Car Accident Myths

There is no way to predict what will happen after a car crash. This area of the law is well populated with myths.

Every car crash is different, and no two people will have the same experiences or injuries. Yet surprisingly, personal injury law dealing with vehicle collisions probably has the most myths than other areas of the law. For example, I’ve met a great many people in the course of my practice as a Sacramento personal injury lawyer who think that every state has the same auto injury laws. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The facts are that some states follow the no-fault law; some follow at-fault laws; some insist drivers buy liability insurance; some don’t. Honestly, it’s a mixed bag and nothing is the same. This is even truer when it comes to the states that have at-fault laws. Who pays for what in accidents in those states is extremely confusing even for experienced drivers.

No-fault means what it says; it doesn’t matter who caused the accident, a victim is permitted some specific benefits from their own auto insurance company. Some of those benefits may include medical bills and lost wages. At-fault considers who caused the accident and what percentage of the damages were caused by those at fault. This results in each person’s insurance company paying for their portion of injuries and property damages.

Other people I have spoken to as a Sacramento personal injury lawyer, feel that they are able to collect pain and suffering damages because they are pain. This isn’t the case and in reality, many states have clearly defined requirements for a victim to pass before they are able to recover damages for pain and suffering. Being in pain isn’t enough to get that kind of compensation on top of medical expenses and lost wages. Damages for pain and suffering only kick in if the victim suffered one of three types of injuries: a serious impairment of body function, permanent and serious disfigurement, or death.

Death doesn’t need explaining, but permanent and serious disfigurement does. It is usually classified as the loss of a body part, burning, scarring or an injury that changes how a person looks. Serious impairment of body function refers to a wound that impinges on the victim’s ability to live a normal life. Each case is regarded differently, depending on what the person does for a living.

Many people read the news and they hear about multi-million dollar settlements in personal injury cases involving car accidents. They think they are easy to get. That is definitely not the truth. The fact is that any Sacramento personal injury lawyer will tell you that they’ve had cases thrown out of court with a goose egg for compensation – yes, even though the plaintiff victim had catastrophic life-altering injuries.

The actual truth here is that personal injury law changes all the time; virtually with every new case. Be aware that in tough economic times defense counsel is not beyond being more aggressive and using sneaky tactics to get their client(s) off the hook to pay for injuries.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento personal injury lawyer in California. To learn more, visit www.lawbarron.com.

Trademark or Service Mark – What’s in a Filing?

There actually is a difference between a trademark and a service mark. Knowing the differences will help protect your intellectual property.

While you might be wondering what the difference is between a service mark and a trademark, after all they sound the same and the concepts are pretty similar, there is a difference; one that you should be aware of when you go to file your mark and talk to a Sacramento business lawyer. The major reason you will want to file it properly boils down to being able to protect your intellectual property.

So what are the differences? Let’s start with trademark, as most people are somewhat familiar with what the term means. A trademark is a word, device, symbol or even a combination of those things that you use in business to mark/identify/distinguish your goods from everyone else’s goods. It may also be used to identify the source of the merchandise. That’s fairly straightforward.

On the other hand, a service mark is a device, word or symbol, or a combination of those things, used by businesses to mark/identify/distinguish your services from the services offered by other. It may also be used to identify the source of those services. Ok, you may be getting whiplash trying to compare the two definitions and thinking that they sound the same. That is because they “are’’ pretty much the same thing, but for the fact that a service mark relates to “services” and a trademark refers to “goods.”

Just to further confuse the issue, the term trademark is also used to refer to trademarks and service marks, and that the term ‘brand name’ is used as a synonym for either term. It’s rather ironic that the reason for trademarks and service marks is to prevent confusion about who created or provided the goods or services, and yet people confuse them. Primarily, consumers are more interested in the products or services and identify them by name and brand, etc.

The history of trademarks and service marks came to be primarily because people perceived that there had to be some method of distinguishing where the goods and services came from, and who made or distributed them. Over time, the various goods and services came to be associated with specific qualities for the general buying public. For instance, we all know and associate Coke with those classic curvy glass bottles that set them apart from other bottlers in the industry.

