The following blog posts have the category Lawsuits
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Personal Umbrella Policies are liability insurance policies with very high limits of protection, typically starting at $1,000,000. They are designed to add a layer of protection above other kinds of personal liability coverage such as the liability protection found in a personal auto, homeowner or boat insurance policy. These kinds of policies are meant to protect you should you be deemed legally responsible for injury to persons or property. Personal injury can include non-physical injury like libel or slander.
An impending lawsuit is never good news. Not only are they costly, but, perhaps worse, they can permanently damage a company's reputation, an expense no business can easily afford during highly competitive consumer and employee markets like the current. While companies are sued for a range of reasons, there are a few recurring culprits that can be avoided with appropriate planning, clear communication, and due diligence.
Whenever a private company officially becomes a corporation, it's required by law that the company assemble a board of directors to represent the interests of shareholders. While limited liability companies (LLC) and nonprofits are not legally required to have a board of directors, many choose to anyway. Here's what you need to know if you are a business owner or nonprofit director who wants to put together a top-notch board of directors.
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Bad hires happen, even to successful business owners and to those experienced at hiring. So what do you do when an employee doesn't work out? Here is what you need to know about hiring and firing within the law:
It's often noted that America is an excessively litigious society which may or may not be accurate, depending on who you ask. But there's no question that the rules and regulations that have made it relatively easy to sue for personal injury in the US have resulted in some truly bizarre lawsuits and legal proceedings. Read on for some of the most entertaining ones we found.
It turns out that few of us in Virginia are as unique as we might like to think. Each New Year's Day, the common longings that unite us all come to the surface in the form of our resolutions, many of which are identical from one person to the next. How many of the top ten most common New Year's resolutions sound familiar to you?
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Asbestos is a hidden health hazard that can lurk right in the place where you should feel the safest: home. While those who work in the construction industry are considered the most vulnerable to asbestos exposure, especially repeated exposure, it's important to keep in mind that even very limited exposure-such as what you might experience during a simple renovation project-can have long-term negative effects. Make it a priority to prevent you and your family members from coming into contact with this dangerous material.
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Part of what makes our iPhones, Androids, and the like so convenient is their diminutive size. They fit easily into pockets and purses and are extremely portable. The undesirable flip side to their petite stature, however, is how easily they can be left behind and lost, not to mention stolen. Before notifying your insurance company about a lost or stolen device, however, you can try tracking it down.
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For most of the children in Virginia, the end of August means those lazy dog days of summer are coming to a close, and those books and desks are what will be opening up next. For parents, the back-to-school season is a great time of year to look over insurance policies, and make sure they are up to date. Here are some insurance situations to consider as the kiddos hit the books.
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Summer can benefit Virginia small business owners in a multitude of ways: businesses located in popular vacation destinations typically see a significant increase in revenues; warm weather and longer days improve moods, making people a bit more free and easy with their money, which means sales tend to be healthy in the summer months; and, because kids are out of school and life seems to slow down from its usually hectic pace, many consumers make purchases in the summer that they put off during the rest of the year. Another reason summer can benefit small business owners is the increased availability of cheap or free labor in the form of interns! High-school and college students on break from classes are eager to gain experience in the workforce, particularly in positions that connect to their chosen career paths. It's smart to take advantage of their willingness to learn and help. Ideally, internships are mutually beneficial. Here's some tips to help you have positive experiences with summer interns:
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Hockey is a notoriously rough sport, and no part of the body is more vulnerable to injury by that cold, hard ice or that fast-flying puck (not to mention a fellow player's fist or elbow) than the head. Concussions abound in the NHL, with more and more-many of them undocumented-happening every year. Former hockey star Keith Premeau, who suffered at least four concussions during his career, told the L.A. Times in 2011 that his career was cut short by his head injuries. "[T]here isn't a day that goes by that I don't sense I've damaged my brain," he said. This is sad, but not surprising, as concussion-related symptoms can last for years.
