AFFIRMATIVE ACTION |
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Affirmative action (U.S. English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program aimed at increasing the representation of members of groups that have traditionally been discriminated against. This typically focuses on education, employment, government contracting, health care, or social welfare.
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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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CLAIMS |
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A claim is a legal action to obtain money, property or the enforcement of a right protected by law against another party.
Individuals and businesses purchase insurance policies to protect against monetary losses. In the event of a loss, policyholders submit claims, or requests for payment, seeking compensation for their loss. Adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators work primarily for property and casualty insurance companies, for whom they handle a wide variety of claims alleging property damage, liability, or bodily injury. Their main role is to investigate the claims, negotiate settlements, and authorize payments to claimants, all the while mindful not to violate the claimants rights under Federal and State privacy laws. They must determine whether the customers insurance policy covers the loss and how much of the loss should be paid to the claimant. Although many adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators have overlapping functions and may even perform the same job, the insurance industry generally assigns specific roles to each of these claims workers.
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DAMAGES |
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In law, damages refers either to the harm suffered by a claimant in a civil action, or to the money paid or awarded to the plaintiff in compensation for such harm.
Generally, there are three kinds of damages: special damages, general damages, and punitive damages. Special damages are the enumerable or quantifiable monetary costs or losses suffered by the plaintiff, or the compensation therefore. For example, medical costs, repair or replacement of damaged property, lost wages, lost earning potential, loss of business, loss of irreplaceable items, loss of support, etc. General damages are items of harm or loss suffered, for which only a subjective value may be attached. Examples of this include personal injury, physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, disfigurement, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.
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DRUG TESTING |
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A Drug test is a process using some kind of biological matter taken from an individual to determine previous drug use. Drug testing is a subject of much controversy. Many have argued that it is an invasion of privacy. The accuracy and effectiveness of some tests are also in question, however, if proper steps are followed, including a GC/MS quantitative laboratory confirmation test, drug testing technology is highly reliable.
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DWI - Driving While Intoxicated |
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Drunk driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is illegal in all jurisdictions within the U.S..
The specific criminal offense is usually called driving under the influence [of alcohol and/or other drugs] (DUI), and in some states driving while intoxicated (DWI) or operating while impaired (OWI). Such laws may also apply to boating or piloting aircraft.
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EXPERT WITNESS SALES |
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An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, or profession, or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon his opinion.
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INSURANCE - GENERAL |
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General insurance policies, including automobile and homeowners policies, provide payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event. General insurance typically comprises any insurance that is not determined to be life insurance, and is called property and casualty insurance in the U.S..
In the UK, General insurance is broadly divided into three areas; personal lines, commercial lines and London market.
The London market insures with large commercial risks, for example insuring supermarkets, football players and other very specific risks.
Commercial lines products are usually designed for relatively small legal entities. These would include workers comp (employers liability), public liability, product liability, commercial fleet and other general insurance products sold in a relatively standard fashion to many organisations.
Personal lines products are designed to be sold in large quantities. This would include autos (private car), homeowners (household), pet insurance, creditor insurance and others.
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INSURANCE - HEALTH |
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Health insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. The insurer may be a private organization or a government agency. Market-based health care systems such as that in the United States rely primarily on private health insurance.
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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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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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MEDICAL INSURANCE |
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Medical Health insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. The insurer may be a private organization or a government agency. Market-based health care systems such as that in the United States rely primarily on private health insurance.
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MEDICAL LIENS |
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As all healthcare providers know, patients do not always have the present financial ability to cover the cost of their medical bills. In cases involving injury to a patient through the negligence of another, healthcare professionals can employ medical liens to secure payment for their services. Medical liens can be created in two different ways: 1) by contract and 2) by operation of law. This article will briefly touch on contractual liens while focusing on the express statutory language which create liens through the operation of law.
Find MEDICAL LIENS experts and consultants for MEDICAL LIENS litigation support. Available to be MEDICAL LIENS expert witnesses and provide MEDICAL LIENS forensic consulting in MEDICAL LIENS litigation, in addition prepare MEDICAL LIENS expert witness reports for use in deposition and/or in-court trial testimony.
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MEDICO-LEGAL |
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The plaintiff has the burden of proof. Expert witnesses are usually required to testify as to practice standards, while lay witnesses must confine their testimony to facts they perceived with their own senses. To be qualified as an expert, a person must have a sufficient level of education, training, and experience in the relevant field, and it must be shown that their testimony will assist the judge and/or jury in determining a contested issue. The law requires that lay jurors or judges, being untrained in medicine, must accept expert evidence as to whether the provider deviated from the requisite standards but since the plaintiff and the defendant will usually each hire their own experts, there will be conflicting opinions.
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POLLUTION |
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Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants. Sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons to ozone or smog. Water pollutants may consist of a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals, petrochemicals, chloroform, and bacteria. Water pollution may also occur in the form of thermal pollution and dissolved oxygen depletion. Soil contamination is an important aspect of environmental pollution; this phenomenon occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The U.S., Russia, China and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions; however, Canada is the number two country on a per capita basis.
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QUALITY ASSURANCE |
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In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are involved in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements and expectations. These systems are often developed in conjunction with other business and engineering disciplines using a cross-functional approach.
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SECURITIES |
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Security is a type of transferable interest representing financial value. Traditionally, securities have been categorized into debt and equity securities, and between bearer and registered securities.
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