Adobe Photoshop PDFChapter 10 never settLe PrematureLy By Rajesh Kanuru, Esq. 115 Chapter 11 gone too soon – a disaster Waiting to haPPen By Michael Slocumb, Esq. 123 Chapter 12

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Contents

Chapter 1

Just one LittLe itemBy John Bisnar, Esq. & Brian Chase, Esq. ........................ 11

Chapter 2

Litigating BiCyCLe inJury and WrongfuL death CasesBy Jason Waechter, Esq. ................................................... 23

Chapter 3

a Consumer guide to finding the right LaWyer for your Case every time – how to Find the right Lawyer For your Case every time

By Ben Glass, Esq. ............................................................ 33

Chapter 4

the ContingenCy fee: LeveLing the PLaying fieLd BetWeen the Consumer and the CorPoration By Jonas K. Seigel, Esq. ................................................... 51

Chapter 5

the mourning after: heLPing famiLies CoPe after a drunk driving WreCk By Gary Martin Hays, Esq. & Derek M. Hays, Esq. ...................................................... 59

Chapter 6

together, We Can make a differenCeBy James Onder, Esq. ....................................................... 71

Chapter 7

Creating the Best PossiBLe QuaLity of Life for aCCident viCtimsBy Louis T. Brindisi, Esq. ................................................... 81

Chapter 8

emPLoyee LaWsuits: the PoWer of many aCting as oneBy Scott Miller, Esq. .......................................................... 93

Chapter 9

oXyContin: Profit from PainBy Raymond F. Wagner, Q.C. & Libby Kinghorne, Esq. .................................................... 103

Chapter 10

never settLe PrematureLy By Rajesh Kanuru, Esq. ..................................................... 115

Chapter 11

gone too soon – a disaster Waiting to haPPenBy Michael Slocumb, Esq. ................................................ 123

Chapter 12

our heaLth Care system – BeCome a survivor, not a statistiC - tips on how to maximize your heaLth Care experienCe

By Randall Hood, Esq. ...................................................... 131

Chapter 13

Litigating dog Bite CasesBy Jason Waechter, Esq. ................................................... 143

Chapter 14

ProteCt What you’ve Worked for: nine things you must knoW aBout trademarksBy Nick Nanton, Brian Mencher & JW Dicks ..................... 153

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Chapter 1

Just one LittLe item

By John Bisnar, esq. & Brian Chase, esq.

The hype and hyperbole surrounding auto advertising has shifted in recent years. Yes, there is still the talk of value for the price, great performance and fabulous fuel efficiency, but most of the hard sell envelops how superbly safe every vehicle happens to be. Award winning, highly rated, thoroughly tested, mother ap-proved…the automakers tout whatever it takes to make you be-lieve their auto, SUV or truck brand is Fort Knox on wheels, holding your family treasure safe and secure.

Manufacturers love to run innumerable commercials, their prod-ucts smashing into walls at high speed while they talk about multiple air bags, unibody framework, crumple zones, tough bumpers and more. Crash test dummies, strapped in and alleg-edly protected better than NASCAR drivers, emerge unharmed from horrific, and staged collisions; thus implying your family is shielded and sheltered.

Yet, beneath the surface there are quietly released, regular indus-try ratings that reveal the very best made automotive products have an average of 134 problems as they roll off the assembly line. Top rated models boast of only 108 faults per unit pro-

Just One LittLe item

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COnsumer’s AdvOCAte

duced. The steel-reinforced door beams and air bag deployment speed provide fodder for test results and dramatic advertising. However, it is those little things, the nondescript items that often cause the big problems.

Consumer advocacy groups often find the flaws, report to the government and then a recall occurs. On any given week, one can find thousands of vehicles being recalled for various prob-lems. The automakers rarely discuss or reference these items and issues. They quietly take care of the issue, pay the fine, and hope the consumer and media sweep it under the rug to quickly forget the notion of defects.

And just one of those little issues can change your whole world in a moment.

Just like you, Jaklin Romine gave little thought to her driver’s seat and the controls to adjust it. She just sat down in the car and got comfortable.

While she was stopped at an intersection in Pasadena, Califor-nia, her car was rear-ended. It was a collision at an average sur-face street speed. However, upon impact, Jaklin’s seat snapped back, broke loose and then collapsed backward, all in less than a second. The flattened seat allowed her body to shoot rearward under the seat beat and shoulder restraint. The crash impact vio-lently hurled her head first into the rear passenger seat, resulting in head and spinal trauma that permanently paralyzed her at the age of 19.

Most might look at only the automaker for fault but John Bisnar and Brian Chase, principals at Bisnar|Chase in Newport Beach, CA inspected the situation far more deeply.

“If vehicles are the sum of their parts, then when the various parts fail, those who produce those failed parts are culpable.” Chase explained.

“Our investigation discovered that, in order to keep price points

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low, sacrifices were made in seemingly unobvious areas, such as the seat structure.”

“It turned out that Johnson Controls, a giant corporation, had de-signed the seats cheaply. Their seat framework was fragile and lightweight – not much stronger than a folding beach chair. The adjustment controls proved equally weak under even minimal stress. Thus, Jaklin’s seat and the adjustment elements combined to create a scenario for failure and disaster under even minor crash conditions.” Chase noted.

At trial, Brian Chase presented evidence to the jury that Jaklin’s seat was too weak to withstand impacts at speeds as low as 30 miles per hour, subjecting front seat occupants to serious risks such as head injuries, spinal cord injuries and vehicle ejection. Chase also presented evidence that Johnson Controls was legal-ly responsible for the design, manufacture and sale of the defec-tive seat, and therefore liable for damages because of its defects.

Mr. Chase proved the manufacturers were fully aware of the de-fects but allowed them to go unmentioned and unrecalled.

John Bisnar reflected on the case. “Jaklin Romine had never heard of Johnson Controls. She used their product every time she drove her vehicle. Johnson Controls gambled on the pos-sibility that a collision scenario would not occur to reveal their flaw. Statistically, it was only a matter of time before people were seriously injured or killed due to the faulty design and flim-sy construction. Jaklin Romine became one of those statistics. And due to its cheap production, her car seat failed. And now she is confined to a wheelchair for life. Someone needed to stand up for her and her loss.”

Brian Chase and the Bisnar|Chase team recovered a substantial amount of money for her loss. The money will provide her qual-ity medical care, allow her to hire domestic assistance and make up for some of her lost income. It will not restore her bodily functions. It will not allow her to walk again. It will not replace

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her lost quality of life. It may however persuade Johnson Con-trols to make safer seats and persuade their automaker custom-ers to demand safer products from their suppliers

Bisnar|Chase attorneys claimed that since the early to mid-1990s, Johnson Controls was well aware of the dangers and risks of the weak seats they produced. Because of this knowl-edge, the company had actually developed a design which was much more structurally sound and which would prevent seats from collapsing in accidents such as this. In other words, the company knew they had a bad product, yet continued to produce it. That foreknowledge became a significant factor in their cul-pability.

“This is a classic example of big business putting profits over people,” claimed Chase. “While we’re pleased with the ruling, nothing will ever replace Jaklin’s loss. She’ll never walk again. She will forever be confined to a wheelchair. This is a tragedy that could easily have been avoided.”

Jurors awarded Jaklin $24.7 million in damages for serious and permanent personal injury, medical expenses, loss of past and future earnings, and lost earning capacity.

Yes, the automakers and the government continually hold up as a shining beacon the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-tration safety ratings under the agency’s revamped and updated 5-star safety ratings program.

The lawmakers and the auto industry will tell consumers how 24 passenger cars, 20 sport utility vehicles, two vans, and nine pickups will be rated under newer, tougher standards and sys-tems that not only include tougher crash tests, but now provides consumers with a single overall safety score per vehicle; alleg-edly a new and shiny improvement. The consumer does not need to bother looking at all that crash data; one magic government number tells you everything! The new testing program will also provide consumers with scant information about new advanced

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crash avoidance technologies, such as lane departure and for-ward collision warning systems.

Allegedly, new testing programs significantly and constantly raise the safety bar for all vehicle manufacturers, and will pro-vide consumers with a great deal more safety information about the cars and trucks they are considering buying

John Bisnar smiles with a ready retort. “Perhaps may be precisely the prime issue. The addition of cameras, buzzers and such fal-deral are simple technologies. They may claim to warn, but they do not protect. If the driver is distracted by the super sound system or all the “gee-wizardry” of the heads-up display and spacecraft complexity, they may not get that last second warning. And a short warning is all they actually receive before impact.”

Brian Chase continues. “The automakers and government enti-ties will attempt to shift the blame to the drivers, saying that as manufacturers, they created the warning system and any colli-sion is driver error. However, the error is in not fully protecting the vehicles occupants and depending on a cheap alarm bell to save the day.”

Several automakers have had very ‘high profile’ recalls of their products. There have been horrendous recounts of fatal colli-sions. Huge amounts of money have been paid out to grieving families. However, take careful note where the most money is paid out: Toyota voluntarily agreed to pay an additional $32.425 million in civil penalties as the result of two separate investi-gations into how the automaker handled its own various auto recalls. Toyota paid the maximum fines allowable under the law - $16.375 million in one case and $16.050 million in the other - in response to the Department’s assertion that it failed to comply with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act for reporting safety defects to NHTSA.

The government exacts millions and millions in fines from auto-makers and virtually every component producer involved, from

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tires to seat belts to brakes. And it is still not enough to persuade the automakers and their parts makers to make safety a priority.

Again, John Bisnar smiles and shakes his head in disbelief. “In other words, it always seems more expedient to automakers to pay a huge fine than to actually report a defect, take care of a flaw or fix the problem on their own recourse. It is a languishing old mentality that hopes with bated breath that the poorly-craft-ed parts produced simply hold on long enough not to become a major issue.”

And in the opinion of Brian Chase, just one little safety defect is a major issue when it seriously injures or kills someone or fails to prevent an injury or death when it should have.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/DOT-216-10

What are the primary weak areas in vehicles that have never been addressed? What should the consumer be very wary of in seeking any auto, SUV or truck? Brian Chase outlines the most egregious defects to consider along with significant cases he has handled:

1. Defective seat backs.Surprisingly, auto safety authority Brian Chase states em-phatically that when it comes to strength and structural integrity, driver and passenger seats are still as flimsy as a lawn chair, even though they can pass today’s minimum safety requirements.

During a crash, defective car seats break free from the floor, or defective seat backs flip down towards the rear compartment, causing restraint systems to fail and eject-ing occupants around the interior of the vehicle. The Bisnar|Chase law firm states many of its clients have been injured as a result of defective car seats, including the aforementioned Jaklin Romine – who was awarded $24.7 million after being rendered a quadriplegic when her defective seat back collapsed.

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2. Insufficient roof strength.Even after all the media stories about rollover crashes, today many vehicles still lack sufficient roof strength. Oc-cupants can still sustain major head and spinal cord inju-ries along with blunt force trauma during rollover crashes. A crushed car roof also negatively compromises the func-tionality of seatbelts and windows. This inevitably leads to passenger ejection resulting in catastrophic injuries and death.

Gloria Levesque, another Bisnar|Chase client was rendered a quadriplegic in a Ford Expedition rollover accident after the SUV’s substantially weak roof collapsed and crushed inward, causing her to sustain severe head and spinal cord injuries. The manufacturer settled that case.

3. Defective seat belts.Surprisingly, a large number of auto defects cases repre-sented by Bisnar|Chase involve seat belt malfunctions of one kind or another despite a number of touted restraint system advancements through the years. Seat belt defects include systems that are easily unlatched by flying objects or body parts during a crash. Other restraint systems are made with poorly designed webbing that loosens or tears in crashes. Still others become detached from their anchor points and mounts, causing injuries of their own to those they are supposed to protect.

In the Bisnar|Chase case of Joshua Newman, his defective seat belt gave way after he was hit by another car and his car crashed into a light pole. Joshua suffered a traumatic brain injury, chest trauma and heart failure. His passenger, whose seat belt did not fail, received minor injuries.

4. Defective windows.Windows serve more than simply keeping outside objects from entering a vehicle. They are also supposed to func-tion as safety elements, providing visibility, and a degree

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of protection by keeping vehicle occupants inside. What Bisnar|Chase attorneys have learned is that in certain ve-hicles, automakers have cut costs by using weak metal frameworks around windows – usually located around side and rear windows – and cheaper tempered glass that shatters more easily than laminated glass.

Michael Samardzich, yet another Bisnar|Chase client, was permanently blinded after flying shards of tempered glass pierced and ruptured his left eye in a crash involv-ing a GMC Yukon in which he was a passenger. Another Bisnar|Chase represented client, Carmen Todd, was killed in a GMC Yukon Denali rollover accident. The wrong-ful death case cited a malfunctioning and unsafe window design, among other defects, that allowed Carmen to be partially ejected from the vehicle.

6. Insufficient lateral and roll stability.Brian Chase emphatically points out the historical design flaws in higher profile vehicles like Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and trucks, coupled with the lack of mandatory Electronic Stability Control (ESC), have made certain ve-hicles far more susceptible to loss of steering control and loss of traction control, thus resulting in rollovers. While all 2012 model year vehicles are required to have ESC in the U.S., not all cars manufactured before 2012 were equipped with ESC – technology that was first introduced far back in 1987.

“Rollover crashes due to insufficient lateral and roll sta-bility are quite common,” commented Chase. As an auto defects expert and partner at Bisnar|Chase Personal In-jury Attorneys, LLP, he continually witnesses the tragic consequences of automaker’s shortcuts. “What’s shock-ing is the 25-year lapse in mandating a technology like ESC which has been proven to fully prevent one-third of the nation’s fatal car accidents. When it comes right down to it, safety features are usually a reluctantly-added ex-

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pense. What we’ve learned is that automakers simply care more about profitability than they do about protecting in-nocent motorists.”

One of the premier consumer advocacy law firms in the nation, Bisnar|Chase (BestAttorney.com) regularly represents people who have been very seriously injured or lost a family member due to a defective product, an accident or negligence. The firm specializes in catastrophic injury and wrongful death traffic col-lisions involving defective cars and/or negligent drivers.

Operating from their Newport Beach, CA offices, Bisnar|Chase lawyers have won a wide variety of auto defect cases against most of the major auto manufacturers, including Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Chrysler. Brian Chase, the firm’s lead trial attorney, is the author of the most up-to-date and comprehensive auto defect book available today, “Still Unsafe at Any Speed: Auto Defects that Cause Wrongful Deaths and Catastrophic In-juries.” The book is currently being updated to reflect the cur-rent automotive standards, attitudes, and issues. He is also the recipient of two Attorney of the Year awards from trial lawyer associations for his work representing injured people in auto de-fect cases – one in 2004 and the other in 2012.

For more information, visit Mr. Chase’s blog at: http://www.ProductDefectNews.com .

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About John

A month after starting law school in 1974, John Bisnar was seriously injured in a traffic collision by a negli-gent driver. He hired the only personal injury attorney he knew, one of his law school professors. His horrible experience as a client of the well-respected personal

injury attorney left Mr. Bisnar with a bad impression of attorneys.

“My attorney gave me no advice or direction. He didn’t care about my case or me. He didn’t return my calls or answer my questions. He didn’t fight for me and he outright lied to me,” says Mr. Bisnar.

As it turns out, Mr. Bisnar’s experience as a personal injury client shaped his professional carrier. “I vowed to provide people the type of client experi-ence that I wished I had received. People want an attorney they trust, who is passionate about their case and who gets results,” Mr. Bisnar emphatically states.

Since he started his law firm in 1978, thousands of people have trusted him with their case. Martindale-Hubbell, the most respected law firm rating service, has awarded his law firm, Bisnar|Chase its highest rating for ethical standards and professional ability. Their nearly $200 million in settlements and judgments with a 97% success rate spells “results.”

John is a nationally recognized expert on law firm marketing and manage-ment. He has been a featured speaker at lawyer seminars, workshops, and mastermind groups. “Your employees will not treat your clients any better than they are treated,” Mr. Bisnar teaches. It is no wonder that the Orange County Business Journal has named his law firm one of the “Best Places to Work.”

Mr. Bisnar was born and raised in Southern California. He is married, father of three and grandfather to one. He is an avid snow skier, scuba diver, or-ganic gardener and traveler.

He went to college on the G.I. Bill having served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He graduated with honors, earning a degree in Business/Finance and then earned a law degree at Pepperdine. John has the highest

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possible attorney rating awarded by the most consulted lawyer rating ser-vice, AVVO, which is “Superb 10 out of 10.”

John has a string of awards and honors such as being named:

• “Community Hero” by the Orange County United Way

• “Top Southern California Attorney” by L.A. Magazine

• “Top Orange County Lawyer” by Orange Coast Magazine

• “Super Lawyer” five years running by Super Lawyers

His law firm was included in Newsweek’s list of “The Best of LA Law” and featured in a number of television news exposés as experts in automobile defects that are causing catastrophic injuries.

John is the author of a book on personal injury claims, The Seven Fatal Mistakes, a co-author of the best-selling book Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, a contributing author of the State Bar of California’s book, How to Open and Manage a Law Firm and the author of hundreds of articles on the Internet.

The accolades Mr. Bisnar receives from clients are the ones he cherishes the most. For example, at the conclusion of a challenging case against a governmental agency, the parents of the brain-injured teenager called Mr. Bisnar, “the angel we prayed for.”

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About Brian

Brian D. Chase, Esq. was named a 2004 “Trial Law-yer of the Year” after an impressive string of success-ful product defect cases, Brian Chase was also named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the American Trial Lawyers Association. He is the Litigation Partner of the

BISNAR|CHASE Personal Injury Attorneys law firm headquartered in New-port Beach, California.

Mr. Chase has litigated dozens of jury trials, has obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and judgments and is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell. His law firm specializes in catastrophic injury cases caused by accidents and defective products, with a primary focus on defective automobiles.

Chase was lead attorney on three important, precedent-setting appellate opinions: Schreiber v. Estate of Kiser (a California Supreme Court case deal-ing with expert witness designations); Hernandez v. State of California (an appellate case from the Second Appellate District dealing with governmental design immunity); and Levesque v. Ford Motor Company (an auto products case dealing with Forum Non Conveniens).

In 2009, he was named a Top Lawyer in Orange County by OC Metro maga-zine. In 2010, he was named a Top 50 Orange County Super Lawyer by Orange Coast Magazine for the fourth consecutive year.

Chase is also a Vice President of the Consumer Attorneys of California and a past President of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association. He is a fre-quent lecturer on litigation-related topics in continuing education programs for trial lawyers.

His book Still Unsafe At Any Speed is the most comprehensive literary work on auto defects since Ralph Nader’s 1965 book of the same subject, Unsafe At Any Speed.

Chase is a graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, where he earned a JD degree and was associate editor of the Pepperdine Law Review. He currently resides with his two daughters in southern California.

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LitigAting BiCyCLe inJury And WrOngfuL deAth CAses

Chapter 2

Litigating BiCyCLe inJury and WrongfuL

death Cases

By Jason WaeChter, esq.

Some attorneys believe that handling a car accident case involv-ing a bicyclist is no different than a car-versus-car accident case. However, there are several significant nuances that the litigator representing an injured bicyclist must consider.

some statistiCs:

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported the follow-ing in regard to bicycle fatalities from 1975 to 2002. Some inter-esting highlights that are instructive include:

• 660 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2002. This is 9 percent fewer than in 2001 and down 34 percent since 1975.

• Bicycle deaths are most likely to occur in summer.

• Deaths are most likely to occur on Fridays and Satur-days. The peak time is 3-9 pm.

The rest of the data is based on the sole year of 1999:

• 98 percent of bicyclists killed reportedly weren’t wear-ing helmets.

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• Deaths of older bicyclists are an increasing problem. 71 percent of bicycle deaths were riders 16 years and older. This compares with 32 percent of bicycle deaths in 1975.

• Four states (California, Florida, New York, and Texas) accounted for 43 percent of bicycle deaths.

• More bicyclists were killed in urban areas than in rural areas (64 percent compared with 36 percent).

• 35 percent of bicycle deaths occurred at intersections.

• 57 percent of bicycle deaths occurred on major roads, and 37 percent occurred on local roads.

• 59 percent of bicycle deaths among children younger than 13 and 27 percent of adult bicycle deaths occur on minor roads. Adult bicyclists are more likely than chil-dren to be killed on major roads (67 percent compared with 38 percent).

More current data is available from the National Highway Traf-fic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) – Traffic Safety Facts 2007 Data: In 2007, 698 bicyclists were killed and an additional 44,000 were injured in traffic crashes.

BasiC BaCkground

As a starting point, a litigator should know that most state laws al-low a bicyclist to ride in any traffic lane, but require the bicyclist to stay as far to the right as possible. They require the bicyclist to obey traffic signals, not to ride more than two abreast in a single lane, and to ride in the same direction as the flow of traffic.

the negLigenCe Case

The civil-legal cause of action a bicyclist may have against a ve-hicle driver after a crash is that of negligence. It must be proven that the driver owed a duty to the bicyclist, that the duty was breached, that there were damages (injuries) and that the breach of the duty was a cause of the damages. A driver owes a duty to a bicyclist to act reasonably and follow the traffic laws. If he or

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she breaches that duty and hits a cyclist causing injury, the driver is responsible for the harm that he or she has caused.

Each state’s laws are a little different. Major differences between states affecting bicycle-versus-car-accident cases may depend on whether the state has a “No-Fault Insurance” law or an injury threshold requirement. No-Fault Insurance states do not require proof of fault or negligence to pay certain items (e.g. medical bills and wage loss). A threshold requirement may necessitate a certain level of injury for pain-and-suffering compensation (e.g. a permanent injury, a certain dollar amount in medical bills, a certain kind of injury, number of days disabled, etc.).

tiPs to Prove negLigenCe

The Rules: A litigation technique that has been recently popu-larized by Alaskan attorney Rick Friedman is called, “The Rules of the Road,” and it works well when handling a bicycle-versus-motor-vehicle crash. The technique plays on our life history of playing by and living by rules. The lawyer establishes rules for the conduct of the defendant and then shows how the defendant has broken them. In a bicycle-versus-motor-vehicle case, the rules are simple; they are the traffic laws.

The Driving Manual: States either have a Department of Motor Vehicles or Secretary of State that is in charge of testing drivers and issuing driver’s licenses. They all have driving manuals that explain the traffic laws and “Rules of the Road.” Visit your lo-cal licensing office to obtain copies of these materials. Find the sections in them that warn drivers to look for bicycles and how to drive when they are around.

Other “rules” I have found in Driving Manuals that can be de-veloped in these cases include the following:

Share the road: When driving, you share the road with pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles. Use extra care when sharing the road with bicycles... they are small and hard to see.

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Yield in certain situations: Before entering an intersec-tion always check cross traffic. Be prepared to stop and yield the right-of-way to a vehicle or bicycle coming from the left and right. When turning at an intersection, into a driveway, or pulling off the road, check for a bi-cyclist coming up from behind on the shoulder of the roadway or a bicycle lane... do not overtake a bicyclist and turn right unless it is safe to do so.

Use these rules in the defendant driver’s deposition. The defen-dant must agree to know the rules, and if he or she does not, the driver is exposed as being ignorant or lying. The jurors will be familiar with the driving manual, and they will conclude, them-selves, that the driver was negligent. This is much more power-ful than the lawyer “telling” the jurors so.

Common tyPes of BiCyCLe Crashes

Some of the common types of crashes that involve bicycles include:

Overtaking or passing crashes: When a car passes a bi-cyclist going the same direction, the driver of the car has a duty to do so in a reasonable manner which includes keeping a reasonable distance from the bicycle. In these cases, when the motorist fails to accept responsibility, I’ll simply ask in his deposition, “Well, in your opinion is it reasonable to hit a bicyclist as you pass her?”

Nighttime crashes: Crashes that occur at night can be a problem for the attorney representing the bicyclist. The defense attorney will argue that it is unreasonable for the bicyclist to be out after dark because it is difficult to see him. It is important to investigate the lights, reflectors, and clothing of the cyclist. Secure it, keep it and photograph it. Hiring a conspicuity expert may be helpful (see below).

