Archive for February, 2010
Stock Fraud at an All Time High
It should come as no surprise that stock fraud is sky high during a recession. The question is what to do about it.
The figures for stock fraud for 2009 have just been released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Office of Dispute Resolution (FINRA). Long name and an even longer report that features some rather dismal news. The report reveals the results of customer driven investment arbitrations against stockbrokers and investment firms.
It seems that the arbitration cases have increased on the order of 43% from 4,982 cases in 2008 to over 7,137 in 2009. Large jump and not a welcome one for those on the receiving end of fraud. While this should likely not be too shocking, it is shocking in ways that go to the core of our beliefs in honesty in others, especially during a recession when times are tough. Here is the interesting thing though, that can be taken with a bit of a grain of salt. The number of fraud cases was actually predicted to exceed 10,000 for 2009. The fact that it came in at 7,137 is somewhat mollifying, but not by much.
Perhaps the increases in securities prices for the calendar year 2009 cut down the number of claims that otherwise would likely have been filed last year. Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is that stock fraud is up and investment money down. Not a good combination when people invest expecting to actually make a return on that investment.
Many of the arbitration claims deal with omissions and misrepresentations and are coming in a close second when it comes to selling unsuitable investments. Some of the preferred securities sold on a fraudulent basis in 2009 involved bond funds, structured products and near cash instruments. The plot thickens as time marches on. Unfortunately, there are a large number of people – not familiar with investing – that have walked into something they thought was a “good deal” and it backfired on them and wiped them out financially.
Sadly, many of the arbitration hearings didn’t result in a good outcome for the complainant. The figures show that ripped off investors only prevailed about 43% of the time. That’s less than a half chance of succeeding in recouping an investment; slightly better odds than playing Russian Roulette but not by much.
If stock fraud is suspected in dealing with a broker or brokerage firm, call a seasoned lawyer with a background in this area. Once the case reaches the courts, the chances for investment recovery may increase substantially.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Michael G. Smith is an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
When a Wreck Involves Truck Negligence
Personal injury lawsuits are based on the fact that injuries happen to a person because someone else was negligent. 18-wheeler accidents are often good examples.
Let’s take a look at a hypothetical big rig accident, based on reality – and truth is often stranger than fiction facts, this accident should never have happened. It was a dreary day out on the highway when two huge trucks collided; one rig slammed into another one stalled on the highway. Traffic was diverted for several hours while the truckers were transported to medical facilities and the mess was cleaned up.
Thankfully, both drivers only had minor injuries, something the police in attendance found amazing. This wreck was one of the worst they had ever seen; a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. The devastation to both of the 18-wheelers was phenomenal and even Haz-Mat officers on the scene were astounded that anyone actually survived the crash. Diesel fuel sloshed all over the highway as a result of the accident, creating an even more delicate situation in terms of potential fatalities should a spark set the fuel off.
The trucker driving the second vehicle rammed into the back of the first big rig and yet fortunately lived to tell about it. If you take a good look at the circumstances of a case like this, the potential for a really major disaster was just looking for a place to happen, but was diverted in this instance. The trucks could have struck another vehicle, another vehicle could have slammed into them, the diesel fuel could have ignited and engulfed both rigs, and both drivers may have perished at the scene.
While the cause of the accident is under investigation, the police may find that it was bad road conditions and the driver that rear-ended the stalled semi wasn’t paying attention to the road. They may also find the driver was texting while driving, exhausted, running late and trying to catch up, or his rig blew a tire.
The stalled semi may have not have been flagged properly according to safety regulations. It may have been parked in an inappropriate location and may not have had warning flares set out. In other words, just about anything could have happened to cause this colossal collision. Most of the things we have mentioned as being possibilities have their origin in negligence on the part of the driver who ran into the stalled truck.
If negligence can be proven, the injured driver of the other truck just may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit and recover damages for his injuries. For cases like this, it’s best to speak to a dedicated and skilled Arkansas personal injury lawyer and get the straight goods; not just something you want to hear.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Non Verbal Elder Stroke Victims at Risk for Abuse
If a senior isn’t able to speak, their chances for being abused increase dramatically. Elder abuse has many ugly faces.
Elder abuse is rampant these days and the reasons are totally inexplicable. What possible reason could anyone have to harm a senior, especially one who is disabled mentally or physically? So few seniors these days have “nest eggs” like they once did, that it defies all logic to think that by harming an elderly person, someone will make a profit from their misdeeds. That leaves abuse for the pure sake of abuse; a blood curdling thought in a society that supposedly prides itself on being civilized, up-to-date and abhors violence.
