The woman and another occupant of the home escaped injury after they barricaded a hallway door with a refrigerator, Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

The incident began about 1:40 a.m. when the suspect, Eric Turhan Northrop, approached the woman’s home and threatened to use the sledgehammer which he referred to as ” Mark E. Salomone” to break down the door if she didn’t let him in, Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said. Salomone is a well-known Massachusetts accident attorney who airs commercials on television.

Delaney, quoting from the arresting officer’s report, said that Northrop “broke through the front door wildly swinging Mark E. Salomone’” and yelled “I am going to get medieval on you like Thor.” A

Responding police officers found the sledgehammer on a table inside the home and arrested Northrop, of 40 Windsor St.

He was charged with home invasion, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, threat to commit a crime and assault with a dangerous weapon, police documents state.

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According to the 2007-08 National Post-Secondary Student Aid Study (the last year for which data is available), 66 percent of undergraduate students finished their degree with some debt, and the average debt was $27,803.

Student loan debt for graduate and professional students such as those attending law school or medical school can exceed $100,000.

Students graduating with poor job prospects in a still floundering economy may find themselves unable to pay back these debts. While many government loans offer income-based repayment plans and other options for those experiencing financial hardship, many private loans do not.

The high cost of student debt and the limited options for those with private loans has spurred some legislators to advocate for allowing private student loan debt to be included in a bankruptcy filing.

Proposed Changes

Changes to the bankruptcy laws in 2005 broadened the definition of the type of student loans that were excepted from a discharge in bankruptcy. In essence, the changes made private student loans ineligible for discharge in a bankruptcy – except in extreme cases of hardship, for which a petition to the Bankruptcy Court could be made. Federal student loans have been ineligible for discharge unless a showing of “undue hardship” could be made by the bankruptcy debtor for two decades.

Sen. Rick Durbin (D-IL) has proposed allowing private loans to be included in a bankruptcy. A bill was proposed in 2011 to make these changes, and legislators are currently debating it.

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As opposed to the interlock device, which functions much like a breathalyzer test and is installed in the cars of some drivers with DUI convictions, these new technologies would be far less intrusive, if not subliminal, and could eventually end up in every car. Not surprisingly, there are many conflicting opinions on the topic, from car manufacturers to restaurant owners to those who have suffered traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and broken bones in drunk driver car accidents.

Dallas Texas personal injury attorney David Glenn, of Glenn Law Firm, sees the anguish drunk driving accidents in Texas cause and applauds any technology that can help save lives, while still appreciating the complexity of the issue. “Of all the types of accidents that cause catastrophic injury,” he attests, “drunk driving accidents may be the most devastating and disturbing for families. There’s no excuse for a drunk driver whose negligent actions cause serious injuries or lead to the loss of life.”

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Because they spend so much time on the road with such precious cargo, women often choose vehicles based on their safety rating and other perceived safety features. Yet new vehicle ratings reveal that safety information had been skewed for men, and that women and children may actually be at greater risk of serious injury from car accidents than previously thought.

Starting with 2011 models, the federal government began using a smaller “female” crash-test dummy for some safety tests, instead of the standard, average-sized “male” dummy. The result has been a lower safety rating for many vehicles – as much as two stars – to reflect the increased risk of serious injury for smaller passengers, such as women and children.

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According to a recent article in the New York Times, while patients who became ill after taking brand name dangerous drugs can win a malpractice lawsuit, those who take generic drugs cannot. The reason goes back to a Supreme Court decision which stated that, since generic drugs do not have control over what is listed on their labels, they cannot be sued for medical malpractice. Even cases involving drugs that necessitated amputations due to gangrene and major surgeries to address debilitating gastrointestinal problems, the prescription injury victims who were given generic forms of the drug had their cases dismissed.

San Antonio lawyers at The Herrera Law Firm, Inc. know that some Texas medical malpractice cases involve generic drugs and are working hard to fight for the rights of their dangerous drug lawsuit clients.

In the article, the significant inequity of patients filing medical malpractice lawsuits is evident. “Your pharmacists aren’t telling you, hey, when we fill this with your generic, you are giving up all of your legal remedies,” said Michael Johnson, a lawyer who represented Gladys Mensing, one of the patients who sued generic drug companies in last year’s Supreme Court case, Pliva v. Mensing. “You have a disparate impact between one class of people and another.”

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Herrera Law Firm
111 Soledad Street, San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 224-1054 ? http://www.herreralaw.com

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An Inside View of the Veterans Benefits Claims Process

After ten years of the United States’ military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, most Americans have heard about the types of wounds that Veterans are facing-and surviving-with head injuries being the most common. What most people don’t know about is the staggering number of injuries that are taking place.

