How to Go About Getting Compensation After an Accident
If you sustain injuries as a result of an accident and you believe another party it at fault, you may be entitled to compensation. Whether it is a car accident, a slip and fall, or an accident that occurred at your place of work, the compensation you receive will cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, as well as other related expenses in certain circumstances. To ensure you get fair compensation, consider taking the following steps when going about getting fair compensation.
Negligence
Before you receive compensation, you will have to prove it is a consequence of the negligence of the defendant that the accident which resulted in your injuries occurred. Failure to prove this may reduce your chances of getting the compensation you deserve. Your lawyer will help prove this though you may be required to provide evidence.
Get a Police and Medical Report
Whether it is a traffic accident or slip and fall, you should report any incident to the police as well as other relevant authorities. Even if you do not have any visible injuries, seek necessary medical attention, and get a medical report. It is important to prioritize your health so any internal injuries do not worsen. Both the police and medical report will help to strengthen your case and improve your chances of getting compensation.
Gather and Preserve Evidence
In case the matter will proceed to court, you will need to have strong evidence if you are to be compensated. This is why you should take pictures of the scene and have a clear account of the events before, during, and after the accident. You should also make sure the evidence you collect is preserved and not damaged, lost, or stolen.
Check for Witnesses
Witnesses will also strengthen your case through their statements. In case you are in a position to, check for any potential witnesses who can speak on your behalf. Whenever possible, you should get the observations of the witnesses on paper.
Seek Legal Assistance
One of the most critical things to do in your quest to get compensation after an accident is to seek legal assistance. An attorney who has specialized in personal injury will help you to collect more evidence, negotiate a fair settlement, and represent you in court if the case moves to court.
In the event that the accident was as a result of the defendant being extremely careless, you may be entitled to punitive damages. These damages are imposed by the court and are meant to act as punishment for the defendant.
Six Legalities Startups Shouldn’t Forget
For people who dream of being their own boss, few things are more exciting than starting a business on their own. If you have a solid business plan, your startup company should earn profits in a reasonable period of time. Before you take the first steps though, you should make sure that you avoid these common startup mistakes. The tiny legalities and paperwork you have to go through should not be ignored and the below examples can get you on the right path.
A Clear Written Agreement
There should be a clear and written agreement with the co-founders, if there are any. If there is not a clear agreement, there could be huge problems in the future. The written agreement should outline each person’s salary and percentage of ownership. The agreement should also clearly indicate the roles and responsibilities of each person or role you have to fill.
Start a Corporation or a Limited Liability Company
New business owners have to make several decisions. Some entrepreneurs do not start their companies as a limited liability company. An LLC is a limited partnership and a corporation. It has more tax benefits than C corporations. Many companies have to deal with higher taxes or significant liabilities. In this case, it might be wise to consider your options.
Create Standard Contracts
Every startup should have standard contracts for services rendered. The contracts can be tailored to make the terms more favorable to the customer. Make sure that the contracts convey the terms in a concise manner. The contracts should include payment information, liabilities, and limitations. You can hire a third party or an attorney to help with the specifics and wording of these contracts to make them more official.
Get the Proper Documentation
Startups need to have proper employment documentation. If the startup has formed a corporation, the company needs to have a Stock Incentive Plan and an Option Grant. The company will also need an employee handbook.
Protect Your Products and Services
If the startup has a unique service, the owners should consider filing intellectual property paperwork. If the paperwork is not filed, a competitor can steal the idea. The startup should obtain a patent, and the owner should copyright the original work. The company should also use a trademark. A registered trademark will protect the symbolic value.
Set Aside Money for Taxes
Consider important tax issues. All products should be taxed. The company will have to pay sales taxes and payroll taxes. Some companies may be eligible for various tax incentives.
Thousands of new companies are started every year, and 50 percent of new companies are successful after five years. A successful company is more than a game of chance. Successful business owners are pragmatic and determined to succeed.
MLM Terminology
If you are new to the MLM world, there are a lot of acronyms and slang that you are going to need to pick up on, and quick. In order to understand the basics of working within an MLM — from wrapping your mind around the compensation plan, the ins and outs of the company hierarchy, and of course the products. So rather than racking your brain and spending hours and hours on Google, start with this quick read and go from there.
