Texas Lawyers Blog

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The Texas Lawyers Blog provides useful information on the law and Texas lawyers. For more information on this Blog or a legal topic, please feel free to submit an inquiry or send an e-mail message to blog@texaslawyers.com

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Texas Accident Death Lawsuits Include Wrongful Death Claims and Survival Accident Claims by Texas Accident Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Texas Accident Death Lawsuits Include Survival Action Claims and Wrongful Death Claims and Usually Require The Grieving Family To File A Probate Lawsuit To Obtain Control of Their Loved One's Estate by Texas Accident Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Under Texas law there are two main types of claims that arise out of fatal accidents.  These claims include survival actions and wrongful death actions.  The survival action passes through the decedent's estate and allows the heirs or beneficiaries of a decedent to seek compensation for the death of their loved one.  To obtain control of the survival action the lost loved one's estate needs to be administered through a Texas probate and an administrator or executor needs to be appointed.  This will allow the administrator or executor to file a survival action and seek survival action damages.

The survival action seeks damages or claims for what the decedent would have recovered had the person survived the accident.  These claims travel through the decedent's estate and either go to their heirs or beneficiaries.  These damages include:
  •  Expenses associated with the death including funeral costs
  • Medical expenses prior to the death
  • Pain and suffering associated with the untimely death 
Texas Wrongful Death Claims Are Available to the Spouse, Parents, and Children

In addition to survival actions claims, Texas law also has wrongful death claims that are available to the spouse, parents, and children of a person that has been wrongfully killed by the negligent actions, reckless actions, or intentional actions of another.  Wrongful death claims seek money compensation for the parents, spouse and children of the decedent based on a variety of factors including:
  • Loss of love, companionship, comfort, assistance, protection, affection or care 
  • Loss of financial support 
  • Lost benefits, such as insurance, from the death 
  • Loss of inheritance from an untimely death
 
Many Families Do Not Realize That In Addition To Survival Action and Wrongful Death Action Claims There Are Often Several Different Types of Death Benefits and Insurance Recoveries That Can Also Be Recovered
 
After losing a loved one in an accident, it can be difficult to locate all potential insurance recoveries as well as to prove to insurance companies and guilty defendants the full extent of damages that your family has suffered. This is especially true if the damages suffered include the loss of a main contributor of financial support to your family or if there are large medical and funeral bills created by the death.  These damages can often cause a ripple affect of other damages that can result in the loss of a home, loss of vehicles, loss of ability to go to college, and other serious financial problems.    
In thoroughly investigating the death of a loved one, it is important to understand the potential different types of compensation that can be obtained through the Texas legal system and insurance policies.  In addition to seeking compensation from defendants responsible for the accidental death of a loved one, insurance can often provide compensation for the loss of a loved one.  Accidental Death Policies, Life Insurance Policies, Homeowners Insurance, General Commercial Insurance Policies, and Automobile Accident Policies are all types of insurance that can compensate widows and Texas families for the accidental death of a loved one.  In many instances if the party that killed your loved one is a business corporation, the party will have a general commercial policy of one million dollars to insure them from catastrophic injuries and death.  These policy can sometimes be hidden until a formal demand is made to the company responsible for the death.  Additionally, if the party that accidentally killed your loved one owns a home they will probably have a homeowners insurance policy that may compensate for an accidental death including deaths caused by fire and smoke, an accidental shooting or stray bullet, negligent children, attack dogs, dangerous condition on the property, or other negligence committed by a homeowner.  Like other insurance policies, these policies must be triggered within a certain time of the death and will not be automatically triggered.  A formal demand typically must be made to trigger these insurance policies.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Seniors Face Difficult Decisions On How To Protect Themselves and Their Wealth in Their Golden Years by Texas Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer and Texas Financial Exploitation Lawyer

Protecting Yourself and Your Wealth From Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation in Your Golden Years by Texas Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer

Many seniors will face difficult decisions on how to protect themselves and how to protect their wealth in their golden years.  Unfortunately for many seniors, they are not aware of many of the potential dangers they may face as they age and many will become victims of elder financial abuse and exploitation.  In fact, over 10 percent of seniors are affected by some form of elder abuse including financial exploitation and the numbers are rising as the senior population increases and the number of opportunists targeting seniors continues to increase.  These opportunists include caretakers, financial advisers, and others who see a senior as an easy target to make money.

