Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S) Essay Example for Free

Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S) Essay Analisis for successful lawsuit report Purpose Per your request, our legal team, courtesy of Legal Eagles, LLP, wishes to advise you regarding your tentative legal action against Mechanics National Bank (â€Å"National Bank†). As you alleged, National Bank was negligent in their failure to remove a lien on your Lagoon Beach property. Our legal team has assessed this and other concerns of your case. Outlined throughout this correspondence are conclusions we have made and recommendations we wish you consider. Before we proceed, we thank you for your trust and assure you nothing less than our highest-quality work. You have expressed to us your interest in recovering compensation for a failed entrepreneurial endeavor involving a hotel property, Hotel California. You also informed us that your acquisition of this property was dependent upon your securing financing through pledging a property you currently own as collateral. In a brief analysis of the facts of your case, we find you may successfully prove liability on the part of National Bank; however, this conclusion is not without concerns, particularly regarding your contract with the owner of Hotel California. This concern and other considerations for your case are also discussed in this correspondence. Factual Background Our notes of the essential facts of your case indicate the following: You sought the acquisition of an existing hotel property located in Palm Desert, Green. You contacted the hotel’s listing agent, Mr. Babak Gordon, and obtained preliminary data on the property, including financial statements of the hotel which you have provided us. On January 5, 2005, the hotel owner, Ms. Shirley Ramirez, Mr. Gordon, and you had a preliminary discussion regarding the purchase and sale of Hotel California. Ms. Ramirez offered to you by phone this property for $4.3 million, excluding the furniture, and the sale was to conclude following a 45 day escrow. On January 6, 2005, you faxed Ms. Ramirez a signed letter both indicating your acceptance of her offer and your preference that the transaction close following a 60 day escrow. Although you never received a reply or confirmation from Ms. Ramirez, on January 30, 2005, you obtained a financing commitment from Bank of the West. Their conditions we re that the bank would obtain a first priority lien on the hotel property along with an unrelated undeveloped parcel of land owned by you in Lagoon Beach, Green. As you have shared with us, you acquired this land in 1984 and had managed to pay off its mortgage on November 1, 2004. However, National Bank failed to remove its lien on the property. You vigorously attempted to get National Bank to remove its lien on this property. You contacted bank officers and explained to them that the lien needed to be removed so that you could pledge the property as collateral and finance your purchase of Hotel California. Because National Bank did not remove this lien, you were unable to finance the acquisition of Hotel California. You later bought a hotel property â€Å"similarly situated† and â€Å"virtually identical† to Hotel California for $4.7 million dollars. Issue From our analysis, we find as reasonable your decision to consider pursuing legal action against National Bank for damages. You have cited National Bank as negligent for failing to follow instructions regarding the removal of a lien from the title of your Lagoon Beach property. If you proceed further to trial, a court of law will try, whether by failing to remove its lien on your Lagoon Beach property, National Bank committed the tort of negligence. Because our analysis has also raised concerns regarding your contract with the owner of Hotel California, Ms. Shirley Ramirez, we must also inform you of a second issue a court of law is likely to try. If you proceed further to trial, a court of law will try whether a legally binding, enforceable contract exists (or existed) between Ms. Ramirez and you. Keep in mind that your legal action for damages may be predicated on whether there was a contract. Roadmap In addition to listing our conclusions, recommendations, and concerns throughout this correspondence, you will find that we have analyzed the likelihood for success of your legal action against National Bank. You have expressed your desire to recover damages for your lost opportunity involving the Hotel California property. For your convenience, a complete and careful analysis has been conducted and detailed throughout this correspondence. GROUNDS OF LIABILITY You have alleged that National Bank was negligent, and you intend to recover damages from National Bank. You will have the burden of proving the prima facie case for the tort of negligence. You must cite evidence and present arguments that support your allegation of National Bank’s negligence. To successfully fulfill your burden you must show that: * Duty: The defendant (National Bank) owed you (plaintiff) a duty of due care. * Breach of Duty: Defendant’s conduct breached that duty. * Actual and Proximate Cause: Actual and proximate causation between defendant’s breach and your (plaintiff’s) injury was present. * Injury: Injured party (you) sustained injury due to defendant’s actions. If you fail to prove these elements, National Bank’s legal team may motion to dismiss your case. In this event, it is possible that your case could then be dismissed without further proceedings. However, if you successfully prove and argue all four of these elements, you must also overcome any affirmative defenses, if applicable, raised by the defendant (National Bank). These defenses are contributory negligence and assumption of risk. From our initial analysis, National Bank will be unable to raise an affirmative defense on these grounds. We will fully assess whether there are on any other legal grounds defenses that National Bank can raise. (See Other Considerations.) Remedies for Negligence If you successfully prove National Bank’s liability, you may be entitled to recover compensatory or actual damages. The damages and compensatory award amounts are determined on a case-by-case basis by the jury or judge presiding over the case. We have included a potential award amount you may be entitled to and you will find a complete discussion on how this determination is made. (See ANALYSIS OF LIABILITY – Injury.) Statutes Governing Contract Law Because the secondary issue (See Issue) and one of our concerns regarding your case is regarding your contract with Ms. Ramirez, we have disclosed applicable information from both the Green Civil Code and our legal library pertaining to 1) offer and acceptance, 2) Green’s statute of frauds, and 3) Green’s â€Å"mirror image rule.