MLM
This is an abbreviation for Multi-Level Marketing. There are many different names for MLM: including network marketing, direct sales, referral marketing, home-based business. There are other names of course, but these are the most common. Some have referred to MLM companies as pyramid schemes, however, pyramid schemes are illegal and the FBI and SEC routinely monitor the industry for pyramid schemes operating posing as an MLM.
Distributor
If you just signed on with an MLM, you are officially a distributor. Each MLM calls it something different. You might be known as a consultant, marketing executive, independent sales representative, but your responsibility is simple: sell. Sell the products. Sell the services. And then train others to sell the products and services.
Downline
Your downline consists of the salespeople under you that are also selling products and services. As the people under you sell products and services, you can earn a piece of their profit. As they recruit people under them and grow their own downline, your business grows and grows. For this reason, a career in the MLM world has the potential to be very lucrative after you have grown a significant downline.
Leg
A leg refers to a piece of your downline. Depending on your MLM company’s compensation plan, you may have an incentive to not only grow your downline top to bottom, but also side to side. A leg is one of the branches in your downline. The more legs you have, there is more potential to have steady income from your downline each month and to reach more incentives and bonuses.
PV
Stands for personal volume. Usually the MLM company requires a certain amount of product to be purchased regularly by distributors to be sold to consumers. Distributors usually can purchase products at wholesale prices or at least a discounted rate that is typically unavailable to consumers. Sometimes PV can go by BV (Bonus Volume) or Business Volume.
Bonus Pool
The bonus pool is a piece of the MLM profits that is used to reward top distributors on a regular basis. The bonus pool is usually only available to qualified distributors who have achieved a certain threshold of sales within a given period. Make sure to research the requirements within your MLM.
Car Bonus
Only a few MLMs have this bonus still, including Mary Kay, Thrive, Kyani, Visalus, and many others. The car bonus program is often advertised as receiving a free car after reaching a certain sales threshold. The truth is that instead of receiving a free car, you simply receive a monthly reimbursement for the car payment. The car itself is registered in your name and you are responsible for maintaining the payment.
These are just the basics to understanding the MLM world. If you have any questions, you should direct them to your sponsor, or the person who helped you register as a distributor. They will point you in the right direction so you can start working on your downline and continue to help grow theirs.
ABOUT PROBATE
Person who has died leaves a will
If the person who has died leaves a will, it will usually name one or more people to act as the executors of the will.
If you are named as an executor of a will you may need to apply for a grant of probate.
A grant of probate is an official document which the executors may need to administer the estate. It is issued by a section of the court known as the probate registry.
No will
If there is no will (known as dying intestate) the process is more complicated. An application for a grant of letters of administration (an official document, issued by the court, which allows administrators to administer the estate) will need to be made.
The person to whom letters of administration is granted is known as the administrator. The administrator is the person who has the legal right to deal with the affairs of the person who has died, and is determined by a set order of priority.
The administrator will usually be a close relative of the person who has died, if there is one. There may be more than one person who has an equal right to do this. Your solicitor will be able to provide you with information on the set order of priority.
Personal representatives
If there is more than one personal representative they must work together to decide matters between them. Disagreements between personal representatives can cause expensive delays.
Grants of representation
This includes grants of probate and grants of letters of administration. Often people just refer to probate even if there is no will.
When a grant of representation is needed
A grant of representation is not always needed. However, some financial organisations may require a grant before giving you access even to a small amount of money. Usually, a grant of representation will be needed when the person who has died left stocks or shares or house or land or a certain insurance. You can ask a lawyer to apply for the grant of representation on your behalf.
Responsible of personal representatives
Personal representatives are responsible for making sure that the estate is administered correctly. If there is a will, the personal representative must make sure that the wishes of the person who has died, as set out in their will, are followed.
Personal representatives are also responsible for finding out if the tax(lawyer explain these) is due as a result of a person’s death. If it is, the personal representative has to make sure that it is paid.