Caretakers Often Have Access and Opportunity to Commit Financial Exploitation and Caretaker Financial Abuse of Seniors

As a Texas Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer, I have seen numerous situations where a senior falls victim to caretaker financial exploitation.  Caretaker financial exploitation occurs when the person taking care of a senior takes advantage of the situation and begins taking control of the senior's wealth without permission or authority.  In my practice many families have contacted me regarding a caretaker that has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from a vulnerable senior.  The caretaker is commonly a family member, but can also be a hired home health care provider, a neighbor, a financial adviser, a family friend or other opportunist that comes into the senior's life and then realizes that the senior has substantial wealth, suffers from dementia or other memory problems, and no one is watching them or their finances closely.  In many of these situations, credit cards are used for the caretaker's benefit; bank accounts are drained or shifted into joint accounts allowing the caretaker greater access to money; beneficiary designations on stocks, CDs, retirement funds, and life insurance are changed; wills are changed; real property is sold and new property is purchased; and trusts are created.  In some situations the caretaker will even marry the senior to have better access to assets and inheritance rights.  Overall, a caretaker without oversight can often take control of a senior's wealth and leave a senior without their life savings.

In extreme cases, I have spoken to several families that claim a caretaker isolated the senior from family and friends, took the senior's wealth, and then placed the senior in a nursing home or kept the senior heavily medicated and locked up.  In some situations after the senior's wealth was transferred, the senior died under mysterious circumstances.    

Many acts of financial fraud, financial elder abuse, and financial exploitation of the elderly are committed by family members and caretakers that have moved in and take over the senior's finances.  While some of these financial transfers are authorized by the elderly person, many are not.  In some situations there is clear fraud and exploitation, while in other situations it can be difficult to determine what actions are authorized and which are not.  Communication between the senior's friends and family are often the best protection for seniors, but many seniors are hesitant to communicate regarding fraud and exploitation. 
 
Financial Advisers Often Have Access and Opportunity to Take Advantage of Seniors With Investment Fraud Schemes and Senior Financial Exploitation

The Department of Justice has warned that the country's recession has resulted in an unprecedented rise in investment fraud schemes.  Many of these investment fraud schemes have been aimed at wealthy seniors who are often easy targets with substantial wealth.  Common investment schemes include selling seniors annuities, selling risky investments to seniors, and pushing Ponzi schemes to seniors.  Many of these schemes are pushed onto seniors by high pressure financial advisers working on commissions.

Other financial advisers take control of a senior's wealth and then begin to churn the investment to increase their commissions or even worse take the senior's wealth through false accounting statements and illegal transfers.  Financial adviser senior exploitation can also be hard to identify as many seniors will keep their investments a secret from those around them and can sometimes forget about investments or die without communicating the existence of an investment.

Many Seniors Will Need To Make Difficult Decisions Regarding Who To Trust and How To Protect Themselves and Their Wealth 
    
Many seniors that have worked hard during their lives to amass wealth are often reluctant to share information regarding their wealth or their health with those around them.  In fact, as many seniors age and begin to feel physically and mentally weaker, they will feel a need to protect this information even more strongly and many will become defensive of family, friends, or professionals that inquire about these topics.  This natural tendency to solely control wealth and health information, however, can create an environment where the senior is isolated and becomes an easy target for an opportunist to come into the senior's life and take advantage of the isolation.  For a growing number of seniors, they become vulnerable to physical, emotional, and financial abuse from caretakers, financial advisers, family members, and other opportunists in their later years.  

The decisions seniors make when they are younger and stronger will greatly impact what happens to them as they age, become weaker, and lose their memory.  However, planning for the future can be difficult as many seniors do not want to share financial or health information with those around them.  Further, sharing with the wrong person or failing to share this information can result in financial exploitation.  Recognizing who to trust is key to protecting yourself as you age, but this can be difficult and is often different for every senior and family facing these issues.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Large Corporations See Dead People as Profits by Texas Family Inheritance Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Families Are Losing An Increasing Amount of Family Inheritance and Wealth As Banks, Oil Companies, Large Corporations, and Other Opportunists Are Taking Wealth and Assets by Texas Family Inheritance Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Each year hundreds of billions of dollars of family inheritance are being passed down through inheritance to rightful heirs and beneficiaries, however, an increasing amount of family wealth is being lost to banks, oil companies, large corporations, and other opportunists.  As a Texas family inheritance lawyer, it is all to common to see a family's wealth lost or stolen.  