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In many parts of the country, water abounds as winter winds down. Melting snow and rain seem to make the whole world a watery place. Slushy, icy environments are common, making roads hazardous and driving a dangerous proposition. But too much water can even create problems in what seems like the safest of all places: home. When the quantity of water in and around your home is too much for your water removal systems to deal with, you have what is known as water back up.
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Those of us in Virginia who took our Drivers' Ed classes in decades past certainly remember the oft-repeated phrase "ten and two." Ten and two is a kind of code for the positions one's hands should take on a steering wheel. If the steering wheel is a clock, we were all told that you should place your right hand at two o'clock and your left at ten o'clock. Keeping your hands thus positioned would enable you to steer effectively and retain the greatest control over your vehicle. Ten and two! It's practically gospel, right?
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Insurance can be a tricky business. Shopping for can feel intimidating because there are so many providers and plans to choose from, so much fine print...and so many misconceptions! Yes, myths abound in the insurance world, and they are perpetuated as readily and colorfully as any fairy tales or legends.
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Few connections are as vulnerable to conflicts as the ones between neighbors. Fence lines, Fido's bathroom habits, and Friday night parties hosted by unsupervised teens are just a few common examples of matters that inspire some not-so-neighborly arguments. Most Virginia residents can readily point a finger at a neighbor who has proven to be less than considerate. But there is at least one thing every single one of us can do to be a better neighbor: have home insurance liability coverage.
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Last summer, Apple introduced the iCloud, an intriguing method of saving data on a remote server-as distant and nebulous as a cloud itself-rather than on a local hard drive. The cloud allows users to store and remove data from a remote server through a network, but the cloud isn't new and it isn't limited to Apple's iCloud; the concept has been around for a while, and has existed in one form or another for years. According to industry journal InfoWorld, "[c]loud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT's existing capabilities."
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It used to be that journalists and businesses that engaged in high profile PR and advertising used to be the ones who really had to worry about lawsuits from defamation of character, trade mark and copyright infringements and libel. But social media has made publishers of us all, whether we be individuals or businesses large and small. The video below is a conversation between Nashville lawyer Kevin Thompson and Bill Seaver of Micro Explosion Media - it highlights some of the more common legal issues created by blogging and posting on social media services like Facebook and Twitter. It's worth a look.
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If you have a domestic employee, such as a gardener, housekeeper, or nanny, who drives his or her own auto while working for you, there is a potential for you to incur liability arising from their driving that would not be adequately insured. If your employee negligently causes an accident, you as the employer can be drawn into the lawsuit and held liable. Your employee’s own insurance, if any, will protect you up to its policy limits, but you are on your own after that. And your personal auto policy may not respond to cover the difference. The courts have ruled in different ways on these types of loss situations.
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What do real estate firms, golf courses, law offices, banks, farm owners, contractors, dry cleaners and gas stations have in common? Exposure to environmental or pollution lawsuits. Companies that deal with the transfer and storage of hazardous materials, like waste haulers, or fuel oil distributors all have an obvious need for insurance against environmental hazards. But businesses involved in property sales transactions (banks, realtors, lawyers) can pick up the pollution liability that comes along with the subject property. Many businesses use chemicals and substances that are benign, when confined to intended purposes (golf courses, farms, dry cleaners). But improper storage of these materials, inappropriate use, or run-off (pesticides and herbicides) can lead to environmental damage, personal injury and a lawsuit.
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Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks to an organization. It is important for businesses of all sizes to have a risk management plan in place to protect themselves from financial losses.
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Professional Liability Insurance...what is that and who needs it? If we changed the name to 'malpractice insurance' most of us would answer the question right away by responding 'doctors'. But the fact is 'malpractice' is a concern for professionals across many fields of endeavor.
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A survey of 422 businesses in May and June of 2006* indicated that, for 89% of the participants, at least one new law suit was filed in the prior year. Lawsuits brought by employees, both current and former, has been a litigation growth area in the recent past. And prospective employees who feel they were wrongfully passed over for an employment opportunity are also more likely than ever to bring suit.
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