Wilson Law Office - October 2019
Wilson-Law-Office-Elkhart.com 574-522-1900
October 2019
After the Fall You Can Make a Difference
If you slip and fall in Indiana, surprisingly few lawyers will come running to your aid. That’s because proving you have a claim in this state can be surprisingly difficult — there’s a reason new insurance headquarters seem to spring up all the time in Indianapolis. Even in cases where you’ve clearly been hurt by a bad fall, you may struggle to secure even meager compensation for your injuries. Not many attorneys are willing to risk this uphill battle, but you have the power to change that. The site where you slipped likely won’t stay the same forever. Water will be mopped up, ice will melt, and warning signs will be posted in the time it takes you to seek treatment and return to the scene of the fall. Thus, one of the most important things you can do is take pictures in the moment. Do your best to document the hazard that caused your fall, as well as the surrounding area (to prove there were no posted warning signs). Get Contemporary Evidence
Also, if any bystanders saw you fall and asked if they could help, get their name and phone number. Like pictures, eyewitnesses can be an invaluable asset to your claim, but they can be hard to track down. That’s why getting their contact information in the moment is so crucial. It’s the best way to ensure you or your lawyer can find them later and get their testimony. The insurance agency’s lawyers will try their best to call every detail of your fall into question. Securing this contemporary information will hold them to the truth of your case. On top of risking further injury, not seeking immediate medical treatment may sink your claim entirely. A very common insurance company tactic is to imply that anyone who didn’t rush themselves to the doctor’s office must not be in that much pain after all. In reality, there are plenty of reasons seriously injured individuals may put off going to the doctor, fear of being unable to pay for treatment chief among them. Unfortunately, Seek Treatment
most juries are more likely to believe the company’s narrative on this issue. The best way to protect your health and your claim is to get yourself checked out by a professional immediately.
Consult a Lawyer First
After you report the fall to the property owner, their insurance company will likely contact you for a statement. These “interviews” are minefields of “gotcha” questions that can lead you to inadvertently throw your own account of events into question. Ideally, you’ll want to consult a personal injury attorney with experience in slip-and-fall statements before having this conversation. They can help prepare you for how to earnestly answer these questions without falling into any traps. If you can’t get ahold of an attorney in time, then the best thing you can do is be brief and direct with your answers. Statements like, “I think there was ice,” or, “I thought I felt myself slip,” can come back to bite you. The insurance lawyers will latch onto these half-answers and use them to suggest your memory of events can’t be trusted. Obviously, be honest and be confident in your recollection of events, no matter how they try to make you question yourself. These actions can make all the difference in your case. Without them, even the best lawyer will stand a slim chance of defending your side of the story. So, as the weather gets colder, remember: You may not be able to protect yourself from a surprise fall, but you can take steps to protect your rights in the aftermath.
-Tom Wil son
Wilson-Law-Office-Elkhart.com | 1
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com
PRESIDENT ADAMS’ JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH Ambassador to the Mole People
Today, some of the most fantastic discoveries are being made in the far reaches of space, but there was a time when people were more interested in what was going on beneath their feet. In the early 1820s, a United States army officer named John Cleves Symmes Jr. traveled the country teaching audiences about the Hollow Earth Theory. Symmes and some others at the time believed the Earth was made up of several solid spheres, one inside of another. They also believed each of these subterranean worlds was habitable and full of life. This is
the national observatory, and secured funding for the Smithsonian Institution. It’s possible Adams’ interest in Symmes’ trip to the North Pole was less about the Hollow Earth Theory and meeting the mole people than his larger interest in learning more about such a remote part of the world. However, Adams’ reputation as a naturalist didn’t protect him from scrutiny.
Even in the early 1800s, the Hollow Earth Theory was like the Flat Earth Theory today; there were a couple avid supporters, but most people
where the myth of the mole people originated. Symmes wanted to lead an expedition to the North Pole, where he believed he would find an entrance to the center of the Earth. He went to Congress and lobbied for money to fund his expedition. Congress shot him down, but Symmes found an ally in an unlikely place: President John Quincy Adams. John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States and son of the second president and founding father, John Adams. He traveled the world with his father, graduated from Harvard with honors, helped create
knew it was ridiculous. Having a sitting U.S. president greenlight the expedition was shocking. However, you didn’t learn about Symmes’ expedition in your history class for a reason. Adams wasn’t a popular president, and not just because he might have wanted to meet the mole people. He only served one term. By the time the expedition started to get off the ground, Andrew Jackson had been elected, and he quickly killed the project. In 1936, Congress would approve funding for an expedition to the South Pole, though this expedition focused on exploring the surface of the Earth, not what is underneath it.
Halloween Decorations or Fighting Words? A GRAVE LEGAL MATTER
We’ve all played a harmless trick or two, but sometimes, Halloween shenanigans get out of hand. They can lead to hurt feelings, outraged neighbors, and, in the case of Purtell v. Mason, a lawsuit. In the days leading up to Halloween, all was not quiet in the village of Bloomingdale. Previously parked in a storage unit, Jeff and Vicki Purtell’s 38-foot RV was now parked in front of their house. In protest, neighbors petitioned to town officials, wanting an ordinance put in place to prohibit RV parking on residential property. While the ordinance was under consideration, Jeff Purtell took matters into his own hands. He erected six wooden tombstones in his front yard. They seemed to be innocuous Halloween decorations, but these
tombstones displayed a special message for the neighbors. Each headstone was inscribed with a sarcastic message and house number, implying the occupants’ death dates. These messages soon caught the neighbors’ attention.
