West Palm’s Road Safety Laws: E-Scooters, Bikes, And Mopeds

Posted by Chell in Personal Injury

Riding an electric scooter, bicycle or moped is a great way to get around town, and it’s fun. However, there are many safety considerations that you need to be aware of before hitting the road. West Palm has put in place some laws that help keep riders safe on the roads! We’ll review those laws here.

Laws Related To E-Scooters, Bikes & Mopeds:

There are several laws related to e-scooters, bikes, or mopeds in place in West Palm. If you don’t follow them, sooner or later you’ll get caught by the traffic police and issued a ticket. So, make sure you learn these laws before driving around. Here are some of them for your reference:

• It is illegal to ride a bike or moped on the sidewalk
• Riders must wear helmets when riding an electric scooter, bicycle, or mopeds
• Drivers and riders of bicycles are required to have a front light and rear reflectors at night. All vehicles ridden after dark should have headlights that can be seen from 500 feet away in normal conditions
• Riders should not carry anything that obstructs their view or the vehicle’s lights
• Scooters and bicycles ridden on sidewalks must keep to the right, except when passing pedestrians. Bikes may also ride in the center of a lane if they are overtaking another bicycle or scooter from behind
• When riding an electric scooter, you cannot hold onto any other person at anytime

Police Enforcement: It is illegal for riders under 16 years old to operate these vehicles without supervision by someone 18 years or older with a valid driver’s license.

These rules help keep you safe while out riding! Now go get your bike tuned up for springtime, so you’re ready to hit the road soon.

If you follow these rules always and still meet with an accident because of someone else’s negligent driving behavior, then report the case to the police and hire a personal injury lawyer like SHW Law without wasting any time to make them pay for their mistake. Doing so will not only let the culprit escape but also ensure that you get compensated for your losses.

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Why Do You Need A Financial Fraud Lawyer?

Posted by Chell in Law

Every working professional or business owner tries to multiply his savings so that he can attain different financial goals on time. For this purpose, people invest in multiple financial instruments or schemes. 

Some do it after conducting thorough research themselves, while others rely on the recommendations given by their financial advisors. It’s hard to recover the money put in these schemes due to the complex nature of the agreement. In such a case, a financial fraud lawyer like https://www.erezlaw.com/investment-fraud-lawyer/ can come to your aid and help you recover your money. 

Here are some of the main reasons you should consider hiring a financial fraud lawyer. 

Need For Financial Fraud Lawyer:

If you have invested money through a broker who promised you a stable rate of return initially, but now he has stopped entertaining your calls, emails, and text messages, then it’s time for you to take the legal route. 

In the same manner, you may have invested money in a liquid scheme from which you could cash out after a specific time period, but now you cannot withdraw the amount. At first, you can consider having a word with your broker. In case you don’t get a satisfactory answer, then connect with a financial fraud lawyer without wasting any more time. 

Some other cases where you must need a professional fraud lawyer can be:

• Your returns are unexpectedly high for the initial few months but drop suddenly after that. 
• Your broker is forcing you to invest more money after the initial investment, claiming that your entire investment amount will be lost if you don’t take his advice.
• The scheme where your broker has put your money has a suspicious past, and you cannot find its registration number online. 
• Your broker doesn’t treat you professionally.

These are some common examples of fraud investment brokers whose only goal is to snatch money from investors. They keep on asking their investors to increase the invested amount, and after a point, stop answering their calls or messages. If you ever face any of these issues in the future, take the help of a well-known financial fraud lawyer to recover your money.

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LGBTQ Divorce

Posted by Chell in Divorce

As many LGBTQ couples finally won the right to marry in the landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, these couples also won the right to divorce. In many ways, LGBTQ divorce is quite similar to divorce between heterosexual couples. However, there are a few differences and complications LGBTQ couples looking to divorce may encounter. 

Read more about them down below.

What’s the Same

Of course, there are several aspects of LGBTQ divorce proceedings that are the exact same as heterosexual divorces. Here are some of the common issues that may pop up during any divorce. 

 

• Child Custody: Figuring out who gains custody of the children born between a couple is one of the most contentious and emotional aspects of a divorce. Oftentimes this will be the aspect of the divorce proceedings that take the longest, as both parents have an emotional investment in the well-being of their children.

 

• Child Support: Related to child custody disputes, another big aspect of divorce proceedings is the determination of child support. The spouse who does not receive custody of the children will likely be ordered to pay child support to the custodial parent, at least until the children turn 18 years of age. 

• Alimony: Another aspect of divorce couples may see is alimony, which you may have heard referred to as spousal support. Alimony is the legal obligation one spouse may have to financially support the other spouse following the divorce. The conditions surrounding alimony can change if the financial circumstances of the spouse receiving the alimony change, however.

• Division of Property: Married couples often share property and assets and must figure out a way to split them up following a divorce. This can be difficult, especially when couples both own something and one must give something up. 

 

 

What’s Different

 

• The Dating: When a judge is determining how to reward alimony or divide up property or assets, they often look to see how long the marriage lasted. However, with LGBTQ couples, this becomes a bit unclear. Many LGBTQ+ couples have been together and shared property long before the 2015 Obergefell ruling. Do judges consider the relationship beginning in 2015 or when the couple first got together? In some areas, the courts will consider the years cohabiting and in others, they will consider the years legally married.

