Personal Injury, Employment and Class Action Law Blog

March 21st, 2011

Court Preliminarily Approves Wage Class Action Settlement Against Holland America Line

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has preliminarily approved a $7 Million class action settlement involving Indonesian seafarers serving on Holland America Line vessels.  Holland America denied the material allegations of the complaint, and the proposed settlement reflects a compromise resolution of a disputed claim.

Class members seeking more information may contact Class Counsel Joseph Farzam by email at farzam@lawyer.com, call toll free at 1-888-999-9394 or 310-226-6890.

Documents related to this class action suit can be downloaded here.

March 2nd, 2011

Joseph Farzam Law Firm is a Los Angeles swimming pool accident injury attorney.  A Los Angeles swimming pool accident injury attorney can represent a person who has been injured while at a swimming pool during an accident.  Joseph Farzam Law Firm specializes in personal injury and an injury sustained in a swimming pool accident injury would be considered a personal injury matter.

Our office is centrally located in Los Angeles and has many years of experience within the legal profession.  Joseph Farzam Law Firm has successfully helped many injured persons in swimming pool accidents in Los Angeles obtain favorable settlements to compensate them for their injuries, damages, medical treatment, additional expenses and losses.

If you or someone you know is looking for a Los Angeles swimming pool accident injury attorney, feel free to contact Joseph Farzam Law Firm.  We would be glad to assist you with your swimming pool accident injury matters.

March 1st, 2011

Joseph Farzam Law Firm is a motorcycle accident attorney in Los Angeles.  A motorcycle accident attorney in Los Angeles represents an injured motorcycle driver/rider in any damages and injuries they may have sustained from another party or act that was not at fault of the motorcycle driver/rider.  Los Angeles is a very populated and heavily congested area full of traffic.  Therefore some commuters may choose to commute by motorcycle to save commute expenses as well as time.  However, as there may be distracted drivers on the road, there can be many different ways as to how a motorcycle accident could occur in Los Angeles.

Joseph Farzam Law Firm is a motorcycle accident attorney centrally located in Los Angeles who understands the injured person’s needs and accommodations.  Our firm has many years of experience within the personal injury field and has successfully settled many motorcycle accident injury cases.

If you or anyone you know has been involved in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles and needs to speak with an attorney, please feel free to contact our firm.  We would be glad to be of services to you.

March 1st, 2011

Public outrage and media coverage of the latest security measures instituted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is growing, and as peak holiday travel season is about to kick in, it’s bound to reach even higher levels of criticism. It’s been recently coined as “gate rape” and that meme is spreading quickly online through social media.To protest it National Opt-Out day has been organized for October 24th. The big question is is it legal, or even constitutional?

Recent Legal Actions

Congressman Ron Paul has just tabled legislation to “protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by federal Transportation Security Administration employees conducting screenings at the nation’s airports.”

New York City council is introducing legislation to ban the use of full body scanners in NYC airports.

John Pistole, the head of the TSA, just got grilled by our nations top law makers. TSA officials have not subjected themselves to naked scans but Pistole claims he took a pat down.

The Rutherford’s Institute had filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA on behalf of two pilots that refused the pat-downs and body-scans and to that end the TSA just announced they would not require uniformed pilots to undergo the additional measures the flying public must endure.

The TSA threatened a civil suit and a $10,000 fine when John Tyner of California decided to cancel his flying plans instead of having a security officer “touch his junk”.

There will certainly be more cases that get media attention and more civil suits and perhaps class action lawsuits. It seems likely to get visited by the Supreme Court as well.

A Fourth Amendment Violation?

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution specifically says; “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

The bolded highlights above point to where full body scans that render a naked or near naked image and full pat downs that include genital touching may indeed constitute an unreasonable search without probable cause.

John W. Nelson, a technology lawyer in Georgia, writes an excellent piece analyzing this issue in more detail and from a 4th Amendment perspective. He concludes with this, “The law of the land is that all citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The rule of the TSA is that all fliers are presumed guilty until proven innocent. This puts the Fourth Amendment on its head. A complete 180 in philosophy isn’t reasonable; it’s a violation of the original philosophy.”

Security is Not a State of Being, It is a Business – Big Business

It reads like a page out of Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine : The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Invent an expensive security device (full body naked scanners costing $150,000 a piece), hire a team of experienced lobbyists to convince Homeland Security they need this (right after a failed attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas 2009), and reap the rewards of gazillion dollar contracts, not to mention the $2.4 billion in staffing costs, to be billed to taxpayers.

Are we that much more secure? Is that security, or the sense thereof, worth the costs? The costs are not just in dollars. They may also be in our rights and freedoms.

February 15th, 2011

If you are looking for more information regarding employment law matters feel free to click on the link below:

http://www.employmentlaw-jf.com/

This link will provide in depth issues regarding employment law issues and describe the different types of cases that Joseph Farzam Law Firm handles.

February 14th, 2011

If you are looking for more information regarding personal injury matters feel free to click on the link below:

http://www.personalinjury-jf.com/ 

This link will provide in depth issues regarding a personal injury accident and describe the different types of cases that Joseph Farzam Law Firm handles.

