Respironics’ four transactional attorneys average 17 years of experience.

Autonomy for lawyers. Work comes from clients to the individual attorney, rather than coming to Fulton to parcel out. This system allows the attorneys to build relationships with what are in effect their own clients. General counsel should not be the primary clearinghouse for work assignments.

Keep good work inside. The Respironics legal team does nearly all of the company’s legal work inside. The exceptions are international work and litigation (See my post of July 11, 2008: autarky and Respironics.). Keep good work inside and you keep good workers inside.

Law Department Management

So many cottage industries thrive on law departments! A village!

As Rees Morrison points out, there's a whole cottage industry of niche legal services that are making a living off law departments. Here's the list compiled by Rees Morrison:

• ADR (alternative dispute resolution)
• Auditors of legal bills
• Class action claims
• Consultants on law department management
• Consultants on compliance, corporate governance, and ethics
• Corporate governance groups
• Corporate secretary services and software
• Corporate secretary portals
• Court reporters
• Decision analysts
• Document assembly
• Document discovery
• E-billing vendors
• Economic analysis experts
• Electronic discovery
• Ethics line third parties
• Expert witness sites online
• Legal and compliance training online
• Legal research
• Litigation and trial consultants
• Matter management systems
• Medical/nurse analysts
• Offshore providers
• Online selection of law firms
• Part-time general counsel
• Search firms
• Settlement and ADR capabilities online
• Settlement counsel
• Writing instructors

Law Department Management

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LWB: The Impact of Children on Lawyer Productivity

Carolyn Elefant:

Having children impacts lawyer productivity in different ways depending on gender, concludes a recent investigation by the British Psychological Society, reported here. After studying the schedules and billing records of 670 lawyers in Alberta, Canada, researchers Jean Wallace and Marisa Young found that when women lawyers have children, their productivity (or at least hours worked) decreases. The decrease occurs because female lawyers with children usually juggle professional and domestic responsibilities. By contrast, male lawyers with children were found to be more productive than their childless male counterparts, which according to the study " is consistent with the dominant cultural view of men as breadwinners, such that those with greater family responsibilities put in more hours to earn more money." At the same time, male lawyers with children were more likely to have a partner who did not work and could assume responsibility for household duties.

The study also examined the impact of "family friendly" work practices on productivity. Interestingly, the researchers concluded that flexible hours negatively impacted the productivity of male staff, but not female staff.

So which category of lawyers is most productive? That would be childless female lawyers, whose productivity exceeds that of their childless male counterparts and male and female lawyers with children.

My biggest gripe with the study is that it uses hours as a proxy for productivity. But as we all know, hours billed don't necessarily correlate to efficiency; indeed, longer hours may signal less productivity, not more. I'd be curious to see, for example, whether women lawyers manage to complete tasks more quickly precisely because they have less time. If that's the case (and I suspect it is), perhaps having children makes them productive, not less.

As Long As The Accident Wasn’t Your Fault You Can Claim

So you’ve been involved in an accident and it wasn’t your fault but you’re unsure if you can claim? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Here at Accident Consult Ltd we are able to advise you on your compensation and the amount of money you may receive. You need to live in the United Kingdom and have had an accident of some sort may it be a road traffic accident to repetitive strain injury and it wasn’t your fault to make an accident claim. If you decide to fill in the accident claim form your compensation claim will be dealt with efficiently and honestly.

Accident Consult Ltd won’t take any of your accident compensation as we work on No Win No Fee Basis, the losing party will pay for your legal fees and if your claim is unsuccessful you won’t have to pay any legal fees. Pursing a accident claim is not expensive and complicated so why suffer loss of earning, painful joints, hospital costs etc. for something that isn’t your fault.

Over 2 million accidents last year were the fault of another persons negligence so why should we put up with this, the answer is don’t put up with it claim today. Whatever your accident fill in the claim form and wait for your response, we have dealt with: whiplash injuries, road traffic accidents, slip trip fall injuries, repetitive strain injury, medical negligence cases, work and public place accidents.

Once you have submitted a compensation accident claim the personal injury solicitors will investigate the case before they agree to take the case on. The case will be discussed with you at length so they are able to get the full facts and circumstances surrounding the accident. If the solicitor thinks it has a good chance of winning they will begin to collect evidence on your behalf. If the accident happened more than 3 years ago it is unlikely the solicitor will take the case on due to statute barred. The solicitors will contact the doctors who have dealt with your accident injuries and take all the details as evidence for the claim. If police have been involved a specialist accident claims advice solicitor will liaise with the police officers who were witnesses or arrived shortly after the accident and obtain the police accident report as evidence for the client. Any witnesses to the client’s accident will be contacted and written statements will be signed by the witness which will be used to verify the client’s accident claim.

