Dickerson Oxton - May 2019

816-268-1960 | 913-428-8220 www.dickersonoxton.com

MAY 2019

ANIMAL BITES

CAR ACCIDENTS

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Lessons From Motherhood

BICYCLE/ MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS

BEING A MOM MADE ME A BETTER LAWYER Happy Mother’s Day to all the hardworking moms out there. I

loose on the world, but you don’t want to be a “helicopter mom,” either. Doing the tightrope walk day in and day out for years would be enough to occasionally cause the best mom in the world to have a “checkout- aisle moment” from time to time. Thankfully, I don’t have to make that walk alone. Tom’s been amazing at stepping up and playing the role of disciplinarian in the family. Whenever I thought about having kids in the past, I always imagined I would be the one to fill this role. After all, I go toe to toe with attorneys from major insurance and medical companies in court all the time. I expected sternly enforcing the rules of our household wouldn’t be any different. But to my surprise, being tough with my kids just doesn’t come as easily to me. Instead of my work as an attorney informing my parenting, it’s actually worked the other way around. Since having kids, I’ve become more empathetic to the cases we handle, especially when they involve children. Of course, I’ve always felt sympathy for the families we help. But personally knowing the kind of deep, protective love a mother has for her children puts things in a whole new light. Hearing from mothers with injured children or whose medical bills prevent them from giving their kids a stable future hits me hard.

BRAIN & SPINAL CORD INJURIES

hope you at least get some time to put your feet up and relax on this particular Sunday, though I know how unrealistic that can be. My two young ones definitely keep me on my toes, no matter what day it is. But, despite how hectic it gets, I wouldn’t trade motherhood for anything in the world. After my daughter was born, there was a lot that surprised me about being a parent. First and foremost, nothing can prepare you for the overwhelming love you feel for your newborn. As they age, that love just keeps growing, and you keep finding new surprises along the way. For me, the second big surprise was finding out how difficult parenting actually is. I’ll admit, before I had kids, I was judgmental of other mothers. We’ve all been there: watching a woman going through the checkout aisle, struggling as her kids run amok in the store. We think to ourselves, “I’d never let my kids do that .” But then you have kids of your own and realize the incredibly difficult balancing act every parent has to pull off all hours of the day. Striking the balance between teaching your children discipline and giving them room to learn and grow is incredibly difficult but necessary. You don’t want to just turn the kids

Being able to put myself in the shoes of these women has shown me just how crucial my job is. While motherhood has been full of surprises, I’ve never felt unprepared. That’s because I was lucky enough to learn from one of the best. My mom was incredible with my brother and me, with enough patience and enthusiasm to just sit down and be a kid with us from time to time. So often, that’s what kids want most: for a parent to take the time to just meet them on their level and play. I do my best to give Heidi and Ian the same level of attention and care. finding room for “me time” can feel impossible as a mother, but making sure you are happy and healthy is as much a part of being a good parent as anything else. This Mother’s Day, Mom, make time to catch up with your friends, read, or do whatever activity brings you joy. You’ve more than earned it. 1 –Chelsea Dickerson Lastly, it’s important to remember to care for yourself too. I know Happy Mother’s Day,

BURN INJURIES

CONSTRUCTION INJURIES

NURSING HOME ABUSE

SLIP & FALL ACCIDENTS

BOATING ACCIDENTS

TRUCK ACCIDENTS

PHARMACEUTICAL & DRUG INJURIES

Broken Trust PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES FROM NURSING HOME ABUSE Family members take care of one another. This is what it means to be a family, whether your family members are blood relatives, family by marriage, or friends who have become like family. Unfortunately, as family members age, we aren’t always able to care for them ourselves. The physical, medical, and emotional demands of caring for elderly family members are too taxing for any person to take on alone. This is why we turn to nursing homes or assisted care facilities to care for elderly family members when we can’t take on the task ourselves. Families put a great deal of trust in nursing homes when they admit an elderly loved one. Tragically, many nursing homes are quick to break this trust. Nationwide, 1 in 20 elderly citizens will suffer from some form of negligent or abuse while in a nursing home.

