FerryLaw Attorneys represent clients that have been involved in Construction Accidents

Summertime is the time outside work typically gets done. This includes roofing, paving, landscaping and various home construction projects. There are certain requirements employers are required to follow to ensure the construction site is made safe. This includes, but is not limited to OSHA compliance and various state and federal regulations. Our firm is experienced in exposing some of the dangers employers and/or homeowners fail to adhere to in order to make the property safe. We have handled cases ranging from improperly placed manholes to holes in flooring to stairway collapses. 

If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of an employer or homeowner failing to keep the premises in a safe condition, do not delay! Time is of the essence and there is a short window to bring these claims. Investigations may need to be conducted and evidence preserved on your claim.

Contact FerryLaw now to ensure all of your accident rights and interests are protected.  

Situation, you’re pulled over and questioned by the police…

Many of you commented on our recent Ferry Law CT Facebook post asking what your response would be to a police officer questioning you after you get pulled over. One of the most common questions police officers automatically ask are “How many drinks did you have tonight?”

It’s a common misconception that you are required to answer many questions police officers ask you. Police officers often make you think or feel that if you “cooperate” and answer their questions, they’ll take it easy on you. In reality, police officers will use all of your statements and admissions (even if inadvertent) to build probable cause for your arrest. The question “how many drinks have you had tonight” is actually a potentially incriminating question that you are NOT forced to answer. The right against self-incrimination is spelled out in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which extends to state jurisdictions.

So what should you do when questioned by a police officer?

You always have the right to politely inform the police officer that you are not answering any potentially incriminating questions without your lawyer present. Once you request an attorney, the police must cease interrogating you.

Contact Ferry Law today for a free consultation from an attorney you can trust.

Ferry Law is pleased to announce its new Wellness Program. Any client of Ferry Law, both present and previous, is entitled to a free Yoga session with Staff Yoga Teacher, Leslie Gordon. It is Leslie’s belief that Yoga is for EVERY BODY, and her goal is to help you find ways to feel better. We know that being injured in a car accident or other type of situation, or charged of a crime, is stressful. We want to enable you to find ways to relieve your stress that are healthy for your body, mind and spirit. At Ferry Law, we recognize you as an integrated human being, not just a physical body. For those of you who think you cannot do yoga for physical reasons or because your doctor has not given you permission to exercise, Leslie can introduce you to different relaxation techniques that will help you relax, refocus and return to your centered, grounded self. Operating your life from that place will make everything easier.

We are also excited to announce that we will be holding FREE group relaxation sessions for Ferry Law clients. These will be held on the first Monday evening of every month, starting on February 3, at 6 p.m. These one-hour long sessions will be held in the Ferry Law Wellness Studio at 77 Lexington Street, New Britain, in the basement of the Ferry Law Office Building. You must register for these sessions, as space is limited. To register for the relaxation sessions or to schedule your free yoga private, call Karoli at 833-FerryLaw. 

To combat sexual harassment in the workplace, the focus is on training and notification to employees regarding sexual harassment policies and procedures.

Employers with three or more employees must provide 2 hours of training and education to all employees including information concerning the federal and state statutory and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment.

Free Sexual Harassment Prevention Online Training is now available on the State of CT website. Click on Sexual harassment. 

Employers with three or more employees must notify their employees within three months of hire, via email, of their sexual harassment policy.

Employers of any size, must provide 2 hour sexual harassment training to supervisors. 

What is Sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment is defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. §46a-60(b)(8) as any unwelcome sexual advances or request for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when: 

A. Submission to such conduct is made wither explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment;

B. Submission to or refection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or,

C. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

What options do you have if you are being sexually harassed at work?

If you are sexually harassed at work, ask the harasser to stop.  Preferably with a witness who will tell the truth that on a date, place ant time you told the harasser to stop. Look at your company policies to see who to report to.  If you do not have a company policy, tell your immediate supervisor, both orally and follow up with it in writing. If your company has a human resources department, communicate with that department, again in writing.  If you belong to a union, tell your union representative in writing. File a complaint with the CHRO or with the EEOC. If the harassment occurred prior to October 1, 2019, you have 180 days to file a complaint with the CHRO.  If the harassment occurred after October 1, 2019, you have 300 days to file. If you need a lawyer, call us at Ferrylaw for help.   1-833 FERRYLAW.

In a stunning decision by our Statewide Grievance Committee as a result of my first ever grievance filed against an Attorney, I learned that our ethical rules prohibiting a discharged lawyer from contacting his former client do not apply as long as the discharged lawyer claims he was confused and uncertain he had been fired.

The facts of my case are as follows: The discharged lawyer received a letter from me and another from my client, which politely informed him that his client had switched teams and that no further communication with the client should take place. Can you see how confused the discharged lawyer must have been? As if hit by a stun gun from the Star Trek Enterprise, discharged lawyer makes multiple phone calls and speaks with client once…also contacts client’s parents to put more pressure on the young 19 year old to reconsider his decision to discharge the Big Box law firm. In addition to the phone calls, he emails his former client and includes an email from me which he lifted off of the CTLA list serve in violation of our rules of usage for our list serve site. Seems as if this lawyer is certain to be sanctioned by the grievance panel. After all, he has been found to have violated our ethical rules twice already and as a repeat offender, not likely to qualify for the slap on the wrist treatment.

The esteemed reviewing committee who heard the case in Bridgeport found there was no probable cause and dismissed the complaint. However, it did in fact find that he contacted his former client, and it did in fact find that he attempted to win back the client. Its reasoning hinged on the claim the discharged lawyer made that he was confused over being discharged because he was such the right man for the job since he knew the client and his family for years and he had intimate knowledge of the client’s soccer career.

What is the upshot of this decision? As I see it, we are in the wild, wild west. Fake some sort of confusion, call the client, write to the client, beg the client to come back and forget about our ethical rules because those pesky things just get in the way of good old aggressive used car salesman tactics of keeping your customer. A terrible decision. Childish and tortured reasoning.

We need lawyers on the Grievance Committee that actually believe in Rules of Ethics and will uphold them.

20th century life is fast paced. There is plenty of strife in our world, and whether it’s starving refugees in the Middle East or Democrats and Republicans in the USA behaving poorly, all of it affects us. Add the demands of keeping a roof over your head, providing food for your family, caring for elderly parents, trying to keep your 150 passwords in a place you remember, etc., and we ALL need to hit the reset button often. If you don’t practice being still and being quiet, you risk making yourself sick in ways you probably never imagined.

So, as the old saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away….That’s nice, but how about my saying, “Stillness prevents illness.”

The type A people reading this who blow off steam by going to Cross Fit three days a week or jogging 30 miles a week will find this a bit challenging, but it is no less important for the energizer bunny trying to be still and be quiet. The agony you will endure trying to sit still for 5 minutes is proof positive that you need it, and you need it badly! Your monkey mind is swinging wildly through the branches, and it feels dangerous and impossible to stop. Inevitably, with regular practice, that awful feeling you get from shutting everything off will subside. You are simply a self-energizing generator that has never been turned off. You are inefficient as a servant because no generator can run full time. The parts wear out, and bolts get loose. It’s the same way with people.

I am going to leave this post here. Just to get you used to the idea that mindfulness practice is something you must try. Just let that soak in for now. Next post, I will write about some simple methods to get your started.

Kevin