BVI Starts up Brand new Offices in Western MA websites for lawyers

Online marketing, branding and web development company BIG VOODOO INTERACTIVE (BVI) has set up shop at 4 Open Square Way, Suite 410, in a move that will give the firm room to grow and flourish in a vibrant, central location.

BVI, which builds and manages websites for attorneys across the United States, is proud to be a part of the Open Square community of more than 50 businesses in the heart of Holyoke’s Innovation District. Open Square, the country’s largest zero net energy mixed use development, is an ideal fit for BVI, said James Fitzgerald, Director of Marketing for BVI.

With easy and quick access to I-91, the MassPike, routes 116 and 391, Open Square allows BVI to attract top notch employees from throughout the region.

“At the rate our company is growing, and given our need for specialized talent, it’s critical that we have a centrally located, creative space large enough to accommodate our current and future growth,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re able to pull talent from Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts.”

The office’s proximity to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., will prove valuable in connecting with clients, as BVI has customers spread throughout the country, according to Fitzgerald.

BVI is occupying 3,500 square feet of office space on the fourth floor, making the firm one of the larger Open Square tenants. As a progressive, growing web development company, BVI’s workforce includes employees who work either completely or partly from home in addition to those who are based in Open Square.

“We’re cloud-based, digital and we encourage creativity and innovation among the staffers who work either in house or remotely,” Fitzgerald explained.

BVI is one of the leaders in the highly competitive field of legal website marketing and development. The staff includes experienced designers, programmers, writers, account managers, SEO strategists and social media specialists.

Previously based in Northampton, BVI opened its doors in 2008 as Intake Advantage. The company continues to expand and currently employs about a dozen individuals who are dedicated to creating cutting edge, top performing websites for lawyers.

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Texting while driving in Los Angeles continues to be a dangerous trend, particularly among teenage drivers. An alarming new survey reveals that more than half of high school seniors admit they text or email while behind the wheel. The survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides the first federal statistics on how common the texting is among young drivers.

The national survey, which was conducted in 2011, found that 58 percent of high school 12th graders said they read or wrote text messages or emails while driving during the previous month, according to a report in The Associated Press. About 43 percent of high school juniors also admitted to texting while driving or emailing while driving.

As a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, Mickey Fine knows first-hand how dangerous texting and driving, or emailing and driving, can be. Serious accidents resulting in catastrophic or fatal injuries can be traced back to someone who was looking at a phone instead of at the road.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced it was sending Sacramento $1.5 million for a “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” campaign. The money will be used to boost advertising and increased police enforcement, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Distracted driving is an epidemic,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a news release.

California law bans texting and hand-held cellphone use while driving. According to the Office of Traffic Safety, 10.8 percent of Californians use cellphones while driving at any given daylight hour.
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The Law Offices of Mickey Fine – Bakersfield, CA
1801 Oak Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 369-7735

Hot off the presses: motorcycle helmets don’t just save lives, they save money as well-a lot of money. When someone is involved in a motorcycle accident, the last thing on the injured biker’s mind is money, and yet in our society, money talks. So the Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study from 2008 to 2010 to find out just how much is saved when motorcycle riders and passengers strap on a helmet before hitting the road.

According to the study, over $3 billion was saved in 2010 alone, with total costs saved due to helmet use ranging from $2.6 million in New Mexico to $394 million in California. Economic costs saved from helmet use per registered motorcycle ranged from $48 in New Mexico to $1,627 in North Carolina, with a median of $286. In Massachusetts, the savings was over $400 per registered motorcycle.

