Christian Injury Lawyer

Holy Land Trip

2012-02-13T07:50:00.001-08:00

Our Trip to Israel

It has long been a dream of ours to go tour the Holy Land.

This past month, we were able to go, and even bring our three children, ages 9, 10, and 12. Out of 82 people on the tour, sponsored by Bellevue Baptist Church, our three children were the only non-adults. However, they were so mature, I must tell you I was very proud. As they are homeschooled, this qualified, I suppose, as the mother of all field trips!

Israel is a land of contradictions: It is very small, but militarily quite mighty. It is the source of three major religions, but is far from a peaceful place. It is the home of Jesus, though only a minority of occupants are actually His followers.

It is amazing to stand in one place and see the place of so many events of history so closely aligned. For instance, in basically one spot, John the Baptist immersed Jesus, Elijah and Elisha parted the Jordan River, Elijah was taken to heaven, Abraham and Lot parted ways, and Joshua crossed over to defeat Jericho.

Just South of this area lies Qumran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were hidden for over 1,850 years. They contain exact language of every book of our Old Testament except Esther! This means you can certainly trust the translation of your Old Testament.

The Dead Sea spans further Southward, where Herod the Great’s fortress of Masada towers over the lowest place on the face of the Earth. In the Dead Sea, you cannot sink. The salt content is so high you float. I could even stand up in deep water, and never sink below my chest. Just across the Jordan River, is Mt. Nebo, where Moses’ body was hidden after he’d been allowed to see the Promised Land.

In Bethlehem, you can touch the spots where Jesus was born, and where the Shepherds were visited by angelic hosts. As you travel, you can see where Elijah called down fire at Mt. Carmel, and Megiddo, where the prophetic battle of Armageddon will take place.

Jerusalem is where Jesus taught, was tried, convicted, crucified and placed in a tomb. And rose again. You can visit all those sights. It is also the site of the Temple Mount, which is controlled by Muslims. Interestingly, they have read of the Bible’s prophecy of Jesus touching down again bodily on the Mount of Olives and walking through the Eastern Gate. In reaction, local Muslims have bricked up that gate. Because of their belief that Jews cannot enter a Muslim graveyard, they have even placed lines of Muslims graves to block it off! (Good luck with that).

The Sea of Galilee’s Northern Shore is the site of many Biblical accounts. There you can walk through Capernum, where Jesus taught the Beattitudes, fed 5,000 men with five loaves and two fishes, and tour the remains of Peter’s home. The precipice where He was nearly thrown off is there, not far from the Gentile area where He cast demons into a heard of swine and they ran into the Sea of Galilee.

It is an inspiring place. My favorite part was getting to baptize my children in the Jordan River. If you ever have thought about going on an organized tour of Israel, let me be an encouragement to you. It is never totally safe, but neither is here. We seldom regret all we do, but we often regret those things we did not do.

Mr. Peel is a local Injury Attorney, who home-schools his three children with his wife of 17 years, Trish. He has been in practice since 1996, and had his own firm for over a decade in the same Millington location. Mr. Peel makes time to write weekly articles and to talk with church and civic groups free of charge. He can be reached through his website, PeelLawFirm.com, wherein more articles can be accessed.

Saving money

2012-01-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

SAVING MONEY IN A BAD ECONOMY

Everyone can use some help to save money in days like these. Here are a few that might keep a dollar in your pocket and out of someone else’s.

MAKE GIFTS THIS YEAR. Whether it be kid’s crafts, your own special hot cocoa mix, or cheaply framed family photos, this can be fun and cheap. Or, offer a card with an evening of babysitting as a gift to young parents. Maybe even swap out with them rather than exchanging gifts.

ONE MONTH WISH LIST. Put a wish list on the fridge for items you may like (new watch, camera, etc.) but may not really need (you may need a transmission). Any item over whatever dollar amount you decide must be on the list one month before it can be bought. Just write the date and see if you still really want it next month. Odds are, something else will catch your eye in between. Also, if you put your credit cards away, you will have to come home to get them. That helps with impulse spending.

FUN FOR CHILDREN. Your children really want time and attention more than stuff. Next time they deserve a treat, let young ones go wild in a dollar store and you are only out 1.09 each. Or, take them on special Daddy-dates to do something free like feeding geese, skipping rocks at the river or exploring a hiking trail.

CLEAN OUT AND SELL. Closet cleaning can lead to a yard sale, a consignment shop, Ebay or a donation for the tax deduction.

LESS PACKAGED MEALS. If it comes in a package, it is usually less healthful, more fattening and more expensive than the alternative. For instance, think of the cost and nutrition of a bag of chips and dip versus two quartered apples with peanut butter. Cooking is usually cheaper and better than just heating. Crockpots are Godsends in this area.

IF YOU SMOKE OR DRINK, QUIT. There is little out there that takes as much from you as smoking and drinking. In the case of cigarettes, they cost you dental problems, health care, dry cleaning, gum, mints and lost wages. They cost you more on insurance and cause you to live an unhealthy and shorter life. Drinking is likely to cost you a lot as well. In addition to health, it also affects the liability of driving and so forth. Unfortunately, drunk drivers will take lives every year.

CUT BACK ON TV, AND GET MOVIES. Make sure you really want the channels you pay for. Some are paying for HBO, Showtime and Cinemax and never watch them. We love NETFLIX for movies and always have what we want on our schedule, with nothing we don’t want.

USE online bill payment. No stamps, trips to the post office, cost of ordering checks, etc. There is also less chance of an overdraft, because you can check it anytime. Let your bank pay the postage.

BULK BUY AND FREEZE. “You freeze milk?” We hear that question a lot. Just because I make a good living, by the grace of God, does not mean we cannot try and save money. We buy in bulk at Sam’s or Costco every couple months and freeze seven gallons of milk. They thaw overnight, and you cannot tell. You might want to buy a freezer. We also freeze bread. Buy items we use a lot of in bulk, like trash bags, laundry detergent, aluminum foil, and oil. The bigger benefit of this might be that we almost never have to stop at the store, where the temptation to pick up a few more things usually hits.

BROWN BAG. For lunch, trips and other things, take your own lunch. We are always cooking in bulk and keep the extra for lunch or dinner later. For instance, if you brown a ton of ground beef, you can make Chili, Sloppy Joes, Tacos and Hamburger Helper, and be ready for different days.

COUPONS. Take your Wednesday and Sunday coupons, match them up to the sale flyer and use them. Also, get free or low-cost coupons over the net. Often, we can use more than one coupon, get them doubled, and buy on sale. Sometimes, the store has actually paid us to carry home a box of cereal. Many save about 45% on groceries with couponing. That means you pay about $99.00 for what others pay $180.00 for.

In addition to being thrifty, Mr. Peel seeks justice for those injured in car accidents, work place incidents, medical malpractice, and nursing homes. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Mr. Peel may be reached though PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.

Pardons for Criminals??

2012-01-13T10:00:00.001-08:00

PARDONS FOR CRIMINALS?

As Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi stepped down, he issued a boatload of pardons. In his state, a full pardon is basically equivalent to saying that the underlying crime did not ever happen. Even for a convicted murderer, his rights to vote are restored. He will even be able to buy and own guns! No convicted felon is allowed to do those things normally. Even non-violent felonies like tax evasion or illegally trading stocks usually have those restrictions. But, with a Mississippi-style pardon, it is all washed away.

That got me to wondering what the rules are in Tennessee. Since I only do injury law, I had to research this a bit. According to noted Nashville attorney Nathan Moore, in Tennessee, the pardon process is lengthy and difficult. Pardon is also known as “clemency.” Reasons for seeking a pardon here can include wanting to go to school to further one's education or needing to get a professional certification. Unlike our southern neighbor, Tennessee’s pardon does not erase the conviction from a record, but it shows that forgiveness of sort granted by the state.

They are hard to obtain here as well. The Board of Probation and Parole, who is responsible for offering pardon recommendations to the governor, rejects two-thirds of pardon applications outright. The Board can have a hearing for the worthy candidates. It can make sense that a productive citizen for thirty years who had a youthful felony could be allowed to obtain a pardon and finally hunt or vote.

But, there seems to be another difference as well. While most of the pardons granted in Mississippi were for people who had long ago finished their sentence, a few were granted to murderers still actually serving in prison. Several were released! There appears to be little to no consultation with the victims’ family, many of who are frightened at the idea of their families’ murderer walking the streets when they had previously been sentenced to life in prison.

The instructions for the Tennessee pardon application lists a few bare minimum requirements: 1) five personal recommendations, 2) you must have fully completed your sentence, and 3) you must have stayed out of trouble since completing your sentence. These are, in fact, the bare minimums. Your chances are helped by the quality and quantity of your recommendations as well as your resume, so to speak, of self-betterment and community involvement. The more you can show the Board that you "deserve" the pardon, the more likely you will be successful.

Sounds like we have a very different system from Mississippi. Of that, I think we can all be pleased. I think I will stick with injury law.

Mr. Peel seeks justice for those injured in car accidents, work place incidents, medical malpractice, and nursing homes. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Mr. Peel may be reached though PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.

STARS: Another thought

2012-01-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

WISHING UPON A STAR?

If you have not taken a moment recently to go out a look at the stars on one of these cool dark nights, I encourage you to.

Scripture has a lot to say about stars:

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place . . . “(Psalm 8:3, NIV)

He made the stars with a purpose, both as signs and light: And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." (Gen 1:14-15).

. “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” (Psalm 147:4). “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26).

The Bible names some constellations: “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens?” (Job 38:31-32. See also Amos 5:8)

The stars have an order or procession. “Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?” (Song of Solomon, 6:10).

In Genesis 9:12-13, God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

But, there is a perceived problem with the distant stars He made in Genesis on Day 4. Many point out that the light could not reach here in the 6,000-10,000 years of Biblical history.

To think through this issue, understand that light is currently believed to travel at 186,000 miles per second. A “light year” is traveling at this unimaginable speed for a whole year!

The closest star (other than our sun) is Proxima Centauri, which is 4.22 light years away. That is 24,800,000,000,000 miles (or about the length of the line at Walmart when I am in a hurry.

This distance is used by old earth proponents to argue for an ancient universe approaching 13 billons years old or more. Given their assumptions, that is not unreasonable.

However, notice the assumptions that are made: 1) The speed of light is constant; 2) the distance is fixed and unchanged for billions of years; 3) processes have always been exactly as they are right now. (this is called “uniformitarianism”).

If you suspend just one of these assumptions, everything changes. For instance, what if many of the visible stars were created quite close to the earth and accelerated away at great speed? Their light would remain visible now. It would be like having a flashlight and throwing it. The light is visible as it leaves.

There is some reason to suspect something like this might just be the case. In at least 11 places, the Scriptures speak of God ‘stretching out the heavens’ (e.g. Job 9:8, Isaiah 40:22 and 42:5, Jeremiah 10:12, Zechariah 12:1) and in Genesis 1:15 the words ‘And it was so.’ are recorded in connection with the events of Day 4 of Creation Week, implying the completion of the events described on that Day. It is a reasonable conclusion to draw that God stretched out the heavens to the vast extent of the observable universe in just one 24-hour day and then ceased the action of ‘stretching out’.

It is interesting to discuss, but the only one that was there was God. One must chose to trust in an ever-changing science book or the unchanging Bible. I choose Scripture.

________________________

Mr. Peel star gazes from his Arlington area home, and seeks justice for those injured in car accidents, work place incidents, medical malpractice, and nursing homes. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Mr. Peel may be reached though PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.

Going green?

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Going “Green?”

If you want to drive a car driven mostly by batteries, that is fine with me. But please don’t act snooty about it when I pass you in my twenty foot long four wheel drive Suburban. Have you noticed that some in the so-called “green movement” have an attitude?

Unfortunately, many green activists do not understand science. Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a huge Hummer according to Chris Demorro in a March 7, 2007, article in The Recorder-Central Connecticut State University.

The Prius is partly driven by a battery, which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is then shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe.

From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a massive Hummer - the Prius’s now-defunct arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.

If environmentalists were serious and truly considered the facts, they might ditch all the new green technology and just go back about a few years.

Back then, no one used an engine that burnt gas just to cut the grass, when a mower one pushed yourself silently trimmed it. Walking and working gave folks so much exercise, that no one joined a health club to run on treadmills operated by electricity. Back then, people returned milk bottles and beer bottles that were sterilized and refilled. Folks took the stairs rather than an elevator, and always walked everywhere. Clothes hung on the line were dried by everyday solar and wind energy at work; instead of an energy -wasting machine burning electricity. In the kitchen, all was stirred by hand because there were no electric machines to do everything.

Back then, kids rode their bikes to school, or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. Thirsty folks did not chunk a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. Writing pens, cloth diapers, lighters and razors were refilled, instead of throwing away the whole thing.

Being Green is not bad, but you are probably doing it wrong.

When Mr. Peel is not single-handedly melting the ice caps in a four wheel drive, he pursues better results for his injured clients. Mr. Peel often addresses churches and clubs and can be contacted through www.PeelLawFirm.com, wherein other articles can also be found.

Elena Mabry

emabry@bigriver.net

www.PeelLawFirm.com

Judging GOD

2011-12-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

JUDGING GOD

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)

Even those unfamiliar with the Bible have likely heard some version of this verse quoted.

Often, this Scripture is used as a sword against a condemning critic.

For instance, if a Christian is claiming that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, a skeptic might say, “So you are saying all Hindus go to Hell…that’s judging and your Bible says you can’t judge!”

It actually says, if you judge, that measure will be used in judging you. Since Jesus Himself claimed to be the only way to Heaven, and then commanded followers to go tell that to the whole world, it seems highly unlikely that the skeptic’s point was valid. To be clear, Christians can be harsher than necessary. But in the end, there is Absolute Truth, and by definition, all short of that is, of course, false.

But the skeptic might allege that there is no such thing as Absolute Truth. Oddly, he would be asserting that, “the lack of Absolute Truth is absolutely true!” (Often, this irony is lost on skeptics.)

That being said, we are likely all guilty of judging others. Further, and more disturbingly, we all probably have judged God Himself.

Steve Jobs, the late founder of Apple Computers, was a skeptic. In his self-titled biography, Walter Isaacson describes a pivotal moment in Jobs’ life. At 13, young Steve Jobs was disturbed by a photo of starving children in Africa and confronted his pastor with it. He asked the minister if God knew about these children. The Pastor tried to explain that He did. Jobs reportedly proclaimed that he wanted nothing to do with worshiping such a God, and he never again darkened a church door.

That is judging God. And, I imagine, am just as guilty of it at times. Using human reasoning, Steve Jobs had a valid point. It brings us to one of the most important questions there is:

If God is all-powerful, and He does not just stop all the suffering, can He really be all loving? If He is all loving, but just cannot stop it, can He really be all-powerful?

It is this paradox that trips up most folks. And, we sit in our lawn chairs, as it were, and judge God Almighty—this as He reigns on the massive, golden throne of all the universe.

The harsh truth is, most of us feel we could run the planet, or at least our little lives, better than God. Don’t believe me? What is your reaction when you pray for something and it does not happen?

In fact, there is an all loving, all-powerful God that exists. And it is not you. And it is not me.

The wondrous question is not about the qualities of God, and whether He cares. It is why does He care at all? He made us, and we rebelled. In a perfect environment, we could not even follow one simple rule for long. That choice brought all the sin, suffering and death that we see. The amazing thing is that He sent a ransom for us—His Only Son—that we would not be lost forever.

The deepest tragedy then, is not even the awful deaths of starving children in Africa.

The worst thing is that people are so deceived that they choose a lifetime of godless skepticism to be followed by a godless eternity of torment.

Mad at God? Read this

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

MAD AT GOD?

If you have ever been mad at God, you are in good company. Most honest believers will admit that God has seemed--at times--distant, uncaring, unhearing, unjust or simply slow to react.

Given our human nature, it is understandable that these perceived shortcomings of the Divine One might outshine the things we are thankful to Him for.

We all know of Mark Twain. Born Samuel Clemens, he is the well-known author/creator of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. What is not as well known about this famous humorist is how he felt that the Almighty had utterly failed him. After he buried his son, two daughters and his beloved wife, he wrote the following:

“...a God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave is angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice, and invented hell--mouths mercy, and invented hell--mouths Golden Rules and foregiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people, and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites his poor abused slave to worship him!”

