ADMIRALTY / MARITIME |
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Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law or Law of the Sea) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. Under conventions of international law, the flag flown by a ship generally determines the source of law to be applied in admiralty cases, regardless of which court has personal jurisdiction over the parties. This has led some ships to fly flags of convenience.
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ARBITRATION / MEDIATION |
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Arbitration is a form of mediation or conciliation, where the mediating party is given power by the disputant parties to settle the dispute by making a finding. In practice arbitration is generally used as a substitute for judicial systems, particularly when the judicial processes are viewed as too slow, expensive or biased. Arbitration is also used by communities which lack formal law, as a substitute for formal law.
Mediation consists of a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a (generally) neutral third party, the mediator, using appropriate techniques, assists two or more parties to help them negotiate an agreement, with concrete effects, on a matter of common interest. More generally speaking, the term "mediation" covers any activity in which an impartial third party (often a professional) facilitates an agreement on any matter in the common interest of the parties involved.
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ASBESTOS |
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Asbestos (a misapplication of Latin: asbestos "quicklime" from Greek ἄσβεστος: a-, "not"; sbestos, "extinguishable") describes any of a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals of the hydrous magnesium silicate variety. The name is derived for its historical use in lamp wicks; the resistance of asbestos to fire has long been exploited for a variety of purposes. It was used in fabrics such as Egyptian burial cloths and Charlemagne's tablecloth, which, according to legend, he threw in a fire to clean. Asbestos occurs naturally in many forms (see below); it is mined from metamorphic deposits.
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AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT |
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Car accidents are damaging events involving road traffic, particularly automobiles. They can cause damage to vehicles, people or structures. Car accidents also called traffic collisions, auto accidents, road accidents, personal injury collisions, motor vehicle accidents, and (particularly by American radio traffic reporters) crashes kill an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number (WHO, 2004). The term "accident" is considered inappropriate by some, as reliable sources estimate that upwards of 90% are the result of driver negligence.
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DRAM SHOP |
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Dram shop or Dramshop is a legal term in the United States referring to a bar, tavern or the like where alcoholic beverages are sold. Traditionally, it referred to a shop where spirits were sold by the dram, a small unit of liquid.
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DUI - Driving Under Influence |
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Driving under the influence, drunk driving, or drink-driving, is the act of operating a motor vehicle (and sometimes a bicycle or similar human-powered vehicle) after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. In addition to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of other drugs, a third "DUI" offense consists of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs causing or contributing to the impairment need not be illegal, but can consist of lawfully prescribed or over-the-counter medication. Anti-drunk-driving advertising campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of the legal situation and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Drunk-driving is responsible for a very large number of deaths, injuries, damage and accidents every year.
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INSURANCE FRAUD |
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Insurance fraud or false insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the intent to defraud an insurance provider.
In the United States insurance fraud is estimated to cost US$875 per person per year with The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimating the loss to be $80 billion per year and Medicare estimating fraud in its system costs the government $179 billion per year.
Insurance fraud hurts the average person in two ways. First, all fraud costs, including losses, investigations, etc., are paid for by the insured through higher premiums, or, in the case of government insurance like Medicare, in higher taxes. Second, if a particular individual is the target for the fraud, they have costs such as deductible payments, loss of property use, etc., as well as higher premiums from the claim loss and the potential for denial of future coverage.
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INSURANCE - PROPERTY |
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Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways - open perils, or all risk perils, and named perils. Open perils cover all the causes of loss not specifically excluded or eliminated in the policy. Named perils require the actual cause of loss to be listed in the policy for insurance to be provided. The more common named perils include such damage causing events as fire, lightning, explosion and theft. Some of the more common exclusions include earthquake, flood, nuclear incidents, and war.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - ANALYSIS |
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In law, intellectual property (IP) is a broad entitlement extending the concept of property beyond its materialist definitions to include information, ideas, and other intangible assets in their expressed form. Depending on jurisdiction, IP rights generally enable the holder to exercise exclusive rights over the the subject matter (or "work") of the IP using copyright, patent, trademark, industrial design right and similar legal protections. The term reinforces that such works are the product of the mind or intellect and that any rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - LICENSING |
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In law, intellectual property (IP) is a broad entitlement extending the concept of property beyond its materialist definitions to include information, ideas, and other intangible assets in their expressed form. Depending on jurisdiction, IP rights generally enable the holder to exercise exclusive rights over the the subject matter (or "work") of the IP using copyright, patent, trademark, industrial design right and similar legal protections. The term reinforces that such works are the product of the mind or intellect and that any rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
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LIQUOR LIABILITY |
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Dram shop or Dramshop is a legal term in the United States referring to a bar, tavern or the like where alcoholic beverages are sold. Traditionally, it referred to a shop where spirits were sold by the dram, a small unit of liquid.
Dram shop liability refers to the body of law governing the liability of taverns, liquor stores and other commercial establishments that serve alcoholic beverages and liquor. Generally, dram shop laws establish the liability of establishments arising out of the sale of alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons or minors who subsequently cause death or injury to third-parties - those not having a relationship to the bar, as a result of alcohol-related car crashes and other accidents.
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MALPRACTICE, DENTAL |
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In law, dental malpractice is type of tort in which the misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance of a dental professional, under a duty to act, fails to follow generally accepted professional dental standards, and that breach of duty is the proximate cause of injury to a plaintiff who suffers damages. It is committed by a professional or her/his subordinates or agents on behalf of a client or patient that causes damages to the client or patient.
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MALPRACTICE, LEGAL |
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As the population of lawyers grows, the number of legal malpractice cases will also increase at the same rate. Statistics indicate that the number of legal malpractice cases is increasing at a rate greater than the growth of the legal industry. The reasons for this discrepancy include increased consumerism, higher client expectations, better educated clients, the need for more specialized legal skills, and the growth in similar fields of litigation.
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MALPRACTICE, MEDICAL |
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The basic definition of medical malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury to the patient. The word malpractice has a connotation of greater culpability than negligence. In the United States and other countries, a specific medical malpractice law has developed. In English law, the issue of liability is a subset of professional negligence where, under the Bolam Test, a doctor will be liable unless shown to have acted in accordance with a reasonable body of medical opinion.
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MARITAL DISSOLUTION - DIVORCE |
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Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse, which can be contrasted with an annulment, which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody and distribution of property.
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MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT MVA |
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Motor-vehicle collisions are damaging events involving road traffic, particularly automobiles. They can cause damage to vehicles, people or structures. Motor-vehicle collisions also called traffic collisions, auto accidents, road accidents, car accidents, personal injury collisions, motor vehicle acccidents, and (particularly by American radio traffic reporters) crashes kill an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number.
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PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR |
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A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. They often work for attorneys in civil cases or on behalf of a defense attorney.
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WORKERS COMPENSATION |
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Workers compensation systems (workers comp or compo) provide for financial compensation for work-related injuries of employees, in particular compensation of loss of wages, sometimes also for medical costs. These laws are usually a feature of highly developed industrial societies. Employees compensation laws are often only implemented after long and hard fought struggles by trade unions, particularly in early industrialisation. There are often benefits available to dependents of workers killed on the job as well.
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