Millionaire Crashed His 1962 Ferrari GTO: World’s Most Expensive Car Crash

The world’s most expensive car crash happened just recently when American investor and millionaire, Christopher Cox, crashed his 1962 Ferrari GTO during a Ferrari rally in France a couple of weeks ago.

According to reports, while Cox and his wife were riding the said car, another car from behind struck them and damaged the car’s front end. Cox and his wife are now fine after being treated for minor injuries.

In 1976, Cox’s car had been involved in a car crash. Experts say that if a car is properly restored, its damages will not necessarily affect its value, particularly in the circumstance of a very rare Ferrari 250 GTO. However, the total amount of the crash remains to be undetermined at present. Experts speculated that damages could amount to a million dollars.

Cox bought his Ferrari GTO way back in 2005. The car is considered as the “Picasso” of the auto industry and a true work of art of prized rareness. Only 38 of its kind were built between 1962 and 1964. Ferrari founder, Enzo Ferrari, in fact personally selected and approved of the original buyers of the limited units.

Reports said that Cox’s Ferrari was colored red before but was repainted baby blue with a canary-yellow racing stripe down the middle in 1963. Such color coordination was applied to honor Swedish race car driver Ulf Norinder.

Several auction experts and car collectors said that most high-end collectible vehicles are insured with special “collector” or “hobby” policies. Said policies usually limit the owner from driving the car. Owner can only drive their cars to car shows and rallies. The policies usually don’t cover vehicle accidents or damages incurred during daily use, like for commuting or grocery trips.

Consequently, a Los Angeles injury attorney suggests owners of such high-end and collectible vehicles to take extra good car when taking their rides on the road. If owners want to preserve their investment, then it would be best to keep such pricey cars in their garage. Unfortunately, they can’t definitely find fun with that.

Employment Discrimination Prevalent among Overweight Women

In a recent study, it was found out that overweight women are more likely to suffer employment discrimination when trying to get a job and be paid less than their slimmer colleagues.

Generally, overweight women are prone to health problems such as heart ailments and diabetes. And, aside from the health risks, they are also struggling to overcome the discrimination they are facing during employment.

Researchers at the University of Manchester and Monash University, Melbourne concluded that overweight women are more likely to experience discrimination when hunting for a job up to hiring and employment decision.

The said study involved 95 people acting as employers, who were shown different resumes and headshot photos of job applicants. The researchers then asked the “employers” to rate the applicants based on their employability, starting salary, and potential for job advancement.

The researchers concealed the true reason for the study to the “employers” to avoid unfair decision. The resumes shown by the researchers to the employers have equivalent skills, experience, and education as well.

The employers did not know that the photos attached to the resumes were photos of the same six women before and after weight loss surgery.

The study thereby concluded that overweight women received more negative responses on employment, predicted success, possibility to receive higher salary, perfect employment rating, and rank order of preference as compared to other slimmer applicants.

According to the study’s lead author, Dr. Kerry O’Brien, they found that strong obesity discrimination was prevalent all over job selection criteria like starting salary, leadership skills, and possibility of selecting an obese candidate for the job.

Apparently, the problem regarding the prevailing employment discrimination against overweight women needs to be given proper attention. Therefore, to reduce such prejudices, a California employment discrimination lawyer suggested that comprehensive policies should be introduced into the labor industry.

San Francisco Giants Fan’s Premise Liability Lawsuit Seeks $50 Million in Damages

The San Francisco Giants fan, Bryan Stow, who was attacked by two men in the parking lot of the said stadium on March 31, 2011 after the team’s opening-day victory over the Giants, is now suing the former Dodger Stadium owner, Frank McCourt and 13 other team entities.

In his premise liability lawsuit, Stow is seeking $50 million in damages for his future medical costs and pain and suffering.

According to court documents, Stow suffered brain injury and is now permanently disabled. Stow’s medication had in fact incurred $4.3 million in medical bills so far and will need additional $50 million plus.

The lawsuit was filed on May 24 before the Los Angeles Superior Court. Among Stow’s claims are assault, battery, negligence, negligent hiring, and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

In a previous trial, two men identified as Louie Sanchez, 30, and Marvin Norwood, 31, were ordered to appear in court for the beating of Stow. During the trial, the Los Angeles Superior Court judge, George Lomeli found enough evidence to order both men to proceed to trial on one felony count each of chaos, assault by means possibly to produce severe personal injury, and life-threatening battery.

