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LEGAL BRIEF
OCTOBER 2022 FriedmanSimon.com 516-800-8000
WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? THE UNKNOWN SCARES US MOST OF ALL
As a kid during Halloween season, I used to visit the local spook walks and haunted houses. They have plenty of scares to get you shrieking and get the adrenaline pumping. Whether it was guys with fake chainsaws, ghosts, or fake scary monsters popping out at you suddenly from all directions, there were countless opportunities to jump out of your skin. I realize now that some actor lunging at you and yelling loudly wasn’t the scariest part — it was not knowing what came next. That anticipation of what was around the next corner and of not knowing when it would appear was much worse than whatever or whoever was actually hiding back there. Much of the fear we experience throughout our lives is rooted in our aversion to the unknown. It’s true for the clients I speak with every day. After advocating on behalf of injured clients and speaking with them daily for over ten years, I’ve learned that everyone’s story is different, but peoples fears, questions, and anxieties are usually similar. How will their medical bills get paid? Will they be able to return to work? Will they be able to recover from their injuries? What do they do while waiting for their case to resolve? We can choose to walk away or avoid many things in life that frighten us. For example, I’m terrified of roller coasters, so I avoid them. But after being seriously injured in an accident, you can’t avoid the problem — no matter how much you want to. Your only choice is to face it head-on, and sometimes, nothing is scarier than that. Helping our clients work through their fears and anxieties is a more significant part of our jobs at Friedman & Simon than many people realize. Of course, we’re not therapists, but we can use our experience with the law and application of similar facts to the law to calm fears by demystifying the process. Whenever I knew what was coming during those childhood spook walks or haunted house tours after a second trip through, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as my first experience because I knew what was coming. You may have had the same experience watching a horror movie more than once. Once you know what to expect, the fear becomes manageable.
up, we can clarify how they will ultimately be paid and what to do in the meantime. We help them understand what options are available to cover their living expenses when they have to spend time away from work. We also help locate doctors for people still suffering from the effects of an injury that are in need of medical treatment. And we remind them that throughout our firm’s 30 years in business, we’ve been through this many times before and helped countless others. We’re glad that every day, we get to help people through the most frightening parts of their cases by answering questions and setting expectations. While we can’t cure the terror a person might feel about roller coasters or heights, we can walk you through what to expect after an accident or what the next steps of a litigation will be, planning a strategy that will be most appropriate for a person’s injuries and ultimate desires. Knowledge is power. Often, it is also the perfect antidote to fear.
-John G. Papadopoulos
We help people understand why the things they’re most anxious about aren’t really that scary. When they’re worried about medical bills piling
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Even what seems like a minor car collision can change a person’s life. That was recently the case for one of our clients when another driver clipped her car in 2019, jolting her about, but causing minimal damage to the car itself. Our client already had a history of back pain and was actively receiving treatment for her back including a few days before this accident, working as a nurse through her pre-accident pain. The accident occurred, and she tried to go back to work, but her back was no longer tolerating the pain, it was fully locking up on her, knocking her out of work for the greater part of ten months, through various attempts to return. Ultimately, she had surgery where a rod and screws were placed into her back six months after the accident. Any time a person has a pre-existing condition, that person’s pain levels, treatments, MRIs, and other medical records from immediately prior to the accident are always compared to pain levels, treatments, MRIs, and other medical records following the accident. The insurance company of course makes the argument that the accident could not have caused the need for the surgery, so we help find the proof to make it clear that the accident made the pre-existing condition worse than it was, and either accelerated the need for a surgery or directly led to it. When an attorney knows the true case value and is willing to fight for it, it is easy to turn aside the initial low ball offers of the insurance company and wait for fair compensation. Often, that means a defense firm or insurance company will attempt to drag an innocent injury victim “through the mud” and extend proceedings for as long as possible to delay trial or resolution, to try and lower a possible settlement amount. While these cases don’t always resolve as quickly as we’d like, the good news is that the two sides can usually agree eventually, especially if we keep putting the proof in the hands of the insurance company, explaining their risks of letting us pursue the case further of what we will show a jury if they don’t settle before trial. Our 2019 accident victim who had what was seemingly a minor accident, that of course was way more than that, recently came to the office to sign her settlement paperwork involving a significant settlement. It was an emotional and gratifying moment for her. When our client arrived to the office to meet with me, after three years of battling the at-fault party’s insurance company, and hard decisions to reject lesser settlement offers, she embraced me with a big hug of gratitude and relief. MY BACK WAS ALREADY HURTING, BUT NOW IT HURTS WORSE, DO I HAVE A CASE? All in Good Time
Today, the work place is riddled with employees just muddling through their day. We all know these people — they never miss an opportunity to let you know how much they don’t want to be there. So, when it comes to your boss’s impression of you, the last thing you want is to be lumped in with the others. Here are five foolproof ways to get noticed (in a good way) at work! FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN LEADER AND LEARNER. When you’re new to a career or project, observing, listening, and note taking are crucial ways to adapt and learn how things work. Once you’ve got your footing, taking on a leadership position is key, but it’s important to make sure you don’t come off too strong too early either! It’s all about finding that balance and remembering that you never stop learning. SPEAK UP DURING MEETINGS. During team and company meetings, be sure to contribute whenever possible. Management is listening and watching, and you don’t want to be noticed for sitting silently. Your silence could suggest disengagement. If you want to move up in the rankings, find your voice and contribute! GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE JOB DESCRIPTION. In many cases, to reach the highest potential of your job position, you need to be willing to do a little more than the job description requires. Even though a supervisor may ask you to do a little more, taking the initiative to ensure your job is done well gets you noticed — even if that means doing something requiring extra effort! OFFER TO HELP OTHERS. Sure, work is busy and helping others makes it that much busier! But being a known “go-to” person around the office is a great thing — you add value! Not only will management not want to lose you, but they will keep their eye on you for advancement, too! COMPLETE TASKS WITHOUT BEING ASKED. If you notice something needs to be done, do it before you’re asked! Even if it’s just cleaning up the breakroom or taking out the trash, being proactive is sure to pay off! Those who go the extra mile always make a name for themselves. Going Beyond the Status Quo 5 Ways to Stand Out at Work
It’s so rewarding knowing you made a huge difference for someone. They’re relieved, and we’ve helped lift a huge weight off their shoulders. Moments
like this remind everyone at the firm why we do this work. So if you’ve been injured in an accident, even if the pictures make it seem like a minor one, or you already had an injury before the accident, don’t hesitate to give the team at Friedman & Simon a call, because there might be more to the story!