--Mark Twain, No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger

“The best minds will tell you that when a man has begotten a child he is morally bound to tenderly care for it, protect it from hurt, shield it from disease, clothe it, feed it, bear with its waywardness, lay no hand upon it save in kindness and for its own good, and never in any case inflict upon it a wanton cruelty. God's treatment of his earthly children, every day and every night, is the exact opposite of all that, yet those best minds warmly justify these crimes, condone them, excuse them, and indignantly refuse to regard them as crimes at all, when he commits them. ”

-- Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth

Twain’s concern is not complicated. He reasoned that God could make the world a happy, loving place without hunger, disease and death. Twain then rails at the Lord for His utter failure to do so. We all agree that we, like him, see our world darkened too often by famine, pestilence, pain, suffering and death.

None of us would dare to address the deeply personal pain and loss that this man bore. Darwin buried a daughter too early, as did Descartes. All three of them turned against the Lord. None of us know how we might react. However, when he took on the very character of God, Twain missed a critical fact.

The God of Scripture did—in fact—create the very world Twain imagined
He should have!

In the beginning, we are told there was a perfect environment, with plenty to eat, and no sickness, striving, suffering or death. That is not just a Sunday School story, it is history. The Fall of sinful man ushered in the age of struggle, sickness and our own mortality.

The truly remarkable thing is that a Holy God, so rejected by his children, would sacrifice his Only Son to rescue them from the results of their own sin. That, actually, explains why we celebrate that baby in the manger, and His atoning death on the cross. Jesus came to undo what we did. You can spend your life being angry with God, if you wish--much like a spoiled child who rebels against a loving parent, who has provided sacrificially for him.

But God made a Way for you to come home to Him. This Christmas, before you read the Christmas story that solves the sin and death problem, please read Genesis 1-3, so you will know what the sin and death problem actually was. Who knows what would have been different in the lives of those three men who buried children too early, if they had. As they are all long dead, they know the Truth. If you are reading this, there is still time for you.

WHY WE WILL LOOK SILLY

2011-12-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

WHY WE WILL LOOK SILLY

Yesterday’s cutting edge technology, like the once-cool Sony Walkman, looks silly to today’s children who use iPods. Much of current technology will look silly to your future grandchildren, according to Shane Richmond and Ian Douglas who write for UK’s Telegraph newspaper. What follows are a few of the things that they and others predict will look silly to future generations. Actually, I think they are right.

TV schedules: That week-long wait for your favorite TV show was a familiar feature of my childhood. Remember cartoons on Saturday mornings? Now, TV is transforming into a demand-driven service. Watch whatever, whenever you want.

Recipe books: In the house of the future, your fridge will know exactly what food items it contains, and what meals you can make with those ingredients, while video panels embedded within the work surfaces will guide you through every stage of the cooking process.

Laptops: "I used to have to carry a separate bag for my computer," you'll find yourself explaining to some youngster as he unfolds his e-paper, touchscreen laptop, connects it to his cloud storage database and starts watching a film.

Cordless home phones: The phone used to be attached to the wall by a cable and, for some unknown reason, it would probably be in the hall, forcing you to sit on the stairs while you chatted. Then came the cordless phone. Isn't it great to be able to walk around the house while you're on the phone? Your kids already wonder why phones were ever “attached” to homes by a curly cord.

Glasses: Wearing glasses to correct vision problems is still a social norm but with laser eye surgery and contact lenses, it's not hard to imagine a point in the near future when they become obsolete. However, the concept of hanging lenses in front of your face has been around for centuries and is still pretty useful. Sunglasses will be around for a while and your children may start wearing glasses to take advantage of augmented reality services, for example for navigation.

Video and Audio tape: Tape is already a thing of the past in most homes. There's no need to remember to rewind a rental video before you return it. The language remains, however, and your children may wonder why you talk about "taping" a TV show when what you're actually doing is saving it to a hard drive on a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).

Photo processing: The idea that you'd have to shoot a whole roll of film holding, if you are lucky, 36 pictures, before you can see whether any of them were any good, sounds odd to the digital camera generation. Stranger still is the idea of taking your film to the drugstore - after snapping three pointless shots of your cat to finish the film - and then waiting an hour while they processed them.

Watches: You spend most of your time sitting in front of a computer that shows the time in the corner of the screen. When you're at home you can see the time on your DVD player and your oven. And when you're out and about you're carrying a mobile phone that displays the time. Admit it, your watch is just a piece of jewelry now, isn't it?

Keyboards: Many touchscreen devices still make a clicking noise when you type on them but there's no real reason to. Modern keyboards are very quiet - nothing like the thump of old typewriters or the clacking of keyboards from the 80s. But the keyboard itself may not last much longer. They take up space, adding to the bulk of portable devices, and they suffer from being fixed: a British keyboard cannot transform into a Russian one but a touchscreen can. Though touchscreens take some getting used to for those who have learned keyboards it's unlikely that those who grow up with them will have the same problem.

CDs, DVDs and Minidiscs: Physical media are constantly being replaced. The path from records to eight track cartridges to cassettes to CDs to minidiscs to MP3 players is littered with laser discs, digital audiotapes and HD-DVDs. They’re replaced now by wireless downloads to your watching or listening device. Your CD collection is already as outdated as your grandfather's library of Vinyl LP Albums!

Pagers: It required someone to call a number so that a message can be sent to you, to ask you to call them back - is nonsense. Don't even try to explain it to your children.

The map and compass: The time of the paper map and physical compass has already passed. Having a map in a device, such as a mobile phone, means that it can be updated when necessary and can be made interactive.

Black & white film and TV: The world of old used to be in black and white, at least that's how it appears to children.

Letters: The art of letter writing is being killed by the internet. However, it's not just the art, but the technology of letters that has been usurped. The idea of writing something, putting it in the mail, waiting for it to arrive and then waiting even longer for a reply seems bizarre in our world of always-on communications. Plane tickets, bank statements and bills are already paperless for most people.

Fax machines: Every now and again a piece of paper can't be emailed to someone and, as discussed above, the mail is just too slow. So we have to dust off the fax machine in the corner. This technology dates back to the 1970s.

Email: As we've seen already, email has replaced letters and the fax machine. But don't think being email-friendly means you can escape the mockery of your juniors. Teenagers these days eschew email in favor of instant messenger for direct communication and prefer social networks for longer messages.

Gas-powered vehicles: Our children may be slightly perplexed to hear that we used to pump flammable liquid into our cars to keep them running. They’ll be plugging theirs in instead.

Phone booths: Yes kids, we left phones lying around the country, in giant glass boxes with sticking doors that pinched your fingers. Whenever someone wanted to use one of these phones they had to pay, which meant needing to have change on you. Good luck finding a phone booth anywhere today. (Where would Superman change now?) In the future, life long phone numbers will soon be assigned to find you wherever, whenever, forever.

Multiple remote controls: We used to have to walk across the room to change the channel on the television that had only three channels anyway. Now we have four remotes. In future, your mobile phone will probably double as a remote for whatever it is you're trying to operate.

Floppy discs: From the 1969 eight-inch format, to the mid-1990s 3.5 inch plastic case, your children will be amazed to learn that at their best, they held up to 240MB. (A few songs’ worth on their iPod).

Telephone directories: We printed every phone number into a huge book, which we delivered to every household in the country! Seriously! (Now, few have home numbers anyway.)

Dial-up internet access: It will seem odd to future generations that we used to turn our internet access on --during which you couldn't use your phone– and be charged by the minute for access.

Computers in boxes: As components get smaller still and more computing power is transferred to the cloud, cutting the need for local resources, the need for a box will be eliminated altogether.

Visiting the supermarket: By the time your children are grown up, all of those boring products will be ordered online and delivered to save you the trouble of going to the shop and getting them.

‘Owning’ music, books and film: Once data can be stored in the cloud and accessed by your device whenever you need it, the idea of 'owning' something starts to seem strange. Your children won't collect albums, they'll have every album ever made at their fingertips all the time.

Cords and cables: Wireless data transfer, battery-powered devices and cordless charging mats will make the spaghetti of wires in every office as obsolete as going into or gas station to pay for gas.

TVs and radios that need tuning: "Stay tuned" lost its original meaning and your children will never guess that you used to turn a tiny dial like a safe cracker in an effort to get your TV tuned to the correct channel.

Disposable batteries: Mobile phones, laptops and MP3 players mostly use rechargeable batteries. The idea that you used to have to throw batteries away and then go and buy some new ones already seems quite strange.

Fillings in teeth: It's good to know that in the near future all that business with injections, numb mouths and metal amalgams will be over and old, damaged teeth will be removed and replaced with shiny news ones, grown from stem cells to order. The last generation to know the special fear that comes with the rising whine of the drill is already brushing its own teeth.

Road signs: Universal Satellite-navigation will mean they’ll be tearing down those hulking sheets of metal at the side of the road and insisting that your car informs you that it's five miles to town or that road works will be disrupting traffic until July 2035. Those same devices will also keep an eye on your speed and report your movements to the traffic police.

Checks: You probably laugh at these already, and your children will be laughing right along with you. Imagine, a booklet of pre-printed IOUs that you use instead of money. You hand out details that would allow the recipient to set up direct debits on your account with every payment. They are secured only by your signature, which the person processing the check has no chance of recognizing. Mobile phones will be swiped for payment at checkout (to get your right hand used to that motion?)

Mr. Peel, who is feeling older everyday, is a local attorney seeking justice for those hurt in motor vehicle accidents, work related injuries, medical malpractice, nursing home and trucking cases. Mr. Peel often addresses churches and clubs and can be contacted through www.PeelLawFirm.com, wherein other articles can also be found.

Thankful for America

2011-11-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

Something to be Thankful For

We woke up this morning in a country that enjoys rare blessings and protections.

Think of how improbable it is that a few colonies could stand up to the most formidable navy in the world during the Revolutionary War and survive. We really should have lost, even with France’s help. It looked like we would never stay united following the War Between the States and the explosive issues of slavery and states’ rights that drive that tragic conflict. When Japan had the drop on us at Pearl Harbor, and virtually destroyed the Pacific Fleet, we could have easily folded. When Nazi Germany’s superior war machine rolled roughshod across Europe, it was more likely we’d never stop them. On D-Day, our gliders and airdrops were mostly miles off course, many of our troops were scattered across the countryside of France. U.S. defeat was in sight. The U.S. invasion of Normandy beach was a killing field for our troops. The bad weather conspired to drown many heavily loaded men before they ever even faced the German pills boxes laying down incessant machine gun fire. The Germans had the high ground. And, they were ahead of the U.S. in both jet engine technology and the atomic bomb. Using only what we can see, America should never have survived.

But we did.

And we thrived.

The United States is the world’s remaining Superpower. We are sailing eleven (11) Aircraft carriers through the world’s troubled waters, while no other country has more than two. Although North America has only 6% of the world adult population, it accounts for 34% of household wealth.

All this success causes some interesting points. We call the Super Bowl winners the “World” Champions even though the football series is only played by American teams. In fact, the rest of the world thinks “football” is what we call “soccer.” Similarly, the “World Series” in baseball is limited to North American teams.

We tend to think America is somehow superior to other nations. I am one of the those, too.

But I think that we can trace our blessings back to the beginning. This Thanksgiving, read some true Mayflower history to your family. Here is the modern version of the text of the Mayflower Compact, signed as they ventured upon the “new world” in 1620:

“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.”

I believe it is that same God, Who has blessed us with the bravery of our Veterans, the sharpness of our intellects, the wealth of our resources and the protection of His Mighty Hand.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family, and from the Staff of Peel Law Firm.

___________________________

See more of Mr. Peel’s articles on DavidBPeel.blogspot.com. Mr. Peel may be available to speak to your church or club. Contact PeelLawFirm.com.

Elena Mabry

emabry@bigriver.net

www.PeelLawFirm.com

Veterans tribute

2011-11-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Tribute to Veterans

I have felt blessed to live in the United States all my life. Part of what makes our country great is the ample freedom we enjoy.

But, as the saying goes, “freedom is not free.”

The security, power and military superiority of the United States was earned by the blood, sweat, tears and backs of our veterans.

This “blanket of security” is indeed, stitched with bloody gauze of our servicemen and women. While I have enjoyed its protection, I have never contributed a square of cloth to it.

I am convicted by the courage of the veterans who charged the beaches of Normandy in World War II. This “greatest generation” quite literally saved the world from the Nazi’s plan to take over the world.

I admire the men who faced the Battle of Inchon in the Korean Conflict. I am confronted by the bravery of the men who faced the incessant attacks of the Vietcong. In both these conflicts, our servicemen who received tragically little support from back home.

More recently, our service personnel freed tiny Kuwait from attacks by Saddam Hussein of Iraq during Desert Storm; only to return later and liberate Iraq and Afghanistan from Islamic extremists. Make no mistake: the U.S. won both those wars handily!Defeating insurgencies is quite another matter, and is a police matter that we are asking our troops to do.

I am glad to see how much more support our returning troops now receive. At the college football games I attend, some of the loudest cheers are often for a service man or woman being reunited with his or her family.

We can all simply acknowledge the contribution they have made, and continue to make, to do their duty on our behalf.

___________________________

See more of Mr. Peel’s articles onDavidBPeel.blogspot.com. Mr. Peel may be available to speak to your church or club. Contact PeelLawFirm.com.

COURAGEOUS Movie is Must-See

2011-10-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

The new movie "Courageous" from the producers of FireProof and Facing the Giants, is a must-see.

As you might know, movies with a distinctively positive message are often given short shrift at the cinemas. It is irritating that movies that feature Satanic serial killers like "Friday the 13th" will run for months, while positive films fight to run just two weeks.

Thus, I implore you to see and support this film as soon as possible. Not only do I think you will find it moving, funny and meaningful, but it needs your family's support to run as long as possible.

The story is at once, a guy movie with masculine theme and an emotional tear-jerker. There is something for everyone.

While the plot, involving law enforcement officers, may remind you of the movie Grace Card, it is not at all a do-over of that story. Men, especially Dads, will be challenged by the message. I have likely read a thousand movie reviews myself, and some have said "you will laugh, you will cry." In this matter, I can assure you that I saw big burly men crying like little girls, and then a minute later, the whole theater was laughing loudly.

Don't be surprised if the audience claps at the end.

When was the last time you even felt like doing that?

Please do not put it off. My kids (as young as nine) loved it, regardless of the PG-13 rating for a couple violent scenes. Please go see Courageous the movie. Tonight. This weekend.

You will not regret it.

Article I must share

2011-09-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

TN lawmakers give negligent nursing homes a break

Written by

Walter F. Roche Jr. | The Tennessean

When Dennis Matthews hears lobbyists and nursing home operators in Tennessee talk about the high cost of lawsuits and the need for tort reform, he can only shudder.

Matthews sued Tennessee-based Life Care Centers of America after his mother, Verdie, died from dehydration and malnutrition at one of the chain’s nursing homes in Cleveland, Tenn.

After an 11-day trial, the jury found that the nursing home was negligent and awarded the family $11.5 million, but Bradley County Judge Ginger Buchanan threw out the verdict. She granted the nursing home’s motion for a new trial, saying that the evidence did not support the amount of the jury award. Matthews eventually reached a settlement with the nursing chain for a fraction of the jury award.

“It was horrible. I hate to even think about it,” Matthews said.

A Tennessean review of laws, inspection reports and lawsuits has shown that for people such as Matthews who have lost a loved one in a Tennessee nursing home, things may be about to get worse.

Even as a large segment of the population moves into its later years of life and might require nursing home care, Tennessee is moving toward lighter regulation of nursing homes, fewer state investigations and laws that make it more difficult to bring potentially costly lawsuits against operators.

Many nursing homes in Tennessee also now require patients or their families to sign agreements waiving their rights to a trial before admission.

A measure passed earlier this year by the legislature places strict new limits on the rights of nursing home patients and their families to sue nursing homes for poor care. That law, which caps the amount a jury can award, goes into effect this week.

This comes just a couple of years after the legislature in 2009 vastly reduced oversight of the 325 nursing homes in the state by eliminating regulations mandating that nursing home operators file detailed reports on adverse events affecting patients. Also eliminated were requirements that the state investigate those incidents. Officials said the change was needed so they could spend their time investigating more serious complaints.

