personal injury lawyer

Kailey is taking a summer math class to skip ahead a grade in math. Somehow she has managed to still hang out or have a sleepover with a friend (or two) almost every night. I did get the honor of seeing her for one whole day this summer, so I guess I should be thankful! (Editor’s Note from Mark: I am not sure if Kailey ever sleeps. She wanted to take math over the summer (not sure I understand that) while doing dance and spending every possible spare moment with friends. On the other hand, at least she hasn’t memorized the Geico commercials this summer like her brother Tate!)

Talia has decided she is going to grow her hair like Rapunzel. She also has become the queen of texting. I text a lot of clients so if any of you get some crazy messages, please know it is probably from some 6 year old girl! (Editor’s Note from Mark: What is worse is when Talia tries to text me from Alexis’ phone and does not tell me that she is using her mom’s phone to text me. I have to be careful how I respond to text messages from now on!)

Ariella and Mark had a recent trip to Washington DC for a family event. Ariella was such a trooper – it was a 48 hour trip and half of it was spent traveling . . . a trip that began with a red-eye flight from Phoenix to DC that left at midnight and stopped in Chicago at 5:00am. At the family event, Ariella got noticed for her break-dancing moves. Everyone at the event gave Ariella rounds of applause as she was out dancing with the older kids all night. (Editor’s Note from Mark: Ariella was fantastic beyond anything you could imagine. We traveled all through the night and she never complained once. She stayed up all day and then spent her night on the dance floor. Then we ran over to see the White House and other sites before jumping on an airplane back to Phoenix. We were gone from Arizona for less than 48 hours and she was fun and energetic the whole time. In a room full of people, I am pretty sure the DJ learned her name first . . . she is practicing to be a future lawyer by making herself known!)

Pierce has a birthday coming up and has been asking for something that has been advertised on TV for a while. I am amazed at how well advertising to kids works. It’s amazing how kids see something on TV and they remember it all. (Editor’s Note from Mark: I am not surprised Pierce remembers the commercials, because this kid remembers everything. When he was four years old, I coached a baseball team and we held practices at a park that is on the way to school. Every once in a while he will point to the field to remind me that we had practices there. That was well over a year ago. He sometimes will say things that he remembers from even further back, but my memory doesn’t go that far back, so I have no idea if he is right or not!)

Distracted driving has become a major problem in the United States and the number of injuries and deaths are continuing to rise. The American Lawyer Academy recently held its First Annual Viral Video Scholarship Contest to create distracted driving awareness. The Southwest region was sponsored by the Husband and Wife Law Team. The First Baptist Academy from Universal City Texas won first place in the Southwest region and received a $1,500 scholarship.

In total 45 students student’s ages 11 to 17 worked on the video for three months. Christi Stuebben, the student’s teacher said the entire community became involved. Phone calls to family members in other states were made, emails were sent, Facebook statuses were posted, church bulletins were printed, and local media stations were contacted to publicize the contest and voting.

The students originally planned to use the scholarship money to buy a digital SLR camera for school functions, sporting events, and yearbook photos. However, over Memorial Day weekend the school was vandalized and the windows were broken in the bus and transportation van. The students got together and decided that the scholarship money would be best spent if it was given to the school to pay for the damages. Stuebben said that the students reached the decision to donate the money on their own and she was very proud of their maturity and willingness to give.

Did you know that car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14? According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) 8,959 lives were saved from the use of child restraints from 1975 to 2008. The NHTSA suggests that parents select a car seat based on a child’s age and size. The NHTSA also recommends parents follow their car seat manufacturer’s instructions and the vehicle owner’s manual on how to install a new car seat.

●From birth to 12 months old children should always ride in a rear facing car seat. Your child should remain in a rear facing car seat for as long as possible until they outgrow the height or weight limit because it is the safest.

●Children ages 1 to 3 years old should be placed in a forward facing seat with a harness after they outgrow the rear facing car seat.

●Children ages 4 to 7 years old should remain in a forward facing seat with a harness until they reach the height and weight limit per the car seats’ manufacturer.