 

• Child Custody: Another thing complicating LGBT divorces are child custody battles. Sometimes if a child is adopted or biologically only related to one of the parents, only one of the parents will have legal rights over the child. The child without that legal standing can find it difficult to maintain a relationship with the child following the divorce. 

If you’re in an LGBTQ relationship and are anticipating a divorce in your future, you should reach out to a divorce attorney as soon as possible to learn about how your divorce may differ from heterosexual couples.

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A Cultural Reckoning

Posted by Chell in Sex Crimes

There has been a seismic shift in the cultural norms around assault, harassment, consent, and other topics associated with the #MeToo movement. For the first time, men and women are holding the powerful accountable for actions that crossed boundaries or left victims feeling vulnerable.

With this new understanding of cultural norms, especially as they relate to relationships between employees/subordinates and employers or people with professional power, people are left wondering how employment discrimination or harassment litigation has changed. Thankfully, there are answers to this pressing concern.

As The Melton Law Firm has discussed, harassment is both provable and actionable. In this piece, I will discuss the topic of harassment and how to take action if you are a victim of this crime in the workplace:

What is harassment?

Litigation around harassment has included multiple definitions or frameworks depending on jurisprudence. However, certain principles remain true. Most definitions of harassment require pervasive and impactful actions. In the workforce, these actions must be tangibly impactful to the point that it affects your health or work performance. This definitional bright line, though not without its faults or flaws, is used to prevent small, annoying actions from being claimed as harassment in lawsuits or settlements.

Additionally, many claims of harassment have been defined in their positioning as discrimination against specific protected classes. It is possible for people not in protected classes (of gender, race, religion, ability, or otherwise) to still experience harassment; it is just much more difficult without those characteristics being present in a harassment case.

An additional characteristic to consider, though it is by nature ambiguous, is that the behavior is unwanted. Though specific company guidelines may differ, it is not a crime in of itself to pursue a workplace relationship. However, pursuing a romantic interest that is not matched or explicitly wanted, is obviously and sadly harassment. Be sure to consider how jokes or compliments are taken by your colleagues if you want to avoid contributing to harassment culture. On the flip side, make it as best known as possible if you are experiencing or hearing behavior that you find inappropriate or uncomfortable.

How is harassment proven?

Though every case differs, broadly speaking, it is best to establish a chronology of when harassing behavior begin (or, if it still continues). This will allow your legal counsel to paint a picture to a judge or jury of the purpose, nature, and context of the bad actions.

Additionally, speaking with other employees or subordinates will be beneficial. If they are willing to testify or act as a witness, agreeing that the boss or powerful figure was inappropriate, it will strengthen your case and prevent or stymie accusations that a person is making a false allegation.

Of course, any evidence such as texts, photographs, recordings, or other physical collections of proof is incredibly useful for your legal representation. The worst thing to happen to a sexual harassment case is to turn into a he-said, she-said dispute.

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Why Do Drainage Systems Matter?

Posted by Chell in Drainage

Do you have mildew issues, especially in your basement? Have you struggled with standing water in your front lawn? Are mosquitoes killing you with their pesky bites?

There may be a root cause: drainage issues. Water collection is a natural and essential process for a home to experience. However, ideally, the water would only partially collect to water the lawn and nourish plants. Excess water is designed to drain to the streets and away from your home’s yards and foundation.

What Are Drainage Systems

Drainage systems include devices like gutters and spouts meant to pool water and push it to collect away from a home. We will explain later why it is important to not collect near your home!

Exterior rainwater drainage is meant to catch water falling onto your roof and channel it off the roof, through pipes, and into the street. Another important aspect of exterior house drainage systems regards the home’s slope and grading. These terms describe the angle of the ground outside of your home, ideally (and legally required to be) angled to prevent standing water in your lawn.

There are other drainage options that may be employed in your house’s landscaping plans, dependent upon the design and needs of your home. These include complex options like in-ground drainage systems that require a higher amount of construction and cost.

The Impacts of a Drainage System

If a drainage system is improperly installed, fails to drain away water, or is significantly blocked, it can be harmful to the health of your lawn and to the structural integrity of your house’s foundation.

If water does not drain, and small puddles turn into standing water, plants may struggle to grow. The water can also seep into your foundation, causing cracks and damaging your home. The problem is even worse with temperature changes, in which water can freeze — and expand — inside of the cracks.

Standing water from poor drainage can also seep into your basement, causing mold and mildew to collect within the pipes and walls of your home. The potentially detrimental health effects of mildew in your home are obvious, but sometimes the cause of such a problem is not — might be faulty pipes, leaking issue, or as we have stated, foundation issues. Circumventing the issue entirely is your best option, and that can only be done by hiring a qualified professional company like Daybreaker Landscapes to take care of your drainage issues.

What to Do with Drainage Issues

Lawn grading and sloping is an incredibly intensive process for lawn service amateurs. The stakes are high as well. If you make an error with regrading your lawn to better channel off the water, you may permanently/drastically damage the foundation of your home or make your standing water issues worse.

Your best bet is to trust the professionals to assess your drainage issues. Something as simple as leaves blocking drains from properly clearing out water from a gutter could be the issue causing your severe drainage issues. On the other hand, you may need advanced solutions for an advanced problem. No matter what, leave it to the people who know what they are doing.

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