Legal Articles Denver and Colorado
Play it Safe When it Comes to Concussions
More than 38 million boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 18 participate in organized youth sports. And while sports can be a fun way to socialize and instill values such as teamwork, physical activity can also mean potential for injuries.
Coaches, parents and athletes need to be on the lookout for injuries, especially more serious types of injuries such as concussions.
Recognizing such injuries and being proactive are key because approximately 3.8 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. So, what may seem to be a mild bump or blow to the head can often be far more serious.
Contact between athletes, collisions between athletes and objects such as goalposts or hurdles or simple falls can all result in concussions, which cause the brain to move rapidly inside the skull.
Should a concussion occur on the playing field, there are many signs and symptoms that coaches and parents need to know. For example, athletes who experience any kind of change in behavior, thinking or physical functioning may be in need of care.
As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stepped in to help with the development of the "Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports" tool kit.
The kit provides a comprehensive list of signs and symptoms of a concussion as well as important steps to take when a concussion is suspected. The materials are available in both English and Spanish and include:
- a fact sheet for athletes
- a fact sheet for parents
- clipboards with concussion facts for coaches
- magnets with concussion facts for coaches and parents
- posters with concussion facts for coaches and sports administrators
- a quiz for coaches, athletes and parents
To learn more about concussions
or to order the "Heads Up: Concussion
in Youth Sports" tool kit free
of charge, visit: www.cdc.gov/ConcussionInYouthSports.
NEW SCAM! Alleged Jury Duty Will Steal Your Identity
The phone rings. The caller identifies him/herself as an officer of the court and says you failed to report for jury duty, which has resulted in a warrant for your arrest. Shocked, you say you never received a notice. No problem, the caller says, this can all be cleared up easily by paying a small fine. I just need your credit card number, Social Security number and birth date for “verification purposes” and payment.
Hang up immediately. You have just been solicited by a jury scammer trying to steal your identity.
Here are a few tips to protect you against this type of scam:
- DON’T comply with any request to “verify information” such as a Social Security number.
- DON’T send the caller any written information for review.
- DON’T be afraid to be rude or hang up
- NEVER give out birth dates, bank/credit card or Social Security information over the phone.
- DO screen calls and let the answering machine pick up calls from unknown callers.
- DO report these types of calls to Attorney General's Office immediately.
Truthfully, if someone improperly fails to appear for jury duty, the Court will send a second summons and it will be labeled “Second Summons.” They will never call to request personal information.
Although jury scams have been around for years, this scam has resurfaced in many states including Colorado. Remember, the scammer is using fear as his/her main motivation. For a law abiding citizen to hear that they missed jury duty and face arrest is scary and extremely effective in obtaining the personal information needed to empty your bank account(s).
No matter what the reason is for calling, if anyone asks for your personal information never give it out and hang up.
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Keep Your Small Business Safe With A Disaster Plan
Your small business is your life. It represents not just a significant investment of time and energy-and, of course, money-but also passion, dedication and hard work. That's why you want to devote as much effort to protecting it as you did to creating it in the first place.
According to the National Archives & Records Administration, 93 percent of companies that had trouble restoring their data after a disaster were out of business within 18 months. It's not just a hurricane, fire or flood that can ruin a business; it can be a hard drive that unexpectedly crashes or an important document that is misplaced. Businesses, especially small businesses, are frequently born of vision, dedication and good old-fashioned hard work. That means that in the day-to-day building of a business, preparing for the worst is often overlooked or put on hold for more pressing matters.
With today's technology and tools, keeping a business safe doesn't have to be a difficult or time-consuming process. That's why HP and SCORE are holding a series of disaster recovery workshops for small businesses across the United States.
"HP understands the unique needs that small businesses have, and we are excited to be working with SCORE to provide insight on how to prepare for disasters large and small," said Lisa Baker, Director of Small and Medium Business-Americas, Personal Systems Group, HP.
Additionally, they have created a few simple tips to keep your business safe with a little advance planning.
• Identify what is critical to your business. Take a look around and identify what is critical to the business. This could be everything from tax documents to customer databases to computer files. Based on hardware failures, theft, malicious acts, mistakes or natural disasters, determine what critical elements of the business need to be protected.
• Create a communications plan. Create a plan to keep things running if something should happen to the business. In the event of an emergency, how will employees know whether or not to report to work? Is the business equipped for employees to work remotely by accessing e-mail and files online? Create a plan and assign roles and responsibilities as a part of that plan. Update the plan and walk through it with employees on a routine basis.
• Safeguard critical business data by backing up. Have a plan in place to access important business data should disaster strike. Back up critical data, or even all data, on a regular basis so that you have a copy of the data. Bear in mind that if the backup system involves records (such as tapes) that are stored at the physical business, in the event of a fire or flood, all files may be lost. Affordable options for backing up data off-site or online are worth investigating. Additionally, test your backup system to ensure proper performance and understand how the information can easily and rapidly be retrieved.
• Protect data and networks against viruses, worms and hackers. Viruses and other malicious online risks are very real threats to any business and can result in days of unproductive downtime. To ensure network and operating systems are secure, investigate available software, servers and services that detect new viruses immediately and can shut down infected machines before they cripple an entire business. At a minimum, it is recommended that a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spam systems are in place to secure critical data.
