- Black Friday Shopping and Your Safety
Posted December 1, 2009, 6:33 am
The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally known as "Black Friday" among merchants. This title doesn't actually specify anything dark or foreboding. Instead it means that, due to the lowered prices and heavy advertising, this is quite often the day that brings many businesses out of the "red" (or in debt,) and into the "black" (or profitability.) Hundreds of thousands of early Christmas shoppers show up sometimes as early as five in the morning in order to take advantage of low prices....
- Supreme Court to Hear (and me to blog) Graham County case on November 30
Posted November 29, 2009, 10:04 am by Ben Vernia
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments tomorrow (November 30) in the case of Graham County Soil & Conservation District v US ex rel Wilson, up for review from the Fourth Circuit's decision. With luck, I'll be sitting in the bar members section of the courtroom for the argument, and I'll blog about it tomorrow afternoon. The question presented is: Whether an audit or investigation performed by a State or its political subdivision constitutes an "administrative . . . report . . . audit, or...
- Stalking in Washington, D.C.
Posted November 29, 2009, 5:44 am by jamison
"Stalking" is defined generally as the following of another person by stealth. Alternatively, it can be the following or loitering near the other person, often surreptitiously, with the purpose of annoying or harassing him or her. This past July, former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry was arrested for allegedly stalking an acquaintance. A woman flagged down a police officer and told them Barry was in a car following her. While the U.S. Attorney's office dropped the charges against Barry a...
- Cerebral Palsy Medical Malpractice Part 2
Posted November 28, 2009, 8:04 am by Robert A. D'Iorio
This video is part 2 of 2. Here a mother of a child with cerebral palsy talks about the importance of a medical malpractice lawsuit to compensate her family for the negligence that resulted in her son's injury.
- Happy Thanksgiving
Posted November 26, 2009, 8:03 am by Robert A. D'Iorio
From everyone here at The Law Offices of Robert A. D'Iorio, PLLC; we want to wish you a happy Thanksgiving!
- Post-Stop, Pre-Arrest Challenges to DUI, DWI, and OWI in Washington, D.C.
Posted November 26, 2009, 6:34 am by jamison
As noted in the previous entry, a good criminal defense attorney handling a DUI, DWI, or OWI case in Washington, D.C. will challenge the prosecution's case at every possible step along the way. The attorney might contest the legality of the stop itself. He or she might challenge the police officer's observations after making the stop and subsequent decision to further detain the driver on suspicion of DUI, DWI, or OWI. The attorney could challenge both the process and results of any field...
- Challenging a DUI/DWI/OWI Stop in Washington, D.C.
Posted November 25, 2009, 9:31 am by jamison
When faced with a DUI, DWI or OWI in Washington, D.C., a good criminal defense attorney will challenge the prosecution's case at every possible step along the way. First, the lawyer might challenge the legality of the stop itself. In other words, why did the police officer pull the driver over to begin with? Second, the attorney might challenge the police officer's observations and subsequent decision to further detain the driver on suspicion of DUI, DWI, or OWI. Third, the lawyer could...
- Cerebral Palsy Medical Malpractice
Posted November 25, 2009, 7:53 am by Robert A. D'Iorio
This video is part one of two. It features a mother of a child that suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of medical malpractice. In this video the mother discusses her feelings about bring a medical malpractice lawsuit and why she feels it was important to do so.
- Side Effects of Yaz
Posted November 25, 2009, 6:24 am
/**/ We have spent the past month or so taking the Bayer Corporation to task over their line of birth control pills, which go under the names Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella. We have been doing this for quite a few reasons, chief among them the fact that they have decided to use an ingredient called drospirenone. This synthetic variant of progestin has been shown to increase the likelihood of blood clots not just in women who smoke or women over thirty five, but in any woman who uses the pill at all....
- More Holes Are Shown in the Safety Net for Drugs
Posted November 25, 2009, 5:53 am
In a logically designed drug safety system, data from new studies would automatically be pooled so that as more and more patients take a drug, researchers can see potential harms across all the data at one time, rather than looking at individual research studies in isolation. Alas, that is not our world. A new proposal would change that, but it would take an act of Congress to do so. As described in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a group of researchers analyzed all the studies published on...
- 110,000 Toyota Pickup Trucks Recalled in Washington DC, Maryland, and 19 Other States Because of Worries that Excessive Rust Can Lead to Brake Failure and the Dislodging of Spare Tires
Posted November 25, 2009, 5:31 am by Lebowitz & Mzhen
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is recalling 11,000 Toyota Tundra pickup trucks in the District of Columbia and 20 US states, including Maryland. The recall was announced due to concern that road salt can cause the vehicle's frame to corrode excessively. The recall only affects Toyota Tundras, model years 2000 - 2003, registered in US states where chemical-de-icers are used on roads during winter weather. The NHTSA says Toyota will replaced any damage to a vehicle's frame or...