Brave Little Cher Ami THEWAR PIGEONWHO SAVED THE ‘LOST BATTALION’ Long before the invention of radios and cellphones, homing pigeons were used to send messages as early as the sixth century. During World War I, war pigeons carried lifesaving messages past enemy lines for the American and French armies, often being wounded in the process. In 1918, Cher Ami, a black check hen used by the U.S. Signal Corps, became the most famous of them all. On Oct. 2, the United States 77th Infantry Division was trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a three-month push by the Allies during the final throes of World War I to force the Germans to surrender. It became the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. For six days, the encircled division endured relentless attacks and suffered heavy casualties, but their orders were clear: Don’t retreat and don’t surrender. The division dispatched two homing pigeons with requests for help, but both birds were shot down. When friendly fire began raining down on the 77th, Major Charles White Whittlesey felt he had no choice but to send the last pigeon, Cher Ami. The pigeon’s desperate note read: “We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.” As Cher Ami rose from the brush, she was shot down, to the despair of the watching soldiers. However, after a few seconds, she fought her way back into the air, flew through a torrent of gunfire, and made it to division headquarters 25 miles away. She had been shot in the breast, the eye, and the leg. Because of Cher Ami’s brave flight, 194 of the original 554 men of the 77th Infantry Division survived the battle. One month later, World War I came to an end. Cher Ami survived the war as well, thanks to the surgeons who performed emergency surgery on her. One soldier even carved her a little wooden leg. She became a well-known hero to both soldiers and children in the States. For her service in Verdun, the French Army awarded her the Croix de Guerre, and she was inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame. Cher Ami finally succumbed to her wounds in June of 1919 and is now on display in the Smithsonian alongside Sergeant Stubby, a terrier who served 18 months on the Western Front.

WHAT DOES NURSING HOME ABUSE LOOK LIKE?

Nursing home abuse can take many forms and fall under three distinct categories: physical, emotional, and financial abuse.

Uninsured& underinsured Drivers Can CostYou PROTECTYOURSELFWITH UM/UIM COVERAGE

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PHYSICAL ABUSE

Nursing home abuse is a serious issue that impacts countless elderly citizens and their families. If you suspect your loved one may be a victim of abuse or neglect, don’t hesitate to call an experienced nursing home abuse attorney for help. When a nursing home breaks your family’s trust, you deserve to seek justice for your loved one.

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Assaults or attacks on the patient

Unnecessary restraint

Oversedation

Deliberately withholding food or water

Sexual abuse Abandonment Wrongful death

Bedsores

Falls due to lack of supervision

Medication errors

EMOTIONAL ABUSE

TAKE A BREAK

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Isolation

Disrespecting the patient

Demeaning or humiliating the patient Ignoring the patient’s reasonable requests

Threats

FINANCIAL ABUSE

Classic French Omelet Inspired by SeriousEats.com

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Stealing from the patient

Writing fraudulent checks under the patient’s name Overcharging for services, or charging for bogus services

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ingredients

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Identity theft

• 3 large eggs • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

HAVING COVERAGE VS. HAVING ENOUGH COVERAGE In states like Kansas, which require UM/UIM insurance, many policyholders keep this coverage to the minimum amount. This might have been a decision you were encouraged to make by the agent who sold you your policy. After all, it ensures the insurance company will only pay the smallest amount required in the event you need to file a UM/UIM claim. But with the kinds of severe or long-term injuries that are common from car accidents, this minimum coverage often falls short of being helpful. We recommend increasing your coverage to at least $50,000 for UM and UIM coverage, and it’s even better to have $100,000 UM and UIM limits. Any potential increase of a monthly premium to up your coverage in this manner is minor in comparison to what cost you could pay if an uninsured or underinsured driver hits you and you don’t have adequate coverage of your own. THE COST OF LACKING COVERAGE While any increase in your insurance payments can be hard to stomach, consider the alternative. A trip to the emergency room, expensive medication, lost wages frommissing work — the costs of a crash can add up quickly. If you are required to have UM/UIM coverage anyway, you should make sure it’s enough to actually protect in an accident.