Tennessee has not fared well compared with other states in some key quality measures of nursing homes. And federal officials have said the state has failed in its regulation of such homes. A report issued this year by the U.S. Government Accountability Office gave the state Health Department failing scores for its performance in investigating serious complaints against nursing homes. It said there was a backlog of cases that had gone uninvestigated, and it cited a staff shortage as a factor.

The new limits on lawsuits could shut down yet another avenue of complaints — the courtroom. Plaintiffs’ lawyers candidly admit that the new caps will keep many nursing home malpractice claims from ever getting to court, in part because lawyers will be less inclined to take the cases.

“By limiting the only damages a nursing home resident has, the new law has made it virtually impossible, in some cases, for attorneys to recover a reasonable amount of money for the victims and their families,” said Nashville attorney Randy Kinnard.

The tort reform bill sets a $750,000 cap on pain and suffering claims against a nursing home. A higher $1 million cap applies to limited types of cases. Caps do not apply if intentional misconduct is found. Nor is there any cap on economic damages, such as doctor and hospital bills or lost wages.

H. Lee Barfield II, an attorney who represents nursing homes and lobbied for the tort reform bill on behalf of Tennesseans for Economic Growth, said that he did not believe the new law would limit access to the court system. But he acknowledged the law would significantly reduce the amount juries can award. In one case he cited, a jury verdict of$34 million would have been limited to $2.55 million if the new law had been in place.

He stressed that support for the new tort law came from a coalition of businesses across the state, not just nursing homes.

Ranked near bottom

Tennessee nursing homes already rank near the bottom nationally in two key areas of care, according to federal data. Without the threat of lawsuits, some attorneys and advocates think, it will sink even lower.

Data compiled by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show Tennessee ranks fourth out of 50 from the bottom in the number of hours per patient per day provided by certified nurse assistants. It ranks seventh from the bottom in registered nurse hours per patient per day, according to the CMS data.

The latest data show Tennessee nursing homes provide an average of 0.62 hours of registered nursing care per patient per day. Assistant Health Commissioner Christy Allen said that was comparable to other states in the region. Neighboring Kentucky provides 0.8 hours, while Florida provides 0.64. The states that provide the most hours are generally lower-population states: Hawaii nursing homes average 1.36 hours, Delaware provides 1.22 hours and Alaska 1.86 hours.

According to state health officials, current law and regulations require licensed nursing personnel to provide only 0.4 hours of direct care per patient each day.

Professor John F. Schnelle of the Vanderbilt Center for Quality Aging said studies have shown that increasing the hours of nursing care provided to patients can improve quality.

But he cautioned, “There has to be a substantial increase in staff levels before you see a significant improvement in quality.”

Several published studies, including a report from the Institute of Medicine and one co-authored by Schnelle, have found links between staffing levels and the quality of care provided in licensed nursing homes.

Federal scrutiny

Tennessee’s regulation of the nursing home industry has come under scrutiny in audits conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

In the report issued in April, Tennessee failed to achieve passing marks in three areas: prioritizing complaints; performing timely investigations of complaints in cases in which patients were in immediate jeopardy; and performing timely investigations of complaints when a patient had endured actual harm.

In a 2008 report, the GAO cited Tennessee as one of nine states in which serious deficiencies were missed more than a quarter of the time. The auditors found that Tennessee inspectors missed 26.3 percent of the serious deficiencies — those that could cause actual harm or place patients in immediate jeopardy.

A year later, in August 2009, another GAO audit report cited Tennessee as the No. 1 state in which the number of poorly performing homes was understated. While only three Tennessee facilities had been designated as poorly performing and placed in a “special focus” category, GAO estimated the actual number should have been 14.

Currently the federal government categorizes one nursing home in the region, Imperial Gardens Health and Rehabilitation Center in Madison, as a special focus facility. Special focus facilities are subject to closer oversight and more frequent inspections. Homes participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs are generally inspected at least once every 15 months.

Imperial Gardens Administrator Rene Sharp said the facility has corrected all the deficiencies cited in a state Health Department report issued this year.

Allen, the assistant health commissioner, in an email response to questions about the GAO reports, noted that the federal government, not the state, determines which homes are placed on the special focus list. She also noted that two of the studies were issued two or three years ago and that the department has taken steps to respond.

“The department does pay close attention to GAO reports,” she wrote.

She acknowledged, however, that the department’s nursing inspection team currently has a 31 percent vacancy rate, just as it did at the time of the audits. Twenty-four of the authorized 77 positions are vacant.

Department officials said they have been unable to fill the positions because registered nurses are in high demand and private-sector jobs pay higher.

Allen said the department has worked through the 2,850 backlogged cases noted in the GAO review and has only 12 left. In the meantime, however, the agency has built an additional backlog of 292 open complaints.

“We made a huge push to reduce the backlog of investigations with the staff we have, but it is unrealistic to expect employees to continue to perform at that level indefinitely. We need more staff to share the workload on an ongoing basis,” Allen wrote.

Short-lived victory?

Early this year, the Tennessee Supreme Court in a 12-page decision delivered a virtually complete victory to the family of a 57-year-old woman who died after a four-month stay at a Chattanooga nursing home.

The suit charged that Martha French, who had suffered a debilitating stroke, developed pressure sores or ulcers that, because of poor care, became infected, leading to her death from sepsis.

The decision reversed most of an unfavorable appeals court decision and concluded that French’s family could pursue medical malpractice and negligence claims against Stratford House, a 127-bed nursing home. That meant that all of the family’s claims would not be placed under the strict requirements of the state medical malpractice law.

In addition, the court ruled that the family could pursue negligence claims based on violations of state and federal regulations and under the state Adult Protection Act.

But even as lawyers assessed the victory, a move was afoot to undo it.

Despite protests from some legislators and advocates for the eldery, the nursing home provisions in the tort reform bill included a key provision that brings all claims against nursing homes under the strict limits of the medical malpractice law, eliminating separate claims for negligence and requiring plaintiffs to provide certification that the care provided did not meet local standards. Punitive damages also are limited to $500,000 or two times the pain and suffering claims. Claims under a protection from abuse also will be blocked.

Lawyers who regularly take nursing home negligence and malpractice cases say the new law completely reverses the French decision.

“I think it is going to effectively weaken protection for vulnerable adults. There will be much less accountability,” said James B. McHugh, a Mississippi attorney who has tried nursing home cases in Tennessee.

Mark Geller, a Memphis lawyer, said the law, by putting a cap on possible claims, will allow nursing home operators to calculate in advance how little care they can provide.

“A person’s life is worth $750,000. That’s it.”

Barfield said the nursing home industry in Tennessee was facing a financial crisis under the old system and changes were necessary.

“What this does is provide predictability so the companies can plan,” he said.

He said it remains to be seen whether the new law will negate the court ruling.

“We’ll see. The jury is still out,” Barfield said.

PACs gave to governor, sponsors of 2009 bill

D. Gerald Coggin, vice president of Murfreesboro-based National Healthcare Corp., one of the largest nursing home chains in the country, said it’s too early to predict what savings may result from the new law. He noted that nursing homes are already facing cutbacks in payments under the Medicare program.

One of NHC’s homes, AdamsPlace in Murfreesboro, achieved the top five-star ranking from CMS. The home gained the top score in three of four categories, including inspections and overall quality of care.

State campaign finance records show that Gov. Bill Haslam and key legislators got substantial contributions for their election campaigns from nursing home owners and affiliated political action committees.

Haslam’s committee collected more than $28,000 from the state nursing home association PAC, formed by National Healthcare Corp. and owners and officials of nursing homes. Sen. Bill Ketron’s campaign committee collected nearly $10,000, while Speaker Beth Harwell’s committee took in $11,000.

In 2009, Tennessee nursing home owners benefited from another act of the General Assembly. A measure backed by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen’s administration stripped from the law books pages of reporting requirements on adverse events and other problems in the state’s more than 300 licensed nursing homes.

The sponsors of the bill were all the recipients of campaign contributions from nursing home political action committees.

An aide to state Sen. James F. Kyle Jr., a Memphis Democrat and the Senate sponsor, said the law had to be changed because the state Health Department could not keep up with the law’s requirements.

“They had a big backlog, and this was a way to streamline things,” he said.

Allen confirmed that the department requested the change.

Kyle’s campaign committee collected $4,500 from nursing home PACs over the past three years. House sponsor Rep. Mike Turner collected $4,500 from nursing home PACs, while co-sponsor David Shepard brought in $3,000 from the nursing home interest for his campaign.

The Health Department spokeswoman said the change in reporting requirements enacted in 2009 enabled the agency to focus on more serious complaints and respond more quickly.

For Dennis Matthews, who saw an $11.5 million jury award literally disappear, the experience has left him with a bitter taste.

“I will never ever have faith in the judicial system again,” he said. He said his mother was supposed to be in the home for only 30 days’ rehabilitation. “She got no food or water. That was proven.”

Lawyers for the nursing home denied the charges.

HURT ON YOUR PROPERTY?

2011-09-20T12:49:00.001-07:00

I grew up hearing that if someone was hurt on your property it was automatically YOUR fault.

I was in law school when I learned that was NOT TRUE.

It has never been true. But, like most myths, there is an element of truth. First of all, property insurance sometimes has a provision called medical payments.

Medical payments can be made regardless of fault So it is not liability based at all. For example, if you are playing basketball at a friends house and just fall, med pay can take of bills, usually up to 5,000.00.

Understandably, the other basketball players know you fell and then they hear an insurance company paid you.

However, for the homeowner to actually be liable, there would have to be fault. In the law, it is called negligence.

An example of negligence would include a homeowner leaving a cord across a dark walk, not covering a hole or warning about it or having a viscous dog.

David B. Peel, an injury attorney, often speaks to churches, clubs and groups without costs. He may be reached at www.PeelLawFirm.com.

Accidents

2011-09-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

What to Do After an Accident

You thought they were going to stop.

They pulled right out like you were not there. There was no way you could avoid them.

You may have found yourself in this situation before. After an accident, people are stunned, injured, scared. Massive amounts of adrenaline dull pain in what is known the “fight or flight” response.

Post accident response in a serious collision is one of the things that you need to think through now, because at the time it is unlikely you will be thinking as clearly.

Here are steps you can take:

1. It is usually recommended that you stay in the car unless there is actual fire or burning or someone else is in immediate jeopardy. (The whitish powdery smoke you will see is from the airbags, more than likely, and is not dangerous.) Cars rarely catch on fire, but it can happen. Be careful, as many people are hit as pedestrians by passing motorists after an accident.

2. Dial 911. It is best that an ambulance with trained first responders evaluate everyone involved. Self-diagnosis after such an impact is difficult and even dangerous. Especially in cases of undiagnosed head or spinal trauma, permanent damage can be done by movement.

3. If you or another are able and out of the car, take cell phone photos of the scene. This proves the arrangement in case the cars are moved before police investigate. Do not get into fault discussions with the other parties.

4. Do accept treatment and recommendations from first responders. They are in a much better position to decide what you might require. Transport to a good Emergency Room, not necessary the closest, is desirable.

5. Follow up with general doctors and specialists as you require. The “muscle tightness” after the wreck is likely to be severe pain in the days following.

6. Contact your insurance company; and consult an injury attorney to discuss your right and responsibilities, if you believe you were not at fault.

Much like having a fire drill, these steps should be thought through before it happens. The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 37,313 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2008. Motor vehicle collisions the leading cause of injury death among children worldwide 10 – 19 years old (260,000 children die a year, 10 million are injured) and the sixth leading preventable cause of death in the United States (45,800 people died and 2.4 million were injured in 2005). Odds are good that you will be in at least one crash during your lifetime.

You will have an idea of what to do if that happens.

David B. Peel is a local injury attorney who assists victims of car and truck accidents. Mr. Peel often speaks to civic clubs, churches, Sunday Schools, and other groups without charge. He may be reached at www.PeelLawFirm.com wherein other article may be found as well.

Are you rich?

2011-09-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

YOU MIGHT BE RICH!

What is rich?

For most people, it is about 40-50% more than whatever you make.

So, if you work full time in fast food at $8.00 an hour, you make about $16,000.00 a year. Therefore, if your friend lands a job making $25,000.00 a year, he might seem rich by comparison. Oddly though, this trend continues even among very high earners. So some someone make $150,000.00 a year is still likely to look with envy upon his neighbor who earns $215,000.00.

Oddly, the lesser earner often tends to believe that the higher earner should be able to live on the lesser salary and give the rest away. This creates class warfare and fights about tax fairness.

However, United States residents, even relatively poor ones, are wealthy beyond what most others dream of.

Until you spend time in India or Africa, I would argue you may not have seen real poverty. There, millions each day only seek two items: potable water and food. In some areas, they also seek firewood. Not much else, and certainly not cable and a cell phone.

Three billion (3,000,000,000.) people live on less than $2 per day.

About 1.3 billion (1,300,000,000.) get by on less than $1 per day (mostly women).

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has more wealth than the bottom 45 percent of American households combined.

Wealth vs. poverty is relative. In the United States, the poverty level is $22,050 for a family of four and the average is just over $40,000.

In Haiti, Honduras or Uganda, you could move there and live like a king with either salary.

You may not have a nice car, but even having a car is not actually required. I know, I like them too, but it is true. In many cities, adults never learn to drive and ride a bus or a bicycle. Most countries know nothing of our car culture. I think it should become a normal, mandatory requirement for students to go to a place like Haiti to graduate high school.

In the United States almost everyone has: Food, clean water and shelter and enough clothing to wear for weeks.

We should help others and be grateful for our ability to do so. You will find it is impossible to be both grateful and greedy at the same moment.

Then He said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15 NIV

__________

David B. Peel, an injury attorney, earns his living locally, where he often speaks to churches, clubs and groups without costs. He may be reached at www.PeelLawFirm.com.

Elena Mabry

emabry@bigriver.net

www.PeelLawFirm.com

We are smaller than we think

2011-08-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

Recent news about earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes often make people question what they think they know. We question what is real and where is God? God is right where He has always been.

But maybe we should ask more questions. Like, what are we really depending on?

When the seemingly solid earth beneath you begins to undulate like jello, and all that you hold dear crashes in all round you.

When the soothing ocean waves suddenly retreat, only to return as a tsunami—a fast moving wall of water taller than your home--and wash 250,000 people out to sea.

When the nourishing rains and gentle breezes suddenly plunge down in a funnel cloud through neighborhoods and scatter homes across two counties.

When the swirling winds and torrential rains of a hurricane peel off the roofs and cause mass destruction and evacuations.

If these do not cause questions, something might be wrong with your questioner. But notice just how little change it takes to go from tranquility to tragedy.

Does it not remind us just how small we are?

For all of our technology, only one structure is easily visible from the space station: the ancient Great Wall of China. A pile of cut stones, really.

I think we are an arrogant race, we humans. We think we are so advanced, but all it takes is one of the above events to put us back in our place.

It is probably a good thing to have our faith challenged and tested. We can blame or we can praise the God of the storm. When some of Jesus’ followers went through this following storm, they were never the same.

"And evening having come, He said to them on that day, Let us pass over to the other side. And when they had sent away the crowd, they took Him with them as He was in the boat. And there were also other little boats with Him. And there arose a windstorm, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now full. And He was in the stern of the boat, asleep on a headrest. And they awakened Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we perish? And He awakened and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" Mark 4:35-40 MKJV

__________________________________

Mr. Peel is a local attorney who practices in the areas of Accident, Injuries, Malpractice and Nursing Home Neglect. Mr. Peel often addresses churches and clubs and can be contacted through www.PeelLawFirm.com, wherein other articles can also be found.

Elena Mabry

emabry@bigriver.net

www.PeelLawFirm.com

Trusting in the Provision or the Provider??

2011-08-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

TRUSTING IN THE PROVIDER

Sometimes it is quite clear what God is teaching us. In the last several years, I have friend after friend, and client after client lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

This Great Recession may look like a “recovery” to the economists in Washington, D.C., but here in Shelby County, Tennessee, it looks pretty bleak. I have walked with longtime employees who have had their jobs shipped off to Mexico. Some 20 year workers, who never took a sick day, have been laid off. Professional level pharmaceutical sales people are glad to have a job at a third the salary doing something else.

The ripple effects of the Great Recession are hitting charities, missionaries, non-profits and churches quite severely. It is sapping consumer confidence and has resulted in records deficits and debt for our country. While business is not directly tied to the economy, I definitely see the suffering in the eyes of my injured clients. Families that could have dipped into savings to help them previously, now are struggling with other own bills. Churches’ benevolence funds have dried up. Food pantries and crisis centers have been tapped out, many times by formerly middle class patrons.

