Move Highlights How Lawsuits Improve Safety Measures in America
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the last remaining form of asbestos, specifically chrysotile asbestos, used in America has been prohibited, in a move that marks an important milestone for chemical safety.
“EPA has been working expeditiously to put the nation’s chemical safety program back on track and finally realize the protections of the 2016 law. This action is just the beginning as we work to protect all American families, workers, and communities from toxic chemicals,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
How is Chrysotile Asbestos Used?
Chrysotile asbestos is found in automotive products like sheet gaskets and brake blocks. The use of the substance has been decreasing in the United States ever since the EPA first sought to ban some uses more than 50 years ago.
In addition, chrysotile asbestos is used in sodium hydroxide and chlorine, which serves to disinfect drinking water and wastewater. However, two-thirds of the chlorine produced in the United States is produced without asbestos, so transitioning away from the use of the chemical shouldn’t be difficult.
Asbestos exposure is known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and laryngeal cancer. Every year more than 40,000 deaths are linked to asbestos in the United States.
While thousands of people are affected by asbestos every year, lawsuits on behalf of the victims have brought justice and accountability. When there is a public danger that hasn’t been eliminated, taking legal action is sometimes the best option available.
“Personal injury lawsuits and specifically the civil justice system really have not raised the cost of anything for people and in fact, when you look at it, in the long run, they’ve actually protected people,” says Andrew Abraham, a Partner at Keches Law. “So there’s seatbelts in cars because of personal injury lawsuits. There are all sorts of improvements in your house, in your clothing, in your food, in your medications that you take, in the cars that you drive in, the lawnmowers that you use, the snowblowers that you use have been made better and safer by personal injury lawsuits.”
Abraham says that while there are always people and companies that are looking to take advantage of people, personal injury lawsuits offer a way to defend yourself.
“It’s, unfortunately, a well-hidden fact that personal injury lawsuits, generally speaking, make us safer. Holding people that choose to violate safety rules accountable is very, very important to protect our society and protect our families,” he says.
The skilled Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Attorneys at Keches Law are ready to defend you if you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence.
Contact us today so we can help you go through every step of the process to getting you justice and holding those who wronged you accountable.
Attorney Sean Kiely had a happy childhood growing up in Waterford, on the southern coast of Ireland. But he says where he is from, emigration to America or another country, is an option people always consider. After he finished college, he decided it was the right next step for him.
Seven years later, he says he wants to stay here forever.
How do Ireland and America Compare?
“It’s very similar to America,” Kiely says about growing up in Ireland.
He says the Irish-American population in cities on the east coast of the United States and specifically in Boston, have done a good job of bringing a lot of the traditions to their new country.
“A sense of family, sense of loyalty to your friends, strong work ethic and trying to do your best for your children, a lot of those have been imported,” he says.
“I’ve talked to relatives who emigrated in the 50s or 60s, they grew up in a very different Ireland. It was a lot poorer, there wasn’t even the right to a free middle school or high school education,” he says. “When I moved to America, the culture shock wasn’t as big as generations prior to me.”
Sean Kiely says when he was growing up, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland was a family holiday that involved a lot of relaxed celebrating, perhaps going to a Catholic Mass, but mostly it was about spending time together and celebrating Irish heritage.
He says it’s different in America because the people involved have a different history to celebrate.
“Those Irish from decades or centuries ago that came here, built America,” he says. “It was on their backs that a lot of the great cities were built.”
“In America, St. Patrick’s Day is a great day that gives Irish-Americans the opportunity to be proud of their identity and their background. It is evident that Irish-Americans take great pride in their Irish heritage. Alternatively, in Ireland, because there isn’t as much reason for people to celebrate their Irishness, it is hard for those people to understand the Irish-American celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish culture in America is strong, and it doesn’t discriminate between generations. We are all proud to be Irish.”
Why Did Kiely Come to America?
Growing up, Kiely says the American culture was all around him. The same TV shows that we watch here were on TV there. The movies we watched were shown there. The same gadgets we played with were available there. So he always saw the move as a possibility.
“There was a lot of influence of American culture in Ireland at the time,” he says. “America as a country, I was always fascinated by it.”
Standards of living in Ireland were pretty similar to the middle class lifestyle in America, so he said it wasn’t a move of necessity as much as something he just felt was the right decision for him.
Kiely’s New York Years
Kiely first moved to New York City, where he worked for five years for a law firm where he practiced family law. However, there were drawbacks.
Kiely says family law can be difficult because there really aren’t happy outcomes when families are splitting apart, and kids are often caught in the middle. In addition, cases are tried before a judge, instead of a jury, which he said isn’t what he preferred. Over time he decided to change his primary focus to personal injury.
“This type of law allowed me to do what I wanted to do, what I was trained to do as a barrister in Ireland, which was try cases before a jury and still get to represent everyday normal people,” he says.
Joining Andy Abraham’s Team at Keches Law
After years in New York, Kiely tried a case representing a personal injury victim, and discovered that was the direction he wanted his career to take.
