Category Archives: Personal Injury Blog

There are several obstacles to detecting fraud in health care. For example, a patient will have treatment described in a medical chart but will have diagnostic billing codes in a separate billing statement. While a payer could request the chart for comparison with the billing statement, the simple volume of work makes this routinely infeasible.

Since these two pieces of information are together in the medical facility that provided treatment, billing workers in these offices are most likely to know if fraud is occurring. Detecting fraud depends on honest medical workers disclosing their concerns.

The law that makes it possible to expose billing fraud is the False Claims Act (FCA), which dates back to 1863 and was originally passed to control fraud in military procurement during the Civil War. In cases such as this, the legal dispute is really between the US Government and the medical treatment facility, for Medicare/Medicaid cases. The critical person (the knowledgeable whistleblower) does not have standing, in the normal legal sense.

In the FCA, a provision known as qui tam addresses this. The whistleblower is called a relator and is allowed to join a suit with the government. The information held by whistleblowers is so valuable that the FCA provides for the whistleblower to share in any recovered money from the case. In a large case in Tucson, a billing worker received $6 million out of the total $35 million recovered.

Taking on a medical fraud case through the FCA is a big step. Before doing so, it is advisable to understand the full impact of such a decision and to have family support. If litigation is pursued, strong, experienced representation is critical. Please contact us.

When salespeople come to your door, they may talk you into buying something you don’t really want or need. It can harder to say “no” to a person who is at your doorstep or actually inside your home than it might be in a store or when making an online purchase. Door-to-door salespeople can play on your emotions, and they can pressure you to buy something before you have had a chance to think it through. Then, you may regret it later.

Luckily for Californians, our state has strong laws protecting Consumer Rights. California law can help you when you have second thoughts about a purchase you made from a door-to-door seller.

If you made such a purchase, you have the right to cancel the service or return the purchased item and get all your money back. But, there is an important catch — you must put the cancellation into writing, and you must do so within three days of the purchase. So don’t delay!

If you do miss the three-day deadline, you may still have a chance to get your money back if you can show that the salesperson used fraudulent sales tactics. You might want to consult a lawyer who is experienced in consumer law to find out more about what your options may be.

Next time someone comes to your door trying to sell something, you can head off problems at the outset by taking your time, reading the contract, and resisting any pressure to buy something when you are not sure you really want it.

If your consumer rights have been violated, please contact us for a free case evaluation.

If you’re not happy with your employer, whether it be because you’re treated unfairly, the work conditions are deplorable, or you’ve suffered some type of harassment, it’s possible you can do something about it. Retaining an employment attorney can help you sort through the process by filing a complaint and representing you in a dispute. However, it’s best to know what to expect before you retain an attorney experienced in employment law.

Employment Lawyer Duties

Lawyers that specialize in employment law represent clients in a number of different matters, including:

• Mistreatment by their employer
• Wrongfully terminated
• Unemployment compensation matters

When You May Need an Employment Lawyer

A lawyer who practices in the area of employment law is useful if you believe your employer has breached an employee/employer contract you’re both a party to. If you feel you were wrongfully terminated, have suffered some type of harassment or discrimination in the workplace, or the conditions in the environment where you work are less than favorable, an employment lawyer can assist you with filing claims against your employer.

What to Expect

The entire process depends on the type of claim you wish to file against your employer. An employment lawyer will sit down with you and review the specific laws that pertain to your situation. If you’re successful, you may receive some type of compensation for the damages you’ve suffered.

Employees have rights, but many times employers ignore those rights, and employees don’t realize they have options. For more information on employment law and your rights as an employee, contact us.

On May 26, 2016, a New York law firm filed a class action suit against Gerdau, the largest steel manufacturer in South America; the suit alleges that the company mislead investors about tax liabilities and other material business issues, causing them to lose money.

Based in Porto Alegre, Gerdau (NYSE: GGB) is the latest Brazilian company to come under fire or face a lawsuit due to securities fraud and Brazilian corruption investigations. The lawsuit claims that Gerdau did not disclose that the company and its executives had bribed tax authorities, laundered illegal money and carried out influence peddling, all while defrauding Brazil’s tax revenue service of $429 million dollars.

Raids of the Gerdau offices by Brazilian Federal Police in March 2015 were a part of Operation Zelot, an investigation into tax fraud and bribery of tax revenue agents in Brazil. Operation Zelot uncovered a tax fraud scheme that reportedly included over 70 companies which had bribed members of the CARF, the Finance Ministry department that takes appeals on tax disputes.

In December, 2015, Gerdau was publicly named as a beneficiary of the tax fraud scheme, which caused its stock price to plummet more than seven percent.

At the end of February, Brazilian police carried out a more widespread raid on multiple Gerdau offices, armed with 20 court orders and 18 search warrants. Gerdau‘s CEO Andre Gerdau Johannpeter spoke via email by day’s end, and his statement said that the company had not authorized any illegal negotiations and that they abided by strict ethical standards. However, the next day, Gerdau stock prices fell an additional three percent.

Additionally, when the dust had settled, federal police had accused Gerdau of corruption and tax evasion and indicted 19 staff members, including CEO Johannpeter and other top executives. Again, stock prices fell more than seven percent on this news.

This lawsuit is part of a growing docket of securities fraud cases that were initially unearthed during probes into price-fixing, political kickbacks and bribery at state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA in 2014.

