Take a look at this month's edition of the Shuttlesworth Sentinel!
THE SHUTTLESWORTH SENTINEL
201 Vulcan Road, Suite 210 Birmingham, AL 35209 (205) 322-1411 ShuttlesworthLasseter.com
Personal Injury Product Liability Wrongful Death
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect Assisted Living Abuse/Neglect
09 .2020
LABOR DAY IS MORE THAN JUST BARBECUES It’s a Day to Celebrate American Labor Rights
What do you think about when you think about Labor Day? What does that day mean to you? For most of us, it probably means a day off from work to go down to the lake or have a barbecue with family and friends. That’s how I usually spend Labor Day, anyway. While enjoying the day isn’t by any means a bad thing, barbecues and sunshine aren’t the reason we celebrate Labor Day. In short, the day is meant to be a celebration of American labor and how far we’ve come as a society in protecting and valuing that labor. While the debate over just how much the government should intervene in our work and labor rages on even today, I don’t think anyone would argue that the labor laws designed to protect workers from unbearably long hours and unsafe working conditions are a bad thing. Back during the Industrial Revolution, many workers toiled away in factories and mines for 12–16 hours a day, six days a week. The work was often unsafe, and serious injuries and deaths were incredibly common. It wasn’t until workers unionized and fought for better, safer working conditions and benefits that we had the 40-hour workweek and workplace safety regulations. Through those labor laws, America created a better, more productive society where everyone was guaranteed a better quality of life. The fight for workers’ rights has a lot of significance for my family in particular. My grandfather was one of the earliest members of the coal miners’ union in Alabama. He worked in incredibly dangerous conditions, and on any given day, he might not have seen the sun again. He knew “TODAY, MANY PEOPLE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT YOU CAN GO TO YOUR JOB AT THE MERCEDES MANUFACTURING PLANT AND NOT WORRY ABOUT LOSING YOUR HAND OR GO DOWN IN A COAL MINE AND NOT WORRY ABOUT DYING IN THE DARK.”
that was wrong and that workers deserved to be treated with more respect by the coal company overlords.
If he hadn’t fought for workers’ rights, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here today.
Today, many people take it for granted that you can go to your job at the Mercedes manufacturing plant and not worry about losing your hand or go down in a coal mine and not worry about dying in the dark. Millions of workers had to fight for those rights to exist, setting the foundation for a more equitable, prosperous society. My grandfather had a huge impact on me as I was growing up, which shaped me into who I am today. His passion for workers’ rights gave me a passion for helping the common man. He’s largely responsible for my desire to use my practice to help the average person fight for justice against entities that are larger than themselves. The task of taking on massive corporations in America’s courtrooms might seem daunting, but that’s no reason to call it quits. Where would we be today if all the brave workers of the Industrial Revolution hadn’t fought so hard for their rights and the rights of their children? The task before them seemed impossible, but they took it on anyway. That’s what I want to help my clients do — take on those impossible fights to make sure justice prevails.
–Perry Shuttlesworth
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HANDLING MEDICATION ERRORS IN NURSING HOMES
GARDENING, GOLD, AND PHOTO SHOOTS 3 FUN FAMILY ACTIVITIES FOR FALL
HOW TO SPOT THIS FORM OF NURSING HOME ABUSE
In order for nursing home residents to be as healthy as they can be, nursing home staff have to operate under the highest degree of accountability in every area of care, including handling residents’ medications. Sadly, that high degree of accountability isn’t found in every nursing home, and many seniors suffer from serious health problems because of medication errors. Medication errors can be fatal, so if you have a relative in a nursing home, you need to learn to see the signs of medication errors so you can hold the nursing home staff accountable. WHAT CONSTITUTES A MEDICATION ERROR? There are a few different ways nursing home staff can make errors and oversights with your loved one’s medication. It could be that they administer the wrong dosage or the wrong drug, which could lead to either an overdose or other serious side effects. A nursing home worker might combine certain drugs that are dangerous when administered together. That person might also fail to check the patient’s background for allergic reactions or health issues with certain drugs before administering something potentially dangerous.
It’s fall, which means social media will soon be saturated with pictures of your friends enjoying “classic” fall activities. Photos of leaf peeping, apple picking, and the occasional scarecrow run rampant. But rather than following the herd, you can make your family the trendsetter of unique fall activities! Here are a few outdoor endeavors your family will love.
GET GARDENING.
Fall is the time for harvest, but if you want to enjoy flowers in the spring, it’s also a time for planting. The cooler autumn air is easier on plants, but the soil is still warm enough for roots to grow before the ground freezes for winter. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are all spring bulbs that need to be planted in the fall. Do a little research with your family to determine the best time to start planting in your area.
PAN FOR GOLD.
Here’s one that’s really off the beaten path: Take your family on an adventure panning for gold! Start by planning a road trip out to an old ghost town. Many of them have great tourist attractions that include gold panning. You probably won’t get rich, but it will still be a fun story. If you’re not able to make the trip, you can always create a gold panning operation at home! Visit MessForLess.net/ panning-for-gold-activity for a great step-by-step guide on how to go panning for gold in your own backyard.
WHAT ARE SOME SIGNS OF MEDICATION ERRORS I CAN LOOK FOR?
Medication errors can affect nursing home patients in a number of ways, but you can keep an eye out for a few general signs: Sudden changes in health conditions, sudden changes in mood, and unexplained health problems could all be a result of medication errors. If your loved one is exhibiting any of these symptoms, you should investigate further.
