Category: Auto Safety, Automotive/Trucking, Safety CAFE Rules, Lightweight Vehicles & Questions of Safety TASA ID: 3190 Recently adopted fuel efficiency rules in the USA require that passenger vehicles must achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025. This “average” is further detailed into different goals for different sizes and class of vehicles and does not mean that all automobiles have to achieve the average 54.5 mpg. However, it still represents a big jump from today’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) numbers, especially because the phased march towards this goal must begin with the 2017 vehicles. Read more
Category: Maritime / Boating Accidents Deficiencies Found in Many Marine Stairways and Ladders Resulting in Accidents TASA ID: 674 After inspecting more than 100 marine stairways in which accidents occurred, we found several deficiencies in the steps and handrails of stairs that are consistently repeated. The following comments are extractions from reports of inspections of stairs from large passenger vessels to small tugboats. Read more
Category: Maritime / Boating Accidents Marine Disaster: Thirteen People Died When Boat Sunk Due To Small Deficiencies TASA ID: 674 After 7 minutes in the water, the "Miss Majestic" sunk in less than half a minute in 51 feet of water, resulting in 13 deaths. The "duck" has one engine that drives both sets of wheels and the propeller shaft. Two days before the accident, the driver noticed water in the bilges and took the "duck" to the shop. After the accident, it was found that the rubber seal of one of the shafts was improperly installed, allowing it to leak water into the bilges, but the "duck" was not tested after it left the shop, prior to the accident. Read more
Category: Financial/Economic, Marketing What About Pricing for Legal Services? Insight from a Legal Marketing Expert TASA ID: 2598 One of the hottest debates in the legal sector has been whether the billable- hour is dead, and what will replace it. Will it be flat-fee pricing, value billing, or something yet unimagined? It comes down to the fact that clients and lawyers want a fair deal. While the billable-hour has been the simplest form of pricing and offers many benefits to lawyers and their firms, the landscape has changed. Clients and potential clients know more and expect more. This is particularly true in the case of complex litigations and clients that demand accountability. In a nutshell, they want value. Read more
Category: Medical & Healthcare Disputes between Physicians – Rights and Obligations of Professional Medical Corporation after Death of Sole Shareholder Doctor TASA ID: 3307 Health care is one of the largest components of our national GDP (17.4% in 2013). Doctor services are a large part of that, comprising $587 billion in 2013. Doctors traditionally operate through professional medical corporations in which they are the sole shareholder. It is the law in most, if not all states, that only other doctors can own a controlling interest in the corporation, and only doctors can be an officer or director. (See for example California Corp. Code Sections 13406-13408). Read more