Currently, the filing law firm is seeking investors that held Gerdau ADRs anytime from June 2, 2011 to May 15, 2016 as potential claimants in its lawsuit. A court must deem the suit meets a minimum criteria to proceed as a class-action suit.

If you are a potential class member, it is crucial that you know all of your rights as they pertain to this suit. Get advice from an experienced law firm that is knowledgeable about securities fraud, corruption, class-action suits and international law.

When you, as a consumer, view an advertisement for a product or service, you can reasonably expect that the ad portrays that product or service in a truthful manner. On the federal and state level, laws are in place to make sure that businesses do not violate this trust with their consumers. Consumers who have been subjected to false or misleading advertising may be entitled to compensation and should contact an attorney to learn about what actions can be taken. 

There are a few ways a business might mislead consumers through their advertisements, whether online, on television, on the radio, or somewhere else. They may make false claims about the price or quality of a product or service. One way a business may do this is by raising the price of a product, and then lowering it back to the original price, and falsely claiming that the product is on sale. This kind of tactic deceives the consumer and makes them think they are getting a bargain by purchasing the product at this price, when really they are just purchasing it at its regular price.  

There are many other ways to falsely advertise a product, and all hurt you – the consumer. Even if the financial loss from the deceiving advertisement wasn’t a great  amount, you can still potentially get your money back and more, as well as prevent the business in question from harming other consumers. Contact an experienced attorney today to take the next step towards justice and protect your rights as a consumer. 

Two U.S. judges deferred the decision to settle class-action lawsuits from Uber and Lyft drivers of Friday. 

Reuters notes, a $27 million settlement, brought about by Lyft, was deferred so that U.S. District Judge Vine Chabria could decide whether drivers from a separate lawsuit should get money from the deal. 

An Uber settlement, with a payout of up to $100 million, was also deferred by Judge Edward Chen, who said he would need more time to decide. 

If approved, the settlements would keep drivers on as independent contractors. The drivers, who sued the ride-sharing services, claimed that they should be considered employees and reimbursed for the expenses, like gas and car maintenance. They are also upset that the settlement amount is substantially lower than what they requested. 

The Verge claims that Uber has plans to add in options in their app that would make working easier for their drivers. Some of the changes include fining riders for long waits, upgrading its destination feature, and giving drivers company branded debit cards. 

The companies will receive decisions from both judges later this year. 

Both of the ride-sharing services have faced opposition around the world. Taxi-drivers have slammed the services for stealing customers and turning the industry upside down. Several states have voted to ban the services and many are planning to join in on the protest. The services are currently operating in states like, California, New York, and Miami. Several class-action lawsuits are pending. 

For more news on class action lawsuits, feel free to contact us.

Time spent around the dinner table is supposed to be good for a child. It encourages communication, socialization and family bonding as well as familiarization with healthy foods. Unfortunately, defective booster seats and product liability cases have turned the once idyllic scene into a cause for concern. Case in point, more than 20,000 booster seats were recalled in May 2015 alone! The brand at the center of the latest, troubling recall was OXO.

Latest Booster Seat Recall Danger

The booster seats that they manufactured in China and sold from 2014 until April of this year featured defective straps. As such, unsuspecting toddlers could have very easily fallen out of the seats or gotten entrapped in the straps during escape attempts. Sadly, the OXO booster seat recalls are just another notch in a long list of restraint failures.

Booster and High Chair Manufacturers Can’t Be Trusted

In April 2014, the Journal of Clinical Pediatrics published a study showing just how untrustworthy booster seat and high chair manufacturers have been over the years. They recorded more than 2,000 injuries between 2003 and 2010 in conjunction with 3+ million recalls. In addition, they estimated that in excess of 9,000 related injuries have occurred every year thereafter. That’s a lot of injured children to be sure.

Parents Beware of Non-Certified Products

Parents hoping to prevent booster and high chair related accidents should consider confining their purchases to ones that hold ASTM International and JPMA Certifications. Checking to ensure that the booster seats and high chairs were not manufactured by frequent offenders is another smart choice because companies with a history of product liability issues shouldn’t really be trusted with a child’s health.

After purchasing booster seats or high chairs, parents should make it a point to sign up for product recall alerts, just in case. We would also suggest reading the owner’s manual that came with the booster seat or high chair. After all, it is vital that parents and other responsible adults use the booster seats or high chairs properly. Otherwise, children could become injured and parents could be accused of contributory negligence.

Flawed Booster Seat and High Chair Injuries

Injuries frequently associated with defective booster seats include, but are not exclusive to broken bones, head injuries, lacerations, fractures and puncture wounds. Of course the situation could worsen if hot food, beverages, glass and cutlery are involved. For example, the child could start to fall out of the booster seat and instinctively reach towards the table.

In the process, he or she could knock over steaming hot foot sitting in a glass bowl. The serving bowl could break upon hitting the floor, sending shards of glass and hot foods towards the already injured child. In the end, the child could end up with serious burns, eye injuries and severed arteries in addition to the original, impact injuries. The hot foods and glass could also obviously travel far enough to injure other people seated at the table as well.

Seek Restitution for Booster Seat or High Chair Injuries

If incidents like that happen, families should hold on to the defective booster seat and contact a product liability attorney for advice. It may be possible to sue the booster seat’s manufacturer and receive compensation for injured children and others impacted by the flawed product.