• Document assets for insurance needs. Take photos of all office furniture, equipment and layout, and photocopy or scan in all critical documents including insurance policies, tax documents and legal contracts for insurance purposes. With digital photos, you can even keep archived copies off-site. If a major disaster strikes and completely destroys the office, it would be easy to submit an insurance claim and have minimal disruption to your business.
The best approach for security and business protection is to be prepared and to have a plan. Spend a few moments to ensure the long-term success of the business. It's a worthwhile investment.
Small businesses can be just as vulnerable as bigger ones, so it's important to have a disaster preparedness plan.
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Shopping Cart Safety
Family sociologist Ronald L. Pitzer in an article titled “Shopping With Young Children” explains how a parent can safely and effectively shop with their child by controlling misbehavior, teaching, keeping the child busy, eating before hand and avoiding boredom. His tips appear below:
Help Your Child Learn
If you can arrange the shopping trip so you are not overly rushed, you can help your child learn in the supermarket by talking to him and pointing out different foods. When you choose some apples you can say, "We need four red apples. See? One, two, three, four." Play some simple games as you go along: "Who can see the potatoes first?" or "Find five things in this aisle that are in cans, that are red, that can be eaten, that cannot be eaten, that begin with the letter g." Try "name all the vegetables or dairy products or fruits or breads in the cart." Research shows that smart children have parents who give them this kind of stimulation.
Control Misbehavior
Discuss your rules before entering the store. (For example, you will not buy junk foods.)
You might even role play at home how to act in the store. If the child behaves well, show approval by noticing it and thanking the child. Ignore inappropriate behavior unless it is dangerous, destructive, or a bother to others. Stop unacceptable behavior as soon as it occurs. Don't let your child think you will allow her to misbehave because you are in public. But try not to hurt or embarrass your child by hitting or yelling. Children have feelings, too. If you do have to deal with the child's behavior, try to remove her to a private place—a bathroom, behind a counter, even out to the car.
Keep Your Child Busy
Even if you are on a fairly tight schedule, you can talk with the child about what you see and are doing. Occasionally, let your child make some of the decisions. Encourage your child to talk, watch, listen, think. If possible, give the child a responsibility (help locate the green beans; match coupons with labels). You might want to bring a toy or book from home or let the child hold something unbreakable to keep those little hands busy. For a small child, a favorite soft toy could be tied to the handle of the shopping cart.
Eat Before Shopping
Try not to take your child shopping when she is tired or hungry. A healthful snack before going to the store or possibly even during the shopping trip can ease irritability and the "I wants" resulting from hunger pangs.
Accidents
Don't let your child stand up in a grocery cart. Use the seat strap or bring one from home to keep him seated. Also, do not let children "ride" on the front or back rail, as the cart can easily flip. And for others' safety, do not allow young children to push carts. If your child is on foot, encourage him to stay near you.
Avoid Boredom at the Checkout
Do activities at the checkout to help keep your child entertained, such as:
- Name the foods in the cart. Talk about their colors, where they come from, and how you can use them.
- Point out pictures and symbols on packages, cans, and store signs.
- Describe a food in the cart and have your child pick it out.
Praise Good Behavior
Remember to praise your child often for good behavior. Perhaps reward her for good behavior by stopping at the park on the way home, or giving a few minutes of special attention.
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ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE RETENTION
Don't Delete That!
Why Your Company Should Consider Document Retention, Email and Internet Use Policies
Federal and state courts have created rules that make it important that all companies write a document retention policy for both paper and electronic documents. They also make clear the advantage of having published guidelines for email and Internet use at work by employees.
How important can this be to your company? In a landmark decision, a New York federal court recently sanctioned a company for not preserving e-mail backup tapes in an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by a former worker. The court granted the former employee an "adverse inference," meaning that jurors were told to assume that e-mails deleted by the company would have negatively impacted its case. The jury found the company had discriminated and awarded the plaintiff just over $29 million.
In short, under the federal court rules businesses are now required to discuss document retention, including electronic documents, with plaintiffs in litigation within 90 days of the appearance of a defendant, or 120 days after a lawsuit has been served. At the initial meeting, the federal rules say the parties must disclose to each other "all documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that are in the possession, custody, or control of the party and that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses." Electronically stored information includes all information stored in computers, including word-processing documents, e-mail, photographs and spreadsheets.
As a result of these rules, your company should consider a document retention policy with a litigation suspension plan.
A document retention policy should clearly apply to both physical and electronic documents. It should limit how long information is kept and set forth procedures for destruction of both paper and electronic documents. It should also inform employees that when faced with the prospect of litigation they must take care and not destroy documents that may be relevant to the claim.
Employee e-mail and Internet policies also will help your company in the event of litigation. Lawsuits are being filed every day due to inappropriate jokes and pictures transmitted in work e-mails. Companies can be held liable for damages if they fail to prohibit this and other noxious behavior, such as viewing pornographic images. A good e-mail and Internet policy will tell employees what the business considers to be appropriate use of the e-mail and the Internet. It should also reserve the right to read employee e-mail and monitor Internet usage.
Learn more about the laws that affect you, your business and your family. Call or email the Denver law firm of Zakhem Atherton today for your free legal consultation.