If you’ve had an accident recently write a daily diary with the details of your injuries, how you’re feeling and the amount of pain you’re in. Any photographs of the place of accident and or injuries can be used as part of the evidence in accident claiming as well as any expenses you’ve paid for since the accident relating to your injury.

People who experience personal injuries through accidents caused by someone else’s negligence fully deserve compensation payouts for their distress and lost earnings so claim today!

by Mike Cain

About the author: Accident claims for the UK market contact Accident Consult for advice on Accident Claims. This article is free to republish provided this resource box remains intact.

Is an Oral Contract as Good as a Written Contract?

An Oral Contract is as legally binding as a Written Contract, the issue with an Oral Contract is in proving its existence. To begin, the existence of a Written Contract is fairly obvious, either there is a writing or there isn’t. An oral contract, by definition, does not have a writing to support its terms, conditions or even existence. So how can we prove that it exists? One way is to use witness testimony. If A and B enter into an oral agreement, and C and D are present at the time the oral contract is made, C and D can be used to prove the existence of the oral contract. Their testimony that they heard the terms of the agreement will be sufficient to prove the existence of an Oral Contract.

Course of Conduct is another way to prove the existence of an oral contract. Let’s assume that X offers to buy a radio from Y for $50. Y accepts and hands the radio to X, who then gives Y $50. The parties’ course of conduct indicates that an oral contract existed. If the radio were defective, or if Y changed his mind, he could not say that a contract did not exist. Another example of Course of Conduct would be your typical neighborhood newspaper delivery. For the most part, the newspaper boy delivers a newspaper to you and you pay him on a weekly basis. There is rarely a written agreement with the newspaper boy to deliver newspapers. You simply tell him, “please deliver a paper to me, and I will pay you”. If the newspaper boy delivers newspapers to you for a few week, and you pay him, an oral contract exists based upon the parties course of conduct. After this time, if the papers are delivered and then you refuse to pay, you cannot allege that there is no contract. The Course of Conduct indicates that an Oral Contract exists.

Credibility of the parties is another factor in proving the existence of an Oral Contract. Suppose that Patron walks into a local restaurant and orders a plate of spaghetti. When Patron orders the spaghetti, an offer is made by Patron to pay for a plate of spaghetti. When the server brings the spaghetti to Patron, an Acceptance occurs and a binding oral contract is made. Credibility comes into play where the Patron then refuses to pay for spaghetti, saying “I never agreed to pay for this, I thought it was free”. All of you can see that is an incredible statement. Should that type of matter go to court, a judge would look at the credibility of the parties in regard to the situation and likely find that an oral contract was formed. If you reconsider the spaghetti scenario, though, you can see where an oral contract would be just as legally binding as a written contract. If a lawsuit were to arise out of the patron’s failure to pay, any court in the land would find the existence of the oral contract based upon credibility.

The existence of an oral contract can be more difficult to prove in a different type of scenario. Imagine a scenario with P and Q. P and Q are complete strangers. P approached Q and offers to buy a Corvette from Q for $1,000. Q laughs, and says “sure”, then drives away in the Corvette. If P attempts to enforce what he feels is a binding oral agreement, will he succeed? He will have a very difficult time proving that a contract exists. There is no writing to show the agreement. There is no prior course of dealing between the parties. There were no other witnesses to this alleged conversation. Credibility becomes an issue here, along with believe-ability.
As you can see, the difficulty in enforcement of an oral contract lies in the parties' ability to prove what the terms of the contract were. Absent proof of the terms of the contract, a party may be unable to enforce what it believes to be a firm contract. Evidence, such as witness testimony, prior dealing of the parties, course of conduct and credibility of the parties are some factors that may play into the enforcement of an oral contract. If sufficient evidence can be established that the parties orally entered into a contract, the terms of that contract will be enforced. If the proof is strong, then an oral contract is just as binding as a written one. The question at hand lies with the sufficiency of that oral evidence.