Furthermore, the court judge also found enough evidence which involves an allegation that Sanchez had personally inflicted severe personal injury against Stow, while with Norwoods, the judge found no sufficient evidence to support the allegations set against the latter.

At present, both men remain in jail and are scheduled to appear on Friday at the downtown Los Angeles court house for arraignment.

In relation to this incident, property owners can be held liable for any injuries caused by accidents that happen on their property or within the premises of their property. If a person was injured while on someone else’s property, the victim may have all the legal rights to file for a premise liability claim against the property owner and other parties involved in the incident.

According to a Los Angeles premise liability lawyer, although such premise liability claims are considered personal injury claims, they present their own problems and one of a kind evidence issues.

19-Vehicle Pileup Closes Southbound Freeway in LA Mountains

On Tuesday, a big rig truck and nineteen vehicles collided on a freeway in the mountains of Los Angeles. The accident left at least fifteen people with minor injuries and two in critical condition.

Television news video footages taken on the incident showed more than one and a half dozen cars, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and a big-rig truck piled up on top of each other in a bunch of wreckage.

According to reports, the said multiple-vehicle accident occurred at around 9:45 in the morning at the southbound side of California Route 14 in Agua Dulce. Said route is commonly known as the Antelope Valley Freeway where cars bound for Los Angeles basin from the high desert bedroom communities often speed up.

The California Highway Patrol said that all southbound lanes and two northbound lanes were closed and re-opened at around 2:08 in the afternoon the same day.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain, Mark Savage, said that fortunately for the people involved in the vehicle pile-up, there was neither fire nor hazardous material spill at the accident scene.

At least one person was trapped in the wreckage; firefighters were able to free that person immediately using Jaws of Life. A group of ambulance also responded to the scene and transported the injured victims to hospitals. Savage further said that most of the injuries sustained by the victims were minor expect for the two who were listed in critical condition.

At present, the major cause of the accident was not yet determined, but the investigation is still under way.

Such vehicle pileup accidents are common in mountain areas, which are both elevated and densely-populated with a lot of vehicles passing by. In California where vehicle pileups frequently occur, many victims suffer from different injuries ranging from minor to severe, and in worst cases, death.

This type of car accident encourages personal injury lawyers to extend their legal assistance to the victims who are in need of help. According to a Los Angeles motorcycle lawyer, in most lawyers’ countless experiences in defending victims of vehicle accidents and their families, they were able to gain a good reputation in providing clients the best legal assistance they deserve.

EEOC’s Appellate Summaries Now Available Online

On Wednesday, the EEOC announced that it has put its appellate and amicable summaries since 2000 on its official website.

Said summaries from the EEOC’s Appellate Service Division represent lawsuits in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals in which the agency was a party. The summaries filed act as a “friend of the court” or the so-called amicus curiae in those courts, particularly in the U.S. District Courts and other tribunals.

The agency’s new database allows full text search queries for any keywords or phrases, like
“racial discrimination” or “wrongful termination lawsuit,” as well as searches by case name, court, statutes involved, basis of the lawsuit, and type of summary. Meanwhile, new summaries will be added several weeks upon the actual date of filing in court. 

However, the database does not include summaries filed before the Supreme Court, whether as party or amicable. Such summaries are exclusively available from the Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice, while summaries filed before 2000 are only available from the offices of the clerks of court where they were filed.

EEOC claims that the new database is consistent with the goal of the Open Government Initiative, which aims to make such government documents more accessible to the people. In fact, the EEOC recently put state-specific data on its official website to complete the national data already present.

Furthermore, the EEOC has created a new particular page on its website explaining the extent of its “friend of the court” program. The page features a new e-mail box where a counsel may suggest cases that come within the agency’s “friend of the court” guidelines.

A Los Angeles discrimination attorney is quite impressed with the agency’s remarkable step in supporting the federal government’s initiative in providing ease to public it terms of securing public documents. Such program will not only benefit the public, but also the other employment lawyers in reviewing cases.

