The Law Offices of Marc L Shapiro, P.A. - January 2020
January 2020
720 Goodlette Rd. N, Suite 304, Naples, FL 34102 • www.AttorneyShapiro.com
CBD After a Car Accident
Dr. Alejandro Blanco Weighs In
How does CBD work when it comes to treating pain?
s a personal injury attorney, I have the privilege of helping my clients seek justice after they’ve been hurt in an accident. The compensation from their cases can greatly help people in moving to the next stage of their life. However, while
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“Cannabidiol (CBD) is found naturally in cannabis. Rather than make users high, researchers suspect that CBD interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system, reducing inflammation and providing pain relief by helping your muscles relax.” Is there still a stigma around medical marijuana and CBD? “By and large, the mentality around medical marijuana and CBD has changed. The majority of my patients who I recommend CBD to are willing to try it without hesitation. I have even had old patients request CBD because they have heard how well it works from friends and family members. There is still a stigma around cannabis, but that is changing with time. Many people are willing to try CBD because they want to avoid addictive narcotics.” “These days, you can find CBD in everything, from chocolate to bubble tea. When patients are dealing with pain, I’m glad to be able to offer them a few different options. There’s CBD oil, the form most people are familiar with, as well as creams, tablets, and even gummy bears. Depending on what kind of pain a patient is dealing with, there may be many options for treating it.” What if CBD isn’t an option for me? “There are many treatments to manage pain that don’t rely on narcotics or the complications associated with them. At my practice, Internal Medicine Partners, we can prescribe medical marijuana and offer platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to help treat chronic pain.” What’s the best way for patients to take CBD?
the money helps, it can’t solve all their problems. Many of my clients struggle with chronic pain from their accident, the kind of pain that hinders their ability to seek a better future.
I can’t help my clients with their pain, which is why I’m glad there are people like Dr. Alejandro Blanco here in Naples. Dr. Blanco is an internal medicine doctor who began treating patients for pain management after a friend of his suffered a car accident. “That experience showed me the need for doctors to be available who could provide therapies for pain management,”Dr. Blanco explained. “My focus is not pain management, but as an internal medicine physician, you have to deal with almost everything. When I work with patients who have been in car accidents, I want to offer them ways to deal with their pain, too.” This month, I talked to Dr. Blanco about a topic I know a lot of my clients have been asking about: Can CBD treat pain after a car accident? Is CBD effective for pain? “There is no silver bullet for pain. Every patient responds differently and what works for some might not work for everyone. However, 80% of my patients on CBD have at least a 35% improvement in their pain. For patients who need help managing their pain after a car accident, I will often recommend trying CBD.”
Thank you to Dr. Alejandro Blanco for taking the time to enlighten us on this topic. I know many of our clients have worked with Dr. Blanco in managing their pain after a car accident. It’s a distressing situation to be in, but it’s good to know there are people like Dr. Blanco in our community who know how to help. -Dr.Alejandro Blanco
(239) 649-8050 • 1
A Second Set of Eyes
Help Your Kids Achieve More This Year With Simple and Actionable Goals With every new year comes an opportunity to reinvent ourselves or start down a new path toward self-improvement. Making resolutions is a big part of many families’ New Year’s traditions, and parents often have a desire for their kids to take part in that tradition when they’re old enough. Following through on resolutions is tough, especially for young children, but with your help, they can achieve their goals.
4 Safety Features Worth the Fuss
T he smallest details can save you from an accident. If you see a car pass into your blind spot, you can avoid hitting them when you change lanes to make your upcoming exit. But what if you didn’t notice that smaller car pulling up beside you, or you happened to looked down to change the radio right as the car in front of you hit their brakes? The best new safety features in vehicles today act as a second pair of eyes, catching details drivers can miss. If you’re shopping for a new vehicle, here are some safety features to ask for. Forward Collision Warning A forward collision warning (FCW) uses sensors to detect slow-moving or stationary objects in front of the vehicle. If the automobile is in motion and the distance between the vehicle and an external object becomes too short, the FCW will alert the driver to take evasive action. Some vehicles may even engage the brake automatically if the driver doesn’t react to the warning. Blind Spot Warning Blind spot warning (BSW) uses cameras, radar, or ultrasonic sensors to detect vehicles in your automobile’s blindspots. When drivers activate their turn signal, the BSW will alert them if it’s unsafe to change lanes.
Practice what you preach. You are your children’s role model for almost everything, including following through on New Year’s resolutions. So, ask yourself if you follow through on your own resolutions. When you proclaim that you will read more books or finally get a gym membership, do you actually try to do it? Your kids will assign as much importance to New Year’s resolutions as you do, so by sticking to your own commitments, you can help them stay on track too. Keep things simple and achievable. When your kids are forming their resolutions, their first attempts will probably be very broad. Statements like “I want to be more kind” or “I will try to help more around the house” incorporate good values but don’t include any actionable steps. Help your kids think of tangible ways to act on those goals. For example, if they want to be tidier, a good resolution might be for them to clean their room once a week or take responsibility for one household chore every day. Don’t do all the work for them. While it’s important for you to help your kids formulate their goals, be sure that you aren’t taking over. If they’re ultimately responsible for their resolutions, they’ll feel more compelled to keep them. Instead, suggest different goal areas they could improve, such as home, school, or sports, and let them elaborate. When it comes to creating habits, nobody is perfect, so even if your kids falter on their goals in the middle of February, don’t worry. The important thing is that you continue to encourage them every step of the way.
