Simon Law Firm's online newsletter for June 2018
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JUNE 2018
An Injury Can Be a Gift
s some of you know, I have a very serious L5-S1 low back disc herniation that pushes on nerve roots in my legs. I have lived
epidurals for pain management instead. The numbness and pain that I feel on bad days can be debilitating, to the point that I have to work on a couch for the most part and rarely sit in an office chair. It makes exercise a mental struggle, and frankly, by the evening of a bad day, I’m often drained from putting up with the discomfort. For many years after the injury, I felt sorry for myself and would complain to God about my plight. As I have matured, I have realized that it is a gift as well as a misfortune. Having the pain and the procedures reminds me that I am lucky to be alive. Most importantly, in my line of work, it allows me to stand in my client’s shoes and understand firsthand what living with pain and physical limitations is truly all about.
taking people’s depositions and hearing them mention that they had trouble picking up their children and that the limitations would bother them more than anything else about the injury. While I heard them, I could not emotionally connect to the problem until it became a limitation that I struggle with myself in picking up my own kids. That is the difference between hearing and listening. Looking back now, I also realize that the gifts of an injury can be many. It has taught me to take opportunities. I do not have forever to be healthy and have sped up my travel timetables with my kids. It has taught me to be careful with what I eat and how I treat my body. A stable core and good diet choices allow our bodies to handle pain more readily. It has taught me patience. I realize now that improvement is more gradual than I would like in work, family relationships, and in healing. It’s okay to make gradual gains every day — just stay on course. The sum of that philosophy is asking myself, “How do I just win today?” and then stringing a series of winning days together. Oh well, I have to go — doctor is here with the needles. Have a great summer, and I’ll take pictures in Paris next week for the July issue!
with this for seven years now, and as I write this I am getting ready for yet another epidural lumbar injection at Peachtree Orthopedics. As car accident lawyers, we know a truism of the business is that the cervical and lumbar regions are the most frequently injured parts of the human body in vehicle wrecks. These injuries are infuriating because they affect the entire body and outlook of the patient and can be incredibly difficult to correctly diagnose and treat. Moreover, the treatments themselves can be scary. My doctor wants to do a double level fusion, but I don’t want to go that direction; I use
Life is funny like that. My disc herniated not due to any accident, but just getting older. As I sit here at age 46 and look back over my 20-year career, I think that it is one of the most enlightening experiences I have dealt with, as it truly helps me to see things from my clients’ perspectives. I remember working as an insurance defense lawyer for 10 years,
–Christopher Simon
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Parents Watch Free IS MOVIE PASS RIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY?
Are You a Movie Family?
Superheroes, robots, and dinosaurs, oh my! The 2018 blockbuster season is in full swing, and chances are your kids don’t want to miss out on the action. But these days, going to the movies costs an arm and a leg — and that’s before you buy the popcorn. One service is looking to change this. If you’ve watched the news at all in the last year, chances are you’ve heard the buzz about Movie Pass. It’s a subscription service in which one user pays $9.95 a month in exchange for four free movie tickets each month at participating theaters. While initially envisioned for college students and film aficionados, could Movie Pass be right for your family?
Do you go to the movies often as a family? Or do you and your spouse need more date-night options? With the $9.95 monthly subscription fee, as long as the pass holder in your family sees more than one movie a month, you are saving money. This can be a great encouragement to see more films, whether
as a family or individually.
Where Do You Live?
Is 3D a Must?
If enough theaters in your area participate, your family enjoys going to the movies, and you’re not set on seeing 3D movies, Movie Pass can be a great investment. But if the answer is no to any of these questions, you’re probably better off just buying tickets at the box office.
The first thing you should do when considering whether to sign up for the pass is research which theaters in your area take the pass and which don’t. If you have to make a long drive just to get to a participating theater, it’s probably not worth subscribing.
The one catch of Movie Pass is that
it will only get you into standard 2D movies. If you and the family want the 3D experience, you’ll have to pay for it separately.
Have You Heard the Good News? POSITIVE HAPPENINGS IN ATLANTA
Local Doctor Donates to Charity That Fights Poverty
It seems as though the media is ripe with awful news stories these days. With all these unfortunate headlines, it can be easy to let all the negativity affect your mood. That’s why the team at Simon Law Firm goes out of its way to find the positive headlines and remind ourselves that there is good in the world. Here are some feel-good stories from the past few months.
her to jump. The woman jumped into Senior’s arms moments before the building collapsed. Senior is credited with saving the woman’s life. Two people were injured in the blaze, but all tenants survived.
Plastic surgeon John L. LeRoy donated $1,000 to a local charity focused on poverty and homelessness for his Spring 2018 Social Media Charity Contest. LeRoy started the campaign in April, and he encouraged his social media followers to help him choose the winning charity. He announced his winning charity in May. LeRoy promotes up to four contests per year. Each of them focuses on different needs within the community, like homelessness, children’s needs, veteran’s needs, cancer- related organizations, and more. To learn more about LeRoy’s work, visit his John L. LeRoy, MD Facebook page.