So, in the midst of these storms, what can we learn?

The Apostle Paul concluded, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). We are assured that God will supply our needs (not our greeds) and the reason is given: “His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

But it is hard not to worry. I have often heard that “Worry is the most common form of atheism.” Ouch!

But, it was the Lord Jesus Himself that was so exceedingly clear about anxiety regarding our daily needs:

Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? 31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:25-34 tells us three times “do not be anxious” (6:25, 31 and 34). Anxiety is foolish because it is futile (vain, useless) in view of the Father’s care and knowledge of our condition and our needs.

He teaches us such worry is the product of being people of “little faith.” He shows such intimate care for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, imagine how He cares for us.

But as the late Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say, “Yes, He feeds the birds of the air, but you notice He does not throw it in their nest every morning…they’ve got to go out and scratch for it.”

Mr. Peel often speaks at churches and civic clubs without cost in between “scratching out” a living handling workers comp, medical malpractice, nursing home, auto accident and disability cases. More articles are available on his website and blogs accessible at PeelLawFirm.com.

WARNING: Teens Driving

2011-07-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

TEENAGE DRIVING OFTEN DEADLY

Ask any teen made to pay his or her own car insurance and they will tell you: it’s expensive!!

Since insurance is all about risk, these high premiums indicate the problem. Drivers aged 16- to 19-years-old are far more at risk for accidents than any other age group. In fact, for each mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are almost four times more likely than other drivers to crash than many other age groups.

Is it an urban myth that male teen drivers are in more accidents? No. The insurance rates are set in part by statistics from real crash data. The car accident death rate for teen male drivers and passengers is more than one and a half times female teen driver (19.4 killed per 100,000 male drivers compared with 11.1 killed per 100,000 female drivers). This does not mean that boys are worse drivers. Teen girls cause a lot of accidents. But the boys test themselves at much higher speeds on average.

This year we will lose over 5,000 teens ages 16 to 20 in car crashes. Almost 400,000 drivers age 16 to 20 will be seriously injured in these accidents in the same time! This is about the entire population of metro Knoxville, Tennessee, hurt every year.

Alcohol is a serious problem. In one reported survey, almost 30% of teens reported that just within the previous 30 days, they had ridden in a car with a driver drinking alcohol. Many rural teens grow up drinking and driving through the country on weekend nights. More than half of teen deaths from car crashes occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight and 54% occurred on weekends: Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It is only a matter of time until there is a crash. Unfortunately, the inevitable crash is almost always at high speed. In fact, 23% of drivers age 15 to 20 who died in car crashes had a Blood Alcohol Reading of 0.08 or higher.

The “Immortality Complex.” Teens are also more dangerous because they do not intrinsically understand that they can actually be hurt or die. This minimizes seat belt use. It was found that with teen drivers killed in auto crashes after drinking and driving, a full 74% did not wear a seat belt.

Jeff Foxworthy is credited with a relevant quote. He says the last words of many a redneck are, “Hey guys, watch this!” The stereotype of the daredevil male teen driver, with a beer between his legs, the stereo blaring and a back seat full of friends rocketing through the curvy rural roads at night at 85 mph are supported by common experience and crash statistics.

Recent changes in Tennessee law limiting passengers for beginning drivers are hoped to reduce the tragedies. In the meantime, new technology that reads and reports speeding to parents remotely might hold some promise.

But for us parents, there will be a lot of sleepless nights.

The Casey Anthony Verdict

2011-07-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

Casey Anthony Trial

While my law practice is limited to injury, civil, and malpractice cases, so many folks have asked me about the Casey Anthony criminal case that I feel I should address it.

The jurors wanted the story! They always want the story. Since we were all little children, we have been told fairy tales, nursery rhymes and bedtime stories. We have all watched far too many television dramas, videos and movies. If you have read Shakespeare, enjoyed a novel or have been to the theater, it is basically the same sequence. They all have a beginning, characters and a plot. Virtually all of them have an action sequence with good guys and bad guys in some conflict. They certainly all have an ending.

The little Anthony girl’s remains were only skeletal by the time they were finally found. As a result, scientists were unable to tell the jury how and exactly when she died. The jury wants to know how and when she died. Those are important elements of the story. While it may not technically be needed to convict, the jurors usually at least want a workable theory on those points.

If you are like me, it is beyond infuriating that the mother’s own failure to report the missing child and her own lying is what gave enough time for the remains to fully decay! (It makes me angry all over again just to type it). In a sense, even though she was convicted of lying, it appears she still has benefited from it.

It brings to mind the O.J. Simpson trial for many. There is still no question in my mind that he killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Unfortunately, the story of an alleged racist cop planting evidence (including the infamous glove) was what prevailed.

But when I think about the Simpson trial, I recall a different set of events. After his ex-wife was found murdered, he led police on a slow chase in the white Bronco, carrying a gun, money and a disguise. That is unreasonable unless he was guilty. Innocent ex-husbands rarely act like that when an ex-wife was killed.

The story that will likely be remembered in the Casey Anthony case is about a monster of narcissistic mother who got away with murder.

What do you think?

WATCH What U Post!!

2011-06-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Watch What You Post and Send

When I have a legal claim against someone I will often check to see if they are on Facebook or another social media site. It is amazing how often they will explain how the accident happened, and often admit that they had been drinking, or some other condemning information. While I only do injury law, I have read several cases where a criminal is arrested based on evidence found as a result of his own postings on Facebook! It seems technology has outpaced common sense in its use. But it is not just true in cases involving the legal system.

Public officials are proving that they too can be foolish with social networking tools. The latest public figure to fall from so-called sending lewd photos and suggestive statements via cell phone text messaging is Congressman Anthony Wiener. A recently married man, he was sending these to several other women. NFL star quarterback Brett Favre, a married Mississippi native, was alleged to have done much the same thing. Representative Christopher Lee, of New York texted a photo of him without his shirt on to a woman, not his wife, on Craigslist, and immediately resigned in disgrace.

So why do these people, who ought to know better, even do it?

"If you're looking for some kind of deep explanation, I simply don't have one," Weiner said at a press conference admitting the actions. "This was just me doing a dumb thing, doing it repeatedly and then lying about it."

The new term might be “Internet Infidelity.” Most experts say it is the instant gratification of this behavior that causes users to crave more.

This kind of behavior cannot be too far from more explicit behavior, however. As Christians, we understand how sin progresses. In the above texting cases, there is no allegation of actual physical intimacy. Compare this with recent allegations that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the current governor of the State of California, famous bodybuilder, actor and businessman, had a child with another woman while married to Maria Shriver.

If that sounds familiar, it is much like former presidential candidate and Senator John Edwards’ folly of having a child with another woman while his wife was fighting cancer and he was a viable candidate for the presidency. He added the audacious sin of allegedly forcing a staffer to lie and claim paternity for the baby, even though that man, Andrew Young, was also married.

Where does this all start? How can supposedly great--and certainly smart--men like this fall so far?

As with all other important questions in life, Scripture contains the answer:

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:14,15.

You see in these cases, the “death” of marriages, trust and sometime careers. So how do the rest of us prevent ourselves from being “drawn away?” Here are some warning signs and deterrents that may be helpful on your online life:

– 1. Never tell a friend of the opposite sex something you would not tell your spouse. This can easily lead to a so-called “emotional affair.” Harmless at first, these begin as just friendship, but pick up speed as you eventually only feel “understood” by the person you are not married to.

– 2. Always have transparency in your online dealings. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, make sure your spouse can see all you send and receive.

3. 3. Always speak highly of your spouse in the presence of others of the opposite gender. If you express disappointment with him or her, the person you are talking to may see it as an opportunity.

4 .. Never post photos you don’t want your spouse to see, and that you don’t want to see again and again. You may see them in lawsuit or even a prosecution.

Remember, Jesus taught us in Matthew that our thought life is the birthplace of our actions. Centuries earlier, The ancient saying in Proverbs 23:7 summarized succinctly:

“For as a man thinks within himself, so he is.”

Should a Christian Ever Sue??

2011-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Christians and Lawsuits--

Should a Christian Sue?

As a Christian, and a lawyer, I have been asked about this many times. As with any question, we should consult the Scriptures first.

The Biblical text that is most often cited is Paul’s letter in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8:

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. (NIV)

Let’s look at the passage carefully. The kind of cases involved in the passage are described in the text:

A “dispute,” that is “trivial” in nature, “between believers,” involving being “cheated” and “wronged” and this dispute could well be judged by a “man of little account in the church.”

The type of actual dispute is not revealed, but from the description above it is clear that it involves a matter that is between two believers, where one feels cheated or wronged and appears--to others at least--as “trivial” in nature. The Bible expressly states that legal action in that situation is shameful.

An example of that might include a Christian church member suing another member for slander for unknowingly sharing partially false information in a prayer request about her, and hurting her reputation. Or, it could involve a dispute between two members of a church suing one another over the giving of a poor reference for a job. (Yes, both of these are unfortunately based on real cases).

There is little doubt that these bring the reproach of men upon the church, and are horrible examples. However, Paul himself resorted to law twice when he was wrongfully arrested as a Roman citizen. He also used the threat of law in Acts 16:37. When one examines the Biblical admonition carefully, there is a clear distinction depending upon the type or nature of the dispute.

For instance, cases that I handle generally involve serious injuries or death. Any case involving grievous injury or death, by definition, is not at all “trivial.” I hasten to add that 98% of cases settle without trial, so even the most serious cases rarely see a courtroom. Mediation, which is based on Matthew 18, is often used with great success.

Further, these types of serious disputes are rarely actually “between believers” in any real sense. For instance, if I represent you because you were paralyzed when a truck rear-ended your car, I have to name the negligent driver of the truck (who may be a Christian) in order to obtain the compensation due from his auto insurance. Recall as well, that insurance is purchased to assist us all in paying for accidental acts that may harm someone, and to help protect our assets in that event. It is exceedingly rare for any case to cost an insured driver one penny personally. Many cases are against large corporations that, of course, do not have souls, and therefore cannot be believers.

I may represent a Christian, against a nursing home chain for neglect in allowing terrible bedsores. This is usually a large corporation that often put profits over people. These cases are clearly not what is banned in the Corinthians passage.

Finally, cases that I handle, against negligent drivers, doctors, hospitals and nursing homes are not at all the type of cases that can be resolved by “men of little account in the church.”

While there are many other types of law, the type that I deal with is mentioned frequently in Scripture. Much of our civil injury law (called “tort law”) is actually based on the Bible’s passages.

For instance, the law governing dog bites in Tennessee states that if my dog is not known to bite I have no liability for it doing so. However, if my dog has a vicious nature and is known to bite then I am liable in tort law for all damages. Compare, Exodus 21:28:

If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death. However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.

Or, look at the law regarding a slip and fall on a premises owned by another. If I create a condition that I know is dangerous and leave it as a virtual trap for another, I am liable in civil damages. Compare Exodus 21: 33:

If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay for the loss;

Other interesting accidents in Scripture include the negligent attaching of an axe head to an axe handle such that it flies off and kills someone while chopping wood (Deut. 19:5); and the dropping of a stone on an unseen man (Num. 35:22).

Also, the negligent person has a responsibility as well. Sometimes people talk of lawsuits being a way of making another person responsible for one’s own misfortune. But, if not for lawsuits generally, we may still have Ford Pintos with exploding gas tanks on the road, burning people alive after very minor car accidents. The medicines we take would not be so thoroughly tested. Nursing homes would not be under any incentive to give better care.

As you can see, the Bible does not forbid lawsuits, but it gives us much direction. Here is a Biblical checklist that may be helpful in evaluating a potential claim:

1. Is this matter “trivial?” (If so, overlook it.) (1 Cor 6:2 & Col 3:13).

2. Is this matter solvable by involvement of others at church? (1 Cor 6:4 & Matt 18:15).

3. Are my motives selfish or vengeful? (If so, stop). (Phil 2:3)

4. Have I tried to resolve my claim before suit or court? (Proverbs 25:8).

In the end, some will say, my cases are about money. I understand the criticism.

However, as I may tell a jury, “Don’t give her money---give her back time…give her back years of pain…give her back a life without this suffering…give her back her quality of life. But if you cannot give these things, then compensation is all we can ask for. It gives her freedom and it gives her choices. That is all we have to offer her.”

80/20 rule applies to you

2011-06-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

The 80-20 Rule

You might never have heard of the "Pareto Principle," but it is the name for what many call the "80/20 rule."

Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, once famously observed that 80 percent of the land was owned by 20 percent of the population.

In your business, the rule implies that approximately 20 percent of your clients/contracts/crops produce 80 percent of your income. In your life, 80 percent of the love and support you receive come from just 20% of the contacts on your cell phone.

If you can focus on the 20% that brings you 80% of your income, satisfaction and success, you can change the ratio. Think about how little of your 40 hours of work accounts for the majority of your results.

Here are some signs that will help you to recognize whether you're spending your time as you should:

The 80% of your life will be marked with these marks:

You're busy on tasks other people want you to do, but you see no future in them. You're always doing something that just popped up and is “urgent.”

You're spending time on tasks you are not usually good at doing that others could do. Activities are taking a lot longer than you expected. You find yourself complaining all the time. Your spouse or friends do not see why you are doing this task.

The 20 percent will involve these points:

You see this as a step or part of your dream--your overall purpose in life. You're doing things you have always wanted to do

You feel good about yourself upon doing this task. You're hiring people to do the tasks you are not good at or don't like doing. You're smiling. You're spouse sees the wisdom of your task and is supportive

As the old saying goes: "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."

David B. Peel

Attorney at Law

Mr. Peel is a local attorney who practices in the areas of Accident, Injuries, Malpractice and Nursing Home Neglect. Mr. Peel often addresses churches and clubs and can be contacted through www.PeelLawFirm.com, wherein other articles can also be found.

Graduation Advice

2011-05-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Graduates

But be warned:

In this time of year, graduation invitations fill our mailboxes and ceremonies fill large churches and civic centers. And of course, there are speeches

Most of the talks by local dignitaries will talk about the new beginning the end of high school marks. "commencement" is the term after all.

But what world awaits the class of 2011?

It's certainly a very different world than when I sat through speeches with the class of 1987. But I recall nothing of those speeches. I know some things now that I wished they had said then.

So, if you know a graduate, you might want to pass along this information that is sure to be missing from their ceremonies

1. Life is not a handout. You have what you were given. Giftings, contacts, skills, energy and the ability to learn. The degree to which you use those gifts diligently will determine the heights you reach.

2. Keep learning. Not just from books Meet with any adult you can and find out what they did right and what they regret. It is a smart person who does not repeat his own mistake but it is a wise person who avoids it to begin with.

3. Seek God. Your parent’s belief or lack thereof does not define your souls eternal destiny. You and only you can choose. (John 3) There is a narrow path that few choose, called faith It has some troubles but leads to eternal bliss. The wide path is deceptive and seems easy, and leads to eternal torment. It is this choice more than any other, that affects your life and that of your descendants

4. Learn to put off pleasure, status and leisure until your hard work has earned them. If not, you will always be in such debt you can't enjoy life. What a foolish thing to pay notes on a nice car but have no money for gas. The inability to live at less than your means is crippling. Tithe and save. You must be able to postpone pleasure or you will always be an overgrown child. Adults delay gratification.

5. Follow your passion. Whether you choose to believe it or not, God made you special. You have gifts to do that which you were meant to do. Pursue it and it will become clearer to you.

Congratulations. If you are even reading a newspaper, you are ahead of the game. Seek God as He is truth. Don’t be deceived by this world. Never quit learning. But never change what you know is right.

Welcome to your future!

Why Are We Fat?

2011-05-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Why Are Americans Obese?

Have you noticed the trend of obesity in our country? Especially among children, it is just staggering. Just consider these points:

•Diabetes has increased over 90% in the last decade.

•Childhood obesity had more than tripled in the last 30 years!

I wanted to know why. I know that kids are lazier than ever, playing video games and watching television while parents won’t make them do any chores. But I know there had to more to it. Why are there 12 year olds that weigh more than I do?

Some people may suspect some vast secret conspirator has placed some agent in our food supply to make sure they can sell diabetes supplies. Well, if so, the food industry has played a role.