“Bette wasn’t ready, but here she lies, ever since that night she died. Twelve feet deep in this trench, still wasn’t deep enough for that stench! 1690.”
Insulted and a little afraid, Purtell’s neighbors called the police to have the headstones removed. After a couple of visits, Officer Bruce Mason arrived and threatened to arrest Purtell if he didn’t take the tombstones down. Purtell obliged, but the matter wasn’t put to rest. The Verdict Purtell sued Officer Mason on the grounds of violating his rights to free speech, and the case made it all the way to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Sykes ruled that the tombstones did not constitute fighting words and were protected under the First Amendment. However, she also ruled that Officer Mason was entitled to qualified immunity, as any reasonable officer would act the same under the circumstances. The bigger question might be how this case made it all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals. As Judge Sykes wrote in her opinion, “Lawsuits like this one cast the legal profession in a bad light and contribute to the impression that Americans are an overlawyered and excessively litigious people.”
2 | 574-522-1900
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com
TAKE A BREAK
TAILS FROM THE PAST Mythical Cats of the World
Most owners will tell you their cats act like ancient deities. Majestic, scrupulous, and utterly unpredictable, these fascinating creatures have long captured our imaginations. Even before cat videos took the internet by storm, humans have been idolizing felines, placing them alongside some of their most important mythological figures. Bastet — Egypt Of course, a list of mythical cats has to start with Egypt. While many people know the pharaohs and their followers thought cats were sacred, you may be surprised by how deep the connection goes. The earliest depiction of Bastet, the feline deity of protection, is a lion- headed woman in battle. But, over the course of 2,000 years, Bastet evolved to resemble the domesticated, pointy-eared cats we know and love today. 招き猫 (Maneki-Neko) — Japan Legend has it that in the 17th century, a monk living in a small temple in Edo (now Tokyo) was struggling to survive, but he still split his meals with his cat, Tama. One day, Lord Nakaota Ii got caught in a rainstorm while hunting and took shelter under a tree near the temple. Nakaota spotted Tama near the temple, and the cat raised its leg, beckoning the noble to come toward him. Curious, Nakaota complied, stepping out from beneath the tree just before a bolt of lightning struck it down. The lord’s life was saved, and to this day, the Maneki-Neko (the beckoning cat) is a symbol of wealth and good fortune. Freya’s Skogkatts —Norway In Norse folklore, the goddess Freya had a unique means of travel: a chariot pulled by two cats. These were skogkatts, or Norwegian Forest cats, that were only a little larger than your average house cat. Still, these small felines towed Freya around battlefields as she gathered warriors to send to Valhalla. On top of being the goddess of war, love affairs, and magic, Freya may well have been Midgard’s first cat lady.
LEFTOVER CANDY SNACK MIX
Inspired by Food &Wine Magazine
Ingredients
•
2 cups mini pretzels, coarsely broken
•
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
•
12 oz mini candy bars, such as Snickers, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
•
1/4 cup light brown sugar
•
2 tbsp granulated sugar
•
1/3 cup dry milk powder
Directions
1. Heat oven to 275 F. 2. In a large mixing bowl, fold together pretzels, sugars, milk powder, and butter. 3. Spread mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. 4. Let cool for at least 30 minutes and mix in candy bar pieces before serving.
Wilson-Law-Office-Elkhart.com | 3
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
574-522-1900 Wilson-Law-Office-Elkhart.com 301 N. Nappanee St. Elkhart, IN 46514
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Slip-and-Fall Slip-Ups
Weird History: The President and the Hollow Earth Grave Matters of the Law
2
Leftover Candy Snack Mix Amazing Cat Tales
3
4
3 Strategies for Helping Grandkids Pay for College
DON’T LET MONEY GET IN THE WAY Of Your Grandchild’s Education
Pay their tuition. Not everybody has $20,000 just lying around, but if you do, using it to pay for your grandchild’s tuition isn’t a bad way to spend it. Normally, annual financial gifts that are exempt from the federal gift tax can’t exceed $15,000, but payments toward someone’s tuition, for any amount, are not taxed. Keep in mind, however, that the money can only
College expenses aren’t what they used to be. What used to be affordable to any student with a part-time summer job now can take years to pay off. If your grandkids want to go to college, the cost of education should not be a barrier to their future. Luckily there are ways that you can help ease that financial burden.
Invest in a 529 Plan. There are no limits on age, income, or monetary contributions attached to this college savings account, and contributions are tax-deductible in some states. Just like a Roth IRA, the earnings grow over time and can be used tax-free for qualifying expenses, like tuition and room . There are a few downsides, however. Funds from a grandparent’s 529 Savings Plan are considered student income and could hurt your student’s eligibility for financial aid. If you choose to fund through a parent’s 529 Plan, which doesn’t count as student income, you lose control over the funds you contribute.
go toward tuition, not toward other college expenses like room and board or textbooks.
Help them find opportunities to save. Even if you don’t have thousands of dollars to give, you can still help your grandkids look for other opportunities to save. There are thousands of available scholarships, grants, and programs to help students pay for college, and helping them look online and in your community can go a long way. College could be your grandchild’s first stop on the path to achieving their dreams. You can be a part of that journey by making sure money doesn’t get in the way of that.
4 | 574-522-1900
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online