The point here is that each company (goods or services) needs to be distinguished from others that are similar. This is where trademarks and service marks came into being. The bottom line is that the marks themselves now have taken on a form of intrinsic value and are known to boost the sales of various goods and services.

The actual process of creating a service mark or a trademark is the same. This means a company or individual has to offer a service or a product using the name that distinguishes it from other similar goods and services. In order to do that, the name has to meet certain requirements to be able to qualify.

Having said that however, if the business is able to show that the name they are using is associated with the product/service and the company in the public’s perception, it may be able to claim that name as a trade or service mark. This will usually stop other businesses from using it. Mind you, there are various levels of trademark protection which relate to how unique the name happens to be. When in doubt, discuss your intellectual property and protecting it with a skilled Sacramento business lawyer.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento personal injury lawyer in California. To learn more, visit www.lawbarron.com.

Elder Abuse Takes on a New Ugly Face

Elder abuse has just taken a significant notch up in terms of despicable behavior. Imagine an ill senior returning home to nothing, not even a chair on which to sit.

Just when you’d hope that a sense of community was finally beginning to prevail in these tough, ‘we should pull together’ economic times, something happens that makes one regret they’re a member of the human race. “Witness a case we heard about in Savannah, Georgia, of a 76-year-old senior who came home from the hospital after six weeks and found literally nothing in her house; not even a fridge,” outlined Deborah Barron, of the Barron Law Office in Sacramento, California.

In addition to no fridge, there was no furniture and all of her belongings had vanished. Every stick of furniture and stitch of clothing and other goods were gone. Only the bare walls remained along with one lonely mattress on the floor in the bedroom. If the woman could have called the police, she would have. However, the culprits also took her phone. This is a totally ugly twist on elder abuse that no one should ever have to be subjected to at any time.

“Unfortunately, the victim is fairly certain that a family member did this to her, and she is in shock that they would be so vicious and thoughtless. Sadly, elder abuse is perpetrated quite often by family members and not always strangers,” added Barron. This makes it even harder to bear when the victim realizes that their own family thinks so little of their health and welfare that they would leave an elderly person in dire straits with no way to contact anyone for help.

Thanks to the kindness of a neighbor, the police were called and came to get to the bottom of this horrendous affair. The senior’s sister from another county showed up in response to a phone call from the police, and took her sister to her own home, in total shock at what they found when they arrived. The neighbors up and down the street rallied around when they heard the full extent of the problem, none too impressed with the fact that someone in the senior’s family would leave her in such a desperate situation after just being released from hospital.

“The local police labeled this affair as one of the worst cases of elder abuse they had ever seen. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to senior abuse. This just happens to be a new twist in the saga of people harming the elderly for largely unfathomable reasons; people who are family, which makes this even more reprehensible,” Barron commented. This isn’t about missing furniture; it is also about identity theft. This particular woman no longer has an ID, and her ATM card is also gone.
Since the lady is unable to prove who she is, she is also unable to have all her prescriptions filled and has no money because she no longer has access to it. “To say this situation is a disaster would be an understatement. This type of thing that’s happening to elderly individuals is appalling; and yet it is only just a small sampling of the other shocking things done to our seniors,” added Barron.

If elder abuse is suspected or discovered within a family, has happened to a neighbor or friend, make that phone call to the police and to a skilled Sacramento personal injury lawyer. This kind of behavior is not acceptable and never will be. Preying on the vulnerable elderly is one of the worst crimes on record. Stop it in its tracks.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento winery lawyer in California. To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

The Horror of Nursing Home Abuse

When we have to choose a nursing home for a loved one, we try to make sure it is a good place; a place to care for them and treat them with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.

Too often we assume that when we need to place a senior in a nursing home that the home’s staff and management will take care of them the way we would. You would treat your beloved elder with love and respect, dignity and empathy, and would never dream of withholding medications; isolating your loved one; shoving them around; leaving them unattended in their own waste; or trying to steal their money.