They have added ever-increasing amounts of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). And who could blame them? HFCS is a lot cheaper than sugar. It is made from corn, so it sounds quite safe and “natural.” (Of course gasohol is also made from corn, and you run your car on it.)

To create HFCS, corn kernels are soaked, heated and spun. Using enzymes, they create high fructose, making it as sweet, if not many times sweeter than regular sugar. Much of the corn used is reported to have been genetically modified.

Currently over 55% of all sweeteners are made from corn! It is the number one source of calories in the United States. The consumption of HFCS between 1970 and 2005 has increased a whopping 10,673% in the United States!

It is not only cheap and widespread, but it is stealthy. High Fructose Corn Syrup rears it head not just in the Cola aisle, but it is found all over your local grocery store. Just look at this list:

Breakfast Cereal: Whether it sounds healthy or not, check for HFCS. Many kids are starting their day with pure sugar in the form of healthy looking cereal. It is like feeding your kids cake and ice cream for breakfast.

Yogurt: Once again, healthy sounding foods like yogurt often contain HFCS.

Ravoli and Canned Goods: Yes, ravoli! If it is sweet or salty, check it out.

Salad Dressings and Condiments: HFCS is used to offset the saltiness of un-sweet items like salad dressings.

Nutrition Bars and Candy Bars: There is not much difference between the two. Don’t let the word “nutrition” fool you. They tend to have a lot of HFCS.

Breads: Just because it says “whole grain” does not make it less fattening. Many contain HFCS.

Waters: Just because they talk of vitamins, it is also full of sugar.

The main concern is that HFCS seems to metabolize fat far more rapidly than regular sugar.

Thus the chart linking obesity and HFCS look like the same data.

Obesity leads to diabetes, and high levels of LDL (the bad cholesterol), and heart attacks and stroke. In short, our sweet tooth is killing us.

BEING PREPARED

2011-05-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

Being Prepared

The saying “Be Prepared” has long been uttered respectfully by Boy Scouts across the United States. As one who was blessed to achieve an Eagle Scout rank, I look back fondly upon lessons learned in readiness and self-reliance.

With record-breaking tornadoes leveling the South, flooding threatening thousands of homes, terrorists’ frightful scheming and the constant threat of living in an earthquake zone, it is apparent that a heightened sense of readiness is required. Think of those who had to evacuate for what may be months from their homes in Japan near the failing nuclear plant. The Bible admonishes us to plan for the future:

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Luke 14:28-30

There are several ways we can be more prepared. Items listed can be packed in “go-bags” that allow a quick exit. There is a hierarchy of needs, form most urgent to least, but they are all important.

· Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation;
· Non-perishable food with a can opener, all in a backpack or duffle bag;
· NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, a flashlight and extra batteries for both;
· First aid kit and whistle to signal for help;
· Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation;
· Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities, and hatchet or axe to help rescuers;
· Cell phone with chargers, and important phone numbers;
· Important documents such as powers of attorney, living will, driver’s license, pictures of your family and pets, cash, ATM card, Health insurance card, insurance policies, and tax records;
· Comfortable clothing and blankets, ponchos and duct tape;
· Unique family needs such as prescription medications, pet supplies, infant supplies or any other needs your family may have;
· Some will want to stockpile extra gasoline or diesel; and
· Some may prefer to keep a firearm and ammunition.

Consider well ahead of time what you'd take if you had only a:

ü a day's notice,
ü a couple of hours' notice to pack the car, or
ü five minutes' notice to 'get out now' (the go bag)

Make arrangements for places to stay well ahead of time. Make a deal: If there's an emergency/evacuation, they can come to your home, or you to theirs. Crashing on someone's sofa or camping in their yard is infinitely preferable to a public shelter.

If you have to take medications, make sure you keep them all in one place, and can sweep them into the go bag without any searching. A "shelter-in-place" kit and a "to-go" bag can share items as long as they can be moved from one pace to the other quickly. For example, it makes sense to have three-days worth of water in your shelter-in-place kit but take a day's worth with you when you leave. However, it is always best to keep things compartmentalized in case you have to shelter in place and then later leave. Remember that if you are prepared you may be able to minister to those who are not.

A component of your disaster kit is your Go-bag. Put the items together in a backpack or another easy to carry container in case you must evacuate quickly. Prepare one Go-bag for each family member and make sure each has an I.D. tag. You may not be at home when an emergency strikes so keep some additional supplies in your car and at work, considering what you would need for your immediate safety.

May God bless and protect your family.

Whom do you serve?

2011-04-25T10:50:00.001-07:00

We All Serve Someone

As a child, I recall learning that my Dad was the “boss” at his job. I asked him about that one, reflecting on how nice it must be not to “have anyone to tell you what to do.”

He surprised me with his answer. He said, “We all have a boss.”

In vain, he explained how he had to answer to a Board of Directors. It appeared that he had a boss after all.

I then tried to figure out if there is any job where one does not have a boss. Now as an adult, I still have not come up with one.

If you are a doctor, you must serve patients well. If you are a construction worker, you must please superintendants and customers. If you are a policeman, you must work favorably with both your sergeant and the public. Even a rock star must keep his fans happy.

As the song by Bob Dylan proclaims, “You’re Gonna Have to Serve Somebody.”

You may be an ambassador to England or France,

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Spiritually, you also are serving someone. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you are furthering someone’s agenda every day. The devil will have you focus on yourself, and lull you into believing you are independent, rather than deceived. Psalm 14:1 sums it up this way: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

The Lord will have you focus on others. After all, Jesus was God in the flesh and washed his disciples’ feet. Think of how long and uncomfortable that process must have been for each follower. Service is the manner by which we live out the faith in the grace that has saved those who have been redeemed.

Finally, 1 Chronicles 28:9 warns us that we cannot fool God, even if we fool others or ourselves. “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

WHAT IS A TRILLION, REALLY?

2011-04-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

What is a Trillion, anyway?

Baby Boomers have often proclaimed “50 is the new 40.”

According a recent CNN report, “Trillion is the new billion.”

With all the talk about stimulus funding, deficits and the budget, the numbers lack context. It is hard for us to understand a billion, let alone a trillion.

To start with, let’s start with dollars we can understand. Let’s say I settled a large injury case that netted you $100,000.00. That is clearly One Hundred Thousand dollars.

Ten times that is One Thousand Thousands, or what we call One Million Dollars.

Now, it takes One Thousand Million to make a Billion. That is a one followed by nine zeros.

And a Trillion is a Thousand Billion. Feeling numb yet?

You see, a Trillion dollars is the number 1 followed by 12 zeroes!

One trillion $1 bills stacked one on top of the other would reach nearly 68,000 miles into the sky, or about a third of the way from the Earth to the moon!

A million seconds is about 11½ days. A billion seconds is about 32 years, and a trillion seconds is 32,000 years!

That means that a billion minutes ago, Jesus had just risen from the dead!

To put a trillion dollars in context, if you spend a million dollars every day since Jesus was born, you still wouldn't have spent a trillion!

I sometimes wonder if our elected officials actually understand these numbers.

*Mr. Peel, a Christian Injury Lawyer, may be available to speak to your church or community group. He may be reached through www.PeelLawFirm.com. Other articles maybe found on his blog at www.DavidBPeel.blogspot.com

Soul surfer reminds us of our struggle

2011-04-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

PEACE IN THE STRUGGLE

The current movie Soul Surfer tells the story of a young athlete, Bethany Hamilton, whose life revolves around surfing and her faith. But, lurking in the depths off a sun-kissed Hawaiian beach, is a tiger shark.

And he is hungry...

You may have heard about what happened next. The shark’s attack cost her an arm.

How could this 13-year-old ever surf again? And, how would she ever face the fear of the sea that no doubt would cripple her emotionally, as sure as she had been handicapped physically?

In a recent interview with Dennis Rainey’s program,FamilyLife Today, her mother described a day when she said to Bethany, “Let’s just pray that God’s will be done for your life. Let’s pray for God to bring you into the center of His will.” They continued praying this for about two weeks, and the shark attack occurred.

“I don’t pretend to have all the answers to why bad things happen to good people,” Bethany says in her book, also titled Soul Surfer. “But I do know that God knows all the answers, and sometimes He lets you know in this life, and sometimes He asks you to wait so that you can have a face-to-face talk about it. What I do know is that I want to use what happened to me as an opportunity to tell people that God is worthy of our trust, and to show them that you can go on and do wonderful things in spite of terrible events that happen. I don’t think it does any good to sit around feeling sorry for yourself. I made myself a promise: I’m not going to wallow or walk around moaning, ‘Woe is me!’”

It is difficult for me to understand that a shark biting my arm off might ever be in God’s will for my life.

However, our own personal struggle was not with a shark. It was with infertility. Infertility did not seem that it could be in God’s perfect will for our lives, anymore than a tiger shark’s attack.

You see, I had married the loveliest, most gracious and Godly lady I have ever met. By 1997, I waspracticing as an injury lawyer and we were teaching a young married Sunday school class at Bellevue.Trish had earned her nursing degree and was a blessing to every one of her patients.

But something was missing…No. Someone was missing.

How do you miss someone you have never met? Couples who have struggled with infertility know this. How could this be in the will of God? We were happily married, Christian professionals, making agood living, with a nice home featuring an empty room we hoped--one day--to call the “nursery.” We were leading a group at church filled with families having baby showers, but never for us. People would often ask why we did not have a baby yet? Or even worse, “Don’t you two want kids?”

It was difficult to have peace in that struggle. But, like the brave young lady portrayed in Soul Surfer, we found the purpose.

We were more than ready when a developing baby needed adoptive parents. The verse in Joel 2:25 came true in our lives, and we have since become parents, the natural way, twice more.

That means one of our kids is adopted…but I always forget which one!

David & Trish homeschool their three kids and Mr. Peel often speaks to groups or churches, and is heard regularly on WCRV 640 AM. You may contact his office at (901)872-4229 orwww.PeelLawFirm.com.

CAPS HURT ONLY THE HURT

2011-03-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Lawsuit Damage Caps Threaten the Most Seriously Injured Tennesseans

Non-Economic Damage Caps Disproportionately Affect Children, Elderly and People with Disabilities

Nashville— Five year old Amanda Travis went to a Nashville surgery center for a routine tonsillectomy. She never returned home. During her stay nurses administered the wrong dosage of Demerol and Valium as well as the wrong type and dosage of IV fluids—four times the normal amount. Due to vomiting of blood and mucus caused by the medication error and an understaffed facility, Amanda suffered a loss of oxygen, and soon after was pronounced brain dead.

The surgery center altered Amanda’s medical records three times in an attempt to cover up the medical errors which caused her death. It was also revealed that her nurse-anesthetist had a history of drug abuse and later died from a drug overdose during another patient’s surgery.

Non-economic damage awards compensate for real injuries and losses that are not easily measured by a dollar amount like lost wages or medical bills. Losses like paralysis, disfigurement, or a child’s loss of a mother are more significant than medical bills or lost wages. Caps on non-economic damages are unfair and discriminate against individuals who have little to no income, such as women or men who work inside the home, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Caps arbitrarily limit damages in cases where the injuries are the most severe and often where the conduct is the most reprehensible.

“Since a five year old obviously has no source of income, non-economic damages provided the only recourse the Travis family had to hold those who were responsible for the senseless death of their little girl accountable,” stated Phillip Miller, President, Tennessee Association for Justice. “The government should not be legislating the price of someone’s life when their death unnecessarily occurs as a result of blatant medical negligence. A Tennessee jury, after hearing all the facts, should be trusted with determining the amount a negligent defendant should be responsible for when wrongful conduct takes the life of a little girl.”

Caps on non-economic damages means the lives of children, seniors, women and low wage earners who do not work outside the home are worth less than the lives of a businessmen. Entire classes of low–income or non-earners would be branded as being worth less than their wealthier counterparts. Without non-economic damage awards to these vulnerable citizens, care decreases and wrong doers are not properly held accountable for their negligence.

“We trust our fellow Tennesseans in the ballot box,” said Miller. “We should continue to trust them in the jury box.”

BOOMERS HAVE REGRETS

2011-03-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

BABY BOOMERS HAVE SOME REGRETS

A recent article by Rebecca D'Angelo in USA TODAY found that there are some common regrets among those born between 1946 and 1964.

This is what they wished they had known earlier:

•The stock market can go down as well as up.

•Your home equity line should not be used as a personal ATM.

•Youth doesn't last forever, but moving more, and eating less can delay old age. Comments like, "Why didn't I start with the sunscreen sooner so I wouldn't be so wrinkled?” as well as consternation over bulging waistlines, weight-related illness or ailments, and decreased physical capabilities are common.

•Our parents weren't blowing smoke when they said "Live within your means" and "Save for a rainy day." Now "they're afraid they'll outlive their money" because they didn't plan and save enough and certainly didn't predict the economy's meltdown.

In general their comments might be summarized as: “A little less ice cream and a lot more saving.”

If they live another 30 or 40 years, they will find longevity brings challenges. Some folks are realizing that 35 years of work cannot easily support 35 years of retirement.

It is not as if Baby Boomers did not have great role models. The generation that fought World War 2 has often been called the “Greatest Generation.” I am sure that the Depression era that preceded World War 2 did more good than harm to the character of Americans. It seems that the further we have gotten from those awful financial times, the more spoiled and selfish we have become.

Is there anyone now who will rise up and claim that Generation X, Generation Y or whatever we have now, will be the greatest generation? I certainly can’t imagine it.

But, the folks in the mid 1920’s never thought they would see a full out stock market crash in 1929, ushering in the worse Depression in American History. It is fairly well accepted that there were five causes or aggravations of the Great Depression.

1. Stock Market Crash of 1929: One of the major causes that led to the Great Depression.

2. Runs on Bank as Banks Failed: Over 9,000 banks failed and deposits were uninsured, so the money was just gone. You can recall a run on the banks in the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

3. Spending and Jobs Dried Up: Lack of money and fear kept many from purchasing items, which led to a reduction in the workforce. Foreclosures and repossessions followed. The unemployment rate rose above 25%, and that was likely not even accurate due to the conditions of that day. In many places it was much higher. My Granddaddy used to say, “There just wasn’t no money back then.”

4. American Economic Policy: Desperate for anything that would help, the government tried the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930 to help protect American companies by charging high tariffs on imports. Trade stagnated further.

5. Dustbowl: The Mississippi Valley’s epic drought in 1930 caused many to have sell their farms. This was the topic of John Steinbeck's “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Today, we may be looking at similar conditions. Rising unemployment, stifled spending, a lack of production, foreclosures, less credit availability, rising food and gas prices and a staggering and growing national debt. If a natural disaster, a terrorism cyber attack or other unforeseen tragedy occurs, that may be all it takes to begin building a couple of truly great generations.

Mr. Peel may be available to address your civic club or church, please contact his office at www.PeelLawFirm.com

Where did you get your name?

2011-03-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

What’s in a Name?

I have taken to researching my family tree of late. This practice, known as “genealogy,” depends upon last names, sometimes called “surnames.” Sometimes they are unfortunate names. I have a relative named “Allavina Longbottom.” As quickly as she could, it appeared she changed her name to “Viney Bottom.” I am not sure it improved her situation much.

However, do you realize that surnames did not exist, in most cases, till about 1000 years ago! Before that, a less crowded society was mainly agrarian and the whole world consisted of only five miles from their home place. First names worked fine in most cases, and we see that surnames were still developing even in the Bible’s New Testament. “Jesus of Nazareth,” “Saul of Tarsus,” and “Mary of Magdalene” come to mind.

The middle ages, saw a change. A certain Peter might be called "Peter son of John" to distinguish him from his a fellow villager known as "Peter the goldsmith" and his friend "Peter of the hills." These names were not passed down as we do our surnames, as each person had their own.

Surnames’ origins can be divided into four main categories:

1. Place Names:

If they lived near a forest, hill, stream crossing (a “ford”), or cliff, this might be used to describe them, such as: FORREST, ATWOOD, GLEN, EASTMAN, BANKER (lives on hill side), WESTWOOD, DUNLOP (on muddy hill), BROOKS, CHURCHILL, CLIFF, HILLLMAN, BRITTON (from Britain), FORD, HARTSFORD, and WEATHERSFORD.