One recent case we heard about brought home a very ugly new twist to the kinds of abuse senior’s face. The victim was a 71-year-old woman who had suffered a stroke and could not talk. Her family made it a regular habit to always visit their mom every week. They took turns going with their families and taking the grandkids. For the first while, even though their mom could not talk, things seemed to be going fairly well. The kids were happy with their choice of nursing home.
“Over time, something dark and ugly started to creep into the picture. The children began to notice their mother had unexplained bruises on her body. They saw this too often to not begin to suspect there was something nasty afoot in the nursing home,” said Michael G. Smith an Arkansas injury lawyer. They complained to management who said they would look into it, but never did. Things seemed to go well for another period of time until the bruises were far to frequent to ignore.
“The family took the initiative to set up a hidden video camera on their mom’s side table in her room. The camera filmed an employee slapping their mom around, pulling her by the hair, bending her neck, fingers and wrists and violently handling her while she was in a shower chair,” outline Smith. “The worker was criminally charged and pleaded no contest. The courts awarded the family $7.75 million: $2.75 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitive damages,” he added.
If elder abuse is suspected, do not wait to speak to an Arkansas personal injury lawyer and find out what can be done to stop the violence. Elder abuse is a crime that needs to be stamped out so that it is not perpetuated in nursing homes in our nation. There is no rhyme or reason for this kind of behavior, no excuse, no good reason.
Violence is not acceptable when it comes to dealing with elderly people in nursing homes, whether they are able to speak or not. The fact that abuse is perpetrated on stroke victims is sickening. Only an experienced Arkansas personal injury lawyer will be able to file a case that will get justice for the senior whose life is a prison of blows and other rough treatment.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Michael G. Smith is an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Justice says Med Mal Caps Only Benefit the Insurance Companies
This won’t surprise too many of you, but medical malpractice caps for damages only benefit insurance companies. They don’t benefit the victims.
It’s a total no-brainer that medical malpractice caps for damages sustained in a medical malpractice case are detrimental for the victim. It’s the innocent victim that was harmed so seriously that their whole life has been forever altered. They may face the rest of their lives trying to cope with significant injuries acquired due to the negligence of some physician.
Capping damages at $250,000, something proposed in the about-to-be health care reform bill, will punish the victim and not adequately compensate them for their true expenses over the rest of their lives. If the law is about justice, capping medical malpractice damage awards is not just. It’s a thinly disguised ploy by insurance companies (who support tort reform, by the way) to keep their expenses down and not have to pay out such high damage claims.
Interestingly enough, many large insurance companies insist they really only want to keep the price of soaring med mal insurance down. Well, in states that have the med mal cap in place already, the prices of medical practice insurance have continued to climb, cap or no cap. Look to the insurance company’s coffers for the reason for that.
Insurance companies also claim that high damage awards create defensive medicine; medicine where doctors go overboard and order expensive tests to be safe. Frankly, any good doctor will order what they feel is necessary, not what they think they should order to keep their malpractice insurance rates down. The only thing defensive medicine does is increase the cost of medical care to the end user.
It should be noted that the American Association for Justice has recently released a new report that reveals tort reform (capping med mal damage awards) which has succeeded in providing a lovely windfall of cash for the insurance companies. On the other hand, patients and doctors continue to pay ever increasing premiums.
Here is what is really interesting though: those insurance companies who insure physicians for malpractice showed their profits as being 24% higher in states with med mal caps on the books. So in 2008 alone, those same insurers raked in 3.5 times “more” in premiums than they paid out. What happened in states with no caps? Insurance companies still did really well in amassing just slightly over twice that they paid out for claims.
This clearly demonstrates what many people have been saying for years, that there is “no” relationship between the high cost of med mal insurance premiums and health insurance premiums. However, the reality is insurance companies “want” you to think that there is a relationship. Right now there are at least 30 states that have malpractice caps.
You’d be right on the money (pun intended) if you automatically thought those insurance companies are making high profits. Ready for this? In 2008 (just imagine what the figures are now) the average profit for the 10 largest med mal insurers was “higher” than 99% of Fortune 500 companies.
This isn’t right, ethical or moral. Speak out and tell people what “your” opinion is about penalizing victims of medical malpractice by ensuring their damage awards will not be enough to allow them to cope with their injuries for the rest of their lives.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com