Abuse Attorney

As any civil or trial litigation attorney knows, whether he practices in Palm Springs or Palm Desert, CA, San Diego, California, Orange County, CA, La Jolla, Del Mar, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana, Irvine, Ventura, Anaheim, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Riverside, San Bernardino, the Coachella Valley, La Quinta, Indio, Yucca Valley, or Joshua Tree, depositions can make or break a case. A good defense attorney can make even the calmest deponent nervous. And then there are some deponents who can drive a litigation lawyer nut.

Many times, clients want to know how to answer deposition questions.  First of all, I tell my clients to answer truthfully.  Then I advise clients not to watch how politicians answer questions.  This is what can happen if a client ignores that advice.

“You said to the policeman investigating the scene of the accident that you weren’t wearing a seat belt yet today you state that you were wearing one,” the defense attorney stated to my client.

My client smiled sweetly at the news commentator, just like Sarah Palin did to Charles Gibson in her first television interview.

“Would you care to explain this discrepancy?” the attorney asked. The attorney had introduced himself as Charles Johnson.

“Well, Charlie, I believe everyone should wear seat belts when they are in a car.

“Okay, but can you explain why you told the police officer at the scene that you weren’t wearing a seat belt?”

My client smiled sweetly again, giving the attorney her best impression of a political candidate.

“Charles, I believe in a woman’s choice, however I feel even more strongly about the sanctity of life.”

“You’re not going to answer the question, is that what you’re saying?” the attorney asked, looking over his own eyeglasses.

“Well, I really think that there are much bigger issues to discuss,” the client answered, putting the attorney on the defensive.

“Don’t you think it’s important for us to know if what you say now is different from what you said earlier?”

My client looked directly at the attorney. “Charlie, I believe what is important here is that your client ran a red light.”

“Lets move on to the fact that you claim you never had a back injury before this accident.. How do you reconcile that with your treatment for back pain prior to this accident?”

“Charlie, as you know, you can have a visit to a doctor without it being for an injury. I have to say this type of questioning borders on being sexist.”

“Did you or didn’t you have treatment for a back condition prior to this accident?” the attorney said, raising his voice.

“It’s not what you go to for a doctor, it’s what the doctor does for you, Charles, and when you realize that women are different from men, you’ll learn that women doctors do things differently than male doctors.”

“You’re refusing to answer my questions.”

“I’ve answered all of your questions,” my client said.

“No,” the attorney said. “All you’ve done is give me stock answers to the questions you want me to give and not answer the questions I’m asking.” The opposing attorney turned to me and realized I hadn’t made a single objection.

“Please, ask me your question, and I’ll be as honest as I can.”

“Is it true that this has been your third accident this year and that each time you’ve been rear ended.”

My client smiled and the attorney asking the questions knew he would not be getting an answer to this one that he could use.

“I believe that God has a plan for each of us and sometimes he tests our resolve.”

“That’s your answer?” the attorney asked. “You might as well be speaking in tongues right now.”

“God has a plan for all of us, Charles, even for you,” my client said.

“If it’s to drive us nuts, it’s working,” the attorney said. “I’ll give you one last chance to answer a question. Did you cause this accident?”

“Charles, what may be interpreted as a cause could sometimes be otherwise viewed as simply trying to avoid the, you know, impossibly difficult or, trying to prevent that kind of thing, then again, even when you are driving carefully, these accidents…and this could be viewed as one of those situations. Does that answer your question?”

Two hours later when the deposition had ended, the attorney was looking frazzled.

“How did I do?” my client asked me after the deposition was over.

I smiled sweetly like any good politician. “It’s not how well you did,” I said. “It’s how many psychiatric treatments that attorney is going to need before he is able to attempt another deposition.”

Note – Refusing to answer questions can lead to having a motion filed against the party who refuses to answer deposition questions, and an imposition of a fine against the deponent who abuses the discovery process in this way. Sadly, many deponents and attorneys abuse the deposition process when they think the other party’s attorney won’t take the time to file a motion to compel. An attempt to evade questions as a politician often does, or answering with stock answers instead of providing answers responsive to the questions is clearly improper. And politicians who answer questions in this manner are not setting a good example. On the other hand, some of Sarah Palin’s answers to questions put to her by Katie Couric, similar to this deponent’s last answer, were so incomprehensible it is hard to know how a judge might view answers such as hers if the attorney fails to follow up with additional questions.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you are involved in litigation in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, Riverside, San Diego, Orange County or anywhere in Southern California. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your California Litigation Lawyer and Palm Springs Litigation Attorney, or your civil litigation attorney or civil litigation defense lawyer in Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Coachella, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, and throughout Southern California.

Originally published here.

