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Nov 2017
The Advocates Injury Attorneys • www.UtahAdvocates.com • (801) 783-3555
When Personal Injury Law Gets Personal
How a Tragedy From My Youth Made Me a Better Lawyer
When I was a little kid, I always dreamed of being a pilot, just like my dad. He flew airplanes in the Navy off aircraft carriers, and his stories always entranced me. I fantasized about coasting through the sky without a care in the world, the distant patchwork landscape unrolling beneath me. One fateful day, when I was 9, everything changed. My friend and I were furiously sword fighting with two wooden sticks, imagining ourselves to be locked in dire combat. But imagination turned all too quickly into reality as he swung with his entire might, striking me square in the middle of my left eye. Though I don’t like to go into details, I knew immediately that something was wrong. My parents rushed me to the hospital, and the doctors determined that my eye couldn’t be salvaged. So, at 9 years old, I lost my left eye, and I also lost any chance of following in my father’s air-bound footsteps.
Soon after that traumatic event, my parents were contacted by my friend’s parents homeowners insurance. A claim had been opened and they wanted to help cover the immense medical costs of my injury. One day, the insurance company offered to settle. Their offer was $10,000. After some deliberation, my parents, thinking the adjuster had their best interests at heart and assuming they couldn’t do any better, accepted the meager sum. Now, as a seasoned personal injury attorney, I can say definitively that $10,000 is drastically less than my parents should have accepted. I don’t fault them at all, though. I know all too well the techniques insurance companies use to trick hardworking people into accepting inadequate compensation. However, if my parents had an attorney at the helm, I’m confident they could have secured at least several hundred thousand dollars — which, to be honest, would have helped me a lot. Every year, I’m spending more money on prosthetics, medicine, and maintenance of my injury, not to mention the inconvenience of having just one eye for the rest of my life. I can’t say that the loss of my eye and the insurance company’s failure to provide was what spurred me to study law, but it did teach me the necessity of fair compensation for injuries. The
consequences of that settlement will follow me for the rest of my life.
Not only that, but experiencing that violent injury gives me a unique perspective as an attorney. When I see an injured individual come in, going through one of the toughest times of their life, desperate for anything
“The consequences of that settlement will followme for the rest of my life.”
that will make them whole again, I can relate to their experience. The goal of a personal injury settlement isn’t to get rich quick. Instead, it’s to cover the thousands of dollars of medical bills and to give the client peace of mind so that they can focus on their recovery. Now, after helping dozens of clients receive the compensation they deserve, I’m just waiting for the day when a mother brings a young kid into the office with catastrophic damage to his eye. Not so I can avenge what happened to me — I’m long past that — but so I can help him and his family see that he doesn’t have to live with these expenses for the rest of his life, and that there’s a way out. The truth is, I’ll do absolutely anything to fight for my clients. Not only because it’s my job and my passion, but because I know how they feel. –Chris Thresher
www.UtahAdvocates.com • 1
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.TheNewsletterPro.com
3 CLEANING ‘RIP-OFFS’ THAT ACTUALLY WORK
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But sometimes we stumble across a few hidden gems that make our lives easier. And, when it comes to cleaning house, we can all use a little “easier.” Check out these products you may have already written off and let them surprise you.
dishwasher. At least, that’s what the New York Times reported as the No. 1 complaint from repair people and appliance experts. Modern appliances are designed to use less water, and as soap becomes more concentrated, using too much can damage your machine. That’s what makes detergent pods so handy. They don’t look like they can clean all your dishes or an entire load of clothes, but they actually provide the perfect amount for modern machines. You save money on detergent and machine repair! Anything with “magic” in the title sounds like a scam. For this reason, you may have avoided the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and similar melamine foam products. But this is one case where the product lives up to its wild claims. Melamine foam is abrasive and can break down and remove material from fine cracks and textures, making it an effective cleaner. It can be used to whiten sneakers, clean tub scum, and remove permanent marker from your fridge. Since the snake oil salesmen in the days of old first tricked trusting folks out of their hard-earned cash, consumers have wised up and are quick to write off perceived scams. Still, every now then you get lucky, and the cheap white sponge really does make the stove look like new again. FOAM CLEANING BLOCKS
DOLLAR STORE CLEANING PRODUCTS
If you’ve ever ducked into the local dollar store to buy some Mylar balloons for your niece’s birthday party, you might have noticed the jugs and spray bottles
plastered with the word “Awesome.” Surely, this knock-off soap can’t work as well as your brand-name products, right? You’d be surprised. Online reviewers sing Awesome’s praises, suggesting it should really be a higher price for how well it works. Just make sure you wear gloves when you use it.
DETERGENT PODS
You use too much soap in your washing machine and
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
Pink Lotus “I was recently in a motorcycle accident, and my medical bills were becoming outrageous and making it very stressful. After having the runaround with the insurance companies, I decided I needed to get an attorney because the stress of it all was becoming unbearable. I contacted The Advocates and was planning on meeting up with a few other attorneys, but once I met up with Damian Kidd, he told me his plans and how I would just hand over everything to him and he would take care of me, and I was convinced. I canceled with the other attorneys I was planning to meet up with that week. Damian and his staff completely took care of everything with very little stress left to me. They fought with everything they had to get me taken care of, and in a timely manner. They had amazing communication with me, and that was a very important thing that I requested — to keep me updated on everything. I will definitely be recommending the Advocates and Damian, as well, to anyone who will need them. Hopefully I will never need them again, but if circumstances make that happen, I will definitely call them back.”
