2011 August | Los Angeles Top Attorneys Blog: (310) 826-6300

Is Social Security Disability Program Really Broke?

Aug 23

Los Angeles LawyerSocial Security, social security disability social security disability No Comments

News about the Social Security disability program going bankrupt is cause for alarm to many disability claimants and applicants.

But what is the real story?

A report by the Washington Post said the Social Security disability program is on the verge of insolvency as it is currently being swept by the “flood of benefit claims” filed by laid-off workers and baby boomers.

This current situation is blamed mostly on the large number of claims which, over the years, resulted in the growing backlog of cases that took mostly years to be resolved. Further, it has contributed to the worsening problem of a federal program that has been financially strapped over the years.

What caused this problem?

The US Congress has estimated that Social Security disability trust fund will run out by 2917 and would be unable to pay full benefits to claimants. Together with the retirement program, the combined fund would run out of money in 2038.

Disability Discrimination, Retaliation and other Employment Claims

Aug 19

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Labor law, Sexual Harrassment, employment discrimination disability discrimination, Los Angeles employment and labor law attorneys No Comments

Disability is often determined on a case to case basis. Based on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition, to be considered disabled, one must be substantially limited by his condition or disability and because of this, the employee cannot work or unable to perform his duties in a broad range of jobs. However, a disability that only affects an employee’s ability to perform a few specific jobs is not covered by the ADA definition.

Therefore, an employee cannot be presumed disabled unless his condition is evaluated and certified by a doctor. Similarly, it is illegal for an employer to simply say that an employee is disabled based on certain assumptions or allegations.

Derogatory Remarks as a Form of Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Aug 18

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Sexual Harrassment los angeles employent and labor law attorneys, sex discrimination, sexual harassment No Comments

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination which, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), may include the following acts:

• unwelcome sexual advances
• requests for sexual favors
• other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature

All these acts “ constitute sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.”

5 Fastest Roads in the US: What Slowing Down Speeding Violators?

Aug 16

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury, Vehicle Accident, Vehicle Rollover Crash, Wrongful Death Claim Los Angeles vehicle accident attorneys, motor vehicle accidents No Comments

If you think citation tickets or fatal crashes can deter reckless motorists from racing through roads, think again.
It’s neither the penalty nor the fatality that can slow down over-speeding violators –-it’s the economy.
Unbelievable, but true. According to INRX, a company that provides traffic data used in GPS, high gas prices, poor economy and high unemployment rates have kept young drivers – those who tend to speed and engage in risky road behavior – off the road.

INRIX has also recorded the fastest car on the fastest road in the US which clocked in at 94 mph in Arizona’s Route 79 between Saguaro National Park and Phoenix. The company drew information from GPS data used by nearly 5 million drivers from January to June 15 this year.

The second road where motorists are more likely to hit the gas is the Oklahoma State Highway 33 with the fastest driver going at 87 mph. California State Route 73 is next where the top speed was recorded the 85 mph in both directions between Moulton Parkway and Bear Street. Eastbound MI-5 Michigan Highway has motorists going at top speed of 83 mph while the fifth fastest road is Arizona State Route 77 where INRIX has recorded the top speed of a motorist at 81 mph.

Potential Injuries in Pedestrian Accidents

Aug 12

Los Angeles LawyerCar Accident, Vehicle Accident, motor vehicle accident, pedestrian accidents No Comments

Do you know that a pedestrian gets injured every 8 minutes while a pedestrian dies every 113 minutes?

Take the case of the male motorist who apparently hit and killed a 29-year old woman outside a Victorville nightclub early Friday morning. Reports said the incident began when a mob of patrons attacked the man who fled to his car and attempted to escape by driving his 2009 Dodge Charger.

As the suspect about to leave, two cars blocked his path and the mob threw bottles at him. The suspect accelerated in reverse and hit the victim. The victim died later from the injuries.

New Methods to Detect Employment Discrimination

Aug 10

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Employment Law, Labor law, national origin discrimination No Comments

Can erring employers escape prosecution for their discriminatory policies? Not anymore.

The announcement by the US Department of Labor on its plan to develop a new data that will be used to analyzed information regarding salaries, wages and other benefits received by employees of federal contractors and subcontractors is welcome news to everyone.

The agency said the new tool will help them gather data to detect discrepancies which are often indicators of discrimination such as disparity in pay faced by female and minority workers.

Liability of Employer in Car Accidents

Aug 05

Los Angeles LawyerCar Accident, Personal Injury, motor vehicle accident motor vehicle liability, vehicle accidents No Comments

Drivers of company vehicles who get involved in vehicle accidents can held liable together with their employers when the accident results in injury or harm to other persons.

Under general negligence theories and “respondeat superior”, employers and their employees can be held liable for accidents caused by their employees during the course of their duty and while operating company vehicles.

This concept in motor vehicle liability can be applied in the recent case involving Google Inc and one of the automated vehicles.

According to reports, Google has admitted that one of their automated vehicles got involved in an accident but denied that the car was in automated mode, but instead being driven by a human.