Friday, June 29, 2007

Employers in Sexual Harassments Beware

Literally, an employer’s obligation with regard to sexual harassment starts even before the illegal act begins. Employers have an obligation to make sure that their employees are working in a place free from sexual harassment.

There are a lot of things that employers can do to save them selves from being sued for sexual harassment committed by their employees to another employee. First, employers can disseminate general information on facts relating to sexual harassment in the work place. Employers must also be firm and serious in making a statement policy against sexual harassment. Employers must also assure that employees who report sexual harassment incidents do not get ostracized or retaliated against. Furthermore, a grievance machinery or investigation mechanism to address complaints of sexual harassment cases should be well established.

Unfortunately, however careful employers might be in preventing sexual harassment in their work places, they are still not saved from the strict liability theory being imposed by the state of California for the conduct of their supervisors and managers regardless of their best efforts to prevent and to remedy harassment.

In strict liability theory, employers can be liable for sexual harassment on the reason that they should have known of the harassment being committed by their supervisors under the theory of respondent superior. Negligent hiring of employees is also another reason for holding employers liable for the wrongful act committed by their other employees.

In any event, great caution is the order of the day for employers in making sure that their employees together with their supervisors and managers behave respectably towards one another.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

To Collect or not to Collect, That Is The Question

Whether you are a private person loaning money to a friend or a corporation extending loans to employees, partners or especially third persons, debt collection can sometimes be a problem. For some, more problem that it usually entails like when you have extended yourself so far or stretched yourself so wide that non- recovery of debts owed to you could mean the end for you or your business.

Debt collection may be as simple as calling the debtor or writing a demand to him to pay back what is owed. However, most calls or letters have gone unheeded. If you have this kind of problem, of persons or entities not willing to pay your due and right to demand payment for money or property owed, you might need the services of a collection agency or business lawyers who are adept in debt collections.

One of the first things you should consider in debt collection is whether the debt is worth collecting at all. If the debt owed to you is so small that it would not be profitable to pursue, the best course of action is to move on, forget the debt and just learn from your mistakes.

If however, although the debts are in small amounts, but if claimed together amounts to a sizeable fortune, if you are already frustrated in personally collecting those debts, then you need to think about launching a case against those who owe you.

Often times, collecting on your own is counter productive. Instead of putting your time and effort in what you do best, which are running your business? You are tied down with the stress and rigors of collecting debts from those deaf and blind from your pleas. In this case, you are even losing more by losing profits since you are derailed from maximizing your business’ potentials.

When consulting or acquiring the services of business lawyers, the money you additionally earn by not being bothered by the rigors of collections could pay for the lawyers and still earn you some more profits. This, plus the added bonus of successfully collecting the debts owed you are some of the advantages of seeking professional debt collecting help.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Mall Falls

The general concept of Personal Injury or Tort Law regarding premise liability is that the owner of the property is legally liable for the safety of the property. If you are injured as a result of the dangerous condition present in the property, you may be entitled to claim damages against the owner of said property.

However, there are said to be varying degrees of liability when it comes to safety of the owned property. As a general rule, an owner of a commercial establishment has a much higher liability for injuries caused on the commercial property as opposed to injuries sustained as a cause of private property.

Hence, if you are walking on a commercial establishment like target and you slipped and fell on the floor due to a wet substance left lying there for a long time, the owner of target is liable for your injuries. However, if you are at a friend’s house and you tripped and fall on a piece of furniture haphazardly placed in the middle of the living room or tripped on a toy left on the steps of the house, you may not be able to claim damages against your friend.

The most common case where premise liability can be considered is slip and fall accidents in malls . A lot of patrons or customers sustained injuries as a result of slips and falls due to wet or slippery floor caused by unattended puddle of water or slippery substances which are not promptly addressed by the maintenance of the commercial establishments.

Elephant Rampage

Elephants are one of the great attractions in zoos and especially in circus acts. These elephants are huge animals that are usually not aggressive, lumbering along like a gentle giant. The children are most attracted to these animals because of their huge size and their voracious appetite for peanuts. The cartoonists’ portrayals of them as one of the good and huggable guys do wonders to their image as well.

However, one should never forget that these animals are not meant to be caged. Also, like us, elephants have their own set of behaviors and social structures in the wild. Even elephants, who are trained to perform in zoos and circus shows have a propensity to do harm if they are surprised, irritated or fell ill.

There are already several reported cases of elephants that suddenly attack their keepers and trainers. In zoos, some of the zoo keepers get injured when an elephant, without provocation, suddenly charges upon its keeper for a long time. Studying and unlocking animal behavior is not an exact science.

Worse is when an elephant is performing in a circus show and it suddenly turns wild There have been numerous accounts of elephants suddenly going berserk, hurting the trainer and the by standers.

If you have been injured due to an elephant attack, you are entitled to damages. You could claim from the owner of the elephant, from its trainer and even from the owner of the zoo or the establishment. However, having a claim and pursuing one are two different matters. A consultation with a lawyer with experience in handling animal attack cases is highly recommended.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Protect and Claim: One Two Punch After A Bite

Each year, more than half a million people are bitten by animals. Most of the victims are children. Surprisingly, most of the dogs that are involved in animal attacks are not aggressive animals. There are also dog bites that happened unprovoked.

It is not unusual to get bitten by a dog even if you try all your life to avoid one. There is no distinction between pet owners, pet lovers and pet haters when it comes to dog or animal bites. A dog, even if unprovoked may bite if it gets surprised. One example is if you are turning on a corner and suddenly chanced upon a dog. The dog’s tendency might be to bite you because of surprise or it may suddenly feel threatened forcing it to defend itself.

Just in case you are unfortunate enough to get bitten. You should protect yourself from further attack by placing an object between you and the attacking animal. Shout for help. The dog may get startled and withdraw from attacking you. Also, there might be passersby who can hear you and rush to your aid.

Call the police immediately. If you are not that seriously hurt, you can wait for the police or paramedics. However, if you are seriously injured, go to the nearest hospital or clinic for immediate treatments. Finally, call an expert dog bite attorney like the attorneys from Mesriani Law Group if you are in California. They will tell you what to do and help you protect your rights and secure you your claims against the dog owner or keeper.