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Is there really a need to litter? It bothers me to drive down the road seeing bottles and cans strewn about along with the cardboard boxes and other assorted receptacles that, at one time, housed said bottles and cans. And do you ever wonder about all of the clothing and shoes? I have seen those strung out for miles. If you lost a box of clothes and/or shoes out of your car or truck, wouldn’t you go back and get them? A couple of months ago when I was taking my sister home from church, I saw an entire living room suite smack dab in the middle of the interstate. I don’t know who lost their furniture, but they had to know that it fell off the truck. Not only would it make noise when it’s falling out, it would also shift around everything else that was packed up. I understand that things happen, but I don’t understand why, when such mishaps occur, people don’t pull over and pick the things up. Even if the pieces are broken, don’t leave them there. They create a safety hazard. Dealing with the usual challenges on the road is bad enough. None of us need the added stress of avoiding furniture, too. So do yourself (and others) a favor and put a trash bag in your car. It takes just a few seconds to tie the bag up and take it into your house and put it in your trash can. You don’t even have to do it every day. Do it once a week. Take pride in your home. Yes, the United States is your home. It’s where you live. Take pride in your roads and streets, and everyone’s yards. Don’t make the rest of us clean up after you. Don’t be a litterbug!

Research has shown that some 90,000 to 180,000 Americans die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. Patients who are given the wrong medication, are scheduled for unnecessary procedures, or are neglected by health care providers who do not take the time to listen to their patients, lose their lives far too often. The practice of medicine is supposed to be governed by standards of care, and when the standards are not followed, the consequences for American families are devastating. Many years ago, what doctors, nurses, hospitals and nursing homes could do to stay within the bounds of the law was considered “more art than science” or a nebulous matter of “judgment.” But research by America’s best teaching hospitals and by medical societies studying the major areas of medicine such as cardiology, surgery and obstetrics, allowed standards to be established that are backed up by evidence, and a track record of success. These groups are able to publish these standards in journal articles, books, and what is more broadly called the “scholarly literature of medicine.” Health care providers need to stay current on these standards and make sure that they follow them. These safety rules within the field of medicine are not unlike safety rules that cars and trucks are subject to on the highway. An 18-wheeler that is routinely going too fast might get away with it a few times, but eventually we know that the consequences of recklessly operating heavy trucks fall on innocent victims driving cars alongside them. Likewise, a nursing home, hospital or doctor that ignores the rules may get away with it for a while, but eventually lives will be lost as a result of subpar practices, rule breaking and carelessness. We all notice how doctors and nurses seem to want to spend less and less time with actual patients. That tendency was created by insurance companies and hospital corporations pushing them to try to drive greater profits. Nurses and doctors need to resist that pressure and make sure that the protection of human life is their top priority. When hospital corporations, doctors, nurses or nursing homes violate the standards of care, the legal system needs to be there to make sure that the standards are enforced. By enforcing the rules, judges and juries make it clear, not only to health care providers, but to all Americans that following the safety rules that exist for everyone’s protection is not optional. Medical and nursing standards of care exist for the protection of the most valuable thing there is — human life. Standing up for standards of care saves lives.

Did you know that the permanent hair loss suffered by breast cancer survivors may not be caused by radiation or chemo, but instead may be caused by a drug called Taxotere. For those who don’t know, this blog may be of great interest to women who are breast cancer survivors who have hair loss that persists longer than six months after treatment.  If in fact, you are one of those people, or you know one of those women who have suffered this type of injury, then you or those you know should have your case reviewed by my law firm or some other law firm in which you have confidence. This hair loss issue was identified by Sanofi, the manufacturer of Taxotere, more than 10 years ago. It was Sanofi who reported that the company itself found permanent hair loss in almost 10 percent of the Taxotere patients. Unfortunately, Sanofi has reported not only that there is a hair loss, but that the strong possibility exists that patients may experience hair loss that may be irreversible. Additional unfortunate news is that while Sanofi warned Europeans of the permanent hair loss issue, there has been no warning about this problem for U.S. patents. Unfortunately, it is believed by some that Sanofi misrepresented the effectiveness of Taxotere and hid the problems about the permanent hair loss issues in order to increase its market share and profits. Obviously, those of you who have suffered this problem know of the emotional and psychological issues that the loss of hair has had on you.  If in fact you have suffered from this problem, please call us so that we may discuss what may be done in order to obtain a measure of justice for you.

