Most of the workers in the construction and industrial field in Houston are not aware of the compensation they can get if they are diagnosed with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma attorneys in Houston are especially skilled people who can help you obtain the right compensation to cover the medical and other expenses incurred during your sickness.

Mesothelioma is one type of cancer that is directly associated with asbestos exposure. Studies show that nearly 90% of people who had been gravely exposed to asbestos develop mesothelioma. Asbestos is commonly used in building houses and other infrastructures. Its popularity was brought about by its high resistance to fire.

However its dust particles, when inhaled into the lungs, stick like a magnet and cannot be removed easily. As the fibers stays in the lungs, respiratory complications develop. Eventually, cells affected with these dust particles develop carcinogens or cancer cells.

The term mesothelioma is named after the affected area in the lungs, which is the mesothelium. This protective sheet covers the vital organs of the body. It is located at the exterior portion of the lungs and the chest cavity called pleura. When the glass-like particles of the asbestos stick to the mesothelium, cancer cells develop and propagate. And even after the exposure has been stopped, the development of mesothelioma continues.

For this reason, employees who had been exposed to asbestos during their tenure in their work are eligible for compensation. But not all patients can avail of such benefits, not unless they hire a good lawyer. Mesothelioma attorneys in Houston are capable of providing you with the best legal services you need. They are skilled professionals who can provide you with support and explain to you everything you need to get the compensation you deserve.

Most Houston residents are not aware that exposure to asbestos leading to mesothelioma gives them legal rights to file a lawsuit against their employer. Basically, it is the employer that is responsible for the health and safety of their employees. The law states that the employer should at least provide feasible protection against such exposure. If it is really the nature of the job, companies should provide proper gear or clothing that will help prevent asbestos inhalation.

With the help of your mesothelioma attorney in Houston, you have the full privilege to file a lawsuit and ask for due compensation. Mesothelioma compensation entails the amount needed to reimburse medical bills, loss of job, and the employee's inability to provide quality life for his family because of the disease.

Choosing a Mesothelioma Attorney in Houston

Choosing a lawyer is a personal choice; it is best that you know whom you will be working with so you can easily relate to whatever advice he or she will give you. Hence, it is important that you learn to choose the right attorney. Here is how:

1. Good personality

Getting a good lawyer does not necessarily mean you have to focus on the skills and experience alone. It is best if the attorney must have a pleasing personality as well. Working with a mesothelioma attorney in Houston that is endowed with a poor personality may only bring about a difficult relationship. Instead of working harmoniously with one another, the relationship may tend to create conflict, misunderstanding, or confusion instead of resolving the issue.

2. A Specialist

Many attorneys or lawyers are into general practice. At some point, they can help you win a case but not with a mesothelioma lawsuit. You need a specialist for this kind of job.

Hence, when you are looking for a good mesothelioma attorney in Houston, look for experience, expertise, and the specialization a lawyer has with this kind of lawsuit. Some people may think that hiring a specialist may sound costly. It is - if you are looking at the outright cost, but most lawyers have various payment plans that will accommodate you.

3. Never sign a contract if you are not sure

There may be lots of mesothelioma attorneys in Houston, but not all of them can give you the kind of services you need or the kind of charges you want to pay. So if you are not so sure on the deal, never affix your signature in the contract. Be smart enough to study all the possible consequences once you have already committed yourself to a particular attorney, understanding the whole scenario.

The bottom line is that a good Mesothelioma attorney in Houston must be someone who can notably provide you the right legal services you need to get your compensation without having to pay more.

For more complete information on mesothelioma please go to:
http://freemesotheliomalawyer.com/houston-find-an-attorney/
http://freemesotheliomalawyer.com
http://www.drnathaliefiset.com

It is very rare for lung cancer to only have one cause; we know that because not everybody who smokes cigarettes gets lung cancer. I had an uncle who smoked most of his life and died at the grand age of 99. Fortunately he was smart enough to give up smoking in his sixties. Rather than simply being caused by passing smoke through your lungs, lung cancer is typically triggered by many causes, smoking being the main one. The other causes of lung cancer are nutritional deficiencies, toxins in your environment, our sedentary lifestyle and sometimes emotional conflict.
Now passing smoke through your lungs is not a very clever thing to do, we do it at a young age because we think we’re invincible and maybe we are, but as we age we most definitely are not. The biggest health problem with the habit of smoking is, it inhibits the body from absorbing the vitamins and minerals we so badly need to maintain our health. It also irritates the delicate linings of the lungs and cancer will take hold in some part of the body that has been weakened by any damage or irritation.