Sebastian Gibson graduated cum laude at UCLA in 1972 and received two law degrees in the U.S. and the U.K., graduating with an LL.B. magna cum laude from University College, Cardiff in Wales and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in Southern California.

Mr. Gibson’s practice focuses on the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, business law, corporations, real estate, international law, entertainment law, patents, copyrights and trademarks, and a wide variety of other legal areas.

Sebastian Gibson is admitted before the Superior Courts of California as well as several Federal District Courts. He is the senior partner at the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson.

The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves all of San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs and Palm Desert, the Coastal Cities from La Jolla and Del Mar to Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and Irvine and up to Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

Visit the Sebastian Gibson Law website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com . We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your California Litigation Lawyer and California Personal Injury Attorney .

The following series of videos will show the malicious abuse of power that ruined the lives of innocent people who are left without recourse in the Justice system.

1.6 million families in Tennessee and around the United States turn to nursing homes to care for their elderly loved ones. The number is expected to rise to 5 million over the next thirty years, as the baby boomer population ages. While families chose nursing care with an expectation of professionalism, kindness and compassion, there is a dark side to nursing homes: neglect and abuse.

Abuse violations include physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as neglect. According to a 2001 Congressional Report, one in three U.S. nursing homes have been cited for abuse. These types of violations are especially insidious since elderly and disabled residents are unable to protect themselves from an attack. In many cases, they are not even able to communicate the abuse they have suffered to their family members, and hence they have neither recourse against nor protection from future abuse.

What is being done to protect Tennessee residents from falling victim to this kind of abuse? First, there are a number of laws on the books in Tennessee. For example, all staff must pass a criminal background check and all nursing homes are subject to annual or more frequent inspections by the department of health. Furthermore, Tennesseans are protected by national nursing home laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Nursing Home Reform Act.

These two laws mandate, among other things, that patients must be given freedom and must receive respect for their persons, and their personal property and possessions.

If you suspect that you or a family member has been the victim of abuse or neglect, you can report the incident via state agencies such as the Tennessee Department of Health. The health department has licensing oversight for nursing homes and can revoke a home’s license if it is found to be in severe violation of state and national law.

In addition to reporting the incident to the state agency, you should also contact a local lawyer experienced with cases of nursing home abuse and neglect in Tennessee. Your Tennessee nursing home abuse lawyer will work with you on filing your claim with the state authorities, will advise you on the variety of legal issues, and will advocate for you as you seek monetary compensation for the neglect and abuse you or your loved one experienced.

Families in North Carolina and around the country turn to nursing homes to provide care and attention to their elderly loved ones. But all too often families’ expectation for professionalism, kindness and compassion is replaced with a shocking reality: abuse.

Abuse violations are a serious concern in nursing homes across the United States, and North Carolina facilities are no exception. These types of violations are particularly grievous since elderly and disabled residents are unable to protect themselves from an attack. In many cases, they are not even able to communicate the abuse they have suffered to their family members, and hence have neither recourse nor protection from future abuse.

According to a 2001 Congressional report, more than 9,000 nursing home abuse reports were filed in the two-year period between January 1999 and January 2001. Of these 9,000 reports, more than 2,500 were severe enough to place residents in immediate jeopardy of death or serious injury. Reported types of abuse include sexual, physical and verbal.

Nursing home neglect is another significant area of abuse, and can range from failure to provide medications according to the doctor-prescribed schedule to withholding food and even water from patients. Dehydration and death have occurred as a result of this type of neglect.

Also according to the Congressional report, which was spearheaded by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), the number of nursing homes that is cited for abuse is increasing, and has been every year since 1996. For example, the number of nursing homes cited for abuse during annual inspections more than doubled between 1996 and 2000.

While these national statistics are appalling, of even greater concern are the incidents of unreported abuse. In fact, officials believe that abuse is grossly underreported; some experts even say that the majority of abuse incidents go unreported. At particular risk are nursing home patients without the mental or physical faculties to be aware of — or even to articulate — the abuse they are suffering at the hands of their supposed caregivers.

Nationwide, one-third of the U.S.’s 1,600 nursing homes were cited for an abuse violation that had the potential to cause harm or death. This heart-wrenching statistic has devastating consequences for a state like North Carolina, which has over 37,000 of its residents living in nursing homes, according to a census conducted in 2002.

The reality is grim for North Carolina seniors, since one out of every three residents over the age of eighty-five lives in a nursing home. Given the national rates of nursing home abuse, North Carolinians are undoubtedly at risk. If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact a qualified attorney. Your lawyer can help you to get the compensation you deserve for your mistreatment, abuse and neglect.

Originally published here.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Nursing Home Abuse. Call 1-888-311-5522 today or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com for a free case evaluation.