We all know two things we can never escape are death and taxes. What is important to remember when following the news about Congress, or your state legislature, is that not all taxes are created equal. Recently, some politicians, including particularly those on the hard right, have been pushing to replace the income tax with sales taxes or “consumption taxes.” Generally, right-wingers claim to be against taxes so creating new sales taxes or consumption taxes creates a little bit of a rhetorical problem for them. That’s the reason you will generally hear such taxes, which are really new taxes, being described as some kind of tax “reform” instead of what they really are, which is new taxes on regular folks. The main thing to remember is that sales taxes and consumption taxes shift the tax burden down the income scale so that they fall most heavily on those who are middle class or just trying to become middle class. The reason for this is that people in those ranges generally have to spend most or all of what they are able to earn to live. Wealthier folks are able to put their surplus money into investments, send it overseas, or conduct purchasing in states and jurisdictions that don’t have sales taxes or consumption taxes that they wish to avoid. Compare that to the income tax. The income tax is a progressive tax in which the more money that one makes the more tax one pays. Wealthy interests oppose income taxes for this precise reason. Of course, the income tax is still only a percentage of those higher incomes. For example, West Virginia’s highest income tax rate is 6 percent, so for a very wealthy person making a million dollars, they are paying $60,000 of that in state income tax. If they had to pay $80,000, they would still be $920,000 to the good! So it’s okay. The shift from income taxes to sales and consumption taxes is really just another way to make the slice of the American pie that goes to upper income folks bigger by taking a little bit more off the plates of the middle class and poor. Whether it is called “reform,” or “comprehensive” or what have you, that’s what it means. Over the last 40 years, America has enjoyed massive gains in productivity and output. That’s what we call “gross domestic product.” But while those gains were formerly shared up and down the income ladder, analysis has shown since about 1980 almost all of the increases in productivity and GEP have gone to the top 10 percent in wealth. Shifting our state governments, or even the United States as a whole, from an income tax system to a consumption tax system would make this growing inequality even worse. Of course, if you are in that 10 percent (or even the top one percent), maybe that’s exactly what you want. But that result isn’t so good for the rest of the United States, which needs to strengthen its middle class instead of hollowing it out with a big tax hike.

You should know that companies that produced products containing asbestos knew as far as back as 1918 of the dangers of asbestos, yet they did nothing to protect their employees or the general public. You should also know that if you or your loved one has suffered from mesothelioma and you are unsure of how you were exposed to asbestos, our firm will hire investigators to track down who is responsible so that we might hold those companies accountable. You should also know that the workers that suffer from mesothelioma have been in such wide fields as construction, boilermakers, pipefitters, electricians, oil field workers, factory workers, mechanics, steelworkers, insulators, school employees and mill workers. Currently, there are funds that have been set up with respect to ABB Lummus, AP Green, Armstrong Contracting, Armstrong World Industries, ARTRA, ASARCO, Babcock & Wilcox, Bondex, Burns and Roe, Celotex, Combustion Engineering, Congoleum,  DII Aberton, DII Harbison Walker, Eagle-Picher, Federal Mogul – Ferodo, Federal Mogul-Flexitallic, Federal Mogul-Turner & Newall, Flintkote, Garlock G-I Holdings, Hercules Chemical, H.K. Porter, Johns Mansville, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, Keen, Leslie Controls, Metex, Motors Liquidation Company or General Motors, Narco, National Gypsum, Owens Corning, Plibrico, Pittsburgh Corning, Quigley, Raytech, TH Agriculture & Nutrition, United States Gypsum, United States Mineral and W.R. Grace. Some additional jobs that carry a high risk of exposure to asbestos, particularly applicable to this area, would be mining, automotive shipping and mechanics, automotive manufacturing and maintenance, automotive brake and clutch repair, boilermakers, bricklayers, carpenters, cement workers, people in the construction and demolition industry, dental assistants, dry wallers, electricians, HVAC insulators, iron and steel workers, masonry workers, millwrights, pipefitters, plumbers, refinery workers, roofers, steamfitters, steel mill workers, teachers and welders. If you are not sure that you have mesothelioma, please call us so that we can assist you in determining if you have this horrible disease.  We take these cases on a contingent fee basis and do not charge a fee unless we recover money on your behalf.  We have 17 attorneys and roughly 50 support staff devoted to representing people who suffer injuries as a result of the negligence of others. You should also know that we recognize that some of you may be facing challenges as a result of your mesothelioma diagnosis and are unable to travel to one of our four offices located in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  If that is the case, please let us know and we will come to you. This disease is a horrible disease that you should not have contracted.  Now that you have, you and your loved ones deserve justice.  We can be reached at 304-242-8410.  You should ask for Zak Zatezalo or Jim Bordas.  The other lawyers at the firm can also assist in answering your questions.