In many situations, the lost loved one does not have a will and the family does not have an accurate accounting of their loved one's wealth or assets.  This lack of information combined with grieving the loss of a loved one and/or relatives living far from their lost loved ones can create opportunities for large corporations to retain control of assets and eventually take the assets.

Banks, Oil Companies, Insurance Companies, and other Large Corporations Will Commonly Create Procedures That Allow Them To Hold On To Wealth As Long As Possible And In Some Cases Keep The Wealth That The Family Does Not Claim

In my practice, I have seen families that have spent years attempting to claim substantial amounts of family wealth from large corporations, but because of difficult and complicated bureaucratic procedures the families have been unable to collect the family wealth including stocks, royalties, bank accounts, and insurance.  In many situations, large corporations have found that creating difficult corporate policies and procedures to follow in order to claim the money and assets will often cause many families to give up on family wealth and allow the corporation to retain control of the wealth and eventually take the assets. 

In fact, in many instances these corporate procedures will include customer service policies that start out with the immediate denial of all claims regardless of whether money or assets are owed. An immediate telephone denial is effective because it will deter many families from moving forward with a claim for assets and there is often no record of any wrongful denial of benefits or money owed.  Other effective deterrents include the corporation that will not speak with the family or provide any information because the family member seeking the assets is not the owner.  This often seems plausible as it is often necessary to prove that the owner died and the family member has control of the estate or is a beneficiary.  However, there is also a potential trap in these situations, where the corporation will request the family member send all of their documents regarding the claim to the corporation before they can speak with you.  The request for documents is effective because some people will send their original documents to the corporation without keeping a record and will have a difficult time proving the claim in the future.  Further, it can be an effective stall to keep requesting documents that are hard or impossible to obtain.

Further, in addition to the standard denial and request for document trap, there is typically a standard policy where the customer service representative cannot give you their full name or direct contact information, thus you are typically stuck on hold in a telephone answering system and have to begin the dance anew each time that you contact the company.  Further, it is important to keep in mind that most times anything that you are told over the telephone is not on the record and may not be correct.  As such, the customer service representative may tell you almost anything to get off the telephone including the standard denial and request for documents then never be available again to verify the information.

Further, it is common that the customer service representatives that make the corporation the most money will typically be the ones that deny everything and are good at finding new and different ways of denying claims.  These "successful" customer services representatives will often be experienced in how to deny claims for money and assets, how to send viable claims into repeated stalls, as well as be able to avoid giving information that may lead back to them or allow the family to verify any prior communications.  

Overall, there is a clear economic incentive for many large corporations to have difficult telephone customer calling centers and complicated procedures that prevent families from being able to quickly claim family wealth.  This incentive will commonly allow the corporation to retain control of the money and assets as well as in many situations allow the corporation to benefit from investing the money and charging fees on managing the assets.  Further, if a family claiming substantial wealth can be stalled and delayed for several years this may allow the corporation to eventually take the wealth through fees, accounting tricks, and illegal acts. 

These difficult family wealth claim procedures can be an effective strategy for corporations because some families will give up and very few will contact an attorney to seek payment of assets or to file suit to obtain the assets.
   
Unclaimed Wealth Laws Are Commonly Not Enforced and Corporations Can Often Create Complicated Accounting Procedures To Hide The Theft of Money
 
Even though recent laws require some large corporations to keep track of lost or unclaimed money and after a certain amount of time give the unclaimed money to a government entity, many corporations do not comply with these laws because there is minimal enforcement of these laws and they can often get away with the theft because no one is watching. 

After five to ten years of holding money or assets, many corporations will transfer the money through multiple accounts and complicated accounting procedures making the money almost impossible to track.  Obtaining these accounting documents can be extremely difficult and understanding these accounting documents can often be almost impossible as much of the information and accounting tricks are designed to hide transactions and to prevent from actual theft transactions from being verified.