† For your convenience, we have bolded and defined legal terminology that will be reiterated in later sections of this correspondence. Offer and Acceptance An offer is the important first step in the contract formation process. A party (offeror) who makes the offer gives another party (offeree) to whom the offer is made the power to bind both parties to a contract simply by accepting the offer. Not every proposal qualifies as an offer. To distinguish an offer, courts evaluate offers on three grounds: First, they look for some objective indication of a present intent to contract on the part of the offeror. Second, they look for specificity, or definiteness, in the terms of the alleged offer. Third, they look to see whether the alleged offer has been communicated to the offeree. An acceptance is â€Å"a manifestation of assent to the terms [of the offer] made by the offeree.† In determining if an offeree accepted an offer and created a contract, a court will look for evidence of three factors: (1) the offeree intended to enter the contract, (2) the offeree accepted on the terms proposed by the offeror, and (3) the offeree communicated his acceptance to the offeror. Statute of Frauds According to the Green Civil Code,  § 1624, any contract transferring an interest in land is invalid if not accompanied by â€Å"note or memorandum.† An unenforceable contract is one that meets the basic legal requirements for a contract, but may not be enforceable because of some other legal rule. A contract for which the statute of frauds requires a form of writing, yet no writing is made, may be declared an unenforceable contract. Mirror Image Rule The traditional contract law rule is that an acceptance must be the mirror image of the offer. Attempts by offerees to change the terms of the offer or to add new terms to it are treated as counteroffers because they indicate an intent by the offeree to reject the offer instead of being bound by its terms. Now that you have an understanding of the relevant law behind the tort of negligence and contracts, and are familiar with the legal terminology of these areas, we proceed into our analysis of the facts of your case and the prima facie case for the tort of negligence. ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL BANK’S LIABILITY Should you pursue further legal action against National Bank, you will have the burden of proving the elements of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence. Below are descriptions of these elements, accompanied by our legal analysis between the facts of the case, prima facie case, and case law from our legal library. Tort of Negligence In Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., negligence is defined as â€Å"conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others†. Because of the similarities in the facts between the case of Escrow Company and your case, this case has been used extensively in the forming of the following arguments. We recommend using this case in satisfying your burden for your legal action. Accordingly, you must argue that National Bank’s behavior in failing to remove the lien on your Lagoon Beach property fell below the standard for public protection established by law. Further, to successfully prove negligence, you must argue that National Bank is responsible for some injury you incurred stemming from their alleged mismanagement and failure to remove the lien on your property. With your notes, the facts of your case, and documents you provided us, we have constructed tentative arguments to determine the success of your legal action. You will find these arguments beginning on the next page. Duty According to the case, Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., â€Å"a defendant owes a duty of care to all foreseeable plaintiffs.† For example, in cases where a â€Å"[defendant] voluntarily assumes the duty to act by promising to the plaintiff to behave in a certain way,† the defendant owes that plaintiff a duty to act with care. According to Judge Utter, a â€Å"defendant also [owes] the plaintiff a duty of care where a contractual relationship between the parties requires the defendant to act in a certain way towards the plaintiff.† Considering these rules of law, National Bank owed you a duty to act as you requested. In your previous correspondence, you indicated that National Bank is â€Å"the lender on your Lagoon Beach property.† You also submitted to us a copy of your deed of trust. To reiterate â€Å"the language in the deed of trust† as part of your contractual relationship with National Bank, National Bank was supposed â€Å"to promptly record a reconveyance of its lien on [your] property upon payment in full of the underlying loan.† Because National Bank failed to do this, we find it foreseeable that you would be prevented from using the property as collateral for your hotel acquisition. Additionally, you also mentioned that you â€Å"vigorously attempted to get†¦ National Bank to remove its lien on [your] property, but to no avail† and despite â€Å"repeated assurances from various officers.† Because National Bank officers assured and essentially promised you that they would remove the lien on your property, National Bank voluntarily assumed a duty to you, if no duty had been present beforehand. In essence, the assurances made to you to process your request indicate that National Bank voluntarily assumed, and therefore owed you, a duty of due care to act as you requested. In light of these arguments, we assure you that you should successfully satisfy this first element – duty – of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence. Breach of Duty According to Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., in order for a plaintiff to prove negligence, the â€Å"plaintiff is required to show †¦that [the defendant] had breached [defendant’s] duty of care to the plaintiff.† In most cases, a defendant owes a plaintiff a duty to act as would a reasonable person under similar circumstances. In the case of Escrow Company, the Court found that â€Å"in performing services for a client, [the] escrow company has the duty to strictly follow instructions.† Like an escrow company, a financial institution like National Bank most likely has a duty to strictly follow instructions drafted in a deed of trust, or part of a loan or other financial instrument. Because officers on behalf of National Bank did not follow instructions and terms of behavior involving you (as lendee) and National Bank (as lender) detailed in your property’s deed of trust, you may successfully argue that National Bank breached its duty to you. According to our copy of your deed of trust you provided us, National Bank was required to â€Å"promptly record a reconveyance of its lien on the property upon payment in full of the underlying loan.† You had managed to pay off the mortgage on this property on November 1, 2004. Despite this, National Bank failed to remove its lien, even after you requested. Because officers at National Bank did not strictly follow this instruction, National Bank breached the duty of due care owed to you. Causation Satisfying the prima facie case for the tort of negligence also requires that a plaintiff prove that there is a connection (or actual causation) between the alleged breach of duty by defendant and injury suffered by plaintiff. As in the case of Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., courts assess the existence of a connection between breach and injury by determining whether injury would have occurred if not for breach. A court would employ a similar test in your case. Because National Bank failed to remove the lien on your property, you did not satisfy terms of the loan commitment with Bank of the West and could not secure financing for your acquisition of Hotel California. We find that there is a casual connection. Courts also evaluate the proximate cause (causation) between a defendant’s breach of duty and a subsequent injury suffered by a plaintiff. Proximate causation refers to whether the defendant’s breach of duty and subsequent injury suffered by the plaintiff was foreseeable. Because you vigorously attempted to have officers at National Bank remove its lien on your property and informed them that you needed the lien removed in order to pledge the property as collateral, we find that your injury of loss of opportunity to acquire the hotel property was foreseeable. Injury The final element you must prove to satisfy the prima facie case for the tort of negligence is whether you have suffered injury because of National Bank’s alleged negligence. Due to National Bank’s failure in removing the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, the transfer of ownership agreement of Hotel California between you and Ms. Ramirez allegedly collapsed. Later, you purchased a â€Å"similarly situated† and â€Å"virtually identical† hotel property for $4.7 million, $400,000 more than what you would have paid for Hotel California ($4.3 million). In essence, National Bank’s alleged negligence caused you to incur an opportunity cost of $400,000. This loss of opportunity is under the assumption that a valid, enforceable contract existed between you and Ms. Ramirez. SUMMARY Because National Bank breached its duty by failing to remove its lien on your property, you were unable to secure financing for a $4.3 million acquisition of Hotel California. However, you later purchased a â€Å"virtually identical† property for $4.7 million. You may be entitled to the difference. DEFENSES AGAINST LIABILTY In this portion of this report, we detailed any applicable defenses relevant to your case, and outlined other considerations and concerns we advise you to consider. Although we have found that affirmative defenses to National Bank’s negligence are inapplicable to the particular facts of your case, we have other concerns to discuss. Other Considerations It is the opinion of Legal Eagles, LLP, that National Bank may argue that regardless of whether it removed the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, indefinite would be the transfer of ownership of the hotel property from Ms. Ramirez to you. As our analysis showed, you may successfully prove that National Bank had a duty to remove the lien on your property and subsequently breached that duty by failing to adhere to this instruction. If the failure to remove the lien on your property can be proven to have caused you damage(s), we will advise you to pursue further legal against National Bank. But first we must evaluate the documents you provided us and later the validity of the binding contract between you and Ms. Ramirez. Analysis of Income We have completely revalued the hotel property, Hotel California you were interested in. We used the same method(s) and approaches that most banks in our region would use to appraise the value of hotel properties. The expected value approach places weights on appraisals from two methods. First, we multiplied the past two years’ average gross margin by four. This holds a weight of 40%, because it is expected to be accurate 40% of the time. The value we derived from this method came to $2,462,380.00. Next, we took the present value of the average of the past three years’ cash flows, discounted at an 8% discount rate for 10 years. This method holds a 60% weight. The value derived from this method comes to $2,505,589.13. Our final step is to assign the correct weight to each method and sum the two figures. We can therefore conclude that the Hotel California’s appraisal value is $2,488,305.48. In addition to this, it is acceptable for a company to sell what is known a s â€Å"goodwill.† That is why the listed price of 2.5 million dollars was overstated by $11,694.52. We know that the bank would only allow you to borrow up to the appraised value, $2,488,305.48, unless you either pay 25% of the purchase in cash, or pledge to the bank a first priority lien on the vacant land as collateral. We also know that the latter option was not possible, so we will consider the former. We conclude that 25% of the purchase price of $4.3 million is $1,075,000. Because you were able to only provide $500,000 in cash for a down payment, you did not meet the requirements to borrow more than $2,488,305.48 from the bank, without pledging the vacant land. Hypothetically, if you had decided to borrow $2,488,305.48 from the bank, plus your $500,000 down payment, you would have had $2,988,305.48. This amount still would not have been enough to purchase the Hotel California property offered at $4.3 million dollars. Consequently, we conclude that without pledging the vacant land as collateral, there was no way you could have borrowed enough money to make the purchase. Even though the appraised value was not enough for you to borrow a sufficient amount of money from Bank of the West, we believe the appraised amount you were given was not accurate. There are two reasons why we believe Desert Mirage Accounting should not have relied on the income statement and footnote provided by Ms. Ramirez’s accountant. The first problem lies in the way the accountant prepared the income statement. Mr. Babak Gordon calculated gross profit by taking revenue minus cost of revenue. This method is only used for retailers and manufacturing companies, whereas Hotel California is a service company. The second problem is the verifiability of the financial statements and reliability of the accountant. To be credible, financial statements must follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A financial statement that follows GAAP must be accompanied by a signed opinion letter. The letter can be in the form of: 1) Compilation letter 2) Review letter 3) Audit opinion Finally, this letter must be signed by a certified public accountant (CPA). Because the income statement of Hotel California does not come with any signed opinion letter, we cannot verify its accuracy. Therefore, Desert Mirage Accounting should not have relied on that income statement and footnote information to make the evaluation. In our initial observation of your case, we assumed National Bank’s failure to remove its lien from your Lagoon Beach property caused you to forfeit your opportunity to purchase the Hotel California property. As illustrated by our calculations above, you could not have financed the acquisition of Hotel California without pledging your Lagoon Beach property as collateral. However, after conducting a thorough analysis of your case, we regret to inform you that you may not be able to prove damages stemming from National Bank’s failure to remove its lien from your property. Even though National Bank may have breached its duty to you, National Ba nk could argue that your contract with Ms. Ramirez is invalid or unenforceable. In the event that you do not have a valid or enforceable contract, you are not legally entitled to the Hotel California property or other legal remedies. In essence, regardless of whether National Bank’s negligence can be proved, a transaction between Ms. Ramirez and you might not have occurred if a binding contract did not exist. We will clarify and explain this finding in the next section. Offer and Acceptance Analysis From our analysis, coupled with case law from our case library, we have found that there was no contractual arrangement between you and Ms. Ramirez. In arriving at this finding, we took into account the facts surrounding your case. There are key elements that prevent the institution of a contract, for the purchase of real estate, between you and Ms. Ramirez. In reaching this finding, we referred to the case of Cayetano J. Apablasa v. Merritt Company from our case library. In this case, the Court evaluated a plaintiff’s action for damages resulting from an alleged breach of contract. This plaintiff’s action for damages depended on whether there was an existing contract. The Court found that â€Å"no reasonable construction of evidence† admitted a binding contract between the parties; and that the correspondence that was provided to the Court amounted to â€Å"nothing more than an offer that was never accepted.† In essence, at the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, the Court’s judge â€Å"entered a judgment decreeing that no contract was entered into, existing, or was ever executed.† Similar to your case, in Cayetano v. Merritt, the initial reply to the offeror’s offer by the offeree did not constitute an acceptance, contrary to what the offeree had thought. The offeree had included a â€Å"proviso† in his perceived acceptance letter to the offeror. In light of this, the Court found that terms proposed in an offer â€Å"must be met exactly, precisely and unequivocally for its acceptance to result in the formation of a binding contract.† This decision supplements our discussing regarding Green’s â€Å"mirror image rule† below. (See Regarding Mirror Image Rule.) Additionally, the Court stated that â€Å"[t]he addition of any condition†¦ is tantamount to a rejection of the original offer and the making of a counteroffer.† In essence, the Court’s decision can be summarized by the following: â€Å"[w]here a person offers to do a definite thing and another introduces a new term into the acceptance, his answer is a mere expression of willingness to negotiate or is a counter proposal, and in neither case is there a contract; if it is a new proposal and it is not accepted it amounts to nothing.† Regarding Green’s Statute of Frauds A key element that is missing in the proof of a contract is that your agreement with Ms. Ramirez was not in writing. The Green Civil Code requires that in order for a contract involving the sale of real property, to be valid, the agreement must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged or by the party’s agent. In your situation, Ms. Ramirez made her initial offer orally over the phone and you replied by a signed fax. There was never a written offer or contract signed by Ms. Ramirez. Therefore, a court of law would most likely find the contract between you and Ms. Ramirez as unenforceable. Even if the alleged contract did not have to be in writing and could be enforceable, there are other additional concerns we have: Regarding the Mirror Image Rule In a situation, such as the one you were in, a proper acceptance must meet the â€Å"mirror image rule.† This rule states that in order for an offeree to properly accept an offer, the offeree must accept the exact offer that was established by the offerer. When reviewing your case, we found that you had intent to accept Ms. Ramirez’s offer, but in your attempt to accept the offer, you added a different term to the agreement. In her offer, Ms. Ramirez required that â€Å"[t]he sale was to conclude following a 45-day escrow.† However, in your reply, you stated that you â€Å"would like to close escrow within 60 days.† A court of law would find that by changing the terms of Ms. Ramirez’s offer, you fail to meet the â€Å"mirror image rule,† and therefore terminated Ms. Ramirez’s initial offer and proposed a counteroffer. Documents you provided us detailing your correspondence with Ms. Ramirez indicate no communication on her part in accepting your counteroffer. Summary We must mention that had there been a contract between Ms. Ramirez and you, you may have been the subject of legal action by Ms. Ramirez. If we assume there was an actual contract between Ms. Ramirez and you with either the 45 day or 60 day escrow term, Ms. Ramirez could have pursued legal action and you could be liable for having breached your contract for your failure to deliver on your promise. You entered into the alleged contract with Ms. Ramirez on January 6, 2005. Regardless of whether there was an agreement for a 45 day escrow or a 60 day escrow term, you failed to secure financing in either time frame. Approximately 80 days after entering the alleged contract with Ms. Ramirez, on March 28, 2005, you contacted Ms. Ramirez to request an extension. The fact that you have no pending legal action brought by Ms. Ramirez may suggest that Ms. Ramirez did not view the arrangement with you as a binding contract. We reiterate that neither party had a binding, enforceable contract. CONCLUSION Ms. Warren, we regret to inform you that success with your legal action is unlikely. There is a high chance you will be unsuccessful, should you purse a legal action against National Bank on the grounds of the tort of negligence. National Bank failed to remove the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, violating the duty of due care owed to you, and disrupting your ability to secure financing for your entrepreneurial endeavor. However, the question of law of whether there was a valid, enforceable contract between you and Ms. Ramirez, is the decisive issue. As our analysis has indicated, a court of law will most likely try the issue of whether there was a binding contract. Thus without the binding contract between you and Ms. Ramirez involving her offer for the hotel (Hotel California), a judge or jury in a court of law cannot rely on how much you would have paid to make a compensatory damages determination. In other words, because your action for damages is predicated on a contract between you and Ms. Ramirez, your damages cannot be established and you incurred no loss of opportunity. Without the loss of this opportunity cost, you have not suffered any injury due in part to National Bank’s negligence. RECOMMENDATIONS Ms. Warren, as Associate Partner of Legal Eagles, LLP, I oversaw the analysis of my legal team and validated their conclusions and findings. In light of the findings of our analysis, I foremost recommend that you consider the following course of action: * Please, do not pursue further legal action against National Bank regarding this cause of action and issue. It is my opinion and the opinion of Legal Eagles, LLP, that pursuing further legal action regarding this issue, considering our evaluation of your case, will result only in additional expense on your part including legal and attorney fees and your time. You will also not receive the resolution that you would like making the process inherently dissatisfying and frustrating. With this in mind, there is another course of action I do recommend. Because you have already attempted to resolve your issue with National Bank regarding the lien on your Lagoon Beach, Green property, you are entitled to contact the regulatory agency of your former bank. All national banks within the state of Green are regulated by different agencies. If National Bank’s lien remains on your property, I recommend you pursue this alternate course of action: * Contact the appropriate state of Green regulatory agency of your financial institution (National Bank) and file a complaint. Your bank’s regulatory agency can help you with your concerns and complaints. There are many regulatory agencies in the state of Green’s banking industry. For your convenience, the appropriate regulatory agency of your former bank, and its details have been listed: According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (for additional information visit www.ffiec.gov), National Bank’s regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (for additional information please visit www.helpwithmybank.gov). You can visit and reach this regulatory agency online or by phone at (800) 613-6743. The Office of the Comptroller will assist you in getting answers and solutions to your questions and concerns. You can also file complaints against your bank, here. If you decide to proceed with filing a complaint, officials from the Office of the Comptroller will contact National Bank on your behalf regarding your issue for a response. You will then receive a let ter summarizing the results. Those who have sought our legal advice and even had similar experiences as you with National Bank as well have reported that intervention by a regulatory agency expedited the process and liens were eventually removed. We are confident that you have the tools to resolve this issue. LEGAL EAGLES, LLP [ 1 ]. The elements of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence are duty, breach of duty, actual and proximate cause, and injury. [ 2 ]. COMMERCIAL ESCROW COMPANY AND JAMES DE MIK, APPELLANTS, v. ROCKPORT REBEL, INC., APPELLEE. 778 S.W.2d 532; 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 2263 [ 3 ]. CAYETANO J. APABLASA, Appellant, v. MERRITT COMPANY (a Corporation) et al., Respondents. 176 Cal. App. 2d 719; 1 Cal. Rptr. 500; 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1542

Privacy and HIV Essay Example for Free

Privacy and HIV Essay I. Introduction The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted on August 21, 1996.   It was primarily designed to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of health information.   The Privacy Rule, which took effect in 2003, regulates the use and/or disclosure of protected health information.   The information contained within this paper, regarding HIV patient privacy, will discuss the subjects of the HIPAA and Privacy Rule.   This paper will also discuss patient care and rights. II. Rights of Patients: Right to Life and Right to Privacy Many HIV clinicians, both national and international, adhere to a Patient Bill of Rights that list the general rights that an HIV patient has, in regards to their treatment and privacy.    Included in this section, are the basic 17 most important rights.   Also included, as part of the Patient Bill of Rights, are 10 of the most important responsibilities of an HIV patient (Wilder, 2000). First, an HIV patient has the right to respectful care, free from discrimination of any kind, including sources of payments.   Second, an HIV patient has the right to research anything regarding any diagnosis or treatment they have received or will receive.   Many clinicians often suggest that patients should conduct their own research so that they   may better understand any events taking place (Wilder, 2000). Third, an HIV patient has the right to know exactly who is involved in their medical care, at every level.   This includes students, trainees, and volunteers as well as doctors and nurses.   Fourth, an HIV patient has the right to be involved in the establishment of their care.   An HIV patient has the right to refuse any treatment that may be recommended (Wilder, 2000). Fifth, an HIV patient has the right to privacy.   This is one of the most important rights.   Sixth, under the right to privacy, an HIV patient has the right to assume that all records and any communication, written or verbal, are confidential, except in abuse cases.   Seventh, an HIV patient has the right to examine and receive copies of their medical records (Wilder, 2000). Eighth, an HIV patient has the right to assume that any advance directive they may have will be respected by any medical staff involved in their care.   Ninth, an HIV patient has the right to timely notification of changes regarding billing.   This also applies to changes in service fees (Wilder, 2000). Tenth, an HIV patient has the right to an adequate amount of time allotted during medical visits for discussion and questions.   Eleventh, an HIV patient has the right to assume that any medical staff involved in their care will take all necessary precautions.   This can be used two ways: precaution against infection from HIV and precaution against infecting an HIV patient with other illnesses (Wilder, 2000). Twelfth, an HIV patient has the right to make complaints or ask questions about their care.   They also have the right to expect a quick response to such complaints or questions.   Thirteenth, an HIV patient has the right to assume that any medical staff involved in their care will provide the best health care possible.   If a referral to other medical facilities is necessary, such as a referral to other medical facilities is necessary, such as a referral to an oncologist to treat an opportunistic cancer, the patient has the right to be informed of the disadvantages, as well as other alternatives (Wilder, 2000). Fourteenth, an HIV patient has the right to inquire about any third party relationships the medical facility has that could have an influence treatment.   Fifteenth, an HIV patient has the right to informed alternatives to treatments if a current treatment fails to have an effect.   This also applies to treatments that are still being discussed as a possibility (Wilder, 2000). Sixteenth, an HIV patient has the right to expect assistance to help with any handicaps that cause barriers.   This includes language, culture, physical, and communication.   Finally, an HIV patient has the right to timely visits with medical staff.   If a delay occurs, an HIV patient has the right to an explanation and apology (Wilder, 2000). The HIV patient’s responsibilities are not quite as detailed as the Bill of Rights, but coincide.   According to Wilder (2000), there are 10 main responsibilities an HIV patient has: 1) Provide medical staff with accurate information when possible.   Also, an HIV patient is expected to understand what role they play in their own treatment. 2) An HIV patient must take care of financial obligations as soon as possible. 3) An HIV patient must be considerate of other patients and staff, and also respect facility property. 4) An HIV patient must understand that both medicine and humans have limitations, and are not perfect.   There are always risks to consider and discuss with physicians. 5) An HIV patient must understand that the medical staff also has other patients under their care.   They have to divide their time and services as equally and efficiently as possible. 6) An HIV patient must understand as much as possible about their health insurance plan. 7) An HIV patient has the responsibility to report suspicions of fraud or illegal activity to the proper authorities. 8) An HIV patient must keep all appointment.   Whenever possible, an HIV patient must notify the medical staff if an appointment cannot be kept. 9) An HIV patient has the responsibility to notify medical staff immediately, if health conditions or medical care situations change. III. HIPAA Privacy Rule The HIPAA Privacy Rule, enacted on April 14, 2003, was designed to establish regulations regarding the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI).   This includes health status, health care payments, or any provisions for health care.   The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcement of the Privacy Rule, by issuing compliance activities or monetary penalty fees against violations.   In simple terms, the Privacy Rule is meant to protect a patient’s medical history, in its entirety, including payment histories, from being disclosed by covered entities.   According to the OCR (2003), covered entities are defined as health plans, health care clearinghouses, and any health care provider who uses an electronic means to transmit health information related to transactions. Health plans are one group of covered entities.   Health plans include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare supplement issuers, Medicare + Choice, long-term care insurers, and health, dental, vision, and prescription drug insurers.   Health plans also include government, church, and employer sponsored health plans, and multi-employer health plans (OCR, 2003). Although they are few in number, there are exceptions in covered entities.   Insurance companies that only provide automobile insurance, workers’ compensation, and casualty and property insurance are exceptions.   In addition, group health plans with less than 50 members that is employer-administered and maintained is also an exception (OCR, 2003). Health care providers, regardless of their size, are a covered entity if it uses electronic transaction transmission.   These transactions include referral authorizations and claims.   However, an electronic transmission has to be connected to a standard transaction.   The Privacy Rule covers these providers even if they use an outside service to handle electronic transactions.   Health care providers include all providers of services, such as hospitals, and all providers of any medical and health services, such as dentists, physicians, and optometrists (OCR, 2003). Health acre clearinghouses are another group of covered entities.   These groups process â€Å"nonstandard information they receive from another entity into a standard (i.e., standard format or data content), or vice versa† (OCR, 2003).   Health care clearinghouses only receive specific health information that can be used to identify someone, when processing information to a health care provider or health plan as a business associate.   Health care clearinghouses include health management information systems, billing services, and repricing companies (OCR, 2003). The Privacy Rule protects all â€Å"individually identifiable health information,† called Protected Health Information (PHI).   Identifiable information includes any data related to a patient’s physical or mental health, provisions of health care to the patient, and any payments made for health care provided to the patient.   This information usually includes a patient’s social security number, address, name, age, and birthdate.

Introduction to the Id and the Superego

Introduction to the Id and the Superego The topic of discussion today was Understanding Our Own Defences. Since the lesson, I have been researching this subject and learned that it was Sigmund Freud (1856 1939) who first began to write about the mechanisms our brain uses to stop us from feeling anxiety, guilt or hurt. Freud believed that our psyche, which is not our physical brain, more our personality and the way we behave, is split into three. He called these parts the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego. He thought that the id was submerged out of sight in our subconscious, whereas the ego and super ego were in our consciousness. The id is the primitive and instinctive part of our personality that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego. According to the theory, we are born with only the id part of our personality, and we go on to develop the ego and super ego at aro und 3 to 5 years of age. The Id, however, remains a personality trait throughout our life, one of its traits is that it demands immediate attention. Freud stated that the ego is That part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world. It develops as a sort of negotiator between the id and the external world, however, as Freud himself observed, it developed as a mechanism to postpone satisfaction and to help the individual fit into societies expectations of them. The ego concerns itself with a more rational, problem-solving state of mind and will try to re-think solutions until the problem is solved. Freud made the analogy of the id being a horse while the ego is the rider. The ego is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse. The main purpose of the superego is to control the impulses of the id, especially those which society forbids such as aggression or sex. It acts as a sort of moral compass for the ego, striving for perfection rather than simple realistic outcomes and consists of two components, the conscience and the ideal self. It is driven by unconscious values learned from parents and society, and because perfection is the goal, falling short can lead us to feelings of shame or guilt, so, in order to deal with these feelings, Freud declared that the ego employs a range of defence mechanisms. These defence mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings such as anxiety or guilt which may have arisen because we felt threatened, or because our id or superego became too demanding. Freud identified seven defence mechanisms, but there are much more. Repression: pushing away a thought or a feeling, saying to yourself lets forget about it, Many things can be an object of repression such as painful memories of forbidden desires. Although, sometimes our true feelings can leak out in what is known as a Freudian slip, like the man who was introduced to a colleague who had got the big promotion he had applied for. His opening remark was Hello I am David, pleased to beat you Denial: Refusing to accept that something exists or happened. This can be a mechanism that is seen when someone refuses to accept the death of a loved one. Or making excuses for continuing unhealthy behaviour such as smoking, with phrases such as my granny smoked forty a day and lived until she was one hundred and two. Projection: This involves individuals attributing their own thoughts, feelings and motives to another person. Thoughts most commonly projected onto another are ones that would cause guilt such as aggressive and sexual fantasies or thoughts. For instance, you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred is unacceptable. You can solve the problem by believing that they hate you. Rationalisation: Creating an acceptable but incorrect explanation of a situation, for example, the man caught stealing computers from the warehouse he works at Its not stealing, my company sells millions of computers for big profit, they wont miss the two that I have taken. Intellectualisation: Thinking about something logically without any attached emotion, for example, Counsellor: Well Jane, your husband has left you, and you have been made redundant, how does that feel? Janes response: I now have a lot more time on my hands, I can get on with the gardening and catch up on some odd jobs around the house, as for my job I did not like it much anyway. Reaction formation: Doing the opposite of what you would really like to do, being over-nice to someone you dislike is a good example of this. The best example is the person who mutters through gritted teeth No, I am not angry. Regression: Acting in the way a child might if they did not get their own way. Foot stamping, speaking in a whiney voice or storming off are good examples of this. As we can see above, defence mechanisms are protective, coping, strategies adopted by the brain to shield us from painful feelings. The brain has said to itself Im too afraid to feel this so Im going to make something up that I wont be so afraid of. As a counsellor, our job is to attempt to get through these defences to the core issue that is troubling the client and to provide the support the client needs to initiate a change within themselves. This may take some time as the client may not initially trust or feel comfortable with us. They may feel frightened or embarrassed to show their true feelings. The Oxford English Dictionary defines trust as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Carl Rogers said, a good counsellor will have some sense of how to match the pace of counselling sessions to the needs of their clients. So, in summary, when a client first comes to us, they will probably demonstrate some of the defences written about above, we will then carefully use our counselling skills to build a rapport and try to make the client feel comfortable enough to start to discuss why they feel the need to seek counselling.  

Wedding Toasts to the Bride and Groom :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Wedding Toasts to the Bride and Groom The Upper Hand The following tidbit began a wonderful and personal toast to the bride and groom: "John, take Emily's hand and place your hand over her's. Now, remember this moment and cherish it... because this will be the last time you'll ever have the upper hand!" Toilet Roll Let us all hope and pray that your married life is like this toilet roll - soft, strong and ever so long. Never Lie, Cheat, and Drink May you never lie, cheat or drink. But if you must lie, lie with each other. And if you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink with us for we all love you and wish you both the love and happiness of which you deserve. Let Us Toast Let us toast the health of the bride, let us toast the health of the groom, let us toast the priest who tied. And I'd personally like to toast every guest in the room." Swear, Steal, Lie May you swear, steal, and lie. Swear by all that's good and true. Steal away your cares and sorrows. And lie in the arms of the one you love. Live as long as you want May you both live as long as you want and never want as long as you live. Today's Love May the love you express to each other today, always be the first thoughts during any trying times in the future. Love that Grows I see the love you both have in each other's eyes and as your love grows for one another, may you look back on this day and know this is when you loved each other the least. Leave It To The Expert I'll be toasting the bride and groom with Shakespeare's sonnets. Shakespeare's sonnet 18 for the bride Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee. Shakespeare's sonnet 53 for the groom

British Settlement in American Continent and Regionalism :: Geography History Historic Essays

British Settlement in American Continent and Regionalism Describe how settlement patterns set-up the regionalisms of the United States. Throughout history, people from cultures around the world have come to America seeking a new life or a change from their current conditions. They may have come to avoid persecution, to avoid overpopulation, or to attempt to be successful in an entirely new world from the life they formerly knew. As the immigrants arrived, some found that their dreams had been attained. Conversely, some found that the New World was not as fantastic as they were led to believe. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, an influx of British citizens arrived on the shores of America. The arriving British population came from a particular area of Europe, but there was distinct individuality within the group. The diverse British immigrant population would be the first of many groups to add cultural variety to the United States population, for which America continues to be known today. After reading Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fischer, it is apparent that the four major British groups arriving from 1620 to 1776 and their patterns of settlement would shape the development of American regionalisms known throughout the country. Four major British groups immigrated to America within a span of less than two hundred years. Although they all migrated from the British Isles, each had a distinct set of standards and a very set culture carried from the other side of the Atlantic. Not only were the people of early America diverse, so were the motives for which they migrated to the New World. The Puritans arrived from 1629 to 1641. This group was a culture devoted to the Bible and following its every word. Because of their extreme beliefs, they had been persecuted in England. Their goal in America was to create a Promised Land based on their beliefs. They moved from the eastern sections of Britain known as East Anglia and settled in New England, primarily in Massachusetts. The Puritans' influence shaped the New England image to how it is known today. For example, the pattern of settlement of small towns in the New England region was carried over from those of eastern England. These towns were centralized along a main road, with a few farms or homes outside of the village. Even today, this type of town is well known throughout Massachusetts and the other New England states. Another example of well-known New England characteristics concerns their food preference.

Movie: Delta Force - Suicide In Chinatown :: essays research papers

Movie: Delta Force - Suicide in Chinatown There was a normal afternoon in Chinatown. Everybody was really interested in Silvester Stalone's new action movie that was being played for the first time this weekend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Delta Force was the movie. Stalone was acting as a very famous cop. He became popular because one year before he killed all a group of terrorists that was planning to put a bomb in the Empire State Building. Now he is fighting against some bank robbers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The critics and also the public were complaining about the violence that the film shows. The critics said that too much blood and fights would incite a bad behavior from the public.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because of all these complaints the public opinion was discussing the possibility of cut of some parts of the movie or even stop playing it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the 8:00pm movie session, one fact worked to decide quickly the situation...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many couples in the movie theater and during one of the most violent part of the film, a couple stood up and pulled out two gun machines that were in a suitcase.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They were, apparently, a normal couple. The blond man using beard was wearing sport clothes. He was carrying a medium black and white suitcase, from where they pulled the gun. The woman was also young, may be working to 20 or 22 years old. She was wearing shorts and a red shirt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She was the most nervous and she was the one who ordered everybody to line on the floor and picked the guys as hostages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When they ordered the hostages to line on the floor, one girl escaped from the place and called the police. The couple didn't ask for anything special. They just began to scream saying that they had the power and wanted the public attention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Five minutes after the girl escape from the cinema, the police arrived. There were more than fifteen police cars around the cinema, nobody could escape. The sergeant got out of the car and began to negotiate with the couple, trying to release the hostages safely. The sergeant asked how could he finish the situation and the couple asked for a TV team to record something very important to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sergeant permitted the CNN team to go into the movie theater but, for doing it, he asked the couple to release the half part of the hostages that were there.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The guy accepted and when the CNN team went into the cinema he released seventy-five people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the CNN group began to record the place, the couple put their weapons on their own head and shot themselves.

Various Government Roles in Health Care

The government performs several important roles, including financing, delivering, and regulating the delivery of healthcare. The federal government or the state government programs provides healthcare for uninsured individuals or low income families with needs. The federal government regulates programs such as Medicaid and Medicare providers. They regulate such things as health codes, the insurance industry, licensed personnel, and facilities. Important Roles The government which consists of federal, state and local combined has many important roles in the U. S healthcare system.One of the roles in which the government provides is finance. It is estimated that 48% of healthcare was paid for by public dollars in 2008, which included Medicare, Medicaid, state and local health programs, CHIP, and Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (Yesalis, Holt, & Politzer, 2012). Federal and State governments jointly fund Medicaid, long term mental health services, community health centers an d public health programs. Regulation shapes all aspects of America's fragmented health care industry, from the flow of dollars to the communication between physicians and patients.It is the engine that translates public policy into action. While the health and lives of patients, as well as almost one-sixth of the national economy depend on its effectiveness, health care regulation in America is bewilderingly complex. Government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels direct portions of the industry, but hundreds of private organizations do so as well. Some of these overseers compete with one another, some conflict, and others collaborate. Their interaction is as important to the provision of health  care as are the laws and rules they implement. (Robert I. Field)RegulationsThe state government also regulates licensing for health care personnel, facilities, and establishes health codes. The government basically controls the health industry with rules and regulations. Rangi ng from: Regulation/licensing, mental health services, vital statistics, public health issues, public health laboratories, communicable disease control programs, environmental health, maternal/child health, health planning, and health education. (Yesalis, Holt, & Politzer, 2012).