There are things that sometimes can’t be explained, like when out of the corner of your eye you swear that you saw something standing there and then you look again and there is nothing. Or you hear someone talking or walking around, but you know you’re the only one in your house. Has anything like this happened to you? I’ve experienced this several times in my life. It always happened when someone or one of my dogs has passed away, usually in the weeks that follow the death.   My strangest experience was when my brother-in-law passed away in hospice. I’d been awake for more than 32 hours trying to make sure my nieces and my sister-in-law (who also passed away just a few months later) were getting the rest they needed so when he crossed over, they would be strong and not suffering from lack of sleep.  So trust me when I tell you about my experience - I was a little worried it was from the lack of sleep until I talked to the nurse at hospice. This is my experience. Trying to keep everyone’s emotions in check was extremely difficult.  Being strong was my only choice.  We all knew my brother-in-law was dying from his cancer and it was just a matter of how long it would be before God called him home. As the hours ticked by into the night, I sat at the end of the bed on a bench with my one niece sitting beside me.  She had been watching me and finally asked what I had been looking at all evening.  I was praying that no one noticed, but I guess when you see shadows and you keep looking in one area of the room, you can’t hide it from people. With everyone so stressed, I thought no one would notice me looking at this massive shadow coming in and out of the adjoining room where my sister-in-law was sleeping. I tried my best to recreate the shadow by walking by the doors in the rooms, but nothing made that same shadow. The nurses must have known I was seeing something and I told them of my experience. They looked at each other and then at me and said they would talk with me in a little while. While I was sitting on the bench with my niece for the next few hours, I also saw two glowing balls of light come from the corner, bounce across the room and go under my brother-in-law’s bed and then I saw the shadow come into the room and stand. Then, my niece bent down and I thought she was looking under the bed. I asked her if she “saw them too,” but she indicated she dropped something and was just picking it up. This whole time I was beginning to think I was losing it or just so tired that I was starting to see things.   As this was happening, I woke the family and told them it was time, that my brother-in-law was going to cross over.  I have no clue why I was saying that to all of them, but something inside just told me it was time.  We all gathered around his bed as he drew his last breath and, just like that, he was gone from our world carried into heaven by the Angel of Death and his parents beside him. It all happened so fast. How do I know that’s what happened?  The nurses came to me and explained that they had heard similar stories from other people when their loved ones where getting ready to cross over.  They said they believe the shadow I kept seeing was the Angel of Death waiting to take him to heaven and balls of light where his parents coming to walk with him into heaven.   They said it was a gift to have seen this and I was never afraid of what I was seeing. I was there when my sister-in-law crossed just a few months later and I saw nothing like I did when her husband crossed over.  Why was I granted the privilege of seeing this when he passed?  I guess I will never know the answer until I walk through the pearly gates myself. I do believe in angels and earthbound sprits. I’ve seen and heard things I can’t explain.  I believe that energy sometimes stays earthbound because of unfinished business. I think they feel like they need to tie up all their loose ends before they go to the light of heaven. No, I’m not crazy and I don’t have psychic abilities, but my gut tells me a lot about people - the living and the ones who are about to cross over. Rock on, people, rock on!

