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Colombia Janitor and Graduate an Inspiration

May
16

In the blur of scandals, atrocities and other mayhem, it is refreshing to see positive news. Gac Filipaj, a refugee from Yugoslavia, has worked as janitor at Colombia University. After a dozen years of studies, he graduated with a degree in classics. Gac Filipaj is an example of hard work, determination, and humility. You can read his story in full over here.

Categories : Inspiring
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Pearson Sponsors Snoqualmie Valley Little League

May
14

Spring is an exciting time for baseball enthusiasts and the Pearson Law firm loves being a sponsor of the Snoqualmie Valley Little League. The Pink Huskies are playing wonderfully, have the best sportsmanship, and are the best cheerers. We are proud of these girls. Go Pink Huskies!

Categories : Community
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How to Handle Medical Forms

Mar
21

Last time I posted, I promised to elaborate on some issues with your medical records. This brief post will be devoted to how you deal with those little drawings of human bodies that you see on forms.

Typically you are asked to mark on the drawing where you hurt and what kind of pain or discomfort you experience. But what is also true about them is that the drawings are very small. What happens, then, when you are faced with your need to tell the doctor as much as possible in such a small space? What happens is that this may become very difficult.

Remember, the entire purpose of that form is to tell your doctor what she needs to know. Do the best you can in the space allotted. Then write next to the drawing anything that you can not represent on the little human body drawing. For instance if you have stabbing pain in your hamstring and the form requires you to draw little hash marks that represent that sensation, but your hamstring also aches, you may find yourself with little or no space in which to represent this sensation. Most clients tell the caregiver this, and rely on the caregiver to capture it in her notes. Or they may mention it to the medical assistant who comes,in to do vitals before the doctor comes in, again relying on the MA to capture it.

Caregivers do their very best to make reliable notes, but from time to time things you say might not get captured in medical records. So, when you find yourself faced with those little drawings, do your best to create the record in your own handwriting, be specific and truthful.

You will find that the more information you give your caregiver, the better communication will result.  Moreover, if the records do become part of a claim, you will be able to rely on the records that you yourself created contemporaneously with the events of your injuries and treatment.

Categories : articles, need-to-know
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What to Expect With a Personal Injury Claim

Mar
14

Personal injury claim can be complex, time consuming and emotional. When our staff here helps us to prepare a case either for settlement or for litigation, they undertake an exhaustive review of your medical records. Your attorneys are closely involved in this process and often create their own chronologies, minute by minute if the case demands it.

By the time your records are organized, they have become very familiar to your legal team. Sometimes we notice details that can hurt or help a case. In saying this, I am not referring to something truthful that should not be revealed. Instead I am addressing details that become ambiguous. How do they become ambiguous? Very unintentionally. Nine times out of ten, those details reflect a client’s genuine attempt at clarity. Most clients only want to accurately document what’s happened. This is a chance for me to point out some areas where you can add more clarity. This discussion is based on our experience with clients over many years, their health care,providers, the insurance industry, judges, and juries. Here is a brief list that outlines the typical problems and recommendations:

1. Those little line drawings of human bodies

2. Write clearly and legibly

3. Don’t guess on dates

4.  Assume your records will be used in litigation

Categories : need-to-know
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2011 Washington State Laws

Feb
3

We often find ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, from battling department stores to catching up with acquaintances at holiday parties. Sometimes, we lose site of what is most valuable to us. This year, my family altered our tradition of spending on “things” to spending time with family and friends. My 93 year old mother always talks about “making memories,” something I found to be much more important than making a fuss with too many gifts and parties. Enriching life happens when you spend time, not money.

We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and that you were able to make some memories of your own.

With 2011 now in the past, it is important to stay current and know what laws went into effect. Here is a look at some of the new Washington state laws that went into effect in 2011:

  • Double the fine for drivers who don’t move over or slow down through an “emergency zone.” This zone is a 200-foot area around emergency vehicles or tow trucks that are stopped with lights on. Drivers must change lanes if it is safe or slow down if unable to do so. (Source: The Spokesman-Review)
  • The expansion of categories of drivers with previous arrests for DUI who can apply for a special license to drive with an ignition-interlock device. The expansion now includes those who have been convicted of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault as a result of a DUI. (Source: The Spokesman-Review)
  • Cars driven by suspected drunk drivers will be placed under a 12-hour impound hold. (Source: Q13 Fox News)
  • School buses are allowed to be equipped with cameras to photograph cars that illegally pass a bus if it is stopped to pick up or drop off students. (Source: Q13 Fox News)
  • Video devices, such as those playing a movie, visible to the driver are banned, except live images of the vehicle backing up. (Source: Handsfreeinfo.com)

The above new laws promote safe driving by encouraging drivers to be vigilant and discourage distracted or impaired driving. Being a safe, undistracted driver will reduce the risk of a car accident.

Categories : need-to-know
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Kindness.