Left turn at intersection: A car turning left at an inter-section hitting a bicyclist that is going straight is com-mon. The driver of the car has a duty to make sure traffic, including bicycles, is clear before making a left turn. The

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testimony of the parties involved and the witnesses will be important. A few specific factors to consider are: what color the light was for each person, the paths of travel, the location the bicyclist was within the intersection and lane as well as the conduct of the bicyclist.

Hit-and-run: Unfortunately, there are many situations where the driver of a motor vehicle causes a bicyclist to go down and fails to stop. Cowardly motorists have intentionally slapped bicyclists, thrown things out the window in the direction of the bicyclist, or brushed a bi-cyclist when passing. If the bicyclist is fortunate to get the license plate or ascertain the identity of the driver or vehicle, such outrageous acts of the vehicle driver may add to the value of the bicyclist’s case. In the case of a hit-and-run accident when the identity of the driver is unable to be determined, a bicyclist may be able to col-lect compensation, damages or benefits from their own motor-vehicle insurance policy, provided that they pur-chased uninsured motorist coverage. Further, the policy language would dictate what factual situations would be covered. For example, often there is a requirement that there has to be physical contact between the motor ve-hicle and the bicycle.

Dog vs. Bicycle: Bicyclists not only have to worry about the unreasonable conduct of motor vehicle drivers. They also may be confronted by dogs. The typical scenario in-volves a large dog running at or into the bicycle or actu-ally biting a bicyclist causing the bicycle to go down. Regardless of whether the injury is from the crash or an actual animal bite, you may be able to recover damages. The animal control department for the city of occurrence should make a report and deal with the dog and its owner. Calling the police will initiate the proper reporting and handling of the dog. Most homeowner’s policies of the dog owner will cover the claims of the bicyclist.

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The US Department of Transportation funded a study of the Uni-versity of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in cooperation with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Pro-fessionals. It is instructive as to the most frequent categories of crashes. The study focused on the year 1999, when there were 750 bicycling fatalities and 51,000 bicycling injuries resulting from traffic crashes in the United States. It gives a picture of the typical things we see today. Here are some interesting highlights:

• When the motorist and bicyclist were on initial parallel paths, either in the same direction or opposing directions, the three most frequent categories of crashes were:

- Motorist turning or merging into the path of a bicy-clist (12.1 percent of all crashes). Almost half (48.8 percent) of these crashes involved a motorist making a left turn in front of a bicyclist approaching from the opposite direction.

- Motorist overtaking a bicyclist (8.6 percent of all crashes). Of these crashes, 23 percent appeared to in-volve a motorist who misjudged the space required to safely pass the bicyclist.

- Bicyclist turning or merging into the path of a motorist (7.3 percent of all crashes). Within this category, 60 percent involved a bicyclist making a left turn in front of a motorist traveling in the same direction.

• When the motorist and bicyclist were on initial crossing paths, the three most frequent categories of crashes were:

- Motorist failed to yield right-of-way at a junction (21.7 percent of all crashes). Of these crashes, more than a third (37.3 percent) involved a motorist violat-ing the sign or signal and drove into the crosswalk or intersection and struck the bicyclist.

- Bicyclist failed to yield right-of-way at an intersec-tion (16.8 percent of all crashes). Within this category, 38 percent involved a bicyclist who had stopped for a

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sign or flashing signal and then drove into the inter-section and was struck by the motor vehicle.

- Bicyclist failed to yield right-of-way at a midblock location (11.7 percent of all crashes). Almost half of these crashes (43.4 percent) involved a bicyclist rid-ing out into the roadway from a residential driveway.

defenses

“Bicycles are hard to see” and “I never saw him” are themes a bicycle lawyer regularly confronts. I recommend always includ-ing on your witness list, and potentially hiring, conspicuity and/or human factors experts. Conspicuity is the property of being clearly discernible. A human factors expert can testify as to how visible something is. Great trial lawyers anticipate and answer unspoken jurors’ questions, even the ones that do not involve elements of the case. For example, in deliberations, a juror who believed the bicyclist was hard to see, may argue that the bicy-clist should be paid less money.

Another expert who may be needed is an accident reconstruc-tionist. However, be aware that not all accident reconstruction-ists are extensively qualified to handle bicycle crashes. Some experts may not be qualified to conduct an investigation, recon-struct the accident, give opinions or be qualified to testify in court. Be sure that your expert has extensive experience, has taken coursework specific to bicycle accidents, and has recon-structed many bicycle-versus-motor-vehicle crashes. Motor-cycle and bicycle accidents involve differences in skid marks, debris patterns, yaw marks, and environmental factors.

Common inJuries from BiCyCLe Crashes

The injuries from bicycle-versus-motor-vehicle crashes range from minor abrasions to a traumatic brain injury and even death. The attorney representing the bicyclist should be well-versed in the many different types of fractures a bicyclist may suffer and the appropriate revision surgeries required, as well as the differ-

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ent types of skin injuries; abrasions, road rash, lacerations and the scarring that forms (e.g. keloid scarring, hyperpigmentation, revision plastic surgery). Head injuries can be very complex, requiring expert diagnosis and treatment.

PreJudiCe and Bias

Prejudices and biases exist toward bicyclists who ride on the roads. The investigating police officer, the insurance adjuster, the judge, and the jurors may all have a preconceived belief that bicyclists should not be riding on the roads and that they assume the risk of getting hit by a car if they do. In dealing with a biased police offi-cer, the attorney can attempt to reveal the prejudice through depo-sition or trial testimony. With a biased insurance adjuster, you can remind him or her that a bicyclist has the same rights as any other motorist, and ask him or her to agree to that premise.

There exist special trial considerations for jurors, which include potential bias or prejudice against a bicyclist. During jury selec-tion, it is important to expose this. An excellent technique taught by trial consultant David Ball can be applied here. I recommend asking, “Some folks believe that a bicyclist on the roadway is plainly visible and has all rights that a driver of a car has, while other people, like my uncle, believe a bicyclist on the roadway is a pest, should not be allowed on the road, is a hazard and getting hit comes with the territory. Are your beliefs closer to the first group of people or to that of my uncle?”

This chapter addressed just some of the information and issues a lawyer should know and be prepared for when handling a bi-cycle injury case. As all attorneys have heard at one time from a law professor or mentor—preparation is a key to a successful outcome in litigating any case. Prosecuting a civil bicycle injury suit is no exception.

CAVEAT: This article conveys a basic explanation of some of the law. The law is very fact specific. There are many nuisances and each state’s laws are different. Therefore, everything cannot be explained in these pages. Do not rely on this article to protect your rights. Please contact an attorney who specializes in this area. There are time limits for all claims.

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About Jason

Attorney Jason A. Waechter is a Michigan attorney specializing in the area of motor vehicle and personal injury litigation. Mr. Waechter has collected millions of dollars in settlements, awards and verdicts for his cli-ents over the past 20 years. He is a million dollar win-

ning attorney with a recent $2,000,000 jury verdict.

Mr. Waechter is on the board of directors and a member of Michigan As-sociation for Justice (MAJ) and a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Jason was honored to be the only civil trial lawyer chosen to be on the curriculum committee for a special educational program for sitting judges by The National Judicial College which took place at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C.

Jason Waechter has received many honors and awards throughout his ca-reer including:

• Chosen to the Michigan Super Lawyers®

• Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum

• Rated a Top 100 Trial Lawyer

Mr. Waechter’s main office consists of 4 attorneys and is located in Southfield, MI with other locations in Detroit, Macomb, Flint, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jason prides himself on handling and returning all calls personally as well as giving free advice to all callers. The firm accepts injury cases on a contingency basis - meaning there are no attorney fees unless money is recovered.

Contact Information:Jason A. Waechter, Esq.The Law Offices of Jason A. Waechter, a National Firm19080 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48075www.dogbitelawyersusa.com & [email protected] 1-800-708-5433 (248) 355-4701

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A COnsumer guide tO finding the right LAWyer fOr yOur CAse every time

Chapter 3

a Consumer guide to finding the right

LaWyer for your Case every time

– How to Find the Right Lawyer for Your Case Every Time

By Ben Glass, esq.

The book you are reading is filled with great lessons from some pretty good lawyers. Believe it not, most lawyers truly hope that you won’t need them. That’s because it’s usually an unforeseen problem that arises in your life that requires you to seek legal help. Not many people say to themselves, “I’m having a great day, I think I’ll go hire an attorney.”

Unfortunately, if the need arises you usually find yourself needing quick answers from a qualified lawyer to help you solve your problem. If you don’t personally know an attor-ney you may find yourself asking these questions:

• How come all the lawyer ads say basically the same thing?

• Is there any way to tell a good lawyer from a bad one?

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• What does “free consultation” really mean?

• Do words like “Best Lawyers” or “Top-Rated” mean anything?

• Are there any lawyer rating agencies or websites that give reliable information?

There is no doubt that it can be tough to work through the clut-ter to find the right lawyer for your case, but I promise it can be done. After all, headlines like this aren’t really useful, are they?

“Major Accidents Only”

“Settlements in 30 Days!”

“No Office Appointment—No Court”

“Cash for Your Pain”

“100 Years’ Combined Experience”

“Quick Settlement of Your Injury Case”

“Aggressive Legal Representation”

“Legal Help for the Seriously Injured”

“We’ll Refer You to the Right Doctor”

“If You Have a Phone, You Have a Lawyer”

“We’re the Law Firm that Cares About You”

“Aggressive, Experienced, Compassionate”

“No Recovery - No Fee”

“Free Consultation”

“Member of Million Dollar Roundtable”

“The Law is my Profession”

“AV-Rated”

“Highest Rated”

“Fighting for Justice in an Unjust World”

“We Will Fight For You”

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“Biggest Verdict in the City”

“$5,000,000 Recovery In Car Wreck Case”

“Full Service Law Firm”

Ok, lets get started down the path of finding the right lawyer for your case, every time. Let’s start with the myths.

(i) What you may have heard aBout LaWyers and LaWyer advertising

• All lawyers have basically the same training.

• The bar association determines whether a lawyer can ad-vertise that he is a “divorce lawyer” or a “personal injury specialist.”

• All lawyers go to trial.

• All lawyers have basically the same experience.

• A lawyer who is good at DWI cases will be good at per-sonal injury cases.

• All lawyers carry legal malpractice insurance.

• If a lawyer advertises that he accepts certain types of cas-es, he actually has experience with those types of cases.

• A lawyer who advertises will actually be the lawyer han-dling your case.

• A “lawyer referral service” is a good way to find the right lawyer for your case.

• Lawyers who advertise on TV must be super-successful, otherwise they couldn’t afford to pay for the ads.

• Lawyers at “Internet Find-A-Lawyer” directory sites are carefully screened for qualifications.

• Choosing an attorney from the local “Best Lawyers of the City” guide is a good method of finding the right lawyer for your case.

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(ii) disPeLLing the myths: the truth aBout

LaWyers and LaWyer advertising

• Not all lawyers have the same training. Warren Burger, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, once warned, “A lawyer is not qualified, simply by virtue of admission to the bar, to be an advocate in trial courts for matters of serious consequence.” Many lawyers continue their pro-fessional training throughout their careers, but for some, the last time they learned anything new about their craft was in law school.

• The bar association does not determine whether a lawyer can advertise that he is a “divorce lawyer” or a “personal injury specialist.” There are virtually no restrictions on the types of law for which a lawyer may advertise. Once an attorney graduates from law school, he or she is allowed to handle virtually any case.

• Not all lawyers go to trial; some who advertise for per-sonal injury or medical malpractice cases have never gone to trial.

• Not all lawyers have basically the same experience. This may seem obvious, but many people (and some lawyers) think “a lawyer is a lawyer is a lawyer.

• A lawyer who is good at DWI cases won’t necessarily be good at personal injury cases—while this may have been true in the “old days,” today the practice of both DWI and personal injury cases is highly specialized. The same goes for just about every other type of law.

• Not all lawyers carry legal malpractice insurance. In most states, it is perfectly legal for a lawyer not to purchase mal-practice insurance. Shockingly, they are not required to tell you who they are! You must ask for this information.

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• The fact that a lawyer advertises that he accepts certain types of cases does not necessarily mean that he actually has experience with those types of cases. Again, there are no strict rules against advertising for cases about which you have no experience. Not all lawyers who advertise on TV for malpractice cases, for example, have real experi-ence handling a malpractice case. Sometimes a local law-yer’s advertising will actually be funded by another out-of-state law firm. The local firm will then refer your case to the out-of-state firm for handling. What do they expect to get for this? A big, fat referral fee.

• A “lawyer referral service” is not necessarily a good way to find the right lawyer for your case. Lawyers pay to be on these lists and no one checks to see whether the lawyer has experience in your legal matter.

• Massive TV and radio advertising is not necessarily a sign of success. Some lawyers run a “volume practice,” hoping to make a little money off each case—usually by settling most, if not all, of the cases. Shockingly, in some offices paralegals handle virtually the entire case. The only time you see the lawyer may be if his face is on the TV, bill-board or his website.

• Most Internet lawyer directories are nothing more than an-other advertising media. Lawyers are solicited daily to pay big bucks to have an “exclusive listing” as a personal in-jury specialist in a particular city. The big check they mail to be included is sometimes their only “qualification.”

• The local magazine, “Best Lawyers” listing may not in-clude the best lawyers in the area. It might have only those lawyers who returned the forms and the “winners” might be ones who where able to convince their friends to vote.

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(iii) hoW to deveLoP and use a system to find the right LaWyer for you

step one: start to Learn about your Legal ProblemIn the old days, the law was pretty much a secret. The ONLY way you could get your questions answered was to talk to a lawyer.

Not anymore. Now, with high speed Internet everywhere (includ-ing on your cell phone), there is no longer any excuse for anyone not to get a basic understanding about their legal problem.

• Search the Internet for FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Ques-tions) about your legal problem.

• Visit lawyer web sites.

• Watch the informational videos (not the ads) on YouTube.

• Visit other legal web sites.

Now remember, I am not saying that all this information and ad-vice you find on the Internet is any good, but all you are doing at this point is collecting information—finding out “what ballpark you are playing in”—even before you talk to a lawyer. Some of the information you find may be flat out wrong—that’s why you visit lots of sites. Obviously, it would be foolish to rely on infor-mation you find at any one web site. The purpose here is simply to move you along the path of knowledge so that you can make an informed decision about which lawyer to hire.

Next, take a visit to the library. Remember the library? I visit the library regularly. It is a fantastic resource of free information. Even though we have the Internet, there is nothing like a good old-fash-ioned book to start you on the right course. Every city has one!

step two: gather names of Potential attorneysHere are your sources of information. Remember, you are still in the information-gathering process.

Think about your problem. What have you learned about your type of case? Now, can you summarize your problem in 20

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words or less? “I was in a car accident.” “I am having a problem with a tenant.” “I would like to start an at-home business.” “My child was arrested for DWI.”

Do you personally know any lawyers in your area? They will be a good source of names. Even if your legal need is in another state, ask the lawyer you know first. He or she will probably be able to either refer you to a set of names in the other state or give you the name of someone who can.

Do you know anyone who has used a lawyer? At least then, when you call that lawyer, you can say that, “Mary gave me your name and I am looking for a lawyer who handles XYZ type of case.”

Peruse the Internet. Do a search for [type of case] in [city or state]. Don’t bother just typing in “personal injury attorney”; that will return thousands of entries, most from geographical areas far from you. Rather, type in “auto accident attorney in Fairfax, Virginia” or “divorce attorney in Richmond, Virginia.”

Look for lawyers who advertise only one or two closely related specialties. Generally, a lawyer who specializes will be better than getting a “jack-of-all-trades” type of firm or lawyer. Today the law has become more complex than ever before. Most law-yers now specialize in just a few related legal areas. For exam-ple, a lawyer who specializes in wills and estate planning may also specialize in elder law planning. A DWI lawyer may handle shoplifting cases. A medical malpractice attorney may handle other personal injury cases. Those ads that proclaim a long list of “specialties” or types of cases are not very helpful, are they?

Yes, you can even write down the name of the lawyers you see on TV. You can’t judge a lawyer by the media they use to ad-vertise. While, frankly, some firms that advertise on TV are run-ning high volume “we-take-everything” type practices, there are some good, skilled and reputable attorneys advertising on TV.

Big Mistake: Some People Put More Time and Effort Into Buy-ing a Sofa Than into Choosing a Lawyer

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step three: Call and ask for an information Package(And run the other way if they don’t have one)Call and ask for the firm’s information package. Ask them to mail you any books, free reports, CD’s or DVD’s that they have produced for your type of case. Just like buying a high-priced consumer product, you are usually better off doing all of your initial research in the comfort of your own home. You don’t want to be subjected to any high pressure sales tactics, do you? Most lawyers offer free initial consultations in a variety of cases and flat fee or reduced rates for an initial consultation in other areas. That probably is not the most efficient way of getting informa-tion. Ask them to send you anything they would like you to read that would convince you to hire them as your attorneys. Remem-ber, while there are time limits for filing suit, in most cases you have time to research your attorney in the comfort of your own home, on your own time. (I told you this was work, didn’t I?)

Hint: Beware of any lawyer who phones you first, or has some-one else directly solicit you in person after you have been in-jured. In-person solicitation by a lawyer (or someone represent-ing a law firm) who does not have a prior relationship with you is universally condemned.

Some lawyers may contact you by mail after you have been in an accident. No problem with that. You can just throw the let-ters away if you want. But the better practice (remember, we are gathering information) may be to call them up on the phone and ask them to mail you their information packages. If they say, “The only way to get this information is to come in,” all you have to do is hang up.

After you have done your preliminary homework, narrow your search to 3-5 lawyers who appear to be experienced with your legal problem, make an appointment and interview them. There is no substitute for an in-person interview. No matter how expe-rienced or successful they are, you have to feel comfortable with them. You have to trust them. Many will meet you in your home if you cannot travel to the office.

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step four: now that you have arranged an in-Person interview, ask the right Questions Remember, the best and most experienced attorneys usually have a line of people begging to hire them. They are usually very selective in the types of cases they will handle and turn away many more than they accept. They will not be insulted or put off by these questions. Rather, they will welcome them, because it shows you are taking steps to educate yourself. We’d all much rather represent someone who does this than gets wacky advice from their cousin or neighbor.

1. How many years have you been in practice?

2. Do you have actual experience handling my type of case?

3. Where can I read about your other cases?

4. What is the hardest part about my case?

5. Do you have a track record of success in cases like mine?

6. Are you Board certified?

7. Are you listed in Best Lawyers in America®? (BestLawyers.com)

8. What is your Avvo.com rating?

9. Do you carry malpractice insurance?

10. Are you listed in SuperLawyers? (SuperLawyers.com)

11. What is the process for handling my case?

12. Who in your office will be working on my case?

13. How will you keep me informed about my case?

14. What is my case worth? (This is actually a trick question. No lawyer can tell you how much your case is worth without a thorough investigation and analysis of all of the facts and circumstances of your. If a lawyer promises you a value on that first consultation, run.

15. Can I take a copy of the written fee agreement home with me to study? (There is no “standard” fee and no standard fee

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agreement. Do not assume that if you have seen one, you have seen them all.)

16. If you are looking for an injury, disability or malpractice attorney, ask, “Do you spend at least 90% of your time rep-resenting individuals against insurance companies in injury, disability and malpractice cases?”3

17. What is your Martindale-Hubbell® rating? “AV Preeminent” is the highest rating. According to Martindale-Hubbell, peer ratings are “An objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethi-cal standards and professional ability.” AV Preeminent is “a testament to the fact that a Lawyer’s peers rank him/her at the highest level of professional excellence.

18. Have you published any articles, guides or books for con-sumers or other attorneys?

And The Best Question of All:

19. What other local attorney would you trust to handle my case?

This is a great question because the names you see coming up time and time again when you ask this question are as close to a “sure bet” to be the right lawyer as you can get!

All good, competent, honest attorneys will freely share their in-formation with you. These are the attorneys who have as much (or more) work than they can handle. If they won’t give you any other names – leave! It just may be a huge warning sign that they are starving for business—not a good sign.

step five: rank the information in terms of importanceWhile you certainly would get a range of opinions on what is “most important” about hiring a lawyer, our clients tell us that most probably rank order the qualifications this way:

1. Consistent results in the past: Yes, “past results are no guarantee of future results,” but the lack of consistent re-sults in the past would be a warning sign. Yes, we all lose cases we probably should have won (and we’ve won cases

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we probably should have lost), but the lack of a track re-cord of quality results is a deal breaker for most people. Don’t accept the excuse that “this is all confidential and we aren’t supposed to talk about past results.” This simply is not true. Each week, the legal newspapers publish settle-ments and verdicts. Many lawyers also have this informa-tion on their web sites.

2. Experience: Simply put, the longer you have been doing anything, the better you probably are at doing it.

3. Board Certification: You wouldn’t let a doctor who was not board certified operate on you, would you?

4. Recognition in: Best Lawyers in America and Super Law-yers together with a “superb” rating from Avvo and a “pre-eminent” designation from Martindale-Hubbell.

Don’t be afraid to ask about results. Yes, each case is different and the past does not predict the future, but the lack of a track record of significant results should at least prompt you to ask more questions.

(iv) What does it mean When a LaWyer is Board Certified, Listed in Best LaWyers

in ameriCa® or is highest rated?

Board Certification—National Board of Trial Advocacy—We know that many doctors are “board certified,” but did you know that there is a national certification process for lawyers?

The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) certifies law-yers in a variety of specialties, including civil litigation. Accord-ing to the National Board of Trial Advocacy, “No such mecha-nism existed for certifying lawyers prior to 1977.” The NBTA is “dedicated to bettering the quality of trial advocacy in our nation’s courtrooms and assisting the consumer of legal services in finding experienced and highly qualified trial lawyers.”

The NBTA is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) to certify lawyers in the specialty areas of civil, criminal,

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and family law trial advocacy. The NBTA went through a rigor-ous application process wherein panels were chosen by the ABA Standing Committee on Specialization to evaluate each aspect of NBTA’s structure.

Board certification by the nBta requires that an attorney:

• Be in good standing

• Concentrate in the specialty of trial advocacy (i.e., they actually goes to court)

• Submit a writing sample

• Has participated in at least 45 hours of continuing legal education in the last three years

• Provide references from three judges and three attorneys familiar with his courtroom abilities

• Has been lead counsel in a substantial number of trials taken to verdict or judgment

• Has been lead counsel in at least 40 contested matters in-volving the taking of evidence, such as hearings, motions or depositions

• Pass a trial technique evidence and ethics essay exam that lasts six hours

The United States Supreme Court said this about Board Certifi-cation of Attorneys:

There is no dispute about the bona fides and the relevance of National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) certifica-tion. The [Attorney Registration and Disciplinary] Com-mission’s concern about the possibility of deception in hypothetical cases is not sufficient to rebut the constitu-tional presumption favoring disclosure over concealment. Disclosure of information such as that on petitioner’s let-terhead both serves the public interest and encourages the development and utilization of meritorious certification programs for attorneys.

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To find a Board Certified Lawyer in your area, go to: FindaBoardCertifiedLawyer.com

avvo - the Consumer’s friend

Once the internet began to explode with Lawyer websites it didn’t take long for consumers to report feeling overwhelmed. As other independent agencies began to develop rating systems for goods and services (think “consumer reports”). A few entre-preneurs began thinking about developing a similar system for Lawyers.

In my opinion, Avvo.com has made its way to the top as the most dependable rating site for lawyers.

According to its creators, an Avvo rating is calculated using a “mathematical model that considers the information shown in a lawyer’s profile, including the lawyer’s years in practice, disciplin-ary history, professional achievements and industry regulation.”

I agree with these statements that can be found at Avvo’s website about why Avvo can help you find the right lawyer.

• It’s unbiased.

• There’s no favoritism.

• It’s developed by legal experts for non-legal experts.

• It’s easy to understand.

To watch a short video and start your search on Avvo, go to: HighestRatedLawyer.com

Best LaWyers in ameriCa— high reCognition By Peers

“The Best Lawyers in America” has been published biannually since 1983. You can’t pay to get in. It’s not like those guides you used to get when you graduated from college. (Who’s Who, I think it was called.) You must be nominated by someone who is already a member. They call you—you don’t call them.

