Information

Is a Comma Really Worth $10 Million?

April 6, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Today, I would like to speak to you about how details are important when it comes to the practice of law. Sometimes, all it takes is one tiny little thing that can change the outcome of an entire claim.

For those who don’t know, an Oxford comma is what we also refer to as the serial comma. It is a stylistic recommendation that a comma should be used before coordinate conjunctions (usually and or or) in a series of three or more terms. This advocation exists to try and avoid ambiguity. But the world of writing seems to keep fighting a constant battle on whether this comma should be taken as a mere recommendation or something more.

The latest story comes from Maine, where a local dairy product company is facing a lawsuit for over $10 Million due in overtime hours to truck drivers, and at the heart of the dispute is the lack of this comma in a state law. In essence, the clause states that the following tasks are not eligible for overtime:

Self-Driving Cars Suspended After Uber Accident

April 4, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

California is in the forefront of the self-driving car movement. Only a few U.S. cities have these little modern wonders tooling around their streets and it will take more than the recent accident to keep them off the roads despite being suspended for a few days.

An Uber self-driving Volvo moving around Tempe, Arizona was involved in a three-vehicle wreck in March of 2017 when a driver made a left turn without being able to clearly see all lanes of oncoming traffic. The Uber approached her in the one lane she could not see and the driver crashed into it. The driver, Alexandra Cole, cited that she saw the Uber coming too late to break and struck it, sending it into a light pole, bumping into two other cars and landing on its side. The Uber was in autonomous mode but did carry two Uber employees. The company has estimated the Uber’s speed was approximately 38 mph in a 40 mph zone. No one was hurt in the accident. Uber has been operating self-driving cars in the Tempe area since December of 2016 although they have been developing the technology for a shorter time than other companies.

In response to the accident, Uber shut down its self-driving car services in Tempe, Pittsburgh and San Francisco for the whole weekend. They reopened Monday after Uber execs investigated the wreck to make sure the car was in proper working order when it was hit. The accident was determined to be Cole’s fault and she was cited.

How Insurance Agents Spot False Claims

March 12, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Insurance company statistics show more fraud occurs in down economies. As the economy gets shakier, people start to look for more and varied ways to turn some quick cash. Insurance fraud often looks like an easy payday when times get tough but the truth is, it can not only cost you some hefty fines but some jail time as well. Fraudsters believe that if their fake claims are small, they will slide by under the radar but that just isn’t true. When times get tough, insurance companies know fake claims will be on the rise. That is why they have special teams of agents with experience in law enforcement to conduct thorough investigations and sniff out false claims.

Insurance fraud is any deliberate action from a consumer, agent, company or adjuster made to obtain an unlawful financial gain. This deliberate action can happen at any juncture of the insurance process including selling, buying, using or underwriting. Insurance fraud will either be from an individual committing fraud against the consumer or against the insurance company. It is estimated that over a hundred billion dollars in false claims are made each year causing higher prices for consumers and an inability of the companies to properly compete with other companies as well as their future feasibility.

Stopping insurance fraud and even recognizing it, is harder and harder as fraudsters come up with more elaborate and efficient ways of ripping off the companies. Insurance scams occur in every realm of insurance. Workers comp fraud is rampant as well as medical and health insurance fraud. Auto insurance fraud is the most costly and prevalent. While difficult to prevent, auto insurers Special Investigative Teams have identified the most often used scams and are constantly on the look-out for them.

Agent and Insurer Scams

March 10, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

When people think of insurance scams, they usually assume it is the consumer doing the scamming. That is not always the case, however. There are a plethora of dishonest insurance agents and fake insurance companies that thrive by bilking consumers of their hard-earned cash. Scams run the gamut from misappropriation of funds to collecting premiums on fake policies without any intention or ability to pay out on claims. They will offer policies at incredibly low prices to lure unsuspecting consumers into thinking they are getting the deal of a lifetime when all along they are just getting ripped-off. Knowing their tricks and what to do when you suspect you are a victim are the best ways to prevent getting swindled.

Stolen Premiums and Lapping

Agents can steal premiums by taking them from one customer and appropriating them to a fake customers account. They are then able to steal the money from the nonexistent customer account and place it in their own pocket. They use the money to feed addictions like gambling and drugs or to better their own lifestyle with luxury goods and services. They can also steal the money you give them for premiums before it is ever credited to your account.

Waze — An App to Improve Traffic in Sacramento

March 6, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Waze is a traffic and navigation app that is crowd-sourced and aimed at making the daily commute to and from work easier. The recent Google purchase has opened up to all nine counties of the Bay Area as well as Sacramento and Monterey as of early February of 2017. Unlike Lyft or Uber, this service limits its drivers to two trips, essentially to and from work and area residents are hoping it will have a positive change on traffic and eventually curb environmental issues.

They ran a test of sorts, a pilot program, for several months beginning in 2016, part of which included partnering with several regional employers to promote the carpooling service. The app pairs users with others who live in the same area and work in the same place or places close to each other.

Using the app is simple. You are required to upload a photo, link to a LinkedIn or Facebook profile, and provide an email address and a credit card. Currently, the cost is 54 cents per mile, which is the IRS reimbursement rate for business travel by car, making this option cheaper than a cab or any other ride sharing company fee. As of yet, there is no revenue for the company but that will surely come soon.