November 24th, 2010

Not happy with your accident lawyer? Perhaps they are moving too slow on your case or not regularly keeping you informed of what is going on with your case. Thankfully you can change your attorney at any time and at no cost to you. Simply contact the new lawyer you wish to work with. Let them know you want to switch law firms. The new lawyer will send a letter to your former lawyer. Upon receiving that letter they are required by law to forward your file to your new lawyer.

You do not need to contact your former lawyer. In fact, they are forbidden to contact you after receiving the letter to terminate their services. Let your new attorney handle everything regarding changing accident attorneys.

If however they have already done substantial work on your case they may be entitled to a portion of the fees from the settlement your new lawyer recovers for you. But you need not concern yourself with that. That will be negotiated between your new and your former attorney. Any fees they are entitled too simply comes out of the fee to your new accident attorney.

Need to Change Accident Lawyers in Los Angeles?

Hire Us! Seriously. We are very experienced accident and injury lawyers and would be happy to handle your case. Contact us for a free case evaluation. We’ll gladly assist you with the change from your former attorney.

November 3rd, 2010

While writing our previous post on vehicle collision trends in Los Angeles we came across an interesting tidbit within the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Data Tables. While overall accidents, primarily car accidents, are on the decline, motorcycle accidents have been on a steady rise from 1994 through to 2008, then a significant decline in 2009. This is also seen in the Involvement Rate per 100,000 registered Vehicles. This largely reflects the overall increase of motorcyclists on the road today.

It’s commonly known in the motorcycle world that baby boomers have been driving the success of Harley Davidson in recent years. Up till the current recession kicked in, that is. That’s equating to more riders and more inexperienced riders on the road, and thus higher accident and fatality rates for motorcycles. Many states without helmet laws are seeing a renewed push for motorcycle helmet legislation. Meanwhile the anti-helmet lobby was successful in repealing the laws in Texas (1997), Kentucky (1998), Louisiana (1999), Florida (2000), Pennsylvania (2003) and Arkansas (1997) only to see 12% to 50% increase in fatalities the year after the law change.

NHTSA data shows that a lack of helmet laws stimulates motorcycle registration. In other words more people tend to take up riding when they are not restricted by helmets. This may provide the commercial incentive for anti-helmet lobby groups. The NHTSA also suggests that much of the increase in fatalities has involved older riders aged 40 and over, and larger displacement motorcycles (there’s that boomers on cruisers demographic)

The steep decline in motorcycle fatalities, nationwide and in California, for 2009 may be reflected in the economy. Harley Davidson, who’s US sales were down 35% in 2009 has sold and closed some of its other brands, cut production and laid off workers in an attempt to stem its losses as many choose to hold off on that luxury purchase of the bike they always wanted. High gas prices and a desire to curb extracurricular personal spending may mean some are riding less these days.

November 2nd, 2010

To put it simply, traffic collision rates are on the decline. Not just in Los Angeles, but nationwide. Studies by the Insurance Research Council and statistics published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as State and City level statistics all show a steady decline in collision rates over the past 30 years.

The Los Angeles Police Department reported 50,317 collisions in 2002 (PDF). In 2008 that number was 48,958 and in 2009 it declined further to 44,307 (PDF). This despite increases in resident population, the numbers of registered motor vehicles in California and estimated vehicle miles traveled by California Drivers (from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Data Tables)

This steady decline in collisions may be attributed to improved road systems, improved traffic control systems and signage. Education and stricter enforcement of drinking and driving laws certainly contributes. Improvements in vehicle performance, braking and cornering (crash avoidance) and crash worthiness, are also contributing factors. Also, the general aging of society as a whole means lower relative number of younger, inexperienced drivers on the road.

The economy is contributing to this as well, it appears. In an audit of the Photo Red Light Program (PDF) it was noted that statewide average gas prices rose 64% during a 10 month period contributing to a 4.6% decline in statewide fuel consumption that year as well as a 2.6% decline in traffic volume on Stat highways in LA County.

Injuries and Fatalities on the Decline Too

With fewer collisions there are fewer total injuries. Overall injury rates within that number of accidents is on the decline too. This is largely attributed to safer cars and an increase in the use of seat belts.

Injury Claims on the Rise

In light of the declines in accident rates, payouts, settlements and compensation for injury claims are on the rise. Claim frequency is lower, this correlates with declines in collisions. Claim frequency is lower which correlates with declines in collisions. Claim values however are rising due to increases in auto repair costs and medical care costs. This is rising despite the fact that serious injuries have been in decline due to safety improvements in vehicles.

September 19th, 2010

Find us on your iPhone

We just launched a new mobile friendly version of our website for smart phones (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry) and other mobile devices. You can see it here. It’s a more slimmed down site with bare bones content for easier viewing on smaller screen sizes and faster loading to save on bandwidth usage.

We hope people searching for a lawyer from their phones can find it easily and use the click to call links on the phone numbers to give us a quick call when they need us.

The web is changing, with the proliferation of smart phones, and we must change with it.

A New Blog Too

We also added a blog to the website as well, this being the very first post. We plan to write about issues regarding personal injury law, employment law and class action law as they come up. Mostly it will be a means of engaging in online conversations with our legal colleagues as well as mentioning significant changes in the laws in California, or significant cases that set presidents or are news worthy.