Almost all DUI investigations include having a DUI suspect perform various balance and coordination tests. These tests are referred to as field sobriety tests or FST’s. The theory behind these tests is that they test a person’s ability to divide attention. Driving is portrayed as a divided attention task. One has to both operate the automobile and also pay attention to other cars, pedestrians, and traffic controls on the road. (more…)

When a DUI suspect refuses to take a chemical test, both the DUI defendant and the prosecution are presented with challenges and opportunities.

California has a law called the informed consent law of chemical testing. What this means is that when you got your drivers license, you agreed (although you probably did not realize it at the time) that in exchange for the state giving you your drivers license, you agreed to submit to a chemical test. This law means that the state does not need a warrant or other court order to have you submit to a chemical test. (more…)

By James D. Scott, CFLS

Commonly Heard Phrases Indicating Agreement and Compromise Between Spouses:

Prenuptial Agreement

Antenuptial Agreement

Marital Agreement

Post-Marital Agreement

Marital Settlement Agreement

Stipulation to Judgment (more…)

By James D. Scott, CFLS, Copyright 2007
California Evidence Code Sections Related to a Mediation Privilege that Keeps Divorce Talks Silent

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California Obstetrical Malpractice Lawyers and Birth Injury Attorneys Explain the Legal Strategies for Preparing and Presenting Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injury, Brain Damage, Erbs Palsy and Brachial Plexus Injury Cases

Whenever a baby is born or is discovered subsequent to birth to suffer delayed development or evidence of cerebral palsy, brain injury or brain damage, or paralyzing symptoms of Erbs palsy or other brachial plexus injury, the California obstetrical malpractice lawyers or birth injury attorneys should always conduct the appropriate investigation to determine whether the injury was caused by medical or hospital employee negligence. The following discussion also applies to obstetrical malpractice and birth injury cases generally, including in most other states than California, although the parent should contact appropriately qualified counsel in the state where their child was born to assure that the advice they receive is absolutely accurate under the applicable state laws. For example, under California law, a medical malpractice case must be supported by the testimony of a licensed and qualified medical practitioner. This may not be required by the laws of every state, but whether required or not under state law, we would urge that it is an element of good legal practice for medical malpractice attorneys generally and obstetrical malpractice lawyers in particular. (more…)

California Big Rig Truck Accident Lawyers and Large Commercial Truck Accident Attorneys Must Consider Applicable State & Federal Law and the Legal Theories Against Trucking Companies and Shippers in Serious Injury Truck Accident Litigation

Big rig truck accident lawyers and commercial large truck accident attorneys in California and other states must consider the applicable federal and state law applicable to big rigs, semis, 18 wheelers, and all other “large commercial trucks” weighing in excess of 10,000 pounds. These laws govern everything from the number of hours that the truck drivers are permitted to drive between 8 hour rest periods, keeping logs with regard to their driving time and rest periods, and providing their logs to all employers or contracting trucking companies or contracting shippers, through permissible load weights and manner of securing the loads. (more…)

Food poisoning lawyers serve their clients who have sustained serious illness, complications, and resulting permanent health consequences resulting from exposure to any of the large number of bacteria that may be found in a variety of foods, most commonly pre-cooked or ready-made foods such as luncheon meat or hot dogs, or green produce such as lettuce or spinach that may have been improperly processed or contaminated in packaging, or foods inadequately cooked at restaurants. Examples of the variety of bacteria that can result in serious food poisoning illness include Escheerichia coli O157:H7, commonly referred to as E coli or Ecoli, Listeria, Botulism, Campylobacter, Norovirus, Salmonella and Shigella.

These cases of bacterial illness can be presented to food poisoning lawyers as incidents of only a single infected individual or group of individuals exposed to the bacteria, as where they may consume the food at a family meal or restaurant; or food poisoning attorneys may be presented with hundreds of cases, where, for example, contaminated food, such as luncheon meat, or contaminated spinich or lettuce, is distributed in large quantities to grocery stores often across the country, in several states.

