Friedman & Simon Injury Lawyers - May 2022

Friedman & Simon Injury Lawyers - May 2022

LEGAL BRIEF

MAY 2022 FriedmanSimon.com 516-800-8000

A NURSE’S MOST INCREDIBLE SKILL I WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR COVID-19 — AND THE NURSES AMAZED ME

My youngest daughter, a freshman in college, recently asked me if she could interview me for a school paper. She was writing about emotional labor, or the process of managing your emotions to fulfill your personal job requirements. How do you keep your emotions in check? What emotions do you typically need to express for your work? These were the types of questions she was curious to ask me as a personal injury lawyer. Understanding the law is an important part of what we do. However, when you have a suffering human being in front of you, it’s not always the most important thing to focus on. After hearing my clients’ stories, it doesn’t take long to learn that compassion, empathy, and patience are crucial when I’m working with personal injury clients. We must always be ready and available to guide our clients when they feel most weak and vulnerable. Even so, my experience with emotional labor is nothing like what thousands of nurses go through every single day, especially since the pandemic. In honor of National Nurses Day on May 6, I thought I’d share the story of when I was reminded of their incredible compassion and grace after I was hospitalized for complications from COVID-19.

nurses were exceptionally hardworking, calm, kind, professional, and compassionate. No matter what, they were composed and reassuring, almost in a manner I understood within my own profession.

It’s clear to me now why nurses have some of society’s most superior emotional labor skills compared to most other professions, and it’s

not just a talent of the nurses from my local hospital. According to Gallup polls in 2020, nurses have been identified as the most honest and ethical professionals for the past 19 years. It’s a well-earned respect from all across the country. This year, let’s try to give back to our community’s nurses. Whether it’s buying treats or meals for the local hospital, or giving a

“My symptoms for coronavirus came on very suddenly. I went from feeling fine to being taken by an ambulance right away into a COVID-19 intensive care unit.”

My symptoms for coronavirus came on very suddenly. I went from feeling fine to being taken by an ambulance right away into a COVID-19 intensive care unit. Many of our clients have been hospitalized, but the last time I received care in a hospital, Richard Nixon was president! Although I’d worked

with many hospitalized people over the years, I had no personal experience. After spending 5 days in the COVID-19 intensive care unit, I am happy to report that today I am fully recovered. My biggest takeaway from the experience wasn’t just how skilled these nurses were at their work. I was amazed by their sheer emotional labor and ability to do every task with incredible grace. During my stay, the

small donation to a practice (even a nonprofit one), we can all do a little more to make nurses’ lives a little easier and maybe help lighten their hardest emotional burdens.

- Roger Simon

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I Have a Preexisting Injury – Now What?

Don’t Give Up!

Last month, we won a settlement for one of our accident injury clients of the at-fault party’s full insurance policy limit. Our client had injured her neck and underwent a cervical discectomy after being involved in a car accident in June of 2021. This same client of ours had been in a prior accident in August of 2017. In that previous accident, she had also injured her neck, and as part of her treatment of that injury, she underwent a cervical discectomy in April of 2018. People often think that if they suffered a prior injury, they are not entitled to compensation if, like our client described above, they are reinjured in an accident. The same applies for people who had prior medical treatment for a medical condition and then injured that same body part in an accident. An example of this might be the person who had knee surgery due to degeneration and subsequently injured that knee due to the negligence of another person and, as result, requires a second knee surgery. In a few ways, the law protects people with a prior injury or medical condition by permitting compensation for the additional harm caused by an accident. One such way is the “Eggshell Skull” doctrine which basically says the person responsible for the accident takes the injured party as they find them. In the first example above, perhaps our client wouldn’t have been so seriously injured if not for her prior neck surgery. Nevertheless, her right to recovery is protected by the “Eggshell Skull” doctrine. The defendant in such a case cannot successfully argue that the plaintiff had an unusually high level of sensitivity to injury. This was once argued, long ago, when a defendant caused a head injury but tried to defend

in an accident. Here, the law allows recovery for any aggravation or exacerbation of the already existing injury or medical condition. By way of example, we won a six-figure recovery for our client who, the day before the accident, had been to his doctor and complained he was barely able to get out of bed and that his pain was “a 10 out of 10” (with 1 the lowest and 10 the highest) for the same body part he significantly aggravated the very next day in a car accident. Finally, the law allows recovery for an aggravation of a preexisting injury or condition. We have won significant compensation for many clients who had “a new injury on top of an old injury.” These have included prior asymptomatic herniated discs, which become symptomatic after an accident; asymptomatic severe arthritis, which flared by the trauma of an accident, leading to a total knee replacement; and other similar treatment presentations.

himself by saying the amount of force involved would not have injured the average person. This argument was rejected, and the principle stated above (that the person responsible for the accident takes the injured party as they find them) was incorporated into the doctrine of our justice system. The law even recognizes the right to compensation of a person who is actively undergoing treatment for an injury or medical condition at the time they are involved

As we journey through life, none of us remain in the pristine condition in which

we may have begun our journey. Fortunately, the law recognizes this and permits recovery. The takeaway message is never prejudge an accident injury situation. It is always in your best interest to consult with an experienced, dedicated personal injury lawyer.

