The Dangerous Effects Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless gas produced by the incomplete burning of material containing carbon. You can’t see it, smell it or taste it but carbon monoxide can cause serious illness or death. It has been referred to many times as the “silent killer” and is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that CO poisoning claims nearly 500 lives, and causes more than 15,000 visits to hospital emergency departments every year in the U.S.

To be sure, this odorless, tasteless and colorless gas is ruthless. Your exposure to CO would quickly result in one or more symptoms including headache, nausea and fatigue. The deadly gas goes undetected in a home without a proper CO detector, and if the people exposed to it do not know of its existence in their environment a proper diagnosis is problematic. Further, CO poisoning can be notoriously difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic those of other conditions, notably the flu. Children, pregnant women, babies and individuals with heart conditions are at most risk but CO poisoning can affect anyone. Prolonged exposure can lead to brain damage and ultimately death.

Sources of CO

Some sources of carbon monoxide include gas water heaters, kerosene space heaters, charcoal grills, propane heaters and stoves, gasoline- and diesel-powered generators, cigarette smoke, propane-fueled forklifts, gas-powered concrete saws, indoor races or tractor pulls, boat engines, spray paint, solvents, degreasers and paint removers. Although CO results from when any material burns, more is produced when there is insufficient oxygen for fully efficient combustion. And, yes, cigarette smoke, including the second-hand variety, contains CO, although in an insufficient concentration to do immediate damage. Given enough time, of course, even small amounts of CO can build to dangerous levels in the bloodstream.

The danger comes from improperly vented appliances and machinery such as those listed above, especially ones that run for extended periods of time near human habitation. Such continuous exposure can lead to flu-like symptoms, as noted previously, but would keep escalating into more severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness and nausea. As toxic levels are approached, a victim may experience mental confusion, severe irritability, impaired judgment, memory loss and lack of coordination.

Treatment and prevention

The fastest and most effective way to begin treating the effects of CO poisoning is to relocate affected people (and pets) to open, fresh air away from the source of the gas immediately.  At an emergency room, someone suffering from acute CO poisoning will be given pure oxygen to breathe, which speeds up the excretion of the gas from the blood. More serious cases may require a special treatment known as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). This therapy can significantly improve the chances of survival and reduce the risk of further damage to the body. HBOT elevates the amount of oxygen in the body to about ten times normal levels by placing the victim inside a hyperbaric (higher than atmospheric pressure) chamber. Most of the developed world’s hospitals are now equipped with this lifesaving technology.

The best way for you and your loved ones to avoid the “silent killer” is to be educated on how and why CO poisoning occurs. Also, if you live in an environment that includes any of the CO sources mentioned above, you should take the appropriate action to repair any leaks or malfunctions in them. Of course, installing CO detectors in your home and place of business, and maintaining them with fresh batteries, is a powerful preventative step, as well. If you do not think ahead and follow a thorough anti-CO strategy, you are most definitely putting yourself, your family, your friends and neighbors, and your employees at great risk.

Robert P. Schuster, P.C., has achieved its reputation as a law firm by winning big cases—in jury trials and in settlements. He has a national reputation for success in representing his clients in cases including carbon monoxide poisoning, business torts, intellectual property, commercial litigation and brain injury.

How to Become a Student in the US

You’ve finished school. You’ve got your whole future ahead of you. Lots of questions. Lots of possible answers. One possibility is to continue your studies in the US. But how do you go about it? What steps do you take to ensure that your American educational experience is a success?

Choosing a School

The first thing you have to consider is which US school is right for you. The American secondary educational system is extensive, offering everything from professional certificates to doctoral degrees. There are schools of every size, from small, private institutions to large, bustling state university campuses. The choices seem limitless.