When the opportunity to come to Keches Law was presented to Kiely, he took it. Two years ago, Kiely moved to Massachusetts to join Keches Law Partner Andy Abraham’s team that mostly handles brain injury cases.
Kiely says he loves that in his job he gets to fight for people who have had the rug pulled out from under them and need help to get back on their feet, in particular, he says he sees eye to eye with immigrant clients.
“They’re at more of a disadvantage because they don’t oftentimes speak English fluently, or they don’t have qualifications, or they can’t retrain to a different area,” he says. “It’s my job to fight for them with the same intensity that I would like someone to fight for me if my ability to work was taken from me or my ability to provide for myself or a family was taken away.”
Sean with his family at the Comeragh Mountains in County Waterford.
Kiely Wants to Become an American Citizen
Kiely described how the immigration process is long and ongoing for him, and that he wants to become an American citizen one day.
“Right now I’m in the process of hopefully getting my green card,” he says. “After you get your green card, you can wait around 3 to 5 years to become a citizen.”
He says it’s ironic how he can get up in front of a court and represent someone, but he can’t vote. But he says he does want to become an American citizen one day and he plans on staying in America.
“It just takes time,” he says.
He says while he misses his family, and knows living in America means he misses out on some things that happen in Ireland, he loves his day to day life in the USA. He has a great affinity for American culture and his American friends, has built an incredible career, and plans on staying for years to come.
“Ireland is a great country…I can go and get respite whenever I need to,” he says, “but I’m in the US for the long term.”
Keches Law Group has filed a lawsuit against Choice Hotels International on behalf of a Massachusetts woman who alleges she was a victim of sex trafficking when she was held and exploited on their properties from 2016-2018.
Our lawsuit aims to hold Choice Hotels accountable for not only benefiting from and facilitating the actions of our client’s captors by failing to take effective measures to prevent or stop it, but that Choice ignored the obvious trafficking happening on their properties and were motivated only by profit.
“The hotel industry has long been aware of sex trafficking occurring on their properties and have chosen to profit off the venture rather than put reasonable measures in place to protect individuals and the community,” says Michael Glennon, lead attorney on the case. “Sex trafficking is more common than we’d like to believe, and the bravery of survivors like our client allow us to not only bring to light its existence but to advocate for industry-wide change.”
Headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, Choice Hotels is one of the largest hospitality brands in the world, with 22 brands and more than 7,400 hotel locations worldwide.
Choice’s brand portfolio includes familiar names like Radisson, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Econo Lodge, and Rodeway Inn, as well as many others. In 2023, the company’s revenue grew 10 percent to $1.5 billion.
In 2008, Choice Hotels adopted a Human Rights Policy that “condemns human trafficking and child exploitation and commits to raising awareness of this issue among the owners and staff of our franchised hotels.”
How are Choice Hotels Allegedly Responsible for Sex Trafficking?
Our client says Choice Hotels was aware not only of what was specifically happening to her, but also that sex trafficking was happening in their hotels in general. She says employees and staff at Choice properties observed clear indications of trafficking, including frequent male visitors, excessive requests for towels, loud fighting and throwing of furniture, physical signs of abuse.
Police reports, news articles, customer complaints and negative reviews were all available for Choice to review. The hotel chain has faced multiple lawsuits in the past related to sex trafficking at their locations, including a decades long claim in Ohio in 2022 and another suit in Houston in 2020.
Given how well-documented the issue of sex trafficking is, our stance is that Choice should have been generally aware of the practice and taken steps to address it.
From 2016-2018, our client was held by an abuser and moved from location to location, being controlled by her traffickers through alcohol, drugs, and violence. Day after day, she was forced to engage in sex acts with strangers for money, against her will, equating to repeated instances of rape, often more than once per day.
She eventually escaped, and she’s spent considerable time trying to move on from her harrowing experience and rebuild her life.
Is Human Trafficking a Hotel Industry Issue?
Hotel and motel companies throughout the hospitality industry have made pledges and campaigns that suggest they are combatting trafficking, but limited changes have been implemented.
The complaint filed on behalf of our client alleges that the hospitality industry as a whole, including Choice Hotels, makes millions in profits by not properly addressing the issue.
It also alleges that there is a general failure to create, adopt and enforce policies and procedures to do something about the problem.
Signs of Sex Trafficking at a Hotel or Motel
Hotel and motel rooms are sold on the privacy and potential anonymity they allow for their customers, but this also makes them ideal locations for trafficking.
The Department of Homeland Security offers a list of signs for hotel teams to use to recognize potential signs of trafficking including individuals who show signs of:
Sleep Deprivation
Injuries
Malnourishment
Fatigue
In addition, hospitality workers should look out for individuals without apparent freedom of movement, no control over money or ID and may have inappropriate dress of lower quality clothing compared to the rest of their party.