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According to its publisher, it is widely regarded as the preemi-nent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. The Best Lawyers list represents 135 practice areas in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The lists are compiled through an exhaustive peer review survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the United States confidentially evaluate their profes-sional peers. The 18th Edition of Best Lawyers (2005) is based upon 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other law-yers. According to the publisher, this referral guide is subscribed to by more than 4,000 of the leading law firms in the United States and abroad and by more than 1,000 of the world’s largest corporations.

The publisher says, “Best Lawyers has gained the respect of the legal profession, the media, and clients as the most reliable, un-biased source of legal referrals anywhere.”

I would say that Best Lawyers is one more source that you can use to find the best lawyer for your case. That doesn’t mean that every lawyer who has been accepted by that publication is the right lawyer for you. Every case and every client is different.

Want to watch a short video and check to see if a lawyer is listed in Best Lawyers in America? Go to: www.SearchforBestLawyers.com

martindaLe-huBBeLL’s® “av Preeminent” rating

What does it mean when a lawyer says they have the “highest rating” or are “AV Preeminent” rated? Usually this is a refer-ence to the Martindale-Hubbell directory of attorneys. Martin-dale-Hubbell® is a comprehensive guide to attorneys. This pub-lication contains ratings of attorneys. No one can pay for a high rating.

According to Martindale-Hubbell, the rating process is typically initiated by it in five-year intervals after admission to the Bar.

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That company requests confidential opinions from other mem-bers of the Bar, including those who are rated and those who are not. In addition, judges are queried. On average, Martindale-Hubbell contacts more than 400,000 individuals to establish or confirm ratings for over 115,000 attorneys each year.

Lawyers rated in Martindale-Hubbell are rated on both legal ability and general ethical standards. The legal ability rating takes into consideration legal knowledge, analytical capabili-ties, judgment, experience, and the standard of ability for the area in which the lawyer practices. The legal ability ratings are: AV Preeminent; BV Distinguished; and Rated. The general ethi-cal standards rating covers adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence, and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities. The general ethical standards rating is V—Very high.

Thus, an attorney who advertises that he or she is “AV Preemi-nent,” has been judged by his peers to rank at the highest level of professional excellence.

It is important to note that Martindale-Hubbell® says that the absence of a rating should not be construed unfavorably. There are a variety of reasons why an attorney may not have a rating.

To watch a short video and start your search for a preeminent attorney, go to: www.FindPreeminentLawyers.com

(v) Just What are those ads reaLLy saying?

Before I finish with this chapter, I’ll explain some of the things that you may see in lawyer advertising. It is important to be able to “read” the ads in order to know what may be important and what is meaningless.

• “No Fee if No Recovery”— Generally, this means that there will be no attorney fee payable to the attorney if your case is not settled or won. This does not mean that there will be no fees at all. There are many costs involved in a case, from

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filing fees to expert witness fees. You should discuss with your attorney what happens to the fees and costs if your case is lost.

• “Free Initial Consultation”— Offered by almost 100% of personal injury, medical malpractice and workers’ compen-sation attorneys. Standard practice. May take place in per-son or over the phone. Nothing wrong with a free consulta-tion, Use the information in this book to become educated before calling for that free consultation.

• Member of “Million Dollar Roundtable” or “Million Dollar Advocate” Club— Technically means that the attorney has settled or won a case for $1 million or more sometime in his life. Remember, though, that one way to get a million dollars in a case is to screw up a $5 million case. It is consistent results, not one lucky result, that count.

• The “Best Civil Lawyer in XYZ County”— An unethical and meaningless statement, since no one can prove this statement, even if it refers to a “poll” of local residents. (By the way, how about those “Best Lawyers in XYZ County” articles you see in local publications? Two quick points: (1) I’ve seen instances of “ballot stuffing” by lawyers. They reach out to their “Facebook Friends” to get them to go to a website to vote. Not exactly scientific, is it? (2) Many of the local “Best of” magazine articles are used to sell ad-vertising and award plaques to lawyers. I’ve seen instances where great lawyers were nowhere to be found on these lists and other times where lawyers where listed as “Best” in practice area where they don’t actually practice. This is nowhere near the rigorous rating process that is found at Avvo, Best Lawyers and Martindale Hubbell.)

• “28 Years’ Combined Experience”— Meaningless. There could be seven lawyers in the firm, each with four years’ experience, and none with any experience with your case. Even mediocre lawyers can stay in the game a long time. (Kirk Gibson spent 17 years in major league baseball, nev-

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er played in the All-Star Game! You need to ask the right questions.)

• “Former prosecutor” – Might be important if you are charged with a crime.

• Member of the American Bar Association— Meaningless. All it takes is a check.

• “Former Judge”— Meaningless. And, if used to suggest that the lawyer has influence over current judges, highly unethical.

• “Largest Verdict in The City”— May be important, may be meaningless. You need to ask questions. Usually con-sidered unethical to state this without an appropriate dis-claimer. Remember, consistent results matter.

• “We come to you”— Meaningless. Everyone does this for the right case, but no one does it for every case. (Although there have been firms known to send a courier right over – with a contract for you to sign. Anyone who signs an at-torney contract or fee agreement without having personally met the attorney and asking the right questions, has only himself to blame.)

• “Experienced, Aggressive, Compassionate, We Care About You, We’ll Fight For You”— Give me a break. Isn’t this what you expect your lawyer to say and do for you?

• “You May Be Entitled to Cash for Your Pain”— Ridicu-lous. Makes it sound like this is a Lawsuit Lottery or that you are “lucky” to have been injured.

• “Quick Settlements in 30 Days”— Ridiculous. If your case is so small that it can be settled in 30 days, then do it your-self and save the 1/3 fee!

There you have it: a system for finding the right lawyer for your case every time.

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About Ben

Benjamin W. Glass, III is a nationally recognized board certified personal injury, medical malpractice and dis-ability insurance attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. He gradu-ated from George Mason University School of Law in 1983 and has devoted his career to representing

individuals against the insurance companies.

Mr. Glass is a much sought after speaker and author and has been fea tured in or quoted by TRIAL magazine, The Washington Post, Wash ington Post Magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, ABC News Online, Wall Street Journal and “The Next Big Thing” Radio Show. Mr. Glass has been interviewed on television, including the stations, ABC, NBC, Fox and Cox, as well as the show, “Leading Experts TV.”

Mr. Glass is the author of over ten books including his controversial book The Truth About Lawyer Advertising (available on Amazon.com). His best-selling consumer books include:

Robbery Without A Gun –Why Your Employer’s Long-Term Disabil ity Policy May be a Sham (RobberyWithoutAGun.com)

Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim (TheAccident Book.com)

Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime (TheMalpracticeBook.com) Don’t Gamble With Your Social Se curity Disability Benefits: What Every Virginia Resident Needs to Know To Win Their Social Security Disability Case (TheSocialSecu rityBook.com)

The Truth About Lawyer Advertising (TheTruthAboutLawyerAdvertising.com)

The Ultimate Success Secret (Ultimate-Success-Secret.com)

Carry Your Own Leash: The Entrepreneurs Guide to Autonomy and Success (CarryYourOwnLeash.com)

Follow Ben Glass on Facebook at Facebook.com/LiveLifeVeryBig and on Twitter at Twitter.com/BenGlass

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Chapter 4

the ContingenCy fee: LeveLing the PLaying

fieLd BetWeen the Consumer and

the CorPoration

By Jonas K. seiGel, esq.

The greatest consumer protection is not a law passed by Con-gress; it is not a decision from our Supreme Court – it is the contingency agreement. A contingency fee agreement allows the consumer to retain an attorney with no money “upfront.” The attorney is paid a share of any recovery assuming that there is a recovery. If there is no recovery, there is no fee due to the at-torney. The share in the recovery is a percentage, generally rang-ing between 33% and 45% depending on the state’s laws. The contingency fee agreement generally provides for the attorney to advance the costs necessary for the investigation and prosecu-tion of the case.

How else can an ordinary consumer compete with a multi-billion dollar insurance company? How else can a citizen hire an attorney to fight a large corporation with in-house counsel or law firms on retainer? The contingency fee agreement is the answer. It is the great equalizer – the number one protection for the consumer.

the COntingenCy fee: LeveLing the PLAying fieLd

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The agreement provides access to the courts for the little man, for the poor, for those who would otherwise not be able to hire an attorney on an hourly basis, pay a large retainer and advance the costs necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of the claim. In addition to investigation expenses, there are also costly expens-es for exhibits and reports, as well as testimony of expert witness-es at depositions and trial. Who among us is financially prepared for such expenses? The injured consumer, often out of work due to his or her injury, has enough difficulty paying medical bills and putting food on his family’s table. Paying fees and advancing ex-penses are simply out of reach for the average consumer.

Today, the contingency fee is now part of the American system of justice. It is not only the greatest consumer protection, but also one of the first. It was however, not always so. The contin-gency fee agreement in America can be found as early as colo-nial times. Although the American system of justice is derived from English law, the contingency fee did not exist in England. It is unique to American law and probably due to the fact that the young country was formed as a democracy.

By the nineteenth century, the contingency fee was sanctioned in most states. Such eminent lawyers as Daniel Webster provided their services on a contingency fee basis. It did however have its opponents. The railroad and large corporations, not wanting to be sued by injured citizens, backed the opposition to the con-tingency fee agreement on the grounds that English law did not allow lawyers to represent clients on a contingency basis. Thus there was a legal battle in each state whether or not to approve the contingency fee.

One by one however, state courts and legislatures approved the contingency fee “as useful and convenient where one has a just demand, which he is unable from poverty to enforce” (Massa-chusetts Supreme Court, 1823). By the mid-nineteenth century, the contingency fee agreement was widely accepted throughout the country. “It is not uncommon that attorneys commence ac-tions for poor people and make advances of money necessary

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for the prosecution of the suit. Thus a man in indigent circum-stances is enabled to obtain justice in cases where, without such aid, he would be unable to enforce a just claim”(New Hampshire Supreme Court, 1862).

Thankfully, this greatest consumer protection is applied on a daily basis throughout the United States. An example of its ap-plication is the Rose case.

Let me introduce you to Maggie Rose. A former client of the firm brought Maggie to meet me one hot summer day. Maggie had lost her husband Randy in a motorcycle accident. She and her deceased husband had two young boys, aged six and eight. The sudden death was recent and the family was in deep grief. Besides coming to grips with their loss, the family was faced with immediate financial issues. Although Randy had been em-ployed, there was no health or life insurance coverage. To make matters worse, because Randy was riding a motorcycle, he was not entitled to any medical coverage under the motor vehicle insurance policy. In addition to the normal everyday bills, hos-pital and funeral bills began arriving. This family that had barely managed to make ends meet when Randy was alive, had now lost its breadwinner. Faced with overwhelming bills and no in-come, Maggie was forced to set aside her pride, and lean on family and friends for financial support while searching for em-ployment. But how long could the family survive like this? How long could she and the boys go on?

She had considered consulting with a lawyer, but the police had told her that the accident was her husband’s fault. When she ob-tained the police report, it confirmed what the police had told her: when riding his motorcycle, Randy had “rear-ended” an automobile as it was stopped to back into a parking space on a main road in a commercial area. There were no witnesses to the accident. When the police arrived on the scene, Randy was too injured to give a statement. He was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where he lived for five days, never regaining consciousness. The only person interviewed by the police was

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the driver of the automobile who described how he was hit in the rear while stopped to back into a parking space. With fault attributed to Randy, the other vehicle would not be liable to pay any compensation to Randy’s family.

Could I help, she wanted to know. I read the police report close-ly. It was only five lines long. Randy had indeed “rear-ended” an automobile and was deemed by the investigating officer to be 100% liable for causing the accident. An open-and-shut case against Randy. Although I felt very sorry for Maggie and her sons, the deck seemed stacked against them. With Randy at fault, there would be no compensation. Then came the “hook.”

“I always feared that Randy would someday die in a motorcycle accident,” Maggie explained. She candidly admitted that Randy often drove his motorcycle too fast – but always in the country, never in a populated area. “Something is wrong, very wrong,” Maggie protested. “Randy had been riding a motorcycle his en-tire life. He was too good of a rider to run into the rear of a car that was parking. “Can you help me?” She asked again and again. “Can you help me and my boys?”

What to do? On one hand the police report was clear-cut. On the other hand, I had a distraught widow who knew her husband and knew that he was a better motorcyclist than the police gave him credit. Without a contingency fee agreement, the case would have ended at our first meeting. Maggie was having difficulty support-ing her family without the earnings of her husband. She now had medical and funeral expenses to boot. She was certainly not fi-nancially prepared to retain an attorney and advance investigation expenses. It would be like throwing good money after bad.

Every attorney, and especially those of us who represent consum-ers, wants to help. Realizing the enormity of her plight and how adamantly she disbelieved the official police version, I accepted to investigate Randy’s case under a contingency fee agreement.

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The first thing my firm did was hire an independent private in-vestigator who was familiar with the area, having previously worked for law enforcement in the county where the accident occurred. No limits were placed on his work. He was instruct-ed to perform a complete and thorough investigation. He can-vassed the area at the same time of the day in which the ac-cident took place, asking anyone that he came across whether they had witnessed the accident. Unfortunately, he found no wit-nesses. But in speaking with the manager of the very shop that the automobile driver was visiting, he learned that the building was equipped with surveillance cameras. Two of the cameras were aimed at the very street on which the accident had taken place. One camera recorded traffic coming west, the other re-corded traffic traveling east. Once the surveillance footage was obtained and reviewed, Maggie’s disbelief in the official police version was prophetic. The accident did not happen as reported by the automobile driver.

The footage showed that the automobile driver was traveling west on the opposite side of the street from the store that he planned on visiting. The video further showed that the automobile driver pulled to the right side of the road in order to make a U-Turn. He waited on the right for traffic behind him to pass, watching only for traffic in his rearview mirror. Once the traffic behind him had passed, he made a quick U-Turn directly in front of Randy’s mo-torcycle, which was traveling east in the opposite direction.

With Randy unable to speak, and without any witnesses to the accident, the auto driver simply lied to the police claiming that he was backing into a parking space when the motorcycle rear-ended him. He lied to escape responsibility and he thought that

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he could get away with it, because he did not know about the surveillance cameras. And the sad thing is that he would have gotten away with it, had it not been for the greatest consumer protection – the contingency fee agreement. The story has a sec-ond happy ending. Since the driver was sent to the store to buy a part for his employer, the employer’s commercial insurance policy was applicable to provide Maggie and her boys the just compensation that they were due.

This case is just one of many that occur every day across Amer-ica, where attorneys represent injured citizens on a contingency fee, when they would otherwise be unable to retain an attorney. Recently, an injured client who had been raised in Hong Kong, pointed out that if he were injured in Hong Kong he would be unable to afford an attorney to take his case, because Hong Kong, colonized by the British, still follows the old English law which disallows contingency fee agreements.

Today more than ever, contingency fee agreements are neces-sary so that the courthouse doors are not shut to injured consum-ers. How else can the injured consumer afford to sue a pharma-ceutical company for injuries sustained from an unsafe drug? How else could an injured consumer sue the state for injuries sustained from a state-owned transit bus? Each of these cases may require hundreds or even thousands of hours of legal work, and tens of thousands of dollars in costs and expenses. The ob-vious answer to each of these questions is the contingency fee agreement.

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About Jonas

Jonas K. Seigel was awarded a Master of Laws in Trial Advocacy from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, following his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He has tried cases in Superior Court and Arbitra-

tion forums. At present, Jonas manages and settles all pre-litigation files for the firm. He serves as a Trustee of the Bergen County Bar Foundation and the Passaic County Bar Association, as well as on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Association for Justice. Jonas is a recipient of the New Jer-sey State Bar Association’s Award for Community Service and he has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by New Jersey Super Lawyers and named to Who’s Who In American Law. He is a member of both The Morris Pashman American Inn of Court and The Justice Robert L. Clifford American Inn of Court. Jonas is an active member of the Bergen and Passaic County Bar Associations, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association – holding Committee positions in each of these organizations.

Jonas is also very active in community affairs. He spent four months with Habitat for Humanity as a volunteer rebuilding New Orleans’ infamous Low-er Ninth Ward following the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. After serving on the Board of Directors for Paterson Habitat for Humanity, he now continues his battle to provide affordable housing to the poor on PHFH’s Advisory Board. Additionally, he travels throughout New Jersey drafting wills for police officers, firefighters, and EMTs through the Wills for Heroes Foun-dation – a charitable non-profit organization, providing support, services, financial assistance and supplies to eligible emergency first responders and their families in the United States. Jonas is also a proud recipient of the Paul Patti Humanitarian Award from the Boys & Girls Club of Lodi/ Hackensack. He has hosted and created episodes dedicated to consumer protection on the cable television program “Lawscapes,” and written articles to better educate citizens of New Jersey about the complexities of insurance laws.

Jonas, a Bergen County native, attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School and later Goucher College where he was a two-year captain of his lacrosse team. Today, he resides in Ridgewood with his wife Eliana and their two boys, Max and Luca.

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the mOurning After: heLPing fAmiLies COPe After A drunk driving WreCk

Chapter 5

the mourning after:heLPing famiLies

CoPe after a drunk driving WreCk

By Gary Martin hays, esq. & DereK M. hays, esq.

In 1997, I walked into our law firm’s conference room to meet an 18-year old young woman, Ann, and her 17-year old brother, David. Their eyes were red and swollen - a combination of end-less tears, shock, worry, and lack of sleep. Both stood up to greet me, but had difficulty even saying their names without their voices cracking. They told me they had heard about my law firm from friends and stopped by in hopes they could meet with me about their mother, Sandra.

The young woman opened up a folder and slid two things across the table to me. One was a photo of their mother that had been taken a couple of years before. In the picture, Sandra appeared to be in her early 40’s, big brown eyes, and with a huge smile. Ann was sitting on one side of her, David the other. Both of them had their arms around their mom. There was still tape on the back of

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the photo from where Ann had removed it from a frame that sat on a table in their living room.

The other thing Ann handed me was a police incident report. I picked it up to review the details of the car wreck. According to the initial investigation, Sandra left her job at the dry cleaners at 6:15 p.m. She turned left out of the parking lot to go home to cook dinner for her, Ann, and David. She had only driven a 1/4 mile on the road when a drunk driver suddenly veered into her lane, striking Sandra’s small Toyota head-on.

The police report indicated Sandra was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver was not injured. The police officer noted that the other driver, a young woman in her early 20’s, was “vis-ibly intoxicated.” Several empty beer cans were in the backseat of her car. The driver admitted she had spent the day rafting on the Chattahoochee River with friends and had a “couple” of beers.

Sandra was a single mother taking care of Ann and David. She and her husband immigrated to the United States from Korea years before. He had died in a work-related accident when the children were both very small. Sandra worked two jobs to make ends meet. Now, her children were faced with life without their mother.

Ann and David had so many questions that all families face in this situation. Questions like:

• Why did this happen?

• Where do we begin with funeral arrangements?

• Who will pay for the funeral?

• What about the car?

• What do we do now?

This is a time where you are not only a lawyer, but a counselor. Words of comfort seemed so empty as I could see the pain, the hurt and the worry in their eyes.

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The sad reality is that I had been at that same conference room table too many times with family members that had lost a loved one because of a drunk driver. Unfortunately, I have been there many times since. These horrific tragedies happen because of a decision made by a driver to get behind the wheel of their car and operate it after having too many drinks.

It does not matter what you call it:

• DUI: Driving Under the Influence

• DWI: Driving While Intoxicated

• Operating Under the Influence

• Drunk Driving

When you drink and drive, you are not only a danger to yourself, but to everyone on the highway.

Here are some important facts all of us should know about alco-hol and its effects:

• 12 oz. of beer = 5 oz. of wine = 1.5 oz. of liquor = All of these drinks contain the same amount of alcohol.1

• A driver’s impairment is not determined by the type of drink, but rather by the amount of alcohol ingested over a specific period of time.2

• Only time can make a person sober. Drinking coffee, ex-ercising, or taking a cold shower will not help. The aver-age person metabolizes alcohol at the rate of about one drink per hour! 3

1 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Traffic Safety Facts 201; Alcohol Impaired Driving.” Washington, D.C.).

2 Insurance Institute For Highway Safety. “Q&A: Alcohol: General.” Arlington, VA: National Highway Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, March 2012.

3 Michigan State University. “Basic Alcohol Information.” East Lansing, MI 2003.

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And these drunk driving statistics are very sobering:

• Every day in America, on average, 28 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes. 4

• Almost every 90 seconds, a drunk driver injures a victim in a car crash.5

• An average of one out of every 3 people will be involved in a drunk-driving collision in their lifetime. 6

With many years of combined experience representing more than 27,000 injured victims and their families in all kinds of cases, we have handled many, many car wrecks where alcohol was involved. We have amassed a vast amount of knowledge after analyzing the facts and the law in each of these claims. As a result, we think it is important to give our readers advice in three areas:

(1) What can you do to protect yourself and family from being involved in a drunk driving collision?

Wear a seatbelt!Make sure every passenger is properly restrained - either in a seat belt and harness or in a child safety seat. This is THE most important thing you can do to protect yourself and your family. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-tion, wearing lap/shoulder belts reduce the risk of a traffic fatal-ity to front seat occupants by 45%!7

Set a good example for your children by always buckling up EVERY time you get in your car. In most states, you can be pulled over and given a ticket if you are not buckled!

4 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FARS data, 2010.5 Binco, Lawrence, et al., “The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes 200.”

Washington D.C.; National Highway Safety Administration, 2002. NHTSA FARS data, 2011.6 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “The Traffic Stop and You: Improving

Communications Between Citizens and Law Enforcement.” NHTSA, March 2001, DOT HS 809 212.

7 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Traffic Safety Facts 2008 Data - Occupant Protection.

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keep your eyes on the road!Distracted driving is just as dangerous as operating a vehicle under the influence.

Distracted driving is any activity that occupies or diverts a driv-er’s attention away from the road. All distractions are dangerous. All distractions can be fatal. They not only endanger the driver, but also the passengers, other drivers and pedestrians. By far the worst distraction is trying to text message while driving. You are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident if you are texting while behind the wheel.

Also, when your eyes are not on the road, you are not able to react as quickly if confronted with a sudden emergency. For ex-ample, sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes off of the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. That is the equivalent of driving the length of an entire football field, BLIND, at 55 miles per hour.

expect the unexpected!Keep your eyes on the road and drive defensively. Be on the lookout for drunk drivers. These drivers may do the following:

• Weave in and out of traffic

• Drift over traffic lines

• Quickly speed up or slow down

• Drive their car without their headlights on at night

If you see any of these actions, stay as far away from the driver as possible. Do not try to get the driver to pull over as you may end up causing a wreck. Try to get the license plate of the car, as well as a description of the vehicle. Then safely pull over and dial 911.

(2) What should you do if you have had too much to drink?

Let’s back up a second. The first thing you should do BEFORE you ever have a drink is to plan ahead. Alcohol clouds your abil-

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ity to make sound decisions. Therefore, if you know that you will be consuming alcohol, get a designated driver. Make sure that person will honor their pledge not to drink. A designated driver can stand between you and a decision that will change your life and the lives of many others forever.

If you are out and have had too much to drink (or the possibility exists that you could be impaired), DO NOT RISK IT! Call a cab or a friend that has not been drinking to come and get you. Most bars will have a phone number for cabs that service their establishment. NEVER ASSUME you are “sober enough” and can operate your vehicle safely.

(3) What can an attorney do for you if you are involved in a wreck with a drunk driver?

The answer to this question can be summed up in two very dif-ferent words:

Punishment and Compensation.

Let’s start with punishment. Drunk driving is a crime and will be punished accordingly.

After a car wreck with a drunk driver, an attorney called a “so-licitor” or “prosecutor” will be involved on behalf of the state, county, city, or municipality in order to prosecute the drunk driv-er for their criminal actions. This attorney may contact you to learn more about the wreck and your injuries. This information will be used by the Judge as one of many factors to determine the severity of the punishment. However, the job of the solici-tor or prosecutor is ONLY related to the criminal aspect of your wreck and punishment.

To receive full compensation for the injuries and damages you sustained, you need to contact an attorney that specializes in personal injury and wrongful death claims. This “full compen-sation” could include reimbursement for your economic losses, such as medical bills, prescription charges, lost wages, etc., and

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for your non-economic damages, like pain and suffering / emo-tional suffering. A knowledgeable and aggressive personal in-jury attorney can do just that for you and your family.

