Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Dos & Don'ts of Personal Injury

Personal injury can occur in any situation that involves injury or death due to the carelessness or negligence of persons or organizations. Some common types of personal injury include, but are not limited to: animal attacks, car, truck or motorcycle accidents, job related injuries, and faulty product injuries. If you or a family member has been subject to a personal injury, there are many dos and don'ts to follow before, during and after an injury.

Many times when people suffer from personal injuries, they have several questions: What should I do next? How do I know if I have a case? What exactly is negligence? How do I talk with the various insurance companies involved? There are several things to be aware of if you have experienced a personal injury. First, take a deep breath, you are not alone. Often, people feel they have lots of questions with nobody to answer them. You and your family should not struggle to find these answers alone. The following is a general guideline of dos and don'ts when a personal injury has occurred.

If you or a family member has been in a personal injury accident-DO:

  • Keep a disposable camera in your glove compartmentor someplace handy to take pictures of the damage to property and/or physical injuries. If an accident occurs, you will have evidence of the accident and damage to the vehicles involved. If you do not have a disposable camera, and you have a cell phone with photograph capabilities, use your cell phone.
  • Collect all pertinent information from the other person(s) involved-names, addresses, telephone numbers, driver's license numbers, insurance card information, etc. This is very important as you or your attorney will need to contact the other party and/or his or her insurance company at some point and will need documentation of this information.
  • Get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses. This is crucial. After you've made sure that you and any other persons with you are all right, if you are able, collect information from the other parties involved, then look around for witnesses and take down their personal information.
  • Notify police officers on the scene of details of the accident that you can recall, and let the officer know if you are experiencing pain. This is imperative, as the officer on the scene will take down statements from each party, including accident details, as well as information as to any injuries. These accident reports are available to insurance companies and may be used in the event of a trial. Also, be sure to seek medical attention immediately if you are injured.
  • Contact a reputable personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after you've received the proper medical attention and direct all requests for information, statements and signed documents to your attorney. Before entering into a relationship with a lawyer/law firm, look at their credentials. Hauptman, O'Brien, Wolf & Lathrop is AV peer review rated, and with over 100 years of combined experience, is the Omaha law firm with the experience to work for you.

If you or a family member has been in a personal injury accident-DON'T:

  • Don't speak to an insurance adjuster regarding any matter related to your injuries OR give written or recorded statements to anyone about your case. Make sure you speak with an attorney before speaking to any other third parties, including insurance adjusters.
  • Don't sign checks or any other documents without first checking with your attorney. This can drastically affect your right to any future claim. Make sure you have consulted legal counsel on the matter and understand how to handle your situation properly.
  • Don't fail to contact your attorney if you are approached by any person or organization in relation to your case. Once you hire an attorney, any person or organization seeking to obtain information about your claim may only speak with your attorney, they may not contact you directly. Your attorney will be able to provide the proper and/or necessary information.
The author is an truck accident lawyer specializing in injury law in Boca, Boynton Beach, Jupiter & West Palm Beach.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

RI Divorce Laws Make Alimony Payments The Judge's Decision

If you live in Rhode Island and are going through a divorce, you need to know about this state's rules on alimony. Chances are, at some time during your meetings with your lawyer, you will have to discuss whether you are eligible for alimony or whether you're going to have to pay it.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has decided that alimony is awarded only for rehabilitative purposes. In other words, does one party in the divorce need financial support and does the other party have the financial means to pay alimony.

During the course of your divorce proceedings, a family court judge will decide whether one spouse needs financial support and will at the same time decide whether the other spouse can afford it. This is important, because this means that receiving alimony, even if your spouse earns more money than you do, is not automatic. At one time, women could almost be guaranteed to receive alimony as a consequence of divorce. Now, however, a judge weighs several factors before making a determination.

Rhode Island has no standard for determining financial need. Each judge views each case individually, and bases the decision on a variety of factors. However, a good lawyer will be able to make your case for either needing financial aid or determining you cannot afford to pay alimony. This is when finding a top divorce attorney is critical.

A judge will look at the needy spouse's skills and determine whether he or she can find a job that makes enough money to reasonably live on. This protects women and men who have been out of the workforce so long that their skills are no longer marketable.

In any divorce, expect there to be compromises. Say one spouse makes $80,000 per year and the other $32,000. Does this disparity in pay mean the spouse who makes more money will automatically have to pay alimony? Not necessarily. A judge could rule that, because the spouse who makes less money has been consistently employed and makes enough money to support herself or himself, they would not be eligible for alimony.

