Archive for Misc.

03 Jun 2013
Misc.

John Feal of FealGood Foundation Quoted in NY Post

AmericaThe New York Post reported Staten Island politician Representative Michael Grimm is not backing a bill to end the sequestration of 9/11 victims’ compensation funds allegedly because of a snub at a press conference. Grimm is known most recently for his fight for Hurricane Sandy victims.

John Feal of the FealGood Foundation spoke on the issue. He described it as shameful for personal politics to get in the way of helping the victims. The sequestration pushed through automatic cuts at all levels of the government because of a failure to reach a deal between the Republicans and Democrats. The Zadroga Act was affected along with many other compensation programs. Approximately $27 million of Zadroga Act funds will not be disbursed if this bill doesn’t pass.

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30 Apr 2013
Misc.

9/11 First Responders Have 15% Higher Cancer Rate According to Mount Sinai Study

medicineOn April 24th, 2013, several news outlets, including the Daily News, reported the findings from a report which stated 9/11 first responders have a 15% greater chance of getting cancer than the rest of the population. The damning headline was from the findings of Mount Sinai Hospital’s World Trade Center Health Program.

Previous studies revealed similar findings. In September of 2011, The Lancet published a study of New York City firefighters revealing a 19% increase in overall cancer risk. Furthermore, in March of 2012, Dr. Philip Landrigan reported a 14% increase in cancer rates among a group of 20,000 firefighters, construction workers, police officers, and other Ground Zero workers.

During and after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, many first responders rushed to the area to help the survivors and pick up the dead without the proper protection. Many died from different diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer. Oftentimes it was the lack of funds for proper treatment that sealed their fate.

The James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act was set up to provide financial assistance and health care to sick first responders. Unfortunately, this took almost ten years for Congress to pass. In addition, it wasn’t until 2012 when Congress finally decided to expand the Zadroga Act to cover various types of cancer.

The findings in this report are nothing new to the survivors of 9/11, the first responders, and their families. They have had to deal with these problems for years, and this report just solidifies what they were saying back in 2002 and 2003 when the issues were first discovered.

Many responders eligible for compensation through the Zadroga bill are still waiting to be paid as the process has been filled with setbacks. Officials in charge of the distribution of funds point to incomplete applications as the main reason for this payment delay.

Written by Lulaine Compere

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07 Jan 2013
Misc. • Videos

A Slow Loading Website Can Really Kill Conversions

wwwAccording to an article from seo.com, a one second delay in page load time can decrease your website’s conversion rate by up to 7%. Not only that, but if your site loads too slowly, your search engine rankings will actually be penalized. Below are five tips from Nate Babbel to decrease your website’s page load speed:

  1. Minimize HTTP requests.
  2. Ensure JavaScript and CSS calls are external.
  3. Make sure to aggregate external JavaScript and CSS calls into as few files as possible.
  4. Place all JavaScript file requests towards the bottom of pages on your website.
  5. Reduce images to the smallest size possible while still maintaining image quality.

For more detailed information about these five points, check out the below video by Nick Babbel entitled How do I improve my page load speed?

To make sure my website is loading at optimal speed, I use a tool called PageSpeed Insights at https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights. You simply type in your URL, hit the “analyze” button, and you are provided a score and suggested actions to take to improve page load speed. The score is based on a scale of 1-100, and the higher the score, the better. The suggestion summary, which provides actionable steps to improve page load speed, is broken down into high, medium, and low priority. In my opinion, you definitely want to tackle any high and medium priority suggestions.

Written by David Smethie, Deal Origination Manager at RD Legal Funding.

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27 Nov 2012
Misc.

EEOC Cracks Down on Workplace Pregnancy Discrimination

workplace pregnancy discrimination equal rightsThe Huffington Post reported a story about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cracking down on the workplace discrimination of pregnant women. In the story, they report restaurants and security companies using what could be considered discriminatory practices against their pregnant employees.

Discrimination of any kind, especially in the workplace, is wrong. Such discrimination is grounds for a lawsuit to be filed. Employers are not allowed to use any kind of method to segregate employees for discriminatory reasons. There are companies out there who can help pregnant women attain justice.

Legal funding companies can help fund lawsuits in a pre or post-settlement situation. A pregnant woman may not be able to work her normal hours, which translates to a drop in income. She can receive pre-settlement financing through a legal funding company to help pay for expenses while waiting for a favorable settlement. In a post-settlement situation, a legal funding company can provide funding on a slow-paying award by purchasing the award at a discount and advancing money upfront.