Massachusetts personal injury attorney Mark E. Salomone is always glad to hear of any new research that supports the prevention of motorcyclist injuries and their passengers. See : Worcester Ma Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Having defended countless victims of motorcycle accident injuries, however, he knows how much helmets do to protect riders. “Every time riders take their bikes to the streets,” he says, “they’re placing themselves at risk of serious injury and death. When a motorcyclist is hit by a distracted driver in a high-speed collision or if their bike has brake defects, helmets are even more crucial, as they can prevent serious head injuries and brain damage. ”

Over 40 percent of motorcyclists killed in accidents between 2008 and 2010 did not have a helmet on, says the CDC report. On the other hand, helmets reduced fatalities by 37 percent for motorcycle drivers and 41 percent for passengers, which translated to 1,544 fewer motorcyclist deaths in 2010.

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After eight weeks, 46 witnesses, two dozing jurors and an estimated $2-3 million spent in taxpayer money, the Roger Clemens trial is finally over.

The verdict: Not guilty on three counts of making false statements, not guilty on two counts of perjury and not guilty on one count of obstruction. The charges stemmed from testimony that Clemens made in Feb. 2008, telling a Congressional committee that he had never taken steroids or HGH.

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What an excellent use of tax payer money (sarcasm for those who don’t get it).

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Driving in New England can be challenging any time of year. Sudden blizzards or violent rainstorms. Aggressive drivers on Interstate 84. Confusing street patterns created by Colonial settlers based on chaotic cow paths.

Add to the list the dramatic differences in state traffic laws throughout New England. What’s legal in Massachusetts can often be against the law in Rhode Island or Vermont. Here are some of the highlights from a recent article published by The Boston Globe.

Take Connecticut’s confusing traffic laws. Connecticut is a hands-free state in terms of cell phones. This means you need a headset if you want to make calls on the road. Talking on a cell phone without a headset while driving can result in a $125 fine. The same fine applies to texting while driving in Connecticut.

Connecticut has a “primary” seat belt law, which means a police officer can pull you over and fine you whenever an officer sees someone unbelted in either front seat. As for passengers riding in the back seat, Connecticut’s seat belt laws only require passengers under 16 years old to buckle up.

Connecticut’s child safety restraint laws are also unique. Children under 7 years old or less than 60 pounds must sit in either a child booster or car seat that’s belted into place. All others must be buckled up. Meanwhile in Massachusetts, children must be strapped into a car safety seat until they are either 8 years old or 4 feet, 9 inches tall.

At the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, a Hartford Connecticut personal injury attorneys at our law firm can work with you if you’re dealing with a car accident. We know what’s legal or against the law in Connecticut.

That might sound simple. But keeping up with Connecticut’s constantly changing laws can be complicated. Allow us to help you cut through the red tape and decide what’s the best thing for you to do, including whether to file an auto accident lawsuit in Ct.

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Law Offices of Mickey Fine
1801 Oak Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301
(661) 369-7735 (310) 546-8156 (Fax) ?

A recent report by a federal agency reveals a promising trend: Car accident fatalities declined in 2011 for the sixth consecutive year. Last year’s number of highway deaths was the lowest since 1949.

A drop in the number of car accident deaths is certainly welcome news. Bakersfield personal injury lawyer Mickey Fine has represented people seriously injured in car accidents. At the Law Offices of Mickey Fine, we have seen how devastating a serious injury can be for the individual who was hurt and his or her family.

The recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration includes preliminary projections showing that 32,310 people died in car accidents last year, a decrease of 375 deaths from the prior year. In 2005, there were 43,510 highway deaths, according to the NHTSA.

The reasons behind the reduction include high seat belt use, safer cars and safer roads, according to Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association who was quoted in the Washington Post. He also cited continued high gas prices and high unemployment as factors in the steady slide in car accident fatalities.

He said the Association also suspects that people, including inexperienced teenage drivers, are not taking as many optional trips. And the increased use of cameras to catch speeders and drivers running red lights has been considered a factor for reducing accidents.

The federal agency is still awaiting state data to calculate final numbers for 2011. In 2010, the death count increased by 97 when the revised tally was released in December of last year, according to the Washington Post.

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Massachusetts has the third lowest rate of injury death in the country, according to a new study. A new report titled “The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report” examines key indicators of steps states can take to prevent injuries. See Boston MA Personal Injury Attorneys Injuries may be linked to Massachusetts car accidents or motorcycle crashes in Massachusetts.

