Kelly Law Offices' online newsletter for April 2018
OFFICES IN NORTHWEST INDIANA AND SOUTH BEND
Out of the Office and Onto the Lake How Practicing Law Is Like Fishing
M arch is a great time for curing cabin fever; however, April is when spring really kicks into full gear. For me, that means fishing season has begun. Spring is almost here, and I’m ready to get outside. Fishing has been one of my favorite pastimes since I was a young boy. My family is full of anglers. When I was little, my grandparents had places out at Bass Lake in Indiana. My parents took my sisters and me there as often as they could. Today, I live in the perfect intersection of fishing spots: I’m about 25 minutes from Lake Michigan for sport fishing, two hours from a smattering of lakes and rivers for catfish, walleye, and muskie, and just five minutes from my parents’ place on Cedar Lake in Indiana. This allows me a couple days a week and almost every weekend to take my boys (and my wife, when she wants to humor me) out on the water. I’ve always found fishing to be both relaxing and challenging. It is not only a pleasure to be out in the open air, but also an opportunity to challenge myself. In those respects, my love of fishing explains why I enjoy being a lawyer. Fishing, like being a lawyer, is a lot about outwitting your opponent (although one has a brain the size of a pea, and the other is a fish). I’ve always been a competitive guy and do not shy away from challenges. Fishing
“I’ve always been a competitive guy and do not shy away from challenges. Fishing and helping injured people both require you to blend patience and skill.”
and helping injured people both require you to blend patience and skill. Like my tackle box full of spinners, sinkers, and baits on the boat, I need to be equipped with legal facts, strategies, and techniques in court to achieve the best outcome for my clients. Over the years, I’ve collected a massive amount of both.
So from my family to yours, get outside, enjoy the outdoors, and be safe.
–Joe Bombagetti
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THE DANGERS OF OVERSTIMULATION DO YOU NEED A MEDIA DETOX?
SERVICE HIGHLIGHT What to Do Right After an Accident Safety First, Gather Information Second After a motorcycle accident, most cyclists will be dazed and in a lot of pain. In these moments, your safety and the safety of others involved are top priority. Still, if you can gather any information at the scene —either directly after the accident or a day or two later — it will seriously help any future claim youmay file. Here’s what to do in order to give your claim a fighting chance: Stay at the scene unless you require immediate medical attention. Check whether the other involved parties are injured, and call an ambulance or the police if necessary. Obtain information from the other driver(s). Write down names, addresses, phone numbers, vehicle license plates, driver’s license numbers, and registration numbers. Make sure you also get their insurance information, including the company names and their policy numbers. Identify witnesses. Even if they weren’t directly involved, the names, phone numbers, and addresses of any witnesses at the scene can be incredibly helpful. A written statement detailing what they saw is even better. we’re interacting with every day,” Emma Watson told CNN in an interview about her selective social media use. If you’re not mindful of your media consumption and participation, it tends to pile up. When you detox, it’s a lot easier to identify which parts of your media With the current trend of getting TV, social media, and news alerts sent to our phones, we have access to more media than we could ever consume. While constant connectivity is a boon for many aspects of our lives, researchers are discovering that too much stimulation is cause for concern. One study in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that too much social comparison, spurred by the likes of Facebook and cable news, can lead to an increased risk of depression. If you find yourself pressured to live up to the public lives of friends and family, or if you feel like you’re being bombarded with too much news and entertainment, consider a media detox. A detox doesn’t require you to unsubscribe from social media services or unplug your TV forever. Instead, think of it as a vacation from the overstimulation so many of us experience. Ask yourself which aspects of your media diet are causing more stress than they’re worth, and take a break from them for a little while. “In the same way we think about what we eat, we should think about what we read, what we’re seeing, what we’re engaging in, and what
diet are essential and which are only a burden.
Another benefit of a media detox is that you’ll have more time to pursue new and dormant hobbies. Because most of us consume media in small chunks throughout the day, it’s easy to overlook how much that time adds
Do not discuss the accident with anyone, except for the police officer investigating the scene—and don’t admit liability, even to them. Make sure you stick to hard facts and keep any statements youmay have for your attorney. As soon as you can, write down any significant details you remember about the accident, including where and how it happened, the conditions of the weather and road, and posted speed limits. Take photographs of the accident scene, paying special attention to skid marks, the positions of the vehicles involved, and anything that’s likely to disappear a few days later. Notify your insurance company soon after and document this notification. If you delay informing your insurance company of the incident, it may give themgrounds to deny your claim. But do not give them a statement without consulting your attorney first. Don’t sign anything before consulting your attorney. Insurance companies are skilled at paying out less than your claim is worth, so it’s important to stay wary. In order to give your claim the best chance for success, it’s important to hire an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Contact the motorcycle experts at our firm and set up your free consultation today. The longer you delay, the less likely you are to receive the compensation you deserve. up. All those hours you spend on Facebook could be used to start a garden, knit a quilt, or join a soccer league. Unless you have an unlimited supply of leisure time (and who does?), you need to be selective in the way you spend it. Remember, media isn’t the cause of all your ills. Used mindfully, it can actually increase happiness and satisfaction. The problem is that we are so mired in the media muck that we can’t get a perspective on how much is too much. A detox will allow you to reassess the media you’re consuming and build a better plan for the future. You can still keep up with your grandkids on Facebook, but it shouldn’t be the only way you interact with the world.