A good lawyer can make a huge difference not only on whether alimony is actually paid, but the amount, as well. Most couples are able to come up with a compromise, but if you find yourself in a situation where your spouse is treating you unfairly in this process, having a good attorney fighting for you is a long-term investment.

Jane Goodger has worked as a criminal and court reporter for several newspapers in Southern New England. She is now dedicated to helping Rhode Islanders find the best lawyers for their needs at http://www.TopRILawyers.com.

Programs That Will Help Your Blog

Many of us are writing blogs these days. Some of us write to have somewhere to share our thoughts, others write to have a place to market their products and services. Whatever the reason you're writing your blog, you'll most likely have need to use some add ons (these are the programs you use on your blog to add features and functionality).

My top 10 favorite plugins are listed below. They are in no specific order, but they are all almost essential in the way I run my blogs.

1. All In One SEO Pack. This plugin gives you added features to help you make sure your blog is found in the search engines, and how its displayed. It's one of the most popular add ons on the internet and I highly recommend it's use.

2. Efficient Related Posts. This is another plugin that will help your pages become indexed by the search engines quickly. The plugin links at the end of your post, to other posts that you've published that are in the same category. Highly effective!

3. MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer. Ideal if you publish frequently. This plugin prevents your blog from automatically pinging services if you're updating your blog often. This can prevent you from getting banned and therefore reducing your effectiveness. The plugin also adds some other ping services to your list to make sure it's doing a better job.

4. Privacy Policy. Use this plugin if you have AdSense or affiliate products on your blog.

5. WordPress Database Backup. Use this plugin to make sure that you've backed up your site just in case!

6. WP Contact Form. This is a way to have your visitors contact you. It's a great way to ask for feedback or just to let you know of other things to do with your blog.

7. Google XML Sitemaps. This program scans your site and updates an XML sitemap for Google to see. This is a great way to make sure all the pages on your site are indexed and available for visitors to find.

8. Whydowork AdSense. This is a plugin I use to put AdSense on my site. It's not for everybody, but it's a very light and effective AdSense program that will display the Google ads on your blog easily.

9. One Click Plugin Updater. It updates your plugins automatically.

10. Google Analytics For WordPress. This addon lets you track your visitors.

Try these add ons, some will be great for you, but others will not. I use them often and they're some of the best I've found.

The author has been writing articles online for over 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in health, fitnes

Interracial Dating Questions

The primary question to the interracial dating has always been of whether someone supports it or not. The matter has always been burdened with numerous prejudices. And if someone actually wants to figure out how much hate it is in other human's heart than they should start a relationship with someone of a different color. For some reason and once of a sudden, other people get concerned of losing their identities while having their race and culture merging into or getting absorbed by another culture. It is incredibly unfair that some people are just not agreeable to look elsewhere and be concerned of their own business, but instead deem it their duties to boycott interracial couples at best or even be attacking and abusing those.

Interracial couples are challenged to cope with public opinion disapproval which may involve such questions as losing your friends and family, condemnation and censure from your colleagues and associates at work, and even problems in bringing up your own child. The latter may seem neglected by the immediate family, however the problem is tremendous indeed involving raising children with indefinite cultural identities. Another question is whether one community is different from another in terms of tolerance towards the interracial couples. Mentioned friends and family, the social ambience beyond the scope of your family, both immediate and wide and your working area is a question of a great importance. Some regions may traditionally happen to be mono racial, others would have a longer experience with interracial relationships, in which case your dating course will flow a lot more easily.

Interracial dating is going to require much bravery on your part and much sacrifice on your partner and children. It should not be a matter of vain curiosity as the matters of heart, no matter which race the object of your passion be, should be taken with the best of your gentleness and integrity.

Watch this online video conference about interracial relationships. And please feel welcome to comment on it, because this interracial relationship video is very challenging and thought provocative.

Know How to Implement That Beautiful Indoor Lighting You Dreamed Of

Lots of people want beautiful indoor lighting for their home. Many think that by attaching very pricey and elegant fixtures will do. Indeed, the designs of the it can be a great draw for the eyes. However, if they are not placed properly then they still won't render the desired effects. There is only one thing that homeowners should think of when it comes to having that dream indoor lighting. It is only through the implementation of the elements of ambient, task, accent and mood lighting in each room of the house.

Ambient lighting is general light that floods the entire room. During the day, we get ambient lighting from natural light that comes in from our windows and doors. At night, however, the moon's beams are not that bright enough to shed some light into our home's interiors. We need a set of lights to brighten the different areas and rooms of the home. Sources of ambient lighting can vary from area to area. We can put recessed lights in the four corners of the living room. A chandelier can grace the dining room while a pendant light will be perfect for the kitchen.

