Bergen County Law Blog

People underestimate highway deaths

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Wednesday, October 9, 2019.

A plane crashes, and it's all over the news. Tragically, 250 people die in the crash. You see stories about it for weeks. The authorities run an extensive investigation to see what went wrong. When you talk to friends and family members, some of them admit that they feel afraid to fly in light of what happened. Instead, they want to drive.

It's a natural feeling for many of us, but it's not based in reality. While any death is tragic -- and this is not to take away from the loss of a loved one in an airliner accident -- the truth is that the roads are vastly more dangerous.

The medical and financial impact of delayed cancer diagnosis

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

Cancer is a progressive disease, which means it gets worse over time. Cancer cells usually develop slowly at first, but it is not uncommon for cancer to spread quickly once it begins to metastasize or attach to other parts of the body than the place where it originally formed.

To better understand the prognosis for individual patients and help people better understand what is happening to their bodies, doctors break cancer down into four clinical stages. Both Stage I and II are considered early stages, meaning that they offer patients more options for treatments and generally provide a better prognosis.

Signs that you should end a business partnership

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Tuesday, September 10, 2019.

Maybe your business partnership never really felt as solid and viable as you wished it did. Conversely, maybe you had high hopes when the two of you started working together and you really did think it was an ideal match. Either way, you've come to a conclusion that you cannot avoid any longer: It's time for it to end.

In fact, things have gotten to the point where you feel like staying in that business relationship is going to ruin the company. It's toxic. The other person is a constant drain on your time, money, emotions and effort. What other red flags should you look for, telling you that it's time to end it?

How well can truck drivers actually sleep?

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.

A truck driver pulls out in front of you late one night -- or early in the morning -- as he leaves the truck stop. You follow the massive vehicle for a few miles, and you cannot help but notice that the driver repeatedly swerves off the side of the road. As soon as the truck hits the rumble strip on the side, the driver pulls back into the lane, but it's clear that something is wrong.

After a while, you realize that the driver is simply exhausted. He's swerving off of the road because he's about to fall asleep behind the wheel.

How do you know if your child has cerebral palsy?

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Thursday, August 8, 2019.

Cerebral palsy is a serious condition that can lead to a life-long disability for a child. Even so, it is not always immediately clear if the child has the disorder at birth. Parents need to know what to look for as the child grows up to see the earliest signs and find out what options they have.

Generally speaking, medical experts note that parents often see signs in the very first months that the child is alive and a doctor can make a diagnosis. However, there are also cases where a doctor does not make the diagnosis until the child is two years old or even older. This delay, and what is seen by the parents as a sudden change -- even though the child has had the disorder all along -- can be difficult to understand.

Phone addiction and dangers on the roads

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.

You can make distracted driving illegal. You can tell people to put their phones away. You can warn them that distraction causes accidents and takes lives.

As long as people still feel addicted to their phones, though, it's going to remain a risk. People are going to break laws, take chances, ignore risks and cause accidents.

The heartbreaking cause of most childhood deaths

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

No parent ever wants to consider that their child may pass away, but the unfortunate reality is that this does happen every day in the United States. Children face a lot of risks and many injuries become fatal. You cannot put a number on the loss this represents for the parents.

The first step to preventing these deaths is to understand why they happen. To start, you need to know that the top cause of death for children is simple: accidental injury.

Skin cancer is far more than just a dark mole

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Wednesday, June 12, 2019.

When people ask how to spot skin cancer, doctors often tell them to look for a dark mole with an asymmetrical shape. It may grow and change over time. It may have started as a normal mole and then gotten darker or larger. It may seem to have appeared out of nowhere.

This is good advice. You absolutely want to listen to your doctor, and you need to meet with a dermatologist as soon as possible if you think you may have skin cancer. Do not put this off. It's often easily treatable at first, but it can turn deadly if it gets ignored for too long.

Potential risk factors for birth injuries

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

When doctors help you deliver your child, they need to be aware of some of the potential risk factors that could lead to a birth injury. If they overlook these risk factors, it could lead to mistakes that cause life-long injuries or even take the life of the mother or the child. Doctors must not be negligent, they must be aware and alert, and they must give the mother and the child the level of care that they deserve.

The risk factors

Do you have to close your business when a partnership ends?

On behalf of Michael J. Epstein of The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. on Friday, May 10, 2019.

You feel like you're going through a divorce, even though you're not married. The problem is your business partner. The two of you started working together five years ago, and it is clear to you that the relationship has come to an end. You can't go on anymore, and you plan to end the partnership.

Does that mean your company has to close its doors? Is the dream over? Do you have to start from scratch?