Posts Tagged ‘ Pleading Ignorance ’

BP Oil Spill: The Fallout and Who’s Affected…Including You

May 27th, 2010. By Kristine B

With an environmental disaster as large as BP’s oil spill, no doubt many people are affected. Some are affected directly. Others, however, are affected indirectly and might not even realize it. This week, Pleading Ignorance gives some examples of people who might have no idea that this environmental disaster has affected them. We look at property damage, business losses and other effects of the oil spill.

BP Oil Spill + Property Damage + Property Ownership/Rental

Obviously Affected

Anyone in real estate knows it’s all about location, location, location. Most often, the choicest locations—particularly at the height of rental and time-share season—involves a beachfront somewhere, and that beachfront comes at a high price. Unfortunately, the BP oil spill has given new meaning to the phrase “tar beach” for folks who could afford a beachfront stretch. With oil encroaching upon their waterfronts, there’s property damage afoot. That damage could cost these homeowners for repair, maintenance and replacement of anything on the property damaged by oil, not to mention the cost of cleaning up.

The other damage that homeowners suffer is the loss of enjoyment of their property—their own, and that of others if they were planning on renting out their home. After all, who wants to enjoy the beach when the beach is covered by oil? So there’s potential loss of income, too.

Finally, there’s the loss in property value to consider. Try sticking a “for sale” sign up on beachfront property right now in, say, Louisiana or Alabama. If folks can’t use the beach, they sure aren’t going to come to an open house—let alone fork over a downpayment.

Possibly Affected

Even if you don’t live along the beach, if you live close to the beach—say, a few blocks off—you’ll also be affected by the oil spill. You may not suffer property damage, but proximity to the beach means that you enjoy the beach as one of the perks of your location. That’s a perk you probably still paid a hefty sum for. Because of the oil spill, you don’t have the option of enjoying the beach anymore. Nor would anyone you’d hope to sell your place to. And that adds up to a decrease in property value. 

People who rent long-term along the beach or near the beach are affected, too. Although they don’t suffer the same property damage as homeowners, they probably pay high rent for the sake of living near the coastline. Like homeowners, they no longer have use of the beach, something they pay for.

Basically, if part of your cost of residence involves use of the beach, you’re no longer getting what you paid for, through no fault of your own.

Remotely Affected

For those folks who vacation on the Gulf Coast each summer, you may have already paid for—or at least put a downpayment on—a rental. But chances are, you’ve been re-thinking that Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill, Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment, Pleading Ignorance | 2 Comments »

Antidepressant Guide: the Brands, the Generics & Who Makes Them

May 6th, 2010. By Kristine B

These days, there are many drugs to keep track of. It’s not just the brand name drug anymore; patients could be taking a generic equivalent. So, this week, Pleading Ignorance looks at the SSRIs and SNRIs to give you the brand name, manufacturer, generic version and the generic’s manufacturer. Consider it your one-stop cheat sheet on some of the more commonly prescribed antidepressants.

Brand name	Ingredient	Made By	Generic	Made By
Celexa (SSRI)	citalopram hydrobromide	Forest Laboratories	citalopram	Eon Labs, Inc., Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Purepac Pharmaceutical Co., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, Corepharma LLC
Lexapro (SSRI)	escitalopram oxalate	Forest Laboratories	escitalopram	Alphrapharm
Paxil/Seroxat    (SSRI)	paroxetine hydrochloride	GlaxoSmithKline	paroxetine	Apotex, Alphapharm, Teva, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Pharms USA, Caraco
Prozac (SSRI)	fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	fluoxetine	ESI Lederle (tentative approval)
Symbyax (SSRI)	olanzapine and fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine/ fluoxetine	Teva Pharms (tentative approval, July 17, 2007)
Zoloft (SSRI)	sertraline hydrochloride	Pfizer Pharmaceuticals	sertraline	Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Teva, Genpharm, Aurobindo Pharma, Sandoz and many others
Zyprexa (atypical antipsychotic)	olanzapine	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine	All tentative approval: Dr. Reddy’s Labs Inc, Teva Pharms, Mylan PHarma, Sandoz, Barr Pharms, Roxane
Cymbalta (SNRI)	duloxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	duloxetine	No generic so far as I can tell
Effexor (SNRI)	venlafaxine	Wyeth	venlafaxine hydrochloride	Aurobindo, Mylan, Teva, Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Caraco and others

The information in the chart above was found at either drugs@fda, or on the individual drug manufacturer’s website. As far as I can tell, this information is correct as of the date it was written—and it is not intended to replace the information you might receive from your doctor or medical practitioner (hey, have to say it, we’re a legal site). Talk to your doctor or pharmicist for medical advice.

Tags: Antidepressants, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pleading Ignorance, Prozac, SSRI, Symbyax, Zoloft, Zyprexa
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

Car Accident Fault and Getting What You’re Owed

April 21st, 2010. By Kristine B

If you’re one of those people who “don’t like to focus on fault”, you’ll quickly find yourself focusing on it should you be involved in a car accident. Not that anyone likes pointing fingers, but unfortunately, the state you live in probably uses a little finger-pointing to determine what damages should be awarded to each party in the aftermath of an accident. Some states use either Contributory or Comparative Negligence to determine damages…and you should know which, if any, your state uses.