“e was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power.” 2 Cor. 13:4 “Yet” can be one of the most powerful words in the English language.  It’s like a giant hinge, taking something tragic and turning it sharply so we can see its inner beauty, strength and power. That’s the story of Good Friday.  The truth is that Good Friday is only “good” because we know how the story ends.  But imagine how crushing the events of that day must have been for Mary, the disciples, and all of the other onlookers.  Jesus was arrested, beaten and scourged, leaving ragged cuts and bruises.  Then he was forced to carry his own cross to the execution site.  With nails piercing his hands and feet, he hung in quiet strength as he was mocked and jeered.  His body was racked with pain.  He grew dehydrated in the hot Judean sun.  In the end, he cried out one last time and bowed his head in death. That could have been the end of the story.  Death is death.  It’s final.  It’s supposed to bring down the curtain and spell the end of our earthly lives. “Yet…” That one word changes everything. Paul reminds us in this verse that Jesus died an earthly death.  He was “crucified in weakness.”  The cross was real.  The tomb was real.  Jesus tasted death, “yet he lives by God’s power.” Christians can say wholeheartedly that Friday was “good” because of what happened Sunday--Jesus rose from the grave!  Death, you see, couldn’t contain the Son of God.  And by his resurrection, those who put their trust in him can claim the promise of eternal life:  “Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”  Act 26:25. I pray that you may come to know this death-defeating savior for yourself.  That’s his greatest wish and your greatest need. Have a glorious Easter!

April is Autism Awareness Month. During this time, you may see people wearing the color blue and sporting rubber wristbands with a colorful puzzle piece printed on them.  The Autism Speaks Foundation will air more commercials regarding their cause.  Even the White House was lit up a beautiful blue hue in honor of this month, but are you really aware of the intense challenges that autistic children and adults go through?  In honor of my autistic son, Greg, I write this blog as my part in the awareness cause. I would like to share with you some autism facts and stats obtained from the National Autism Association website: - Autism now affects 1 in 68 children. - Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls. - About 40 percent of children with autism do not speak. About 25–30 percent of children with autism have some words at 12 to 18 months of age and then lose them. Others might speak, but not until later in childhood. - Autism greatly varies from person to person (no two people with autism are alike). - The rate of autism has steadily grown over the last 20 years. - Comorbid conditions often associated with autism include Fragile X, allergies, asthma, epilepsy, bowel disease, gastrointestinal/digestive disorders, persistent viral infections, PANDAS, feeding disorders, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, OCD, sensory integration dysfunction, sleeping disorders, immune disorders, autoimmune disorders and neuro inflammation. - Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder, yet most underfunded. - A 2008 Danish Study found that the mortality risk among those with autism was nearly twice that of the general population. - Children with autism do progress – early intervention is key. - Autism is treatable. It is not a hopeless condition. - Autistic children want to be accepted by their peers, but because of odd behaviors (such as difficulty in eye contact or speech), they are usually secluded. - Many learn by visualization and are very sensitive to sound and touch.  A simple trip to the grocery store can overstimulate an autistic child to the point where they have a breakdown. - Eleven years ago, the statistic was 1 in every 150 children will be diagnosed with autism.  Today, it has narrowed down to 1 out of 68 children. It is very important that we educate ourselves as a nation and do our part in raising autistic children to become productive adults.

I recently decided paying for cable television wasn’t something I wanted to do. I’m not a huge fan of watching television.  I mostly watched either Food Network or HGTV and decided it wasn’t worth paying for the little bit of television that I watched.  Since I am already an Amazon Prime Member, I got the Fire TV Stick to see what, if anything, it would do for me.  I watched a few movies and tried out a few of the Amazon series.  Then I came across the ability to watch The Good Wife.  I had seen a few episodes here and there when it was airing on TV but never really got into watching every episode and planning my life around when it was on. I had heard about binge watching and never really understood what that meant...until I started watching The Good Wife.  When you can watch the entire show from each season without waiting a week in between, it becomes almost like reading a good book that you can’t put down.  That’s when it becomes binge watching.  I would sit down to watch an episode or two and end up watching five or six episodes – or more!  I finished watching every season and every episode last night. I don’t plan on finding another show to binge watch now that spring is here, but when winter comes around again, maybe I’ll see what else I can find.

