Paralegal Gateway

Paralegal Gateway was the first website dedicated to the paralegal profession. In 2001 its founder, Jeannie S. Johnston, discovered that there were no web sites just for paralegals. She decided to remedy that situation and Paralegal Gateway was formed.

According to the site, ParalegalGateway.com has grown at a rate that certainly surprised its founder. ParalegalGateway.com has become a central source for Paralegals across the globe. Thanks to local associations and publications such as Legal Assistant Today Paralegals are, now more than ever, beginning to receive the recognition they deserve.  One major goal of ParalegalGateway.com is to continue in that spirit, offering support, professional information and above all, recognition to Paralegals who are making a difference in both the legal profession and their communities.

Another goal is to promote law firms and companies who offer compensation and incentive programs specifically for their Paralegals. ParalegalGateway will regularly feature employers who have gone above and beyond the standard practices to include Paralegals as a vital part of their organizations.

Looking Ahead: The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that the Paralegal profession will grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. As the Paralegal profession continues to grow, ParalegalGateway.com intends to grow right along side, providing free news, articles, links, career tools and much more to their Paralegal visitors. Making their Internet debut in 2001, their continued web presence proves Paralegals love ParalegalGateway.com. They have big plans for the future and welcome all partnership opportunities.

Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Adobe Acrobat

Since purchasing Adobe Acrobat two years ago, it has gradually become more and more important to my everyday work. As our office moves towards more of a paperless system, I am constantly finding new ways to use it to do my job more efficiently. One site that has helped me tremendously is the Acrobat for Legal Professionals Blog. If you are an Acrobat user, I highly recommend checking it out.



Melanie Stuckey Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Colorado Hospital Incident Reports

We've recently had several cases involving falls at hospitals. During the course of one investigation, we discovered that hospitals are required to report certain incidents to the state for further investigation. Per the Colorado Department of Health website:


"All healthcare facilities licensed by the department are required to report occurrences to the Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division. Statutory citations for this can be found at 25-1-124 (CRS) and 25-3-109 (1),(3),(7),(8) and the regulations can be found in 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter II, Licensing: 3.2 Occurrence Reporting.

Reportable occurrences include unexplained deaths, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, life-threatening complications of anesthesia, life-threatening transfusion errors/reactions, severe burns, missing persons, physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, misappropriation of property, diverted drugs and malfunction/misuse of equipment.

Facilities must report these occurrences within one business day. The division will investigate the occurrence and determine if appropriate facility action has been taken, and then write a summary of the occurrence for public viewing. The summaries respect confidentiality and do not reflect the names of the persons involved. 

If necessary, following the investigation of the occurrence, the division will cite a deficiency if it finds that state or federal regulations have been violated. As well, division staff review occurrence reports prior to conducting annual surveys in facilities and prior to reissuing a facility's license. Occurrence reports may also be reviewed as part of a complaint investigation."

To start your search for a particular facility, follow this link to the search page at the Colorado Department of Health and locate the facility in question. Once you click through to your hospital of choice, you can view occurrence and complaint reports against that facility. 

Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Pending Supreme Court Cases

If you are interested in following cases currently pending before the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of the United States Blog is a great resource. It provides up to date information on what cases the court is currently reviewing including detailed information on where each case is in the process.

Melanie Stuckey Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Subrogation Law - Passion for Subro

In a personal injury practice, we constantly have to deal with subrogation issues. Recently, I was searching for information on the laws of another state when I came across Passion for Subro. I found it to be extremely informative about the issue I was researching and several other areas of subrogation and ERISA law as well. If you are researching recent news in subrogation, this is a great place to start.


Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

A Site With Everything Legal

I recently came across the Public Legal site when I was doing some online legal research and thought I would share. It is a categorized index of more than 4000 select web sites in 238 nations, islands, and territories, as well as thousands of locally stored web pages, legal forms, and downloadable files. It was established in 1995 to serve as a comprehensive resource of the information available on the Internet concerning law and the legal profession, with an emphasis on the United States. Designed for everyone, lay persons and legal scholars alike, it is quality controlled to include only the most substantive legal resources online.



Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Law Library Research Exchange

Looking for a great place to read articles related to law and technology?  The Law Library Research Exchange is a great resource.  You can subscribe to their newsletter to receive emails with the latest articles or to any of their feeds. The site also contains links to court rules, forms and dockets.


Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Black Book Online

With links to hundreds of free public records searches, the Black Book Online is a great place to start any investigation. It also has tips and tricks and resources for investigators. It is such a comprehensive resource, everyone in the legal or investigative field should have it bookmarked.


Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Social Networking Sites

One of the latest investigative techniques is using social networking sites such as Facebook and My Space to investigate claimants, witnesses and potential jurors. It can be an extremely valuable resource, no matter what area of law you practice. A recent news story illustrated this. It was reported that a woman's long-term disability benefits were terminated because of photos she posted of herself on a social networking site.  One site that lets you search multiple social networking sites at one time is Wink. The next time you're search is leading you in the direction of social networking sites, Wink is a great place to start.

Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney

Colorado Auto Accident Reports

In most cases in Colorado, you will need to request an accident report in writing directly from the police agency that investigated the accident. You should check the department's web site or contact the records department before sending a request to find out what fees they charge for reports. Some departments will allow requests to be faxed which can expedite things. If you think there are witness statements or photographs  associated with your report, a phone call to the records department is the best way to find out how to obtain them.

Several Colorado police departments are now using online vendors to distribute accident reports. These vendors upload the reports and allow you to purchase them online and receive the report immediately. The fees are not much different than requesting the report from the police department directly. The two most common vendors at this time are TRACView and Report Beam. Go look at these sites to see which police agencies are using them.

Finally, if the report you need is at least eight weeks old or if the Colorado State Patrol investigated the accident, you can obtain a copy from the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles. You can go to a DMV office to request the report or you can mail your request and a check for $2.20 to the DMV. For more information on obtaining records from the Colorado DMV, see this link.

Melanie Stuckey
Paralegal to Jennifer L. Donaldson
www.donaldsonlaw.com - A Denver Personal Injury Attorney