California Legislators Vote in Gas Tax Hike

March 5, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

California roads are a mess. Traffic is ridiculous and the roads themselves are in disrepair. One reason for this is because there hasn’t been a gas tax increase in 23 years. That has changed as of now, however. After a week of brutal deliberation among conflicting interests, a plan to increase vehicle fees and gas taxes by $5.2 billion per year was approved by Legislature. The gains are to be used to repair the deteriorating bridges, roads, streets and highways of California.

The bill barely made it through the Senate on the 27-11 vote it ended with. It had 54 Assembly votes. Those are the absolute lowest numbers a bill can have in both houses and still pass. The deliberations lasted way off into the night with the Democrats of the Assembly three votes short of the two-thirds they needed at the onset. In the end, Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) was the only Assembly Democrat not to back the bill. Gov. Jerry Brown was a huge proponent of the bill saying it was necessary after not having such a tax or expense in 23 years and the logjam of over $130 million in replacement and repair projects needed throughout all of California.

Those touting the bill explained it would not just fix and maintain the roads. Many claim it will also boost the economy and make the roads safer and traffic better. The overwhelming majority state the roads are just too bad and have become a danger to the public in most places around the state. Legislative leaders had set a deadline on themselves to begin action on the bill by Thursday which is just before the spring recess.

Root Canal Gone Wrong

July 21, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

For many people, going to the dentist is something to be dreaded. Maybe it’s the worry over a dentist’s drilling or the general dislike of having someone poke around in your mouth, but most people wouldn’t mind putting off a dentist appointment as long as possible. However, dental care is essential to overall health, and you shouldn’t be skipping out on dentist appointments.

Like other doctors, dentists are also subjected to medical malpractice from time to time, and patients should expect the same standard of care from dentists as they would any other doctor or physician. Unfortunately, some dentists do slip up from time to time, as was the case with a root canal operation that went painfully wrong.

Back in March 2011, Supriya Sarin went to see her dentist, Darryl Simms, at the Farmington Family Dentistry for a root canal procedure. This procedure is used on teeth that are decaying or are infected, and with a good dentist, they can be saved. During the root canal procedure, a dentist will go into the tooth were the nerve and any pulp may be hiding. After cleaning this out, he or she will thoroughly clean the tooth and then reseal it to try and prevent the infection from happening again. Most people assume this procedure is very painful, but others report it as no more painful than the average tooth filling.

Medical Care Improves in California Prisons

July 18, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

After years of trying to fix the healthcare system with the Californian prisons, it seems that things may finally be looking up, at least for state prisons. According to reports from “PolitiCal,” a section of the Los Angeles Times, contract prisons, which are known for taking on the overflow of inmates, have not seen the same improvements in the healthcare system just yet. J. Clark Kelso, the federal receiver who was appointed by the courts, has filed his most recent report, and though they show some optimism, it’s clear that there’s a long way to go.

The problems of the prison healthcare system first came to light back in 2006. U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson insisted that prison healthcare reform was greatly needed after it was officially determined that one inmate per week was dying because of medical malpractice. Henderson put together a comprehensive plan that would work towards ending these oversights, pointing out improvements that had occurred over nine years.

Kelso also concluded that improvements had been made. For example, the state had doubled the annual budget for prison health, and the population of prisons has decreased by about 40,000 inmates. His report also showed that the prisons had a solid medical staff on hand, and the processes that led to patients being diagnosed and treated were running smoothly. The prisons had also instated a process that would catch oversights in the prison healthcare system especially when inmates received poor care,

California ER Release Forms

July 15, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

When a patient checks into the ER, most of the time they are sick or in a lot of pain. Their minds might not be as sharp as usual, and they might have other things to worry about than signing release forms. These forms, however, may become the center of a lawsuit that could come to trial in the near future.

A California hospital’s liability is at the center of this release form lawsuit. In August 2008, Dean Whitlow awoke to hear his mother screaming uncontrollably. She claimed to be having the worst headache of her life. She was in such agony and Whitlow decided there was nothing to do but take her to the emergency room. On the way, she vomited in the car, and when they got to the waiting room at Rideout Memorial Hospital, she vomited again.

According to court documents, her pain ranked at a 6 out of 10, but would periodically spike to 10 out of 10. When the hospital staff asked her to sign a “Conditions Admissions” form, but her son insisted that she was so overwhelmed with the pain and nausea and she was crying uncontrollably. There was no way for her to be able to consent to these forms or even read them. Whitlow also stated that no one on the hospital staff ever read the statements to her in order to help her out.

Statute of Limitations on Auto Accidents in California

July 6, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

When you’re in an auto accident, you might feel as if you’re being pulled in so many different directions. You’re worried about your own injuries and how they will affect your personal life and your ability to hold down a job. You might also be worried about any loved ones of yours who were also injured in the accident. Finally, your car has probably taken some serious damage, and it might be awhile before you have the money to either fix it or get a new one.

sacramento auto accident attorney What you do need to be keenly aware of, out of all these issues, is the matter of statutes of limitations. After you’re in your accident, you have a set amount of time during which you need to get your claim filed. These limitations can change how you and your insurance claims are handled. If you file a claim past the deadline, you will not be able to file a case or a claim with your insurance.

If you have a personal injury claim resulting from an accident, then you have two years to file a lawsuit with regards to auto insurance. If you have property damage to your vehicle or personal property, then you have three years for which to file a lawsuit.