About the author: Greg Artim is an Attorney with offices located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more answers to your Contracts or other legal questions, please visit his website at www.gregartim.com

Lawyers Use RSS Feeds To Increase Productivity And Profitability

Lawyers have never been known as a technical bunch, but more and more often you see a lawyer with a palm pilot making appointments and a blackberry for those urgent messages. Electronic gadgets are now common in the courthouses across the US. Lawyers have increased productivity by utilizing technology so it should come as no surprise that lawyers are using RSS feeds as a means to grow and manage their practices.

Lawyers are using RSS feeds a number of different ways to increase efficiency and productivity. Common RSS feed usage in the legal field include:

1. Ego Feeds

First and foremost, lawyers want to know what is being said about their firm. It is easy enough to monitor search engines and news searches using RSS. Lawyers create what is commonly referred to as "ego searches". These are essentially keyword searches (the keyword is the firm or lawyer's name). Each time the keyword appears in the news article or search engine a new item will appear in the feed. Lawyers can click through and view the source of the mention.

2. Current Events

Similar to ego feeds, lawyers use RSS to track current events that are related to cases in which they are involved. This might involve monitoring specific news agencies or topics.

Ego Search Tools - http://www.rss-tools.com/ego-search-feeds.htm

3. Firm Public Relations

Won a big case, what better way to convey it than sending a press release? Naturally, this release should also appear in an RSS feed.to help increase the distribution and reach of the press release. RSS can also be used by large firms to announce press conferences at the culmination of a case.

Law.com - http://www.law.com/service/rss.shtml

4. Court Cases

RSS can be used to monitor pending court cases, and rulings that might effect a specific segment of law.

RSSGov - http://www.rssgov.com/archives/000036.html

5. Pending Legislation

Lawyers can use RSS to monitor legislation that relates to specific cases or topics. Lobbyists can monitor votes of politicians and follow their positions on important issues.

GovTrack - http://www.govtrack.us/

6. Client News

Ego feeds can also be used to monitor the word on the street about a client. Whether the client is facing a criminal trial or a civil case, the press can undoubtedly influence a trial. Monitoring the press for mentions help lawyers prepare the best possible defense or prosecution.

Ego Search - http://www.feedforall.com/ego-searches.htm

7. Legal Calenders

Industry events can be followed using RSS feeds. Legal conferences and events can be traced on public RSS calenders.

Law School Calender - http://www.law.uoregon.edu/cal/events/index.php?com=rss

8. Share Research Tools

Lawyers can use social bookmarking tools and RSS feeds to share web research resources with colleagues. This can reduce the amount of time spent researching issues.

del.icio.us - http://del.icio.us

9. Legal Employment

Job feeds are increasing in popularity in all industries. Lawyers in search of employment openings can subscribe to RSS feeds and learn about new employment opportunities as they become available.

4 Legal Jobs - http://www.4legaljobs.com/show_content.php?id=1144741774

10. Court Rulings

Many courts are now publishing court rulings in RSS feeds, making them available to the general public.

Court Rulings - http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/subscribe.html

11. Court of Appeals

Appeals courts are also adopting RSS feeds to allow interested parties to monitor decisions coming out of the court of appeals.

US Courts - http://www.a7.uscourts.gov/fdocs/docs.fwx?submit=rss_ops

12. Legal Organizations

The American Bar Association has an RSS feed and podcast that discusses litigation. Lawyers can use RSS feeds to stay connected to industry information.

American Bar Association - http://www.abanet.org/litigation/litigationfeed.xml

13. Continuation Education

Many legal courses have podcasts available, and lawyers interested in expanding their education on a specific segment of the law can listen to audio podcasts or subscribe to video podcast lectures.

Education Feeds - http://www.educational-feeds.com

14. Legal Blogs

Many lawyers have expanded their practices by setting up a blog offering legal advice. Often the contents of the blog are syndicated using RSS feeds.

Law Professors - http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/antitrustprof_blog/

15. Cease and Desist

There is even an RSS feed that contains Cease and Desist Letters. As cease and desist letters are added, clinical law students can annotate them with questions and answers.

Chilling Effects - http://www.chillingeffects.org/index.xml

Lawyers have begun using RSS to stay ahead and adapt to the needs of their clients. Members of the legal profession are using RSS in very specific ways. RSS is more than simply a communication medium to lawyers, it is helping them filter information that is relevant to their practice and case load. Through RSS they are able to gain access to relevant information in a timely fashion.
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Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Whiplash Injury Claim

Whiplash injuries are caused by hyperextension of the neck both forwards and backwards in quick succession; people commonly experience whiplash injuries in circumstances where a collision causes rapid acceleration or deceleration. Often this is as a result of a road traffic accident, but in some contact sports people are susceptible to whiplash injuries.

