Many car accidents happen every day around the Tampa Bay area. Many of those are minor accidents that don’t cause personal injuries and do only cosmetic damage to vehicles or property. In these cases, usually dealing with your insurance company is sufficient. Unfortunately, car accidents that result in severe injuries occur daily in the Tampa Bay area. If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, and sustained severe injuries from that accident, you need to speak with a Pinellas personal injury attorney. While this seems like a simple enough rule of thumb it can get much more complex. Not everyone believes that his or her injury is actually severe. Many think that whiplash or a broken bone isn’t severe enough to contact a lawyer. Before you discount the pain you have experienced, you need to understand what constitutes a severe injury.

Injuries That Mean You Should Call An Car Accident Lawyer

If you are involved in a car accident that leads to any of the injuries below you need to schedule an appointment with a lawyer as soon as possible.

• Any spinal cord or brain injuries
• Whiplash or other injuries to your back and neck
• Dizziness, ringing in your ears, or blurred vision
• Moderate to severe burns or road rash
• One or more of your bones was fractured
• Torn or damaged muscles or connective tissues Continue Reading »

In the past I’ve written about ways to keep seniors active and tools to keep a senior mobile but I haven’t delved into why it is important to keep active as we get older. A lot of aging is unavoidable. As an elder law attorney I speak with many seniors who have been affected by the passage of time. Sadly many of my clients also don’t have much to do after they have retired and their children have grown and started families of their own. Research is showing us that maintaining a physician-approved active lifestyle in our golden years not only keeps us from being bored but can help increase our lifespan, reduce the risks for cognitive issues, increase our emotional states, and actually help us get more sleep.

Keeping Active Keeps Your Brain Healthy

According to a study published in the Archive of Neurology, physical activity in people over the age of 65 can provide protection from mental decline like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study also mentions that as long as the senior is not overworking themselves, the activity they take part in does not matter. Almost any activity is good including golf, swimming, yoga, taking a walk or just doing stuff around the home.  The study also mentions that taking part in less strenuous activities, like the hobbies that I wrote about a couple months ago, also seems to cause a reduction in mental decline.

Staying Active Keeps You Happier

Through our lives at work and raising a family we all maintain a network of relationships. As we get older we lose touch with friends and our kids grow up. Keeping our network of friends becomes harder. The good news is that if we take part in a social activity, it usually means that we are spending time with other people. A paper by the Rochester Institute of Technology points out that social support, when coupled with physical health, can improve the mental health of everyone, not just seniors.  Basically a healthy level of activity can increase our social support network which also keeps us happier and mentally healthy.
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I speak to people every day who are considering a Florida bankruptcy, but do not understand the true purpose behind it. Many people think that bankruptcy is meant to get rid of their debt but leave them without the ability to every get credit again. This is far from the truth. There are a number of things that a bankruptcy is designed to accomplish. It is important to understand the true goals of a bankruptcy so that you can understand what to expect from the bankruptcy process.

The Primary Goals Of A Bankruptcy

Relieving Severe Financial Distress – A bankruptcy is designed to help a person who has reached a point that their debts are beyond their ability to repay. A bankruptcy is designed to relieve this distress while maintaining as much of a person’s assets as possible.

Protection From Creditors – At first, bankruptcies were meant to protect a creditor, allowing them to recover their potential losses by using the debtor’s property. Thankfully this has changed over time. There is much more of a balance between protecting both the debtor and the creditor. The idea now is to compensate the creditor as much as possible while still allowing the debtor to keep property necessary for their support and survival.

Ensuring That Creditors Are Treated Equally – It used to be that the creditor with the best collection practices was able to collect the most. Now a debtor’s assets are placed into the bankruptcy trustee’s custody. This allows for the property and funds to be distributed fairly and orderly. It also allows the Court to decide what a debtor is permitted to keep under the law.

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Frequently, I speak to people who have been injured in a car accident, but are reluctant to seek compensation because their injury is limited, at least initially, to what is commonly called whiplash. Their reluctance is most often due to the media’s portrayal of whiplash as a way to “game” the system. Quite commonly the movies make people who claim whiplash as faking it and the injury is not treated as seriously as it should. Unfortunately, people receive whiplash-type injuries on a normal basis but these initial symptoms can mask a more serious underlying injury. The injury itself can manifest itself weeks down the road and can be felt for a long time  and, in some cases, can even be permanent. As a Florida personal injury attorney I feel it is important to remove the stigma of whiplash injuries and let you understand the realities of whiplash.

Common Causes Of Whiplash Injuries

Whiplash is a result of an unexpected and usually violent movement of the head and neck, commonly occurring after being rear-ended in a car accident. This sudden movement usually forces the tendons and muscles to move in a manner that is unnatural. The pain can be anywhere from mild to debilitating and can be constant or intermittent. Unfortunately, a whiplash injury is not something that will usually show up using medical imaging like X-rays or MRIs. All of this means that if you are involved in an auto accident and think you may have experienced a whiplash injury, it is important to first seek out medical care and then meet with a personal injury lawyer.
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Everyday I speak to seniors and their families who are worried about their long-term eldercare options. Often the seniors are beginning to have problems getting out and enjoying their lives. Many people don’t realize that there are quite a few innovative products that have been designed to help seniors maintain as normal a life as possible. Below I have compiled a list of these wonderful products. While I do not personally endorse any particular product or manufacturer, I have found these types of products can make a big difference in our clients’ lives.

Get Up And Moving

• The Tru-Motion Cane is designed to allow the cane to provide a large amount of contact on almost any surface, including stairs.
• The Strongarm Mobility Crutch is more like a cane that helps take the stress off of your wrists as with a typical cane and moves it onto your forearm.
• A great product when traveling in a plane or even your car is a Folding Travel Cane that folds into a case that is only 11 inches by 5 inches. Another option is a folding cane with a built in flashlight and an emergency alarm.
• Frequently, there are never enough places to sit when you’re out shopping. The solution is a Seat Cane.

Get Out And About

• Of utmost importance when you are out is making sure that, if you are injured, you receive proper medical care. This Medical Alert USB Device can store all of your medical information making it easy for medical personnel to treat you quickly and correctly.
• All of us occasionally lose our car in a parking lot. A Personal GPS Locator can help you remember where you parked or get you back to almost any location.
• Seniors sometimes have difficulty getting in and out of cars. A great product that helps with this is the Automobility Solution. It has a padded seat that swivels to help turn your legs out of the car and a portable handle that helps you stand up. Continue Reading »

A decision to file for bankruptcy should never be made lightly. As a Florida bankruptcy attorney I talk to many people who have become overextended financially. Many times my clients have reached this point due to unexpected events. In other cases my clients were never taught the skills to handle money wisely. No matter what caused the financial hardship, no one ever wants to file for bankruptcy. When it finally gets to the point that a person is considering a consumer bankruptcy, there are certain things you can do to make it easier on yourself. Here are five tips to make the bankruptcy process quicker and easier on you.

1. Keep Hope Alive

It may sound cliché, but don’t give up hope. A bankruptcy is not the end of the world; it’s just a way to restart your financial life. Depending on the type of bankruptcy you file, you may be able to keep your car, stay in your home, and even start getting your credit back by getting a loan or credit card.

2. Make Sure You Are Doing The Right Thing

In some cases bankruptcy won’t accomplish what you want it to. For example, if you have student loans, those typically may not be included in your bankruptcy. If you owe the government taxes, those usually may not be discharged either. Make sure to take a look at your debts and see if a bankruptcy will work for you. Speaking to a bankruptcy lawyer is the best way to make sure bankruptcy is the right course of action.
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