Blog

Growing up in the country I was always around family and friends who loved hunting.  When my daughter married a man, Nick, who also loved hunting, it wasn’t anything new or unusual to me.  When he passed along his love of hunting and sportsmanship to my grandson, Owen, I wasn’t surprised.  Owen has proven to be a very good marksman for a 10-year-old, and when his dad discovered that there was a youth sporting clays club about an hour from their home, it didn’t take long for Owen to become a member of the Hunting Hills Hawkeyes.  For those of you not familiar with sporting clays, it is a target game designed to simulate field shooting. The shooters set out on a course and are presented with a wide variety of targets that duplicate the flight path of game birds.  Courses are laid out in natural surroundings and will usually include five or 10 shooting stations.  The shooters move from one station to the other as they complete the course.  Owen’s season begins in the spring and ends in early fall, with practices and shoots every weekend.  The state championship for Pennsylvania is held in June, and we were so proud that in 2013, during his rookie season, Owen’s rookie team of three placed second in the state.  At that point, we were all hooked and this grammy became a sporting clays groupie. Two-thousand-fourteen also proved to be another successful season for Owen, who again placed second in the state in sporting clays and was the state champion for skeet for his age group.  We were beyond thrilled when he was asked to compete in the national championship in Illinois in July.  With a lot of support from friends, family and his community of Rogersville, Penn., Owen, his mom (my daughter, Ashley) and myself set off for a road trip to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Ill.  As we drove up the long driveway to the complex, which was lined with each state’s name emblazoned on a flag, it felt like we were arriving at the Olympics of sporting clays.  The facility is very impressive with several shooting ranges, vendors, stores, a campground, a restaurant and more. Several college representatives were also on hand hoping to recruit the next members of their respective teams. Owen had a restless night that night, but the next day his team of three showed a lot of composure for 10 year olds and finished the day very well sitting infifth place.  We were hopeful that they would place, however, day two and a case of the nerves got the best of them.  By the end of the day our little rookie team of 10-year-olds from southwestern Pennsylvania finishedeighth in the nation out of 16 teams—still not too shabby. Owen recently kicked off his first competition of 2015 at Nemacolin. Even though they live in Pennsylvania, I keep reminding his mom and dad that West Virginia University is only 20 minutes from their house—and WVU is the NCAA Rifle Team Champion.  With hard work and dedication to his sport, I think I just might see him on that team one day.

It’s that time of year again when a lot of families are hashing out their summer vacation plans. There are many choices:  beach, cruise, amusement and water parks, all-inclusive, maybe even a trip to a foreign country– for most families there is something for everyone.  But what to do when the family cannot come to an agreement?  Or should I say when my husband and I can’t come to an agreement? I knew when we got married that my husband was a Disney fanatic.  He would go every year if I agreed.  We even went for part of our honeymoon.  He also knew when we got married that I am not, by any means, a fan of Disney World.  I can think of a hundred reasons not to go:  the heat, the lines, the people, the early mornings, the expense….I could go on and on.  I have never denied my husband or kids a trip to Disney; in fact we have been there several times over the years and have experienced it in all kinds of weather and in just about every season.  In fact, I have enjoyed watching my kids experience Disney over and over and again when they were little girls and the whole experience was “magical.”  The last time we visited Disney was November 2013 and when it was all over, I needed a vacation from that vacation.  So I knew it was coming…..I knew it was time for my husband to suggest another Disney trip, and I knew it would be this year.  Needless to say when we started the vacation talk a few months ago the first suggestion he had was, “Lets go to Disney for a few days”…cringe.  My immediate response was, “We can talk about this later,” as I joyfully envisioned myself lying on a beach somewhere in total relaxation listening to the waves crash while enjoying an adult beverage. I am a beach person – always have been and always will be.  I love everything about it.  My husband…. not so much.  He is not a fan of the lotion and the sand and just laying around doing nothing in general.  Yet somehow we have always managed to agree on how we spend our vacations.  Until this year.  Every time he brings the subject up I’m busy…..doing anything else.  I have avoided this year’s vacation planning like the plague.  I may have even faked mental illness.  I’m hoping if I wait long enough all the rooms in every hotel in Orlando will sell out.  That may sound selfish and I’m not proud of myself, but I just want to relax without a million other people.  I don’t, by any means, expect to win this war (it’s three to one as my kids want to go to Disney too……traitors) but I’m not going down until my feet hit the sand.

Many of you may recall the news last year about the assassins’ game that many teams of high school teens join from our local high schools. This is a game where you are a target for a set amount of time.  If you get “assassinated” in that timeframe, you’re eliminated.  If not, you remain in the game.  If you get the target you are assigned, you remain in the game.  If not, you’re out. To be assassinated, a teen must squirt its target with a water gun, take a photo of their successful hunt and post it.  This goes on in the months of April and May until all teams are eliminated except the final one.  At this point, that team wins money, which is usually around $1000.00 for their successful participation. It is a controversial subject among many for the obvious dangers that we adults can foresee, but in a teenagers mind, it’s a game.  All in good fun and rules will be followed.  The kids are required to use bright colored guns in addition to other rules that must be followed. Whether people agree with the game and the participants’ choice to join isn’t the point of my blog because the games will go on.  These are teenagers we are talking about. The point of this blog is simply to bring awareness that the games are upon us again.  Please be conscientious of the game players so maybe in some way we can help these kids stay safe.