Here are some of the basic steps that must be addressed by the attorney in order to maximize the value of your potential claim:

investigate all potential defendants: Was the drunk driver driving their own vehicle or driving a ve-hicle owned by another person?

• Did the person that loaned the vehicle know or should they have known that the driver was impaired by alcohol when they let them use it?

• Was the drunk driver known to be habitually reckless and dangerous due to past DUI charges or dangerous driving behaviors?

• Was the drunk driver on the job when the collision oc-curred?

investigate other negligent parties: • Dram Shop Laws:

Most states have “Dram Shop” laws on the books. These laws put potential liability upon an establishment like a bar, restaurant, liquor store or pub if they serve alcohol to someone who is underage and/or visibly intoxicated and that person causes a collision after leaving the busi-ness. Dram Shop Laws encourage business owners to diligently and aggressively address the problems caused by impaired drivers. The business can either stop serving someone that is clearly intoxicated and/or make sure that the person does not attempt to drive upon leaving.

• Social Hosts: A social host is someone that provides or allows alcohol to be consumed in their home or at a party they are hosting. The host assumes the responsibility similar to that of a business owner if that impaired driver leaves their party and causes a

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wreck. It is the responsibility of the host to make sure that none of their impaired guest attempt to drive when leaving the party.

investigate all potential insurance coverage(s): The experienced attorney will work to locate ALL available in-surance policies to provide coverage to you or anyone else in-jured in the wreck. This could include all policies that insure the at-fault party, as well as policies you or a resident relative may own that could be a source of additional funds to pay for medical expenses or lost wages.

Punitive damages:Punitive damages are designed to PUNISH a Defendant for very bad conduct, as well as to deter them from repeating the bad conduct. Drunk driving, racing, and leaving the scene of a car wreck are just a few situations where most states will allow you to seek punitive damages against the at-fault driver.

so What shouLd you do to avoid Being hurt for a seCond time after a WreCk

With a drunk driver?

Having previously represented insurance companies, and hav-ing handled over 27,000 claims against them over the years, we highly recommend to anyone that has been involved in a wreck—to discuss the matter with an attorney BEFORE you talk to the insurance company. You have nothing to lose by call-ing an attorney that specializes in personal injury. But think of all you can lose if you don’t!

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About Gary

Gary Martin Hays is not only a successful lawyer, but a nationally-recognized safety advocate who works tire-lessly to educate our families and children on issues ranging from bullying to Internet safety to abduction prevention. He currently serves on the Board of Direc-

tors of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. Gary has been seen on countless television stations, including CNN’s Headline News, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates. He has appeared on over 110 radio stations, including the Georgia News Network, discussing legal topics and providing safety tips to families. He has hosted “Georgia Behind The Scenes” on the CW Atlanta TV Network and has been quoted in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and featured on over 250 online sites including Morningstar.com, CBS News’s MoneyWatch.com, the Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, The New York Daily News, and The Miami Herald.

He is also co-author of the best-selling books TRENDSETTERS - The World’s Leading Experts Reveal Top Trends To Help You Achieve Health, Wealth and Success; CHAMPIONS - Knockout Strategies For Health, Wealth and Suc-cess; SOLD - The World’s Leading Real Estate Experts Reveal The Secrets To Selling Your Home For Top Dollar In Record Time; Protect And Defend; and The Success Secret: The World’s Leading Experts Reveal Their Secrets for Success in Business and in Life and The Authority On Tout: How To Use Social Media’s Newest Video Sharing App To Engage Your Community and Grow Your Business. In 2012, he was inducted into the National Academy of Best Selling Authors.

Gary graduated from Emory University in 1986 with a B.A. degree in Politi-cal Science and a minor in Afro-American and African Studies. In 1989, he received his law degree from the Walter F. George School of Law of Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. His outstanding academic achievements landed him a position on Mercer’s Law Review. He also served the school as Vice President of the Student Bar Association.

Gary’s legal accomplishments include being a member of the prestigious Multi-Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum, a society limited to those attorneys who have received a settlement or verdict of at least $2 Million Dollars. He

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has been recognized in Atlanta Magazine as one of Georgia’s top Workers’ Compensation lawyers. Gary frequently lectures to other attorneys in Geor-gia on continuing education topics. He has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Georgia since 2007 by the American Trial Lawyers Association, and recognized by Lawdragon as one of the leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America. His firm specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, workers’ compensation, and pharmaceutical claims. Since 1993, his firm has helped over 27,000 victims and their families recover over $235 Million dollars.

In 2008, Gary started the non-profit organization Keep Georgia Safe with the mission to provide safety education and crime prevention training in Georgia. Keep Georgia Safe has trained over 80 state and local law en-forcement officers in CART (Child Abduction Response Teams) so our first responders will know what to do in the event a child is abducted in Geor-gia. Gary has completed Child Abduction Response Team training with the National AMBER Alert program through the U.S. Department of Justice and Fox Valley Technical College. He is a certified instructor in the radKIDS cur-riculum. His law firm has given away 1,000 bicycle helmets and 14 college scholarships.

To learn more about Gary Martin Hays, visit: www.GaryMartinHays.com.

To find out more about Keep Georgia Safe, please visit: www.KeepGeorgiaSafe.org or call (770) 934-8000.

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About Derek

Derek M. Hays is a partner in the Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C. He has been with the firm since 1996 and specializes in personal injury and wrongful death claims. He is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA). He has been selected

by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the Top 100 Trial Law-yers in Georgia every year since 2006. He was voted as a “Best Lawyer in Duluth, Georgia” by Legal Force Media Publications.

Mr. Hays is a member of The Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which is lim-ited to attorneys that have achieved single verdicts and/or settlements in excess of a million dollars. He is also a member of The Multi-Million Dol-lar Advocates Forum for single verdicts and/or settlements in excess of $2 million dollars. Fewer than 1% of all U.S. attorneys are members of these prestigious groups.

In his many years of practice, Mr. Hays has had verdicts and/or settlements published online or in print by Westlaw, Lexus/Nexus, CaseMetrix and Ver-dicts magazine. He has successfully litigated, mediated, and/or settled thou-sands of cases in many counties throughout the state of Georgia. He has ob-tained millions of dollars for his clients in cases ranging from car wrecks to dog bites. He has fought winning battles against all of the major automobile insurance companies throughout the Southeast. While the majority of cases have originated in Georgia, he has also handled cases in Alabama, Missis-sippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, California, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, etc... He is sworn into all State and Superior Courts in Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Georgia, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Following graduation from high school in Panama City, Florida, Mr. Hays at-tended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He graduated with a Bach-elor of Arts Degree in Communications with a specialty in Advertising. His first career choice took him to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida where he spent two years in the Animation Department.

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Law school had always been an eventual goal for Mr. Hays, so after two years in Florida, he moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area to complete that goal. He attended John Marshall Law School and completed his studies in two years as opposed to the traditional three year track. While attending John Marshall, he made several appearances on the Dean’s Lists and President’s Lists for his academic achievements. He won the “Book Award” for the high-est grade in many of his classes. He was voted the Vice President of the Student Bar Association for two consecutive terms.

Mr. Hays is the father of two children and is very active in his church, the community, various charities, and his children’s school. He has served his church in many capacities from serving on committees to serving Com-munion on Sunday morning. In the community, he has coached his kids in football, basketball, softball, soccer, and baseball. He was voted in as the Director of Baseball for his local county park with several hundred children involved in the programs. He has volunteered and/or raised money for The American Cancer Society, Keep Georgia Safe, Dream House for Medically Fragile Children, Family Promise, Boy Scouts of America, and the United Methodist Children’s Home.

To learn more about Derek M. Hays, visit: www.GaryMartinHays.com. To find out more about Keep Georgia Safe, please visit: www.KeepGeorgiaSafe.org or call (770) 934-8000.

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tOgether, We CAn mAke A differenCe

Chapter 6

together, We Can make a differenCe

By JaMes onDer, esq.

The Kaisers were a typical American family. Their twins had just celebrated their first birthday. The house was childproofed with all the latest safety accessories: gates, outlet covers, and cabinet locks. Sharp edges were covered and in the twins’ room, the pull cords of the mini-blinds were tucked out of reach. The cribs had been placed on the far side of the blind, away from the pull cord. A good ten inches separated the crib from the mini-blind itself. When the Kaisers put their twins down for a nap on that fateful day, they had no idea the tragedy which was about to befall their family.

When mom returned to awaken her children from their nap, she found her daughter tangled in the cord of the mini-blind. She was not tangled in the pull cord, for that was on the opposite side of the blind and tucked out of reach. Instead, her daughter had reached the lift cord that runs through the slats of the blind and pulled it into her crib, forming a loop upon which the little girl strangled and died that day.

Linda Kaiser was determined that the death of her daughter would not be in vein. No other parent should ever have to suf-fer the unfathomable tragedy of discovering their lifeless child

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caught in a blind cord. The silent scream of the little Kaiser girl was soon heard around the world as an international revolution was launched against the window covering industry and Parents for Window Blind Safety was formed as a non-profit, parental support and educational organization to educate, improve indus-try safety standards, and promote safe window covering products.

This author was enlisted to the cause to battle in the courtroom, in the legislature, before government regulatory agencies and through Standard’s writing organizations. The war has been launched not only in America, but in Canada, Great Britain, and across the European Union. Bite by bite, step by step, advances are being made, products are being recalled, and safety is being improved. While never fast enough, working with parents and government regulators across the world, together we can and are, making a difference.

BaCkground

The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that mini-blinds and other corded window covering products are one of the top five most widespread hazards in American homes. The window covering industry estimates that as many as one billion blinds and corded window covering products are in American homes, and nearly 17 million American households with children under the age of six contain such corded window coverings.

Despite the problems with these products in American homes, few realize the extent of the danger. Documentation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and research in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that as many as 1,142 children may have been injured or killed since 1973. Despite two recall and retrofit programs forced upon the Industry by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, corded window covering products remain dangerous, their cords killing a child every two weeks. Even new blinds touted by the Industry as “child safe” regularly kill children throughout the world.

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industry history

In response to 73 reported deaths between 1973 and 1985, the Consumer Product Safety Commission asked Industry to join with it to issue a Consumer Safety Alert. In doing so, early drafts of the release indicated that children were getting caught in the loops of pull cords. Up to this time, the typical set of corded blinds had multiple pull cords which entered a single tassel. Al-ternately, pull cords were of a continuous loop design. The Con-sumer Product Safety Commission told Industry that children were getting caught in the loop and dying. Instead of addressing the hazard and eliminating the loop, the Industry attempted to cast blame onto parents and simply provided an alert with the following safety recommendations:

1. Keep furniture away from cords;

2. Cut cords “short” so as to be permanently out of the reach of children;

3. Use safety devices, such as cord cleats, to secure pull cords high out of reach.

Recommended hang tag and permanent bottom rail warning la-bels were prepared by the Industry trade organization, the Amer-ican Window Covering Manufacturers Association, for use on all window covering products. Some manufacturers included the warnings; others did not.

Despite the consensus industry recommendations, even the manufacturers who helped write these recommendations did not incorporate the safety solutions into their product design. Manufacturers did not shorten standard cord lengths and did not typically provide cord cleats as a standard feature. Despite the fact that over half of all deaths occurred when children were able to climb on furniture to access blind cords, even the manufactur-ers who authored the Safety Alert failed to warn parents of the hazard pattern responsible for most deaths. Despite the CPSC’s suggestion, manufacturers did not redesign their products to eliminate the pull cord loop hazard.

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As a result, children continued to die:

1985: 12 deaths 8 boys 4 girls



1988: 8 deaths 7 boys 1 girl






In 1994, the CPSC finally forced the Window Covering Industry to redesign its products to address the pull cord hazard. Having failed to redesign its products to eliminate the hazardous loop formed by multiple cords entering a single tassel, the CPSC forced Industry to address pull hazards. The Industry response was to address only the hazard about which it was told nine years earlier in 1985, namely eliminating the pull cord loop caused by multiple cords being joined together into a single tassel. Prod-ucts were then redesigned such that each pull cord was equipped with a separate tassel, the logic being that the pull cord loop was eliminated, and with it the strangulation hazard.

The problem: even before implementation of the safety solu-tion, the Industry was told that the Industry’s proposed “fix” would not work. Multiple Industry studies and reports from the CPSC itself revealed that cords were likely to become tangled and knotted, recreating the very loop the recall was intended to address. Further, major manufacturers conducted studies which indicated that long cords were the problem, for even a single cord could wrap around a child’s neck, causing strangulation.

Further, by 1990 the Industry knew of the hidden dangers asso-ciated with blind lift cords that run between the slats of horizon-tal products, such as that responsible for the death of the Kaiser

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child. An attorney from St. Louis, Missouri wrote to the entire Industry in 1990 putting it “on notice” of lift cord hazards, but the Industry did nothing. A second letter came from a Kansas City attorney in 1995, yet the Industry did not act. Even when the Industry undertook to codify the 1994 separated-tassel safety “solution” into an ANSI standard, the Industry refused the CP-SC’s request to also address lift cord hazards, for the CPSC did not force it to address the lift cord that ran through the slats of a typical horizontal blind and down the back of many roman shade and roll up shade products. Similarly, the CPSC did not force the Industry to address the problems it knew were associated with cords re-tangling and knotting, or a single cord wrapping around a child’s neck, so the Industry did nothing. Instead, the CPSC took the word of Industry that the 1994 recall and retrofit redesign was only an “interim solution” until “better technology could be developed.” Accordingly, the death toll continued to rise:






1999: 7 deaths 1 boy 6 girls


In 2000, the CPSC again threatened rulemaking and a manda-tory recall. To avoid such action by the CPSC, Industry under-took a second recall and retrofit program to finally address the lift cord strangulation hazard. Plastic “donuts” or “cord stops” were placed on the pull cord near the head rail of corded blinds so that the pull cord cannot be backed through the head rail to form a hazardous loop between the blind slats. By the time of the 2000 recall and retrofit program, alternate cordless products which eliminated pull cords were viable, as were cord covers to eliminate accessible cords. Despite the availability of “better technology,” Industry continued to use the 1994 “interim solu-

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tion,” knowing that children would continue to die on pull cords. Accordingly, the death toll continued to rise and continues to rise even today as these hazards go unaddressed by Industry:











The lift cord hazard about which the Industry was told in 1990 was not addressed until a recall was forced upon it by the CPSC in 2000, and the Industry’s procrastination and delay continues, even today as dangerous exposed and accessible pull cords re-main on products.

making a differenCe

Parents for Window Blind Safety has been working hand in hand with child safety organizations and parents across the country to make a difference. With each death, added pressure has been placed upon the CPSC to act, and upon the Industry to respond to the silent screams of the hundreds of children who have lost their lives. Ms. Kaiser and her organization command the utmost respect when it comes to Window Covering Safety and her in-put is regularly sought by the Safety organizations in the United States, Canada and Europe. The death of her precious little girl, and her desire to make a difference, spawned the respect of the entire Window Covering Industry.

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Many manufacturers have joined in the battle, while other large manufacturers with greater financial motivation have fought strenuously to protect their turf. The larger manufacturers have created new and innovative products to eliminate accessible blind cord hazards, for which products they are able to com-mand premium pricing. If safety standards are written which ef-fectively mandate such safer designs, the safer products become the norm, and profit margins fall. Accordingly, the major manu-facturers involved in the Industry standards writing process con-tinue to resist improved safety standards.

Having represented the families of literally dozens of children who have been catastrophically injured and killed on blind cords, the author has confronted the engineers and executives of every major American and foreign window covering man-ufacturer selling products in America. Our law firm has been privileged to work with Parents For Window Blind Safety as it has helped and consulted with Industry members interested in improving safety standards, while at the same time opposing Industry leaders who are opposed to improved standards, which might jeopardize their profit margins. Together, we have worked with governmental entities in the United States, Canada, and across Europe. Together, we have worked side by side with par-ents who have lost children and who seek improved standards, so that no other parent has to suffer the tragedy that has befallen their families. Throughout lawsuit depositions and Industry doc-uments, one thing has become clear. Working together, we can make a difference. With each lawsuit filed, additional pressure is placed upon manufacturers to do the right thing and eliminate accessible pull cords.

For one to two dollars more per blind, cordless products can be manufactured which eliminate pull cord hazards. However, the Industry does not want to raise the entry level price point, for such might reduce blind sales. Likewise, Industry does not want to advise consumers of the use of recommendations that have been in place since 2000: Use Only Cordless Products in Homes

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with Small children. If consumers at the entry level price point, who are typically young families with small children, knew that the products were unsafe, sales would drop and profits would be lost.

Lawsuit by lawsuit, lobbying effort by lobbying effort, recall by recall, Parents for Window Blind Safety and our legal system are making a difference. Window blind strangulation injuries and deaths that were once written off as “freak accidents” and cheaply swept under the carpet by the major window blind manufacturers, now command top dollar by way of resolution, increasing the cost of selling known unsafe products. Calls from parental organiza-tions and demands for greater standards have led to new warn-ings, redesigns and major recalls, including the most recent recall, removing over 50 million roman shades and other window cover-ing products from the market. Although change cannot come fast enough, especially for those whose children we know will die in the ensuing weeks, it will be months and years until the battle is complete and victory can be declared. Perhaps the results of these efforts were best made known when, after the deposition of the President of a major U.S. window covering distributor whose company was being sued said, “Please say hi to Ms. Kaiser, and let her know that we are very sad for her loss. And, keep up the good work. Your efforts are making a difference.”

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About James

Jim Onder is the managing partner at the law firm of Onder, Shelton, O’Leary & Peterson, LLC based in St. Louis, Missouri. Jim has developed a national reputa-tion in the field of Products Liability. Jim regularly trav-els throughout the country handling medical and phar-

maceutical product liability claims, as well as catastrophic injury and death product liability claims involving fork lifts, tractor trailer under ride protec-tion, crane accidents, and auto claims involving gas tank explosions and seat belt enhanced injury claims.

Jim is generally recognized as the national advocate and authority on mini-blind and window covering safety, regularly interviewed and quoted by such nation media as The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Jim Onder and his partner, Jim Corrigan, are considered the foremost authorities in the field of window covering litigation, having represented over 50 families whose children have died or been catastrophically injured on window cover-ing cords in federal and state courts throughout the country.

Jim and his law firm are committed to seeing the window covering battle through to its end. No other law firm in the country has accumulated the information, nor invested the resources necessary to take on the Industry as a whole. Jim is committed to effecting real change for the safety of our children. His law firm has truly raised the bar and increased the price as-sociated with the Industry’s decision to jeopardize the lives of our children.

For more information on window cord hazards, please visit Jim’s website at: www.miniblindlitigation.com or his law firm site at: www.onderlaw.com. To Jim Onder and the families he represents, window covering litigation is not about money; it is about making a difference and effecting real change. Jim truly believes that, working together, he and his clients can make a dif-ference.

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CreAting the Best POssiBLe QuALity Of Life fOr ACCident viCtims

Chapter 7

Creating the Best PossiBLe QuaLity

of Life for aCCident viCtims

By louis t. BrinDisi, esq.

true tragedy

She had her whole life in front of her. A young girl working to help pay for college, excited about life after school, and feeling like the world was her oyster. It was not disease or violence that forced this blossoming woman’s dreams to come crashing down – it was a tragic car wreck.

A truck paused at a stop sign, but then crept slightly into the in-tersection, causing another car to swerve. That car swerved into this innocent girl’s lane of travel. This was a responsible girl, who had not been drinking, texting, or anything that would slow her reaction time. She was simply coming home from work, when a car came right at her - hitting her head on. The rules of the road were violated through no fault of this young girl.

She could have been a doctor, a teacher, or even a lawyer like me. She also could have been someone’s mother. All of her dreams and hopes were taken away from her that day. Right after

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the crash, she was trapped in the car, and the “Jaws of Life” was needed to pry her out of the twisted metal and compressed steel.

Due to the brain trauma she suffered in the accident, she was in a coma for sometime, leaving her family to expect the worst. After she woke up from what must have seemed like just a bad dream, she was left with a permanent brain injury and now can only communicate with loved ones by blinking “yes” or “no.” With brain damage due to the accident, there comes the need for around-the-clock care for the rest of her life. This kind of com-prehensive care requires money and plenty of it.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that the insur-ance company would step up and handle its duty to protect peo-ple like this girl. Well, most of the time this naïve thinking is wrong. In fact, the insurance company for the car that hit this young woman tried to claim it only had coverage of $100,000 for this accident.

This is one of the cases in my 50 years of working as a lawyer that I am most proud of, and I am glad - no relieved - that this family turned to me for help.

You have to understand that $100,000 may seem like a lot of money, but that is actually how much this young woman needs every month for her medical care and expenses. That is how much it costs every month to keep up hope for her family and friends that things might get just a little better.

The insurance company might have tried to squeeze by on thou-sands, but through depositions, we found out that since the ve-hicle was leased, the insurance carrier for the leasing company could be added as a party to the case. More importantly, $15 million in insurance coverage was also brought in to the case because of this newly discovered information, which was now

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available to protect my client and provide the necessary and very costly medical care that she needs for the rest of her life. 1

That young woman has been in a semi-vegetative state for many years now, and this money is the only resource she has to give her the best quality of life possible.

The insurance company only saw dollars and cents. My firm saw a young woman and her family in need and it was my obligation to help her and make sure she had everything needed for her future.

This is why injured people need a trusted attorney, who under-stands the law and can seek out critical information through in-vestigation and discovery. We hire investigators, and in many cases experts, who right after we are retained, go out into the field to obtain statements, take pictures, obtain police reports, do accident reconstructions and ultimately help us to uncover the truth about how an accident took place and who may be legally responsible.

Cases like this happen all the time. An innocent family gets taken advantage of by another, more powerful party, because they do not have anyone to represent their rights. As soon as a client walks into our office, we start preparing for trial. We begin investigating the events surrounding the accident and hire experts to help prove liability and damage claims. We meet with our clients on multiple occasions so we can better understand their daily struggles and what it is like to walk in their shoes since the accident.

Winning a case is a lot of hard work and preparation. This is what I do, and thankfully, I have hundreds of stories of injustice set straight.

1 Subsequent to this case, the Graves Amendment was passed and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005. New York courts have concluded that the Graves Amendment constitutionally bars Plaintiffs from holding rental car and leasing companies vicariously liable for injuries sustained in accidents for the negligence of those to whom they rented or leased a vehicle, provided the claim was not commenced by August 10, 2005

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ProteCting our ChiLdren

Another story begins with a little boy playing while his mother was sleeping, as it was still morning. He got his hands on and started playing with a lighter while wearing a 50/50 cotton/polyester T-shirt and a 100% cotton flannel shirt, and wrapped in a sleeping bag, watching television. He was a young boy who was curious and wanted nothing more than to play, laugh and have a good time without understanding the full conse-quences of his actions.

While he was flicking the lighter, because he liked to watch the spark, his clothing and sleeping bag went up in flames.

Most people are unaware, but clothing and sleeping bags, espe-cially for young children, need to be flame retardant. This little boy’s were not. Rather, his clothing and sleeping bag were “very easy to ignite” and “highly flammable.” Can you guess how fast they went ablaze? How could a company make children’s clothes or children’s sleeping bags that are not flame retardant? It is just unimaginable.

This young man ended up with horrible burns involving his face, neck and trunk, which left massive permanent scarring, which will remain as a lifelong residual. We sued the manufacturers of the clothes and the sleeping bag. We were able to get a substan-tial amount of money, since he was only 9 years old at the time of the accident. He just did not know any better!

The manufacturers designed and sold a child’s garment and child’s sleeping bag that was not flame-retardant, was easily ignitable and would burn, and was not suitable for sleeping apparel. As such, we held them accountable. Creating children’s products that are flame retardant is a crucial change that needed to be made. If we can force the hands of change in a positive way like this, then I am happy to help those who cannot help themselves.

This is another child that needed my help after his life and body were drastically scarred. This was all due to the negligence of

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manufacturers who knew the harm that could be done by not producing a flame retardant product. My job is to get those wronged proper compensation.