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Hobsbawm. She believes that businesses still need physical workspaces, but how they are used will change. They will no longer be a place where employees spend their entire days. Instead, they will be designated for networking, training, and development. Hobsbawm also tackles the idea of how much employees should be working. She informs business owners that it’s okay to have employees work less, as it can lead to more productivity. She states that “work can and should be not only a source of raw income but also a purposeful life itself.” While your employees need to earn a livable wage, they should also find passion in their work, or they will quickly burn out and feel resentment toward their job. If your business has switched over to a remote or hybrid environment and you’re still trying to figure out how to successfully manage your team, “The Nowhere Office” may help your thinking on the subject as you work toward developing the most effective plan for situation. SUDOKU Is Remote Work the Future? ‘THE NOWHERE OFFICE’ EXPLORES THIS IDEA
Think about your current work environment for a second. Is it the same as it was three years ago? Likely not, as the traditional workplace was overhauled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, many employees across various industries are working remotely. But can work return to the offices full time? Should it? Julia Hobsbawm answers these questions and more in her book “The Nowhere Office: Reinventing Work and the Workplace of the Future.” Now that pandemic lockdowns have been lifted, many business owners have attempted to push employees to return to the office full time. Hobsbawm believes that’s the wrong approach, as forcing employees back into an office could kill productivity, and writes that remote or hybrid workplaces can be more flexible for employers and employees alike while still allowing work to be completed on time.
But if remote work is the future, what will happen to the workplaces owned by businesses? Are they unnecessary? Not exactly, explains
Pumpkin Pie Parfaits Inspired by Kenarry.com
These parfaits are an easy fall dessert everyone can make!
Ingredients
• 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix • 2 cups cold milk • 15-oz can pumpkin purée • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg • 1/8 tsp ground cloves • 1 cup vanilla sandwich cookies • 8 oz whipped topping
Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir in pumpkin purée, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves.
2. In a blender or food processor, crush vanilla sandwich cookies into crumbs.
3. In small jars or glasses, place cookie crumbs on bottom, then pumpkin mixture, then whipped topping. Repeat these layers twice and end with cookie crumbs.
4. Chill until ready to serve!
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516-800-8000 FriedmanSimon.com
390 N. Broadway, #210 Jericho, NY 11753
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Helping Clients Face Their Fears Standing Out at Work INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2
Behind Proving an Injury Case Where a Client Has a Pre-Existing Injury Become an Expert on Remote Work
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Pumpkin Pie Parfaits A Cat Helped Write a Physics Paper?
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A CAT COAUTHORED AN INFLUENTIAL PHYSICS PAPER THE TRUE STORY OF F.D.C. WILLARD
Cats defy the laws of physics all the time, so it’s only fitting a cat would teach us physics more directly — by coauthoring a highly cited, influential physics paper. In 1975, Jack H. Hetherington was a professor of physics at Michigan State University, and he completed a paper on atomic behavior. However, he had a problem: As a sole author, Hetherington had used “we” throughout the paper. A colleague pointed out that publishers reserved that language for papers with multiple authors. With today’s software, this would be a minor inconvenience. But to fix his error in 1975, Hetherington would have to retype the entire paper manually on his typewriter. Time was short, and Hetherington had done all the work himself.
According to Hetherington’s 1982 book, “More Random Walks in Science,” he explained, “After an evening’s thought, I simply asked the secretary to change the title page to include the name of the family cat.” And that’s what happened; the professor named his Siamese cat, Chester, as his coauthor. Of course, the name Chester wouldn’t look convincing as a scientific paper coauthor. So, he invented “F.D.C. Willard.” The initials stand for Felis Domesticus Chester. The last name, Willard, was the name of Chester’s father. The professor didn’t feel too guilty for trying to deceive the publisher: “Why would I do such an irreverent thing? … If it eventually proved to be correct, people would remember the paper more if the anomalous authorship were known. In any
case, I went ahead and did it and have generally not been sorry.”
The journal loved the paper, but the ruse stayed secret among his close colleagues until a visitor arrived to meet the authors. When Hetherington told them the truth, they laughed, and not long after that, the feline coauthor became quite famous. F.D.C. Willard not only saved Hetherington from rewriting the entire paper, but also continues to inspire cat-related academia antics. On April 1, 2014, the American Physical Society (APS) announced all cat-authored papers would be made freely available. “Not since Schrödinger has there been an opportunity like this for cats in physics,” they wrote. We couldn’t agree more.
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