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 August
2009
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Why Are You Getting This Newsletter?
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New Lupus Drug May
Be On The Horizon
Lupus is a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, causing damage to the joints, blood vessels, skin, lungs, and heart. The disease more frequently affects women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians. Steroids have frequently been used to treat symptoms such as joint pain in lupus patients, but for over a century now there has been no drug specifically developed for lupus. Following a one year clinical trial, Human Genome Sciences Inc. has announced positive results of lupus patients using Benlysta for more effective treatment of pain, hair loss, and skin rash in lupus patients. Encouraged and optimistic, Thomas Watkins, Human Genome’s president and chief executive, noted the need to confirm the study’s initial results. The drug may be available as early as the first half of 2010. Please read the full article by David Olmos and Lisa Rapaport for even more details on the Benlysta study and its significance.
Free Legal Advice?
Yes, at Kraft &
Associates we are glad to provide our clients
and friends with free information on a variety
of subjects. If you want details about how to
lower your automobile insurance rates,
Texas Workers' Compensation law or
Social Security Disability claims, please
contact us and we will send you any of these
brochures without charge or obligation. |
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Suite 1300
2777 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 999-9999
(817) 999-9999
(800) 989-9999
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FOR THE RECORD |
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Sadly, the number of child drowning deaths in Texas reached 84 in early August of 2009, passing the previous record of 82 set in 2008. We all need to take better care of our kids when they’re near water — whether it’s a swimming pool at your own house, or a lake or ocean. Here are some safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, from other sources, and from experiences with my children when they were young. For a longer version of this article please visit our Injury and Disability blog.
- Teaching your child how to swim does not mean your child is safe in water. If you have a pool, protect your children by supervising them at all times and being prepared in case of an emergency. Make sure adults are trained in life-saving techniques and CPR so they can rescue a child if necessary.
- Surround your pool on all four sides with a sturdy five-foot-high fence. (This rule could vary depending on local ordinances.) Make sure the gates self-close and self-latch at a height children can’t reach.
- Keep rescue equipment such as a shepherd’s hook (a long pole with a hook on the end), a life preserver and a portable telephone near the pool.
- Avoid inflatable swimming aids such as “floaties.” They are not a substitute for approved life vests and can give children a false sense of security.
- Whenever infants or toddlers are in or around water, an adult should be within arm’s length, providing “touch supervision.”
- Even older children should not swim alone without adult supervision. A child, or even an adult, can develop a cramp underwater, or have an accident while diving.
- Don’t leave very young children alone even with small portable pools or water containers like buckets, fountains, or hot tubs. There is always a danger of kids drowning even in small amounts of water. Bathtubs can be every bit as dangerous as swimming pools. If you have a toddler in the tub, don’t walk away for even one minute. The child can slip, hit his head and drown before you can walk to the kitchen and back.
- Always keep your eyes on the child or children. Designate a child watcher, whether you or someone else, when you attend a party or have friends or family over. Talk with baby-sitters about pool safety, child supervision, and drowning prevention.
- Don’t be distracted by doorbells, phone calls, chores, or conversations. If you must leave the pool area, take the child with you, making sure the pool gate latches securely when it closes.
- Keep children away from pool filters, as the suction force may injure them or prevent them from surfacing.
- Check the pool area regularly for glasses, bottles, toys, or other potential accident hazards. Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren’t tempted to reach for them.
- Treat diving boards with respect. Never dive into an above-ground pool and always check the water depth before plunging into an in-ground pool.
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| FOR
YOUR INFORMATION |
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How Can a
Chapter 13 Case
Help Me Stop a
Foreclosure?
When a homeowner is faced with foreclosure, there are few feasible options available to stop the sale. Unless the homeowner can bring the delinquent payments current immediately or refinance the home, the best option for stopping the sale may be the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.As long as the case is filed before the foreclosure sale takes place, the sale will be halted, and cannot be rescheduled without the permission of the bankruptcy court judge. The debtor will be given the opportunity to propose a Chapter 13 Plan to repay the delinquent mortgage payments and other debts over a three-year to five-year period. If the plan is approved, the debtor will make monthly payments to the bankruptcy trustee, who will then distribute the payments among the debtor’s creditors. The homeowner must resume normal monthly payments on the mortgage after the bankruptcy is filed, in addition to making the trustee payments.