McKenzie Allsop “Damian was great to work with. He and his team were quick and efficient. They definitely helped make the auto accident claim understandable.” Lacey Peterson “Damian was great to work with, always willing to explain anything I didn’t understand. The only thing I would do next time is ask more questions in the beginning. So many things can affect your case.” Abigail Secord “The Advocates were very on top of things with my car accident. They are easy to get a hold of and very understanding.”
If you would refer our services to a friend or family member, please leave a review on our Google or Yelp pages.
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Dispelling the Negative Reputation of Personal Injury Attorneys
Accident attorneys are often perceived as the scum of the legal profession. In law school, future attorneys joke that if they fail, their “face is going to end up on the side of the bus,” poking fun at the advertisements some personal injury lawyers display all over town. It makes sense. A ridiculous face grinning at you from the side of a bus, urging you to sue your medical provider, neighbor, or boss doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. It’s easy to see those faces as money grubbers
injury settlements. Everybody knows about the woman who sued McDonald’s after she spilled hot coffee she got in the drive-thru, and that she received a settlement from the company. But not many people know that she was permanently disfigured and that most of the settlement went toward paying for her medical bills. The negative reputation of personal injury attorneys takes on a different shade when you find yourself actually needing one. Maybe you have suffered the recent loss of a loved one, the mother of six children, with all the tragedy and financial instability that leaves behind. There are thousands of dollars of medical bills to pay off from the hospital’s attempt to save them, and on top of that, there’s the cost of the funeral to contend with. When tragedy strikes and you need an advocate for fair compensation — not to make millions of dollars, but to remain financially whole — a good personal injury attorney stops being a face on a bus. Instead, they become a trusted confidant that you can rely on in the midst of chaos.
willing to push honest people under the bus to get at millions of dollars they do not really deserve. It’s a narrative perpetuated by the news we hear about big-ticket personal
3-Ingredient Black Bean Soup Recipe courtesy of HoneyAndBirch.com.
Everyone wants to be with someone who has a good sense of humor. 8 Sharing something funny is a great way to add a little charm and happiness into your relationship. 9 Humor helps people succeed in intimate relationships because it allows couples to better handle the stress within the relationship. 10 It should come as no big surprise that happier couples report higher instances of positive humor with lower levels of negative humor in their relationship. When you share something funny with your partner, they see that you are thinking of them and it is a great way to bring smiles and laughter into your home. While you’re at work or on the go, find a funny joke, story or picture and randomly share it with your partner. Try attaching a sweet note so they know you’re thinking of them.
This protein-packed, fat-free soup is delicious, only requires three ingredients, and is super quick and easy to put together. What more could you ask for?
Ingredients
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2 (15½-ounce) cans black beans 1 cup chicken broth
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1 (15½-ounce) can diced tomatoes
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Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients in a
2. Remove from stove and blend using an immersion blender or a traditional blender.
8 Cowan,M. L.,& Little,A.C. (2013). The effectsof relationship contextandmodalityon ratingsof funniness. Personalityand IndividualDifferences. 9 Hampes,W. P. (1992).RelationBetween IntimacyAndHumor. PsychologicalReports. 10 Butzer,B.,&Kuiper,N.A. (2008).HumorUse inRomanticRelationships: TheEffectsofRelationship. Satisfactionand PleasantVersusConflictSituations. The Journalof Psychology.
medium pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
www.UtahAdvocates.com • 3
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331 South 600 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
Inside This Issue
1
When Personal Injury Law Gets Personal
2
These Products Make Housework Easier!
Testimonials
Dispelling the Negative Reputation of Personal Injury Attorneys
3
3-Ingredient Black Bean Soup
Iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons
4
ICONIC
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons
Thanksgiving is a holiday full of traditions, from turkey and stuffing to football and naps. Since 1924, the Macy’s Parade has grown to become not only a Thanksgiving staple but also the world’s largest parade. Over 3.5 million people attended the parade last year, with another 20 million tuning in from home. The main attraction is always the massive character balloons, which first graced the skies in 1927. Over the decades, some of these balloons have become nearly as famous as the character they depict.
FELIX THE CAT When the Felix the Cat balloon appeared in 1931, it set the standard for all characters to follow. Sadly, the original balloon got tangled in wires and caught on fire, so it has been lost to history. Felix’s influence on the parade is so immense, however, that when Macy’s brought him back in 2016 for the parade’s 90th anniversary, they recreated his original design. Without Felix’s influence, the parade might look a lot different today. SNOOPY When it comes to balloon characters, none is more famous than the classic “Peanuts”
beagle. His first balloon floated through the sky in 1968, and he’s been a regular fixture ever since. Charles Schultz’s famous pooch holds the record for most variations in a parade (eight) and most total appearances (40). Though Snoopy doesn’t come out every year, he usually closes the show when he does. PIKACHU The Pokémon mascot didn’t appear until 2001, but he’s become a star attraction, showing up every year since. Bright, expressive, and impossible to miss, Pikachu checks off all the boxes for a successful balloon character. For 16 years, those who predicted that Pokémon
was just a fad have gotten a big, yellow reminder of just how wrong they were.
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