- 9th Cir. Court of Appeals Rules that Rehabilitation Act May Apply to Independent Contractors
Posted November 24, 2009, 12:54 pm by admin
On November 19, 2009, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that The Rehabilitation Act applies to an anesthesiologist hired by a medical center as an independent contractor. The decision was made in Fleming v. Yuma Reg'l Med. Ctr.. At issue was whether section 504(d) of the Act, which makes reference to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), incorporates all of Title I of the ADA or just the "standards." Citing the broad language of the Act, the Court held that Congress intended to the Act...
- Employment Law Group® Law Firm Principal Jason Zuckerman Named as a Top Whistleblower Lawyer
Posted November 24, 2009, 7:59 am by admin
The December 2009 Washingtonian magazine's list of top lawyers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area lists Jason Zuckerman, a Principal at The Employment Law Group® law firm, as a top whistleblower lawyer. To learn more about The Employment Law Group® law firm's whistleblower practice, click here.
- Stork Craft Drop-Side Cribs Recalled, Dangerous
Posted November 24, 2009, 6:51 am
Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, Esquire CNNMoney.com reports that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently recalled 2.1 million cribs, citing defective hardware that can cause children to suffocate. The federal agency "said parents should immediately stop using Stork Craft drop-side cribs, which are made by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada," according to the report. The recall includes about 150,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs that have a Fisher-Price...
- Choosing the Koehler Law Motto
Posted November 24, 2009, 5:53 am by jamison
During my first year in law school, I heard a Latin phrase that immediately resonated with me: Fiat Justitia Caellum, which is roughly translated into English as "Let Justice Rule, Though the Heavens May Fall." On starting my own law practice, I immediately thought of that phrase as the potential slogan/motto/tagline for my new firm. Slogan and Graphic from Akin Gump Website I tested the phrase on the ABA Listserv Solosez and the derision I received in response was almost palpable. These...
- Columbian woman, arrested at airport, pleads guilty to defrauding Ex-Im Bank
Posted November 23, 2009, 10:38 pm by Ben Vernia
DOJ announced on November 23 that Febe Durango-Rueda, a Columbian national, pleaded guilty to a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the US. The Ex-Im Bank provides loan guarantees to foreign entities for the purchase of US-made goods and services. According to DOJ's press release: According to plea documents, Durango was the president of Droservicios Ltda., a Colombian medical services company. Durango admitted that she and others falsified financial statements that Droservicios...
- Preventing Washington DC Injuries to Children: CPSC Recalls 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs
Posted November 23, 2009, 10:31 pm by Lebowitz & Mzhen
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the largest recall for cribs US history this week. Along with crib maker Stork Craft Manufacturing, the CPSC is recalling over 2.1 million drop-side cribs. 147,000 cribs come with the Fisher-Price logo. 1,213,000 of the crib units were distributed in the United States. The rest of the units were distributed in Canada. Some 110 drop-side detachment incidents have been reported in connection with the Stork Craft cribs. 15 of the incidents involved...
- The U.S receives a â্â on Premature Birthâ੪gain
Posted November 23, 2009, 7:31 pm by Robert A. D'Iorio
For the second year in a row the U.S. receives a D on the March of Dimes Report Card for premature births. Prematurity leads to many health conditions such as cerebral palsy. November is prematurity awareness month. The video below discusses how the grading was performed, how individual States graded and improvements made over last year. The video also touches on the risk factors and health risks involved with children being born prematurity. (the video starts at 38 seconds.)
- Educating D.C. Criminal Defense Lawyers on DUI/DWI/OWI
Posted November 23, 2009, 5:54 pm by jamison
This past weekend I attended a full-day seminar entitled "DUI, DWI, and OWI Cases After Melendez-Diaz." Hosted by the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, the seminar was attended by almost 100 criminal defense lawyers in D.C. Two prominent DUI/DWI/OWI lawyers, Thomas Key and Bryan Brown, led the presentations. Also speaking at the seminar were a number of notable jurists, including Chief Judge Satterfield of the D.C. Superior Court, D.C. Superior Court Judge Milton Lee, and...
- DoD Strengthens Whistleblower Protections for Employees of Contractors
Posted November 23, 2009, 9:16 am by admin
On November 19, 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an interim rule implementing the whistleblower protection provisions of the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009. The rule clarifies the scope of protected conduct, sets forth procedures governing Inspector General investigations, and clarifies the removal provision under which a whistleblower can obtain de novo review in federal district court. For information on The Employment Law Group® law firm's...