The facts show that currently over one and a half million seniors are placed in nursing homes for care. While this number may seem high to you, it is expected to triple within 30 years. This is largely due to the baby boomer generation coming of age; of age to require nursing home care. Shockingly, one in three nursing homes in the US have been cited for neglect or abuse despite the fact that the Nursing Home Reform Act (1987) says nursing home residents have the “right” to live somewhere that maintains or improves their physical and mental welfare.

The idea behind nursing homes is that they provide professional care to those who are having trouble caring for themselves. While that might be the theory, it appears that the reality is somewhat different and nursing home abuse is on the increase. We know this because of the latest cases going to court and articles in the newspapers and on TV. It’s not the ugly secret it once used to be, but it is still hidden from prying eyes when and where possible, and nursing home abuse is still ugly.

If you’re suspicious that something isn’t right at your loved one’s nursing home, start watching closely. If they are the victims of emotional, physical and psychological abuse, you will begin to see things such as radical mood swings, significant changes in behavior, unexplained burns, cuts, scrapes, lacerations, broken bones, and bruising in odd places.

If you notice other residents of the home with bed sores, suffering from bad hygiene, and the home in general is unclean, there are bound to be other signs of neglect if you look for them. If you have any doubts about what is going on and fear for the safety of your relative, speak to a dedicated Sacramento personal injury attorney with experience in this area.

You may notice that the home is short-staffed, which in turn jeopardizes your loved one’s health and safety. Sadly, this seems to be a common occurrence – running short each shift – because it saves money. You need to know, however, that nursing homes are ordered by the state and federal governments to live up to certain requirements, one of which is having an adequate number of staff present to care for the residents.

Just because someone lives in a nursing home does not mean they have surrendered their rights. Negligence and abuse is illegal and if your loved one is a victim of these insidious crimes, they may well be entitled to compensation for their pain and suffering. This is yet another reason to contact a skilled Sacramento personal injury attorney. Your attorney will outline the differences between neglect (failing to care for someone that prevents pain and harm) and abuse (inflicting intentional pain or harm).

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento winery lawyer in California. To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.

The Non-Compete Agreement - A Tool for Employer Protection

Business law might look simple at first glance, but it’s far more complex than it appears. Non-compete agreements are such an area.

“While it might seem simple enough to draft up an agreement that Joe X is not to compete in the industry in which he is employed for 3 years after being let go or leaving his place of work, it’s not that simple when such an agreement is actually crafted and drafted,” said Deborah Barron, of the Barron Law Office in Sacramento, California.

It’s quite usual to find the a vast majority of businesses have some kind of trade secret they don’t want let out of the bag. Generally speaking the upper management keeps this kind of knowledge pretty hush-hush, after all business strategies, the elite client list, a new prototype in development, and what’s new for the future are things best kept in-house. Companies want to protect this kind of information, but some employees have to be given access to this information in order to do their jobs.

The way the happily ever after story goes is that the employee stays with the company until retirement and becomes a part of the management team. In reality, chances are the employee will either be fired or quit and make a beeline for the competition, who would love to get their hands on business secrets. To try and avoid this somewhat disastrous consequence when people leave a firm, the non- compete agreement comes into play.

“In plain English, the non-compete agreement spells out that the party in question (the employee) must not compete with the firm from which they are leaving for a certain period of time. This would deal with someone who wanted to leave a company and take the business secrets they know to another company,” Barron added.

While this might sound like a slam dunk and a simple solution, non-compete agreements have a drawback because of their restrictive nature. Businesses have every right to protect their secrets, but workers have a right to work. What happens now?

“That tends to depend on the state,” commented Barron. “In other words, some state courts will enforce non-compete agreements and in others, the courts lean toward an employee’s right to work. Knowing what the law says in the state where the business is headquartered and the worker works is the key to understanding whether or not a non-compete agreement may be enforceable or not,” concluded Deborah Barron, of the Barron Law Office in Sacramento, California.

Deborah Barron is a Sacramento business lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, and Sacramento winery lawyer in California. To learn more, visit Lawbarron.com.