Further, the corporations know that it is highly unlikely that a lawful heir will pop up after five to ten years to claim the money or that a state will be aware that the large corporation was required to place a specific account into a specific state's unclaimed property and failed to do so.   

Some Corporations Are Finding It Extremely Profitable To Steal From Dead People

Overall, many corporations are finding that if they can create difficult claim procedures for family wealth and complicated hard to understand accounting procedures, the corporation can often steal from the dead and not get caught.  With a growing elderly population and an increased amount of family wealth in investments and accounts in large multinational corporations that have customers in numerous states and countries, these corporations can use apparent negligence and mistakes to their advantage to take money from dead people and make a large profit from stealing family wealth.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Interest Rate Fraud Lawsuits and Interest Rate Manipulation Lawsuits: Libor-Like Manipulation Possible in Other Benchmarks, Iosco Says by Texas Interest Rate Fraud Lawyer and Interest Rate Manipulation Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Interest Rate Fraud Lawsuits and Interest Rate Manipulation Lawsuits May Become More Common As Evidence of Widespread Interest Rate Fraud and Interest Rate Manipulation Is Coming to Light by Texas Interest Rate Fraud Lawyer, Texas Interest Rate Manipulation Lawyer, and Texas Financial Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer

Interest rate fraud and interest rate manipulation can create large profits for businesses and investors that can control and manipulate interests rates for their advantage.  This illegal advantage appears to have been more prevalent than once thought and a paper by the International Organization of Securities Commissions suggests that the lack of transparency in setting some bench marks may have allowed some investors, bankers, and financial services providers to manipulate interest rates to their advantage.

In some situations these interest rate manipulation schemes can be the basis for an interest rate fraud lawsuit or a financial confidential whistleblower reward lawsuit.  If you are the original source with special knowledge of interest rate fraud and/or the victim of interest rate manipulation that cost your pension, business, or investments a substantial amount of damages, please feel free to contact Texas International Interest Rate Fraud Lawyer and International Financial Services Institute Employee Confidential Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer. 


Libor-Like Manipulation Possible in Other Benchmarks, Iosco Says - Bloomberg

"The same lack of oversight that enabled traders to manipulate the London interbank offered rate plagues other benchmarks around the globe, according to a group of international securities regulators."

"Fewer than half of the benchmark interest rates surveyed in the U.S., Europe and Asia were based on actual transactions, according to a confidential International Organization of Securities Commissions discussion paper obtained by Bloomberg News. Instead, the rates were calculated by methodologies that were unclear, not transparent and only rarely subject to specific regulatory standards or obligations, the group said."

“Iosco, as the international organization of financial market regulators, is firmly committed to restoring confidence in benchmarking activities globally,” Masamichi Kono, chairman of the Iosco board, said in a Sept. 14 statement."

Dodd-Frank Act Mineral Extraction Disclosures by Texas Oil Company False Disclosure Lawyer, Confidential Whistleblower Lawyer, and International Oil Company False Disclosure Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

False Dodd-Frank Disclosures by an International Oil Company or International Mining Company Can Be the Basis of a SEC Whistleblower Bounty Action that Can Be Confidentially Reviewed and Filed By a Bounty Action Lawyer by Texas Oil Company False Disclosure Lawyer, Confidential Whistleblower Lawyer, and International Oil Company False Disclosure Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mandates new disclosures that require oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments, conflict minerals information, and safety violations.  Failure to disclose this information or disclosing false information can be the basis for a SEC Bounty Action that can pay a whistleblower a substantial reward for exposing fraudulent information.  These whistleblowers can confidential have their case reviewed by contacting a SEC Bounty Action whistleblower.

If you have evidence of energy company disclosure fraud or energy company illegal bribes to government officials, please feel free to contact International Oil Company Government Corruption Lawyer, Jason S. Coomer or go to the following web page: International Oil Company False Reporting Lawyer and International Oil Company Government Corruption Lawyer.