MARTA to Buy New Buses
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) will be receiving a $3.6 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s Bus and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program. MARTA will use the funding to upgrade and replace 40-foot diesel-fueled buses with 60-foot compressed natural gas buses for bus routes in DeKalb County. The environmentally friendly buses will be used to enhance service on MARTA Route 121.
Teen Saves Neighbor From Burning Building
In April, a fast-moving fire ripped through an apartment complex in DeKalb County. Some people were able to escape, but others were trapped. Noticing a woman stuck on her third- floor balcony, Antonio Senior, a 14-year-old boy, ran toward the burning building and told
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The Key to Selecting the Right Attorney
WORD SEARCH
If you’ve been injured in an accident and think you may need a lawyer to secure the compensation you deserve, it can be difficult to know where to start. There are billboards all over the place broadcasting each lawyer as the best, so how do you weed out the uncaring, inexperienced firms from the talented, compassionate attorneys? First, you should go online and do your research. Look for a lawyer with positive client Google reviews and excellent standing on Avvo, and any other review sites you may come across. Ensure that you pick a lawyer with more than 10 years’ experience in your particular type of case — a “jack-of-all-trades” attorney will never be able to get you the outcome you need. It’s a good idea to keep an eye out for a lawyer who’s been featured in the media or has shown up as an expert in various investigations or on the news. If they’ve already been recognized by your community, you can bet they’ve earned that recognition. In addition, check to see if they’ve published any books on their website. Often, these publications are given out for free and can give you a lot of information on their particular approach and expertise. When you start asking lawyers questions to determine your pick of the crop, insist on an in-person interview. Watch out for lawyers with “case managers.” It’s normal to expect that a paralegal or assistant will be working on your case, but the attorney should definitely retain primary responsibility. Ask if you can speak to a few of their former clients. If they’re shady about this, it’s best to steer clear. Find out their initial strategy for your case and ask them what obstacles they expect to come across. All in all, the best method to select an attorney is to speak with them directly and figure it out for yourself. If you feel like they’re selling you something, they probably are. Any good attorney worth their salt will tell you everything you need to know, whether or not it results in your hiring them.
CAMPING FLIPFLOPS HAMBURGER JUNE
LEMONADE PICNIC POOL SMORES
SUNSCREEN SUNSHINE SWIMMING VACATION
Father’sDayChiliLime ChickenWings
This Father’s Day, spice up your wings with this zesty recipe that’s sure to please the whole family. INGREDIENTS
• •
4 pounds chicken wings 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1 1/4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• • •
1 lime, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Chopped cilantro for garnish
•
•
• •
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
DIRECTIONS 1. Heat oven to 425 F. 2. Rinse wings under cold water and pat dry. Season liberally with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast on a baking sheet for 25 minutes or until skin becomes crisp and brown. 3. Blend butter, red curry paste, honey, and soy sauce in a large mixing bowl. 4. Toss wings in butter mixture. Squeeze lime juice on top, transfer to serving plate, and garnish with cilantro.
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An Injury Can Be a Gift 1 Invest in Movie Nights
Good News Around Georgia 2 Father’sDayChiliLimeChickenWings How to Pick Your Lawyer 3 3 Fathers Who Risked It All for Their Kids 4
3 AWESOME DADS
Fathers Who Put Their Lives on the Line for Their Kids
This Father’s Day, thousands of dads will receive a “No. 1 Dad” mug to sip coffee out of at the office. But the following dads took that “No. 1” to a new level. Brian Munn gave his son a liver transplant. When doctors discovered that baby Caleb Munn had a rare disease called biliary atresia, they told his parents that he was unlikely to survive past age 2 without a liver transplant. Luckily, his father was a perfect match, and he eagerly donated part of his liver in March of 2015 to save his son’s life. Greg Alexander battled a bear for his son’s life. While camping in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Greg Alexander was startled awake at dawn by the screams of his 16-year-old son, Gabriel. He rushed out of his hammock to see a black bear
dragging his son away by the head. Without hesitation, he kicked the beast in the side, and when that didn’t work, he leapt onto its back and started punching it in the face. When the bear finally released Gabriel, Greg threw rocks until it fled. His son was hurt but made a full recovery in the hospital over the coming weeks. Artur Magomedov was devastated to discover that his wife had taken his 3- and 10-year- old daughters from their home in Dagestan under the cover of night, flown to Turkey, and crossed into Syria to join ISIS. But he resolved to get his kids back. After a long, hazardous journey, he arrived in Tabqa to embrace his two daughters. To leave the caliphate — under penalty of death — they hitched a ride to the border one night and crawled along a railway line until they were within 70 meters of the border. Then they ran under fire from Turkish border guards until they could scramble into Artur Magomedov saved his daughters from ISIS.
tall grasses. After some help from the Russian consulate in Istanbul, they made it back home, together again and safe.
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