ARBITRATION / MEDIATION |
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Arbitration is a form of mediation or conciliation, where the mediating party is given power by the disputant parties to settle the dispute by making a finding. In practice arbitration is generally used as a substitute for judicial systems, particularly when the judicial processes are viewed as too slow, expensive or biased. Arbitration is also used by communities which lack formal law, as a substitute for formal law.
Mediation consists of a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a (generally) neutral third party, the mediator, using appropriate techniques, assists two or more parties to help them negotiate an agreement, with concrete effects, on a matter of common interest. More generally speaking, the term "mediation" covers any activity in which an impartial third party (often a professional) facilitates an agreement on any matter in the common interest of the parties involved.
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BANKRUPTCY |
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Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. A declared state of bankruptcy can be requested by creditors in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed; however, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the bankruptcy is initiated by the bankrupt individual or organization.
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INSURANCE FRAUD |
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Insurance fraud or false insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the intent to defraud an insurance provider.
In the United States insurance fraud is estimated to cost US$875 per person per year with The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimating the loss to be $80 billion per year and Medicare estimating fraud in its system costs the government $179 billion per year.
Insurance fraud hurts the average person in two ways. First, all fraud costs, including losses, investigations, etc., are paid for by the insured through higher premiums, or, in the case of government insurance like Medicare, in higher taxes. Second, if a particular individual is the target for the fraud, they have costs such as deductible payments, loss of property use, etc., as well as higher premiums from the claim loss and the potential for denial of future coverage.
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MALPRACTICE, MEDICAL |
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The basic definition of medical malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury to the patient. The word malpractice has a connotation of greater culpability than negligence. In the United States and other countries, a specific medical malpractice law has developed. In English law, the issue of liability is a subset of professional negligence where, under the Bolam Test, a doctor will be liable unless shown to have acted in accordance with a reasonable body of medical opinion.
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WORKERS COMPENSATION |
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Workers compensation systems (workers comp or compo) provide for financial compensation for work-related injuries of employees, in particular compensation of loss of wages, sometimes also for medical costs. These laws are usually a feature of highly developed industrial societies. Employees compensation laws are often only implemented after long and hard fought struggles by trade unions, particularly in early industrialisation. There are often benefits available to dependents of workers killed on the job as well.
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