P.I.S.S.D. -- Personal Injury, Social Security Disability. Dallas Texas Lawyers

Link of the Day - Friday Fun

Do you like those "Spot the Differences" puzzles? You'll find some good ones here.

Link of the Day - Texas Advocacy Project

The former Women's Advocacy Project is now the Texas Advocacy Project. The name change is due to a change in focus -- from helping female victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, to a broader mission of providing a full range of legal services to victims regardless of gender. Here is their explanation:

Women's Advocacy Project Marks Its 25th Anniversary with a Name Change.

In celebration of this milestone, we have changed our name to more accurately reflect our diverse client base, as well as our statewide presence. As of March 1st, 2007 we are Texas Advocacy Project. Please join us in embracing this exciting new chapter in the history of our organization.

The Project is a statewide, nonprofit, legal organization that promotes access to justice for Texans in need. Started in 1982 as a legal hotline, the agency has evolved over the years into a leading service provider in the field of family law, particularly where it pertains to helping survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. We now provide a full range of legal services to victims of these crimes across the state of Texas.

The organization is staffed by attorneys, legal advocates and social workers with specialized knowledge and experience in legal issues related to family violence. Program attorneys provide individualized legal advice, prepare and send legal documents for litigation or other purposes, and maintain on-going relationships with clients across the state through statewide toll-free legal hotlines.

Wildcard Tip For Google

Here's a quick Google tip. You can use an asterisk as a wildcard for one missing word in a Google search. For instance, if you can't remember what the C in USCIS stands for, you can type "U.S. * and immigration services" and Google will pull up the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services Web site.

Link of the Day - Texas Supreme Court Favors Big Business

The Dallas Morning News recently ran a lengthy article on a subject I have mentioned many times -- the Texas Supreme Court has a definite bias toward big business and against Texas consumers and injury victims. Please read the full article. Here are some excerpts:

Texas' Supreme Court justices aren't in the habit of defending their judicial records, much less from lawyers grilling them as they would an uncooperative witness.

But that's just what happened in September at a continuing education event at Horseshoe Bay Resort hosted by the Dallas Bar Association, where lawyers peppered two justices with questions about their impartiality.

Sample query: Do the justices hunt for plaintiff victories in appeal courts just so they can overturn them?

"To be honest, I've never seen anything quite like that in a bar group," Justice Paul Green told Texas Lawyer magazine after the event.

The incident has added fire to a decade-long debate over whether Texas' highest court favors big business in lawsuits.

The perception is bolstered by data showing that the court's rulings increasingly favor defendants in lawsuits – upward of 87 percent of the time, one study said.

In one case, they complain, the court seemed to cherry-pick state laws to find a way to give a property owner the same protections from an injured worker's lawsuit that a contractor has compared with an employer. The worker, hired by a contractor, was injured in a plant owned by Entergy Gulf States.

"I'd say that right now Texas is on the forefront of the business-friendly legal environment," said Rogge Dunn at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP in Dallas, who handles some workers' compensation cases. "If you're an insurer here or a large company getting sued, you've got the Supreme Court as your safety net."

Alex Winslow of Texas Watch is tracking the court's rulings for its 2006-07 term, as he has for the last decade.

By his count, civil defendants won favorable rulings in a relatively equitable 52 percent of cases in the court's 2000-01 term, but the number has been soaring since then. In 2005-06, 82 percent of rulings went in favor of defendants, he said.

"This is an anti-consumer court," he said.

He called the Entergy ruling "egregious" because he thinks the court hunted for a way to rule for the company.

The Entergy ruling ignored the Legislature's previous actions on the issue that were pro-worker. A ruling the previous week involving another energy company cited legislative intent, Mr. Winslow said, "making them unbelievably inconsistent, except for the fact that the energy company won both times."

In a separate study, law professor David Anderson of the University of Texas at Austin found 87 percent of lawsuit defendants received favorable rulings in the 2004-05 term.

What's especially galling to critics of the court is what they see as the court's "activism," a complaint more common from conservative politicians against liberal judges on social issues.

Critics have focused on Justice Hecht, who accepted $16,000 in contributions from Houston home developer Bob Perry's political action committee to help defray costs related to a judicial ethics investigation, as The Dallas Morning News reported in April. The contribution was made as the court was about to hear a case related to Perry Homes.

THREE CASES

These Texas Supreme Court rulings in favor of businesses have been some of the most talked about in the legal community recently.

Entergy Gulf States vs. John Summers
Mr. Summers injured himself at Entergy's Sabine Station plant while he worked for a contractor hired by Entergy. Along with his worker's compensation claim, he tried to sue the utility for negligence. The Supreme Court overturned an appellate ruling in his favor, establishing that Entergy – the "premises owner" – also qualified as a "general contractor" and hence was immune from the injury suits.

Harmar Bottling vs. Coca-Cola
Harmar, a Royal Crown Cola distributor based in Paris, Texas, alleged that Coca-Cola tried to drive it out of business by establishing preferential agreements with grocers in nine Texas counties and three Oklahoma counties. A jury awarded Harmar $16 million in damages and attorney fees, but the Supreme Court ruled that the state's antitrust law doesn't apply in other states and that Harmar hadn't proved damages in Texas.

