California Senate Bill Strips the “R-Word” and Supersedes with Intellectual Disability

The California Senate on Friday morning unanimously approved a bill drafted by Senator Fran Pavley entitled as Senate Bill 1381 which seeks to strip the R-word from the term “mentally retarded”.

According to Senator Pavley, she introduced the bill upon her strong intent of making a significant terminology change for the disabled community throughout the Golden state.

In the existing law, a certain psychological condition was referred to as “mental retardation”, or “mentally retarded” person, in provisions relating to educational and social services, commitment to state facilities, and felonious punishment.

Senator Pavley explained that the use of “R-word” is seriously offensive to many people with intellectual disabilities and to their families as well.

While using the “R-word” as a joke or to humiliate someone has been common to other people, such words have molded the understanding and self-worth of people who suffer from intellectual disabilities.

It is further explained that the term “mentally retarded” or “mental retardation” was originally used as a medical connotation but nowadays, this term is most commonly used to humiliate or insult people and strengthen hurtful stereotypes of intellectually disabled people.

Based on statistics, seven to eight million Americans, or one out of ten families in US, experience intellectual disabilities.

The bill seeks to modify the provisions to refer instead to “intellectual disability” or “a person with intellectual disability”. No additional costs are expected to be incurred by the state once the changes during usual revisions to laws and documents occur over the next few years.

As the 42 other states have, the federal government of California has finally removed the use of the “retarded” word. The word “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” have been stripped from the federal health, education, and labor policies, and were replaced with “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability”, respectively.

The bill, which was sponsored by The Arc of California, was backed by United Cerebral Palsy in California. California disability attorneys are definitely monitoring the legalization of the said bill since it can be considered as one of the significant changes constituted in the California’s disability codes.

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Jury Awards $6M to Police Officer Involved in Domestic Shooting Incident

A jury awarded a police officer with almost $6 million after the latter became permanently disabled from a domestic shooting that happened way back in 2010.

The said incident, which caused permanent disability to Joshua Hahn, happened in July, 2007 when he tried to break up a domestic fight between Billy Heisler and his sister at a Hamilton Township pizzeria.

During the dispute, the 34-year old off-duty officer from Mercer County Sheriff was shot and seriously wounded. He suffered two punctured lungs and a broken vertebra.

Hahn had to retire early on permanent disability due to the said incident.

In the attempted murder case and weapon charges set against Billy Heisler, Hahn has been awarded with $963,871 for lost wages, $1.5 million for pain and suffering, $2.5 million for punitive damages and $1 million for his wife. The couple collected a total of $5.9 million after Heisler failed to respond to the lawsuit.

The guidelines concerning disability under the Social Security is strictly defined in the overall situation of total disability. Based on its strict definition, a claimant must be considered entirely and undeniably disabled to obtain Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

In Hahn’s case, the jury definitely found reasonable cause to award him and his wife with permanent disability claim. Probably, the couple succeeded in getting a lawyer as excellent and efficient as a California disability attorney. It’s a job well done.

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Important Factors to Consider When Estimating Compensation for Accidents and Disability Benefits

In filing for a lawsuit, it is very important to calculate the cost of your lawsuit to help you to determine if the cost of your lawsuit is worth bringing it to the court or is it being too much.

Both under price and over price lawsuit can be misleading. The first one might just drain one’s financial resources while the latter might cause a lawsuit to be dismissed.

Below are some of the few important factors to consider when pricing for a lawsuit whether it’s a personal injury claim or a disability benefits lawsuit.

• Determine the Medical Expenses – in pursuing a lawsuit, it’s the most important thing to consider. Calculate your medical expenses from the past, present and until for the future. This will include doctor’s bill, medical treatment, therapy and other related fees.

• Compute for the Lost Wages – an injured or a disabled person may not be able to come back to work immediately. If one doesn’t work, he or she would not be paid and may lose a lot of money. However, an employee may claim for compensation for lost wages in a lawsuit. Thus, a wage earner should estimate his or her lost wages resulting from to his or her personal injuries or disability.

• Determine if an Injury Leads to Disability – once an injury sustained by a wage earner leads to permanent disability, then it should absolutely be included at the lawsuit value. Most often, disability provides higher compensation.

• Property Loss – this is only applicable for personal injuries only. This is when any of a victim’s property was damaged from the accident such as a damaged vehicle, house or other belongings.

Though the above-mentioned factors are most important to consider when estimating for your claim, you should remember that the amount of claims may still vary depending on the lawsuit. It’s still best to consult a lawyer like a California disability attorney which is an expert in helping clients with the calculation of their claims most especially in a permanent disability case.

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