The Congressional Research Service, a branch of the Federation of American Scientists, issued a report in September 2010, stating that, as of that month, Operations New Dawn, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom had resulted in a total of 178,000 brain injuries, 87,000 cases of PTSD and 1,600 amputations. See: Veterans Disability Benefits

While modern medical technology is saving more lives than ever before in military history, the result is that our men and women who serve overseas are often left with debilitating, if not lifetime, health problems. In addition to the physical and emotional burdens they must carry, returning Veterans frequently find themselves shocked by the financial impact of recovery. In many cases, the veterans may need an advocate, such as a veterans benefits lawyer, to help them pursue the compensation and benefits they deserve.

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It is illegal for debt collectors to make empty threats about serving people with a lawsuit or seizing their home. And it was especially galling to Mey, who says she is debt-free.

“They threatened to take legal action against our property and it wasn’t even our debt,” Mey said.

Millions of Americans are victims of this kind of mistaken debtor identity, partly because of a new breed of collectors called “debt buyers.” They purchase old debts for pennies that the original creditors have given up on and then try to collect them for a big profit. Critics say debt buyers sometimes use outrageous tactics to get the money where others have failed. RFA is a debt buyer.
See: Bankruptcy Lawyer NC

Mey said she immediately called 911 to report that someone had threatened to sexually assault her. She says she was terrified because she believed the call was from a local number. Mey said she then bolted the door and got her husband’s gun out of the dresser and hung it on the bedpost in her bedroom.

When “Nightline” went to RFA’s Orange County, Calif., office to ask about the case, it was abandoned. RFA is actually a fictitious business name for a company called Global AG, LLC. Records show it is just one of several collection companies run by the same people that often change names and move. “Nightline” also visited other offices registered to people named in Mey’s suit, but employees refused to talk and asked us to leave.

RFA’s lawyer later told “Nightline” that RFA made the first collection call to Mey, but denies making the second, obscene call. He said he was speaking on behalf of company principals Thai Han, Jim Phelps and Stewart Phillips.

“My clients say it is not their policy to engage in conduct that violates the law,” he said. He characterized the $10 million judgment as “unfair.”

As for Diana Mey, she says she knows she may never be able to collect the money, but that her lawsuit still serves a purpose.

“I hope that it sends a message to other debt collectors out there that you have to follow the law,” she said. “Because if you don’t, there are going to be people out there that are going to stand up against you.”

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It sounds like a clear case of negligence, with the driver of the passenger vehicle being at fault. The insurance company, however, may take a different approach to the motorcycle accident. An adjuster may try to argue that you were somehow at fault. See Motorcycle Accident Attorney Hartford Ct

It’s a common misconception that most motorcycle accidents are due to aggressive riding by the motorcyclist. The unfair stereotype people have of motorcycle riders is that they are reckless speed demons. The insurance companies are aware of this misconception and will try to use it against the rider who is filing a claim.

Hartford motorcycle accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli in Connecticut have experience representing clients injured in motorcycle wrecks. In many cases, the motorcycle collision occurred because the car driver or truck driver did not see the motorcycle. Sometimes a small motorcycle is hidden in a blind spot as it approaches a larger vehicle. At night, a motorcycle may be harder to see than a passenger vehicle. It’s crucial that drivers carefully check their blind spots or survey the intersection before turning onto a road or merging.

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Dangerous children’s products have the potential to cause serious child injury, even wrongful death, whether it’s something they’ll play with at home or if it’s for a favorite sport or other outdoor activity. It’s hard to imagine that a present as seemingly harmless as a doll, a board game, building blocks, miniature cars, or even art supplies could be dangerous toys but, depending on where an item was made, the materials involved and how it was packaged, even the most basic of kids’ playthings can pose a risk to youngsters. See personal injury attorneys san antonio

In some cases, there may be toy choking hazards, such as when small parts can be pulled off of a doll, toy car, toy truck, dress up costumes, toy musical instruments or toy construction sets. Other toy choking dangers include small board game pieces, puzzle pieces, girls’ jewelry, crayons, pen caps and marbles. With kids, there is almost no limit to the ways they could be injured by a defective children’s product, and San Antonio, Texas personal injury lawyers, Herrera Law Firm, see every type of child toy injury.

Even children’s products designed to keep kids safe may actually injure them, including bicycle helmets, booster seats, car seats, playpens, safety gates and pool floatation devices. Likewise, practical basics such as cribs, strollers and high chairs can pose dangers such as defective straps, buckles, latches, wheels or trays.

Standard playground equipment, especially things like climbing gyms and trampolines, can result in fractures, broken bones, slip and fall accidents or, in the case of a severe defective toy injury, traumatic brain injury.

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