The food we eat on a daily basis is the foundation of our health. Our diets today have changed vastly and the typical western diet is not known for its health giving qualities. We may think we are eating well but when you consider that we are designed to eat only freshly grown fruit and vegetables, a few whole grains and one or two other items one can see that we have strayed far from a healthy diet. A big percentage of our food intake these days is processed food and nearly all of it is nutritional dead food because of its processing and because it’s old. Our poor food choices are most certainly a major contributor to all cancers.

Most of the chemicals we surround ourselves with these days are extracted from crude oil, in other words the petro-chemical industry and they do effect us. 100 years ago there weren’t any chemicals but today we are overwhelmed by them. We breathe them in as in exhaust gases from motor vehicles, we use them on our body as in personal care products, even so called natural ones have some chemicals in them, and we take them in directly in the form of food additives. They are also in the homes we live in, because of the many products used in the building industry.

The human body was designed to be physically active and if we neglect this basic function we’ll inevitably pay the price in the form of health problems. Some form of exercise on a daily bases is very important to both avoid cancer and to fight cancer. Once again because of the motor car and cheap oil, we seldom get the exercise we so badly need. When we exercise we are enriching our bodies with oxygen and cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygenated environment. That was proven back in 1931.

Emotional conflict can weaken our immune system and that is well recognised. It’s because we’re holding onto a problem like a personal crises in some form and it’s wearing us down. The only solution I can suggest is to seek help to resolve the issues.

Our bodies have amazing self healing powers that can eliminate cancer, but we have to provide the right conditions to allow that to happen. The bottom line is, you need to take charge of your cancer and no one can do it for you. Appropriate diet and lifestyle changes are your first line of defence.

By: Alan-nz

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Alan Wighton is an independent health researcher, having spent many years gaining knowledge, particularly on the subject of cancer. If you have found this article helpful and would like to learn more, visit his website where you can download a free article that has been written with facts and information to help people overcome their cancer. www.cancerhealed.com

Mesothelioma is a disease which the majority of Houston residents don’t know about. Mesothelioma is a kind of cancer linked to asbestos. In recent years there has been a significant increase in cases regarding this disease, which has led to new lawyers specializing in mesothelioma lawsuits. As Houston is a major commercial hub in the US, it has many mesothelioma lawyers.

Mesothelioma is a disease which the majority of Houston residents don’t know about. Mesothelioma is a kind of cancer linked to asbestos. In recent years there has been a significant increase in cases regarding this disease, which has led to new lawyers specializing in mesothelioma lawsuits. As Houston is a major commercial hub in the US, it has many mesothelioma lawyers.

Houston’s mesothelioma lawyers and popular law firms mainly deal with mesothelioma victims and their families, who want to claim compensation from a firm where the victim was exposed to asbestos. It has been noticed that mesothelioma lawsuits can win millions in compensation for the victims and their families. According to Houston’s law experts, if you are diagnosed with mesothelioma you have every right to file a lawsuit in the court. Nowadays there are numerous mesothelioma lawyers who are specialists in these cases and can get the maximum compensation for you. It is wise to contact a lawyer who has excelled in this field, and has a healthy knowledge about the disease and its related effects. Houston mesothelioma lawyers are clever enough to get the best judgment for you.

Do extensive market research to find the best mesothelioma lawyer in town, so that your case can be represented well. Provide him with all the information you have, so that he can prepare your case well in advance. Houston mesothelioma lawyers must present your case in a strong manner. It has been seen that Houston’s mesothelioma lawyers also hire the investigators to get information about the firm where the victim was working. They can also help in getting the compensation to the family of the person who died due to mesothelioma, to help the family deal with its loss.

So if you are diagnosed with mesothelioma or one of your family members died from this disease, then this is the time to hire a mesothelioma lawyer.

Houston Lawyers provides detailed information on Houston Bankruptcy Lawyers, Houston Criminal Lawyers, Houston Divorce Lawyers, Houston DWI Lawyers and more. Houston Lawyers is affiliated with Houston DWI Arrests.

Elevators are such a staple of everyday life that most office employees do not even think about stepping into a car every day, even one carrying them hundreds of feet up or down to their destinations. While it is true that massive improvements in safety have been made to this unique mode of transportation since it began to appear in city buildings in the 19th century, accidents still happen.