I still see him today. I love when he comes into the office, be-cause he’s still getting a monthly check and will be set for the rest of his life. He is grown and managing great on his own now despite this horrific event that happened to him in his childhood. It is a nice ending to a terrible accident.

These are life-changing cases, and every now and then I step back to take it all in. But, helping people and providing the qual-ity of life they deserve, after being hurt due to someone else’s negligence, is what I strive to do every day and will continue to do for the rest of my life.

not hoW he shouLd have died

A gentleman in his 90’s had this simple routine. He would get the daily newspaper for not only himself, but all his neighbors too. He was just another good-natured man looking to bring a little joy to others around him before his time came. He had put in his time at work, raised his family, and was just looking to keep contributing to his community, no matter how small the task.

One day, while delivering a package to an elderly neighbor, he got stuck in an elevator after it malfunctioned. It locked between two floors, and it should have been routine to get him out.

A maintenance man from his senior living complex tried, on his own, to get the elderly gentleman out of the elevator, which was approximately 5 feet above floor level when it got stuck between floors. As the maintenance man attempted to grab the man under his armpits to help him out of the elevator, he lost his grip and the man fell through the open elevator shaft, 60-70 feet to the ground below. The maintenance man should have called the fire department, but did not. Rather, he attempted to get the elderly man out of an elevator that was 5 feet above floor level. By not

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following proper safety procedures, a fragile senior was dropped down an open elevator shaft and, as a result, he died.

After 90 years on this Earth, a sweet old man should not have died this way.

Because of this blatant negligence, we were able to obtain for this man’s widow and family a jury verdict that exceeded $1 million. One of the big issues argued by the insurance company was the monetary amount that should be placed on the life value of this senior man, which the insurance company did not value as very high. We showed them otherwise, because life cannot be valued simply by someone’s age. To his family, the loss of this sweet man could never be compensated by money. He was a husband, a father and a grandfather. It was our job, however, to ensure that his widow was compensated fairly and his family didn’t have to worry about finances for her future.

Hopefully, with an outcome like this, another person in this situ-ation will not succumb to a similar fate.

the need for safety on the road

Car and automobile companies will not change the way they do business until their profits are threatened. I have handled many cases, which resulted in changes to the basic construction of cer-tain vehicles, so that they are safer for unassuming passengers.

One involved a young girl in the back seat of an SUV, where the safety harness was just the lap belt alone. She had no shoulder harness, but thought she was perfectly safe by using just her lap belt. This girl was not an engineer and had not done any tests on impact injuries. On the other hand, this car company knew with no shoulder restraint, a frontal accident could easily create a ma-jor injury for the fifth passenger sitting in the back seat. That is exactly what happened to her.

The SUV that the girl was riding in was hit and she became a paraplegic. Can you imagine how crushing it is for a young lady

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never to be able to walk again? It just gets my blood boiling to think about automobile executives cutting corners, and this be-ing the result.

We sued — going through hours and hours, and months and months of depositions. We finally obtained a settlement for her, enabling her to live on a substantial sum for the rest of her life. It is the least we could do. She deserved financial security to provide her with the best quality of life possible.

Another case involved a professional man coming home from work early in the morning. It was raining, the pavement was wet, and he was going over a bridge. When he hit the bridge, his vehicle overturned and he became a quadriplegic. Because of the rollover potentials of SUVs, the manufacturer needed to address this possible danger and failed to do so. We sued and got restitution for the manufacturer’s negligence.

Well, I am guessing you might be getting a bit worked up after reading case after case, resulting in injuries to innocent people that could have been avoided. You are probably thinking this could have happened to you or someone you love. That is why I chose the law. Out of the worst accidents can come the best op-portunity to make positive change.

It breaks my heart to see these horrible and devastating injuries, but my job is to make the negligent parties pay for their lack of compassion and planning. There are lives at stake. We all grow up wanting to think that people will do the right thing and avoid hurting others at all cost. Sadly, this is just not the case.

Where does my Passion Come from?

Where do I get this passion for justice and to help others find hope and security? It stems from seeing the victims and how these horrific accidents have altered their lives. Things they took for granted before, such as the ability to move a limb, walk, drive, and to get around, have forever changed.

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Negligent companies and negligent parties put these victims in danger, and then they try to dismiss their responsibility. The in-jured person suffers from no fault of their own, and I want to get them just compensation. Before an accident, they were law abid-ing, hard working, honest people, and helpful to their families and communities, whereas, after the accident they feel isolated and alone. They feel that most people just don’t understand how hard life has become or how challenging it is to accomplish even the most ordinary of tasks, due to lack of mobility and ability to perform like before an accident. I work to let them know that I understand, they are not alone, and I care about them and im-proving their quality of life to the best of my ability.

The insurance companies want you to believe that lawsuits are bad for our society and our quality of life. They want you to believe that lawsuits undermine available healthcare, drain the economy, and increase your insurance premiums. They want to make you biased against lawsuits.

Our job, through lawsuits, is to make the public safer and to show the danger of what someone has done, whether it is dis-obeying a red light, violating a safety rule to protect workers, manufacturing an unsafe product or not providing you with medical treatment that conforms to acceptable standards of care.

Accidents happen, but most of the time they happen because someone made a choice to ignore a safety rule and this endan-gers everyone. We don’t want big companies or insurance com-panies to get away with it and escape responsibility for harm they have caused our clients. Most of the time, these victims would not be compensated if not for the help of a seasoned at-torney – one who understands their rights and the law, as well as a few tricks of the trade.

In some of my more serious cases, there is absolutely no happy ending when a person is left permanently brain-damaged, in a wheelchair, or stuck in the hospital for the rest of their lives. Yet,

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it is all about the quality of life they and their families should and can have with the monetary award I obtain for them.

The bottom line is that 24-hour nursing care, essential medical treatment and life-sustaining medical equipment costs money, and these victims should not have to shell out one dime. They are going through enough, and I want to make things just a bit easier during this terrible time.

I do not know what kind of person you have to be to do this job, but when a client comes into my office and life, I become part of their family. I want to take care of them and make their situation better. I want to help the widow who is left to raise her children, without her husband, so she can provide financially for her family. I want their children to be able to go to college just as their father had planned and dreamed for them. I think it takes a strong person to work hour after hour to find the missing pieces of the puzzle, so that a client is better off.

I am a defender of the law and proud of it. That is what my law firm does every day. We handle thousands of cases to help in-jured people and their families.

These cases spill over into other avenues, and have fueled my desire to help the community where I grew up, was educated, raised a family and am watching my children raise their fami-lies. I recently bought a building for a local food bank to make sure that the basic human right to eat is not forgotten. My firm also donates to various local charities, including a veteran’s outreach program, a community center, a community garden, a peacemaker program for parents and children, a children’s mu-seum, and we also donate to local sports programs and the arts to enrich the entire community.

My efforts have become more than a job, they have become my life and, I feel, my responsibility.

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About Louis

Louis Brindisi was raised coming out of the depression, so he knows struggle. He also knows family and hope. He had an uncle that was only two years older, and they grew up together, both first generation Americans. This uncle was the first person in the family to go to college,

and Louis decided to follow in his shoes.

“Then, he was the first one in the family to go to law school, and I followed him into law school,” Louis boasted. Brindisi finished law school in 1959 and started practicing in 1960. He worked in the criminal law field for years to get his professional foundation, then decided to specialize in serious injury, product liability, and medical malpractice – and has done so for the past 30 years. When it comes to personal injury, there is no trial lawyer more quali-fied than Louis.

He’s tried various multi-million dollar cases that were not crucial just be-cause of the financials involved, but also because someone’s quality of life was at stake.

But Brindisi, Murad, Brindisi, Pearlman & Pertz, LLP is still a family firm first, even with million-dollar cases to its credit. Louis’s son Anthony and daughter Eva both practice law within the firm. Growing up, Eva would sit in the front row with Louis when he used to go to court. “Ever since then, she always wanted to be a lawyer,” the proud father said.

Anthony Murad, another partner in the firm, is Louis’s cousin, again keep-ing this active firm rooted in family values. He went to law school, basically because he wanted to emulate Louis.

Louis has tried Murder cases and does not shrink under any pressure while in the courtroom. He does not waver or falter when a victim’s quality of life or justice hangs in the balance. “I’ve tried every kind of case. I’ve tried mur-der cases, RICO cases, serious felony cases and misdemeanor cases,” he added. He’s tried them all.

Louis is the lawyer that “One L” or first year law students study with land-mark case after landmark case under his illustrious belt. His cases make

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their way into products liabilities books and verdict resources, often influ-encing other young lawyers to fight for the betterment of their clients’ lives.

In each successful case, Louis claims preparation and hard work are the cause. In fact, he said most cases are won before they enter the courtroom through discovery. “The more preparation you put in, the better able you are to negotiate with the insurance carrier or convince a jury,” he said.

For his dedication to his craft, there have been many awards and honors bestowed on the Brindisi name. Louis has been named one of the top 100 trial lawyers in New York State by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and named one of the top 3000 Plaintiff Lawyers in America by Law Dragon.

He has also been named a New York State Super Lawyer and has been elected by his peers to be included in the Best Lawyers in America and his law firm, which he has founded, has been listed in the U. S. News - Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” Rankings. He is also a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

For more information on Louis Brindisi or his firm, visit:www.bmbplawyers.com Or call 1-800-8LTB-LAW.

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emPLOyee LAWsuits: the POWer Of mAny ACting As One

Chapter 8

emPLoyee LaWsuits: the PoWer of many

aCting as one

By sCott Miller, esq.

What can one airport skycap who’s paid less than minimum wage - and, at the same time, not even allowed to keep all of his tips - do about his situation? Not much.

But when a hundred and thirty-five of those skycaps joined forc-es in a lawsuit against United Airlines, the outcome was a final settlement in six figures. The airline had begun charging a two dollar check-in fee on bags, but the skycaps often had to cover the fees themselves when passengers failed to pay them. That money came out of their tips - money which was supposed to cover their below-minimum wage salaries.

When one waiter is told he has to surrender a portion of his tips to pay other restaurant personnel - and isn’t paid for extra hours - what alternative does he have? Beyond quitting? But eleven hundred members of the waiting staff of a dozen or so restau-rants can do a lot. When they brought a class action suit against celebrity chef Mario Batali and his business partner, the case resulted in a $5.25 million settlement in what lawyers say is one of the largest payouts of its kind.

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How about one drugstore employee who’s paid less than the job she’s doing should earn? Oh, and she isn’t getting paid overtime to boot? Do you think her employer is going to care if she com-plains? But, when six thousand former and current employees of Rite Aid Drugs stores sued to recover what they were owed, the company finally agreed to pay up to as much as $20.9 million to settle 15 lawsuits that claimed violations of federal and state wage-and-hour laws.

Employees don’t have to settle for less. Not when the ‘power of many’ is put into play.

Wage LaWsuits: the faCts

All of the above are real wage law cases that have made head-lines in the past year - and all demonstrate the clout that wronged employees really do have when companies treat them unfairly. In a time of high unemployment and continued economic diffi-culties for millions of Americans, these kinds of legal challenges are becoming more and more necessary – because employers feel they have more of a “free pass” in terms of forcing employ-ees to make do with less.

In 2011 alone, more than seven thousand such lawsuits were filed in federal court. And, in the past eleven years, collective action lawsuits that allege wage-and-hour violations have risen four hundred percent. It’s also been estimated that companies are paying over a billion dollars a year in total to handle lawsuit settlements and judgments.

Here are just a few of the heavy-hitters that have been hit with wage and hour lawsuits in recent years: Taco Bell, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Bank of America, Oracle, IBM and the Hooters res-taurant franchise. Even top celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Courtney Love have been hit with lawsuits by ex-employees claiming they haven’t been compensated property for their hours and job requirements.

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My law firm, The Law Offices of Scott A. Miller, takes on these kinds of cases every day; cases that would normally be too ex-pensive for any one employee to pursue. However, when many employees work together under the umbrella of a class action suit, their claims gain a collective power that can’t be ignored if the facts are in their favor. Moreover, these are cases that law-yers such as myself take on a contingency basis, meaning the employees, who are generally making low wages to begin with, don’t need to pay any fees in advance.

As one of my colleagues in this field has said, “If employers want to stay out of trouble, they should pay their employees ac-cording to the law.” I totally agree. And that’s why I’m proud to have helped thousands of employees recover millions of dollars in the many class action lawsuits in which I have been involved.

For example, our law firm recovered a few million dollars from the now-defunct Southern California department store chain, Robinsons-May on behalf of employees who were paid with out-of-state paychecks that caused them to be charged fees for cash-ing them. We also successfully sued a company that installed internet connections in homes and offices that wasn’t paying its employees mileage and overtime. We won a suit against a major national pet store that was committing a variety of viola-tions against their staff - and then there was a truck stop vendor that automatically charged its employees for filling up beverage cups, even if they didn’t actually drink those beverages; that case resulted in a settlement of several hundred thousand dollars.

When I first entered this area of the law, there were a lot of em-ployees who simply had nowhere to go to address these kinds of violations of federal and state employee law. I practice in California, where the California Labor Commission was set up to handle these kinds of complaints. However, that agency is understaffed - which resulted in employees experiencing a very long wait for an answer - and not necessarily getting the best outcome when that wait is finally over. From where I sit, I gener-

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ally see much better results through class action suits than indi-viduals do by approaching the Labor Commission.

That’s why I find this to be a very satisfying area of legal prac-tice. Employees, particularly those on the lower end of the wage scale, need an advocate who knows how to fight for them - and is willing to make the effort to find them the justice they deserve. That’s my role when someone walks through my door and has a legitimate claim against the company that’s employing them.

is your emPLoyer vioLating the LaW?

Of course, the problem very often is that an employee doesn’t really know the employer is doing something to him that’s il-legal. Most of us aren’t experts on wage law - and, while there are consistent federal laws, different states also have different statutes in place.

That’s why someone may come to me or call me, knowing that something is wrong - but not know exactly which aspect of their treatment violates the law. I don’t charge for an initial consul-tation and whatever anyone tells me is treated with the utmost confidentiality. Through our discussion, I can pinpoint what ex-actly is wrong - and where we have a case against the company in question.

In any event, let’s take a quick look at some common ways in which employees are wronged and may have legal recourse against their employer.

• Job misclassificationSometimes an employee is put on a flat salary and isn’t paid by the hour, when, in reality, it’s the type of job that should have an hourly wage (these are called “exempt” and “non-exempt” employees. When employees are misclassified, they could end up working extra hours with no extra compensa-tion - and that’s wrong.

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• Below-minimum WageIn California, the minimum wage is eight dollars an hour. When an employee works beyond forty hours in a week, they should be paid overtime rates, as detailed below. When employees are paid less than this, the employer could incur substantial penalties.

• overtime ratesIn California, the hourly rate for overtime (hours beyond an eight hour day, up to twelve hours during that same work day) is 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate. When the hours go beyond a 12 hour day, that rate goes up to double the regu-lar hourly rate. Also, if you work seven days in a row, on that seventh day, you should also be paid at the 1.5 overtime rate.

• out-of-state PaychecksAs I mentioned earlier, employees who are compensated with paychecks from an out-of-state financial institution are often charged extra fees when cashing those checks - or, at the very least, can find that their funds are put on hold until the check clears. Again, this is a violation of the law.

• Commission vs. overtimeEmployees who work on commission sometimes aren’t paid fairly for overtime hours. They should be getting a higher rate than just the straight commission.

• mileage CompensationIf you are a delivery person, repair person, or anyone who has to travel to do their job and isn’t provided with a com-pany vehicle to do so, you should be compensated for mile-age. There are several formulas that can be used to determine the amount, but the point is, you’re paying for the gas and the wear and tear on your vehicle, and that should be the em-ployer’s expense, not yours.

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• uniforms and toolsAn employer may also require an employee to use tools that aren’t provided. Again, that employee should be compensat-ed for their own equipment. Also, if employees are required to wear some kind of uniform or branded clothing from their own wardrobe, they must be compensated (unless the cloth-ing in question is either black or white).

Also, if the employee must wear, for example, steel-toed shoes or some other safety equipment, that should be either provided or paid for. If your job requires the use of a cell phone, and your employer doesn’t provide you with one, you should again be compensated for that expense.

• training timeIf an employee has to receive training for his job, the em-ployer must pay the employee for the hours spent on that training. This is time that’s directly put in by the employee for that specific position.

• meal BreaksIf you work more than five hours a day, California meal break laws entitle you to a lunch break of no less than a half-hour. If you work more than ten hours a day, you’re entitled to two half-hour lunch breaks. In certain cases, you and the employer are allowed to agree to waive a lunch break (say, for instance, you wanted to finish with work earlier), but, if you work over six hours a day, you must have a meal break. During a meal break, you should be relieved of all duties and free to leave the premises for the half-hour, except under certain conditions.

• off the ClockAs I’ve already mentioned, sometimes employees are forced to work “off the clock.” A company may have dictated that there is to be no overtime and a manager may still need work to be done. That manager might insist that an employee clock

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out after eight hours, but continue to work on their own time. In any case, this is obviously an illegal employer practice.

• harassment CasesHarassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, col-or, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. Ha-rassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimi-dating, hostile, or abusive.

Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against “whistle-blowers”: those who might be punished for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably be-lieve discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.

There are many other significant issues that employees often encounter, beyond the ones listed above, issues such as sick leave, unlawful hiring and firing practices and so forth. When something seems wrong, the important thing is to consult with a qualified lawyer who’s an expert in this area, such as myself. Again, I don’t charge for the first consultation and it’s always worth your while to find out if you have a legitimate claim on your employer.

the imPortanCe of Wage LaWsuitsFrankly, it’s easy for most employers to talk their employees into accepting less than what’s legally mandated under the guise of cutting costs or running things more “efficiently.” The employee frequently feels powerless in these kinds of circumstances and doesn’t feel as if there is any alternative but to agree. In a tough economy, nobody wants to risk losing their job.

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But pursuing a claim in these instances is no risk.

When you come to see a lawyer such as myself, and we de-termine that your claim is genuine, the next step is usually to see how many other employees have been subjected to the same abuses as you. If one person is having a specific problem, it’s usually because of a formal or informal company policy that’s been put in place that affects most workers at the same level.

To further explain, a class action is a civil lawsuit where one or more selected representatives, called “class representatives,” sue on behalf of people in the same or similar situation. One person’s damages by themselves may not be enough to justify the expenses of a lawsuit - but if enough people have felt the negative effects of the same third party, the combined damages may be enough to justify a lawsuit holding the wrongdoer re-sponsible for any harm or loss they may have caused.

These types of lawsuits are important not just to help victims recover these damages, but also to fire a warning shot at other companies and individuals who attempt to force employees to accept less than they should. When companies know they can be successfully sued, it can cause them to change their practices and abide by the law; that means their employees will receive fair wages and proper treatment, something that should always be those employees’ right.

The law is there for a reason - to protect us all from being taken advantage of or victimized. You should never be afraid to see if what’s happening to you merits legal action - because you never know until you ask.

Our law firm has a genuine concern for the issues our clients face in the workplace - and we provide the highest quality of service as we pursue their cases. We make ourselves available seven days a week when necessary and always listen carefully to what our clients have to say. We’ve been said to have a “pit bull attitude” when it comes to these cases, and that makes me

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smile - because it means we’re doing what we should for the people we represent.

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About Scott

Scott Miller, Esq. received his Bachelor’s Degree from University Of California, Irvine, and his Law Degree from University of West Los Angeles School of Law. Prior to beginning his law practice, Scott was in private business and was a police officer in California.

Scott has recovered millions of dollars in unpaid wages and labor code penalties, through the class action process, all on a “no recovery-no fee” basis. If he takes your case on a class action basis, he won’t take an upfront dime from you.

Scott always strives for the best possible results and keeps you informed along the way.

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OXyCOntin: PrOfit frOm PAin

Chapter 9

oXyContin: Profit from Pain

By rayMonD F. WaGner, q.C. & liBBy KinGhorne, esq.

In 1996, Purdue Pharma began marketing Oxycodone as a revo-lutionary pain medication. Sold as OxyContin, it was a power-ful and long-acting narcotic that delivered effective control of severe acute or chronic pain for up to 12 hours.

OxyContin was considered to be an improvement over existing pain relief treatments such as Morphine and Heroin, giving relief from some of their more negative side effects. One of the primary advantages of OxyContin was its time-release property, providing relief from pain over a longer period of time than normally pos-sible. It had a purity of ingredients, so side effects would be lim-ited. According to the information published by the manufacturer, OxyContin was also less addictive than other pain medications; it did not produce the euphoric effects of other drugs; and therefore was substantially less likely to encourage abuse.

OxyContin was designed for those living with terminal condi-tions. Addiction and abuse in this category of patients was seen as irrelevant. They would have access to the drug until the time of their death. There would be no need to address weaning from the medication, withdrawal or any social issues. All of these concerns would die with the patient.

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In palliative care situations, OxyContin was considered to be a better and more effective pain control measure than Morphine, and certainly more suitable than Heroin – considering its tar-nished history of abuse and addiction. OxyContin became the first and best choice in pain relief to effectively treat cancer pain.

ProfitaBiLity of intended use

Statistically speaking, there are only so many people living in acute or chronically painful end-of-life situations. They are a fraction of those experiencing pain, and thus only a small minor-ity of the potential pool of consumers of pain relief medications. This small profit centre was a reality that may have been occur-ring to Purdue Pharma in the late 1990’s. While their OxyCon-tin became the go-to medication for pain relief in cancer-related pain, this unfortunate pool of people would forever remain a limited market.

eXPansion of use

An idea was conceived to increase the marketplace for OxyCon-tin. What followed was an unprecedented marketing campaign that targeted both the doctors that might prescribe OxyContin and those who might take it. OxyContin was “rebranded” as a general pain medication, albeit one for moderate to severe pain situations/conditions. It was not restricted to those at the end of their lives, and it was no longer limited to specialists for pre-scription writing. It was open season to prescribe OxyContin by all doctors at their discretion.

marketing your Way to saLes

After the US Food & Drug Administration approved OxyContin in 1995, Purdue Pharma began a massive marketing campaign. An army of Sales Representatives fanned out to the hospitals and doctors’ offices with a welcome message: an opium-based drug - the kind that was previously reserved for patients dying of cancer - was now safe for patients suffering from moderate to severe pain! Purdue reported to the USFDA and also publicly

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that this pain medication was much less addictive than the other opioids. They reported that OxyContin had a less euphoric effect than other high strength pain medication, and had less potential for abuse due to the properties that delayed delivery into the bloodstream over 12 hours. They further claimed that patients taking OxyContin at low doses could stop taking it suddenly without symptoms of withdrawal.

The US Food and Drug Administration did not approve nor en-dorse these product claims, but they were integral to Purdue’s marketing plan to increase sales of OxyContin. Purdue Pharma also began an over-the-top marketing campaign to woo doctors and patients, as if OxyContin was just any new product on the market. Doctors were given gifts, taken on trips, and paid referral fees to write prescriptions for OxyContin. At the time, doctors be-lieved the product they were prescribing was safe and appropriate for their patients AND they received gifts and inducements for prescribing it. What’s more - Purdue Pharma’s marketing machine churned out promotional beach hats, pedometers, music CDs and even OxyContin coupons for those filling prescriptions.

Purdue was keen to allay doctor’s concerns of addiction. Purdue employees drafted an article respecting a study on the use of OxyContin in Osteoarthritis patients, published in the medical journal, Archives of Internal Medicine (Arch Intern Med. 2000; 160: 853-860). In this article, the authors reported that patients taking OxyContin at doses at or below 60 milligrams per day would always be able to discontinue use, even abruptly, without withdrawal symptoms. The article also indicated that patients on such doses would not develop a tolerance to the medication.

The Archives of Internal Medicine article was an effective way to assuage any concerns that might develop amongst those pre-scribing OxyContin to their patients. This professional journal had a subscription list of over 100,000 physicians in 75 coun-tries. To augment circulation of this information, a copy of the article was additionally provided to the massive network of pre-scribing physicians by Purdue Pharma drug reps.

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Print advertising in various medical journals also supported the effort to promote OxyContin. Further, Purdue Pharma created a promotional video that was used widely at doctors’ gatherings and pain management conventions touting the benefits and at-tributes of OxyContin. It played heavily in the direct marketing campaign to physicians.