Your first decision to make is your course of study. Determining what you want your future career to be will help determine what sort of school you need to attend. Can you acquire your education at a trade or vocational school? Do you need an Associates, Bachelor’s or even higher degree? Once you’ve determined the type of educational institution to attend, you’ll have to decide to which school you send your application for admission. If possible, do some research, especially among the school’s international student community. Just because a school is considered to be prestigious in one or two areas does not mean that all of its programs are just as strong. Weaknesses are inevitable. Make sure your program of interest is considered one of the best the school has to offer. If not, choose another school. Community attitudes are also something to consider. You don’t want to place yourself in an unfriendly atmosphere, on or off campus.

Each school also has its own admission requirements. Contact the school you are interested in to ensure that the information you have is up-to-date and accurate. Research other schools, too, in addition to just one. Many large colleges and universities receive numerous applications but accept very few new students, while other schools accept nearly everyone who applies. Spare the heartache of being rejected by having an alternative second choice already picked out.

Obtaining Your Student Visa

You’ve been selected by the school of your choice. Now, how to you go about getting here? You must first apply for a student visa. A visa allows you to travel to a US port-of-entry and apply to the immigration officer there for entry into the country. It does not guarantee entry will be given, but it is the next step in your US academic success. There are several different types of US student visas – the F – 1, the J – 1, and the M – 1.

The F-1 visa is for students studying at an accredited US college or university, or studying English at a college or university, or attending an English language course at an intensive language institution. It is the most common student visa applied for and granted to foreign students.
The J – 1 type student visa is for those who are participating in a student exchange program. It allows you to trade places with an American student for a specified period of time.

The M – 1 student visa is for those pursuing technical or vocational, but not academic, education in the United States. Nonacademic programs offer educational opportunities for students wishing to pursue careers that do not require academic degrees. Many are certificate or diploma programs.

Whichever type of visa you determine you will need, you’ll need a form from your chosen college or institution, either an I-20 or a DS-209. These forms state your entry qualification as an accepted and enrolled student in a US school. You’ll also need to schedule and complete a visa interview at the embassy or consulate nearest you. Since acquiring the appropriate form and interview can take some time, it is essential that you begin well in advance of the start of your courses. You cannot enter the US more than 30 days before the start of your classes, but it still better to be completely ready to arrive than to chance being late or even hurried.

Your First Weeks as a US Student

You’ll want to arrive early enough to settle in, making your dorm or apartment a comfortable, pleasant place to live. First year students, no matter how fervently engaged in learning and social activities, tend to experience feelings of loneliness, homesickness and culture shock. Creating a warm, inviting, safe place to come home to at the end of a bad day is important to both your mental and emotional state.

You’ll also want to acquaint yourself with the campus and the community surrounding it, whether New York City or a small town in rural America. Being familiar with campus will help you navigate buildings and classrooms, easing some of the anxieties often associated with new environments. Getting to know your school’s community can offer you new and exciting cultural experiences as you get to hear, see, smell, taste and touch “real America.” You may find a haven away from the hustle and bustle of campus, or a religious or cultural center that can make you feel a little closer to home.

Most large US colleges and universities have social groups specifically for foreign students. Some are culture or language specific, while others may just offer the company of other students far from home These groups or clubs can be excellent places to meet and socialize, especially if your language skills make socializing with English speaking student uncomfortable.

Keeping a journal, scrapbook or photo album will create an invaluable memoir of your time spent in the US as a student. Begin early, taking photos or writing journal entries from your first day. Not only will they serve to preserve memories you may otherwise forget, they can offer a record of your journey, from being a “stranger in a strange land” to a confident, comfortable “citizen of the world” upon graduation.

Power Visa.com is an online, full-service immigration lawyer to help with your immigration needs. Visit them online today.

What to Expect From Jury Duty

Let’s face it, no one likes getting a jury duty request. The first sign that you will heading down the bureaucratic path is when you receive a letter in the mail regarding a trial date and time that you’re expected to arrive. Your name can end up on the prospective juror list if it’s in one or more databases, including voter registrations, utility bills, driver’s licenses and property tax rolls. Regardless of your situation and how you ended up getting “called for jury duty,” there are certain criteria that must be met and answers that must be filed with the court clerk before you arrive in the courtroom.

