LAWYER'S RESEARCH STUMBLES ONTO LITTLE KNOWN NAME ORGINS

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

As an injury lawyer, legal research is common. However, even many non-legal issues, like genealogy (family trees and origins), fascinate me. The origin of how many of us got our last names is quite interesting. Many American names descended to us from ancestors in the “Old World” of Europe. Even in the Bible one can see the need for them:  Saul, “of Tarsus;” Mary “Magdalene” (from Magdala); James and John, “Sons of Zebedee;” and Matthew, “The Tax Collector.”
The Norman conquest of England in 1066 brought last names into more common usage throughout Europe. There are several sources of names. See if you know someone with each type:

“TOPONYMIC:” BASED ON PLACES OR FEATURES:
A last name often derived from where a person was from, lived or where he owned land.
Ackerman (from “acre”), Atwood (“at the wood”), Banks, Beaumont (French for “beautiful hill”), Beck or Brooks (“stream”), Bolton (“house settlement”), Bridges, Bush, Camp, Douglas (“dark river”), Dunlap/Dunlop (a muddy hill), Fields, Ford (“river crossing”), Forest, Garfield (“triangle field”), Glenwood, Gordon (“spacious fort”), Greenwood, Grove, Hamilton (“crooked hill”), Hartford, Hill, Knolls, Lake, Lane, Lee (“clearing”), Milton, (“mill town”), Moore (from moor “open area”), Norton (“north town”), Perry (“where pears grow”), Ramsey (“garlic island”), Riley (“rye-clearing”), Stone, Stroud (“overgrown thicket”), Timberlake, Underhill, Whitfield and Wood.

OCCUPATIONAL:
Many last names are obviously from jobs like a Smith, but some might surprise you:
Archer, Baker, Barker (“tanner”), Bailey (“porter”), Brewer, Butcher, Carpenter or Joiner (“wood-worker”), Carter (“transport cart”), Carver, Conner (“inspector”), Cooper (“barrel maker”), Cook, Dexter or Dye (“cloth dyer”), Farmer, Faulkner or Fowler (“falconer”), Ferrari (“metal worker”), Fisher, Fletcher (“arrow maker”), Foster (“forester”), Gardener, Glover, Hunter, Judge, Knight, Leach (“doctor”- often used leaches), Mason, Miller, Page, Parker (“park keeper”), Potter, Reeves (“sheriff”), Sawyer (“wood-cutter”), Shoemaker, Smith, Stewart or Ward (“guard”), Tanner or Gerber (“tans hides”), Taylor or Snider (“tailor”), Thatcher, Tucker (“folds clothes”), Turner (“turned wooden legs with a lathe”), Tyler (“tiled floors”), Weaver or Webb (“weaver”), and Wright or Wainwright (“wagon wheel maker”).

ANCESTORS AND NICKNAMES:
Adamson, Davidson (“the son of David”), Dawson, Dickson, Evans, Fitzgerald (“Fitz” is “of”) Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Hobson, Jackson, Jones (Welsh for John), Madison, MacDonald, Marriott (“from Mary”), Nicholson, O’Malley (“O’” is “of”), Richardson, Robinson, Rogers, Simpson, Stephenson, Thompson, Watson, Williamson and Wilson. Nicknames or descriptions include: Little, Strong, Black, Young, White, Strong or Swift.

The best has to be Falwell, or Fallowell.  Yes, someone, long, long ago, “Fell in the well!”

LAWYER GET SCAMMED

LAWYER CLICKS AWAY $289,000
As an injury lawyer, I hear about newsworthy stories involving lawyers from all over the country. A San Diego attorney reportedly simply clicked on an email attachment, and days later his entire bank account was swiped clean.  To add insult to injury, apparently, the bank will not cover the loss.
Apparently, the lawyer got an email appearing to be from usps.gov. Understandably, he thought it was from the United States Postal Service. He clicked the attachment as requested.
Like many people do nowadays, he banked online. Reports indicate he tried to log onto his law firm’s bank account later that day, apparently on that same computer. It did not work correctly, and he received a call from a person claiming to be with the bank. The alleged bank employee appeared to try to help him, but actually took him through a series of steps over the next several days that caused the entire balance of almost $300,000 to be transferred to a Chinese bank account. Apparently, the attachment he clicked on recorded his keystrokes.
But, that lawyer had nothing on one Iowa lawyer.
While representing a suspect in a criminal case in 2011, the lawyer was presented with documents saying that upon payment of $177,660 in taxes owed on an inheritance in Nigeria, the sum of $18,800,000 would be released to the suspect. In consideration for a fee equal to ten percent of the funds recovered, the lawyer agreed to represent him in the Nigerian transaction. Amazing.
But then, he got other clients of his to loan money to the suspect for purposes of securing the Nigerian inheritance by buying trumped up stuff like an “anti-terrorism certificate.”
When the fictional Nigerian inheritance never came, the attorney was out legal fees and, more importantly, all those loans made by his various clients never got repaid. The victims were hurt twice.
Then the ethical charges hit. He was suspended for a year. However, he was not found to have been fraudulent. In fact, the Board seemed to be amused as they wrote that he “…appears to have honestly believed — and continues to believe — that one day a trunk full of . . . one hundred dollar bills is going to appear upon his office doorstep,” the Board asserted before the commission that his conduct might aptly be described as delusional, but not fraudulent.
Be careful what you click!