2. Parents’ Names:

Adding a prefix or suffix denoting either "son of" or "daughter of" made these common surnames. Names ending in "son", "Mac," "Fitz," "O," and "ap" are all derived from parents’ names such as: PETERSON, JOHNSON, FITZHUGH, O’MALLEY, and MACDONALD.

3. Nicknames:

Only 5-10% of all surnames involve these oddities, like: WHITE, BLACK, STRONG, ARMSTRONG, GOODMAN, or even FALLOWELL or FALWELL (picking on a family member who once fell down a well.)

4. Occupational Names:

FLETCHER made arrows

SMITH was a gold, silver or iron smith

TURNER made table legs and chair legs on a lathe

TAYLOR, one that makes or repairs garments

COLLIER was a coal miner

MILLER was essential for grinding flour from grain

COOPER was a barrel maker

WAINWRIGHT was a wagon builder

BISHOP was in the employ of a Bishop

ALDERMAN, an official clerk of the court

SHOEMAKER was a cobbler

CARTER, a maker/driver of carts

OUTLAW, an outlaw or criminal

Whatever your name, God has gifted you to add to its meaning and heritage something only you can provide. Now go do it!

Mr. Peel is often asked to address church and school groups, clubs and meetings. To check availability, contact www.PeelLawFirm.com.

Money

2011-03-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Money

There are a lot of myths of about money. The one most repeated is that “money is the root of all evil.” However, that is incorrect.

The verse actually says it is love of money that is the problem:

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:9-11 (NIV)

All evil comes from the heart, and not from inanimate objects made of paper or metal. Thus, money is neither moral nor immoral. It can be used for evil or for good. Much like guns, they do nothing on their own, but can be a tool used for an evil thing like murder or the noble defense of victims.

However, there are some facts about money that I found interesting:

-Pennies now contain 97.5 percent zinc and only 2.5 percent copper. However it costs more than penny to make them: it costs 1.8 cents to make a one-cent coin! (With thinking like that, it is no wonder our government is broke!)

-According to the U.S. national debt clock, we stand today at $14,200,727,372,615.35. The estimated population of the United States is 310,175,903, so each citizen's share of this debt is $45,782.82!

-The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $4.12 billion per day since September 28, 2007! To help visualize this, for just one day’s $4.12 billion you could buy a 2012 Ford Mustang for each of your 186,000 closest friends!

-Your odds of winning huge in the a Powerball are something like 1 in 120,526,770, which means you have a better chance of being in a car accident on the way to buy the ticket than to win!

-If you have a $3,000 credit card balance and you pay the minimums you will pay for over 10 years and almost double the repayment.

-A million is a thousand thousands. A billion is a thousand millions. A trillion is a thousand billions.

-How much does $1 million weigh? Since there are 490 notes in a pound, if you used $1 bills it would weigh a staggering 2,040.8 pounds, but if you used $100 bills it would weigh only 20.4 pounds.

-If you had 10 billion $1 notes and spent one every second of every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it would require 317 years for you to go broke.

-“Being well off” is usually defined as those that make about 20%-30% a year more than you. In other words, if you make $25,000 a year, the guy making $32,500 looks pretty well off. But the same is true for the one who makes a million and who looks at the neighbor making 1.3 million.

-Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV) summarizes this: “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

*Mr. Peel, a Christian Injury Lawyer, may be available to speak to your church or community group. He may be reached through www.PeelLawFirm.com. Other articles maybe found on his blog at www.DavidBPeel.blogspot.com

Med Mal filings down in TN, where's the crisis???

2011-03-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Civil Justice System Under Attack with False Propaganda

Groups Working to Increase Profits by Taking Away Tennesseans Constitutional Rights

Nashville— Tennessee’s civil justice system works by promoting responsible behavior and holding wrongdoers accountable for the harm they cause others. Groups have recently started using propaganda based on fictitious numbers to try and convince Tennesseans to give up their right to a trial by jury while giving big business and insurance companies more profits. Real facts, published by credible sources not one-sided “think tanks”, show Tennessee provides a great environment for business, large and small, while maintaining a system of civil justice that works for all of its citizens, rich and poor.

“Most of the information circulating recently regarding so-called “lawsuit abuse” has been spun to misrepresent the facts and mislead the public.” said TAJ President Phillip Miller. “The real facts, backed up by real sources, prove there is no “lawsuit” crisis in Tennessee. Blaming “the civil justice system” for job loss is just a smokescreen for the real intent of these groups – finding yet one more “bail-out” for business that everyone else will pay for.”

“The current civil justice system is the only system of checks and balances ordinary citizens can use to protect them and their rights. Unfortunately, people who are the biggest beneficiaries of the Constitution are working to take the Constitutional rights of others away so they can line their own pockets. That is a sad reality,” continued Miller.

Texas and Mississippi are often used as positive examples in the lawsuit propaganda. Facts illustrate “lawsuit reform” did not benefit either state. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mississippi’s unemployment rate is at an all time high, and they are also ranked 46th in the nation for business climate. Texas currently faces a $25 billion deficit, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, contains the nation’s highest rate of uninsured citizens – 24.5 percent.

Prior to the passage of “lawsuit reform” in Texas, 152 counties did not have a single obstetrician, four years later, the same number of counties still do not have an obstetrician. Rural counties do not have OB/GYN or other specialty doctors because there are not enough people and patients, not because of fictitious lawsuit abuse. However in Tennessee, medical malpractice filings have dropped 44 percent over the last 3 years and the premiums paid by doctors have dropped 23 percent.

“There are those that think false propaganda and phony statements will fool Tennesseans and scare them enough to give up their constitutional rights.” said Miller. “We are the Tennessee Association for Justice, and our members are sworn to uphold the Constitution. For us, that’s not an empty promise. Tennesseans deserve better than this. They are trusted in the ballot box, they can be trusted in the jury box as well.”

###

www.tnaj.org/TAJFACTS

Jill Hudson

Communications Director

o. 615.329.3000

c. 615.715.4494

LISTING OF TORT REFORM BILLS IN TENN (VOTE -3/23

2011-03-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

TORT REFORM BILLS IN TN THAT WILL RE-VICTIMIZE THOSE INJURED IN THE NAME OF JOBS--- "Come hurt our citizens-- it's cheaper here!!!"

(Contacts you can call are the end)

SB 0238
Kelsey
HB 0286
Dennis
Jobs Creation Lawsuit Reform Act. Defines "health care provider" and "health care liability action". Requires that compensation for reasonable attorney's fees, in the event an employment contract exists between the claimant and claimant's attorney, be awarded to the claimant's attorney in a health care liability action in an amount to be determined by the court with consideration to established limitations. Broadly captioned. (S: Kelsey; H: Dennis)

SB 0249
Johnson J.
HB 0183
Sargent
Tort Reform- Medical Malpractice & Products Liability. Creates the Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act which requires state agencies obtaining legal services to conduct an open bidding process for services, seek general assembly approval for contracts over $1,000,000, and prohibits legal fees exceeding $1,000 per hour. Creates the Asbestos Claims Priority Act which prohibits the filing of specific asbestosis related claims including nonmalignant conditions, asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma, and wrongful death unless specific and enumerated prima facie evidence is shown by medical report and filed within 120 days of filing the complaint. Restricts premises owner liability for asbestos exposure on their property, and limits jurisdiction of Tennessee courts over asbestos claims. Creates the Innocent Successor Asbestos-Related Liability Fairness Act. Sets a maximum amount of liability placed on corporations that have incurred or assumed asbestos related liability as a result of a merger or consolidation prior to January 1, 1972. Redefines and expands the definition and requirements of a products liability claim including what constitutes defective and unreasonably dangerous, the burden of proof, requisite knowledge of both the plaintiff and the defendant, actions or knowledge by the plaintiff that absolve a defendant of liability, seller versus manufacturer liability, and seller indemnity. Creates a rebuttable presumption that when a seller or manufacturer is in compliance with applicable federal law a product is not considered to be defective. Replaces the term "Medical malpractice" with "Health care liability action" which clarifies the cause of action as limited to any civil action against a health care provider alleging injury related to the provision or failure to provide health care. Requires, rather than permits, a plaintiff in a health care liability action to include a demand for a specific sum in their complaint and limits suits against attorneys for failure to collect the demanded amount. Requires that a plaintiff file a HIPPA- complaint medical authorization form with their petition in a health care liability action. Allows an award of $75,000 or more in a health care liability action be made in periodic payments per court order and by party request. Restricts the amount of fees an attorney can collect in a health care liability action when employment contract was based on a contingent fee from a maximum of thirty three and one third percent of the damage award to various percentages based on the recovery amount, starting with forty percent of the first $50,000. Requires, subject to judicial waiver, an expert witness to have been practicing in the same specialty as the defendant to testify to duty and breach in a health care liability action. Prohibits specific expressive conduct and offers to correct from being used as evidence of an admission of fault against health care providers in suits and other disciplinary proceedings concerning unexpected results from medical treatment. Limits the amount of bond or other security a health care provider must post when an appeal is pending to no more than $1,000,000. Clarifies that groups qualifying as medical or peer review committees that provide review for the professional conduct and competency of peers are not limited to those listed in the code. Places the maximum amount of noneconomic damages recoverable under a civil action at $250,000 per person, $500,000 per occurrence, or a specified number based on the amount of full-time employees the defendant employs and restricts the award of punitive damages for claims involving drugs and devices. Redefines economic damages to include provisions regarding expenses forgiven, discounted, or covered by private insurance. Requires the plaintiff to show an actual out- of -pocket loss to recover any damages and prove causation in a suit for unfair or deceptive acts or practices. (pp 40.) (S: Johnson J.; H: Sargent)

SB 0250
Johnson J.
HB 0182
Sargent
Changes to venue, damages, and certain civil actions. Specifies that venue in transitory civil actions may be in a county where a substantial act, omission, or event allegedly occurred, instead of where the action arose. Specifies that venue for corporations in transitory civil actions may be in a county where the principal place of business is located. Removes venue for corporations within counties where the corporation has an office or agency located. Requires that each joined plaintiff must independently establish venue. Requires courts to dismiss certain claims, instead of adjudicating under forum non conveniens. Requires courts to consider certain factors when considering to dismiss an action or transfer venue under forum non conveniens. Specifies that it is a Class A misdemeanor to prevent a juror from serving jury duty or to require a juror to use annual, vacation, or sick leave to respond to a summons. Alters joint and several liability on multiple tortfeasors. Caps noneconomic damages at 500,000 dollars in medical malpractice lawsuits. Alters product liability actions to require the plaintiff to prove certain additional evidence, allow the product seller to be indemnified by the manufacturer in certain situations. Caps noneconomic damages at 1,000,000 dollars on all civil actions. Prohibits property owners or occupants from liability regarding certain injuries to independent contractors occurring on the property. Specifies how and when punitive damages can be awarded in certain actions. Caps punitive damages in certain actions at an amount depending on the defendant's net worth. (15 pp.) (S: Johnson J.; H: Sargent)

SB 0360
Johnson J.
HB 0174
Casada
Medical malpractice resulting from emergency care. Establishes new requirements for medical malpractice actions in an emergency department of a hospital. Establishes the claimant has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, the gross negligence of the defendant. Requires the jury to be further instructed that injury alone does not raise a presumption of the defendant's gross negligence. (S: Johnson J.; H: Casada)

SB 0386
Kelsey
HB 0363
Dennis
Jobs Creation Lawsuit Reform Act. Enacts the "Jobs Creation Lawsuit Reform Act." Caps the reasonable attorney fees in medical liability/malpractice actions to 40 percent of the first 50,000 dollars in damages recovered, 33 and one-third percent of the next $50,000 in damages recovered, 25 percent of the next $500,000 in damages recovered, and 15 percent of any amount by which the recovery exceeds $600,000. (Broadly captioned.) (S: Kelsey; H: Dennis)

SB 0694
Faulk
HB 1157
Dennis
Death or adverse condition would have occurred anyway. Prohibits recovery in a medical malpractice case for negligent diagnosis or treatment that decreases a patient's chances of avoiding death or any other adverse medical condition where the death or other adverse medical condition would have occurred even if the defendant had not been negligent. Broadly captioned. (S: Faulk; H: Dennis)

SB 0696
Faulk
HB 1018
Lundberg
Punitive damages in civil actions. Declares as reasonable attorney's fees of up to one-third the amount of a punitive damages award. Requires that any award of punitive damages in a civil action be divided equally between the plaintiff and the state. Specifies that the state's portion may be applied as an offset against the amount of fees charged the state and that moneys beyond that will be deposited in a civil reparations trust fund, to provide grants to indigent civil litigation programs. Defers collection of punitive damages until all other judgments in a civil action are fully paid. Broadly captioned. (S: Faulk; H: Lundberg)

SB 0938
Kelsey
HB 1152
Dennis
Tort reform regarding punitives, noneconomic losses. Caps noneconomic losses at 250,000 dollars against each defendant or maximum of 500,000 dollars for each occurrence. Specifies that noneconomic losses do not include medical expenses, lost past or future wages or earnings capacity, other loss of income, funeral and burial expenses, economic value of services performed, or other similar actual monetary losses. Caps punitive damages at the greater of 250,000 dollars or twice the amount of compensatory damages, if the defendant employs more than 100 full-time employees. Caps punitive damages at the lesser of 250,000 dollars or twice the amount of compensatory damages, if the defendant employs 100 full-time employees or less. Specifies that such caps on punitive damages does not apply to certain actions. Specifies that each monetary figure will be adjusted at three-year intervals according to the Consumer Price Index rate. Specifies that such punitive damages caps do not apply to certain tort actions involving intentional or knowing mental states and when the defendant has been convicted of a felony that has one of the intentional or knowing mental states. Prohibits punitive damages in cases where the injury was caused by a drug or device that was approved by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or the Federal Public Health Service Act or was an over-the-counter drug marketed according to federal regulation and the drug meets other conditions. Places the burden on plaintiffs seeking to prove discrimination in employment or retaliatory discharge at various levels regarding certain issues throughout the trial process. (S: Kelsey; H: Dennis)

Senate Status: Referred to Senate Judiciary.
House Status: Introduced 2/17/2011

SB 1522
Norris
HB 2008
McCormick
Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011. Enacts the "Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011." Specifies new venue requirements for any civil suit against a company to no longer include any county in which the business has an agency or office. Reduces from $75,000,000 to $25,000,000 the maximum bond a civil litigant must post to appeal a final order and stay execution of the order while on appeal. Establishes a normal rule requiring bond equal to 125% of the judgment, excludes punitive damages from the calculation of the bond amount and provides for an appeal without the risk of bankruptcy. Clarifies that a civil plaintiff may recover for economic losses incurred but not for charges subject to discounts or forgiveness of such health care charges that would be discounted under a health care plan. Limits non-economic damages to $750,000 per injured plaintiff outside of the health care liability action context and $750,000 per occurrence in the health care liability action context. Provides limits for punitive damages at two times compensatory damages or $500,000 whichever is greater. Prevents punitive damages in products liability actions when the defendant complied with state and federal regulations. Limits liability of a seller of a product except in certain specific circumstances. Enables interlocutory appeal of orders granting or denying class certification and automatic stays. (Part of Administration Package) (13 pp.) (S: Norris; H: McCormick)

SB 1322
Johnson J.
HB 1848
Sexton
Study - impact of tort reform on anticompetitive activities. Creates an advisory council to study the potential impact of tort reform measures on anticompetitive activities engaged in by hospitals, insurance companies and health care professionals and whether or not such impact, if any, would increase or decrease the overall cost of healthcare in this state. (S: Johnson J.; H: Sexton)

SB 0639
Johnson J.
HB 0384
Marsh
Successful parties in civil actions entitled to full costs. Clarifies that successful parties to a civil action are entitled to full costs unless the law states otherwise. Abolishes the use of judicial discretion to adjudge costs or apportion the cost between litigants in a civil action. (S: Johnson J.; H: Marsh)

SB 0651
Campfield
HB 1156
Dennis
Apportioning litigation costs in certain suits. Removes judicial discretion to apportion costs based on equity and permits recovery of certain litigation costs by the successful party to certain civil actions. Broadly captioned. (S: Campfield; H: Dennis)

SB 1807
Johnson J.
HB 1861
Sargent
Frivolous appeals - awarding of fees. State Summary: As introduced, allows a reviewing court to award an appellee's attorneys' fees and related filing costs if the court determines that an appeal is frivolous or taken solely for delay. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 25 and Title 27. (S: Johnson J.; H: Sargent)

House Judiciary:

Officers:

Eric Watson (R) Cleveland – 201 WMB -615-741-7799 – rep.eric.watson@capitol.tn.gov

Jim Coley (R) Bartlett – 207 WMB - 615-741-8201 – rep.jim.coley@capitol.tn.gov

Vance Dennis (R) Savannah – 209 A WMB – 615-741-2190 – rep.vance.dennis@capitol.tn.gov

Members:

Eddie Bass (D) Prospect – 109 WMB – 615-741-1864 – rep.eddie.bass@capitol.tn.gov

Karen Camper (D) Memphis – 20 LP – 615-741-1898 – rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov

Linda Elam (R) Mt. Juliet – 212 WMB – 615-741-7462 – rep.linda.elam@capitol.tn.gov

Jeremy Faison (R) Cosby – 202 WMB – 615-741-6871 – rep.jeremy.faison@capitol.tn.gov

Jim Gotto (R) Nashville – 205 WMB – 615-741-6959 – rep.jim.gotto@capitol.tn.gov

Jon Lundburg (R) Bristol – 20 LP – 615-741-7623 – rep.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov

Debra Maggart (R) Hendersonville – 114 WMB – 615-741-3893 – rep.debra.maggart@capitol.tn.gov

Judd Matheny (R) Tullahoma – 15 LP – 615-741-7448 – rep.judd.matheny@capitol.tn.gov

Gary Moore (D) Joelton – 35 LP – 615-741-4317 – rep.gary.moore@capitol.tn.gov

Barrett Rich (R) Somerville - 117 WMB – 615-741-8690 – rep.barrett.rich@capitol.tn.gov

Janis Sontany (D) Nashville – 23 LP – 615-741-6862 – rep.janis.sontany@capitol.tn.gov

Mike Stewart (D) Nashville – 24 LP – 615-741-2184 – rep.mike.stewart@capitol.tn.gov

Rick Womick (R) Murfreesboro - 207 WMB – 615-741-2804 – rep.rick.womick@capitol.tn.gov

TORT REFORM WRONG FOR TENNESSEE

2011-02-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

TORT REFORM WRONG FOR TENNESSEE

Governor Haslam has announced a number of measures that intended to help grow much-needed jobs in Tennessee.