Hoppin’ John
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What Some People Are Saying About Us
Safety Alert Seat When safety systems like the FCW or BSW are activated, they alert drivers with a visual or auditory warning. However, these warnings can be easy to miss. In response, many new vehicles also include a safety alert seat. If safety systems are activated, the driver’s seat cushion will vibrate, alerting the driver of potential danger. Teen Driver Software Whether due to inexperience or youthful recklessness, teens can make poor decisions when behind the wheel of a car. To help parents better address these bad habits, certain vehicles have software that records each time a safety feature is used or when the vehicle exceeds a safe speed. This record is then sent to the parent to review. The important thing to remember about these safety features is that they’re a safety net, not the first line of defense. Having cameras that can warn you of an impending collision is not a green light to text and drive. While these new safety features can help prevent accidents, it still falls on human drivers to practice good habits and drive safely.
“Thank you so very much for the time out of your busy schedule to clarify for us some concerns that we had about answers to interrogatories. Again, it was a pleasure for Liz and I to have the opportunity to speak with you. You have really helped us to understand just how this process works and not only were you very professional, you were caring and compassionate.” –Jimmy Underwood “Gerta was great and recommended some wonderful doctors where I had the correct treatment. We needed up settling our case for what I thought was fair without having to take something I was not comfortable with. I would definitely go to them in the future and refer them to my friends and family.” –Jerry Scotto
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Directions
A traditional New Year’s favorite in the South, Hoppin’ John includes black-eyed peas that are said to represent coins, a sign of prosperity for the coming year. It’s usually served alongside collard greens, which represent cash.
1. Wash and sort peas. 2. In a saucepan, cover peas with water, discarding any that float. 3. Add pepper, ham hock, occasionally, until peas are just tender, about 90 minutes. At this point, you should have about 2 cups of liquid remaining. 4. Add rice, cover, drop heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, undisturbed. 5. Remove from heat and let steam for an additional 10 minutes, still covered. 6. Remove lid, fluff with a fork, and serve. and onion. Gently boil and cook uncovered, stirring
Word Search
AQUARIUS CAPRICORN CELEBRATE CHAMPAGNE FIREWORKS
FREEZING JANUARY
Ingredients
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1 cup dried black-eyed peas
MIDNIGHT NEW YEAR PARTY PIG RESOLUTION
5–6 cups water
1 dried hot pepper, optional (arbol and Calabrian are great options)
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1 smoked hamhock
SNOW TOAST WINTER
1 mediumonion, diced
1 cup long-grain white rice
Inspired by Epicurious
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720 Goodlette Rd. N, Suite 304 Naples, FL 34102 www.AttorneyShapiro.com
Inside Another Way to Treat Pain Page 1
Helping Your Kids Make New Year’s Resolutions
What Safety Features Does My Car Need? Page 2
What Some People Are Saying
Hoppin’ John Page 3
The Curious Case of Roy Pearson’s Pants Page 4
Who Wears the Pants? Lady Justice! How One Judge Lost a Frivolous Lawsuit and His Dignity
After losing an article of clothing from a dry cleaner, most would say “c’est la vie” and move on. At most, someone might leave a bad review and ask for a few dollars to cover the loss, but for one administrative law judge, that wasn’t enough. He decided instead to launch an all-out legal battle. Roy Pearson, a Washington, D.C., judge at the time, sought $54 million to cover the loss of his pants after his dry cleaner lost them. He argued that the “same-day service” sign located in the window of the dry cleaners meant that the company had to provide same-day service. However, Pearson never specified a specific time he needed his clothes returned. He also insisted that the “satisfaction guaranteed” sign meant that the cleaners had to satisfy a customer’s wishes without limit. Based on those arguments, he claimed the signs were fraudulent. After the initial allegations, the dry cleaners scoured their business to find the pants and, to their credit, found the judge’s trousers untarnished. Even so, Pearson argued that he didn’t need to prove the pants were lost or damaged to satisfy his “satisfaction guaranteed” claim.
Unfortunately for the judge, the court
found his position to be ridiculous and ordered him to pay the dry cleaner’s attorneys’ fees. In response,
Pearson sought that his own attorneys’ fees be covered to oppose this motion. In the end, Pearson did pay the dry cleaner’s legal fees, but the case isn’t the only thing he lost. The verdict also cost the judge his job and any
semblance of professional dignity. Ten years after the case closed, the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility sought a 90-day suspension. As
the board put it, Pearson “failed to conduct an objective appraisal of the legal merits of his position. He made and continues to make arguments that no reasonable attorney would think had even a faint hope of success on the legal merits.” From a legal standpoint, we’d call this judge’s behavior “dissatisfaction guaranteed.”
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