DON’T FALL FOR THE NEWEST SCAM


There is a new e-mail scam making the rounds, and it does not say that it comes from Nigeria this time. Be sure to share with those who might get confused so that they do not fall for it.

I just received mine via e-mail:

Dear Peel,

I am Barr.Bob Kokou, My late client Mr. Robert Peel, who died as a result of the 11th September 2001 WTC terrorist attack has an unclaim safe-deposit (US$10,5 million)in a Finance Security Company,whom i believe is your relative having beared the same surname.. Contact me with my private email (***) immediately for more details Thanks and God bless.
Regards,
Attorney Bob Kokou.(Esq)

If this sounds too good to be true, it is because it is.  It is clearly a scam. Here are some things I noticed immediately:

1. It was a personal, rather than a business, e-mail.
2. It was sent to multiple undisclosed recipients, and by only last name.
3. It asked to a reply to different email address than the sender.
4. It had no other contact information that could be corroborated like an office phone or address.
5. He refers to himself a “barrister” which is a foreign word for lawyer.
6. The spelling, verb tense and coding of numbers is wrong.
7. No Robert Peel died in 9/11. Those lists are easy to locate.
8. His name is the name of a false god. From, where else, but Nigeria?!? According to the folks at Wikipedia, “In the Yoruba religion of Benin, a Kokou is one of the most highly feared warrior under-gods, and it is the most violent and powerful of the Yoruba spirits and the voodoo rituals surrounding it involves its followers to fall into a deep trance with rapidly beating drums. Once possessed by the spirit, the body in which the Kokou inhabits may remain in a trance all day and in due course demonstrate a thirst for blood with glass bottles and knives, swallow sharp objects or repeatedly beat its head against the wall until it bleeds profusely, revealing a high tolerance to pain.”

I know you are thinking that this is so clearly a scam at first blush that no one will fall for it. Believe me, these things work or they would not go to the trouble.

NEED AN UMBRELLA?


Even if it’s not raining, you may need an umbrella. “Umbrella insurance,” that is. As an injury attorney who sees terrible accidents and tragedies every single week, I commend to you the idea of umbrella insurance.

Umbrella insurance is basically additional liability insurance. It is designed to help protect you and yours from major claims or lawsuits. Having $1,000,000.00 to pay out if you cause a huge loss protects your assets.

This unique kind of insurance provides additional liability coverage above the limits of your homeowners, auto, boat, ATV, and farm insurance policies. It affords more liability coverage on any rental units you may own. It kicks in when the liability limits on these other policies has been exhausted. Umbrella coverage also covers the odder claims that may be excluded by other liability policies including: false arrest, libel and slander.
Examples might include:

• Injuries to other parties due to a serious car accident where you are at fault, like rear-ending a full school bus.
• You show a gun to a guest and it goes off, causing them to lose their foot.
• Injuries sustained by a guest in your home due to a fall in that hole your son dug.
• Harm caused to the postal worker as a result of your dog attacking him.
• Damage claims incurred when your pet rips a friend's priceless oriental rug to shreds.
• Injuries sustained by a neighbor's child who fell off your trampoline.
• A child is found dead in your swimming pool.
• Someone trips over a crack in the sidewalk of your rental property and sues you for damages.

The odd cases of slander (an injurious spoken statement that is false) or libel (the same, only in written form) are indeed rare, but not unheard of.

Let's say you rear-end that school bus. The cost of the injuries you cause to others is $500,000. Let's further say that the Bodily Injury limit on your auto insurance is a generous $300,000. Your auto policy will cover $300,000 of the injuries. Your assets are in jeopardy for the rest. But your umbrella policy will cover the amount above the limit set in your auto policy, up to the limit you choose for your umbrella policy (usually $1,000,000.00).

Umbrella insurance is not that expensive. However, be aware that it requires a higher minimum bodily injury limit (usually $250,000-300,000) on your auto policy to qualify for an umbrella policy.

FREEDOM!

FREEDOM?

