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Archive for January, 2010
The Product Was Marketed as Safe, but It Harmed Me
Even though there are some products on the market that are supposed to be safe, they might harm you. Consumer protection laws protect you.
It’s pretty much a given that at some point in time, some manufacturer will put something on the market and it turns out to be dangerous or defective and causes someone serious harm, or kills them. There are countless examples of these kinds of items that range from children’s cadmium filled jewelry to the Prius recall.
So what protects consumers like you and me from these products? The short answer is consumer protection laws. In a nutshell, these laws are government regulations that protect you and me, which isn’t to say that we may still not be harmed by a dangerous product, but with these regulations, we have a way to hold the manufacturer accountable.
When it comes to public health and safety, these particular laws may actually mandate that businesses roll out all the information they have about the various products they make and distribute. The area that most people are familiar with is food and drugs. No doubt you will immediately know the name Food and Drugs Administration otherwise referred to as the FDA. It only makes good sense that drugs are heavily regulated, although in some cases, regulations or not, harm still comes to consumers by taking the drugs.
It should go without saying that consumer rights are directly tied to consumer protection. After all, as consumers of the goods that are produced for the marketplace, we have various rights that can’t be trampled on by companies making items for our consumption. You’ll probably know immediately that our first and primary right is to “not” be injured by something that was marketed as being safe.
If someone “is” harmed by a product, we have ways to hold them accountable. The main method is to file a defective/dangerous product lawsuit. Manufacturers must be held to a high standard if they are going to be making items that we would use on a daily basis. If we use the products because we assume they are safe – because the maker said they were – if that product harms us, we have recourse to bring them to justice.
If you have been harmed by a product that was marketed as being safe, and it wasn’t, speak to a competent personal injury attorney to find out what your rights are. Keep in mind that just because a product didn’t work like it was supposed to work does not mean it is defective or dangerous. This is something to need to discuss with a seasoned attorney.
Seth Wilburn writes for the Gomez Law Group, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit Gomezlawyers.com.
Life Altering Personal Injury Fall May Land in Court
Construction site are notorious places for personal injury accidents. This case was no exception.
“This particular accident that we heard about recently caused some very serious life altering injuries. In fact, one worker may have suffered a traumatic brain injury and be unable to work again. The other one sustained a broken hip and arm,” recounted Seth Wilburn, of the Gomez Law Group in Dallas.
The story behind these injuries took place when scaffolding two workers were perched on while performing their duties collapsed suddenly. The incident mobilized two air ambulances after the men fell to the sidewalk at a shopping center on which they were working. The job was refurbishing the front façade of the center when the 12 foot high scaffolding plummeted to the ground and threw the men up into the air.
From eyewitness reports obtained by the police, it appeared that the scaffolding in front of the mall didn’t look like it was installed in a safe manner. It was propped up on cinder blocks and bricks. “An arrangement like that would definitely not be in compliance with Occupational Health and Safety regulations,” added Wilburn. One worker appeared to have sustained a traumatic brain injury and the other a broken arm and hip. The men were airlifted to hospital where they were treated for their injuries.
Evidently neither of the men on the scaffold was wearing any type of safety equipment and that meant there were no hard hats and no safety harness to prevent falls. It’s certain that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration will be on site to conduct a full investigation.
In this case, both workers should be able to file personal injury lawsuits against their employer and recover damages for their injuries. “In the case of the worker with traumatic brain injury (TBI), this case may result in a significant award due to the nature of TBI and the fact that injuries of this nature tend to alter people’s lives completely,” explained Wilburn, of the Gomez Law Group in Dallas.
There is no doubt that both of these cases would be long and complex due to the number of issues involved, not the least of which is the workers were not wearing and safety gear. Whether this was because the employer did not provide it or they chose not to wear it, there is the question of negligence to be dealt with in instances like this.
For people who have been involved in an accident that has totally destroyed life as they once knew it, speak to a seasoned Dallas personal injury attorney and find out how to proceed to justice.
Gomez Law Group is a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit http://www.gomezlawyers.com.
Workplace Harassment Illegal
Being harassed in the workplace is illegal. It doesn’t get any clearer than that.
Most people work for someone else and earn a paycheck. While they might not really care for their job, it does pay the bills and allows people to save a few dollars now and then. Whether or not you like your job has a great deal to do with the workplace environment. Under a lot of stress? Then you may want to rethink just what you’re doing there.
Every workplace has its own culture and sub-culture; call it cliques if you will. If you aren’t part of one of those “groups” then you may find yourself on the outs with a large segment of the people you work with; people who may conspire to make your life at work really miserable. This isn’t a soap opera, although it may sound like one, and happens daily across the nation in thousands of businesses. While it’s not very professional, people still tend to indulge in behavior like this. As a Dallas employment lawyer, I have seen many examples of this over my years of practice.
You might be able to ignore some of the drama, but the reality is that you have to work with these people. And, another reality is that humans play favorites and don’t always like others they work with, which often leads to disrespect in the office. If one person has a hate on for you and gets others to feel the same way, this is a conspiracy and usually leads to harassment.
Harassment makes the person on the receiving end of such activity feel threatened, persecuted and unsafe. It then becomes a tool to make someone stick out like a sore thumb. If the whole idea was to get rid of the person because there weren’t adequate grounds to fire them, this route often will do the job and force the employee into resigning.
If you’re currently in a situation like this and aren’t sure if there is anything you are able to do about it, make it a point to speak to a seasoned Dallas employment lawyer and get the straight goods on what your rights are.
Seth Wilburn writes for the Gomez Law Group, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit Gomezlawyers.com
Employment at Will in Texas Has Exceptions
There are some exceptions to employment at will in Texas. Knowing what they are may come in handy.
“In my line of work I get phone calls all the time from people that have just been let go from their jobs. The first question they always ask is if the employer has the right to do that. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, yes, the employer can do that and does,” explained Seth Wilburn, of the Gomez Law Group, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer.
Employers can fire people in Texas because they can. That’s because Texas is known as an “employment at will” state. This isn’t great news for a lot of people, but it is what it is. At will employment means that unless there is an employment contract, you may be fired at any time. On the other hand, you may quit anytime too with or without a reason. This provision cuts both ways, but as with a lot of things dealing with the law, there are some exceptions.
For example, no one may be fired for refusing to do something illegal. If an employee refuses to sell what they know to be a defective product to someone, knowing it will cause them harm, they can’t lose their job. While it might not be a grand place to work after that incident, their job is still protected. “No one in Texas can be let go because of their age either. There’s a Federal law that says it’s illegal to discriminate against anyone if they’re over 39-years old,” added Wilburn, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer.
One of the other more interesting exceptions deals with, of all things, refusing to take a lie detector test. “There is actually a Federal law that prohibits an employer from asking a worker or prospective employee to take a lie detector test, which doesn’t apply if the request is related to an investigation into a theft, etc.,” commented Wilburn. If nothing else, the law in this area is rather interesting and challenging.
Are there instances where existing laws conflict with one another? “Oh you bet there are and in cases like that we try to give a reasonably probable reply; a good news versus bad news scenario. Let’s take a quick example. If someone was fired for voicing their opinion about something, then that may have violated their freedom of speech. On the other hand, if that opinion dealt with racial issues and was directed at a person of color, the employer has every right to fire the person,” concluded Wilburn.
For those who were let go from their employment and don’t know why, it’s a good idea to speak to a skilled Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer.
Gomez Law Group is a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit http://www.gomezlawyers.com.