PLAN A FALL PHOTO SHOOT.
It’s time to freshen up those family pictures hanging around the house. The changing leaves provide a beautiful background for any family portrait. Better yet, the cooler temperatures mean that an outdoor photo shoot won’t be nearly as uncomfortable as it would be in the summer. You can take your pictures by the trees in the front yard or make a daytrip of it. What about pictures at the corn maze or pumpkin patch? It’s never too soon to start planning this year’s holiday card.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I SUSPECT ERRORS? If you have any reason to suspect a medication error, or any form of nursing home abuse for that matter, tell
the nursing home administration immediately. Then, seek medical attention for your loved one and get your hands on a copy of their medical records so you can see which medications they’re supposed to be receiving. Then, give Shuttlesworth Law Firm a call so we can conduct a thorough investigation and make sure you and your loved one get fairly compensated.
Spend this fall outdoors and create great new memories with your family!
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AS DEADLY AS DRIVING DRUNK THE SHOCKING STATISTICS BEHIND DRIVING WHILE DROWSY
Driving under the influence of alcohol is a huge problem across our country, and we should do everything in our power to combat it. However, something else greatly impairs our driving and gets a lot less attention: sleep deprivation. While one study from November 2019 found that roughly 2% of American adults admitted to driving drunk in the previous month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that twice as many adults (roughly 4%) have fallen asleep at the wheel in that same time period. This is an alarming statistic, especially since sleep-deprived drivers can exhibit similar behaviors to drunk drivers when they’re behind the wheel — leading to some very similar accidents. In fact, driving without any sleep in the previous 18 hours impairs drivers as much as having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05. That goes up to 0.1 if the driver hasn’t slept in 24 hours, 0.02 points beyond the legal limit.
While most tired drivers probably aren’t driving after being awake between 18–24 hours, drivers who get even six or seven hours of sleep the previous night are twice as likely to get into an accident as drivers who get the recommended eight hours of sleep. These figures have manifested themselves on our roads in some devastating ways. In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that drowsy driving was responsible for roughly 72,000 car crashes, 44,000 injuries, and 800 deaths. However, because drowsy driving figures are difficult to measure, the number of deaths caused by exhausted motorists could be closer to 6,000 every year. So, the next time you’re behind the wheel, look for signs of exhaustion. Are you yawning or blinking a lot? Are you having trouble
remembering the last few miles of road? Are you drifting onto the rumble strip? If so, the safe thing to do is to pull over and rest or have another passenger drive for a while. If you’ve been injured by a drowsy motorist, give Shuttlesworth Law Firm a call at (205) 286-9102. We’ll make sure you’re fairly compensated for your losses.
FACTOID STRANGE WHICH CAME FIRST: THE COLOR OR THE FRUIT?
TAKE A BREAK
the citrus fruit, pomme d’orange . The oldest recorded use of the English word “orange” as a color was to describe the color of some clothing purchased for Margaret Tudor in 1502. Before that, objects that we would call “orange” today were simply referred to as “red-yellow” or something similar.
Did you know that an orange was called an orange before orange was a color? You read that right — the name of the fruit was the inspiration for the name of the color, not the other way around, as you might have guessed. Until about 500 years ago, the color orange simply did not exist as a concept.
The name for the word in English came from the old French term for
Orange you glad we have a better name for that color now?
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201 Vulcan Road, Suite 210 Birmingham, AL 35209 (205) 322-1411 ShuttlesworthLasseter.com
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THIS ISSUE INSIDE
1 2 2 3 3 4
The Real Reason to Celebrate Labor Day
3 Fun Family Activities for Fall
How to Spot and Stop Medication Errors in Nursing Homes
The Shocking Statistics Behind Driving While Drowsy
September’s Strange Factoid
Streaming Services Change Entertainment
ENJOY YOUR FAVORITE FILMS EARLIER STREAMING SERVICES CHANGE THE FACE OF ENTERTAINMENT
The way we watch our favorite shows and movies has changed drastically in recent years and even more so this year. With the pandemic impacting the world, people found themselves stuck inside their homes looking for new sources of entertainment, and
2015. A stage performance of “Hamilton” was filmed in 2016 in just over three days. The resulting movie creates an opportunity for everyone to see the show, whether or not they were able to catch it live on stage. Disney bought the rights to the film last year and announced this February that it would be released on Oct. 15, 2021, in theaters. However, due to the pandemic, Disney decided that what people needed most was something they could enjoy, even if they couldn’t leave their homes. On May 12, the studio announced the film would be available to stream on Disney+ starting on the July Fourth holiday. “Hamilton” fans and those who’ve never seen the play are thrilled to watch the film 16 months in advance of the originally scheduled release. Streaming services have changed how people consume their entertainment, and the pandemic has changed how streaming services offer it. Both changes are helping people get through these difficult times.
many found exactly what they were looking for through the numerous streaming services available to us. The pandemic made time for people to watch their favorite shows again and again, and it also changed the way businesses, such as Disney and Universal Studios, release their movies. Throughout the spring, many movies were released early and some skipped theater showings all together. “Trolls: World Tour” was released through video-on-demand and earned nearly $100 million in rental fees on its April 10 debut, grossing far more than the first “Trolls” movie debut in 2016. Other movies, such as “Onward” and “Frozen II,” were released early on different digital platforms for purchase or rent.
One of the most anticipated early releases under this new system is “Hamilton.” This hit Broadway show has drawn thousands of people to the theater since its debut in
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