The most common incident involving elevators may not necessarily be life-threatening, but it is certainly frustrating. While most cases are not as extreme as that of Nicholas White, trapped on a New York City elevator for forty-one hours, nearly everyone knows either first or second-hand of the experience of stalling - commonly known as getting suck - for at least a few minutes.

However, other elevator accidents are less common but far more serious. The safety of elevators in Japan recently came under serious question after a 16-year-old boy was killed when the car he was backing out of with his pick suddenly jerked upward, inflicting major damage to his skull. Closer to home, a Houston doctor was decapitated by an malfunctioning elevator in 2003, becoming one of the 30 or so elevator fatalities in this nation every year.

To best avoid this possibility, consider the following safety tips before you take your next vertical ride:

• Use caution around closing doors, never attempting to slide in at the last minute. Many people assume that safety sensors are infallible, but this is not always the case. Moreover, many are located near the center of the doors, so if, for whatever reason, you happen to be near the bottom of the car, take special care of your actions.
• Enter and exit cars only at designated floor alignments. One common malfunction of elevator rides involves the door opening when the car has not come to a complete stop or is stuck midway, exposing the shaft below. Even if you are trapped, do not attempt to exit a craft that is stuck in this way. Instead, call for help and wait for crews to properly align the car.
• Related to the point above, always keep clear of open elevator shafts. Apart from the obvious possibility of falling in, some office building have very fast-moving cars that could catch you unawares from above or below if curiosity gets the better of you.
• Finally, be way of any suspicious activity on the part of potential fellow riders. Never take unnecessary risks when feeling uncomfortable with those around you.

Liability is a major issue for those who own, operate, and service elevators. If you or someone you love has been affected by an elevator accident, you should consider the possibility of legal compensation for your difficulties.

Check out the website of Chicago personal injury lawyers Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C., today for more information.

Joseph Devine

The number of complaints filed with the Texas Medical Board and Texas Board of Nursing has greatly increased over the past several years. This influx of cases is due largely to Texas legislation that capped the amount of non-economic damages that patients could recover in a medical malpractice lawsuit against physicians, nurses and other health care providers. And while Texas became a more welcoming state for physicians who appreciated the lower malpractice insurance and the lessened threat of a lawsuit, more patients now feel that their grievances are better addressed through the medical or nursing boards instead of the courtroom. Will you be prepared if you receive a written notice of investigation into a complaint?

Your attorney certainly should prepare you for what will happen when you find yourself in front of the medical or nursing board, but I would like to share my advice on the approach you should take from the moment you find out that you will be meeting the panel.

The "Dos"

1. Do dress professionally

You may believe you are demonstrating a dedication to your profession by arriving at your hearing in scrubs or wearing a stethoscope, but there will be other opportunities to prove that you are a serious member of the medical community. Instead, the business attire that you would wear in any courtroom setting should be your clothing of choice for this important day.

2. Do be willing to admit to error

The board will be more lenient if you acknowledge that perhaps your best efforts were not demonstrated during the instance in question. As with Americans and their elected leaders, an honest apology goes a long way in mending a wrongdoing. Of course, your legal counsel should be very careful in advising that you to not testify to matters that may be self-incriminating or self-indicting.

3. Do reinforce your position with documentation

The best way to avoid your day in front of a board panel is to be meticulous in your words, actions, and decisions. Nurses need to know everything possible about their responsibilities regarding record keeping, how to provide optimal patient safety, and the procedures to follow when leaving an assignment. Doctors must always be polite and honest with patients, and be thorough in documentation and reporting. A solid paper trail that supports your side of the story is one of the strongest weapons that you have at your disposal.

4. Do accept the decision of the board panel

Once both sides have presented the facts, witnesses have spoken, and you have had a chance to share your recollection of the incident, the board is going to issue its decision. If the complaint against you is found to have merit, the panel will share its recommendation for a penalty. You still will find that there is some room to negotiate. And if that fails, you will have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), at which time an administrative law judge will be assigned to the case and a more formal trial system takes over.

The "Don'ts"

1. Don't ignore notices from the boards

Like the electricity bill and those weekly phone calls from your mother, notices that you receive from the medical or nursing board must receive a response. Pretending an allegation against you does not exist is not a wise way to assert your innocence.