When you get your letter, there will be a set of instructions with it. It really will pay you in the long run to (a) keep this letter, (b) read it carefully and (c) do what it tells you. There are now fines and other civil penalties that can be meted out if you ignore the letter, which is, in point of fact, a legal summons. Be sure to check the due date on the card, and note that (in many locales) the first thing you must do is call a specified phone number and check in. If there is no reason that you cannot serve, you will be told to show at the appointed time and place.

Exemptions and exclusions

If, after reading the instructions, you see that you are not required to serve, you will have to fill a form and mail it in. There is a section to fill out for individuals that have legitimate excuses to miss jury duty. Of course, there are no longer very many reasons that the court will accept. All of the exemption options available to you will be listed on the letter’s questionnaire.

If you have been convicted of a felony, are a sworn peace officer currently on active duty, are in the military (with certain exceptions) or are the sole support and care for an elderly or disabled person, you will be disqualified from service in most states. Again, if you have determined that you are not eligible for an excused absence, you are normally expected to call a phone number on the letter to confirm the specific time and place of your jury duty.

Going to court

If you are selected to be in a pool of potential jurors, you will need to arrive on time, without fail. Being a little bit early never hurts, but being even a bit late can get you in hot water. Missing the appointment entirely will result in a bench warrant being issued in some states and counties. When you finally do get to the right place, there will typically be a court officer (bailiff, sheriff, clerk) that will hand you a form to complete with your name and various other types of information that the court needs.

This information you supply will be combined with other data and used to help select the final panel of jurors that will be seated for the trial. Once the officer has collected each form, the judge is then informed that the potential jurors have been “prepped” and they will then be taken into the courtroom.

From Rome to Britain to America

Defense attorneys are present in the courtroom when the “jury pool” arrives, and defendants may or may not be depending upon a number of legal circumstances. In criminal trials, the plaintiff is a prosecutor for the state or county in which the crime was committed, with the case being filed by the district attorney’s office in most jurisdictions. The judge will brief those present in court, including any spectators or media in the gallery, about the case and then the jury selection begins.

“Voir dire” (vwahr deer) is a phrase in law that derives from an Anglo-Norman corruption of the Latin phrase “verum dicere” (to tell the truth). It refers to the process whereby attorneys for both sides, the plaintiff/prosecution and the defense, ask questions of potential jurors to determine their suitability for open-minded, even-handed deliberations. As each name is called, attorneys from both sides will ask the individuals certain questions about themselves and their beliefs, as well as things pertaining to the case. This is the only way to determine if that person will be a suitable choice for the final jury that is “impaneled” to hear the case.

Civic duty can cost you

If you are chosen as a juror, your service is required as a prospective juror for a minimum of one day. In most every jurisdiction the court will tell you to be prepared to remain the entire day. You will typically be advised that, if sworn in as a juror, your jury service will continue until the trial is complete, with the average trial nationwide taking from three days to one week. However, you cannot know in advance how long your service will be. This can present some problems for working people, students and parents of small children.

Some employers will reimburse employees for jury duty time, while others will not. The “per diem” (daily payment) from courts ranges from zero in some states to $15 in California, commencing on the second day of the trial (the first one is always free, as the old saying goes). You will no longer be excused for financial hardship in most states, so get a babysitter for the kids, use up your vacation time and figure out a way to make up for the loss of pay. The fact is, juries are one of a free nation’s best bulwarks against tyranny in government, and everyone should be willing to serve when called.

Robert P. Schuster, P.C., has achieved its reputation as a law firm by winning big cases—in jury trials and in settlements. He has a national reputation for success in representing his clients in cases including intellectual property, business torts, brain injury and commercial litigation

Hiring A Private Investigator vs. Do-It-Yourself Investigating

The interesting thing about posing this question is that most people think they are qualified to answer it, although they aren’t. The fact is, most people do not know what detectives, whether on the police force or “for hire,” really do in an investigation, and what sorts of skills are required. It is certainly nothing like you see on TV.