●Children ages 8 to 12 should sit in a booster seat until they are able to fit in the seat properly. To fit correctly the lap belt must fit snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not the neck or face. Your child should always ride in the back seat under the age of 13 because it is much safer.

If you have any questions regarding the installation of your child safety seat, Fire Departments in Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tonopah, and Wittmann provide free assistance as well as all local hospitals and police stations.

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) is sponsoring its 5th annual elder abuse awareness day on June 15th. The campaign to end elder abuse first began in 2009, and urges individuals, families, community groups, organizations, and businesses to participate in elder abuse awareness.

Abuse against elders consists of physical, sexual, and financial/material abuse. The United States General Accounting Office found that there are 1.5 million vulnerable, disabled, and elderly individuals residing in nursing homes. Although nursing homes are supposed to provide care and protection they are often the subject of investigation by law enforcement agencies for abuse against their residents.

Victims of elder abuse do not often come forward for lack of retaliation, fear of prosecuting a family member, or the lack of capacity to describe the crime or perpetrator. State criminal statutes, adult protective laws, and federal organizations such as Medicare have defined and established penalties for abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults. There has been a recent increase in prosecution of those that abuse elders because of the aggressiveness of Medicare and attorneys specializing in this type of crime.

If you suspect elder abuse in an adult care facility or nursing home please contact 1-877-767-2385 for the Arizona abuse neglect, or exploitation hotline.

Aggressive driving is defined as individuals that commit a combination of moving traffic
offences as to endanger other persons property. Arizona has the longest running program to combat aggressive driving in the United States. It is called “Combat Chill” and works closely with the Governors Office. The program utilizes a strong police presence and a media campaign.

According to the statute a person is considered being a reckless driver when they combine speeding with at least 2 other violations including; failure to obey traffic control devices, improper passing, driving off the pavement or traveled portion of the highway, following too close, failure to yield right-of-way, or driving in a way that is an immediate hazard to another person or vehicle.

If you are caught and fined as an aggressive driver 8 points will be added to your driver’s license. In the state of Arizona having between 8 and 12 points on your license will result in revocation.

Safety on the road not only requires an understanding of the law but also patience. Arizona sees an increase of 3,000 families every month moving to the valley which makes it the 5th largest city in the United States. A large city means large amounts of traffic; drivers should report aggressive driving by calling 911 and providing a description of the vehicle and license plate number.

Karina got some playing chalk for outside. I don’t really go in our backyard much, but this past weekend I saw that Karina apparently thinks that chalk is for the side of the house. I didn’t realize I would have to explain to her that you don’t draw on your house. Hopefully the chalk will come off the house. (Editor’s Note from Mark: I drop off Karina at school on many days. In fact, we have our kids at four different schools that all start within 15 minutes of each other. So, this year I take Zev, Pierce, and Karina to school. When Karina gets out of the car, she almost always makes a big deal out of it. Sometimes she will pretend to shoot me (an imitation of Pierce). When she shoots me, she doesn’t shoot one time and go to her class. She stands there and shoots me. Other times when she is heading towards class she will yell something – which can range from “I love you Daddy” to “C’mon Pierce!”)

Pierce has taken a break from his video games, which is a good thing. He is now obsessed with baseball… and is also still completely into Star Wars. He is already telling me which character he wants to be for Halloween. I know there are a lot of Star Wars lovers out there…but sorry, I really don’t get it. Even down to the “I am your father” line which Pierce repeats over and over again is all silly to me. How do people have time to memorize movies? I’m sure Mark will tell you different… but he’s wrong. (Editor’s Note from Mark: Pierce has many different things that he loves, although Star Wars has been at the top of the list for a long time. I do not understand how Alexis can question the high drama of Star Wars. Mocking the moment the poor, young, Jedi-in-training learns that Darth Vader is his father? Priceless filmmaking! Pierce seems to like football, too. The other night we were playing touch football with Zev, Tate, and Pierce. Well, the rest of us thought it was touch but Pierce tackled Tate when Tate caught the ball and then kept running when he had the ball until he was tackled.)