Archive for December, 2011

News Financial impact of a fatal car crash tops $6 million. True in Michigan?

Detroit Lawyers | Posted by Lawyer
Dec 23 2011

The emotional impact of a fatal auto accident in Michigan can be devastating on families. You want to simply focus on rebuilding your lives. But there’s often mountains of paperwork and officials to deal with after such a traumatic event. Worst of all, many insurance companies try to take advantage of such a difficult situation. They often offer victim’s family members far less than they rightfully deserve. Accepting such an offer can have a dramatic affect, especially since the financial impact of a fatal auto accident has skyrocketed in recent years. See Detroit personal injury lawyer

What would you do if a reckless Michigan motorist killed a loved one in your family? You need an experienced Michigan fatal accident attorney on your side. You need the Law Offices of Goodman Acker. Serving clients throughout Michigan, a Detroit, MI fatal auto accident lawyer at our law firm may be able to help your family deal with your deadly auto accident. We have years of experience navigating through all the red tape involved with such an accident. We know how to thoroughly conduct an investigation. We leave no stone unturned. Contact a Michigan fatal auto accident attorney who puts people first. Contact the Law Offices of Goodman Acker.

The number of people who died in auto accidents in Michigan has declined in recent years, from 1,129 in 2005 to 871 in 2009. But while the number of fatalities has decreased, the financial impact of a fatal motor vehicle accident has soared higher across the country. In 2009, the cost of a single motor vehicle fatality exceeded $6 million nationwide, according to federal accident data analyzed by AAA. That figure is 85 percent – or $2.76 million – higher compared to 2005, when the estimated cost of a single motor vehicle fatality was $3.24 million.

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Lawyers News Financial Fraud Against Older Americans Peaks this Holiday Season

Car Accident Lawyers | Posted by Lawyer
Dec 22 2011

If this year is anything like last, baby boomers and older Americans should be on guard this holiday season. Instances of financial abuse and fraud against the elderly increased from November 2010 to January 2011, according to a recent report from MetLife, which found overall investment fraud targeted towards older Americans is on the rise.

Americans over the age of 65 lost nearly $3 billion to financial abuse from April to June 2010, up 12% from the same period in 2008, according to the report. During that time, 51% of the fraud cases reported were perpetrated by strangers, 34% by family, friends and neighbors and 12% by businesses.

But in a separate look at the holidays, MetLife reports fraud by family and friends increased to 45%.

With the baby boomer generation reaching retirement age and comprising 25% of the U.S. population, financial investment fraud is becoming a bigger and more problematic issue facing the country.

The North American Securities Administrators Association found the number of criminal complaints and enforcement actions at the state level against investors 50 years or older more than doubled in 2010 from 2009, reports The Wall Street Journal. And state security officials expected the number of enforcements actions for fraud against that same age group to hit a record this year.

Not only are the boomers older and more vulnerable, but “they tend to have more assets that they tend to rely on to live out through retirement years,” says Raj Date, Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This combo makes them a more “attractive pray for would be scammers.”

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News AP IMPACT: When your criminal past isn’t yours

Auto Accident Lawyer | Posted by Lawyer
Dec 22 2011

We Asked Are Background Checking Companies Subject to Lawsuits?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A clerical error landed Kathleen Casey on the streets.

Out of work two years, her unemployment benefits exhausted, in danger of losing her apartment, Casey applied for a job in the pharmacy of a Boston drugstore. She was offered $11 an hour. All she had to do was pass a background check.

It turned up a 14-count criminal indictment. Kathleen Casey had been charged with larceny in a scam against an elderly man and woman that involved forged checks and fake credit cards.

There was one technicality: The company that ran the background check, First Advantage, had the wrong woman. The rap sheet belonged to Kathleen A. Casey, who lived in another town nearby and was 18 years younger. Does Kathleen have a lawsuit ? We suggest reading a personal injury lawyer web site

Kathleen Ann Casey, would-be pharmacy technician, was clean.

“It knocked my legs out from under me,” she says.

The business of background checks is booming. Employers spend at least $2 billion a year to look into the pasts of their prospective employees. They want to make sure they’re not hiring a thief, or worse.

But it is a system weakened by the conversion to digital files and compromised by the welter of private companies that profit by amassing public records and selling them to employers. These flaws have devastating consequences.

It is a system in which the most sensitive information from people’s pasts is bought and sold as a commodity.

A system in which computers scrape the public files of court systems around the country to retrieve personal data. But a system in which what they retrieve isn’t checked for errors that would be obvious to human eyes.

A system that can damage reputations and, in a time of precious few job opportunities, rob honest workers of a chance at a new start. And a system that can leave the Kathleen Caseys of the world – the innocent ones – living in a car.

Those are the results of an investigation by The Associated Press that included a review of thousands of pages of court filings and interviews with dozens of court officials, data providers, lawyers, victims and regulators.

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Breaking News What you should know about the Penn State child sexual abuse case

Auto Accident Lawyer | Posted by Lawyer
Dec 16 2011

Child sexual abuse ranks among the most horrific of all crimes. When allegations of child sexual assault surfaced at Penn State University, many in Pennsylvania were shocked. Jerry Sandusky, an once revered assistant football coach, was charged with abusing eight boys over a 15-year time period. Sandusky denied the charges, but said he did shower with the boys.

While Sandusky is innocent until proven guilty, in general child predators who are convicted tend to receive lengthy prison sentences. For the victims, the assault may cause deep psychological trauma in addition to physical injuries. While no amount of money can truly undo the damage of a sexual assault, victims may need compensation for real financial losses. The only recourse for many victims of sexual assault is to retain a personal injury lawyer. By pursuing compensation through the civil courts, or a child sexual abuse lawsuit, victims may be able to receive compensation to cover the costs of psychiatric care or psychological care. Sadly, many victims may require a lifetime of therapy in addition to needing to address physical injuries.

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