The result of this extraordinary marketing effort was that doc-tors thought they were prescribing an effective and safe pain medication to address their patients’ suffering. Patients were ap-parently experiencing relief. It seemed like a wonderful win-win situation, and it would have been if the claims of Purdue Pharma were true.

But the ProBLem is… they Were not

The article Purdue Pharma submitted to Archives of Internal Medicine was knowingly untrue. It had been disproven before it was published by studies conducted by a Purdue affiliated com-pany. The print advertising was manifestly untrue, so much so that the US Food and Drug Administration twice notified Purdue that their advertisements for OxyContin were potentially false or misleading, and Purdue was in breach of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The video was also untrue, and the US Food and Drug Administration found Purdue to be disseminating im-proper claims about OxyContin. The facts were that OxyContin was highly addictive even at low dosages, and one could not just stop using it abruptly without severe side-effects.

Those discontinuing OxyContin use at the end of a prescription experienced severe withdrawal symptoms, including: anxiety, nausea, perpetual fatigue, hot/cold sweats, insomnia, constant joint and muscle pain, muscle weakness, depression, fever, vom-iting and severe flu-like symptoms. While these may be the same symptoms generally experienced by users of other opiate-based pain medication – those feeling withdrawal from OxyContin experienced them at a significantly higher lever. Discontinuing OxyContin created physical misery for users, and for those who

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had not recovered from their injury or ailment – a return of liv-ing in pain.

Due to the information provided to physicians from Purdue Pharma, doctors thought they were prescribing a medication that was not especially addictive, and one with few or minimal effects of withdrawal. So doctors were not inclined to re-pre-scribe OxyContin unless they felt the underlying cause of the pain remained, and they were not disposed to believe patients who reported extreme and debilitating conditions after stopping the medication. It did not seem medically likely that discontinu-ing OxyContin would have such effects. Thus, doctors did not establish plans to gradually discontinue OxyContin use by their patients because they did not know that they should or had to.

The frightening reality was that the side effects of withdrawal from OxyContin were worse than withdrawal from Heroin ad-diction and lasted longer. Further, with abrupt discontinuation of the medication the symptoms of withdrawal were increased. In either case, it was almost impossible to go through OxyContin withdrawal alone, without professional drug rehabilitation.

neW CLass of addiCts

The revolutionary pain medication created a severe dependen-cy and a whole new category of drug-addicts. OxyContin was used by business people, teachers, doctors, lawyers – “butch-ers, bakers and candlestick makers” - responsible, law-abiding men and women who for whatever reason were experiencing pain. No matter their situation or station in life, those feeling the effects of OxyContin withdrawal would stop at nothing to get more - acquiring multiple prescriptions from various doctors for the medication, stealing doctor’s prescription pads, stealing from pharmacies, buying more tablets from other legitimate or illegal sellers, using the tablets in off-label ways to increase or extend the dosage – nothing was too far to go to stop the feeling of OxyContin withdrawal.

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This new category of criminal was almost unbelievable to doc-tors and law enforcement. These were not marginalized peo-ple, they did not live on the streets or on the “wrong side of the tracks,” they were not part of a street culture or a criminal culture – these were addicts to a prescription they acquired le-gitimately. High-functioning, responsible people properly tak-ing a legally prescribed drug were in some cases brought down to the level of street junkie. Those desperate for relief from their withdrawal symptoms were prepared to engage in extremely un-characteristic behaviour to get more, and through this behaviour – increased their addiction.

CriminaL / reCreationaL use of oXyContin

The appeal of this medication for recreational users was broad. It could be crushed and chewed, snorted or injected easily. Oxy-Contin was not something cooked up in a home lab. It was not a “street drug” of unknown ingredients. OxyContin was a phar-maceutical grade drug known for its purity. It was the “next big thing” in the recreational drug market, easy to acquire, easy to use, known to be pure, and the dosage was marked on each tab-let. It did not have all the known negative variables of other drugs. Since the dosage was consistent, it delivered a depend-able high. Finally, OxyContin was covered by many health in-surance plans, so all in all it was significantly cheaper than most street drugs.

When OxyContin became available on the street, youths and novice drug users did not know or understand the consequences associated with using it to get high. Unfortunately for the rec-reational user, when crushed, snorted or injected OxyContin carried an even higher risk of severe addiction and withdrawal. Those users were taking the drug at its highest level, and the consequences were proportionally more damaging. They were not aware of the Heroin-level addictive potential, and they were also not aware of the significant threat of a fatal overdose.

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death & destruCtion

In the mid-2000’s, Ontario’s Chief Coroner asked that foren-sic scientists go back and review death files of people who died from overdoses over the preceding five-year period. They found that between 1999 and 2003 there had been between a 400-500% increase in deaths where Oxycodone had been detected in the blood of the deceased.

In 2007, a research team from the University of Victoria con-ducted a study of drug use in seven Canadian cities. It was dis-covered that OxyContin and other prescription opioids were more popular and prevalent than Heroin among drug users in Canada. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Asso-ciation Journal, found that in most cases, prescription opioids used by street drug users originated from the medical system and not from illicit production and distribution. These were manu-factured drugs, originally obtained through a prescription. The study expressed concern that over-prescription of the drug led to rampant use on the street.

LaWsuits & admissions

Up to 2007, Purdue Pharma successfully avoided responsibility for the injuries and deaths of those suffering from using Oxy-Contin. By covering up the truth about the known qualities and effects of their product, Purdue Pharma obtained dismissals of over a thousand OxyContin related lawsuits in the United States. Purdue arrogantly boasted in a press release “65-0: OxyContin cases against Purdue Pharma dismissed at a record rate;” with the 65 being a callous reference to dead or addicted individuals.

In May, 2007, Purdue Pharma’s record of lawsuits changed. They agreed to pay $19.5 million in fines relating to lawsuits in 26 states and the District of Columbia. In a case filed in Con-necticut, these states complained that Purdue Pharma encour-aged doctors to prescribe OxyContin for use every 8 hours, rather than the 12-hour dose approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The Connecticut Attorney General said,

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“We are raising the bar on off-label marketing and other promotion tactics that lead to abuse and diversion of pre-scription drugs... Our combined state legal campaign will stop this manufacturer from promoting a powerful drug for inappropriate uses.”

Later the same month, Purdue Pharma and three of its top execu-tives pled guilty in a Virginia Federal Court to criminal charges that they misbranded OxyContin by representing it to have “less euphoric effect and less abuse potential” than it actually had, and by claiming that people taking the drug at low doses could stop taking it suddenly without symptoms of withdrawal. The US Food and Drug Administration had not approved Purdue’s claims, and yet they were the cornerstones of Purdue’s market-ing campaign. The company and the executives were to pay $634 million in fines for felony and misdemeanor misbranding.

not in vain

As the Federal Courts determined in 2007, Purdue had misrepre-sented the risks and abuse potential of this potentially addictive and dangerous drug. It carried out a highly successful market-ing campaign based on the fiction that OxyContin was safe for use, less addictive than other similar pain medications, and that a person could stop taking the medication abruptly without ad-verse consequences.

As noted above, there were hundreds of individual lawsuits filed, pursued and defeated up to May 2007 by OxyContin users or their families. While none of these actions were successful, the continued reporting of the dangerous and addictive down-side of OxyContin was starting to create grave concerns in the marketplace. As more and more people became addicted or died as a result of using OxyContin, the media and the general public were hearing more and more about the dark consequences of using this medication – both legally and illegally. People were looking for answers and for help.

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CLass aCtions CommenCed

It appears that “Profit Over People” or “Profit from Pain” were the mottos and driving force of Purdue Pharma in its marketing and promotion of OxyContin. Purdue knew of the devastatingly addictive properties of their product, but continued their aggres-sive marketing campaign without any concern for the users – their customers.

Purdue Pharma’s marketing and promotion created a pattern of addiction and drug abuse that repeated itself across North Amer-ica and beyond, and caused untold associated crime, addiction, loss of dignity and in some cases - loss of life. Such business practices cannot be allowed to continue. They demand legal re-dress and public condemnation.

In October 2007, officials in Kentucky filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for misleading health care providers and con-sumers “regarding the appropriate uses, risks and safety of Oxy-Contin.” As of mid-2008, the cases were consolidated with other lawsuits into a single multi-litigation suit in a Federal Court in New York.

Also in 2007 and in conjunction with law firms across Canada, class action litigation is being pursued against Purdue Pharma for the benefit of any person who experienced personal injury, harm, damages or loss of life as a result of being prescribed OxyContin in Canada.

It is for the people caught in the lie of OxyContin that class action counsel are taking on Purdue Pharma and its business practices. Drug manufacturers may be motivated by a desire for profit, but they cannot be allowed to achieve success by expos-ing their consumers to addiction, untold risks and personal peril. The resulting damaged lives cannot go unanswered.

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About Ray

Raymond F. Wagner, Q.C. is the founder of Wagners - a Serious Injury Law Firm. With over 30 years experi-ence, he has restricted his practice to representing those who are harmed through the negligence of individuals, companies and government bodies. Ray’s legal practice

has a primary focus on class actions, mass tort litigation, medical negligence, product liability and catastrophic motor vehicle accident cases.

Ray Wagner’s clients include the Westray mine disaster victim families, survivors of abuse at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, senior citizens in the long term health care Class Action, residents of the infamous Sydney Tar Ponds, residents of Greenwood, NS PERC water contamination claims, residents affected by the pathology errors at the Miramichi Hospital, as well as injured patients in Vioxx and OxyContin pharmaceutical Class Actions.

Ray Wagner is a leader in Canadian litigation with a recognized commitment to access to justice issues and the highest standards of civil trial practice. He is the recent recipient of the Canadian Caucus of AAJ Leadership Award (2011) and the Honourable Lorne Clarke, Q.C. Access to Justice Award (2012).

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About Libby

Elizabeth Ann (Libby) Kinghorne is a practicing lawyer, business manager and trial consultant living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the Executive Director of the Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association and the Executive Director of the Canadian Caucus of the American

Association for Justice.

Libby is a frequent organizer of legal education for civil trial lawyers, presented across the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and throughout North America. She is a strong supporter of Access to Justice campaigns and Consumer Advocacy groups, including: Coalitions Against No-Fault Insurance in Atlantic Canada, and Consumers for Insurance Fairness in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Together with her spouse, Randolph Kinghorne, Esq., Libby is raising three children, Juliana, Teagan and Sawyer, to appreciate civil liberty and access to justice. She is proud that they can so easily form “natural justice” arguments even when being sent to bed or to time-outs.

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never settLe PremAtureLy

Chapter 10

never settLe PrematureLy

By raJesh Kanuru, esq.

How much do you value throwing the baseball around in the yard with your son? Would you like to dance at your daughter’s wedding?

Like a thief in the night, a spinal injury can steal such activities from one’s daily life. When one is injured, obtaining competent legal representation becomes paramount. An attorney with his client’s best interest at heart will never advise you to trade money for health; a superior attorney will have an extensive jury trial background and be prepared to handle your case, no matter how complicated – with a level of sophistication and aggressive-ness. An exceptional attorney will have experience representing clients against national and multinational corporations and municipalities.

Our law firm focuses on Personal Injury and Worker’s Com-pensation cases, as do many other law firms across the country. What sets us and our approach apart is the predominance of our cases involve spinal injury due to work-related injuries, automobile accidents, construction accidents, and nursing home tragedies. Spinal injuries are complex cases with complicated

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and severe medical problems. Our dedication to helping victims of spinal injuries is so significant that we have lectured on spinal injuries before many organizations, and even lectured to a national plaintiff’s lawyer organization about how to litigate spinal injuries. Simple daily activities that most people take for granted such as brushing one’s teeth or getting into or out of bed can become a major ordeal requiring the assistance of a family member or caregiver.

After suffering a spinal injury, one’s goal is to ensure that the agreed-upon settlement will ensure that all current and future needs and interests are satisfied. Several factors, unique to spinal injuries, change the playing field, and therefore, change the way one should address the injury and treatment, as well as altering what one should expect from one’s legal counsel.

Misdiagnosis: Consider the structure of your spine. To simplify, let us look at the spine as being a series of boxes, the verte-brae, with jelly donuts, the discs, between them. Normally the vertebrae and the discs work in harmony. Most times, damaged discs cause the pain that a person with spinal injury feels. What began as damage to the discs in the cervical part of the spine can actually cause pain, tingling, and numbness in the arms, hands, and fingers. Because the pain does not occur exclusively at the injury site, misdiagnosis in spinal injury is common. As a result of misdiagnosis, people often endure pain and its restrictions for longer than necessary and may even delay receiving appropriate medical treatment. A doctor seeing the symptoms of numbness and tingling in the hand may determine that these symptoms equal carpal tunnel syndrome. However, treating the symptoms will not make the pain associated with spinal injury go away and waiting to treat the root cause might actually cause further injury or exacerbation of the problem. The convention is to go first to see a chiropractor when one has a spinal injury. However, because misdiagnosis or mistreatment of spinal injury can further hinder recovery, we advise that you see a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon immediately. Chiropractors can work

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wonders for day-to-day maintenance of simple pain, caused by everyday wear and tear on your spine, such as sitting too much at a desk or improper lifting that caused strain. For example, the diagnosis and treatment of an individual who has suffered a catastrophic, four-story construction site fall requires a specialist suitably trained to handle such injuries. In comparison, one would likely select a cardiac surgeon, not a general surgeon, to perform one’s open-heart surgery.

Misconceptions: Pain, and how it affects a person’s life, dramatically influences a person’s ability and desire to seek proper treatment. Unless one has felt the chronic, debilitat-ing pain of a spinal injury or spinal surgery, one probably cannot fully comprehend its ability to change the more mundane elements of daily life that one takes for granted. Complex spinal cases, like that of a recent client of mine whose construction injuries were so significant that they required surgery to fuse three of his vertebrae together, can be difficult to treat and even harder to quantify. My client was asked in deposition “How do you know that you are feeling better?” His response was “I can get out of bed on my own.” The man had needed the help of his wife to both get him out of bed and to dress him. Injuries such as his often significantly change a person’s marital life by altering their daily activities and financial life. How would you place a price tag on the ability to wash dishes? What monetary figure would you place on the ability to grocery shop with your spouse without pain interfering? These are the tough questions— without easy answers—that clients face when attempting to reach a settlement with an insurance company.

A firm’s first responsibility is to help its client regain as much physical health as possible before agreeing to “settle” for compensation in exchange for a less than normal, healthy existence. If one is injured, one needs to ensure that one receives proper medical care and fixes as much as can be addressed to relieve pain and restore quality of life. You might carry a full purse after your settlement for only a short time, but you might

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carry bulging disc pain to the grave. It is important not to let friends and family, even those who mean well, talk you into settling quickly because they think that money will assuage the damage done to your body. Would you rather have a hefty settlement or the ability to roll around and play on the floor with your children or grandchildren? In the beginning, one’s attorney should concentrate on ensuring his client gets the appropriate healthcare he needs first, not focusing on settling the case.

The Wrong Advice: If the advice one received when injured was plentiful, the advice a person will receive from doctors, friends, and financial advisors quadruples after one receives an insurance settlement. Many people who receive settlements never directly benefit from the money they received for their pain and suffering. Instead, family and friends crawl out of the woodwork with businesses ideas for which they request “only a few thousand dollars” investment. Insurance agents who double as financial planners advise placing settlement monies into risky investments that pay them hefty commissions even as their clients lose the substantial settlement monies they received for the injuries they sustained.

New assets obtained in a settlement need protection or they will not last until you need them. Our firm’s holistic approach includes advising clients on how to protect carefully their settlement package, so that they will have their money available to them to achieve their goals of getting them future medical treatment and maintaining their quality of life similar to before the accident. An excellent attorney’s obligation to the client does not end when the settlement check arrives. Finding an attorney in whom you can put your trust about all matters regarding your case can be the greatest challenge, next to the medical treatment needed to repair the injuries.

An Involved Attorney: When one has decided that one needs legal representation to help navigate insurance red tape or to argue on one’s behalf for a settlement, there are several key

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items for which to look. First, how involved will your attorney be in your case? Your case must be personal to the attorney. This does not mean that your attorney becomes emotionally involved in your case; however, it does mean that your attorney will be as vested in your case as if the case involved his own family member. A vested attorney will put your health and well-being first, putting his clients’ needs before his firm’s profit. An excel-lent attorney will be with you each step of the way:

• Checking in…to hear from you after each doctor’s visit so that the attorney stays abreast of what is happening with your care and prognosis.

• Not rushing your case…as spinal injuries can get worse over time. The proper procedure is to treat and observe. There is no compelling reason to rush to settle. Your worst injuries, worst pain and suffering, may not have even come about yet.

• They would be the type of caretaker with whom you would trust your own child.

Bigger is not Always Better: The biggest law firm in your area might not be the best one to represent you in your case. While large law firms may have deeper pockets and more resources, their caseload that pays for those resources might also mean you get less time with your attorney, or that your attorney is less involved in your case. Larger law firms do not focus on one area, and their assigned attorney(s) might not have the experience or detailed knowledge to handle the unique issues in relation to spinal injuries.

Conversely, a small firm, despite having excellent intentions, may offer the one-on-one time, but have limited resources to challenge a large insurance company that is intent on not paying you for your injuries or your medical care. The small firm may also lack the knowledge and experience to litigate a case with unique issues related to spinal injuries. A mid-sized, specialized firm such as ours can offer you the personalized care of attorneys who take part

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in your case from start to finish, while still having the resources required to challenge insurance companies and win.

In the Courtroom, Technology Might Trump Experience: Do not be duped into thinking that a very old law firm that has been in business for 30 years will automatically offer what you require either. Just because an attorney has 30 years’ experience does not mean he has kept current in the use of technology in a courtroom. An attorney wins cases when the jury can quickly digest and undertand the complicated information related to your spinal injuries. For example, law firms should use plasma screens and 3-D modeling to demonstate to a jury the nature of how an injury occurred. Expert physicians, and specialists in physics, who explain both how an injury occurred, as well as the far-reaching implications that an automobile accident or workplace injury has had on our client, enhance the jurors’ understanding of the case. Not all experienced attorneys are experienced in the ways that count.

Journaling - Tell Your Story: One often-overlooked element in a spinal injury case is the client’s own story. I recommend that whether you currently have counsel or not, keep a journal. Write down every day what you could do successfully that day, as well as those things at which you failed. If you could tie your shoes on Monday, write it in your journal. If the pain was so bad on Tuesday that you could barely get out of bed to use the restroom, write it down. Documenting each day will assist you in recall-ing when asked by doctors or attorneys how and what you were feeling on each day. The minutia that makes up our daily lives can be the information that indicates to the physician how a case is progressing, and indicate what treatment will next be required. A journal helps prepare for court by painting a picture of how your life was in the past, how it is presently, and how it may be in the future.

A client of our firm, who looked normal and healed—and appeared to everyone as being well and whole—returned to

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work and seemed to be “back to normal.” His journal told a far different story. His journal chronicled the daily frustration of not being able to grip his infant daughter’s baby bottle to open it, fill it, or hold his child to feed her. Although physically he appeared to have reached maximum medical improvement, maximum improvement was still not adequate to return his life to normal. His new “normal” meant that he could not comfortably hold or play with his baby in the way any father would want to do.

Have an accident, hire an attorney: From the moment the adjuster heard about your accident or your claim hit his desk—in fact probably while you were still having an initial examination with a physician at the hospital—the lawyers for the insurance company were already working against you to protect their client, the insurance company. The insurance company has someone to represent them whose primary purpose is to keep you from getting benefits that you deserve. The sooner you hire the right attorney—one who specializes in Personal Injury or Workers’ Compensation cases, preferably one for whom spinal cases are the rule, not the exception—the sooner you can be on the road to maximum medical improvement and a normal life.

How will an attorney who specializes in spinal injuries manage your case more effectively as compared with a general attorney? As with medical care, your general practitioner can easily take care of your upset stomach or common cold. However, if you had stomach cancer, you would require a specialist with greater training than that of your general practitioner. The same is true of your legal representation. The attorney in your neighborhood is probably qualified to create a simple will for you; he likely is not the specialist needed to represent you against your employer’s insurance company for a Worker’s Compensation claim resulting from a crushing injury at the plant. Do not sell-out your health too cheaply because of the lure of the first settlement offer made by an insurance company. Slow and steady will win the race.

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About Rajesh

Rajesh Kanuru is a founding partner of KP Law, LLC. He has established a stellar reputation for being a zealous advocate for his clients who suffered spinal injuries through work or the negligence of another. Believing that involvement is key to successful representation, Rajesh

has successfully fought for the rights of clients against an impressive list of large corporations – including PepsiCo, UPS, Walsh Construction, Walmart, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Fed-Ex, Target, and other Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Kanuru’s dedication to his job is unparalleled. He is tenacious when it comes to fighting for the rights of hard-working individuals. Rajesh Kanuru has been featured on television and in Chicago newspapers, and has voiced his advice and concerns on personal injury and workers compensation through various lectures and articles. He also wrote a weekly column in a national newspaper and has previously co-hosted his own legal radio show. He has lectured heavily on spinal injury litigation. His peers constantly refer to him for advice on how to maximize settlements in cases in which their Plaintiff has suffered a spinal injury.

Rajesh Kanuru participates in various associations, such as Workers Compensation Lawyers, Illinois Trial Lawyers, American Association for Justice and the Brain Injury Association of Illinois. He received his Juris Doctor [Doctor of Law] from Chicago-Kent School of Law and his Masters in Business Administration from Loyola University, Chicago.

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gOne tOO sOOn – A disAster WAiting tO hAPPen

Chapter 11

gone too soon – a disaster Waiting

to haPPen

By MiChael sloCuMB, esq.

I’ll never forget the morning of Feb. 5, 2010. That was the week-end that “Snowmageddon” came through Washington D.C., and the entire area got pounded with almost four feet of unrelenting snow. That was also the morning when I picked up the phone, only to hear a woman on the other end, who was in complete panic.

At first, I could barely understand her, because she was crying uncontrollably. “My son was killed this morning by a tractor-trailer,” she said sobbing. It happened down on Interstate-81 in Virginia. She explained how her son was simply coming to visit her, along with his sister and father. The father died too.

They were traveling in a minivan, when they saw a vehicle that had wrecked on the side of the road. It was snowing, very icy, and hard to see. The sister, who is a nurse, pulled over on the right shoulder of the road to help. She walked over to check on the crash, which was on the left side of the road. The father slept in the back, while the son relaxed in the front.

Suddenly, an 18-wheeler came flying down the Interstate speed-ing. The driver hit the breaks when he saw the minivan, but his ex-

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cessive speed caused him to slide on the ice, impacting the rear of the van. The father and son were both killed by this reckless driver.

We obviously sued the driver and the tractor-trailer company, since these vehicles are held to a higher standard of care than any ordinary driver. In fact, the Federal Department of Transportation has special rules and regulations for drivers of tractor-trailers. If there are snow and ice conditions, they are NOT supposed to be driving. Basically, the guy should never have been on the road.

In addition to the fact that he was going too fast, he was in the left lane when he should have been in right. But again, rules say he should not have been on road in the first place. Seems open and shut right?

Well, there were more rules broken. There are restrictions and limits on hours a driver is allowed to operate a tractor-trailer. This driver was way over those hours. Plus, he didn’t even meet the minimum qualifications of the company that hired him!

Still not done. The driver also had numerous violations - about seven or eight - and should have been terminated a long time before the accident. All of those factors create a dangerous con-dition, where the company was basically asking for a tragedy like this to happen.

This could have been your son. For no fault of his own, this innocent young man’s life is now over. This is what happens. These are the kinds of cases I handle; cases that never should happen in the first place.

We represented the son and the father, who had left a wife be-hind. Now, she’s been taken care of, and the mother, who lost her son way too early, is also taken care of.

yet another tragedy

Another case I’m just now wrapping up centers around a 45-year-old lady driving to work. She was a daycare teacher, just trying

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to do her part to help some kids. She was going across an inter-section traveling 15 to 20 miles per hour, when a commercial vehicle ran a red light. She was t-boned on the driver’s side.