Dodd-Frank Mandatory Disclosure Provisions

Title XV of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act contains several specialized disclosure provisions including the following:
  • Section 1504 requires reporting issuers engaged in the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals to disclose in an annual report certain payments made to the United States or a foreign government. This information must be provided in an interactive data format, and the Commission must make a compilation of the information available online. Issuers are not required to provide their disclosures until their first annual report ending at least one year after the date on which the Commission issues its final rules.
  • Section 1502 requires persons to disclose annually whether any conflict minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product of the person, as defined in the provision, originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country and, if so, to provide a report describing, among other matters, the measures taken to exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of those minerals, which must include an independent private sector audit of the report that is certified by the person filing the report. Certain aspects of this rulemaking will require consultation with other federal agencies, including the State Department, the Government Accountability Office, and the Commerce Department. Persons are not required to comply with these rules until their first full fiscal year after the date on which the Commission issues its final rules.  
  • Section 1503 requires any reporting issuer that is a mine operator, or has a subsidiary that is an operator, to disclose in each periodic report filed with the Commission information related to health and safety violations, including the number of certain violations, orders, and citations received from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) among other matters. Issuers must also disclose in their Form 8-K reports the receipt from MSHA of any imminent danger orders or notices indicating that a mine has a pattern or potential pattern of violating mandatory health or safety standards.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Texas Child Sexual Abuse Lawyer Works With Victims, Families, and other Child Sexual Abuse Lawyers To Expose Child Sexual Predators by Texas Child Sexual Abuse Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Texas Child Sexual Abuse Lawyer and Texas Church Child Molestation Lawyer Handles Church Official Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits and Negligent Hiring Lawsuits Where Church Officials, Church Elders, and Employers Negligently Allow Sexual Predators to Abuse Children by Texas Child Sexual Abuse Lawyer and Texas Church Child Sexual Molestation Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

The Penn State Sexual Abuse Scandal has brought the issue of child sexual predators and those that protect child sexual predators into the public spot light. It is clear that there are still too many child sexual predators out there and too many people in positions of power that are protecting them or failing to expose them.

By exposing both sexual predators and those that allow the sexual predator access to children, families and victims that come forward can protect future children from sexual predators, change policies to protect future generations, and seek compensation from those who negligently allowed sexual abuse and sexual assaults to occur.

Churches, Private Schools, and Community Centers Have a Duty To Protect Children From Sexual Predators and Make Sure that Sexual Predators Do Not Have Access to Children
 
Private schools, churches, community centers, and daycare centers have a duty to provide proper supervision of their premises and staff to make sure that the children in their care are safe from harm.  If the church, private school, community center, or daycare center hires or allows a person that has a history of molestation or sexual assault to be around children, they may have violated their duty to protect the children in their care and have negligently allowed a sexual assault or molestation to occur.  Further, if the church, private school, community center, or daycare center allows strangers to access the premises or does not adequately screen or supervise its employees, and a child is molested as a result of the private school's, church's or daycare center's lack of care, the negligent conduct may support a legal cause of action for negligence. 

Employers that Negligently Hire, Screen, Train, Supervise, Monitor, and/or Retain Sexual Predators and Child Sexual Molesters Can Be Held Responsible for Child Molestation, Sexual Abuse, Rape, and Sexual Assault That Occurs As A Result of Their Negligence

Under Texas Law victims of child sexual abuse, sexual assault, molestation, and rape can seek compensation from employers that negligently hired sexual predators and negligently allowed them to sexually abuse, molest, or rape children.  If you or someone you love has been a victim of sexual assault, molestation, sexual abuse, indecent exposure to a minor, or rape, it is important that you step forward to expose the sexual predator and any other party that allowed the sexual predator to molest, assault, or abuse. 

By exposing sexual predators and any businesses and employers that breached their duty to protect children from sexual predators, victims and families that step forward are helping protect other children and innocents from being sexually abused, molested, or assaulted.  Often these cases create new policies and procedures that detect sexual predators and prevent them from being able to isolate potential new victims. 

