A wrongful termination case filed by a former aide against the co-founder of Broadcom Corporation billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III was recently dismissed by the Orange County Superior Court jury.

The suit, which was filed last February 2009, alleged the Katherine Nichols was fired from her job after she testified in a federal investigation involving Nicholas. She previously worked at The Management Co., which is partially owned by Nicholas from
June 2007 to June 2008. Subsequently, the charges against Nicholas for federal securities fraud and drug distribution were dropped.

The jury however, in a vote of nine to three, decided against Nichols’ wrongful termination claim. Neither will the ex-aide receive any damages for her lawsuit as the termination of her employment appeared not to be based on her involvement and testimony in the federal investigation but on her failure to show up for work for at least two months.

Oftentimes, when an employee is fired from his job, the employee would often feel that it’s unfair or that his rights have been abused. While bitterness is a natural reaction to termination, there are certain instances when an employee can be considered to be illegally dismissed.

An employee can rightfully file a wrongful termination claim against his employer if he was fired because of discrimination based on his/her sex, race, color, religion, and disability; in violation or breach of his employment contract; or in violation of public policy (i.e. availing of FMLA benefits).

While most employers would anchor their defenses on “at-will employment” thus terminating an employee can be done at will and for any reason, the above-mentioned reasons are illegal and would constitute wrongful termination.

Also, aside from discrimination, breach of contract, and violation of public policy, an employee can also be considered illegally dismissed if he/she was fired because of retaliation, in contravention of implied contract and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealings.

But just like Nichols’ case, wrongful termination can be difficult to prove and oftentimes, it’s the employee’s word against the employer. Thus, it is very important to hire an expert employment attorney to assess your claim and handle your case. They would be able to determine, through documents and interviews in preparing your case, whether or not your claim would prosper. Otherwise, if there was too little groundwork later on in a trial, your whole case can collapse because of any evidence that might defeat your claim.

What’s the price for pregnancy discrimination?

Quite a huge sum actually the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has obtained $16.8 million worth of monetary benefits from pregnancy discrimination charges in 2009 alone.

Recently, Brandi Cochran, a former model for the long-time running game show “The Price Is Right” has sued the show for pregnancy discrimination.

In her lawsuit, Cochran claimed that as far back as 2007, she experienced harassment and stress over her pregnancy – when she suffered a miscarriage, a producer allegedly told her that it was nature’s way of getting rid of a bad baby.

When she became pregnant with twins again in 2008, a producer reacted negatively to the news and that another producer made a derogatory comment about a “wide load coming through” when she walked past.

She eventually lost her job after experiencing complications from her pregnancy and had to be on disability.

Under the law, employers are prohibited from treating women less favorably (harassment and termination) because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Likewise, a pregnant employee who is unable to perform her jobs because of her condition should be treated the same as a temporarily disabled employee.

However, harassment and discrimination still continue to persist against pregnant employees. All too often, employers see them as a “liability” because of their condition despite the fact that pregnancy is as natural and biological as one’s skin color, disability and gender.

Pregnancy harassment in the workplace is any physical, verbal, or written conduct that is unwelcome and offensive. Examples include demeaning comments, offensive jokes or gestures, pictures or sketches that related to pregnancy which can create a hostile work environment.

Pregnant employees who are discriminated and harassed on the basis of their condition have a right to file a complaint against an employer who has made her work conditions adverse or at the worst case scenario, fired her because of her pregnancy.

However, it should be noted that there are certain requirements in filing a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. Legal experts, particularly employment lawyers should be consulted first before filing a claim to serve as a guide through the whole process.

“Live fast, die young.”

For 21-year old John Avinger who is driving his Cadillac SRX at a high rate of speed, the proverb was proved to be tragically true.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Avinger lost control of his car while driving fast at the carpool lane and he veered across all lanes before striking the sound wall along the on-ramp.

The crash sent the car flipping over and the driver got ejected and was killed immediately. A 20-year old passenger, Brandon Baker survived the crash with moderate facial trauma and lacerations and was taken to the Western Medical Center.