EMT did all they could, as she was airlifted to the hospital, where she stayed for about a month. She ended up suffering a severe brain injury called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. This is a traumatic brain injury, yet these are always difficult cases. They are very complicated from a medical standpoint. So, even if you have a case that’s worthy, it can be hard to prove and get recov-ery. This is the kind of case where you really need a lawyer who has handled this specialty before.

In her instance, there was a lot of medical support and documen-tation for the injury, so we made a recovery. She went back for a medical check up nine months later; only to find out she had loss of cerebral volume, meaning her brain had shrunk. In fact, it had shrunk about 10%. Her brain had aged 20 to 25 years within a 10-month time frame. Usually these cases are dependent upon the opinion of an expert. This had documented injuries with an MRI.

We are actually about to settle, which is nice, but she can expect early onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and cognitive is-sues. So, she is going to have to use those recovery funds to hire 24-hour supervision for rest of her life. People like this client might live in assisted living, or might elect to remain at home, but will absolutely need aid 24 hours a day. They need help brushing their teeth, bathing, getting dressed, and even eating. That takes a very great toll on family too, especially if they decide to help.

In terms of recovery, we were looking for enough so that she could afford to have somebody with her 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Plus, she might need modifications to her home and physical therapy. This is for the next 30 to 40 years of her life.

Don’t forget about lost wages. In about 95% of these traumatic brain injury cases, the person injured will never return to any kind of gainful employment ever again. It’s not just about the

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money either. This person will never feel the excitement of a job well done. The injured won’t ever be able to take pride in his or her craft. No amount of money can buy this back.

Now, with tragic events like death and permanent injury, you would think that insurance companies would be more than hap-py to help these innocent people and their families.

Unfortunately, they do almost everything they can to avoid pay-ing a dime in some cases.

Why? Let’s take a closer look into the history of insurance com-panies to explain this resistance a little better.

hoW did it Come to this?

Insurance companies didn’t always make money on the ‘claims’ side. They used to only make a profit on the float. What is the float? Well, insurance receives premiums or monthly payments for a specific risk. You, the policyholder, pay that premium each month, rain or shine. In a perfect world, every dollar they re-ceive as a premium should eventually be paid out in claims.

How insurance companies historically made money was the time they held the premium until the time they paid that money back in the form of a claim. They would invest these funds - much like a bank - and make interest. That is called the float, the money made on interest while insurance holds your money before a claim. You add up this interest over billions of dollars and the float is a substantial profit.

Yet 25 years ago, the insurance industry got greedy. They want-ed to see if they could take a little extra on top of the float. So, rather than pay dollar for dollar in premiums and claims, they tried to pay out $.93 for every dollar. They wanted to take out some of your claims money. And they did to the tune of billions!

They created this program Colossus, which evaluates claims. What this program does is takes the humanity and objectivity

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out of it for the adjuster. It has become a numbers game for a computer program. No matter how tragic the accident and loss of life, adjusters can hide behind the program and withhold pay-ment. There are other programs like Colossus, but every com-pany basically has one.

So, now you know why innocent victims often have to turn to me to get just compensation. Because of this blatant disregard for the wellbeing of these victims by the insurance companies, I take my job very seriously.

taking Pride in standing uP for those Who Can’t stand uP for themseLves

For example, with the brain injury case, the lady had a fractured collarbone, fractured ribs, a severed spleen, and a collapsed lung. This indicates a great amount of force from the accident. It just shows how much energy she absorbed from this horrific crash.

The sad part is that it wasn’t until just recently that we made any headway in getting her compensation, which she is absolutely en-titled to. The defense claimed she didn’t have that bad of a brain injury and that people like her generally recover. She had parts of her brain permanently destroyed and they said something callous like this because of money. This woman will need care for the rest of her life, and they could care less because of a few bucks.

These defense lawyers want to talk about the brain like it’s a to-mato plant. If you cut a tomato off the vine, two weeks later an-other one grows back. That is NOT how the human brain works, and I don’t know where this nonsense started. Once you lose brain mass, it’s gone forever. It’s not coming back. The sad part is that I’m sure she would trade the money in to get her fully-functioning brain back.

In the tractor case, even though the driver took the 5th amendment and refused to answer our questions, even though he shouldn’t have been hired, even though he should have been fired on seven

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occasions – the opposing attorney still said, “Your folks were on the road too, so they are partly at fault.”

It’s hard as a human being not to get angry at this type of behav-ior. Never mind that the driver of the vehicle was a nurse, who pulled over, and was trying to administer aid. That’s the audacity of some of these defenses. “We may have been wrong, but you were wrong too,” they say. “You were on the road. If it’s so bad to be on the road with snow and ice, why were you there?” It’s disgusting, because they say this with a straight face.

We had another case where a lady was 22 weeks pregnant. She was rear-ended. She was also rushed to the hospital and sadly, lost her baby. The fetus was born alive then died. Then, the de-fense claimed this accident did not cause her to go into early labor, which resulted in the baby’s death. Well, that’s a hell of a coincidence that she had an accident, she then has a premature baby, and it doesn’t survive. That’s what you get from them. They try to fight it from every angle, right or wrong.

You are dealing with a faceless defendant, so they can do these things without worrying about human decency. There is an in-surance adjuster hiding in a back office, behind a cubicle, and you can’t see them. They also can’t see you. All they are doing is crunching numbers. They have billions in cash, and your case is not even a spec on their radar. That adjuster is betting that your client is going to just give up or accept something less than what they deserve.

If it does get in front of a jury, they are also betting the negative stigma and tort reform advertisements are going to sway the jury their way. They claim every plaintiff is hungry for money, and there are no worthy lawsuits. The jury comes in with this dispo-sition. That is what these insurance companies are betting on.

They are going to wear you out, wear your client out, and bet that the 25 years they have spent framing tort reform will help them come back with a jury ruling in their favor.

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About Mike

Michael Slocumb, Esq. is the senior partner and founder of the Slocumb Law Firm, LLC. He limits his practice to personal injury litigation, including catastrophic au-tomobile negligence claims, no-fault claims, medical practice, premises liability and nursing home negli-

gence. Mike Slocumb has successfully negotiated and tried multiple million dollar claims for victims of accidental injuries.

Mr. Slocumb holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn University and a Juris Doctorate degree from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. He was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 2003, to the State Bar of Georgia in 2004, the District of Columbia Bar in 2009 and most recently the Illinois State Bar in 2011. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Slocumb worked in Washington D.C., for the late Senator Paul Coverdell (R. GA).

Mike Slocumb has been practicing law for almost a decade, but he hasn’t always defended those suffering from personal injury. Mike actually started doing insurance defense work – the attorneys now on the other side of the table - for a firm in Alabama. In 2003, he went to work for Bill Gamble and says he learned more in a year with Gamble than he probably could in a decade.

“I learned just about how you treat other lawyers,” Mike said. “He is a true gentleman of the law. He was instrumental early on in shaping the way I would practice.”

Notwithstanding the amazing lawyer Gamble was, insurance defense work was definitely not for Michael. “At the time, we were fighting against what I thought were frivolous lawsuits,” he said. “I never would have guessed I’d end up doing personal injury.”

Mike is a conservative through and through, and it took seeing some of the cases that were being dictated by the insurance companies to change his mind on helping the helpless. He felt like many of the cases should have just been paid. Yet, the insurance companies were paying him and the other attorneys more to fight than settle. “That really turned me off,” he said. “Representing the victims became what I wanted to do.”

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In March 2005, the Michael Slocumb Law Firm was born. What makes Mike so special is that he came from the other side. He has seen how tort reform is wrong. He knows what claims to look for that deserve compensation. Last, but not least, he cares.

Most lawyers doing personal injury are liberal Democrats. “I remain a very conservative Republican, proud of that,” he said. “I just happen to part com-pany on this issue. It’s just a lack of exposure to what goes on. I was exposed to it from the other side.” Mike says that if Republican legislators actually saw the impact of some of their legislations, a lot of them would form the same opinions he has.

Today, Mike Slocumb’s trial practice spans the country. He is actively in-volved in litigating cases in Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and others. Mr. Slocumb is a zealous advocate for his clients while presenting their claims with honor and integrity.

For more information or Mike Slocumb’s expert help, visit: www.slocumblaw.com.

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Our heALth CAre system – BeCOme A survivOr, nOt A stAtistiC

Chapter 12

our heaLth Care system – BeCome

a survivor, not a statistiC - Tips on How to Maximize your

Health Care Experience

By ranDall hooD, esq.

Death. Destruction. Imagine that every day of the year a 737 air-plane crashed somewhere in the United States and all 200 people on board were killed. Imagine the horror of so many lives lost in a single day. Loss of Life. Loss of Hope. If an airplane full of people was lost daily, you can be sure that by day three, the fed-eral government and people across the country would be rally-ing to find out the cause of these crashes. There would be a hue-and-cry to stop the nonsense of so many people dying each day.

Now, imagine if this same situation applied to part of American life much more familiar to the everyday American than flying in a plane. These same numbers of death affect one industry in the United States – our Health Care Industry. Every day in America, scattered across our great country, many people die due to medi-cal error. Unfortunately, because these people do not die in geo-

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graphic clusters, their deaths barely show up on our collective radar. One dies in Savannah, GA, one dies in Tacoma, WA and hundreds more in-between. Imagine the publicity created if all of them died at the same hospital. The same passion to stop the non-sense of preventable death should be the same as if a jumbo jet crashed daily in our country.

Push! Push! Bill and Sue Miller were beyond excited at the pros-pect of their new baby. They were in the hospital waiting for him to arrive and Sue was in the pushing stage of her labor. Married for 17 years, Bill and Sue Miller had been trying to have a baby for over a decade. Once Bill and Sue realized they were unable to conceive on their own, they sought medical assistance and Bill had a surgical procedure about 2 years prior to pregnan-cy. When Sue finally became pregnant, they were thrilled and looked forward to their expected bundle of joy.

Bill and Sue dreamed of a perfect pregnancy, a perfect baby, a perfect family, and a perfect life. Once Sue reached 40 weeks of pregnancy, her doctor decided he needed to induce the birth. It was a Friday evening when the induction began, and after a few hours of labor and still no delivery of Sue’s baby, the doctor began to get restless. He was anxious to have Sue deliver so that he could go home after his long week and start his weekend.

Sue’s doctor advised her and her husband, Bill about using a birth delivery technique known as a vacuum extractor to deliv-er their baby. Unknown to Bill and Sue, this procedure carried heavy risks if done repeatedly. Their doctor also mentioned try-ing to deliver their baby with a medical device known as forceps. Bill and Sue, not knowing better, decided that they would rely on their doctor’s advice. They wanted to meet their baby and if their doctor thought it was in Sue and the baby’s best interests to deliver their child now, who were they to question the doctor?

Bill and Sue felt they had a relationship with their doctor’s practice and they trusted the doctor who was going to deliver

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their baby. Even though the doctor was not her primary obstetri-cian, his practice had treated Sue throughout the pregnancy and helped provide her prenatal care. Bill and Sue never dreamed the doctor would put his own interests above their baby’s health. They thought he would not do them wrong. Once Bill and Sue agreed to their doctor’s delivery techniques, the doctor began using the vacuum extractor. After one vacuum pull of the head, the baby did not deliver. After a second delivery attempt with a forceps, baby Jamie still would not deliver. The doctor then proceeded with his third attempt and no baby. What proceeded next was the doctor repeatedly rotating his delivery techniques of vacuum and forceps before baby Jamie was finally delivered.

Immediately following baby Jamie’s entrance into the world, everyone in the room, including Bill and Sue knew that some-thing was wrong. The baby was limp; he was lifeless and blue. After waiting 17 long years of trying to start their family, the baby was here, yet was lying there lifeless. There was no breath-ing, no heartbeat. How could that be? What was happening? Bill and Sue’s dream was now a nightmare. The entire medical team worked for nearly an hour and by some miracle was finally able to resuscitate precious baby Jamie. His heart began beating and he was able to breathe. He was alive but it was too late as the damage he sustained through the delivery procedures left him catastrophi-cally brain injured. Jamie would never blink or swallow

Bill and Sue finally took baby Jamie home and over the next 22 months Jamie would finally begin to show some signs of life. He would stare and sometimes move. Jamie could not engage or interact with his parents in any meaningful way. Bill and Sue held their baby. Bill wrote many songs for him and Sue loved him with all of her heart and together they dedicated their lives to caring for their beautiful baby boy who was finally here after over a decade of trying to start their family. Tragically Bill and Sue lost their only baby as Jamie died at age 22 months from the complications of his birth.

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After experiencing the shock of losing their baby and after many months of mourning his death, Bill and Sue had to know how this could have happened. After all, Sue had a perfect pregnancy and they expected a healthy baby. They needed answers and they needed some closure to the nightmare they were living. Bill and Sue decided to talk with an attorney that specialized in this sort of tragedy. After getting all of their medical records, it became apparent to their attorney that there had been no need to use the vacuum or the forceps repeatedly to hasten Jamie’s birth. The Millers decided to sue the doctor and eventually there was a trial and a verdict for the parents of baby Jamie. Bill and Sue did receive some monetary compensation but it did not bring back their child, their beautiful angel. Their hope, their love, their life, their beautiful baby boy was dead because of an unnecessary medical procedure and callous medical treatment.

So, what does the everyday American do to ensure that they re-ceive proper medical care? We all experience going to the doctor. People go to surgery, undergo childbirth, consult with cardiolo-gists, and visit the emergency room. We have parents and loved ones who go to nursing homes. Our population is getting older and we have to face the reality that medical care is a necessary component of our everyday life. What does the normal Ameri-can citizen do, to receive the best medical care? Most of us have no medical training and we are at the mercy of our healthcare providers to render proper care. How do we maximize that care? Who oversees the medical providers to ensure that we receive the proper care?

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine and the Committee on Qual-ity of Health Care in America wrote a book titled “To Err is Hu-man: Building a Safer Health System.” The book states “At least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people, die in hos-pitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented, according to estimates from two major studies. Even using the lower estimate, preventable medical errors in hospitals exceed attributable deaths to such feared threats as motor-vehicle

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wrecks, breast cancer, and AIDS.”1 More information from their report is located on the Institute of Medicine’s website. Sadly, there are providers who are simply not giving the proper medical care to our nation’s public. Therefore, there are five things that you can do to ensure you receive proper medical care.

1. Trust your Gut. If you are receiving medical care, at a doctor’s office, in the hospital, or at a nursing home and feel that something is not right, do something. If you are in a hospital and you feel that something is going wrong, tell your nurse. Ask to speak to your doctor. If a loved one is in a nursing home, speak to the Director of Nursing or Nurs-ing Supervisor. Whether the medical professional likes it or not, we are the consumer. We deserve optimal care. Insur-ance, Social Security or Medicare pay for most of this care. If you hire someone to come and fix your air conditioner and you paid for the service, you expect it to be done cor-rectly. Medical care is no different; it is a purchased service that should be done properly and within an expected pe-riod. Remember the old saying, the squeaky wheel gets the grease; if a hospital is underemployed or the medical staff is overworked, the person who is making the most noise is usually going to get the attention. We are living at a time of overcrowded hospitals, so trust your gut, whether in the hospital, awaiting tests, or at the doctor’s office and ask – ask if you feel you are not getting proper care.

2. Use your Common Sense. If you are supposed to receive fluids every two hours in the hospital and you have not received fluids in four hours, call someone. Make sure that the doctors, nurses, and medical providers are doing their jobs. They are supposed to inform you of the types of procedures you are going to receive; this is the Doc-trine of Informed Consent. Ensure that you are aware of these particular procedures. Go to the Internet to familiar-ize yourself with the procedures you will receive from the doctor, nurse, or hospital. Understand what is going to hap-pen, what the risks are, and how long it will be until you

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begin to feel better. An informed person is better equipped to make the decisions in their best health interests.

3. Conduct a Web Search. If you are going in for a medical procedure, conduct a Web search of your doctor and the hospital. There are articles and press releases written that are on the Web, that may or may not be true, but which can shed light on the type of care you can expect to re-ceive from a particular hospital or doctor or nursing home. Many state licensing boards put public reprimands on an accessible site for the public, and those reprimands come up when you do a search for a particular medical provider. Look for medical personnel who are licensed, board-certi-fied, and do not have many medical lawsuits against them. Try to find out how many times they were sued, and why, if that information is available. There is a website available from the federal government that lists every licensed nurs-ing home in America and will give you the results of every compliance survey for 1-2 years, and it will tell you if the facility has been cited for bedsores, unexplained deaths, re-peated falls, malnutrition, or dehydration. These are a giant red flag on their record.

4. Follow your Doctor’s Orders. If you go to the emergen-cy room, and your treating doctor says to follow up with your family physician the next morning, follow up the next morning. Do not wait two or three days because you are feeling better. This is compliance. Be compliant; fol-low your doctor’s orders. You control your body and your mind. Do what is necessary to ensure the highest level of health that you can for your body.

5. Talk to Friends and Family. If you have a friend or a family member who has had a similar procedure or has engaged a doctor in a similar profession such as a cardiologist, a surgeon, or a hospital; ask them about their experience. If a medical professional’s word of mouth reputation appears to be very positive, it is something that you may be able to trust, since it comes from people you trust. If your friend, or loved one,

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or that person has had problems with that particular medical provider or hospital, you should probably go elsewhere.

If there is a problem or something has occurred and you may have been injured because of inadequate medical care, there are two things you should do right away.

1. Contact someone in your local area or in your state who is experienced in medical malpractice or nursing home neg-ligence cases. Lawyers who are experienced in this area understand the problems that go along with this particular area of the law, and understand what needs to be done to find out answers for an injured patient. Seek out someone who has litigated cases for more than five years. Find out if they have ever tried a medical malpractice case. A web search will generally direct you to various law firm web-sites on which you should be able to see what their experi-ence is and find out if they have verdicts and settlements in the medical malpractice area.

2. Do not post things on social media like Facebook, Twit-ter, or Google+ that detail the things that occurred. Do not post pictures that show you in a false light, such as smil-ing at a party six months after this occurred and looking happy when you are in horrible pain.. These photos and details can, and will, be used against you. Social media is one of the primary ways that defendants gather informa-tion to use against you, and demonstrate that an injured party is misrepresenting his health and not showing how he really feels.

Some of the most common forms of medical error (commonly known as medical malpractice or medical negligence) are:

• Birth injuries (such as cerebral palsy) – When a mother be-gins to receive prenatal care, she is undergoing this treat-ment for herself and the life of her child. Most of the birth in-juries in this country happen in the antepartum period (12-24 hours prior to the delivery of the child). Some of the causes

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of these devastating injuries are: improper monitoring of the mother and baby during delivery, use of excessive force in delivering the baby, and overdosing the mother on labor in-ducing drugs. There are other causes, but these are some of the most common.

• Hospital negligence – Failure of a nurse to do her job can have devastating circumstances. If a nurse does not follow doctors’ orders or report significant changes of a patient’s condition for the worse, she is breaching her duty as a nurse. This medical professional is supposed to be the eyes and ears of a doctor. If a nurse is not qualified or a hospital is under-staffed, there can be problems leading to patient injury and death.

• Emergency room errors – Many people go to the emergency room as the first line of defense for problems during physi-cian off-hours, while some people use the emergency room as their primary form of medical care. If the doctors and nurses at a hospital fail to order proper tests or refuse to pro-vide proper treatment for any reason, there can be devastat-ing consequences. If someone goes in for chest pain, many times an EKG is ordered; if a patient has bad abdominal pain, many times an x-ray is ordered; if a child has a high fever, blood work is usually ordered and medication given to the parent for the child. The above types of care may not be required in all cases, but are merely examples of the type of care that may be rendered on a frequent basis at emergency rooms around the country.

• Radiologist errors – There are many ways that a radiologist can affect a patient’s care. If someone gets an x-ray for any reason, it is to be read by a radiologist. If the reading radi-ologist makes a misdiagnosis based upon his interpretation of the findings on an x-ray, a patient’s care can be severely impacted. Missed cancer masses, blocked intestines and strokes can commonly be missed on x-rays. These are the types of medical errors that can lead to death.

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• Surgical Error – People go to surgeons for many different reasons. Whether it is as simple as removal of an appendix, or as complicated as brain surgery, if a surgeon makes a mis-take, it can cause great harm. One of the most frequent things you see in medical errors in a surgical situation is a cut bile duct in gallbladder surgery, or entry into the intestine when doing some type of abdominal surgery. There may not be technical errors, but the follow up treatment by the surgeon is as important as the time they are surgically entering into your body. Be vigilant, and if you have questions about the procedure or the after care, ask questions.

• Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect – Nursing homes receive licensing by the state and must adhere to state and federal regulations in offering care for their patients. Additionally, routine inspections and record keeping are required in order to ensure they maintain an appropriate and adequate level of care. Warning signs often accompany nursing home neglect or abuses, such as:

- Bed sores

- Malnutrition and dehydration

- Slips and falls

- Unexpected death

- Wandering from the facility

- Patient-to-patient abuse

- Fecal impaction

The above medical errors are only a sample of things that can go wrong in a medical setting. There can be missed cardiology issues, psychiatric malpractice, dental malpractice, and many other types of injury producing medical errors. The bottom line is that you, as the consumer, have the right to demand the best of care from your physician or hospital. It is your dollar. If you demand the best from an auto mechanic, heating and air-condi-tioning company, or exterminator, you should expect to receive

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optimum care from your doctor or hospital.

The Millers buried Baby Jamie 22 months after he was born. His mother and father then had two other children. They are a happy family today, but the legacy of their baby boy will live with them forever. His 22 months of living without a blink reflex and hav-ing to be suctioned every ten minutes of his waking life on earth was preventable. His death from complications of the birth pro-cess was preventable. This tragedy should not have happened. Bill and Sue Miller will grow old knowing that they lost a child because of someone else’s error. Jamie’s death was a devastating loss and should never have occurred.

Though some things may not be preventable in a medical situ-ation, many are, and should not occur. Do what is necessary to maximize the medical care you are receiving. If there is a refusal by people in positions of authority in this country to investigate the reasons why hundreds of people die every day from medical error, do not become a statistic; protect yourself by using some of the suggestions in this book.

1 Committee on Quality Healthcare in America and Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2000)

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About Randall

With over two decades of experience, Attorney Randy Hood advocates for victims of catastrophic injury or medical malpractice. Catastrophic injury and mass tort lawyer, S. Randall (“Randy”) Hood, founding partner of McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC, has dedicated his legal

career to helping those who have suffered serious injuries or lost loved ones because of someone else’s negligence. With over twenty years of experience helping the injured fight back against those who hurt them, he focuses his practice on representing individuals who have been catastrophically injured in a preventable accident, or representing persons who have been wronged by an act of a corporation on a large-scale basis.

Randy’s catastrophic injury practice includes persons injured in a medical malpractice case, nursing home abuse/neglect situation, product liability case, tractor trailer collision or some other serious incident. The catastrophic injuries suffered by some of his clients have included: paralysis, brain injury, amputation, cerebral palsy and death. He also represents persons who have suffered some type of injury due to wrongful conduct on behalf of a corpo-ration or organized entity. This type of situation presents an opportunity for Hood to represent a class of individuals (class action) or many individual claims in a consolidated action against corporate entities (Multi District Liti-gation, or MDL).

While Randy Hood’s practice in South Carolina focuses on personal injury cases, his work in mass torts is national in scope. His success and expertise has afforded him the opportunity to be the featured speaker at numerous seminars focusing on nursing home negligence and medical malpractice. He also has spoken at annual conventions, state conventions, and at South Carolina Association for Justice events.

He has written articles for the South Carolina Trial Lawyer Magazine and for another publication in the medical malpractice arena. Randy Hood is also a contributing author to the upcoming book, Consumer Advantage, to be re-leased in the near future. Additionally, he was recently a featured expert on the PremierExperts™ Television Program, which was filmed in Washington, DC.

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You can contact Randy Hood at his office number (toll free) at: 877-327-3800 or go to the website of his law firm at: www.mcgowanhood.com. Hood and his firm have recently released a second website concentrating on pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices. You can reach Randy Hood through that website at: www.pharminjury.com.

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LitigAting dOg Bite CAses

Chapter 13

Litigating dog Bite Cases

By Jason WaeChter, esq.