Lamar Homes vs. Mid-Continent Casualty Insurance
Homeowners sued Lamar Homes for cracks in the walls of houses and for foundation problems. Mid-Continent, Lamar's insurer, declined to cover the suit, and Lamar sued, arguing that the work had been undertaken with the intention of doing it correctly, making any defects "accidental" and covered under the policy. Some consumer advocates praised the ruling as helping homeowners in battles with builders, but others predict insurers' higher rates will simply be passed on to homebuyers.

Cruise Ship Injuries -- What To Do

Despite being in a landlocked city, our firm receives a number of inquiries about injuries sustained on cruise ships. As more and more ships depart from the port of Galveston, the inquiries are increasing.

Here are a few important things everyone should know regarding cruise ship injuries:

1. The normal Statute of Limitations may not apply to injuries sustained on a cruise ship. Look at the ticket or other documents -- you probably agreed in advance to accept a shorter deadline for filing suit on such injuries. Some deadlines are as short as six months.

2. If you do suffer an injury aboard a cruise ship, immediately report the incident in writing to the security department on the ship.

3. Keep a copy of your written report and ask for a copy of the ship's incident report.

4. Take photographs of the scene of the incident before any changes occur. If that is not possible, take photographs anyway.

5. Make a note of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of every person who witnessed to the incident.

6. Go to the ship's doctor to get treatment for your injury.

7. If necessary, go to a shore side doctor at the next port of call.

8. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible.

FDA Recommends Warnings For Tamiflu and Relenza

Reuters reports that the Food & Drug Administration is recommending new warnings about psychiatric problems sufferedby some patients taking Tamiflu and Relenza influenza medications. Excerpts from the story:

In documents...posted on the FDA's Web site, agency staff recommended that Tamiflu's label be strengthened to note, "in some cases, these behaviors resulted in serious injuries, including death, in adult and pediatric patients."

The FDA staff also reviewed Relenza, a drug in the same class as Tamiflu, recommending its label be changed to note "reports of hallucinations, delirium and abnormal behavior" observed in some patients taking the drug.

FDA staff said the evidence is "conflicting" as to whether the events are medication-related, a manifestation of disease or a combination of the two.

Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, is a pill, while Relenza, generically zanamivir, is inhaled.

A Roche spokesman said no causal relationship between Tamiflu and these psychiatric events has been proven.

"Roche has extensively investigated the issue and is conducting ongoing clinical and nonclinical studies. Roche takes all adverse events reports very seriously," spokesman Terence Hurley said in a statement.

About 48 million people have taken Tamiflu worldwide, including 21 million kids, since approval in 1999, he said.

A Glaxo spokeswoman said a review of premarketing and post-approval trial data showed no signal of these types of adverse events on patients taking Relenza.

FDA staff reviewed nearly 600 cases of neuropsychiatric events reported by patients on Tamiflu and 115 cases of such events by patients taking Relenza.

Link of the Day - Credit Card Scam Warning

The excellent web site Snopes.com has a good article on a topic that's been making the e-mail rounds recently -- credit card fraud. The warning e-mail is quoted below. Read the article at Snopes to get their explanation and safety tips.

The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My badge number is 12460.  Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify.  This would be on your VISA card which was issued by ( name of bank).  Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona ?"  When you say "No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account.  This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards.  Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes".  The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation.  If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security.

You will need to refer to this Control Number.  The caller then gives you a 6 digit number.  "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works   The caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card."  He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers."  There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers' that verify you are the possessor of the card.  These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card.  The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him.  After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card.  Do you have any other questions?"  After you say, "No," the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do", and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number.  But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question.  Are we glad we did!  The REAL VISA security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card .

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account.  VISA is reissuing us a new number.   What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card.   Don't give it to them.  Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation.  The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information, since they issued the card!  If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit.  However, by the time you get your statement, you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

"Stella Awards" Debunked -- Again

The e-mail about the "Stella Awards" has been circulating for years, and so have articles proving these stupid stories are lies. But the e-mail just won't die. The latest newspaper column debunking the Stella awards was printed yesterday in the Houston Chronicle. Take a look. The article concludes:

Here's the lesson: The next time an Internet tale makes you think things are even worse than you thought, check it out. Especially when the tale suggests that the American system is stacked against wealthy corporations.

One easy way: www.snopes.com, an excellent site that investigates urban myths. It took less than 30 seconds to ask for "Stella Awards" and receive the verdict: "False."

Nissan Recalls Altimas and Sentras

From the Associated Press today:

Nissan is recalling 686,500 Altima and Sentra passenger cars to fix problems with a sensor that could lead to engine stalling.

Nissan Motor Co. spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said Monday there have been no reports of crashes or injuries tied to the issue. More than 650,000 of the recalled vehicles are in the United States, with the remainder in Mexico and Canada.

Safety Tips -- Car Keys And Alarms

This information is from an e-mail that's been circulating for a very long time. But there are some good tips in here, and it's worth summarizing. This only applies if you have a remote control for a car alarm.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house, and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, the odds are the burglar or rapist won't stick around. After a few seconds, all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and the criminal won't want that.

Remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. Maybe this could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

It is also suggested that you carry your car keys with you in case you fall outside so someone can hear the alarm and come find you.