2. Do not circumvent the chain of command

Perhaps your favorite cousin is a staffer for your state representative and you think that a good word from the legislator would make this problem disappear. Or, you are considering a phone call to the local newspaper to share the unfair accusations that are being made against you. Do not circumvent the process. Be a strong advocate for yourself, but do so within the legal system.

3. Do not expect your attorney to do most of the talking

The members of the board panel want most of the discussion to be directly with you. You must be thoroughly prepared on the facts of the complaint; the details can be presented on your behalf, and your version of the events that prompted the hearing in the first place. If you constantly defer to your legal counsel, your competence and confidence in your own actions will be questioned and remain under serious scrutiny.

Conclusion

To be certain, no medical professional wants to be brought before a review board to defend his or her practices against the complaints of an unhappy patient, medical professional colleague or employer. However, if you find yourself in that situation, you want to know that you are taking every step possible to insure the best outcome. Your license, livelihood and reputation as a physician or nurse may be at stake. By knowing what to expect before that board notice ever arrives in the mail, you are creating the circumstances for a pleasant resolution to the complaint process.

Tony R. Bertolino is a managing partner with Bertolino LLP, a Texas law firm with offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Bertolino LLP has attorneys, particularly in its Austin office, who have great experience appearing before the Texas Medical Board and Texas Board of Nursing.

It is important for any prospective business purchaser to perform due diligence in researching a potential target business. Some of the documents you will need to collect and review in your analysis of whether a particular business would be a good acquisition include the following types of documents.

NOTE: THIS IS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE.

1. Corporate and Organizational

o Certified copy of articles of incorporation and bylaws of company and subsidiaries as currently in effect;

o Partnership agreement and any amendments thereto;

o A copy of the most current organization chart available of the company;

o A list of states and foreign countries (if any) in which the Company is
qualified to do business; and

o All names under which the company has done business in the past five years; this includes registered and unregistered trademarks, fictitious name statements (commonly referred to as “d/b/a filings”).

2. Financing Documents

o All loan agreements, debt instruments, and other financing instruments, and all related material documentation, to which the company is a party.

o A list of all mortgages, liens, pledges, security interests, charges, or other encumbrances to which any property (real or personal) of the company is subject and all related material documentation;

o Schedule of all short-term and long-term debt (including capitalized leases, guarantees, and other contingent obligations).

3. Financial Statements

o All audited and un-audited financial statements;

o Brief description of contingent liabilities involving the Company, such as pending lawsuits and threatened litigation;

o Name of accountants and length of relationship with accountants; indicate whether the accountants own any interest in or hold any position with the Company or its subsidiaries;

o Budgets, business plans or projections (for the Company and any of its subsidiaries) made on a quarterly, annual or other basis during the past 3 fiscal years.

4. Contracts & Leases

o Real estate leases. Consider the term of the lease and the quality and location of the space and decide whether your business needs would be satisfied;

o Equipment leases;

o Purchase and sale contracts for goods and services [uniforms; food suppliers]

5. Tax Matters

o Are back taxes owed?

o Are there any pending tax suits?

o Does any local, state or federal taxing authority have any liens against the real property or business personal property you would be acquiring? If so penalties, interest and attorney’s fees could greatly increase the cost of satisfying the tax lien.

6. Identities of All Directors, Officers & Shareolders

o You ought to perform a background check on each of these people to see whether there is any pending litigation against them.

7. Owned Real Estate

o Need a list of owned real estate to help in valuing the business and determining liabilities.

8. Insurance

o You would want to have copies of the insurance policies, as well as the name and contact information for the insurance agent, going back four years from the time of purchasing the business. Check to see whether the insurance policies would cover you, as the new company, for any damages alleged to have occurred before you acquired the business.

Finally, many other factors related to financial and other matters must be considered before taking the plunge.

Henry J. Fasthoff, IV
Principal & General Counsel
HoustonBusiness.com

When Michael Jackson unexpectedly passed away last week, the world was stunned by the death of the fifty-year-old entertainer who left an indelible mark on pop culture. He was preparing for a world tour that was advertised as his fans' last opportunity to see the King of Pop perform on stage. Whether motivated by a desire to sing again or by undeniable financial problems, the tour that would have brought hundreds of thousands into arenas will never happen. Along with his amazing legacy of music and a sorted legal history, Michael Jackson also leaves behind an endless number of questions surrounding his unusual personality and life. What exactly was the cause of his death? An official pronouncement from the coroner has been postponed pending toxicology reports, but rumors are rampant concerning his addiction to prescription drugs and the courts want the opportunity to speak with his various doctors. Will we now learn more about the plastic surgeries and other alterations he chose to endure? Finally, there is a question that likely will be answered in a California courtroom over the weeks and months to come. What is to become of Michael Jackson's children? In the middle of all of the chaos and media frenzy, I hope we all remember these three innocent participants in the family drama.

