If you have been injured in an automobile accident, you need to seek medical attention immediately. Do not let the concern of how you will pay for your medical care stop you from seeking the proper treatment. If you wait to see a doctor, you may hinder your ability to receive damages for your personal injury because it may be more difficult to prove that the injury was related to the accident.

How Do I Pay for Medical Care for My Injuries Until I Settle My Claim?

Some accident victims believe they cannot seek medical care until their personal injury claim is settled. Unfortunately, by the time the case is settled, your injury may be far more severe than if you had received proper medical care immediately following your injury accident. The best way to pay for your medical bills is to rely on other benefits and insurance coverage that you hopefully have already. If you have benefits such as health insurance through your job or a private provider, active military benefits, workers compensation insurance, automobile insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, you need to utilize those benefits to cover medical expenses until your personal injury claim is settled. Upon reaching an agreement for your damages, you will be able to reimburse the other types of benefits you have been paid if necessary.

If your injuries require you to miss work in order to recover, then you will have to rely on vacation pay, sick-leave time, personal days, workers compensation coverage, SSI benefits, auto insurance or temporary disability benefits. SSI and workers compensation will have to be refunded upon reaching a settlement for your personal injury claim.

How Do I Find the Best Personal Injury Attorney in Austin?

An Austin personal injury attorney at Shaw Cowart will investigate your case, compile a compelling case and fight for your rights in your personal injury claim. We work personal injury cases on a contingency basis. Contact us today for a free consultation.

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On March 4, 2013, Val Perkins, a Gardere Wynne Sewell partner, reported that Senator John Carona, R-Dallas, was authoring S.B. 953, a bill seeking adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, codifying and modernizing existing Texas common law as it relates to misappropriation of trade secrets, while enhancing available remedies to aggrieved businesses.   Perkins also stated that the bill includes specifics on what information is actually considered to be a trade secret, providing more “clarity and consistency as compared to the common law.”

The bill includes an expanded definition of protected trade secrets when a company is making a “reasonable” effort to maintain a secret, and which derives its value from not being generally known to the public such as a:

• formula
• pattern
• compilation
• program
• device
• method
• technique
• process
• financial data
• list of actual, or potential customers or suppliers

According to Perkins, the bill does not require a company’s confidential information being in “continuous use,” which allows for a broader class of trade secrets.

Under S.B. 953, attorney’s fees may be covered for the plaintiff if the court rules the misappropriation of trade secrets was malicious and willful.  In addition, a defendant may be able to recover their attorney’s fees if it is ruled that the misappropriation suit was made in bad faith against them.

The legislation encourages the courts to maintain trade secrets by limiting access to confidential information to the experts and attorneys involved in trade secret suits.

Contact Austin’s Business Defense Lawyer

If you believe there has been a misappropriation of your company’s trade secrets, contact Austin Business Defense Lawyer team at Shaw Cowart, today.

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If your family member has died due to the negligence or malice of another person or entity, you need to enlist the help of a personal injury lawyer in Austin with experience in wrongful death lawsuits. Some wrongful death claims are easier than others, but all involve a complicated area of law. Wrongful death lawsuits will not remedy the pain felt from the loss of your loved one, but recovering damages will assist in keeping you and your family from financial devastation.

Contacting a Wrongful Death Attorney

If you believe that you need to file a wrongful death lawsuit, you should consult with a lawyer from Shaw Cowart. Wrongful death claims fall under personal injury law. Our lawyers have the expertise to evaluate your case. We will truthfully advise you if you have a legitimate lawsuit; we will never mislead anyone.

Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Austin

Prior to filing a wrongful death lawsuit, your lawyer will attempt to settle your case by requesting damages from the defendant, the person or entity at fault. If the defendant refuses to settle with an acceptable monetary amount, then your lawyer will file a complaint with the court to start the wrongful death lawsuit. The Austin personal injury lawyers at Shaw Cowart will always advise you of each necessary step. This type of lawsuit can be a lengthy experience, but we will not tire during the process.

Austin Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have suffered the loss of a loved one due to another’s negligence, you need to contact the personal injury lawyers at Shaw Cowart in Austin, Texas. We handle wrongful death lawsuits on a contingency basis. Call today for a free consultation.

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It has often been stated that “knowledge is power.”  The personal injury lawyers at Shaw Cowart LLP have a thorough understanding of the law, and the expertise necessary to navigate through the court system on behalf of each client.  This knowledge and experience has won the respect of insurance companies, defense attorneys, and judges, and gives each client the assurance that they have the best legal representation available.