As a firm dedicated to representing injured people, the last thing we ever want to say to clients is that there isn’t enough insurance to cover all their damages. You cannot control the people who hit you and what coverage they have to pay for your losses. But, you are in control of how much you protect yourself and your family by making sure you have adequate uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage through your own car insurance policy. Without adequate UM and UIM insurance coverage, you could bear some or all of the financial burden of your injuries, despite the accident being caused by the other driver. UNDERSTANDING UM/UIM INSURANCE Both UM and UIM insurance exist to act as a safety net in the event an at-fault driver lacks the means to cover the cost of the injuries they caused you through their insurance coverage. By law, UM insurance is included as part of your auto insurance policy in both Kansas and Missouri. However, the same isn’t true for UIM coverage. If you live in Missouri, UIM coverage is optional, and you must opt into coverage to obtain it. If not, you may have no financial cushion to land on if an underinsured driver injures you. With that being said, just having UM/UIM insurance often isn’t enough.

directions

1. In medium bowl, beat eggs with plastic fork until last traces of white are just mixed in. Season with salt and pepper. 2. In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, melt butter, swirling over medium heat until foamy but not browned. Add eggs, stirring rapidly with fork, while moving skillet to agitate eggs. Break up all curds by scraping bottom of skillet as they form. Stop stirring when eggs are softly scrambled and creamy (but loose enough to come together into a single mass), 1–2 minutes. 3. Using fork, gently spread egg in an even layer around skillet and scrape down any wispy bits around the edges. The top surface should be loose and creamy, but if still liquid, swirl skillet to bring raw egg to the edge where it will set faster. 4. Remove from heat. Tilt skillet up by handle. Using fork, gently roll omelet down over itself until nearly folded in half. Using fork, push omelet to edge of skillet so that the lower edge of egg just begins to overhang. Use fork to fold overhanging edge of egg back over, closing omelet. 5. Turn omelet out onto plate. It should have the seam on bottom.

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THIS ISSUE

Being A Mom Made Me a Better Lawyer The War Pigeon Who Saved the ‘Lost Battalion’ Recognize the Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse Defend Your Future From Uninsured Drivers Take a Break Classic French Omelet The Healthiest Building in New Delhi

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Growing Fresh Air

A LOOK AT THE HEALTHIEST BUILDING IN NEW DELHI

Imagine you are told you must leave the city you work and live in because it’s killing you. Hard to fathom, isn’t it? But this actually happened to Kamal Meattle, a researcher, activist, and New Delhi native, who was told by doctors that the city’s air quality was a threat

money plant. Using these plants, Meattle created an indoor plant- based air filtering system that allows his building, the Paharpur Business Center (PBC), to cultivate all the fresh air it needs. Air entering the building is cleaned by a scrubber, then is filtered through the building’s extensive greenhouse to remove chemicals and bacteria. The greenhouse, and the rest of the building, is filled with areca palms, snake plants, and money plants. Today, the PBC is the healthiest building in New Delhi. Twenty years after Meattle rolled out his plant-based filter system, the results speak for themselves. Employee productivity has gone up 20 percent. Respiratory problems have gone down by 34 percent, headaches by 24 percent, and lung impairment by 12 percent, among other health benefits. Just stepping into Paharpur boosts your health: Blood oxygen levels go up by 1 percent after 10 hours in the PBC. Meattle has remained in New Delhi and is set on helping other Indian businesses replicate his plant-based system so they can grow their own fresh air. As he says of his decision to stay, “Either you are overwhelmed by the fact that there are so many problems and so many people, or you find solutions to help in any way you can.”

to his health. His lung capacity had gone down 70 percent, and doctors suggested he leave New Delhi. Instead, Meattle chose to stay and find an innovative solution to his health problems and the city’s air quality crisis. New Delhi is no stranger to poor air quality. Sometimes pollution gets so bad it warrants a city-wide warning for kids to stay inside. Meattle, who studied engineering at MIT, turned to research by NASA and other organizations to address the issue. During his research, Meattle found that there are three common house plants that excel at removing dangerous chemical compounds, like formaldehyde and carbon monoxide, from the air: the areca palm, the snake plant (or mother-in-law’s tongue), and the

ADVERTISING MATERIAL: The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. This newsletter is provided to former clients, individuals who have contacted the firm regarding representation, and individuals who have requested to be on the newsletter mailing list. This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or direct solicitation for employment of the firm on any particular legal matter.

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