A discussion of all the many food poisoning illnesses and the food poisoning lawyers strategies for prosecuting the cases is necessarily beyond the scope of this article. What we will do below is discuss one common illness, Ecoli, and its serious consequences, Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, HUS, and Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, TTP, and will discuss one recent outbreak of Ecoli poisoning from contaminated spinach, grown in California, largely distributed through a California company, repackaged into retail products by other food distributors and then sold at retail by grocery stores accross the country. For a more complete discussion of food poisoning illness, you may wish to consult Our California Food Poisoning Lawyers Discussion of Ecoli, Listeria, Botulism, Campylobacter, Norovirus, Salmonella and Shigella

Limiting here the discussion to the food poisoning lawyers approch to Ecoli illness and HUS and TTP cases, first, it is “Escherichia coli O157:H7″ which is commonly referred to by food poisoning lawyers as E. coli or Ecoli. Escherichia coli is a class of ordinary bacteria. The Ecoli bacterium is represented by hundreds of different “strains.” E coli is everywhere, indeed, it is present in the lower digestive tract of all humans and mammals. Indeed, the bacterium performs an important function in digestion, essential for human survival.

It is recognized by food poisoning lawyers and TTP and HUS attorneys that it is a specific strain of the E coli bacterium, Escherichia coli O157:H7 which results in the particular toxin which results in human illness, sometimes very serious illness, such as HUS and TTP. The alpha numeric designation, O157:H7, refers to the genetic markers on the surface of this particular strain of the bacterium, distinguishing it from the other benign Ecoli strains.

Exposure to Ecoli O157:H7 in foods can result in very serious illness, including Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which food poisoning lawyers refer to as HUS. HUS can result in kidney failure and often can require kidney replacement or a lifetime on dialysis. Ecoli O157:H7 exposure can also result in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, commonly referred to by food poisoning lawyers as TTP, which in addition to kidney failure, can result in strokes and other serious neurological effects. Ecoli illness can also result in acute renal failure and death.

It is also recognized by food poisoning attorneys that there are a variety of food products that are most commonly contaminated with the deadly Ecoli strain, which include ground beef that may be undercooked at home or at a restaurant, salamis, milk or juice that is unpasturized, as well as lettuce, spinach, and sprouts. The most recent large outbreak of Ecoli illness of 2006 was found to result from contaminated California grown lettuce.

Large food poisoning outbreaks are investigated by the Centers for Disease Control, and the investigations conducted can provide invaluable evidence for use by food poisoning lawyers in the prosecution of outbreak cases. The CDC will interview those infected, identify the foods they ate which may be the common denominator, the common cause of the outbreak illness, and examine foods left over in refrigerators, or on the grocery store shelves, where available, to perform testing to identify this deadly strain of the bacterium.

The number of those infected will be disclosed by the CDC. From the CDC web site, as of September 24, 2006, it was recorded 173 individuals had been infected as the result of exposure to the California lettuce, involving Ecoli illness in 25 states, by reason of the nationwide distribution of the contaminated spinach.

To provide a sense of the seriousness of the 2006 Spinach Ecoli outbreak, the CDC data disclosed that 53 percent of those identified as having suffered Ecoli illness as the result of this one outbreak required hospitalization, another 16 percent contracted HUS, and one died. Most were children or the elderly, who are more susceptible to Ecoli infection.

Also helpful to food poisoning lawyers, in addition to the involved California farms, the CDC identified the principle distributor, Natural Selection Foods, LLC, of San Juan Bautista, California, as well as the secondary distributors, and retailers, permitting the attorneys to identify all potential defendants in the chain of commerce.

In individual food poisoning litigation the Ecoli HUS lawyers must conduct sometimes intensive investigation to identify the source of the exposure to the bacterium which caused the client’s illness. Some food poisoning lawyers will have taken the course in food management offered for those who want to become Certified Food Managers in order to supplement their knowledge and experience in complex litigation with education specific to food management. Food poisoning lawyers in outbreak cases and individual cases must also be trial lawyers, experienced in presenting the expert testimony to present both the “liability” case, and the “damages” case, in which the client’s illness, complications, sometimes debilitating health consequences, loss of enjoyment of life, past and future medical expenses and past and future loss of earnings resulting from the illness must be competently presented to assure that the client is fairly compensated.

Copyright 2007 Ray Henke
Principle trial attorney, California Personal Injury Attorneys & Food Poisoning Lawyers Law Group

Auto accident lawyers can use the evidence that the other driver was on his cell phone in the moments preceding the accident in at least two ways: (1) to establish that the other auto driver was DUI level driving impaired, to aid in establishing liability, particularly in contested liability cases; and (2) in some cases to gain access to additional insurance coverage, e.g., where the auto accident attorney can establish that the driver was engaged in a business call, “in the course and scope of his employment. (more…)