Among the other types of debts that can be paid through the Chapter 13 Plan are vehicle payments, furniture payments, taxes, and child support. The debtor’s unsecured debts (credit cards, medical bills, personal loans) may be paid nothing or may be paid some percentage of what is owed, depending upon the debtor’s income level and reasonable expenses.
If you have received a foreclosure notice and wish to save your home, it is important that you consult an attorney immediately. There are necessary steps that must be taken before a bankruptcy case can be filed, such as attendance at a credit counseling session, either online, by phone, or in person. There is also a great deal of paperwork that must be prepared before the case can be filed, and your attorney will be able to do a better job and get your case filed properly if there is sufficient time to do so before the date of the sale.
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| FEATURED
EMPLOYEE |
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Mel
Najera
Social
Security Clerk
E-mail:
mnajera@kraftlaw.com
Mr. Najera was raised in Dallas, Texas. In
May 2008 he received his Bachelors Degree in
Political Government from the University of Texas at
Dallas. He was an active member of the
Pre-Law Society Club at the university, and he plans to
attend law school in the near future. Mr. Najera
joined our law firm in 2008 as a New Case Clerk in
our Social Security disability department. He is fluent in
Spanish.
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| FEATURED
CASE |
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Schizophrenia
and Social
Security
Disability
A number of our Social Security Disability clients suffer from schizophrenia. Individuals suffering from this disorder frequently experience the following symptoms: audio or visual hallucinations, unusual speech, and isolation or withdrawal.The course of prescribed treatment includes antipsychotic medications. While not all individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia will be found disabled under Social Security rules, one source of information for people with schizophrenia that we recommend is www.schizophrenia.com. This Web site is a source from the non-profit community full of information and resources useful to those suffering from the disease and to their loved ones.
Some diseases, such as schizophrenia, are included in Social Security’s Listing of impairments. But other diseases may not be included in the Listings. In some instances, a disease, while not Listed, is addressed in a Social Security Ruling. The Rulings offer guidance but do not set out specific criteria for an award of benefits. Other diseases are not in the Listings or recognized in a Social Security Ruling.
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| HOW
CAN WE HELP YOU? |
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Our law firm has helped thousands of clients
over the years. Sometimes clients who use
our firm for one type of case may not
realize that there are other legal problems
we could help them solve.
We handle
most types of injury claims — including
automobile collisions, "slip and fall"
cases, injuries suffered as a result of
defective products, injuries resulting from
inadequate security, medical malpractice
claims, nursing home negligence claims,
prescription drug injuries, and many others.
We invite you to call us about any
serious injury to see how we can help you.
Kraft & Associates also represents people
who have been denied their Social Security
Disability benefits. We can help at the Initial
stage, the Reconsideration stage or the Hearing
stage.
Our law firm also represents people who have immigration
problems of any kind, whether family-based
immigration or employment-based immigration.
Our firm can help you understand your rights under
Federal and Texas consumer protection laws and
assist you with stopping creditor wrongdoing,
obtaining compensation for wrongful acts by
creditors, or with correcting your credit report. We
can also help you evaluate your options and decide
whether a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case
might be your best option. Most clients can protect
all of their property, income, and assets in a
bankruptcy case, and obtain the "fresh start"
promised by the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Please feel free to call us with any
legal questions you may have. If we cannot
represent you, we will attempt to refer you to
another attorney or to a government agency that can
help you. There is no
charge or obligation for that first phone
call.
Kraft & Associates is
a federally designated Debt Relief Agency under the
United States Bankruptcy Code. We assist people with
finding solutions to their debt problems including,
where appropriate, assisting them with the filing of
petitions for relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. |
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Copyright
© 1997- 2009 Kraft & Associates : Injury &
Disability Lawyers, P.C. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Personal Injury,
Automobile Accident, Car Wreck, Wrongful Death, Social Security Disability,
Immigration, Bankruptcy, Consumer Law.
DISCLAIMER:
This newsletter is presented by Kraft & Associates for
informational purposes only, and not as legal advice.
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