-Roger Simon

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5 Podcasts to Boost Your Business Growth WE’RE LISTENING — ARE YOU?

entrepreneurs like Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, and Tim Ferriss and extracts business tips for you. Tune in for episodes like “How to Raise $400 million on the Internet and Build a FinTech Business with Jilliene Helman” and “Earn More with LinkedIn Sales Navigator with Julbert Abraham.” ‘ Business Made Simple’ — If you’re a fan of “Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller, then “Business Made Simple” is for you! On this podcast, Miller hosts and offers strategies for building and optimizing your business. He covers topics ranging from “How to Escape a Villain Mindset” to “Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing Dead?” ‘BizChix’ — “BizChix” is catered specifically to women entrepreneurs and hosted by business coach and strategist Natalie Eckdahl. The episodes mix business and advice and training with on-air coaching calls and interviews. If you’re looking for specific tips like how to pivot your client base or get in the hiring mindset, this podcast will be a perfect fit for you. ‘Wisdom From the Top’ — Hosted by Guy Raz of “How I Built This,” this podcast expands beyond business leaders to glean leadership tips from all fields, including army generals, scientists, and reporters as well as CEOs. As the podcast’s description puts it, “You’ll hear accounts of crisis, failure, turnaround, and triumph, as the leaders reveal their secrets on their way to the top. These are stories that didn’t make it into their company bios, with valuable lessons for anyone trying to make it in business.” SUDOKU

All of these podcasts are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and a variety of other platforms.

‘How I Built This’ — Have you ever wondered what it was like behind the scenes in the early days of Coinbase? What about Expedia, Mailchimp, or Ben & Jerrys? The “How I Built This” podcast from NPR dives into all of those stories and more during fascinating interviews with founders and CEOs. Find out what hurdles they faced, how they overcame them, and what lessons you can steal to level up your own business.

‘Entrepreneurs on Fire’ — This award-winning podcast is hosted by author and thought leader John Lee Dumas. On it, he interviews

Delightful Vegan Pizza Inspired by LoveAndLemons.com

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved • Kernels from 1 ear fresh corn • 1/4 cup red onion, coarsely chopped • 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced • 4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, diced • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling and brushing

• Sea salt, to taste • Ground black pepper, to taste • 1 16-oz ball of pizza dough • Cashew cream • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves • 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves • A few pinches of red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. 2. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, corn, onion, jalapeño, and sun- dried tomatoes. 3. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss. 4. On a pizza pan, stretch out the pizza dough. 5. Brush the outer edges of the dough lightly with olive oil and put a few scoops of cashew cream onto the center of the dough. Spread into a thin layer.

6. Distribute the vegetables evenly onto the dough. 7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden. 8. Remove from oven and drizzle more cashew cream on top.

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A Nurse’s Most Impressive Skill INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2 3 Why Cases Win, Even With Preexisting Injuries 5 Business Podcasts to Boost Growth Delightful Vegan Pizza

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5 Solutions for Quality Sleep

THE ART OF QUIETING YOUR MIND BEFORE BED

All day long, thoughts run through your mind, and by the end of the day, your head is probably ready to explode. After all, it’s estimated that in 24 hours you can have between 60,000–80,000 thoughts. At some point, your brain needs a break, and that’s especially true before you try to go to bed. Here are some ways to quiet your mind, so you can get a full night’s sleep! Keep your bed for sleeping. If you aren’t sleeping, get out of bed! Getting in the habit of scrolling through your phone, watching TV, reading, working, or even eating in bed teaches your brain that your bed is for things other than sleeping! If you find yourself tossing and turning, get out of bed and try a relaxing activity such as reading, journaling, listening to music, or meditating. When you get tired, try getting back in bed. Breathe deeply. Breathing exercises can not only help calm your mind and spirit, but they can lower your heart rate, which is especially beneficial in relieving stress or anxiety when things are upsetting you. Write it down. Instead of letting thoughts fill your mind right before bed (such as the next day’s tasks or any worries you have), set aside time before

bed to write it out. Whether you are a fan of journaling,

writing letters, or simply just listing out your problems, goals, and thoughts, grab a pen and paper and make it a nightly routine. This way, your thoughts will be freed before your head hits the pillow. Try a light snack. When you can’t sleep, the last thing that you want to do is eat something heavy. In fact, when you eat a large meal right before bed, your digestive system can become overwhelmed. But, studies have shown that eating a light carbohydrate snack such as crackers or popcorn when you can’t sleep may be helpful. Turn your room into a sleep haven. Keeping your bedroom neat, relaxing, and calm can help improve your sleep! Keep all televisions, computers, and screens out of the bedroom and furnish it with soft colors and textures that are tranquil and soothing to you. Pumping the brakes on worrisome thoughts racing through your mind can be tough, but trying these tips and tricks may earn you some relief and much needed sleep.

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