“Freedom” is an overused, but unappreciated word in the United States of America. As an attorney, I am familiar with the freedoms spelled out by the founding fathers in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known to us as the “Bill of Rights.”

The Second Amendment is the one that gives us the “right to keep and bear arms.” It simply recognized a natural right. James Monroe included "the right to keep and bear arms" in a list of basic "human rights", which he proposed to be added to the Constitution. In fact, Sir William Blackstone described this right as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in concert in defense of the state.

Noah Webster may have put it best when he said, “Before a standing army can rule the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”
That is, the threat of an armed populace is the last remaining check on the tyranny that England had endured after being disarmed. George Mason argued the importance of the militia and right to bear arms by reminding his compatriots of England's efforts "to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them. . . by totally disusing and neglecting the militia." James Madison compared the federal government of the United States to the European kingdoms, saying Europe was "afraid to trust the people with arms." He assured his fellow citizens that they need never fear their government because of "the advantage of being armed...."

Patrick Henry, famous for his “give me liberty or give me death” statement, weighed in on gun rights: “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”

In the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller the United States Supreme Court clarified that the Second Amendment addressed the individual right to possess and carry firearms.

Having seen many countries that do not allow firearms, like England, India, Australia and others, we do not realize just how blessed we are to enjoy this right. In England, possession of an unpermitted firearm is subject to a mandatory minimum of five years in prison!

Freedoms ignored will become freedoms lost.

LOSS OF A GIANT

LOSS OF A GIANT

“A Good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.”  Proverbs 22:1

The World is worse for the recent loss of Truett Cathy.  If you are like me, Chic-fil-A and its founder Truett Cathy are more than just a fast food restaurant or a great sandwich.  He showed that a principled man can be blessed in business while being a blessing others. When protested against, they offer free drinks to protesters. They give their employees a day of rest. They are different because Truett was different.

Some of his well-known quotes give some insight to his thinking:

“Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else – our time, our love, our resources. I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return.”

“I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order.”

And what is said about him may say even more:

“What impresses me most about Truett Cathy is that he has had the courage to follow his beliefs even though he’s pressured by the world to do otherwise. Even though the business world said it didn’t make sense to take Sundays off, Truett insisted on a day of rest.” -Larry Julian Author, “God Is My CEO.”

“I hope that people will learn from Truett Cathy the virtues that have brought him remarkable success in life. He has dedicated himself to service in the broadest sense, following Christian principles, not only in his personal life, but in his relations with his customers and employees.” Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States.

The company reflects his generosity as well. Each year, $1.6 million is provided to help Chick-fil-A Team Members attend the colleges of their choice. Over the life of the program, Chick-fil-A has donated more than $30 million towards this purpose, helping more than 30,000 Team Members attend more than 500 different colleges and universities.

May your memory be a blessing.

Godspeed.

Character still matters, y’all.  

#TruettCathy

WHIPLASH: The TRUTH

WHAT IS WHIPLASH?

We all have seen the loads of fraudsters pour out of their barely-tapped vehicle grabbing their necks acting as if they are in agony, and none of us buy it. 

I also, as an injury attorney that sees crash victims every day, see another type of neck injuries from a crash: real ones. 

True, the X ray might show no fractures.  The Emergency room might release you back to work.  You may not be bleeding or have a broken bone or even a bruise. That does not mean all is well. The next day, when you cannot turn your head and cannot believe you are hurting, you have discovered “whiplash.”

Whiplash is the common term for “cervical strain” from cervical “hyper flexion and hyper extension.” It is pretty descriptive though.  Attached to the end of whip is small string that actually breaks the sound barrier, causing the loud “pop.”

Getting hit, from the front or rear, can cause your neck to snap through a similar scenario. We were not built for that when we were created naked in a garden.  Our necks are very flexible and our heads are quite heavy and pull the neck with it.

A rear end crash into your vehicle when you are sitting still is the classic case. Your are going 0 mph until your car is hit. Lets say the at-fault driver has only slowed to 30 mph when he hits your car.  Suddenly, your car goes from 0 to almost 30 mph in a spilt second. When your car moves, so will your seat, and thus your pelvis and torso. But, for just a sliver of time, your head stays still. Thus your neck is pulled backwards as your head remains in place, as your torso accelerates forward violently.   But for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction: now your head is thrown forward.

Biomechanical experts study whiplash injury using live human subjects and even corpses. Whiplash is real and often seems to heal less completely even than other injuries from crashes that have been traditionally viewed as more severe.

Be sure not to settle cases “Assuming you’ll get better.” You might not recover as quickly as you hope. You have only one year to sue in Tennessee for a car crash, and the sooner you treat the better chance of recovery you enjoy.