Nov
16

I recently came across this poem in a magazine and was struck by its powerful message.  I hope that you all find it as moving as I do. Please share your thoughts in the comments section!  – Michele Pearson

 

KINDNESS

Be Kind for Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard BattleBefore you know what kindness really is

you must lose things,

feel the future dissolve in a moment

like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

what you counted and carefully saved,

all this must go so you know

how desolate the landscape can be

between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride

thinking the bus will never stop,

the passengers eating maize and chicken

will stare out the window forever.

 

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,

you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho

lies dead by the side of the road.

You must see how this could be you,

how he too was someone

who journeyed through the night with plans

and the simple breath that kept him alive.

 

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow.

You must speak to it till your voice

catches the thread of all sorrows

and you see the size of the cloth.

 

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,

only kindness that ties your shoes

and sends you out into the day to mail letters and

purchase bread,

only kindness that raises its head

from the crowd of the world to say

it is I you have been looking for,

and then goes with you everywhere

like a shadow or a friend.

 

~Naomi Shihab Nye

Categories : articles
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Fridays at the Pentagon

Apr
12

This article was written as a Memorial Day tribute in 2007. Read on for more about a touching ceremony honoring our veterans.

Categories : articles
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Death of a Stepparent

Apr
3

Do you have stepchildren? Do you know someone who does? The reason I ask is because in our appellate court, Division III, published an opinion that speaks directly on the issue of whether a stepchild is deserving of part of a personal injury award when the stepparent dies. In this particular case, the decedent had married three times and had survived each of her husbands, and helped to raise several children who were not biologically her children. After being widowed the third time and still in contact with children of her previous husband’s, she died from injuries suffered in a car crash. Her biological daughter brought the wrongful death suit, and some of her “step” siblings from the second marriage felt they were deserving of part of the settlement. The bottom line analysis that the court adopted regarding the meaning of “stepchildren” was the plain meaning of the word since it appears no where in the law of Washington. That definition is that once the stepparent remarries, the stepchildren of that former spouse cease to be stepchildren, i.e. the biological or adoptive parent has to be in the picture as the spouse, otherwise the stepchildren cease to be so. So when the second husband died, the children of her second husband ceased to be her stepchildren. This is a good lesson because it brings to mind the intracacies of procedures that ensue after your death, so make sure your own “house” is in order, that you have the proper understanding and the proper documents to give your loved ones the guidance they need to proceed upon the course you have designed.

Categories : need-to-know
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Why We Do What We Do

Mar
19

Our office has been in trial for the past two weeks with our associated counsel, Mr. Ed Harper, from Kirkland. Our client was hit violently from behind as she sat waiting in traffic on Hwy. 99 in Lynwood. The truck that hit her was going 35 mph at impact, her car was totaled, and she sustained serious injuries. She complained to the investigating office of neck and back pain at the scene. This was 45 months ago. Despite vigorous attempts to settle, the defendant forged ahead to trial. At trial, they blamed the pain that resulted from the crash that their employee had caused, on our client’s early childhood history saying that she was psychologically predisposed to increased pain, and so they should not be accountable for most of the past treatments and none of the future treatment. As unbelievable as that sounds, they used that theme throughout the trial and in closing. Finally, True Green Lawn Care, represented by both local defense counsel as well as two attorneys from a large Chicago defense firm has heard how a community of our client’s peers define fair restitution. We received a verdict yesterday afternoon of $1,383,000. Our client now will be able to pay for a lifetime of medical treatments, as she is only 33.

Categories : Uncategorized
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Check your Homeowner’s Policy

Mar
6

Dear Clients and Friends,
Today I read a new appellate decision from our state courts that dealt with the cost to repair a house after a fire. The issue in the particular case that was discussed was whether the insurance policy that the homeowners had purchased would cover the actual repairs. An associated issue was to what extent the home would be repaired. For instance, would it be repaired “like kind and quality”, or “equivalent construction”, or would it cover, as these homeowners expected, repairs to bring the new construction to code? The house was an older one, and to obtain new occupancy permits, the new construction was going to take different materials, adherence to safety regulations for fire prevention, electrical work, etc. that did not exist during the home’s original construction. The lesson here is to ask your insurance agent to point you to the exact language in your policy that governs the replacement or repair of your home due to a fire or other calamity. If it is insufficient in your opinion, then shop for better coverage. It can make a huge difference. If your home actually costs $100,000 to rebuild and the insurance contract will only cover half that amount because the contract calls for “like kind and quality”, then what you are going to get reimbursed is only the material to bring it to that older standard, not the newer one. This is a vital concern, and one you should investigate sooner than later. – Michele

Categories : need-to-know
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Recent Posts

  • Colombia Janitor and Graduate an Inspiration
  • Pearson Sponsors Snoqualmie Valley Little League
  • How to Handle Medical Forms
  • What to Expect With a Personal Injury Claim
  • 2011 Washington State Laws

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