Of course, you would not do much murder investigating, even if one happened in your family. You would probably leave the burglary capers to the police, too. Private investigators can certainly look into those matters for you, but the bulk of a private eye’s work involves finding people and identifying their whereabouts, their actions – and, of course, their assets. This is why the great majority of private eyes make the great majority of their money on divorces and civil matters, not criminal investigations.

Private eye or DIY?

Private investigations can be difficult for even the most experienced professional. Private investigators have been helping people “get the skinny,” or the truth, in all types of situations. Whether it’s a company investigating a string of warehouse thefts, a spouse that suspects her significant other of cheating or a case of a disappearing investment advisor (these are on the rise), private investigations can be quite challenging and time-consuming. There are certain tricks of the trade that you must learn, and there is no substitute for on-the-job training.

There will always be a huge difference between a real “PI” and a do-it-yourselfer (DIY’er). But if you reduce the tasks to their simplest components, there are a number of basic matters that you could investigate, or begin investigating, without hiring a professional right away. With the Internet, you can check many databases, including those of government agencies and various industries, to help you in the one undertaking in which you just might make some progress on your own, namely, locating people who don’t want to be found.

Tools and tricks

Private investigation has changed tremendously over the past few decades. As opposed the “old days” of the “gumshoe” where a PI would follow a wayward wife around town with a camera and try to catch them in an adulterous act, PI’s now are highly trained, skilled professionals. Whether they are former police officers or crime lab technicians, or like many others took law and/or accounting courses (like FBI agents), they did what was necessary to get an “education for investigation.”

Trying to conduct an investigation without the required skills will yield poor results. This is where many of the DIY’ers make their first, and most catastrophic, error. They think that a few web searches and a $19.95 online background check is “investigating.” This, of course, is silly. So, even in the one type of investigation in which DIY’ers could be successful, the personal search, there are twists, turns, shortcuts and time-wasters all along the way. There are precious few things other than experience that can make a beginner a veteran.

Danger and other high costs

There is also a tremendous amount of danger that PI’s can get themselves into. Some of them will face life and death circumstances. These days, however, many private investigators are not acting under that title alone, and hold badges in law enforcement. This allows them to protect themselves to the fullest extent. However, among the 50 states there are various laws regulating, or outright prohibiting, sworn peace officers from working as private detectives, security staff or bodyguards.

With danger being an equal opportunity employer, and something that any PI might face in a thousand different ways, the “DIY detective gig” might become something of a magnet for those who want to become vigilantes for justice. Fortunately, most states have licensing procedures in place that will limit the number of “John Waynes” that are allowed to flash badges and carry concealed weapons while in the employ of a private citizen.

Back to basics

Not only can private investigation be dangerous and daunting, it is also very time consuming. Private investigators dedicate their every waking hour to the completion of whatever case they happen to be on. PI work is difficult for the professional and amateur alike, but deciding how much to “bite off” should be simple for the DIY’er. The answer would range from “none” to “not much,” at least until you develop the basic online search skills, plus learn how to get information over the phone, by mail, via e-mail or in person from the myriad local, county, state and federal bureaucrats that man the barricades in the government offices that are chock full of answers.

It’s very important to consider all of the costs, in terms of money, time and danger, which conducting an investigation entails. Invest some research time into the fine points of, say, “skip tracing” and you will discover that it’s not as easy as it might have seemed on television. Then, when confronted with a problem that needs some detective work – nothing criminal, of course – you should be able to see a clear line between what you can handle yourself and what you need help to do. It should not bother you in the least that the latter group will be much larger than the former, as it is that way with most everything. After all, you can only be an expert at so much, so get help when you need it. The trick is knowing when to do that, and it’s always better to err on the side of caution and ask for help than to charge ahead and lose your head!

