October 2012 Archives

Meningitis Outbreak could be Devastating in South Carolina

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So far 105 people have reported symptoms. The contaminated steroids were sent to several locations in South Carolina. In particular Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina was a delivery location for some of the contaminated steroid. This is a very dangerous situation and the threat to life is a very real consideration. If the contaminated material reach the spinal column the result could be death. While Tennessee leads the nation with the number of reported incidents, that does not mean that more may come from South Carolina at some point. The company responsible for this is New England Compounding Center. To date 8 people have died and several others have become sick from this steroid. It also appears this is not the first time this company has encountered problems with its production. Prior complaints led to an agreement with government regulators in the early 2000s for New England Compounding. The Centers for Disease Control is out tracking down everyone who may have received the steroid injections. It is great that we have an agency that will help protect the our health and safety, but the real question is what is New England Compounding doing? Any commercials or warnings on TV? Mass email and snail mail to the possible victims? How about beating the CDC to the consumer and trying to ensure they are safe. This is a typical case of a pharmaceutical company making its’ money and moving on to the next consumer. The real problem is where is the quality control for such a dangerous product. The company knows what these steroids are going to be used for and know how they will be administered to the patients. Intravenous injections deliver the steroid right into the nervous system. There is no getting it out once it is in. There is no way for the physician to know that the product is contaminated and will possibly kill the patient. It will not be long before several large personal injury law firms line up to help protect the patients who have been affected. For at least 8 people it is to late to help. The damage has already been done and no one can bring back the person that has died from meningitis. Our meningitis injury lawyers can help with anyone who is affected by this horrible infection. Several containers of the infected steroid have been sent to South Carolina and in particular Mt. Pleasant.

Please do not wait if you feel you feel that you have had a steroid injection over the past 6 months and are having any symptoms. Go to the CDC website to get further details.

Oral Arguments before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal

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Twice this year, our federal appellate lawyer in South Carolina has argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In March of this year our Myrtle Beach attorney presented the case for appellate Roach before Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Judge Traxler, and Judge Shedd. This appeal was based on the lower court’s refusal to suppress evidence prior to trial. The defendant was charged with possession of a firearm and possession of heroine. These charges exposed the defendant to a minimum sentence of 10 years. The defendant went to trial in Charleston and was found guilty by a jury. After the trial a pre sentence report was generated and the defendant was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. This appeal was written shortly after the sentence was imposed.

Our appellate attorneys wrote the brief that enable the Fourth Circuit court to hear the case. Our argument before the court can be listened to by clicking on this link. Appellate Argument in Fourth Circuit. The end result was the appellate court affirmed the district court’s decision to allow the evidence to be introduced. After receiving notice of this decision, our the federal appellate lawyer filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court to review the decision. This type of review is very limited and rarely granted based on the number of cases that are sent to the Supreme Court. We have a very strong appellate department that has won many cases for our clients and many criminal defense attorneys send their cases to our office to handle the appeal.

Divorce Lawyers in South Carolina

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In South Carolina, in order to get a no-fault divorce, the parties must have been separated for a year or more. If you reconcile, then separate again, the time starts over. The fault based grounds for divorce include physical cruelty, habitual drug use, adultery and desertion.  In order to prove adultery, the evidence must show that your spouse had the inclination and opportunity to have an affair. Most divorce lawyers in Myrtle Beach also like to have evidence of affection, for example, a picture of the spouse embracing a paramour. Circumstantial evidence can be used to prove adultery, but it must be clear and convincing. If one spouse is successful on a claim of adultery, the other spouse is barred from receiving alimony.

Habitual drug and alcohol abuse is difficult to prove, you have to be able to show that the other spouses drug or alcohol abuse was the cause of the break down of the marriage.  Physical cruelty can be proven in a variety of ways, however, proof of physical violence does not always establish physical cruelty as a ground for divorce.

The parties assets are usually divided 50/50 using a process known as equitable distribution. Any property that you owned before the marriage is considered to be separate property and not subject to equitable distribution unless it transmuted into marital property. For example, you buy a house, and a few years later you get married. You decide to add your spouse to the title of the home and live in the home for the duration of the marriage. The court may find that this home transmuted into marital property even though it was originally separate property.

The court considers many factors when deciding to award alimony in South Carolina, including the age of the parties, their standard of living, assets, wealth, and the length of the marriage. The court also considers the actual need of the party seeking alimony and the other spouse’s ability to pay the alimony. However, if the party requesting alimony has committed adultery, that person will be barred from receiving any alimony.

If you have questions about divorce laws in South Carolina, contact the Mace Firm, we have divorce lawyers in Myrtle Beach SC who can assist you.

Fall HOG Motorcycle Rally In Myrtle Beach

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The fall motorcycle rally has begun in North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach. This year there is expected to be more riders than in previous years. Already it appears that this group of riders is more aware of the dangers and road hazards than other groups of riders. Most of the riders are alert and the local bars are not overflowing with bikes. The amount of accidents and fatalities is usually lower for this rally than the spring rally. There is no question that there are still dangers present with the mix of motorcycles and cars, but from the start on Wednesday it seems that this will be a very low accident weekend. North Myrtle Beach is expecting a banner rally with several groups of riders return to the area after an intermittent absence over the past few years. This is import for the local economies as many business need this boost of tourism prior to the slow season beginning. North Myrtle Beach has stated that they will evaluated the success of the fall rally by examining the amount of money spent by the city versus the amount of money taken in by businesses. This is the same formula that Myrtle Beach used after the spring rally and confirmed that the city was loosing money.
Motorcycle accidents are very common in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach during most of the year. The regularity of these accidents increases during the spring and fall rallies. Our office has Myrtle Beach motorcycle injury attorneys who are available to assist with anyone injured in a motorcycle accident.

Our lawyers have experience in representing riders and their passengers in these types of accidents. We have also represented the families of individuals who have lost their life during these rallies. Our experience in this area allows us to provide the best results we can for our clients. Our lead personal injury attorney in Myrtle Beach is a member of the million dollar advocates forum. Having litigated several cases for wrongful death and acquiring million dollar plus results has been a real privilege. We are available in our Myrtle Beach law office to consult on personal injury cases.

Three Charged with Tax Fraud in Horry County

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Tyrona Bellamy from Longs and Derrrick Burgess from Myrtle Beach have both been arrested for tax fraud violations. These charges stem from allegations that false tax returns were filed in order to get refunds from the government. This is not an uncommon type of indictment in these times. Usually the defendants arrested are just the tip of the iceberg for prosecutors. The real defendants that will be investigated are the individuals who set up the fake returns and took a percentage of the money on the back end of the transactions. These defendants are lucky in that it appears that they are only charged at the state level. This means that they are all likely to either get probation or some type of non-jail sentence if they plead guilty or they are found guilty. Unlike state court, federal indictments usually carry a jail sentence if convicted. This type of tax fraud is easily uncovered just by looking at the documents filed by the defendants. There is no massive paper trial that would require and FBI agent or IRS investigator to spends days trying to put together. This is simply a plain theft on paper. That also makes the case very easy to prosecute. A good criminal defense attorney in Myrtle Beach should be able to get the charges dismissed at some point depending on the prior record of a specific defendant. The call to indict and try a tax fraud case is not at a high point in this current economic state. The other factors that must be considered is whether there is enough loss of revenue for the government to spend money trying the case to verdict.

Many times the government will agree to a less charge in order to resolve the case short of trial. Many criminal defense lawyers in federal court can handle any type of tax fraud case. Our Myrtle Beach criminal lawyers are very capable in the representation of individuals and companies related to tax issues.