The need for more jobs in our state is something that Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Libertarians can all agree upon. However, there are many paths to accomplish that goal.

I do not believe that tort reform should be included for a number of reasons.

The tort reform that is being proposed is a “one size fits all” $750,000 cap on non-economic damages and a cap on punitive damages of two times compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater.

Some have questioned if the governor and majority leader Mark Norris of Collierville are trying to solve a problem that does not exist. After all, precious few cases go to trial in Tennessee, and verdicts are not approaching some never before seen record.

Conservative Fred Thompson has spoken out repeatedly on behalf of victims and the lawyers that represent them recently. He cites the tragic events involving a little 5-year-old girl, who went to a clinic in Tennessee for a simple, run in the mill tonsillectomy. But an incorrect dosage of medicine and a lack of oxygen caused her death. Reportedly, the medical records were then falsified altered in an attempt to cover it up and try to avoid responsibility.

Conservatives are inconsistent in this area. A backbone of the Republican Party is that less-government-is-better. However, any one size fits all approach that favors bureaucrats and regulations to regular folks on a jury should be an abomination to any conservative.

Haslam has touted these changes as creating a “more predictable legal environment for business development and job creation.”

Predictable? The very nature of the unpredictability of jury verdicts and punitive damages is part of what keeps us safe as consumers. Ford never knew a hard a fast amount that people burned alive in Pintos that exploded on impact, and still delayed recalling them back in the 70’s.

Thompson, for one, questions the job-creation claimed by tort reform on other grounds than just being speculative.

“Suppose you created five new jobs, but you had an egregious situation over here where somebody, because of recklessness and negligence, cost a child their eyesight,” he said. “And you put caps on that and said, ‘Oh, no, you can’t get what people used to get for that. It’s not worth as much anymore.’ That’s the trade-off we’re talking about. Even if you could prove jobs, how many jobs is it worth to treat somebody unfair?”

Will that be his legacy as a public servant? I agree that we all need jobs and I applaud Haslam’s attempts to do that. But, I really want Tennessee’s slogan to be something like:

“A Natural Place for Business.”

I am afraid it might, instead, become:

“Come hurt Tennesseans, their lives are cheaper here!”

WAL-MART WRONG FOR RIGHT REASONS

2011-02-20T05:17:00.000-08:00

WAL-MART IS WRONG FOR THE RIGHT REASONS

We all hear a lot about job losses in this economy. I have had many friends find themselves unemployed since the recession of 2008 set in. However, no one I know of has lost their job in what seems such an unfair way as four longtime employees of Wal-Mart in Utah recently.

Lori Poulsen was an “asset protection coordinator” who helps to curb shoplifting in Wal-Mart. Justin Richins and Shawn Ray were “asset protection associates” who apparently worked with Poulsen. According to the Salt Lake City's Deseret News, the fourth employee was actually an assistant manager named Gabriel Stewart who had been with Wal-Mart some 12 years.

Last month, some employees allegedly saw Trent Allen Longton take a net-book computer and hide under his shirt after removing the item from its package. He was confronted by Poulsen when he tired to leave the premises, and escorted him to a private office. At some point, the other three, Ray, Richins and Stewart, came in with them.

The suspect, Longton allegedly produced a handgun while inside the office, and ran toward the office door, which lead to the store area. He was blocked by Ray, Richins and Stewart, the suspect then allegedly grabbed Stewart and shoved the gun into his back. The workers all forcefully and disarmed Longton at this point. Later it was learned that Longton, is a convicted felon so it was illegal for him to even have a gun at all.

The heroic employees were praised by police who noted that the Wal-Mart employees acted in the "best interest and safety" of those around them.

Were these brave workers promoted? Were they given a month paid vacation? Were they given a key to the city for saving one another’s lives, and that of any customers nearby the office?

No. Not even close. They were all fired!

That Utah Wal-Mart store follows a policy that the national chain states on its website:

"Investigation and Detention of Shoplifters Policy: If during an approach or investigation, it becomes apparent that the suspect has a weapon or brandishes or threatens use of a weapon; all associates must disengage from the situation, withdraw to a safe position, and contact law enforcement," reads a copy of the policy available online. "If at any point the suspect or any other involved person becomes violent, disengage from the confrontation, withdraw to a safe position and contact law enforcement."

Oddly, the next paragraph instructs employees to "put people first," stating that protecting the physical well-being of "suspects, customers and Wal-Mart associates is your first priority."

Speaking with the Deseret News recently, the loyal employees said they had nowhere to go and were forced to subdue the suspect when he charged them. They also said they were not comfortable allowing an armed man into the store area where shoppers could be at risk.

Amen.

Stewart, told the newspaper he is still trying to understand the company's decision, and that, "I honestly felt worse than when I had the gun to my back," he said. "I honestly felt betrayed."

The betrayals continue. James Dallin, a 10-year assistant manager of Wal-Mart, was fired separating one of his co-employees from her allegedly abusive husband, also in Utah.

"Flung her, right away, verbally started abusing her," Dallin said in news reports. The man grabbed the woman hard by the arm and berated her as he escorted her down an aisle. Minutes later, the man still had a firm grip on his co-worker's arm and was continuing to verbally abuse her when Dallin said he pushed the man into a shelf and told him to leave, then escorted him out of the store. The man complained, and six weeks later, Dallin was fired for violating Wal-Mart's policy on "workplace violence."

Really. As a lawyer that deals with injuries, I understand why Wal-Mart does not want cowboy–like reactions by young employees who have watched too many superhero movies. They can make a bad situation a tragedy.

So, Wal-Mart likely needs this policy. However, it should be enforced on a case-by-case basis.

The first case occurred in a closed office, with nowhere to “withdraw” to. Besides, no one is faster than a bullet. And, if “people are put first” as they claim, the shoppers outside that office were certainly honored by not being drawn into a hostage crisis.

The second case reportedly went on for a while and did not escalate. Shoppers there were protected and the guy left the store. Should the angry husband have decided to kill her after brandishing a deadly weapon, the policy would seem to indicate Dallin should withdraw and let it happen.

Wal-Mart is wrong, for all the right reasons.

Finally, I suspect that the family of the slain 5-year-old little girl and the family of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford might have wished a Safeway employee would have been able to be as heroic as these workers, and could have stopped that violence.

Mr. Peel, a local Injury Attorney, may be available to speak at no cost to your club or church event. More articles maybe accessed at www.PeelLawFirm.com, or the “Christian Injury Attorney” blog at DavidBPeel.blogspot.com

2011-01-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

"Amish Grace- A story of Forgiveness"

A typical Amish one-room schoolhouse,

I photographed traveling through Amish country in Ohio.

“Amish Grace”

Forgiveness in the Face of Utter Evil

Our family was greatly challenged by the video version of the Lifetime movie “Amish Grace.” It depicts the unexpected reaction of the Amish people to an incident that seems to me to be the very personification of evil itself.

On October 2, 2006, a gunman carried out a well-planned shooting at the one-room West Nickel Mines Schoolhouse, in an Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Charles Carl Roberts IV set the boys free and barricaded the door. He kept young girls hostage, bound them and lined them up. One set of sisters volunteered to be shot first, to help save the others and buy time. He shot ten girls execution style, in the back of the head. He then took his own life. Five of the youngsters died.

The disturbed shooter had left suicide notes for each child and for his wife. The one to his spouse laments the loss of a premature daughter years earlier:

"I don't know how you put up with me all those years. I am not worthy of you; you are the perfect wife you deserve so much better. We had so many good memories together as well as the tragedy with Elise. It changed my life forever I haven't been the same since it affected me in a way I never felt possible. I am filled with so much hate, hate toward myself hate towards God and unimaginable emptiness it seems like every time we do something fun I think about how Elise wasn't here to share it with us and I go right back to anger."

The response of the Amish community differed greatly from the reaction of most communities scarred by school shootings. The movie, through some fictional composite characters, tells the story.

On the very day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard saying, "We must not think evil of this man." It is said one Amish father explained that, “[the gunman] had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he's standing before a just God." Amish neighbors reportedly comforted the Roberts family and extended forgiveness to them just hours after the mass murder.

In time, the Amish visited Roberts' widow, parents and even his extended family. It is reported that the gunman’s own father cried on the shoulder of an Amish man for an hour. The Amish even raised money in charitable fund for the family of the Roberts. Astonishingly, dozens of Amish community attended the gunman’s funeral. The widow of the shooter, Marie Roberts, attended a funeral of one of the victims as well.

Following the tragedy, Marie Roberts wrote an open letter to the Amish stating:

“Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you've given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you."

The week following the shooting, the one-room schoolhouse was torn down, leaving only a pasture. Six months later, The New Hope School, intentionally built as "different" as possible from the original, was opened nearby.

The extreme forgiveness the Amish so promptly and completely gave has been, at best, difficult to comprehend. For others, it has actually been offensive. They have argued that forgiveness should only occur when remorse has been expressed. Some critics allege they are denying the evilness of the act with their forgiveness.

However, a story told to the children in the movie, prior to the shootings, may provide more Amish context for their forgiving actions. The story was about Dirk Willems. In 1569, he was able to make his escape from those who sought to take his life for teaching Anabaptist doctrines in violation of Roman Catholic orders. When a pursuer fell through the ice, however, he was recaptured upon turning back to save the life of his pursuer. They burned him at the stake. Today, he is one of the most celebrated martyrs among the Mennonites, the Brethren, and the Amish, all offshoots of the original Anabaptists.

What about us? Are there limits to our forgiveness? If you are like me, there truly are limits—clearly exceeded by these actions.

However, Scripture teaches us that Jesus’ forgiveness has no limitations. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:47(NIV).

The Lord’s forgiveness shocked the people of Jesus’ day, much like the forgiveness of he Amish might surprise us today. Indeed, I fear our natural lack of forgiveness stems from a lack of love. That shows just how far we have fallen from being made in the image of the One True God, Who is—after all--Love.

“Gun Control” is Misnamed Try: “Disarm the Victims”

2011-01-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

“Gun Control” is Misnamed

Try: “Disarm the Victims”

Every time there is an insane person who shoots innocents, as in Tucson, we are all shocked and saddened. No one wants these acts to continue. People want to do something.

However, you know what they say about good intentions.

With the best of purposes, many misguided leaders have called for stiffer gun control in the wake of the shootings. This occurs each and every time there is newsworthy gun violence. They seldom decry the way the mentally ill are shuffled through the system, and multiple warning signs are ignored. But they often fixate on the instruments of the violence: the guns.

First off, let’s be clear that guns are not good or evil. They are inanimate objects. Contrary to some uninformed souls’ opinions, they never go off by themselves. Like money, they can be used for good or for evil. If an evil wife pays a hit man $5,000.00 to have her husband murdered, no one suggests we ban money. Money, guns, matches and automobiles are all items that can be used for good or evil.

Secondly, it is already illegal for people to use guns for illegal purposes. If the criminals were going to follow the laws, gun violence would not exist anyway. Additional laws further restricting firearms only serve to disarm law-abiding citizens. They are the ones that follow the laws to begin with. My understanding is that criminals, when asked, prefer unarmed victims.

Thirdly, the problem is not too many guns. One could argue that there are too few. How would that shooting have changed if several of the heroic victims had been armed? You know, common sense is about as rare now as fiscal conservatism in government. But, how many times have you heard of a police station being robbed? A donut shop? A hunting camp? A shooting range? What do these have in common? Trained, lawful citizens wearing guns at the ready. That is also why we have armed air marshals flying randomly on our flights, and armed security at many banks.

Oddly, Arizona has liberal gun laws, consistent with the Second Amendment. Many could have been carrying legally that day. Who would have thought that it would bee needed for an event hosted by a grocery store? If we have learned anything by Tucson, let us agree that more trained citizens wearing guns would have actually saved lives. As established, it deters violence on the whole. Further, the guns don’t cause crime anymore than matches cause arson.

If you do not wish to carry, that is fine. Don’t take the illogical position that the government should disarm all victims! If, God forbid, a criminal is ever holding you or your child hostage with a knife at the throat, I suspect you would want the police to come with more than mace and a nightstick to deal with him.

Mr. Peel may be available to address your church or community group. Contact his office through www.PeelLawFirm.com

2011-01-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

Locally Shot Movie Truly Moving

“The Grace Card”

I had the opportunity to attend a private preview of a Memphis movie that does not come out in theaters till February 25, 2011.

It is called THE GRACE CARD. It is the very first movie from Graceworks Pictures located right here in Shelby County. Graceworks is the vision of Memphis optometrist Dr. David Evans, who directed and also served as the executive producer of THE GRACE CARD. Calvary Pictures is a ministry of Calvary, a Church of the Nazarene, led by Pastor Lynn Holmes in Cordova.

The church-based moviemaking ministry that spawned Fireproof inspired Memphis' own Calvary Church to make this movie.

It is about two Memphis policemen who have very different backgrounds and beliefs. And they have one other difference—the color of their skin.

Set in present day Memphis, we first see a Caucasian father endure the tragedy of losing a child senselessly. It is clear, as we fast-forward about 17 years; this event shaped him almost exclusively. He is now a Memphis cop that reminded me a lot of the type of cop that the O.J. Simpson defense team made Mark Fuhrman out to be. Angry. Racist. Distant. Bitter.

Then, thanks to a supervisor (played by Shelby County Commissioner, Chris Thomas) this atheistic racist cop is paired with--of all people—an African American part time preacher.

While award-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. maybe the only face or name you will recognize in this moving drama, the acting by amateurs is still superb.

There is a transparency in the way the home life of these two men is portrayed that seems so real. It is like you are a fly on the wall of their homes. Troubles with a rebellious teen, struggles with money and the pressure of career plans all are laid bare, with a ring of truth. While the movie earned a PG-13 rating due to its police action, I still believe it to be a family movie suitable for kids several years younger.

But forgiveness and grace are not normal Hollywood commodities. The movies will not have a large release, but neither did similar movies like Facing the Giants and Fireproof. If you want to see if it is near you, see the website at www.TheGraceCardMovie.com.

If you don't see your town on the list, contact actionsquads@providentfilms.org to help bring the theater to your town.