Texas Negligent Employer Sexual Assault Lawsuit Information and Texas Church Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Information

For more information on this topic please feel free to go to the following web pages: Texas Negligent Employer Sexual Assault Lawyer and Texas Church Child Sexual Abuse Lawyer.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

IRS Tax Fraud Lawyers and Illegal Offshore Account Lawyers Can Help Tax Fraud Whistleblowers: IRS pays whistleblower $104 million


IRS Tax Fraud Whistleblower Lawyers Can Confidentially Represent IRS Fraud Whistleblowers that Want to Expose Corporate Tax Fraud and Illegal Offshore Account Tax Fraud by Texas IRS Tax Fraud Lawyer, Texas Corporate Tax Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer, and Illegal Offshore Account Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer
The IRS Tax Fraud whistleblower reward law is IRS Tax Fraud Whistleblower Reward Program under section 406 of the Internal Revenue CodeThis whistleblower recovery law includes significant economic incentives and protections for whistleblowers to encourage people with specialized knowledge of significant tax fraud to step forward and report the fraud.  These protections if used properly can protect whistleblowers from retaliation and allow whistleblowers to recover large amounts of money for being the first to properly report significant tax fraud.   

For more information on IRS Tax Fraud, please go to the following web pages:
IRS tax fraud confidential informant and whistleblower lawyer, Jason S. Coomer, works with petroleum accountant whistleblowers, multinational corporation accountant whistleblowers, and other IRS tax fraud whistleblowers that want to confidentially blow the whistle on large scale IRS tax fraud including corporate underpayment of taxes and illegal offshore accounts.  If you are aware of significant tax fraud or underpayment of taxes,  please feel free to contact IRS Tax Fraud Confidential Whistleblower Reward Lawyer and Tax Fraud Informant Reward Lawyer Jason Coomer via e-mail message.



IRS pays whistleblower $104 million

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service has awarded an ex-banker $104 million for providing information about overseas tax cheats — the largest amount ever awarded by the agency, lawyers for the whistleblower announced Tuesday.
Former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld is credited with exposing widespread tax evasion at Swiss bank UBS AG. Birkenfeld himself served roughly two and-a-half years in prison for a fraud conspiracy conviction related to the case, which resulted in a $780 million fine against the bank and an unprecedented agreement requiring UBS to turn over thousands of names of suspected American tax dodgers to the IRS.

"The IRS today sent 104 million messages to whistleblowers around the world — that there is now a safe and secure way to report tax fraud and that the IRS is now paying awards," Birkenfeld's lawyers, Stephen M. Kohn and Dean A. Zerbe, said in a statement. "The IRS also sent 104 million messages to banks around the world — stop enabling tax cheats or you will get caught."

The IRS, which doesn't usually confirm individual award payments, said Birkenfeld signed a disclosure waiver, allowing the agency to confirm his award.

"The IRS believes that the whistleblower statute provides a valuable tool to combat tax non-compliance, and this award reflects our commitment to the law," IRS spokeswoman Michele Eldridge said in an email.

Birkenfeld has become something of a cause celebre among whistleblowers because of the magnitude of his case and the fact that he was jailed after cooperating with authorities.
In a summary of the award provided by Birkenfeld's lawyers, the IRS said, "The comprehensive information provided by the whistleblower was exceptional in both its breadth and depth."

"While the IRS was aware of tax compliance issues related to secret bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere, the information provided by the whistleblower formed the basis for unprecedented actions against UBS AG, with collateral impact on other enforcement activities and a continuing impact on future compliance by UBS AG," the IRS said in the summary.

Federal prosecutors, however, had said Birkenfeld withheld information about his own dealings with a former UBS client who pleaded guilty in 2007 to tax charges.

In 2006, Congress strengthened whistleblower rewards. The 2006 law targets high-income tax dodgers, guaranteeing rewards for qualified whistleblowers if the company in question owes a least $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.

Some lawmakers, however, have complained that the IRS has been slow to pay out awards.
"The potential for this program is tremendous, and it's up to the IRS to continue paying rewards and demonstrating to whistleblowers that the process will work and that they will be heard and protected," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who helped write the law. "An award of $104 million is obviously a great deal of money, but billions of dollars in taxes owed will be collected that otherwise would not have been paid, as a result of the whistleblower information."