“BUT I WANT IT NOWWWWW!” This takes me back to watching or reading “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Remember Veruca Salt, the spoiled brat who had an enormous appetite for instant-gratification who could never be satisfied? I recall thinking as a child that I would have been better off facing the furnace where the bad eggs were sent than dealing with my parents if I copped such an attitude. You see, before cell phones, computers, etc., the former generations were made to “wait.”  We had to “wait” until payday to go shopping.  We had to “wait” for Saturday mornings to watch our favorite cartoons.  We “waited” for our best friend’s mom to hang up from her call so we could have our time to talk.  And while we waited, we entertained ourselves by finding something else to do. Usually, by rushing things that shouldn’t be rushed, the outcome is not a favorable one (this coming from a woman who has had two speeding citations in the past month).  I teach my children that patience IS a virtue and that they will respect things a lot more if there is a little work in waiting for them.  I try to assure them that they will not die if they don’t get that really cool chocolate scented eyeshadow as it is being stocked on the shelf.  So far, I have been right on.

Barley and Guinness are ready for spring, but it’s funny how these two boys are totally different when it comes to the weather. Barley dislikes the heat so much that when the weather warms up I have to set up a fan to blow directly on him, especially at night. In the hotter months, Barley will lie on the air conditioner vents to stay cool and the fan must be blowing on him, too. When winter is here, Barley will lie outside in the snow for hours and roll around in it. He prefers the cold weather. Now Guinness, on the other hand, loves the sunshine and warmer temperatures. He will stay outside all day and bask in the sun.  Then at night, he goes under the deck and sits there until we go out and bring him in for bed.  I have no clue why he does this, but it is only when spring has arrived and the temperatures are warming up. These two brother dogs remind me of my own to sons. They are night and day.  All our boys – two- and four-legged - have been raised the same way, but have totally different personalities. The oldest boys are more reserved with their emotions, and the youngest boys are all about having fun.  One thing I can say - there is never a dull moment at our house.  When I get home, no matter what time, day or night, the one thing I can count on is my four-legged boys running down the driveway and jumping on the car to welcome me. It doesn’t matter if I’ve been gone for eight hours or eight minutes, I always get the same greeting from them.   I love that they love me unconditionally. Now that spring is here, enjoy the outdoors with your pets.  A tired pet is a less destructive pet. Please spay and neuter you pets to help control the animal population and please remember that dog fighting is not a sport. It’s abuse that needs to be reported to the local authorities. Bark on, Bordas Dog Nation, bark on!

Have you ever spent any time in the Intensive Care Unit hospital waiting room? Have you been in a hospital parking lot when a life-flight is arriving or departing?  Have you ever visited the morgue? Having had several years of hospital experience that includes autopsy assistance and the trauma page response team, I can say yes to all three of these questions.  I’ve seen the patients.  I’ve seen the families. Talk about reflecting on what really matters - it certainly isn’t that bad haircut or the scratch someone left on your car at the mall. As a paralegal, I truly can envision what some of our clients have experienced and lived through before they walk through our door asking for help. Sometimes it is because of a personal experience while other times it is because they were a bystander while a relative or dear friend was fighting to survive. When a paralegal assists with the investigation into these situations that ultimately leave people with unanswered questions, that moment to reflect comes as you work through the cases. The words on the medical records and the voices of the families become almost like a movie in your mind where you envision the events as they unfold. So when a family on the receiving end of an accident, incident or negligent act comes to the firm asking for our help, I strive to do my very best to find the answers to the questions they are seeking.  Along the way though, I always reflect.  I remember the waiting rooms.  I remember the helicopters in the silent night and I remember the finality of the morgue.  These are things that drive me to fight for justice and lend a caring hand to those who need us because they have already been through so very much. There are no words to describe the inside of a morgue and the reality that we are not invincible. We are very fragile, crafted beings here in this world.  We are mortal. Count your blessings and if you can’t seem to concentrate on that, then go sit in the waiting room of a critical care unit or an emergency trauma department.  You will find those blessings very quickly.