Now that the end of May is just a few days away that means summer is right around the corner. That being said, people here in Baton Rouge, LA are going to start feeling the heat. With the temperature on a steady incline, the need for you to pay closer attention to your hydration levels increases as well.

Now, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with personal injury or J. Price McNamara and the rest of his staff here?

Well, let us explain.

We hear about it every year; people experiencing frequent and persistent headaches, exhaustion despite getting enough sleep the night before, and even a few fainting spells. All of these things can de distractions if your everyday life and if you aren’t careful could land you in a world of hurt that might have otherwise been prevented. How?

Simply by staying properly hydrated.

A large portion of emergency room visits during the summer can be attributed in some way to dehydration. However, we understand that not everyone has the attention span to drink a gallon of water on the hottest summer days. This doesn’t mean that you can’t stay on top of your hydration.

You can do so by snacking.

Yes, that’s right. We said snacking. Here’s how;

Eat Some Water to Help Keep Yourself Healthy

Many people understand that one of the best ways to keep your body up and running in the face of scorching summer temperatures is to keep drinking plenty of clear liquids. While this is all well and true, it’s not the only way.

You can eat your way to proper hydration, too.

The Institute of Medicine states that up to twenty percent of the fluid our bodies take in during the day should be absorbed via the food we eat. Items like soups and oatmeal are great examples of something both edible and full of enough water to be considered hydrating.

Unfortunately, with reports stating that we are in for one of the hottest summers on record, the idea of gulping down a steaming bowl of soup on a scorching day does not sound entirely appetizing. Fear not, though, dear readers, for there is another way.

Fresh fruits and veggies!

Many fresh fruits and veggies actually contain more water than anything else. While they may all still have various vitamins and minerals that keep our bodies going strong, the main component in their structure is often times water. Take strawberries for instance – chock full of vitamin C and fiber, but are made of 92 percent water.

So, what other fruits and veggies help keep you hydrated best? We have a list right here for you!

Snack on These Items for an Energizing and Refreshing Boost to Your Day

Here are a few more of the most hydrating fruits and veggies;

• Cucumbers – 96 percent water.
• Lettuce – Up to 96 percent water with a varying spectrum of vitamins depending on the variety you are munching on.
• Celery – Not just for people on diets. Celery is made up of an impressive 96 percent water.
• Watermelon – 92 percent water and naturally occurring electrolytes.

Now, by snacking on the above-mentioned items, you can both avoid having to remind yourself to take a gulp of water every three minutes and still manage to help yourself stay hydrated and hopefully out of the emergency room. Talk about a tasty bit of useful information.

Of course, no amount of fruit or vegetables can ever replace water, and we wouldn’t want you to think that’s what we’re suggesting. However, this summer, while you are outside in the scorching sun playing with your family or working on the house, reach for a slice o0f watermelon of you are feeling hungry and ditch the chips. We will all come out the other side feeling a little better for having done so.

Until next time readers, remember that hydration is key to staying safe this summer, and Godspeed.

Have you seen those crazy attorney ads on television?

For the first time, in 1977, lawyers were officially permitted to advertise. Before then, you had to actually speak with attorneys, or have someone tell you about them, in order to find out anything about them. Permission to advertise came from the United States Supreme Court after two Arizona attorneys advertised low prices. Their bar association and other attorneys tried to stop their ads, but the Supreme Court ruled that they could advertise.

In so ruling, the Supreme Court stated:

The only services that lend themselves to advertising are the routine ones: the uncontested divorce, the simple adoption, the uncontested personal bankruptcy, the change of name, and the like.

The Supreme Court could not have imagined then where we are today. Look around – from billboards, to yellow pages, to television commercials. “Call Me! Call Me!” ads are everywhere. What do these ads tell you about the important factors to consider in selecting an attorney? Honesty and integrity? True experience handling your type of case? Trial experience? Track record? Work history? Not much.

I looked through a recent Louisiana yellow page attorney ads section. There were 63 pages of them, some covering one and even two full pages. There were pictures of crashed cars, 18-wheelers, cash, accident victims on stretchers, wheelchairs, scales of justice, the Statue of Liberty, law books and judges’ gavels. There were oil drilling rigs and railroad crossings. There were catchy slogans. Any truly useful information for those trying to make such an important hiring decision? Not much.

Turn on your television. It won’t take long to see a slew of attorney commercials. Helpful information there? Not much.

Do I mean to suggest that the advertising attorney should be viewed as lacking in the important qualities mentioned above? Not at all. I do suggest, however, that a person looking to hire a lawyer needs to learn much, much more than a typical television commercial or yellow page ad tells them about an attorney in order to make a sound, reasoned, informed hiring decision.

Think you can believe everything you see in attorney advertising? Think again!

CASE STUDY #1: LAWYER DISBARRED FOR FALSE ADVERTISING

A lawyer by the name of Jim Shapiro advertised on television in Rochester, New York. He referred to himself as the meanest, nastiest s.o.b. in town,@ claimed to be super-aggressive in the courtroom and called himself “The Hammer.” He had offices in New York and Florida.

Christopher Wagner sued “The Hammer” for malpractice. Shapiro had represented Mr. Wagner, after he responded to one of Shapiro’s New York television ads following an automobile accident injury.