Rooms
Hotel workers may notice housekeeping requests such as additional towels or linens but no entry into the room is allowed. Workers may also note extended stays with few or no personal possessions and excessive amounts of sex paraphernalia found in rooms.
Food and Beverage
Employees can look for individuals soliciting male patrons or just loitering in the dining area. Another indicator includes individuals asking staff for food or money, or taking cash or receipts left on tables.
Attorney Michael Glennon Fights for Sex Trafficking Victims
Attorney Michael Glennon is an experienced litigator who has spent the last 15 years working to achieve justice for individuals who have been harmed. As a prosecutor, he led a team that handled juvenile sexual abuse cases and personally handled high profile cases of youth and adult sex crimes and other forms of victimization.
Since joining the Keches Law, he has fought to get financial compensation for survivors and individuals injured due to the negligence of others. Glennon has specialized knowledge and experience in working with individuals who have suffered incidents of violence, injury, and trauma, teaching others on the subject and writing a national guide for lawyers on how to approach cases involving significant trauma.
Glennon has filed cases against hotel brands on behalf of survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation and is part of a national coalition of attorneys seeking to consolidate sex trafficking litigation against the largest hotel chains in the world. He also handles cases involving construction site injuries, inadequate security, civil rights claims, premises liability, and other personal injuries.
“I’ve spent my career trying to bring justice to people who have been harmed, and it’s a privilege to work with survivors like our client to get compensation for the harm that has been inflicted on her,” Glennon said.
Contact Keches Law if You’ve Been Through an Experience Like Our Client’s
Unfortunately, the harrowing experience our client was forced to endure isn’t an uncommon one. If you or someone you know was a victim of sex trafficking at a hotel, reach out to Keches Law Group right away.
Victims of nightmarish crimes like the ones our client lived through often feel powerless, but our experienced and skilled attorneys are here to demand accountability from those responsible for your traumatic experience.
Contact us today and let us walk you through each step of the process.
You put on the jacket when you go outside, you turn the heat up in the house and you warm up the car before you get in, but do you think about how to keep yourself safe from the cold the rest of the time?
Winter weather can lead to lots of common personal injuries. With that in mind, here are 5 tips to help you enjoy your day safely whether its cold enough outside to warrant a jacket, frigid enough to make you think about gloves, mittens and a scarf.
1. Dressing Warmly Can Prevent Cold Weather Injuries.
In the fall and the summer heat has died down, we start putting on more sweaters and sweatshirts and then eventually switch to a jacket. But when it’s truly cold outside, layering is important to be able to adjust to different temperatures.
Remember it’s easier to take a layer off than to add one when you’re away from home. So consider an extra shirt or sweater in addition to a nice warm winter coat.
Hypothermia occurs when your body drops below 95 degrees. When your body’s temperature drops, it uses stored energy to try to warm up and hypothermia takes place when all of that stored energy has run out and your body can’t keep itself warm anymore.
When you get wet, your body loses heat quickly – and when it’s cold out your chance of hypothermia only increases. So when it’s cold, make sure you stay dry and warm.
In addition, hydration improves circulation, which helps keep you warm. So while you don’t want to get wet, you do want to make sure you’re drinking plenty of fluids.
3. Don’t Ignore Frostbite or Hypothermia Symptoms!
Out in the winter weather, it’s easy to dismiss the signs of coming personal injuries like hypothermia or frostbite as “just being cold.” Don’t do it!
Numbness, shivering, slurred speech and drowsiness are all signs of hypothermia. Cold prickling or numb skin; or red, white, bluish-white, grayish-yellow, purplish, brown or ashen patches on your skin are signs of frostbite. If you start experiencing these symptoms—take action! Find a warm place to go and if necessary, seek medical assistance.
4. Focus on Traction to Prevent Slip and Fall on Ice this Winter.
When ice and snow are on the ground, or even if it is cold enough to form black ice, slip and fall injuries are a major concern. Make sure to wear footwear with good traction and be careful when walking to avoid falls.
5. Safe Heating Practices are Important.
There’s nothing quite like getting cozy in front of a fire in the fireplace. But if you aren’t careful, you might be looking at a major potential burn or fire problem.
Pay close attention to fireplaces, space heaters and any other heating devices you might have and turn them off when they aren’t in use. Also, make sure not to leave flammable materials near them.
6. Safety First With Winter Sports and Activities.
Winter sports like ice hockey, skiing, or snowboarding come with a lot of potential for injury. But even less obviously risky activities like sledding, snowshoeing and skating come with significant chances of injury, so be sure to use caution when enjoying the cold weather.
Make sure you’re properly equipped with all the right safety gear and equipment for any winter activity. Wearing warm clothes and protective equipment isn’t enough; stay aware of your surroundings, know your limits, and avoid unnecessary risks to prevent injuries.
Injured? Keches Law Can Help You With Any Cold Weather Injury.
Winter weather personal injuries are always a possibility. If you find yourself facing personal injury, remember to reach out to Keches Law.