Most U.S. Wage Earners Lack Long-Term Disability Insurance

In a recent study conducted by the U.S. Business Group of Sun Life Financial Inc., many of the nation’s full time wage earners were found out to have inadequately planned for the risk of long-term disability. This is despite the fact that medical problems are already contributing to approximately half of all personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures in the country. 

The said study arises from a survey of more than 2,000 workers all over the United States. The survey findings suggest that a great number of American wage earners remain unprepared for the present shift in employment benefits, as more employers provide the workers an option to purchase group benefits like disability, life, vision, and dental insurance.

According to the Voluntary Benefits’ vice president, Robert E. Klein, Jr., Americans should understand the financial risks of long-term disability and learn more to mitigate said risks. Klein explained that among ten couples, three of them are more likely to have partners who will experience a long-term disability lasting a year or even longer during their career lifetime.

In a news resource, the study revealed its major findings which are quoted below:

•    Approximately one third of surveyed American wage earners lack long-term disability insurance.

•    Over a third of workers whose employers give them an option to purchase group long-term disability insurance refused to avail it, making them uninsured.

•    Workers who do not avail group voluntary long-term disability coverage fall into three classifications: the one that doesn’t think the risk justifies the amount paid for insurance, the one that hasn’t considered the matter and still remains blind to solutions, and the one that finds the thought of disability not too good to accept.

•    Workers under golden age, minorities, men, and tech workers are more possibly to have availed long-term disability insurance than other respondents of the said study.

•    Most workers don’t understand major features of long-term disability insurance and fail to realize how monthly disability benefits may raise living expenses.

Michael E. Shunney, the senior vice president and general manager for Sun Life Financial’s U.S. Employee Benefits Group Division, is quite bothered since most employers are shouldering less and less of the overall group long-term disability insurance. Therefore, workers within the country must take preventive measures in mitigating the financial risk of long-term disability. Shunney said that as the study revealed, wage earner don’t always think logically when they consider their risks.

A Los Angeles long term disability lawyer, as he had previously observed, agrees with the said study that more and more American wage earners nowadays disregard the benefits of long-term disability insurance. Definitely, wage earners have to be aware on how to protect themselves as well as their families against income deficit brought by a long-term disability.

Meanwhile, authors of the said study anticipate that the said survey will be noted by American wage earners to encourage them to plan for their financial security.

Sleepy Drivers and Drunk Drivers Have High Risks for Vehicle Accidents

In a study conducted by several safety advocates from France, it was revealed that being sleepy while driving is as risky as drunk driving. The study suggests that both sleepy drivers and drunk drivers are at least twice as possible to cause a vehicle accident.

The said study that was authored by Nicholas Moore at the Center of Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux analyzed data gathered from 679 drivers who were admitted to a hospital in southwestern France for more than a day because of a severe accident between 2007 and 2009.

Moore and his other co-author noted in a letter to the Archives of Internal Medicine that sleepiness poses almost as much risk as alcohol intake.

The researchers used information gathered from driver questionnaires and police reports to determine what factors may have contributed to the vehicle accidents. Under the questionnaires, drivers specified what medications they were going through, their alcohol intake and how sleepy they were before the accident, while hospital files gave information on patients’ blood alcohol levels.

Most of the injured drivers were at their golden age and majority of them were males. More than half of the injured was on a motorcycle while about a third was in a car and 10 percent was on a bicycle during the time of the accident.

Meanwhile, based on police reports, 355 of the drivers were found responsible for the accidents. The researchers concluded from the said reports that being baby boomers driving a car, drinking alcohol and being sleepy are all linked to an increased risk of causing a vehicle accident.

Furthermore, an associate scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit, Christopher Drake, also attested that a few hours of sleep loss will produce as much impairment as six bottles of beer. Therefore, Drake explained that if a person had a whole night of sleep loss, it equates to having a 0.19 blood alcohol content level. In US, the lawful blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent, and anything that goes beyond that limit is considered illegally impaired.

At present, there is no law that prohibits sleepy drivers from driving, or legislation to pull sleepy drivers on roadways. Nevertheless, several personal injury lawyers believe that in the long run, provisions covering sleepy drivers will be implemented due to the growing number of vehicle accidents involving sleepy drivers.