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3 THINGS MOTORCYCLISTS WISH MOTORISTS KNEW
HOWTO SAFELY SHARETHE ROAD
As the weather warms and people drag their bikes out of storage, many riders feel hesitation before hitting the road. Over the winter, it seems that many drivers completely forget about the existence of motorcycles, making spring a particularly dangerous season for anyone on a bike. Fortunately, a little education goes a long way. Here are three things riders wish their car-bound contemporaries knew about sharing the road. 1. You Need to Give Us Space Car drivers often have trouble gauging a bike’s speed on the road. To make matters worse, many riders will simply downshift or ease off the throttle instead of hitting the brake to slow down, meaning there’s no brake light indicator to warn you. What’s more, motorcycles can stop faster than cars. If you rear-end a motorcycle, chances are the outcome will be a lot worse than a fender bender. Keep your distance for both your sakes. 2. We’re Small
forget that you might miss a motorcycle on your first glance, but it’s imperative that you remember. Look twice when turning left, and always stay aware of your blind spots. You never know whose friend, family member, or loved one may be hiding there. 3. We’re Not Showing Off
While you may feel safe in the four walls of your multi-ton vehicle, motorcyclists are constantly aware of what could go wrong on the road. When we adjust position within the lane, it’s not for your benefit. We’re simply trying to stay visible and avoid debris on the road. And whatever you do, do not try to share the lane with us. You may win that battle, but you’ll never forgive yourself.
Compared to cars, motorcyclists often barely register on a motorist’s radar. When you’re turning left, it’s easy to
Pasta With TURKEY&BROCCOLI
This simple, delicious recipe only takes 20minutes fromstart to finish. It’s also a great way to encourage kids to eat their broccoli. The next time youmake pasta, leave the canned sauce in the pantry andmake this instead!
INGREDIENTS
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3/4 pounds pasta (shells or orecchiette) 2 cups broccoli florets 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound ground turkey
• • • •
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
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Salt
Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli when pasta is 1 minute from done. Drain both and return to pot. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, garlic, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of salt. Cook while breaking up meat with a wooden spoon for 3–5 minutes. 3. Combine turkey with pasta and broccoli mixture, adding the remaining olive oil as you stir. Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan.
800-859-8800 (Recipe inspired by realsimple.com.)
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THIS ISSUE Inside
Joe Bombagetti Explains How Fishing Is Like Practicing Law Page 1 The Dangers of Overstimulation What Cyclists Need to Do Right After an Accident Page 2 3 Things Motorcyclists Wish Motorists Knew Pasta With Turkey and Broccoli Page 3 April Fools’ Pranks from the Pre-Internet Age Page 4
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APRIL FOOLS’PRANKS FROMTHE PRE-INTERNET AGE
April Fools’Day isn’t what it used to be. Sure, it’s still a fun distraction, with Google announcing“scratch and sniff”digital technology and Amazon declaring new features enabling Alexa to understand your pets. But it’s pretty hard for anyone to genuinely pull your leg in the internet age. Back when you couldn’t debunk a hoax with a simple Snopes search, things were a little more interesting. Here are a few of the most hilarious —yet somehow convincing—April Fools’pranks in history. Nixon for President, 1992 When NPR’s popular“Talk of the Nation”program announced in 1992 that former President Richard Nixon had announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, listeners were shocked. Never mind that he’d been the center of the largest presidential scam in history, but his campaign slogan,“I never did anything wrong, and I won’t do it again,”left something to be desired. NPR even brought political experts on the show to discuss the ramifications of such a move, and listeners flooded the station with outraged calls—until host John Hockenberry revealed that the on-air Nixon was actually comedian Rich Little.
Swiss Spaghetti Growers Enjoy Record Harvest
Ah, to be as naive as we were during the early days of television. In 1957, a BBC news show called“Panorama”conducted a special report on a massive spaghetti harvest inTicino, Switzerland, following a remarkably mild winter. The black and white images showed farmers pulling huge strands of noodles off tall trees and prompted hundreds of viewers to call into the station and ask how they might procure their own spaghetti tree. Thomas Edison’s Amazing FoodMachine When Edison was in his prime, Americans truly believed he could create anything—even a machine that transformed air, water, and dirt into biscuits, vegetables, meat, and wine, as reported by the NewYork Daily Graphic in 1878. The article was reprinted in newspapers across the country. Thousands of people bought the trick. When Buffalo’s Commercial Advertiser ran an editorial on Edison’s genius in the endeavor, the Graphic reprinted it in full, along with the headline,“They Bite!”
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