Personal Injury Representation in Austin

In each Austin Personal Injury case Shaw Cowart LLP attorneys carefully examine:

• The scene of the accident to help determine possible causes
• Pictures taken at the scene (we always encourage each client to take pictures and provide them to our team)
• Injuries connected to the accident
• Medical transportation to hospital
• Physicians bills
• Prescription bills
• Physical therapy bills
• Medical equipment bills
• Work loss
• Witnesses present at the scene of the accident (names, telephone numbers, etc.)

It is also imperative you are aware of the statute of limitations in filing a claim for personal injuries to ensure you do not do so too late to receive the fair and just compensation that is due you and your loved ones.

While we do work with insurance companies on behalf of our clients, they respect the fact that we will not hesitate to move our clients’ cases forward through the court system if they are unwilling to provide fair and just compensation for our client’s injuries.

Contact Austin Personal Injury Attorney at Shaw Cowart LLP today for a free consultation.

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It is not unusual for land ownership in Texas to be split up into separate sets of estates, or land ownership rights.  This simply means that while a landowner may purchase the surface rights to a property, someone other than the landowner may own the mineral rights below the surface.  If a company has an interest in leasing the mineral rights, they must have permission from the owner of those rights; not just the owner of the land or surface rights.  Since leasing contracts for oil and gas rights are considerably different from ordinary lease contracts, it is necessary to seek the advice of an Austin Oil and Gas Litigation Attorney at the beginning of this venture in order to avoid unnecessary litigation disputes further down the line.

Advanced technology is motivating companies to increase their efforts to sign lease contracts with Texas ranchers, and farmers.  While the ranchers and farmers are hopeful about the possibility of their land increasing in value, signing a contract with a large company to lease the oil and gas rights to their property can be stressful.  This is especially true when a company is asking the land owner to sign the lease within a limited time-frame.

Austin Oil and Gas Litigation Attorneys

Shaw Cowart Law Firm has the best oil and gas litigation attorneys in Austin. We will review the contract to ensure that your rights are protected in the following ways:

• You are signing a legal and binding agreement
• You have a fair agreement
• You are giving the company clear time restrictions
• You are being paid the current market value for royalties
• Clearly specify your royalty beneficiaries
• Prepare additional lease agreements for oil and gas pipeline easements
• Prepare lease agreements for gas transportation easements
• Prepare an agreement protecting your water rights
• Verify that all contract agreements comply with Texas regulations and laws

Contact Shaw Cowart

Contact Shaw Cowart, Austin Oil and Gas Litigation Attorneys, today to have him review your contracts and help you avoid future legal disputes.

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In January, 2013, Sassy and Carter toy manufacturers voluntarily recalled a line of defective toys, the Hug N’ Tug Puppies and Monkeys. These products were designed to distract and entertain young children while they are confined to a stroller or car seat. Both lines of cloth-based toys have a plastic ball with small beads inside of them in the center of the animal-shaped toy. The Sassy line has had reports of more than 10 balls breaking and creating a choking hazard for infants and toddlers. No reports have been made concerning the Carter line. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

Children’s toys are often recalled. Manufacturers and designers sometimes place profit over safety, and allow hurried plans to create unsafe entertainment for our babies. Unfortunately, many parents never realize that a product they own has been recalled because the media reports fail to reach the proper audience. Any parent in Austin or surrounding areas that has a child who has suffered an injury from a defective product needs to obtain representation from the Product Liability attorneys at Shaw Cowart LLP.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada have provided publicity support for the recall of the 45,000+ units sold throughout the United States and Canada. The toys were sold at Target, Toys ‘R’ Us and other retailers, as well as online through websites like Amazon.com.

When your child’s safety has been compromised, the responsible parties should be held accountable. Contact an Austin Defective Products Litigation Attorney to help prevent any future injuries.

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Employment Contracts

If you are asked to do research and produce a creative document or piece of work for your employer and it is your desire to maintain the rights to the creative work, it is imperative to understand the importance of having a written agreement, or contract, stating to whom the document, or creative work will ultimately belong.

In addition, if you are working for a company that has asked you to do research for producing a document, or creative work, it may be in your best interest to maintain an “independent contractor” status in order to help ensure the court will likely rule in your favor should a copyright dispute occur. Austin attorneys at Shaw Cowart understand the many complexities that intellectual property rights entail and can help you protect your work.

A Few of the Many Guidelines Used by the IRS to Determine Independent Contractor Status

• Instructions:  Workers who must comply with your instructions as to when, where, and how they work are more likely to be employees than independent contractors.
• Integration:  The more important that your workers’ services are to your business’s success or continuation, the more likely it is that they are employees.
• Set hours of work:  Workers for whom you establish set hours of work are more likely employees. In contrast, independent contractors generally can set their own work hours.
• Full time required:  Workers whom you require to work or be available full time are likely to be employees. In contrast, independent contractors generally can work whenever and for whomever they choose.
• Work done on premises:  Workers who work at your premises or at a place you designate are more likely employees. In contrast, independent contractors usually have their own place of business where they can do their work for you.

