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On October 24, 2017 the U.S. Senate voted 51-50 with Vice President Pence casting the tie-breaking vote to disapprove and nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s arbitration rule, which would have allowed consumers their day in court by banning pre-dispute arbitration clauses in certain consumer contracts involving many consumer financial products and services, and by allowing consumers to participate in class action lawsuits against banks and other financial institutions when these kinds of institutions commit fraud on a massive scale.  Republican Senators Lindsay Graham (SC) and John N. Kennedy (LA) voted against the measure and created a 50-50 tie, which was broken by the Vice President to pass the resolution.

As the weather gets warmer and we see Spring Break and the summer on our horizon, people are starting to plan their vacations to foreign countries. But as you go ahead and plan for your good time, it's important to know what to do if you happen to get hurt on one of those vacations.

No one expects to get hurt while having fun. But if you do, it's important to take the steps necessary to be made whole for your injury. So below are some steps for various situations that you can use to protect yourself in a time of distress.

If you are hurt in a foreign country, it can be difficult to locate a healthcare professional abroad. If you need a doctor and do not know local contacts, then you should call the US embassy for whatever country you are in. If you do not know the number for the local US embassy, you can dial 1-202-501-4444 for a directory of all US embassies and consulates.

If you're in a car accident abroad, the first thing you should do is contact the local authorities so that you can have an official report of what occurred. You should document everything for insurance purposes, including taking pictures and video with your phone. Finally, you should check with your insurance policy to see if you're covered while driving your own car in a foreign country (if you have driven to Mexico or Canada, for instance). If you rented a car in another country and purchased insurance for the rental, you should contact the rental company and/or the insurance carrier immediately after the accident.

Whether you can sue another driver for damage may depend on the law in the country where the accident occurred, so it's important to contact a personal injury attorney as soon as you are able, who will be able to tell you your options depending on the law. Certain countries have very limited time frames in which to file suit, so more urgency is required than would be for a purely American claim.

An attorney can also be helpful if you received any medical care in that foreign country, as malpractice laws function differently in different countries. Also, in certain situations, foreign parties may have sufficient ties to the United States that they can be sued in American courts. Therefore, if you are hurt in a foreign country, it is vital that you, as soon as possible, contact an experienced lawyer who can guide you through the complicated steps of maintaining and asserting your rights.

The case began simply enough. A bar in Scranton served beer to a minor. The minor took the beer out to the parking lot and used the glass to gash out our client’s eye. Under Dram Shop law and cases, a bar is liable if it serves a minor or a drunk and that person hurts someone.

The popular travel website Orbitz.com has announced that it discovered evidence of a data breach in which an unauthorized third party accessed personal information for consumers who booked travel between:

• January 1, 2016 and June 22, 2016 (for Orbitz platform customers)
• January 1, 2016 and December 22, 2017 (for certain partners customers)

As the Olympics have just ended, we have celebrated the wonder of sports and their power to spread joy. The Olympics are an awesome event that brings together people and countries in unparalleled ways.

But one thing that shouldn't get lost in this process is that preparing for the Olympics often involves large construction jobs and cut corners that can lead to environmental harm suffered by individuals and properties. New facilities are built, sometimes without regard to previous customs and law, and so we often see a violent reshaping of landscapes.

As an example, for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, in constructing the Olympic downhill tract in Jeongseon, tens of thousands of trees had to cut down. These trees included Wangasre birches that had been there for 500+ years and served as a refuge for protected animal species. Organizers ended up destroying a portion of Mount Gariwang, the location of the 500-year-old forest. It had been designated a national protected forest in 2008, but that designation was lifted in 2013 for the Olympics construction.

The International Olympics Committee has nominally announced a strong concern for the environment. Ever since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the IOC has held that sport can play a positive role in promoting sustainability. That is what forms the foundation for the incorporation of environmental responsibility into the Olympics. However, that hasn't always addressed the ultimate issues, with recent Olympics plagued by excessive smog (Beijing 2008), rubble accumulation (Sochi 2014), and pathogenic water (Rio 2016).

Large construction projects similar to the ones described above are often allowed without enough attention given to the negative environmental consequences of the projects and the harms that result therefore. But fortunately, there are still laws that affected individuals can take advantage of to hold companies responsible. If you or someone you know has been harmed by negligent or reckless act toward the environment, you should contact a lawyer to determine if there are any remedies.

So many of my blog entries have to do with very serious issues, such as riding mower rollover deaths, asbestos disease, complex regional pain syndrome, and other life-threatening matters.  This month, I thought it might be fun to lighten up the subject matter.

Technological innovation has improved the safety of motor vehicles over the last thirty years.  The mandatory use of seat belts has been accompanied by the development of harness belts and sensor technology.  Airbags have become sophisticated to the extent that their deployment depends upon the location of vehicle impact during a crash.  But for all of the advancements in vehicle safety, individuals still suffer serious injuries when cars collide.  Among those injuries, brain trauma can be among the most complex to address.

I have written before on this page about the Trump Administration's vendetta against the agencies that are tasked to protect our environment and Americans from toxic substances by gutting their budgets and closing departments responsible for the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations.

On February 13, 2018, the Court of Appeals weighed in on an important issue relating to the discoverability of private social media content. In a unanimous decision, New York’s highest court reversed the First Department’s application of a heightened threshold for the production of social media records where the account holder has chosen to share posts on a private setting only.