Focus Should Be On Health Care Safety

We understand that it is difficult for anyone to wrap their head around the issue of errors and health care. Americans have a justifiably high opinion of doctors, nurses and other care providers. The vast majority are dedicated professionals that do tremendous good for society and save many lives.

But to err is human, and it has become clear that the big business of health and nursing home care results in too many preventable injuries. According to a recent study by doctors at Johns Hopkins, death due to medical error ranks 3rd (250,00 per year) behind heart disease and cancer. That is an alarming statistic. So read our March newsletter not as an indictment of the fine people who work in health care today, but rather a defense of every American’s right to justice and accountability when preventable mistakes occur. Patients and families who are harmed by preventable medical errors should not be denied their right to seek legal redress for what has happened to them. 

Guy W. Crabtree is a partner with Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly, PLLC, in Durham, NC.

Be Careful Because You Never Know Who’s Looking

It only took one unfortunate occurrence for us to realize that we had to caution our clients about the impact social media can have on their cases. Defense attorneys had gone onto a client’s Facebook page and found some damaging photographs and comments that negatively impacted his case and which they used during our client’s deposition. Since then we have been very careful to discuss the use of social media with our new clients. This is what we advise our clients regarding the use of social media during the life of their case:

YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT YOUR CASE. INSURANCE COMPANIES AND DEFENSE COUNSEL WILL SEARCH FOR YOU ON THE WEB. SO BE VERY CAREFUL AND READ ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW. 

UNTIL YOUR CASE IS COMPLETELY RESOLVED: 

1. DO NOT accept future friend requests from any person you do not personally know.  Insurance companies, their attorneys and private investigators who work for them may try to gain access to your social media web sites in order to obtain information that can be used to defeat or damage your case.
2. YOU MUST tell your attorneys and support personnel at Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly about your past or a current use of Facebook, LinkedIn, Caring Bridge, MySpace, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, or any other social media websites. 
3. Tell us the names of any and all social media websites, blogs, or other online media to which you regularly post or update.
4. If you use Facebook, LinkedIn, Caring Bridge, MySpace, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, or any other social media, you should IMMEDIATELY reset your profiles to the highest possible privacy settings.
5. DO NOT post anything about your claim, your case, or your injuries on any social media web site or blog. 
6. DO NOT post anything that you would not want a judge or juror in your case to see.
7. DO NOT delete information about your case or your injuries that you already have posted as this can be discovered—but do not make any further similar postings. 
8. If you have posted something about your claim, your injuries, or the incident that caused your injuries, YOU MUST tell us about it at once.

In the future you must BE VERY CAREFUL not to place any information about your claim, your injuries, or your lawsuit on the web in any manner because that information is subject to being discovered, and the information might be used to damage your case.

Guy W. Crabtree is a partner with Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly, PLLC, in Durham, NC.

NC Legislature Wants to Pack the Supreme Court

Dear Friends:

For more than 100 years, North Carolina citizens have exercised their right under our constitution to elect justices to the state Supreme Court. On November 8, voters elected Judge Mike Morgan to the Court by a 54-46 margin – a difference of nearly 350,000 votes.

Last Friday Governor McCrory announced a special legislative session beginning on December 13. Although the stated purpose is to help victims of Hurricane Matthew and the wildfires in western North Carolina, it has been widely reported that legislative leaders intend to use the special session to pack the Supreme Court. Seeking to insulate its laws from impartial judicial review, the legislature would add two seats to the Court, to be filled by Governor McCrory in his final days in office.

Under Article IV, Section 6(1) of the North Carolina Constitution, the General Assembly may increase the number of justices from seven to nine. The sole purpose of that constitutional provision, adopted in 1962, was to provide for additional justices if the workload of the Court became too onerous.
 
In the past, the legislature has only added seats to the appellate courts when the workload demanded it. The workload of the current Court cannot justify its expansion. In 2015 and 2016, Supreme Court justices have written an average of six opinions per justice per year. By contrast, each judge on the Court of Appeals writes more than 100 opinions per year. And in the 1950s, when Article IV, Section 6(1) was proposed, each Supreme Court justice averaged writing 50 opinions per year.

We strongly support Chief Justice Martin’s call for additional funding for our judicial system, but oppose using those scarce funds to add unnecessary positions to the Supreme Court. If hundreds of thousands of additional budget dollars are available, they should go to overburdened trial courts, family courts, prosecutors and victim-witness assistants, indigent defense lawyers, clerks, probation officers, and technology improvements.
 
Expansion of the Court should occur only after a joint request by the Chief Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts based on solid empirical data, followed by committee hearings and debate, not rushed through a special session that was convened to help victims of natural disasters.

If the General Assembly packs the Court, it will seize control of the judiciary, undermining the system of checks and balances that is essential to our democracy. The citizens of North Carolina deserve a Supreme Court that will exercise judicial independence, not one that will rubber stamp unconstitutional legislation.

What can you do?

1. Contact your legislators and ask for their commitment to oppose any court-packing bill.
2. Contact Governor McCrory’s office.  You can call Gov. McCrory’s office at 919-814-2050.  If you do this, choose option to talk to someone instead of leaving a message.  You can also email the Governor. When you contact the Governor’s office, ask him to declare that he will veto any court-packing bill. 
3. Forward this message to your friends and family.

Your voice matters. If the people speak up between now and December 13, the court-packing plan will never see the light of day.

Guy W. Crabtree is a partner with Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly, PLLC, in Durham, NC.

The Dangers Of Driving Under The Influence Of Any Drug, Including Pot

Guy W. Crabtree

In North Carolina, a person is guilty of driving while impaired if they operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or an impairing substance. The THC in marijuana would be considered an impairing substance. One would be impaired within the meaning of the law if one had taken a sufficient amount of THC to cause him to lose the normal control of his bodily or mental faculties, or both, to such an extent that there is an appreciable impairment of either or both of these faculties.  

