THE SHUTTLESWORTH SENTINEL
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07 .2020
A NATION THAT RISES TO THE OCCASION WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THE UNITED STATES
The United States really is unlike any other country in the world. Since our independence 244 years ago, we’ve built a society that, in times of trouble, has been a beacon of hope and freedom around the world. At our best, we can come to the aid of the poor and the needy and help them raise themselves up out of poverty to achieve the American dream. Unfortunately, we’re not always at our best. Sometimes, when we’re in times of trouble, it seems like we’d rather stay divided than come together for the common good. That said, though, even as we grapple with the latest global crisis, I believe the tools we’ve used in the past to rise to the occasion are still there, and we still have time to use them. “WE WEREN’T FOUNDED BY THE RICH AND THE POWERFUL — WE WERE FOUNDED BY THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING OPPRESSED BY THE RICH AND THE POWERFUL.” When I think of what makes America incredible, the first thing that comes to mind is the protections afforded to us by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These documents ensure that people of all races, ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds can live safely and freely within our borders, provided we enforce them. They make up the very foundation of the United States as a country, and they have the potential to inspire and captivate Americans, as well as people in other countries. I remember a friend of mine in law school who was from Montreal, Canada, who had a deep interest in constitutional law. He actually scored the highest in our class on that subject, and he wasn’t even an American citizen. To me, that’s a testament to the power of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Another thing that sets the United States apart is the idea that you can come from any background and become a leader in the free world — upward mobility is ingrained in our culture. I lived in Europe for a little
while about 25 years ago, and one difference between American and European societies that stood
out was how Europeans were more or less content to maintain their current socioeconomic status, barring some exceptions. But in the United States, you can start off needing food stamps and living in public housing and still work hard enough to become successful. You can choose the life you want for yourself. I think Americans’ ability to rise above their station comes largely from my final reason for America’s exceptionality: We weren’t founded by the rich and the powerful — we were founded by the people who were being oppressed by the rich and the powerful. Then, for centuries after that, we opened our doors to all sorts of people escaping oppression and gave them the opportunity to join in and contribute to the American experiment. It’s hard to imagine in our super partisan age that we’re the same country that united to end the Great Depression and take down the Third Reich. That’s because we did it not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. And now more than ever, we need to remember that as diverse as we are, we can still come together to tackle the crisis in front of us. We’ve done it before, and I believe we can do it again.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone.
–Perry Shuttlesworth
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THE FIRST MRI SCAN OF A HUMAN INTEGRATING MEDICINE AND SPORTS
PRODUCT LIABILITY BASICS
Product liability cases should be smooth and straightforward; however, that’s rarely the case. When a business is involved in one of these suits, its insurance company provides it with a team of lawyers who work to ensure your liability payments are as low as possible. Here’s what you need to know to ensure you can hit the ground running on the road to fulfillment and recovery. COMMON PRODUCTS IN LAWSUITS When it comes to drugs, pharmaceutical manufacturers are obligated to create safe medicines and issue recalls if medications are found to be defective. However, oversights in the system can cause dangerous drugs to be prescribed without proper warning or testing. When it comes to faulty medical equipment that leads to things like defective hip and knee replacements, the manufacturing companies are held accountable. Similarly, in lawsuits regarding defective car parts, claims may be based on defects in any parts initially built and sold by the manufacturer. In cases involving dangerous toys, it again falls on the manufacturer. Finally, when it comes to harmful foods, either the restaurant where the food was served or the manufacturer is held responsible. DO YOU KNOW HOW AND WHY YOU’RE SUFFERING?
Whether it’s football, hockey, rugby, or any other contact sport, when a player goes down, fans immediately want to know why. An injury could mean a player is out for the season, which could also cause the entire team to falter. Concerned fans will wait for hours to hear the player’s prognosis. A sports injury is severely damaging because it can potentially end the athlete’s career or alter their quality of life. Injured players hope to get a diagnosis and treatment from the medical professionals around them and get back in the game as soon as possible. MRI technology is an essential part of that process. An MRI scan is used to produce an accurate diagnosis of the player’s injury, but that’s not all. It can also assist doctors in estimating recovery time and determining if the player will need surgery. With so much depending on the MRI scan, it’s no wonder that fans, coaches, teammates, and injured players themselves wait anxiously for the results. Though it’s now standard practice to use MRI scans to help diagnose sports injuries, the MRI device itself is less than 50 years old. On July 3, 1977, the first recorded MRI scan of a human body was performed by Dr. Raymond Damadian. Although it took five hours to produce that first image of the patient, the machine successfully scanned his chest and revealed his lungs and heart. Damadian named the machine Indomitable, an homage to his team’s struggle in developing the technology that allowed the device to succeed. Thanks to Damadian’s determination and the brilliant people on his team, today’s medical professionals can use MRI machines to scan broken bones, detect cancerous cells, take full photos of the brain, and reveal blood clots. MRI scans are useful for athletes and nonathletes alike. The results inform a diagnostic plan that will help them get back to playing the sport they love, whether it be their career or a hobby.