Grace is not easy and it is not cheap, though desired by us all. Living here in Shelby County, we know how often the so-called “race card” is played…What about playing a “Grace Card?”

You won’t regret it.

Noteworthy Email on Nursing Homes

2011-01-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

Received this the other day and want to share:

Here's the way it really should be:

Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes.

This would correct two things in one motion:

Seniors in jail would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.

They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical

Treatment, wheel chairs, etc.

They would receive money instead of having to pay it out.

They would have constant video montering, so they would be helped

instantly... If they fell or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed

and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes.

All meals and snacks would be brought to them.

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual

counseling, a pool and education...and free admission to in-house

concerts by nationally recognized entertainment artists.

Simple clothing - I.e.. Shoes, slippers, pj's - and legal aid would be

free, upon request.

There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor

exercise yard complete with gardens.

Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no

cost.

They would receive daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU

would fight for their rights and protection.

The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with

attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their

families from abuse or neglect.

As for the criminals in the nursing homes:

They would receive cold food.

They would be left alone and unsupervised.

They would receive showers once a week.

They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000

per month.

They would have no hope of ever getting out.

"Sounds like justice to me!"

Law School in Just Five Minutes!

2011-01-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

Dave’s Five Minute Law School

If you are from my generation, or before, you are officially old enough to remember when Saturday Night Live was actually funny. Names come to mind like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris. There is one other character that comes to mind: Father Guido Sarducci. Comedian Don Novello played the unlikely chain-smoking priest with tinted eyeglasses, who always had a different take on things.

Father Sarducci’s most famous skit was the “Five Minute University.” As I recall, a study had come out back then and concluded that a four year degree, some five years following graduation, only results in the memory of about five minutes of information. He reasoned then, that he could just open a “Five Minute University.” It would only cost $20.00.

The Five Minute College curriculum was simple:

Spanish: “Como esta Usted. ““Muy bien.” (“How are you? ““Very good.”)

Theology: “God is everywhere.”

Business: “Buy it cheap, sell it for more.”

Spring Break: Sun lamp for 20 second and a glass of orange juice.

Economics: “Supply and demand.”

This famous skit (preserved for us all on YouTube.com) ends with the joke that he might open a Law School next door. “You got another minute?” he asks playfully.

So, carrying the torch, I will attempt to pick up where he left off:

Dave’s Five Minute Law School

Orientation: “Look at the persons to your right and left…one of you three will not be here at graduation.” (Yes, they really say that).

Contracts: “Offer + acceptance + consideration = a Contract.”

Torts: “A hurts B, B wants money. B must prove A’s breach of reasonable care was the proximate cause of B’s injuries.”

(It is desirable that A has a large insurance policy).

Civil Procedure: “’Jurisdiction’ tells what type of court hears what case, and ‘venue’ tells which one of those courthouses to pick.”

Criminal Law: “A Latin phrase ‘mens rea’ = ‘guilty mind.’ Most crimes require the act (‘actus reus’) be done intentionally, or at least knowingly.”

Property Law: “The best way to own property is outright, and that is called a ‘Fee Simple Absolute.’”

Constitutional Law: “The Supreme Court determines what is constitutional. Most people think they are right about half the time. Most people disagree on what half.”

Commercial Paper: “Yes, even if the sectional couch falls apart, you still have to pay the ‘Holder in Due Course’ all the monthly notes because the Furniture Store sold them your finance contract when you did that great ‘No payments for 12 months deal.’”

Decedents’ Estates: (Also known as “Gifts & Stiffs.”) There is something called the ‘Rule Against Perpetuities.’ Don’t violate it! Also, for the love of all that is good and Holy, get a Will done!” (Everyone dies.)

Ethics: “Avoid even the appearance of impropriety.”

Tax: “Pay your taxes.” (Hire a good CPA so you don’t screw it up.)

Environmental Law: “If your clients dump acid in a river, he gets fined, and sued in tort.”

Employment Law: “Make your clients have a good, non-discriminatory reason to fire their employees and make sure they document their file before termination.”

Business Law: “Bow when you meet your Chinese clients.”

Evidence: “Object when anything hurts you at trial, decrying it as ‘hearsay.’ Your fellow law school graduate can’t remember all 18 exceptions to that rule either.”

Family Law: “Either don’t get married, or don’t ever get divorced. Custody of children is to be determined by the so-called ’best interest of the child.’ Of course, the best interest of the child is actually served by being raised securely with mature, loving and selfless Mommies and Daddies who do not get drunk and have affairs, but this phenomenon provides no fodder for divorce lawyers.”

Congratulations on your graduation! Now, if Father Guido Sarducci was to summarize all we can now recall from grades 1-12, I fear it may not even equate to a Five Minute University. It may be a Drive Thru University.

Hey, now there's an idea!

___________________________

See more of Mr. Peel’s articles on DavidBPeel.blogspot.com. Mr. Peel may be available to speak to your church or club. Contact PeelLawFirm.com.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

2010-12-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Resolutions

This is the time of year when many will make those promises to themselves, we call “New Year’s Resolutions.”

Here are a few suggested ones, on both the legal and personal fronts that may prove helpful:

1. Spend more time with a child. Children spell “LOVE” as T-I-M-E.

2. Spend less than you make, or you will always be behind. If you are in debt, rather than pay a little extra on everything, try targeting one at a time with all you can raise.

3. Have your Will, Living Will, and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare drawn up by an attorney of your choice.

4. Forgive those who have wronged you. It may not be healthy or safe to actually restore them back into your life, but forgiving them is a gift you give yourself.

5. Get a physical and listen to what your doctor recommends. If you smoke, please quit. Start walking regularly, preferably with your spouse.

6. Just in case there is a fire, earthquake or flood, take a video tape of the inside of your house, garage and attic, and send the tape off to a friend or relative far away. If you have an insurance claim, the proof of claim forms will be a breeze compared to doing it by memory alone.

7. Give to the church or charity of your choice. “Takers eat well, givers sleep well.”

8. Call up a friend, coach, pastor or teacher you have not seen a in while.

9. Check with your car insurance agent and make absolutely sure that you have plenty of Uninsured Motorist (UM) insurance on every car. Don’t assume that “full coverage”includes that if you are with a discounted insurance company. Also, a car lot that carries insurance on your vehicle does not generally pay for that. Please check it. It pays you if you are hit by a hit and run driver, or an under insured driver.

10. Attend the church of your choice this year. Examine the evidence for God and His Son, for one day, maybe this very year, you will meet Him.

11. Install at least two smoke detectors, and put new batteries in any you have.

12. If you are married, tell your spouse how you feel about them every day.

13. If you are in a parental role, tell the children you are proud of them. All kids need Attention, Affection and Affirmation every day.

14. If you have choice this year between upgrading to a nicer car or getting a nicer house, choose the house.

15. Work hard, but take time off when you can. After all, no one on his death bed, ever rose up to say that he wished he had spent just a little more time at work!

Happy New Year!

LAW SCHOOL NO LONGER GUARANTEE OF JOB

2010-12-16T11:59:00.000-08:00

LAW SCHOOL NO LONGER

GUARANTEE OF JOB

Back in the early 1990’s, when I attended law school, most students were pretty confident that they would land jobs upon graduation. The placement rate of over 90% back then, seemed to at least guarantee an income, if not a dream job.

I have been blessed in many ways, and have run my own plaintiff injury firm for over a decade now. However, I was surprised to learn that the National Association for Law Placement reported the 2009 placement rate to remain at an astounding 88.3%. I am surprised it is that high, and I was quite skeptical of that number.

In fact, that number turned out to be misleading. More than 30% of the 88.3% employed are actually working either temporary or part time jobs. There is no telling how many of the others may be considered “under employment.”

There are several trends that make jobs much more scarce for the new lawyer out there today.

First of all, I have watched one insurance company after another take their lawyers “in house.” This term means that they hire attorneys on salary to handle most matters. While larger or more complex litigation may be “jobbed out” to a traditional defense firm, much of that work dries up. These larger firms are the very ones who often hired interns during the summer and even had hiring tables set up in the lobby of the law schools. No more.

There is also the role of mediation. While I am a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator by the Tennessee Supreme Court, I also recognize that the reduction it provides in litigation hurts defense lawyers out there.

Thirdly, so-called “tort reform” measures threaten both plaintiff lawyers and defense firms. Caps on judgments and various restrictions lessens risks to wrong doers who use larger firms.

Both political parties in Washington, D.C are constantly tossing around tax policy like the proverbial hot potato. Smaller law firms declare all income as personal, and therefore may find themselves in higher tax brackets. It is these small businesses that provide many jobs for paralegals, receptionists, assistants and lawyers. Without clarity of what the tax burden will be, many smaller firms are unwilling to hire more staff.

The law schools are still churning out 100’s of newly minted J.D.’s each year. Many have costly student loans to repay. Some who will graduate in the next couple years actually only went back to school to “wait out” the recession. Thus, there will be a further surge of hungry souls out here ready to travel to exciting cities, meet interesting people, and sue them.

Finally, the advent of television advertising has greatly increased competition for plaintiffs’ injury cases of all kinds. This can decrease margins for struggling firms and restrict hiring even further.

In general, unless you are called to practice, do not consider law school. Academically, financially and socially, law school is quite a challenge. And, with no assurance that you will even get a job interview, it is even less attractive.

Tort Reform: liberal or conservative??

2010-12-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Is tort reform liberal or conservative??

As a conservative tort lawyer I am always accused of being liberal by

conservatives and vice versa. Liberals think I'm conservative due to my

social stances as a christian. They are right. But what about conservatives

who call me liberal? Well they are not right. Why? Because tort reform is

not truly a conservative issue.

Tort reform takes power away from the individual and gives it to the

government. That is clearly not conservative. Empowerment of the

individual and allowing market forces to shape policy argues strongly

against tort reform.

Tort reform hurts people who did nothing wrong. While conservatives might

be criticized for being pro life we also tend to be for capital punishment.

It is the taking of innocent lives that we object to. On what grounds is

that consistent with further punishing a victim??

Not only does tort reform hurt those who already got hurt, it actually

protects the hurter. Assume a doctor who is rushed as cuts off the wrong

leg.

That happened not long ago. Who should say what that is worth? Is it

worth more if it is an 8 year old?

jurors who see the evidence, are in a much better position to decide an

individual case than buerocrats in government.

I think that the court system allows the davids of the world to take on the

goliaths.

One reason airlines, cars and hospitals are generally safer is due to your

access to court

More specifically it is the potential unlimited award that protects you.

Never get Fooled into thinking that tort reforms protects

Anyone other than those who hurt you.

David B. Peel

PeelLawFirm.com

tort reform song

2010-12-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

this is a funny song reminding us about the realities of tort reform

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13434054/309457034/name/thedaythelawsuitsdied%2Ewma

Ufos seen by evolutionists

2010-10-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

UFOs & Evolution

The alleged presence of little green men from outer space and the distinguished scientists who espouse molecules to man evolution seem to have nothing at common at first glance.

However, for those of you who have watched the movie "expelled: no intelligence allowed" starring Ben stein, the relationship is clear. FamousHarvard evolution apologist Richard Dawkins, actually proposed that the human race was seeded by aliens.

This is not the first time UFOs have been identified with evolution. In fact, there is still a giant satellite dish scanning the heavens listening for any pattern of transmission from the cosmos. It is called SETI, which stands for the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.

For years now, scientists have monitored space static looking for anything unusual. Anything remotely resembling a pattern or code gets instant attention. However, nothing but static has ever been heard and no E.T. ever seems to phone us.

However, just imagine if late one evening, the following message was received by SETI:

"Dear Earthlings,

We have been monitoring your planet for years now. We have devised how to speak your language and beam it to you. We live on planet Dawkinopia, billions of light years away. We just wanted you to know you are not alone.

Sincerely,

Little Green Dawkinians "

Pandemonium would ensue! Every news channel would cover it. So-callled experts would comment on what that means to humans on earth, and to our scientific and religious institutions.

However, would anyone dare ask if their transmission from space was just random gibberish that just happened to sound like words? That, given billions of years of constant static beaming randomly, eventually something resembling a "message" with a salutation, punctuation, proper spelling, syntax and logical sequencing would just one day occur by accident.

No one would do that! Clearly the message is too complicated to have just occurred randomly, regardless of time for unlimited attempts.

However, that is what evolution does. It says over billions of years of random mindless attempts, DNA would be coded so that:

A horned lizard can shoot blood three feet out it's eyes for defense;

A baby kangaroo is the size of a coffee bean at birth and is raised in a pouch;

A porcupine has thousands of sharp quills while a peacock unfolds a gorgeous display of delicate feathers;

A camel can go weeks in the desert without water;

A sea cucumber discharges it's insides to protect itself and then grows a new stomach;

A bombardier beetle has two chemicals that mix just right to blow out burning chemicals for defense;

And a human laughs, cries, writes and can appreciate art, music and logical arguments.

Random? No.

Richard Dawkins is right about one thing; an intelligence from the heavens did place man here. And even made an extra terrestrial visit... He is known as God and His Son changed my life.

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See more of Mr. Peel’s articles onDavidBPeel.blogspot.com. Mr. Peel may be available to speak to your church or club. ContactPeelLawFirm.com.

The Lost Art of Sportsmanship

2010-09-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

Bad Examples for Millington Youth

Recently, I was informed that some youth sports officials would no longer accept assignments in Millington. Why?

Bad sportsmanship. Not on the players’ part. It’s the parents!

I was told that police have even been called to two recent Millington matches to separate parents of elementary-aged children. Really?

If the parents cannot or will not teach respect for authority and that winning is not everything, who will? So, for parents who do wish to teach their children the better (and biblical) way, I have compiled three examples. Discuss these with your children at your evening meal:

London Soccer: Leicester was losing 1-0 at half time. One of their players collapsed in the dressing room. Fearing that his life was in danger, the game was called off and the decision made to replay it three weeks later. At the kick-off of the replay the entire Leicester team stood to one side to allow the other team to restore their lead that they had had in the previous game. Leicester did however go on the win the game, and earned the respect of both sets of fans.

World Soccer: In 2000, Paolo di Canio displayed a moment of sportsmanship that was in contrast to other incidents during his career. He found himself in front of an open goal. But, instead of tapping in to score the winning point, di Canio caught the ball and signaled that an opponent was on the ground in writhing pain and needed urgent attention. This act earned him a standing ovation from supporters.

American Women’s Softball: The Western Oregon softball team’s Sara Tucholsky slammed what appeared to be a three-run homer over the centerfield fence, the senior's first in either high school or college. But Tucholsky wrenched her knee severely at first base and collapsed. Umpires ruled that a pinch-runner could replace Tucholsky and run the bases, but the rules said she would be credited with a single and only two runs would count. So, after being assured there was no rule against it, opponent Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace carried Tucholsky around the bases, allowing her to touch her good leg to each bases, completing her homer and adding a run to a 4-2 loss that eliminated the Wildcats from postseason.

It cost them the season, but no one regrets it. What do you think?

You Do Not Have, For You Do Not Ask

2010-09-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

You Do Not Have, For You Do Not Ask

In a legal case involving a work-related injury, I had a letter from the other attorney stating the “maximum” that they would ever pay. The only way that would be increased is in the unlikely event that one of the two treating doctors changed their final rating.

Again, it is rare for a workers compensation doctor to change his rating, but asked both of them asked anyway. One of them did not change it, but the other did. The increased rating led to a settlement well in excess of the “maximum” that was named earlier.

How often would people work with us if we kindly but firmly asked for what we would like? The Bible reminds us “we have not for we ask not.”

This principle also applies to our marriages and other relationships.

In the church or workplace, how many times are we doing things just because “They have always been done that way.”

For instance, what a husband and a wife each feel is “romantic” virtually never match up. That is why it is so important to let your spouse know what you need and not have them just guess.

The best illustration is an old story about a couple coming home late from their 50th anniversary party. Fifty years of raising kids, keeping house and making snacks. He offers to make sandwiches. He lovingly gives her the one made with the heelpiece from the end of the loaf.

She explodes, “For fifty long years you have given me the heel piece of bread and I am just sick of it!”

He looks saddened, and softly says, “But that has always been my favorite piece.”

Communicate, and never give up! We have not for we ask not.

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See more of Mr. Peel’s articles on DavidBPeel.blogspot.com. Mr. Peel may be available to speak to your church or club. Contact PeelLawFirm.com.