UTC Akademic Education Site

Posts Tagged ‘lawyers’

When dealing with a car accident, finding and hiring a qualified attorney can help you a great deal. They will help ease your mind through dealing with all the legal aspects of your situation while you focus on coping with the pain and suffering of such a traumatic event. There are lawyers out there ready and willing to make sure that you are compensated for being hurt in a situation that you may not have had any control over.

Never hesitate after an accident when seeking medical and legal help. Many people don’t know until much later that they even have an injury after a car accident. They are usually so scared and rattled that if they feel okay enough, they go home and sleep it off and try to reestablish normal activities the next day. Or, if they are in pain, they might seek the advice of family and friends who may tell them not to worry, that it is just neck pain and it will go away with time. This is all really bad advice. There could be internal injuries that over time could become major or even life threatening problems.

A very serious problem that is often overlooked is an internal head injury. Just because a car crash victims head is not bleeding, does not mean that they are okay. Closed head injuries often occur some time after the accident and can go unnoticed and often occur when a car crash victim’s head is sudden thrust into a hard surface (steering wheel, dashboard, back of the front seat) at rapid speeds. These types of injuries often do not penetrate the skull and can be overlooked at first. These types of collisions result in internal injuries within the brain.
Read the rest of this entry »

In recent years, there are increasing numbers of people who turn up work under the influence of alcohol and drugs. According to a survey conducted by the Health and Safety Executive in 1994, 90% of personnel directors from top UK organisations stated that alcohol consumption was a problem for their organisation. 18% of large company directors reported illegal drug use by their employees in 2004, a survey through the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and the Reward Group 2004.

The impact of an employee under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the work place could be:
? Poor discipline and violent behaviour
? Safety endangered for everyone at the workplace
? Effect on employee relations and team morale
? Poor performance and loss of efficiency
? Lateness and absenteeism
? Unpleasant effects on company image and customer relations.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, it’s the responsibilty of company directors to take into account, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees. A director could be prosecuted if he deliberately allowed an employee under the influence of drugs and/or excessive alcohol to continue working whilst placing the employee or others at risk. Likewise, employees are also responsible to take sensible care of themselves and others who could be affected by what they perform. Eg: If you’re working in a transport industry, The Transport and Works Act 1992 makes it a criminal offence for certain employees to be unfit through drink and/or drugs while working on railways, buses, tramways and other guided transport systems. The operators of the transport system would also be guilty of an offence unless they had shown all due diligence in trying to prevent such an offence being committed.

How to Deal with the Situation?
First of all, an employer should investigate whether the incident happen was a one-off, occurs on a regular basis or he/she has underlying medical conditions (eg: depression, stress). Research has shown that many employees tend to use drugs/alcohol to cope with their work-related stress.

If your employee has such medical conditions, provide a doctor consultation and confidential support through her/his problem. This could help stop the behavior.

Before a fair dismissal takes place, the employer is expected to observe the whole situation, and offer support. Care needs to be taken before taking disciplinary action.

Without any proof or reasonable grounds, employers cannot simply report an employee for a suspected criminal offence. Such action could result in an employee claiming constructive or unfair dismissal.
Read the rest of this entry »

An ideal lawyer will not just have a string of impressive credentials or gold lettering on his door. He or she will be caring, concerned, and devoted to their work. You need to think carefully before laying your trust in a lawyer after all in some cases your life, future, money or property will be in his hands.

Apart from doing extensive research to short list possible lawyers you must ensure that there is not conflict of interest, that you understand everything the retainer agreement states, and that you have checked the references and details regarding the practice.

You will know the lawyer you have chosen is the perfect one if:

1. He makes an effort to spend time to understand your case himself. He will not assign a legal assistant to take facts of the case down.

2. From experience and knowledge he will know what is relevant and what is not. He will set aside and ignore irrelevant facts, opinions, and personal emotions that cloud the case on hand.

3. He will insist that the footwork for the case be done thoroughly. All facts must be checked for accuracy and solid arguments jotted down with backing of earlier rulings.

4. He will not just focus on the problem at hand but examine the problem from all sides. This will create a complete picture highlighting all factors of relevance and the different ways one can approach the case.

5. He will use his foresight and anticipate moves by the opposition or opinions of the jury or judge and plan way ahead. Like a master chess player he will plan the case not by the day but by many hearings ahead.

6. He will not waste time beating around the bush or create verbose statements—many words strung together which look impressive but mean nothing. He will insist that the case and its arguments be clearly stated.

7. He will be self-disciplined, thorough, and self confident. Courteous at all times he will respect you as well as all the staff who work for him.
Read the rest of this entry »