While we too often encounter wrecks caused by drivers impaired by alcohol, a case involving impairment solely by THC is rare. One reason, of course, is that there is no roadside or magistrate’s office testing apparatus that can easily measure the amount of THC in a driver’s blood. There is no breathalyzer test to detect THC. A blood draw and testing of that blood is necessary.  

When investigating a case where impairment is suspected and the at-fault driver was taken for medical treatment as a result of the wreck, we always attempt to get the medical records, including the lab reports, from that treatment. The blood test will usually include testing for TCH and other drugs. If drugs are present we can and will use that information in our client’s favor as we prosecute our client’s case. 

Causing injury and damage while driving while impaired will subject the impaired driver to punitive damages and we will often include such a claim in the overall damages claim.

Guy W. Crabtree is a partner with Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly, PLLC, in Durham, NC. The firm helps injured parties from all over the nation recover from injuries caused by the negligence of others.

Lessons I Learned When a Friend Died

Angie Elliott

There is no good time to bring up the subject of death and dying. There is no happy way to discuss such a sad topic.

And yet we have to talk about it – and plan for it – because doing so may spare our loved ones unnecessary time, money and grief.

I learned this over the past year, as I’ve served as Administrator of the estate of an old friend who passed away unexpectedly this summer.

He was 53 years old.  We were not especially close any more, but he had been an important part of our lives for many years. His will was old, and my name was still listed. After much thought and prayer, I accepted the role of Administrator.

I suppose this is lesson number one – expect the unexpected. After all, serving as estate Administrator is really not something you expect to do for a peer or friend, especially at our age. 

Lesson two – just because I work at a law firm and am familiar with estate planning and administration didn’t mean I didn't still have much to learn. There was lots of on-the-job training.

Here are some practical pointers worth sharing.

• Make sure you communicate with your family if you want to be buried or cremated (or an organ donor, etc). That is a hard decision for a family to make in the heat of the moment if you have no idea what your loved one’s wishes are. Cost should be a factor in this decision. Are you leaving your family enough money to have a funeral?
• Create a “when I die” memo and make sure your spouse/significant other/child/parent/somebody knows where it is located. In this memo you should mention (again) your wishes regarding your physical body and a service (I personally want it to be a par-tay!). You should list where your will is located, and other important documents. (One dear friend, who shall remain nameless, has a will but did not know where it was located when I asked her.) If the will is in a safe, share the combination! Also list all bank accounts, stocks/bonds, insurance policies and other financial info. Don’t make your family have to guess about this stuff. Or potentially miss something important.
• Generally speaking, have your bills and personal paperwork filed and in order. Everything dumped in a box is not in order.
• Make sure your estate planning documents are up to date!  I cannot stress this enough.  People die, friendships fade, laws change, children/grandchildren are born. If you don’t have a will, get one. Don’t assume anything.  People WILL fight about money.
• Lastly, get rid of all your crap. Keeping a bunch of stuff in your attic or garage or shed for your family to have to sort through is really not a nice legacy to leave behind. It is heart wrenching to have to throw away someone else’s stuff. And time-consuming and costly and exhausting. We estimated that it took us about 200 hours to clean out the house, garage and shed. 

Writing this was sort of therapeutic for me. I hope it makes you think. And then don’t just think, take action. 

The Importance of Un- and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

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Ryan Connolly

So, what happens if you are in a serious wreck and the at-fault party has no or little insurance coverage? If you are smart you would have planned for that unfortunate occurrence when you renewed your automobile insurance.

For example, I try to spend as much time riding my bike as possible.  Unfortunately, more time on the road also means greater risks of an accident. In my line of work, I’ve seen enough incidents involving cyclists being hit by cars to make me more than a little nervous when I strap on my shoes for a ride. Sure, there are certain precautions you can take to prevent an accident from occurring (wear visible clothing, stay near the shoulder, don’t ride during high traffic), but there is not much you can do to prevent a careless or distracted motorist from hitting you. You can do everything right and still be the victim of a negligent driver. 

I have seen many individuals who have been seriously injured due to the negligence of others. This is especially true in bike-car collisions. Best-case scenario, you’d be out for the season; however, more likely than not, your life and that of your family may be forever changed. 

If you are hurt in a bike wreck and it is someone else’s fault, your expenses could be substantial. Many drivers only carry minimal liability coverage ($30,000.00 in North Carolina), meaning that if you were seriously hurt in a collision, you could be personally responsible for medical bills, lost earnings, rehabilitation expenses, and you’d receive no recovery for your pain and suffering or your long-term damages. Do not count on the average driver to have adequate insurance coverage to fully compensate you for the expenses you would incur in a serious wreck. In North Carolina, about one in four drivers are either uninsured or underinsured. To protect yourself from their negligence, it is important to purchase something called uninsured and underinsured motorists’ coverage. You can easily add this coverage to your own automobile insurance policy. This insurance will kick in and pay your damages when the careless driver has no or inadequate insurance. The cost of this coverage is minimal. For instance, I pay about $15.00 a month extra to get $1,000,000.00 in uninsured and underinsured coverage. Uninsured and underinsured insurance will protect you from financially irresponsible drivers and provide you with peace of mind as you are pedaling down the road.  Call your insurance agent today.

For more information on uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage click on the video in the “Bookmarks/Favorite” section of this month’s newsletter. 

Ryan Connolly is a partner with Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly, PLLC, in Durham, NC. The firm helps injured parties from all over the nation recover from injuries caused by the negligence of others. Ryan is an avid runner, cyclist, and swimmer and competes in triathlons around the state each year.