The report, released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), concludes that millions of injuries could be prevented each year if more states took action such as adopting additional research-based injury prevention policies. The report also recommends fully implementing and enforcing programs.

While the average score for states is 5 out of 10, Massachusetts received a 7 out of 10 score (with zero being the lowest and 10 being the highest possible score). Only New York and New Jersey have lower injury death rates in the nation.

Injury prevention strategies include requiring bicycle helmets for all children and helmets for all bicycle riders. Some states require mandatory ignition interlocks for convicted drunk drivers. Seat belt laws also are recommended for injury prevention.

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Legislation recently introduced by several Michigan Senators has outraged parents of children who are alleged to have been injured by Dearborn neurologist, Dr. Yasser Awaad. Mothers, fathers and attorneys alike are worried that the bill will make it easy for doctors to get away with medical malpractice injuries, as it limits physician liability for damages. Any parent with a child injured by medical malpractice-whether birth injuries, failure to diagnose and properly treat medical emergencies, surgical mistakes or errors with medication or treatment-trusts that the law will protect their ability to seek compensation. However, there are many reasons a parent may have to file a Michigan medical malpractice lawsuit.

In the case of Dr. Awaad, hundreds of parents have accused him of misdiagnosing their children with a serious medical condition, epilepsy, and prescribing dangerous medications. A WXYZ Action News story interviewed some of the parents who believe that Dr. Awaad made an incorrect medical diagnosis and mistakenly gave their child dangerous drugs.

For Detroit, Michigan personal injury lawyers, Goodman Acker, medical malpractice cases in Michigan require constant awareness of any new laws pertaining to doctor negligence and injured medical patients. They know that the rights of kids injured by Doctor Awaad could be jeopardized if this medical malpractice legislation passes.

According to the WXYZ report, Marie Woolen is one of many parents who believe the heavy medication their kids were prescribed caused physical and psychological damage. “It’s been devastating,” said Woolen of her son’s situation. “My hopes and dreams have been shattered. He can’t be a doctor, he can’t be a lawyer.his memory is completely distorted.”

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SPRINGFIELD Mass Live – A 41-year-old city man, who apparently named the sledgehammer that he uses for work after a prominent personal injury lawyer, allegedly used it to break down the door of an ex-girlfriend’s Windsor Street home early Wednesday and threaten her, police said.

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 lawyer 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.

The American Insurance Association and the Coalition for Medicare Secondary Payer reform both announced their support for the Medicare Secondary Payer and Workers’ Compensation Settlement Agreements Act of 2012, introduced last week by Representatives Dave Reichart (R-Wa.) and Mike Thompson (D-Ca.).

The legislation is aimed at resolving the delays in the review of workers’ compensation set-asides for Medicare.

A Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (MSA) is an account that is created when a workers’ compensation case is settled to protect Medicare from paying for expenses that are related to the worker’s injuries. Therefore, if a worker has to receive surgery, the MSA would be used to pay for it, rather than Medicare benefits.

“(The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) takes too long to review proposed set-asides, fails to provide appropriate and consistent standards for determining amounts to be set aside, and provides no avenue to appeal CMS determinations,” Douglas Holmes, the coordinator of the Coalition for Medicare Secondary Payer Reform, said in a press release. “The process results in injured workers not receiving funds, additional costs for states and workers’ compensation payers, and additional liability for employers, insurance carriers, and attorneys. A legislative solution to this problem is needed.”

The coalition, which includes representatives for injured workers and insurance carriers, has been pushing for reform of this system for some time, and the Government Accountability Office released a report in March that included recommendations for improving these processes.

“In case after case, we hear of delays in approval, uncertainty of the amount to be reimbursed by injured workers, and changes in amounts to be set-aside after settlements have already been approved,” J.R. Boyd, the president of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group, said in a press release.

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