Whiplash injury symptoms include the following:

• Neck pain/stiffness
• Shoulder pain/stiffness
• Lower back pain/stiffness
• Headaches
• Tingling/numbness in arms/hands/fingers
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Insomnia
• Concentration problems/short term memory loss

Symptoms can be experienced for a number of weeks after the accident, but your GP should be consulted immediately, to rule out any serious damage. Diagnosis is difficult since doctors cannot use MRI scans, X rays or CAT scans to determine the extent of the injuries, instead having to make a judgement based on the patient’s description of their symptoms. Immediately after the injury victims should apply some form of ice pack, to help reduce the chance of swelling around the affected area. The best way to treat a whiplash injury is not to wear a neck brace; in fact patients are actively encouraged to follow their normal routines as much as possible, to prevent the neck muscles and surrounding area from stiffening up even further. Obviously, painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen are often prescribed to relieve the pain of the symptoms, but otherwise treatment is very straightforward. Neck braces are nowadays only ever used in extreme circumstances, as they are considered restrictive to the recuperation process.

If you are unfortunate enough to have suffered a whiplash injury, either on the road or on the sports field, you may be entitled to a no win, no fee, compensation claim - provided it can be proved that someone else was at least partly to blame. You will also be able to take advantage of a free first consultation, where your case will be assessed on a no obligation basis, to make sure both parties are happy to take the case forward. A no win, no fee claim is advantageous to the client because it means that you get to keep every penny of the compensation you are awarded - your lawyer will collect their court fees and legal costs from the defending party.

It is very important to make sure you shop around for the best company, as there are many accident lawyers around who will all offer no win, no fee claims. The key is to work with one who also offers a wealth of experience, and can show you legitimate testimonies from people who have achieved success with them in the past. If you have been involved in an accident which you think you are entitled to claim on, then get in touch with the lawyers at Accident Consult, a trustworthy company who will handle your claim in an honest and efficient manner, which is why they are the first choice for thousands of accident victims every year.

About the author: Accident claims for the UK market contact Accident Consult for your no obligation Whiplash Compensation Claim consultation service.

Tips: Prevent Motorcycle Accidents

In this generation wherein our roads are occupied by a large volume of vehicles, the chance of being stuck in a heavy traffic is quite high. This is one of the reasons people choose riding their motorcycles to reach their daily destinations with much ease. Another thing is; some types of motorcycles are more fuel-efficient compared to utilizing other kinds of vehicles. This enables the bike owners to save more money for their other expenses.

On the other hand, due to the increasing popularity of motorcycles, rapid growth in the number of motorcycle accidents has resulted. Each year, at least five percent of all road accident casualties are attributed to motorcycle crashes. As we clearly perceive, motorcyclists are considerably unprotected in a motorcycle since it has no protective metal cage to ensure the safety of the rider. In addition, motorcycles also lack any safety gadgets such as air bags, windshields and safety belts. Thus, it has no match to a fearsome trucks or any other four-wheeler.

To lessen the possibility of being involved in a motorcycle accident than can cause serious personal injuries, the riders may follow these tips:

- Be courteous and respectful to other motorist who uses the roads

- Never practice tailgating

- Avoid riding a motorcycle when you are under the influence of liquor

- Do not ride between slow moving vehicles

- Recognize and follow the traffic rules and ordinances

- Reduce the noise produced by the motorcycle

- Utilize signals whenever necessary

- Be cautious especially at road intersections

- Always check the side mirrors for possible upcoming vehicles - Be watchful on road hazards and defects as well as traffic problems ahead

- Always be on the road position where the other motorists clearly see you

- Maintain a safe speed that you are most comfortable of and with consistency to your driving capability and road conditions - Have a complete check up on your motorcycle especially the brakes

- Wear your protective gears such as a helmet, jackets, proper footwear and gloves

There are still other ways to prevent motorcycle accidents and injuries. These can be well understood if you will try to attend a motorcycle-riding training. However, if you are already engaged in these accidents, do not accept the fault better consult a motorcycle accident attorney to determine if you have a case to pursue. Your legal counsel will evaluate the incident. Then, if he finds a liability or fault on the other party, he will help you in recovering damages against the defendant. Keep in mind that the law entitles all the motorists with such protection that they are worthy of. We just have to know how to utilize those rights.