Task lighting is equally important so defined tasks can be carried out inside the home. Such tasks can include reading in the bedroom, grooming in the bathroom and food preparation in the kitchen. Typical lighting fixtures that can be installed are lamp shades, recessed, track or under cabinet lights that can be directed right into the work stations and wall sconces.

Accent lighting is often neglected but should be given importance by the homeowners. Highlighting a textured wall, paintings, artworks, statues or even the huge beams on the ceiling can add interest into the place. You can use uplights or downlights to do so. Displays encased in cabinets can be spotlighted by under-cabinet lights.

Mood bathroom lighting is needed to create the perfect ambiance. This is by far the easiest to accomplish among the four elements. You can simply install dimmer switches to either soften or heighten the glow of lights into the room.

Visit my site for more information about indoor lighting.

Easy Ways to Save Money on Auto Insurance for You

As the saying goes, a penny that is saved will become a penny that is earned eventually. So if you are able to save so many dollars on your car insurance, you would have earned that much more money to spend on other things. Yes, your auto insurance coverage is one area where you can make substantial savings - and it takes only a minimum of effort.

If you're about to buy a new car, this is where you can start on your goal to reduce your car insurance expense. Flashy cars and certain makes and models of vehicles are very attractive to car thieves and as a result, more likely to be stolen. At the same time, drivers of these cars are at higher risk of accidents due to speeding. Consequently auto insurance providers will charge more to cover these vehicles. This advice may have come too late for you; just remember it next time you buy a new car.

Knowing beforehand how much you are likely to spend on car insurance for a certain type of car is a simple strategy to save on your insurance expense later on. Make a short list of cars you're interested in and ask your insurance broker to give you a quote for each. It's amazing how much the insurance costs vary between different cars. As a result, you will be able to get the lowest insurance premium if it doesn't matter which car in the list you will buy.

Do you really need the collision and comprehensive clause in your policy? If you have an older car, the extra expense may not be commensurate to the car's value if it is damaged in an accident. By canceling this provision, you can save as much as 40% on your insurance premium. Having this extra coverage is justified only if your car is new or has some extrinsic value to you.

Think twice before filing claims if your car is damaged in an accident. Figure out if the repair bill will cost you more than the extra $200 or $300 more in your insurance expense in the years to come. Filing an insurance claim generally results in a higher insurance premium. If you can cover it yourself even with a little difficulty, it will be worth it in the long run.

It's good to know that with something you absolutely need to have - like auto insurance - you have a degree of control over the cost.

Driving a vehicle of either new or used will always require the valid license and insurance policy. Find out information about Salvage Used Car Insurance and other helpful tips about auto insurance.

More helpful information about Used Car Lot, where you can find your local used car dealers and available vehicles.

Golf Cart Insurance

Although it may seem strange to some, a golf cart can become a serious investment to the right kind of person. Whether an avid golfer and club member who likes to keep their own cart or an individual living in a community that supports the use of golf carts, these vehicles can be immense sources of pride for some owners. Like any other vehicle, carts are suspect to damages from nature, vandals and thieves, and even from collisions with other vehicles. Thus, some have opted to take out an insurance policy to cover damages against their carts.

Although many country clubs or living communities provide some sort of garage for cart owners, during the average use of a cart, the weather may pose a threat to the vehicle. Like a car or a motorcycle, golf carts are susceptible to damages from falling tree branches which can cause considerable damage to the roof and windshield of the vehicle. Similarly, flood or water damages may ruin an electric cart's systems, requiring extensive repair work or flat-out replacement.

It may seem unlikely, but a cart can also end up in an accident with another, usually larger motor vehicle. In particular, areas such as living communities may see a mixture of full-sized cars and trucks as well as residents using golf carts to get around. Considering the size and mobility of a cart, may be difficult for drivers to see these vehicles, especially when backing up, and carts may not be fast enough to get out of the way.

Finally, cart owners must recognize the threat of thieves and vandals. Like motorcycles, carts are often without a notable defense from outright hot-wiring. Although there are some theft deterrents available on the market, including both locks and tracing devices, a savvy thief may be able to take a cart without notice. Similarly, a vandal may decide to smash in a windshield or rip up seat cushions out of spite or malice.

For more information regarding insurance options for cart owners, contact an auto insurance expert.

If you are searching for a new insurance policy for your vehicle, contact the Illinois auto insurance experts at Insure on the Spot today.