Michael Jackson leaves behind three children whose new home is yet to be determined-Prince Michael, age twelve, Paris Katherine, age eleven, and Prince Michael II (also known as Blanket), age seven. The first two kids are the product of his marriage with the former nurse for Mr. Jackson's dermatologist, Debbie Rowe, which lasted from 1996 to 1999. Ms. Rowe originally gave up all custodial rights when the two terminated their marriage, but successfully appealed to have parental rights restored following Jackson's arrest in 2003 on child molestation charges. The youngest boy was born to a surrogate mother who has never been identified. In fact, official documentation lists "None" in the space indicated for the birth mother. So, the California courts are left with two birth mothers who have had little or no contact with their children. What are the possible options at this point?

California law considers several issues when determining child custody cases, using the guiding factor of the "best interest of the minor child" as the overriding influence in such decisions. First, the courts examine the best environment for a child's safety, health, and welfare. They also check for a history of physical abuse or violent crimes committed by any of the parties seeking to share in the custody. The stability and continuity of an environment is critical in the eyes of the court. Children need to have established bonds and patterns with the person who is deemed to be the primary caretaker. Unless there are circumstances that require otherwise, such as specific health or educational needs, all efforts will be made to keep siblings living together. Finally, the court must give "due weight" to the wishes of the children in this difficult situation, assuming that their ages and reasoning ability allow them to express such a preference.

Earlier this week, Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, was granted temporary guardianship of all three children. In a will written by Michael Jackson in 2002 and released the day after Mrs. Jackson received temporary custody, the courts revealed that this placement was in accordance with Jackson's last wishes. However, Mr. Jackson does not necessarily have the final say in where his children will live until they reach adulthood. The well-known celebrity attorney Gloria Allred said about the situation, ""If he did indicate a preference, that will be given great weight, but that will not be determinative. Children are not property, they cannot be willed to another person." So far, however, Katherine Jackson is the only possible guardian who has expressed an outright and definitive interest in caring for the children. She has a long-standing relationship with all three of the kids and is surrounded by other grandchildren of the Jackson family. This environment could prove the most stable and loving for Prince, Paris, and Prince Michael II. Charlotte Goldberg, a family law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said that in all child custody cases, "It's really a balance between continuity and stability and a biological relationship."

Where does the current state of affairs leave Debbie Rowe? Experts believe that she has the strongest legal claim to the two oldest children, if she should choose to assert her parental rights. As this article is being written, Ms. Rowe has just requested and won a delay in the upcoming custody hearing as she decides whether or not she wants to pursue her rights to raise her two children. This legal move today was the first communication that Ms. Rowe has offered since the death of Michael Jackson a week ago. If she does decide to move herself to the front of the custody line, which would likely be her legal prerogative, Ms. Rowe would need to undergo an evaluation by the court to determine if she is the best person to care for the children.

Whether a celebrity or someone who has never found herself on the cover of a tabloid magazine, the emotional issues involved with child custody situations are always difficult. Above all else, it should the desire of the courts and all parties involved to make the decision that is in the best interest of the children. Where will the children feel most secure and loved while working through a painful life transition? Who is surrounded by the best support network when extra assistance is needed with the children? Who can provide the most solid financial support? If you are seeking custody of precious children in your life whose circumstances are changing for reasons ranging from divorce to death, you should seek the assistance of a family law attorney who has the experience needed to be sensitive to the heightened emotions that are involved. If you also happen to be in the public eye, you will want to find legal representation that brings knowledge of how to navigate through the magnified issues of celebrity law. While it may be difficult to focus on these practical needs when you are caught up with tending to a family in pain, making these decisions early will make for an easier road ahead.

Tony R. Bertolino is a managing partner of Bertolino LLP, a law firm with offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Bertolino LLP has attorneys who practice in the areas of family law and celebrity law. To learn more about how Bertolino LLP can assist you with your legal needs, please visit the firm's website.