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Texas Fatal Fire Lawyer and Texas House Fire Lawyer Helps Families Recover Compensation After a Fire by Texas Fatal Fire Lawyer and Texas House Fire Lawyer

Texas Fatal Fire Lawyer and Texas House Fire Lawyer Handles Texas Fatal House Fire Lawsuits, Texas Serious Burn Lawsuits, Texas Water Heater and Gas Explosion Lawsuits, Texas Fire Death Lawsuits, Texas Smoke Inhalation Death Lawsuits, and other Texas Fire Lawsuits by Texas Fatal Fire Lawyer and Texas House Fire Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

In the United States, each year over 30,000 people are killed or seriously injured by fire and smoke inhalation.  Many of these fires are the result of negligence or defective products, that could have been easily prevented.   In addition to the serious burns, fatalities, respiratory problems, and other bodily injuries caused by fire, it is estimated that fire destroys over $8,000,000,000 (eight billion dollars) in property damage each year.

In  handling Texas Fatal Fire Lawsuits, Texas Fire Death Lawsuits, Texas Serious Burn Lawsuits, Texas Smoke Inhalation Lawsuits, Texas House Fire Lawsuits, Texas Wildfire Lawsuits, Texas Home Fire Lawsuits and Texas Apartment Fire Lawsuits, it is important to determine the cause and origin of the fire.  The fire can be caused by a variety of factors including defective products, careless workers, negligent property owners, defective water heaters, defective gas cans, failure of products to have child proofing, defective wiring, defective appliances, negligence maintenance, and many other negligent actions.  To determine the cause of the fire and/or explosion, it is important to speak with witnesses and fire investigators as well as to obtain any photos or video of the fire and any and all documents related to fire.    

The cause of the fire can be important in determining what compensation may be available to those that have lost someone from the fire, those injured in the fire, and those that have suffered damages from the fire.  For more information on Texas Fire Lawsuits, please go to the following web pages:

 
The Texas Bastrop Wildfire Caused Death and Catastrophic Damages

In central Texas, the September 2011 Bastrop Fire killed two people, destroyed over 1,500 homes & buildings, forced thousands to evacuate their homes, destroyed numerous business, and caused approximately $250,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars) in damage to the people and business community of Bastrop. 

If you, your business, or a loved one has suffered damages from the Bastrop Fire or another fire and have a question regarding Bastrop Wildfire Lawsuits or another Texas Fire Lawsuit, please feel free to send an e-mail message to Texas Fire Lawyer Jason Coomer.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer and Military Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Handles Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuits: Virginia grand jury indicts military contractor - Businessweek

Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Handles Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuits and Military Contractor Fraud Qui Tam Lawsuits by Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer and Military Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Defense contractor fraud is the target of the Federal False Claims Act that offers defense fraud whistleblowers and military fraud whistleblowers large rewards for properly exposing war profiteering and fraudulent defense contractors.  Whistleblowers that have knowledge of corrupt government contractors that have sought payment from the government for defective products, services that were never provided, and dangerous products should are eligible for large financial rewards, if they step forward and properly expose defense contractors that cheat the government through False Certification of Product Quality, Product Substitution, Cross Charging, False Certification of Services Provided, Charging for Services or Goods not provided, Violations of the Truth-in-Negotiations Act ("TINA"), Improper Cost Allocation or other fraudulent schemes.

By working with a defense contractor fraud whistleblower lawyer or military contractor fraud whistleblower lawyer, the whistleblower can increase their ability to properly expose defense contractor fraud as well as be protected from illegal retaliation.  For more information on Military Contractor Qui Fraud Tam Lawsuits and Defense Contractor Fraud Qui Tam Lawsuits, please feel free contact Texas Military Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer and Defense Contractor Fraud Qui Tam Lawyer Jason S. Coomer or go to the following web page: Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer and Military Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer.


Virginia grand jury indicts military contractor - Businessweek

"ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted a military contractor Thursday on charges of misrepresenting the level of protection provided by armored vehicles used by VIP convoys in Iraq.  The 13-count indictment charges Armet Armored Vehicles and its president, 67-year-old William R. Whyte of Ontario, Canada, with major fraud against the United States, wire fraud and false claims.

"The Department of Justice has no higher priority than protecting our national security," U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphey said in a written statement. "We will work to ensure that the goods provided by contractors to the brave men and women of our military meet safety standards and contract specifications."