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Understanding What ‘Bad Faith’ is

“Bad faith” laws are state laws that seek to penalize insurance companies for denying, delaying or withholding payments or other benefits to policyholders that file legitimate claims covered by valid policies. Some industry observers argue that the reason there is no federal legislation in this area is because of the size and strength of the insurance industry, and its powerful lobbyists and political allies. Be that as it may, it is important to deal with the reality of bad faith law, and understanding what “bad faith” is, and how it is defined by the 50 states that establish its limits and liabilities, is crucial to dealing effectively with an intransigent insurer.

Many state laws are based, in whole or part, on legislation researched, argued over and passed in other states, so there really are not 50 “unique” state laws. Certainly they embody differences, even some major ones, yet they all still share more than a few important characteristics. Generally speaking, fiduciary relationships – which insurance policies create between people (and/or their companies) and insurers by dint of the premiums being paid and promises being made – require the parties to both act in good faith and uphold any obligations they have agreed to, and/or have been paid for. Some states get more specific in their bad faith legislation, in effect admonishing insurance companies to act, and be able prove that they are acting, in the best interest of policyholders.

Interests and duties

Some state bad faith laws list specific “duties” that an insurance company must fulfill. Insurers are instructed to “look for coverage” if policyholders make honest claims, instead of seeking ways to deny them. In accordance with other “good faith” and “fair dealings” principles and practices, bad faith law might also require insurance companies to settle claims one way or another in a specified time frame, in some states, or a “reasonable” amount of time, in others. The judicial systems of many states, of course, establish these time frames in a manner more de facto than de jure, but the parties to any particular state’s procedures will know how the system works. The proceedings benefit greatly from their transparency, too.

Bad faith laws require insurers, in all dealings with policyholders, to cooperate fully, respond promptly answer questions completely. This means, in practice, that insurance companies must tell policyholders the precise reason(s) that a claim or benefit is being denied. In doing this, the companies are also required to cite the specific policy provisions on which its adjusters based their decisions. Bad faith law does much more than encourage or persuade insurance companies to act responsibly, fairly, honestly and in a timely manner in all policyholder affairs. It compels them to do so, quite simply, and has various ways to punish them when they do not.

Bad faith recourses

If they suffer damages at the hands of their insurance companies, policyholders are empowered under bad faith laws to seek relief with a personal injury (tort) lawsuit. If an insurance company is found to have acted in bad faith, it can be ordered to pay the policyholder the full amount of the original claim plus any losses resulting from that initial benefits denial. In fact, some bad faith laws have provisions whereby an insurer can be forced to pay punitive damages on top of the claim settlement. Like any other punitive judgment, this is supposed to send a strong message to other firms that may have unfair practices, as well as deter the wrongdoer from repeating the proscribed behavior. The aim of the law, of course, is to obtain justice for the wronged parties, in this case honest policyholders who have been, in point of fact, robbed of their benefits and claims payments.

It is helpful to think of bad faith laws as part of the enlightened consumer protection legislation that is a hallmark of advanced societies. However, so as not to be abused and manipulated, these laws are subject to the same kinds of limitations as other civil and criminal proceedings. The statute of limitations for these bad faith laws – the time period in which policyholders can file bad faith claims – varies from state to state. It may also vary within a state, due to differences in the way cases are presented, specific features of the company or the policy, the nature of the claim and the severity of the alleged action or (inaction). There are no “unimportant details” in any modern legal proceeding, and bad faith law can be as confusing and difficult as any other. Remember, too, that bad faith cases pit ordinary citizens against huge, billion-dollar corporations with expensive attorneys (good ones, too), so this is an area where you really must avail yourself of top lawyers specializing in the field.

When the insurance companies refuse to give you what you paid for – Abourez Law will be there.  Our lawyers that handle insurance bad faith will help make sure you get the claim you’re entitled to.