Mr. Wagner had incurred medical bills of $182,000, but Shapiro’s firm advised him to accept a settlement of only $65,000 from the driver, promising that he could get more money by filing suit against the State of New York. As it turned out, the state had no liability and Shapiro abandoned further pursuit of Mr. Wagner’s claim.

In a video deposition, Shapiro testified that he had never tried a personal injury case in court, and had been living in Florida for the last seven years. Shapiro’s New York firm staffed one attorney who had only tried four cases. A New York jury found that Shapiro engaged in deceptive and misleading advertising and committed malpractice. Mr. Wagner was awarded $1,500,000. Shapiro was later suspended from practicing law both in New York and in Florida. He was later sued by four additional clients claiming malpractice and misleading advertising.

CASE STUDY #2: LAWYER DISBARRED FOR FALSE ADVERTISING

Arizona attorney Stephen Zang and his partner ran massive print and television advertising to market their law firm, then in existence for only four years. Their marketing produced over 1,600 personal injury cases in just four years.

The ads included scenes showing accidents, books about accidents and medicine, a judge in a courtroom and a picture showing Mr. Zang arguing before a jury in the courtroom. They also contained the following assertions:

• We are a personal injury firm with the medical experience to understand complicated injuries.
• We perform detailed preparation in your case, and the better your case is prepared for trial, the more likely your case will settle out of court.
• If you are in an accident, you need more than a lawyer’s words.
• We have investigators to find witnesses and hidden evidence.

The Supreme Court of Arizona investigated and discovered:

1. No attorney in the firm had ever tried a personal injury case to conclusion in court.
2. Mr. Zang admitted that he was not competent to try personal injury cases, although he was pictured in ads arguing a case in front of a jury.
3. The firm had an express policy of not taking cases to trial.
4. The firm’s policy was to refer the case to a competent personal injury attorney from another firm who would try the case in court for a cut of the fee if trial was necessary.
5. The clients were not told that the firm=s policy was to settle all cases.
6. Clients were never informed that their case would be referred to another attorney if trial was necessary, nor of the lack of experience of Mr. Zang and his law partner.

The Arizona Supreme Court disbarred Mr. Zang and his partner for numerous ethics violations.

THE TAKEAWAY – Make a well-informed, well-investigated decision when hiring a personal injury attorney or any other attorney. Don’t decide solely on the lawyer’s advertising.

Last week the personal injury attorneys at Law Office of J. Price McNamara talked about  tragic incident that left a few farmers dead due to toxic exposure. Well, branching of that subject, it appears the first horsemen of the apocalypse, who is said to be Pestilence, may have finally arrived…

At least for those attending the Burning Man festival.

Those of us that aren’t tie dye donning, deodorant shunning, double rainbow seeing, new age hippies are fine. We don’t have to deal with this mini rapture. Because we function in society. Like normal people.

Burning Bugs

If you plan on attending the Burning Man festival this year then grab a hold of your peace pipe and fasten those leather straps on your sandals down into their tightest position because we’ve got a hell of a story for you. (We’de say it’ll blow your socks off, but we all know you aren’t wearing any.)

Recently there have been rumors floating around about swarms of insects invading the location that this most epic festival of debauchery and flagrant nudity is held: Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. However, the strange part is that no has seen them there in over two decades. The terrifying part? They are everywhere, they sting and they lick.

Yes, lick. These bugs use something called a proboscis, which is rather like a long hollow tongue *gag*, to penetrate your skin and search for precious moisture.

Omen? We think so…

Anyways, entomologists have been contacted and the rumors are true.

People, the bugs are infesting Burning Man, and we all know hippies won’t use bug spray for… whatever reason. Toxins? Yeah, it’s something like that. And God Knows Molly isn’t going to do anything about the bugs.

So What’s A Modern Flower Child To Do?

According to more research done by the entomologists, a recent boom in mustard plant blooms may have brought this plague on, and when the mustard plants die off, so will the bugs. However, this doesn’t really help out anyone right this second.

Can we suggest fire? Like, lots of fire. In fact, skip burning the Man all together and just focus on torching the bugs. Gas helps. ( We’re joking don’t use gas, that’s dangerous. Use propane, like an adult.)

However, since the likelihood of Burning Man attendees seeing the sense in setting fire to the thousands of insects looking to harvest the moisture off your skin entomologists suggest not slapping them or squashing them while they are on your skin.

Why?

It just keeps getting better.

These insects have been feeding on the mustard plants, which means they are now full of mustard oil, and mustard oil stings. A LOT. If you squash them while they are on your skin, you’ll kill the bug but get a dash of mustard oil in exchange. The amount released from one bug might not be very much, but since there appear to be hundreds of thousands of these lovely insects, that means there is a lot of mustard oil ready to be spilled.

So, we guess just try and shoo the buggers away? Or try and talk to them about how Monsanto is the devil incarnate and how wonderful the vegan beetroot and chia seed salad you had the other day was. That might actually put them to sleep like it does everyone else.

Other than that, unless someone assaults you at the festival (which is actually very likely as well) we can’t really offer any more advice.

We wish you the best and Godspeed friends.