The CHP is still investigating the cause of the crash.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more men die in motor vehicle crashes compared to women and usually because men engage in more risky driving behavior such as not wearing a seatbelt, speeding and drunk-driving.

Although the cause of the crash is still under investigation, all three may have been a factor in the fatal crash which killed Avinger. He also happened to belong to the age group of male drivers (21-24 years old) who had the highest fatality rate.

Speeding alone is already a leading cause of car crashes but if you add alcohol and immaturity to the mix, the consequences are often fatal. Wearing a seatbelt may have been the only thing that could have saved Avinger’s life but failing that, he got thrown out of the vehicle and killed.

Drunk, speeding or reckless and/or negligent drivers can be held liable for any injuries incurred by the other party who got in involved in an accident.

Drivers, when they drive, owe a duty of care in operating their vehicle and the violation of DUI laws and speeding laws often places the presumption of negligence upon the drunk or speeding driver.

Living fast may seem exciting but usually, the risks that comes along with it is not worth losing your life over.

Escalator accidents do happen more often than you think, just ask the fans of Disney star Selena Gomez.

According to TMZ, several fans of Gomez, who trooped to Emerald Square Mall in Massachusetts to catch a glimpse of the star, were involved in an escalator accident.

It was reported that the escalator abruptly stopped and some even claimed it started going backwards fast which sent several young fans flying.

Police and firefighters assisted dozens of fans who fell down and five people were injured. Three of them were taken to the hospital for medical attention.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were as much as 11,000 escalator accidents in 2007. Majority of escalator accident injuries are caused by falls but 10 percent are caused by hands, feet or shoes that get trapped in escalators.

Most escalator accident victims are children and several have lost limbs or have gotten killed because a shoe, clothes, scarves, and shoelaces have gotten stuck in gaps in the escalator.

5-year old Kerriana Johnson from Florida was awarded millions of dollars worth of damages after she lost three fingers when her hand got sucked into a gap in the store’s escalator.

Defective, poorly maintained, or badly designed escalators cause thousands of injuries yearly. Most of these could have been avoided had the dangerous conditions of escalators been remedied or repaired.

Under the law, the owner of the property where the escalator is situated or the manufacturer of the escalator can be held liable for injuries or deaths suffered by passengers of the escalator.

A personal injury lawsuit can be filed by the victim against the establishment or company whose defective escalator caused the injury.

In San Francisco, two major pedestrian accidents occurred in a single day, one of which was fatal.

The fatal pedestrian accident occurred in the area of Ocean and Miramar avenues near City College while a female pedestrian survived with serious injuries after a collision with a Muni Railway 9-San Bruno bus at San Bruno Avenue and Burrows Street.

Oakland City on the other hand, also had a fatal pedestrian accident when a 45-year-old woman was killed by a hit and run driver while crossing the intersection.

Pedestrian car crash fatalities account for nearly 12 percent of all motor vehicle deaths and while the percentage may seem insignificant, as many as 4,378 people died from vehicle accidents in 2008. Also, 20 percent of these pedestrian deaths are from hit and run crashes.

In a study by the Insurance Institute Highway Safety, it was revealed that pedestrians were more likely to be at fault in collision accidents.

However, while some drivers are let off scot-free from pedestrian crashes, there are several instances wherein they can be both held criminally and civilly liable for pedestrian accident injuries or death. Here are some examples:

• The driver was violating a law (traffic lights or speed limit) when the accident occurred.
• The driver was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Distracted driving such as texting or talking on one’s cell phone.
• Road rage incidents wherein the driver deliberately hurts the pedestrian or uses his vehicle as a weapon.
• Hit and run accidents.

Under the following scenarios mentioned, the driver is deemed negligent and the pedestrian or in case of death, his family may sue the driver for damages.

Every driver, upon receipt of his license, has the duty and responsibility to exercise due care and diligence on the road, especially towards pedestrians.

A breach of this duty will give rise to civil liability wherein the injured pedestrian may rightfully claim compensation for his medical expenses as well as loss of wages, pain and suffering he endured as a result of the accident.