 

Since I spoke with Missouri attorney John Page about comparative negligence, I thought it would be a great idea for this edition of Pleading Ignorance to explain what comparative negligence is, and compare it to contributory negligence. Knowing whether your state uses contributory negligence, comparative negligence—or even modified comparative negligence will help you to determine what damages you are entitled to if you are in a car accident. 

Note—here’s a refresher on negligence in general. Also, a number of you are probably familiar with the concepts of “Fault” and “No Fault” car insurance states—they’re related to this topic, but we won’t cover those here; look for them in an upcoming Pleading Ignorance. Now, back to car accident negligence… 

Contributory Negligence 

Contributory negligence is a system of fault in which the injured party can only obtain compensation for injuries and damages if he or she did not contribute to the accident in any way. This means that if you’re in a car accident and the driver of the other vehicle is 99 percent at fault but you are 1 percent at fault, you won’t receive any damages. You’re out of luck. You can’t in any way be even a little bit at fault for the accident or you’ll get nothing in monetary damages.  

So, to use an example: let’s say that Becky is attempting to make a left turn at an intersection. Chris speeds through the intersection on a red and hits Becky. The jury finds Chris 80 percent Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Negligence, Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Accidents, Automotive, Pleading Ignorance | 1 Comment »

Pleading Ignorance: How’d I get Sucked into a Lawnmower Class Action?

April 15th, 2010. By Kristine B

This one’s going out to all who asked the question, “How the heck did I get involved in this lawn mower lawsuit?”…

LawyersAndSettlements.com has received an overwhelming response to our post about the gas-powered lawn mower settlement. Makes you realize how many of us are out there every weekend preening those lush green carpets. So the response was great—and we’re glad we could not only tell everyone about the settlement, but also that we were able to help with your questions.

It brings up something about class action lawsuits though: most of us don’t really know much about ’em until some little postcard or letter shows up in the mail telling you that “You may be entitled to…” We realized that a number of you may wonder just how the heck a class action starts and how it all works. So, in this week’s Pleading Ignorance, I’ll try to help you understand it a bit more. 

FYI, we always have a class action FAQ here, but for a little more explanation, read on…

Class action lawsuits are filed when a large number of people have similar complaints. To make life easier for the plaintiffs and for the courts, the complaints are combined into one class action lawsuit. By combining the complaints, the courts hear all of the concerns at the same time and one settlement applies to all parties involved.

It’s a fair bet, too, that if so many folks have an issue with something, there’s more out there that have the issue as well; by filing a class action, every individual who is potentially a part of the “class” for the lawsuit is, technically, represented by the lawsuit. That why a lot of you asked how the heck you got selected for the lawn mower lawsuit settlement…that’s how: you bought one, you’re in. The class action has your back, so to speak—if you want it to. If you think you have a better chance of suing on your own, you can opt out of the class action and retain the right to sue on your own. 

Every class action lawsuit has a representative; a plaintiff who represents all members of the class. The representative is the person named in the lawsuit and may also be referred to as the lead plaintiff Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Emerging Issues, Pleading Ignorance | No Comments »

Lia-bil-ity…Easy as 1-2-3

March 17th, 2010. By Kristine B

Often in the media you’ll hear the word ‘liability’ thrown around. In fact, liability is a word that’s used all the time. However, while people may have an idea of what liability is, they may not know all the ins and outs of it. So, this Pleading Ignorance discusses liability and some of the forms of liability. Sound exciting? You bet it is!

Legal liability refers to a party’s legal responsibility for an act or omission. If that party fails to meet its legal obligations, it could be open to a lawsuit for any damages that resulted from a failure to meet those obligations. Hence (to use another fancy word) we say that the party is liable. By the way, it’s a “party” and not a “person” because a company or other entity can be held liable as well—not just a person.

Lawsuits involving liability must prove three things:

• That the defendant had a duty to the plaintiff
• That the defendant failed to fulfill the duty, and
• That the failure to fulfill the duty resulted in damages to the plaintiff.

Fail to prove all three and you’ve failed to prove liability.

For example, Stephen is driving a car and fails to stop at a red light. While in the intersection, he hits the car Sandra is in, which had the right of way. Sandra is injured in the accident. Sandra can argue that…

• Stephen had a duty of care to the other drivers on the road—including to Sandra
• Stephen’s duty of care was breached when he failed to stop at the red light, and
• Because Sandra was injured in the car accident she can prove that Stephen’s failure to meet his duty of care caused her injuries.

All three answered, so it’s sounding like Stephen’s pretty liable.

So you’ve got the gist of legal liability. But recently, there have been mentions in the news of joint and several Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Joint Liability, Liability, Pleading Ignorance, Several Liability
Posted in Pleading Ignorance | No Comments »