Call Austin Intellectual Property Rights attorneys at Shaw Cowart law firm today, and protect your rights now by consulting with experienced attorneys who understand these pitfalls.

Source: www.irs.gov

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A December, 2012, report indicated that a steroid produced by New England Compounding Center caused a widespread outbreak across America of meningitis due to a meningitis bacterium inside the steroid.  Doctors were injecting the steroid into patients to relieve their chronic lower-back pain. It was soon discovered that many of these patients were contracting meningitis; 510 became ill, and 36 patients died from the illness.

Approximately 14,000 patients were given the contaminated steroid injections, and are still considered to be at risk for developing the illness.

In addition to the meningitis bacteria being found in the steroid, WBIR News also announced that further testing of the steroid showed positive results for fungal and other bacteria present in the steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center.

It is believed that the director of the Massachusetts pharmacy board director was made aware of the drugs’ meningitis contamination, but allowed the steroids to be shipped in bulk nationwide anyway.  This was a direct violation of the Massachusetts state compounding license, which supposedly allows compounding pharmacies under the jurisdiction of NECC to compound prescriptions only for individual patients, and not in bulk.  The federal government has oversight over pharmacies that produce prescription drugs in bulk.

This is just one example of a horrific drug injury case that can affect patients in Austin or anywhere in the United States. Medical professionals must realize the responsibility they have to conduct themselves in the most conscientious way.

If you or a loved one became ill, or died as a result of these contaminated steroid injections, or as a result of any other negligent act by a medical professional, contact the Austin drug injury lawyers at Shaw Cowart law firm today.  Our team of attorneys will work with you to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve

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Thanks to miraculous progress in technology and the medical field today, many people regardless of age, and sometimes serious injuries, are able to maintain their ability to walk without pain, and with full mobility in their legs because of hip implants.  However, in some unfortunate situations the metal devices have devastating defects that can cause excruciating and debilitating pain in a patient.

Metal-on-Metal Implants with Defective Parts

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has noted that metal-on-metal implants sometimes cause soft tissue damage due to shards of metal being released into the body of individuals who have received this type of implant.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recalled many of these implant devices, and numerous patients must have additional hip surgeries to replace the defective parts.  These patients often suffer loss of soft tissue surrounding the implant.  It is also believed that these metal shards cause additional health issues in the patient’s body, and can enter the patient’s bloodstream.  Some patients have experienced issues with their heart, nervous system and/or thyroid.

If a patient suffers minor pain caused by a defective implant device, or major pain caused by the defective device, they should not have to be concerned about the potential catastrophic effects of a medical device being implanted in their bodies.

Medical malpractice lawsuits not only involve negligence or medical errors caused by doctors or other medical personnel, but also defective medical products produced by the manufacturing company.  In these types of lawsuits, the patient files a suit against the company producing the defective medical device instead of the medical professional.

Contact an Austin Hip Implant Lawyer

Austin Hip Implant Lawyers at Shaw Cowart Law Firm have the expertise to assist you in getting the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering due to these defective medical devices. Contact our law firm today.

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An Austin Business Defense Lawyer can assist you and your company in writing and reviewing all business contracts. For simple contracts, you can follow these general guidelines:

• It is not necessary to use legal terms in writing a business contract, but you should be explicit and detailed using verbiage that is easily understood.  As an example, if you have hired a catering service to provide dinner for a special event, it’s important to discuss the specific entrée you expect your guests to be served, the specific drinks, dessert(s), etc.  In addition, you need to have a specific time for the food to arrive, and served, etc.
• Make sure your business client understands all of your requirements by delineating them in writing in advance of negotiating the contract.  Even when you’re doing business with a friend, never assume that they know your requirements.  Making everything clear and in writing up front will be an invaluable asset if a disagreement should occur along the way.
• Always research state and local regulations and federal laws that may have a relevance to your business contract. If you are thinking about leasing property, it is often to your advantage to check with an attorney familiar with these laws.  These laws and regulations can also be researched online.
• If the contract is “renewable,” always include the renewable terms.
• Include a clause for breach of contract which is also referred to as “liquidated damages.”  You will want to be specific regarding the amount offending party will pay if the terms of the contract are not met.

Before you sign a business contract it is advisable for you to have an attorney review it and assist you with negotiations to ensure that you are getting what you want out of any contractual agreement.  Do not assume that simply not understanding the terms of a contract will help you in court.

Most binding contracts are complex and difficult to understand. Contact Austin Business Defense Lawyers at Shaw Cowart law firm today to review your business contracts.

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