Written by Lulaine Compere.

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28 Sep 2012
Misc. • Videos

Questionable Automobile Insurance Practices

In 2007, CNN’s Anderson Cooper did a series that highlighted questionable practices of the automobile insurance industry. As attorneys in the civil litigation sector know, automobile injuries make up a large percentage of cases in the court system.

Insurance is mandatory, so when a person gets into an accident, it is the insurance company that usually has to pay. The more the insurance companies pay out, the less profit they make. Therefore, insurance companies do what they can to minimize payouts. This leads to shady tactics, as illustrated in the below video.

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26 Sep 2012
Misc. • Videos

John Feal Honored in Yahoo’s Year in Review

John Feal, a legend and revered person in the 9/11 First Responder community, was recently praised in Yahoo’s Year in Review (heroic acts category). Feal has been active in fighting for the rights of 9/11 First Responders since 2003.

Through his Fealgood Foundation, he has worked to bring attention to the issue and help many of the responders receive their well-deserved benefits. He, along with many others 9/11 related organizations, helped get the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act passed, which was recently expanded to cover 50 types of cancer.

Written by Lulaine Compere.

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11 Sep 2012
Misc.

Children with Autism More Likely to Experience Bullying

The New York Times published a story about school bullies and children of autism. The story details the problems children with autism are facing when they are at school. According to a recent study, children with autism are three times more likely to be bullied than their non-autistic peers.

Bullying has taken on a whole new consciousness for people and society, moving from what was considered rough housing to an actual epidemic that needs to be stopped. Some parents have filed lawsuits against the schools and children who have harassed their kids.

School bullying is being dealt with legally these days and lawsuit funding can help with that. Lawsuit funding can make it possible for parents who feel the school and the parents of the bullies who have not done enough to prevent or stop the bullying to pursue justice. School districts have a lot of money and even with budget cuts coming down, they still have a large cache of money to tamp down what they might think are frivolous lawsuits.

Written by Lulaine Compere.

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11 Sep 2012
Misc.

School Bus Driver Hits and Runs

Jofaz Transportation may be facing a large lawsuit after one its buses crashed into a MTA bus injuring 16 people and damaging several cars. The victims were taken to an area hospital where they were treated.

According to news reports, no one was seriously hurt. As for the driver, he tried running away, but was caught and taken into custody. A representative of a company like a driver automatically puts that company in danger of being sued if something goes wrong. The injured victims can file a lawsuit against the company if the injuries are severe or even for their state of mind being damaged.

Written by Lulaine Compere.

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29 Aug 2012
Misc.

Deadly Rodent Borne Virus Puts Yosemite Campers at Risk

The New York Post published a story about a possible outbreak of a deadly rodent borne virus that may have caused the death of two campers. According to the news report, about 1,700 people who stayed in cabins at Yosemite National Park could have been exposed to it, and according to Centers for Disease Control officials, about 30 percent of all cases are fatal.

Officials have started to spread the word about the possible outbreak among the campers. This could mean a huge lawsuit against Yosemite, if proper precautions were not taken. Even though campers are in the wild subject to a variety of diseases, the park is still supposed to have some protections to prevent these kinds of things from happening. The park’s liability will soon be in question regarding the disease if the virus starts to spread.

Written by Lulaine Compere.

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29 Aug 2012
Misc.

Firefighter Injured by Rolling Log in Idaho Wildfire

The Salt Lake Tribune published a story about a worker being injured by a rolling log while fighting a fire in Idaho. Rolling logs are part of the danger forest workers encounter. A workplace injury, especially one like this, is hard to come back from. According to the news report, the worker was not seriously injured.

Workers should know their rights and the safety hazards when working in dangerous conditions. Sometimes there can be mistakes that can happen during the job that the company for which the company would be responsible. In that case, the victim should pursue legal action.

Lawsuit settlement financing can help a worker who finds themselves without help from their employer get justice. In a pre-settlement situation, the funds can be advanced to a plaintiff who may then use them to fight the defendant. In a post-settlement situation, the funds can be advanced after a plaintiff wins a settlement that is taking a long time to pay out. The portion advanced can help the plaintiff get their life back on track.

Written by Lulaine Compere.

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