Texas Fatal Accident Lawyers Represent The Families of People That Have Been Wrongfully Killed and Make The World Safer By Preventing Future Fatal Accidents by Texas Fatal Accident Lawyer and Texas Accident Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Texas Fatal Accident Lawyers Help Parents, Spouses, Children, and Other Family Members Seek Compensation for Lost Loved Ones and Investigate Dangerous Policies, Negligent Actions, and Hazardous Conditions that Help Prevent Future Fatal Accidents by Texas Fatal Accident Lawyer and Texas Accident Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Losing a loved one is difficult. This is especially true if your loved one is killed by the carelessness, conscious disregard, or negligence of another. Unfortunately, every year thousands of Texans are killed by the negligence of drunk drivers, careless businesses, and negligent property owners.  In most of these situations the family of the person killed is not compensated or is under compensated for the loss of a loved one.  Further, many of these fatal accidents are not properly investigated allowing negligent businesses, hazardous conditions, careless people, and dangerous policies to kill or injure others.

Texas Fatal Accident Lawyers can help families that have lost a family member and loved ones through on the job accidents, car crashes, truck collisions, accidental shootings, drunk drivers, dangerous conditions, explosions, fires, failure to follow safety procedures, motorcycle wrecks, falls, medical malpractice, automobile accidents, and other claims resulting in accidental death. Texas Fatal Accident Lawyers can represent the families of the deceased and assert their rights after an accident including performing a full investigation of the accident death to determine what happened and how to prevent any other accidental death from occurring in the same way.

Texas Fatal Automobile Accidents, Texas Fatal Truck Wrecks, and Texas Fatal Car Accidents Are The Most Common Type of Fatal Accident and Can Often Involve Several Different Types of Insurance and Legal Claims

The most common type of fatal accidents are automobile collisions where a drunk or careless driver crashes into another vehicle or runs over a pedestrian or cyclist.  Texas fatal automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of death for persons under 50 years of age and the families of those killed are commonly under compensated by insurance companies.  Because of the complexity of insurance coverage including commercial accident policies, death benefits, and other potential insurance policies, it is often best for families that have lost a loved one in a fatal accident, to seek counsel regarding the fatal accident.

For more information on Texas Fatal Automobile Accident Lawsuits and Texas Automobile Accident Death Lawsuits, please feel free to contact Texas Fatal Accident Lawyer Jason S. Coomer or go to the following web page: Texas Fatal Automobile Accident Lawyer.

Texas Fatal Work Accident Lawsuits Include Texas Fatal Explosion Lawsuits, Texas Commercial Vehicle Accident Death Lawsuits, and Texas Fatal Construction Accident Lawsuits

Texas fatal workplace accidents are another common type of fatal accident that can kill a loved one.  In these fatal accidents, it is typically the family wage earner that is killed resulting not only in the loss of a loved one, but also in the loss of necessary income.  In these situations, it is often essential for the family to seek help in forcing an insurance company or large corporation to pay compensation for lost wages, future lost earnings, and other damages from the fatal accident.

For more information on Texas Fatal Work Accident Lawsuits and Texas Worker Accident Death Lawsuits, please feel free to contact Texas Fatal Accident Lawyer Jason S. Coomer or go to the following web page: Texas Fatal Industrial Accident Lawyer and Texas Work Place Accident Death Lawyer.

Texas Fatal Accident Lawyers Can Help Prove Damages to Insurance Companies and Guilty Defendants After an Accident Death

After losing a loved one in an accident, it can be difficult to locate all potential insurance recoveries and other potential legal recoveries.  It can also be difficult to prove the full extent of damages that your family has suffered from the loss of a loved one.  Insurance companies and guilty defendants are often more interested in protecting themselves from paying compensation, than from making sure a family is fully compensated for the death of a loved one. This is true even if the damages suffered include the loss of a main contributor of financial support to your family or if there are large medical and funeral bills created by the death.  These damages can often cause a ripple affect of other damages that can result in the loss of a home, loss of vehicles, loss of ability to go to college, and other serious financial problems.  Understanding collectible damages under Texas law and potential insurance coverage under Texas law, is important in maximizing a recovery after the loss of a loved one in a fatal accident.

For more information on Texas Fatal Accident Lawsuits and Texas Accident Death Lawsuits, please feel free to contact Texas Fatal Accident Lawyer Jason S. Coomer or go to the following web pages: