Bowie Maryland Legal Blog

Many divorce cases involve a highly contentious court battle with high emotions and fighting. These situations can be extremely draining for a person to go through and no one enjoys battling for their family and their property.

There is no easy or simple way to go through a divorce, but is there a way to make it less stressful? There are a few divorce alternatives you may want to consider to avoid some of the worst parts of divorce process. Mediation and collaboration are two different ways you can settle your divorce, with less stress, but how do they work?

Most in Bowie likely associate medical malpractice with errors committed by a doctor in the course of providing treatment. Suicide cases might be viewed as being completely separate from medical malpractice issues. Yet what about those cases where it is believed the actions of a health care practitioner created the conditions that led to one's suicide? Given a doctor's unique knowledge of clinical science, it might be expected that they would know better than to put an at-risk patient in position of receiving counsel, care or medication whose direct (or indirect effects) could be harmful. 

That is the claim being made by the widow of late singer Chris Cornell. The former Soundgarden frontman took his own life in May of last year. An autopsy revealed there to be a significant amount of the drug Ativan in his system at the time of his death. Cornell's widow claims that the doctor who had been providing her husband with Ativan prescriptions should have known that the doing so was dangerous, given that one of the drug's recognized side effects is diminished impulse control and an increased risk of suicide in people who are addiction-prone. She goes on to say that the doctor know Cornell was prone to addiction due to him originally being referred to the doctor by the singer's therapist to help him deal with substance abuse. 

It is illegal to use a hand-held cellphone while driving in Maryland and in many other states across the country. In an attempt to comply with the law, you may have turned to using a hands-free cellular device while behind the wheel. These devices are marketed as being a safe alternative to traditional hand-held cellphones, as they eliminate the manual and visual distractions caused by the hand-held types. A study released by AAA, however, shows that hands-free cellphones may not be as safe as some people may think.

In the study, participants were asked to drive a simulator vehicle, as well as an actual car set up with monitoring devices. Researchers measured their heart rate, eye movement, brain activity and response time while they performed a number of distracting activities. These included the following:

•          Talking on a hands-free cellphone
•          Talking on a hand-held cellphone
•          Maintaining a conversation with a passenger in the car
•          Listening to the radio
•          Listening to an audio book
•          Composing an email using voice-activated technology

For civilian spouses who are considering divorce from a military member, the loss of benefits may be a huge concern. Military benefits provide healthcare, retirement funds and other privileges that relieve huge financial burdens.

Here are four types of military benefits that may be at risk if you are getting a military divorce.