An attorney representing a victim of a dog attack should have a base of knowledge on the applicable law, but also should know details about dogs, dog training, and dog behavior. On the litiga-tion side, each state’s laws are different and a thorough under-standing of time limits, defenses and causes of action is impera-tive. This chapter will impart some of that information.

statistiCs

Dogs aren’t always necessarily “man’s best friend.” Many are great companions and family pets, but they are animals by na-ture and animals do have the potential to bite and cause injury. Statistically, there are dog breeds that are more likely to bite than others. There are about 75 million dogs currently in the United States and it’s estimated that the average American has a 1/50 chance of being bitten by a dog in their lifetime.

Consider the following other statistics compiled from many different sources:

• Over 350,000 dog bite victims (about 1,000 per day) require emergency room medical attention each year.

• The number of dog bite victims requiring emergency hospitalization or hospital care has increased by over 85

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percent in the last 16 years. Victims are likely to suffer scarring, nerve damage and infection.

• The average cost to treat a hospitalized dog bite victim is more than $18,000.

• Annual dog bite losses total over $1 billion.

• Hospitalized dog bite victims are most likely to be chil-dren ages five and under or senior citizens over the age of 65.

• Dog bites are the fifth most common reason why chil-dren are hospitalized.

• Alarmingly, in over 75 percent of dog bites, the dog is the pet of a family or friend.

Perhaps the most accurate statistics are by The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It has estimated that over 4 million dog bites occur each year in the United States, and that 30,000 of the victims typically have to undergo some sort of reconstructive surgery every year. Lastly and most disturbingly, 15 to 30 people actually die from dog bite attacks yearly.

the Breeds that Bite

Simply, the statistics are the statistics: The breeds with the high-est reported incidents of biting are: Pit Bulls, Rottweilers (and mixes of the two) and wolf hybrids. In fact, these breeds inflict bodily harm in a shocking 77 percent of their victims and of all the victims 75 percent are children.

Pit BullsPit Bulls bite more people than any other breed and have the reputation as being a breed that bites and attacks. Many munici-palities have passed legislation to keep pet owners from keeping them or restrict ownership to some extent. In fact, between 2005 and 2011, almost 130 people in the United States were killed by pit bulls. Historically, pit bulls were bred for dog fighting pur-poses and are characterized by having exceptional jaw strength,

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making their bites arguably inflict more damage than any other dog breed. Pit bull owners and proponents argue that it’s all in how the animal is raised and that the dog breed gets a bad rap from the general public.

rottweilersRottweilers are big, powerful dogs. For this reason they’ve often been used as guard dogs and police dogs. The breed is reportedly the second most common breed of dog to attack, right behind pit bulls. Rottweilers are commonly perceived as junkyard dogs and portrayed as mean and nasty. While this isn’t always the case with the breed, the negative attention that they’ve garnered has been enough to put them high on the list of feared dogs.

Wolf hybrid dogsWolf-dogs are what happens when a wolf mates with a dog. There are about 300,000 hybrids in the United States and they are char-acterized as a type of exotic pet. They have extremely unpredict-able behavioral patterns, which leaves them more prone to at-tack. Remember, while dogs are domesticated, wolves aren’t. So it’s a risk anytime you encounter one of these dog-wolf hybrids .

othersWhile we’ve gone over the breeds that are most likely to attack, keep in mind that there’s a certain degree of “breed unpredict-ability” as well. For instance, in 2000, a four-pound Pomeranian dog was responsible for killing an infant. Pomeranians are hard-ly the first breed that comes to mind when you think of a “mean” dog. Alaskan Malamutes, German Shepherds, Doberman Pin-schers and St. Bernards are also on a very short list of respective breeds of canines that have been responsible for human deaths, aside from the Doberman Pinscher, who was perceived similar to how pit bulls are now, years ago. This lends credibility to the nature vs. nurture argument in that even dog breeds known for loyalty, friendliness and being good family dogs have been re-sponsible for severe bites and fatalities.

As previously mentioned, some breeds are of such concern to

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city and government officials that legislation has been passed in communities to outlaw or greatly restrict such animals. A proposal for a breed restriction often comes about following a violent or deadly attack. For instance, in the state of Washington, pit bulls are banned in 20 cities. Several other states around the nation fol-low similar bans. Do bans work in reducing the number of bites and attacks? Statistically speaking, not necessarily - dog bites and attacks have still risen in frequency some 85 percent from what they were over a decade ago. But breed bans and restrictions, per-haps more than anything, help raise awareness of the more dan-gerous types of dog breeds. And the publicity that these proposed laws generate, even if they don’t pass, is enough to keep people in the know about the “more dangerous” breeds of canines.

the LaW: dog Bite Case

Statute of Limitations: Dog bite laws are different from state-to-state. Each state has its own statute of limitations; this is the time limit someone has to file a dog bite lawsuit in court. If a lawsuit is not filed within this time period, it will not be allowed and no damages can be legally awarded.

Liability: Some states’ laws make the owner of a dog that has bitten or attacked someone responsible for damages to the vic-tim because of the mere fact that they owned the dog. Other states’ laws pertaining to dog bite incidences may require that the owner knew or should have known that the dog had a pro-pensity to bite or that an ordinance or a statute has been violated (for example: allowing the dog to run at large). Some states look at whether the victim was on public property or lawfully on pri-vate property.

The negligence case and common-law liability: The basic, civil-legal cause of action a dog bite victim may have against the dog owner is that of negligence. It must be proven that the owner owed a duty to the victim, that the duty was breached, that there were damages and that the breach of the duty was a cause of the damages. Basically it could be stated that the owner of a dog has

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a duty to keep their dog under reasonable control and not run at large. If he or she breaches that duty and the dog causes injury, the owner is responsible for the harm that was caused.

Statutory Liability: Most often there is liability to an owner of the dog established by state law. Often this state law is referred to as “The Dog Bite Statute.” The law will provide statutory liability for dog bites under specific circumstances while also providing exceptions to that liability. An example of a state dog bite statute is:

If a dog bites a person, without provocation while the per-son is on public property, or lawfully on private property, including the property of the owner of the dog, the owner of the dog shall be liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.

A person is lawfully on the private property of the owner of the dog within the meaning of this act if the person is on the owner’s property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or if the person is on the owner’s property as an invitee or licensee of the person lawfully in possession of the property unless said person has gained lawful entry upon the premises for the purpose of an unlawful or criminal act.

Landlord liability: Where the owner of the dog is in a rental sit-uation, there often is not a source of insurance specifically with the dog owner; many people do not purchase renter’s insurance. It is important to look to all sources of liability and recovery. Again, each state is different however, more often I see that the landlord does not have liability unless the landlord had knowl-edge of the dog’s propensity for violence and that the landlord retained sufficient control over the subject premises.

Damages: In a civil case against an owner of a dog after a bite or attack, the victim may be able to collect “damages.” There are

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‘non-economic damages’ and ‘economic damages.’ Economic damages are things that have a calculated value. For example, medical bills, wage loss and damage to personal property.

A lawsuit may request past and future economic damages -- pay-ment for things that have been incurred or lost as well as things that are likely to be incurred or lost in the future. The cost of a revision surgery to make a scar look less apparent is an example of a future economic loss. Non-economic damages are things that do not have a “price-tag value” and usually refers to com-pensation for pain and suffering, scarring, disfigurement, embar-rassment, humiliation, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.

The One Bite Rule: is a legal doctrine that at one time applied in many states, however, currently is no longer common. Under this rule, there is only liability to the dog’s owner if the owner knew or had reason to know that the dog had in the past bitten someone or was likely to bite. Under this old rule I have heard some of insurance adjusters state that the owner is entitled to “one free bite.”

Comparative negligence: A victim may also be found to be negligent. Each state may also treat negligence differently. Some states subtract the percentage of negligence of the victim from the percentage of the dog owner’s negligence and thus reduce the damages awarded by the victim’s owner negligence. Other states have what’s called the 50% rule. In these states if the plaintiff was more than 50% at fault there may be no recovery for certain damages like pain and suffering and disfigurement. One of the most onerous comparative negligence states is Maryland, whose law states that if the victim is found to be 1% comparatively neg-ligent, they will not be able to recover any damages whatsoever. See “Provocation” below which can be considered a factor in de-ciding comparative negligence against the victim.

Therefore, the conduct of the victim or plaintiff in a dog bite incident is important and will be carefully scrutinized by an in-

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surance company, its investigators, and defense attorney. This is one reason why the dog bite victim and family members should first speak to a specializing dog bite attorney or lawyer before or ever talking to someone who is looking out for the best interest of the dog owner.

Provocation: Provocation is a common defense in a dog bite case. It is when the victim’s actions actually induce the dog to bite or perform the attack that caused the damage. A literal ex-ample of provocation would be if the victim struck the dog. It would be reasonable for the dog to return and bite his attacker and therefore the law would forgive the bite. There are many other fact scenarios that a defense attorney may argue amounted to provocation that are less straightforward. Some include rough play with a dog, approaching or touching a dog while eating, a child innocently grabbing the dog’s skin or tail, or exciting the dog in any number of ways.

Trespass: Trespass is another common defense because many dog bite statutes contain a passage that reads something like, “The owner is liable if the victim is bitten while on public property or lawfully on private property.” To be legally on someone’s prop-erty that person must have an express or implied invitation from the owner to be on the property. Examples would include a letter carrier for the post office, a police officer, gas or electric meter readers, parcel delivery service, and the like. The defense of tres-pass may be applicable to a dog bite statute; however, the owner may still be liable under a common law theory such as negligence.

if you are Bitten

First and foremost medical attention should be sought imme-diately and provided. It is important to make a report with the animal control department of the city or county in which the dog bite has occurred. Photographs of the bite marks and wounds caused by the dog should be taken. I do not recommend that the victim or family members give a statement to an insurance com-pany adjuster or investigator until you have sought legal counsel

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and have been advised. It is my experience that insurance com-pany personnel often tell the victim they want to “settle fast and fair and that you don’t need a lawyer.” They then extract a state-ment that gets the victim to say something (by twisting words, getting the victim to doubt themselves, among other techniques) that compromises their case.

These are just some things a litigator should consider when handling a dog bite case. Finally, I must stress again, that each state’s laws and time limits on this subject are different. These cases are very fact and outcome specific. The law changes on a daily basis as Legislatures pass new laws and the appellate courts decide cases that change the law. Therefore, continuing research as to the state of the current law is advised.

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About Jason

Attorney Jason A. Waechter is a Michigan attorney specializ-ing in the area of motor vehicle and personal injury litigation. Mr. Waechter has collected millions of dollars in settlements, awards and verdicts for his clients over the past 20 years.

He is a million dollar winning attorney with a recent $2,000,000 jury verdict.

Mr. Waechter is on the board of directors and a member of Michigan As-sociation for Justice (MAJ) and a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Jason was honored to be the only civil trial lawyer chosen to be on the curriculum committee for a special educational program for sitting judges by The National Judicial College which took place at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C.

Jason Waechter has received many honors and awards throughout his ca-reer including:

• Chosen to the Michigan Super Lawyers®

• Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum• Rated a Top 100 Trial Lawyer

Mr. Waechter ever furthers legal issues relating to his clients and cases. He is a frequent speaker to attorneys and groups about vehicle and injury law, and his accident prevention campaign includes billboards and bumper stick-ers reminding other drivers to keep a look-out and share the road.

Mr. Waechter’s main office consists of 4 attorneys and is located in Southfield, MI with other locations in Detroit, Macomb, Flint, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jason prides himself on handling and returning all calls personally and giving free advice to all callers. The firm accepts injury cases on a contin-gency basis - meaning there are no attorney fees unless money is recovered.

Contact Info:Jason A. Waechter, Esq.The Law Offices of Jason A. Waechter, a National Firm19080 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48075www.dogbitelawyersusa.com [email protected] 1-800-708-5433 (248) 355-4701

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PrOteCt WhAt yOu’ve WOrked fOr

Chapter 14

ProteCt What you’ve Worked for: nine

things you must knoW aBout trademarks

By niCK nanton, Brian MenCher & JW DiCKs

As a business owner, you know what it means to sacrifice. You’ve worked hard to build your business. You’ve invested years of your life. You’ve invested energy and ideas. You’ve in-vested significant financial resources. You’ve done all this, and risked so much, because you have a vision and you believe in your ideas.

Can you imagine anything worse than investing years of your life into your business, only to have it ripped away from you right as it is beginning to bear fruit?

Registering your trademarks (and service marks) can protect you from this injustice. It prevents others from stealing the ideas and the reputation you have worked so hard to build. It adds credibility, perceived value, and real value to your business.

For most business owners, the trademark process seems over-whelming. It conjures up visions of lawyers, courtrooms, and

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lawsuits. And who wants to put themselves through all of that?

The truth is that the process of applying for and registering a trade-mark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office doesn’t have to be difficult. In an attempt to “pull back the curtain” and shed some light on this process, here are nine crucial things every business owner needs to understand about trademarks.

1. What is a trademark?

A trademark is a word, phrase, design, symbol or combination thereof that helps consumers identify where a product came from. In its best form, it is instantly recognizable and makes the viewer think about the person, product or company in a favor-able light. For example, whether in the U.S. or abroad, the Gold-en Arches or the Coke logo creates instant visions in your head.

A few good examples of Trademarks are:

• Apple (Brand of Computer)

• Toshiba (Brand of TV)

• Wal-Mart (Brand of Retail Stores)

• Windows Logo (Brand of Software)

• Can’t Beat The Real Thing (a classic slogan for Coca-Cola Brand Products)

The trademark is so important today that millions of dollars are spent by companies each year to promote and protect their marks. Once the mark is a success, it becomes an extremely valuable commodity that can be sold just like any other asset.

This is also an important lesson for new companies that, while trying to save money by not securing a trademark, wind up losing a valuable commodity that they could either use or sell someday for a large profit.

Many of us kick ourselves for not having the foresight to secure some very valuable domain names (and the trademark brand

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names they become) in the early days of the Internet. Some could have been purchased for a few dollars and sold for mil-lions. While those opportunities are not easy today, people forget the real value of securing a trademark before someone else does. Ultimately, it could become more valuable than the business itself.

2. hoW do i trademark something?

The trademark process begins with a comprehensive search. Some companies offer what they call a “direct hit” search, which is just a search of the USPTO database to see if anyone else is using the same name. Don’t waste your time or money, you won’t get the answer you need. You don’t just care whether someone is using the exact same name or mark, you want to know whether you should spend your hard-earned money pro-moting something if someone else can come along and take it from you. The only way you can even begin to know this is with a comprehensive search

A comprehensive common law search doesn’t just search trade-marks that are registered, it searches thousands of databases of companies and services that operate throughout the entire Unit-ed States to make sure that your mark or something similar is not in use by someone else.

If your mark, or a confusingly similar mark (think: Coca-Cola and Koka-Kola), is in use by someone else (even if you don’t know it) if the other person can prove prior use, they can, in many cases, stop you from using your mark. The scariest part is that you may even apply for Federal Registration of your Trademark and get approval from the Patent and Trademark Office, only to find out years later that you wasted your time and money and have to relinquish your claim to the mark. This is why you must do a comprehensive search.

A comprehensive common law search, although it cannot be guar-anteed to uncover EVERYTHING, gives you the best chance of avoiding the costly mistake of starting a business and spending

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money to build your brand only to be forced to change your name several months or, worse yet, several years down the road.

While Google, Yahoo or another search engine is a good place to start doing research on your own, this is not to be confused with a comprehensive search. These search engines do not have access, by law, to certain databases that contain information that is crucial to your search.

After a comprehensive search, and you get an educated legal opinion on the search report, a Federal Trademark application will need to be filed. The current fee to apply for Federal Trade-mark Registration is $325 per class. (For more on trademark classes, see #8 below.)

BEWARE: Some unscrupulous people may encourage you to skip the search and just file for a trademark to “test the water.” If you simply file for a trademark without conducting the com-prehensive common law search and getting a thorough under-standing of the result, you may not only waste your filing fee money, you may actually get the trademark registered and still lose it after spending a great deal of time and money. The reason is because the Trademark Office examiners are not responsible for checking to see if you have checked the competition. Think about how much money you could waste promoting your trade-mark and building a brand. We can’t think of anything more frustrating and expensive than building a brand for someone else when doing the comprehensive search could have prevented it.

3. do i need a LaWyer to aPPLy for a trademark?

No, BUT…

You don’t need a lawyer, but you WANT a lawyer, and I will tell you why. It isn’t what the fast-filing services do that will kill you, it is what they don’t do. They sell a service that people want, and they promote cost savings. Unfortunately, they imply

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they are cheaper, and this isn’t even true. In most cases, you can hire a lawyer for about the same price and get a whole different level of service and guidance.

We believe in self-help law and even write books to promote it. Self-help is even better than just letting a filing service do your work for you, because self-help means you have actually spent the time to understand why you are doing what you are doing. However, if you haven’t spent the time or don’t want to spend the time, then you have to use someone that is willing to learn what you are trying to accomplish – not just someone who is going to let you fill in the blanks and then they will file a form. There is nothing worse than paying for something that you think will protect you (or make you money by building a valuable as-set), only to find that by saving a few dollars you really lost what you were trying to protect.

While there is no absolute mandate that you hire a lawyer to file your trademark, the legal landscape of trademarks can be extremely complex. What many people learn is that often you end up spending 10 times the amount to hire a lawyer to fix your mistakes than it would have cost you to hire a lawyer to file the trademark in the first place! Don’t make this costly mistake, most reputable law firms invite potential clients to call in for a free consultation prior to hiring them. Take advantage of this.

4. do i need to register my trademark to stoP others from using it?

As a general rule, in any geographic territory where you are not using your mark, if it is not federally registered, the mark is not protected. Federal registration allows you to expand your busi-ness at your own pace, and in the meantime your trademark is protected nationwide.

In fact, if you do not Federally Register your trademark, and you only use it in a limited geographic area, you may actually attempt to expand into a new area only to find that someone else in that

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area has already started using the trademark and has locked you out of the market.

5. if i am ProteCted By Common LaW, Why shouLd i Pay to register my

trademark?

There are many reasons that you would still want to register your mark, here is a list of just a few:

• If someone is later found to be infringing on your mark, Federal Registration makes it far easier to collect dam-ages and attorneys fees from the infringer.

• When potential clients or infringers see the ® symbol next to your name or logo, they will know that you have taken the time and effort to protect your name, which is a further indication that you are an established business.

• Once the application has been filed, it is a matter of pub-lic record that you are the owner of the trademark.

• Access to federal court instead of state court. There are numerous advantages to being able to protect your mark and stop infringers in the Federal Court System.

• You can prevent goods containing potentially infringing marks from being imported into the U.S.

• If you intend to take your product overseas, you can use your U.S. Trademark filing date to show priority in certain foreign countries and potentially get a head start over your competitors.

• If your keep your mark in continuous use for five years after the registration date, you will be immune from cer-tain infringement actions if a similar mark is later shown to have been in existence prior to your registration date.

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• The right to expand your business nationally when you are ready. Common law rights are only granted in the geographical area that you have been using the mark in. Once you obtain federal registration, it doesn’t matter if you have been using your mark in two states or forty, even in the territories that you have not yet used your mark, you are still protected!

6. federaL vs. state trademarks

The Internet has changed the business landscape forever. No longer do you want to think in terms of limiting your business to your city or state. Now, everything is national and, in some cases, international. Since the expense of federal trademark reg-istration isn’t much more than a state filing, there is simply no reason not to get the greater protection.

7. hoW Long does it take to get a trademark?

The good news is that you can start using your trademark im-mediately to begin developing common law rights. The actual trademark registration process typically takes around 18 months from the date that the application is filed until registration is is-sued. It is important to note that in most cases you will be pro-tected from the date of filing, NOT the date of registration. So, even though the registration process takes some time, getting started is the most important part!

8. What is a trademark CLass?

In order to allow fair competition, the United States Patent and Trademark Office divides Trademarks and Servicemarks into 45 classes. This is important and people who use one of the quick online trademark filing companies frequently miss this. To get the protection you want, you must file your trademark in the right class and frequently, multiple classes, to get the protection you desire. For example, let’s say you wanted to get a trademark for a beverage called XYZ. You file the mark in the beverage class.

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Good move. But what if you had big plans to produce clothing that carried your name as well. Then you should also have filed under the class for clothing or someone could come along and see that you are only in the beverage class and start using the word XYZ on clothing. Now, you are at risk of not being able to go into the clothing business with your own original trademark! This means that in order to gain federal registration in multiple subject areas, you would file for registration in multiple classes.

9. What is the differenCe BetWeen the ™ and the ® symBoL?

The ™ symbol can be used from the moment of first use, which puts the general public on notice that you are claiming your brand as a trademark.

The ® symbol can be used from the moment the application is actually approved and registered on the Federal Register.

Yes, going through the trademark process requires a bit of time on your part. And yes, there are costs associated with it. But hopefully you’ve seen that by spending a very small amount of time and money now, you can potentially save yourself from huge headaches down the road. There is nothing worse for a business owner than investing your life into building your busi-ness, only to have it taken away from you.

Trademarks can prevent this injustice from happening to you. In fact, investing in the trademark process just may be one of the most profitable decisions you ever make. Don’t put it off!

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Nick Nanton

An Emmy Award-winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Ex-perts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR. Nick is

recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Com-pany Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at major universities around the world. His book, Celebrity Branding You®, while an easy and informative read, has also been used as a textbook at the University level.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 1500 clients in 26 countries, Nick is an award-win-ning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large-scale events to television shows with the likes of Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield (The Secret, creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series), Michael E. Gerber, Tom Hopkins, Dan Kennedy and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 23 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Jack Can-field, Dan Kennedy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg, and many others, including the breakthrough hit, Celebrity Branding You®.

Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 1000 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepre-neur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country, as well as CNN, FOX News, CNBC, and MSNBC from coast to coast, speaking on subjects ranging from Branding, Marketing and Law to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The Na-tional Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAM-

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MYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards), co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 13-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Marketers for Good, and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

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Brian Mencher

Brian Mencher, Esq. is the managing partner at Beame & Mencher LLP - a boutique entertainment law prac-tice located in New York City, and serves as Of Counsel to Dicks + Nanton P.A. Brian is a renowned expert in trademark management and branding strategy. He is

licensed in New York, and has published numerous articles for some of the country’s most prestigious law journals.

Brian’s practice incorporates his role as deal maker, business strategist, and personal consultant to offer creative individuals and business execu-tives in the entertainment and culinary arts industries with first class legal advisement.

As an entrepreneur, musician and avid cook (in Brian’s spare time, he once cooked on the line at a three-star NY Times restaurant), Brian is passion-ate about creating extraordinary results for his clients. He is a vision-driven lawyer and coach, generating momentum for business start-ups while accessing new peaks for established businesses.

Brian’s clients include major label artists, producers, new media/tech upstarts, award-winning filmmakers, Broadway/film actors, food personali-ties, and other professionals in the entertainment industries.

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JW Dicks

JW Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on using personal branding for business development. He has created some of the most successful brand and marketing campaigns for business and professional clients to make them the Credible Celebrity Expert in their field and build

multi-million dollar businesses using their recognized status.

JW Dicks has started, bought, built, and sold a large number of businesses over his 39-year career and developed a loyal international following as a business attorney, author, speaker, consultant, and business expert’s coach. He not only practices what he preaches by using his strategies to build his own businesses, he also applies those same concepts to help clients grow their business or professional practice the ways he does.

JW has been extensively quoted in such national media as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, Forbes.com, CNBC.Com, and Fortune Small business. His television appearances include ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX affiliate stations around the country. He is the resident branding expert for Fast Company’s internationally syndicated blog and is the publisher of Celebrity Expert Insider, a monthly newsletter targeting business and brand building strategies.

JW has written over 22 books, including numerous best sellers, and has been inducted into the National Academy of Best Selling Authors. JW is married to Linda, his wife of 39 years and they have two daughters, two grand-daughters and two Yorkies. JW is a 6th generation Floridian and splits time between his home in Orlando and beach house on the Florida west coast.

Documents

Adobe Photoshop PDFChapter 10 never settLe PrematureLy By Rajesh Kanuru, Esq. 115 Chapter 11 gone too soon – a disaster Waiting to haPPen By Michael Slocumb, Esq. 123 Chapter 12