TYPES OF LIABILITY LAWSUITS Generally, there are three types of product liability lawsuits, including manufacturing defect, design defect, and insufficient instructions or warnings. In manufacturing defect cases, how a product was built creates the danger to individuals, even if the design of the product is good. However, with design defect cases, the design itself makes the product unsafe. Insufficient instructions or warning cases arise when the instructions and warnings that come with a product are insufficient, making the product harmful to handle.
If you find yourself in a liability lawsuit, you need an experienced lawyer who knows how to handle the insurance companies and their lawyers. The lawyers at Shuttlesworth are happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
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HOW SAFETY IS CHANGING FOREVER IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
One in 10 construction workers is injured every year according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Most of the 150,000 injuries that result from construction site accidents every year tend to involve a worker’s back, spine, or trunk. These types of injuries lead to expensive and extensive medical care. Construction work involves big risks, and though it continues to be an essential profession, there haven’t been enough reforms to make it safer — until the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The dangers of the virus have exposed the shortcomings of workplace safety more than ever, and the construction industry is no exception. Besides staggered shifts; daily temperature checks; comprehensive disinfection policies for tools, machinery, and work surfaces; and social distancing policies (like carpool bans and new delivery processing methods), significant advancements are pushing construction sites into the future with technology.
After all, why take someone’s temperature in person if you can do so remotely? Not many people would imagine that the construction industry would find Zoom meetings or tech tools particularly necessary, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Contractors, developers, and workers all need to keep in contact with each other, and under normal circumstances, they visit the site to do so. Now, web-based tools like Zoom keep people engaged with projects without meeting in person, and remote technology and tech- infused equipment helps keep people safe by notifying workers when they’re within 6 feet of each other, sending alerts if workers are fallen or injured, and more. In present times, more construction workers may find themselves signing up with a union. The influence of unions has been on a steady
decline since World War II, but during the pandemic, trade unions have been crucial advocates for workers’ best interests while corporations and businesses sort out their own adaptations. As health and safety standards increase more and more, so will the value of labor unions. If you or a loved one has questions or concerns or has been affected by an employer’s negligent workplace safety measures, our expert legal team can help fight for you. Just give us a call at (205) 322-1411.
FACTOID STRANGE THE MANY UNIQUE NAMES OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS
TAKE A BREAK
A pack of wolves. A litter of puppies. A flock of birds. People really like coming up with creative names for groups of animals, but there are probably far more of these unique names for congregations of beasts in the animal kingdom than you think! Say you visit an African jungle — you might run into a shrewdness of apes. Journey into the savanna, and you might come across a coalition of cheetahs or spot a fittingly named tower of giraffes.
These strange group names aren’t confined to Africa, however. You might find an army of frogs or caterpillars in your own backyard. When it comes to cats, they have almost as many group names as they do lives, roaming around in clutters, clowders, douts, glares, and pounces, among others. We promise we didn’t make any of these up on the spot — someone else definitely did, though.
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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
What I Love Most About the United States
How the MRI Scan Changed Sports Medicine
Don’t Suffer Any Longer
How Safety Is Changing Forever in the Construction Industry
Unique Names for Groups of Animals: This Month’s Strange Factoid
National Ice Cream Day Prompts Homemade Creations
CELEBRATE NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY BY MAKING YOUR OWN SWEET TREAT!
Whether you’re a fan of mint chocolate chip or just plain vanilla, nothing cools you down on a hot summer day quite like ice cream. It’s only fitting then that National Ice Cream Day lands on July 19 — right in the middle of the hottest month in the U.S. Ice cream’s history stretches as far back as 500 B.C. when Middle Eastern royalty combined sweet flavors with ice for a cool treat. Ice cream made its way to North America in the 1700s, and it remained a dessert for the wealthy and famous for years. George Washington even spent $200 on ice cream throughout the summer of 1790. (That would be $5,611.20 in today’s dollars!) Thankfully, these days you don’t have to be rich to enjoy ice cream. In fact, you can even save money by making it yourself! Celebrate National Ice Cream Day by creating this everyday treat using these tips. MAKE IT HOW YOU WANT IT. You can flavor your ice cream however you’d like, but there are a few basic ingredients that are necessary for most batches: milk, sugar, gelatin, and eggs.
Dairy-based products like milk are the most common foundation for ice cream. Sugar adds the sweet, scrumptious flavor we all love, and gelatin aids in thickening the mixture. The eggs happen to be one of the most important ingredients because they give ice cream its classic texture while reducing the rate at which it melts. This ensures your ice cream remains in near “mint” condition as you enjoy it. Healthy Alternatives: Use bananas or almond milk for dairy-free ice cream. For vegan ice cream, use agar powder instead of gelatin and eggs. For those looking to avoid sugar, honey is a naturally sweet substitute. GET TO WORK! You’ll need to heat your ingredients on the stove prior to churning and cooling your ice cream. An ice-cream churner is the easiest way to create a perfectly smooth texture, but if you’re looking for an activity to wear out the kids, then have them shake their own ice cream! Simply place all your ingredients in a small baggie, close it up, and place that baggie in a larger one with ice cubes. Shake firmly for at least 15 minutes for homemade creamy goodness.
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