Do you know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you are traveling and your car goes over a dip in the road? It doesn’t happen too often anymore because of interstate travel, but if you drive over the secondary roads down through the mountains of West Virginia you can still experience it quite often. On the few times that it does happen to me, it brings back memories of being squished in the backseat of some 1950’s vehicle with my other siblings on summer vacation.  I can still recall my dad’s amused eyes in the rearview mirror as he gazed back at us as we held our tummies squealing “Ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”  He would chuckle and say, “Did you lose your stomach back there?” The vacations that we went on when I was a kid were never to a set “destination” but were more like “road trips” from beginning to end.  My mom and dad loved to travel down through the mountains, usually with my aunt and uncle and their two children, and explore the wonders that West Virginia has to offer. We never ate in restaurants.  There were no McDonalds or other fast food restaurants back then so it was more economical with four kids to pack enough food in our trunk and eat all of our meals at a picnic area.  There were many small parks dotting the roads back then.  Mom used a small propane gas grill to cook the hot stuff like burgers, hotdogs, and…mmmmmmm…. there is nothing like the scent of bacon and eggs frying out in the open air of a foggy morning in the mountains of West Virginia. We never made reservations to stay anywhere.  My dad would just drive until it started to get dark and then we would start looking for a motel or cabin to stay at.  The small cabins were always our favorite!  It seemed to never fail that the first two or three places we stopped at would have no vacancy and soon my mom would be complaining that dad waited too long to start looking.  Eventually we would find a place.   In the mornings, dad would wake us up by turning on a radio or TV to listen to the morning news and shout “Time to hit the deck!”  (My dad obviously was an ex-Navy man.) It seems we never got tired of taking these kinds of vacations and we often sat around and reminisced about them. In the fall 1990, still grieving from the loss of my dad and brother, my sisters, Annie and Jean, and I decided to take mom on little weekend vacations together.  We had so much fun on the first one to Niagara Falls, Ontario, that we were soon taking them two times a year.  In October of 1991, we decided to take one of those fondly remembered road trips down through the mountains.  Autumn, as you can imagine, is a breathtaking beautiful time of the year in the mountains when the leaves change color.    We planned to stay true to our parents’ way when we were little and “fly by the seat of our pants.”  Just travel, stop, do whatever we wanted, make no reservations and get a room when we got tired. The only difference was we decided not to picnic our way because we were too spoiled by the convenience of eating in restaurants. So merrily we went, the four of us, my sisters and I taking turns driving on all the secondary roads down through the mountains of West Virginia, stopping leisurely to enjoy rustic little fruit stands and antique shops along the mountain roads.  We rediscovered Blackwater Falls, Spruce Knob, Seneca Rock, and, finally, by evening reached Cass, West Virginia, where we decided to take a sightseeing train ride up the mountain the next day.  Snowshoe Mountain Lodge was the closest accommodations so we drove over there and got a room.  After we ate supper, we went to our nice comfortable room to get a good night’s sleep.  We enjoyed the room so much that we decided it might be fun to stay at Snowshoe another night but when we asked they didn’t have any vacancies.  Which didn’t bother us.  We were winging it on this trip anyway.  We frittered away most of the day with the train ride up the mountain, looking through the museums and little shops at Cass and in the late afternoon we hit the road again heading south and at dusk casually began looking for a place to stay. Did I tell you how beautiful the mountains are in the fall?  The color of the leaves?  The beauty of Blackwater Falls?  How the wind on Spruce Knob blows so hard and apparently in one direction because all the branches on the trees point in one direction?  How majestic Seneca Rocks look from the little corner souvenir store below?  The twisting, winding mountain roads that go up forever and then down forever?  How scary it is when you are driving those twisting, winding roads after it gets dark with no street lights? I cannot remember the exact point in our travels that we learned that it is nearly impossible to find a vacancy at a motel, hotel, cabin or shack in the southern part of West Virginia that time of year.  Why?  Because it is White Water Rafting season!!!!  I do remember that we kept driving south still in hopes of finding a place until we reached Beckley.  I remember Beckley because my sister, Jean, who wasn’t driving very fast at the time, literally slid to a stop at a red-light and we joked that it was obviously from coal dust on the road. Finally, someone at one of these motels/hotels suggested to us that we might be able to find something in Charleston, West Virginia.  By this time it very dark, very late, all of us were frustrated, tired, and cranky (my mom was complaining that “all three of you are just like your father waiting till the last minute to look for a room!”) and we had no other option but to drive another hour or more over the twisting, winding, scary, dark mountain road north to Charleston with my mom grumbling at us in the backseat where we did indeed find a vacancy at the first hotel we stopped at. That night did not dampen our spirit for adventure though.  Refreshed the next morning, we ate breakfast and then explored the grounds of the Capitol in Charleston then continued our leisurely drive northeast where we drove over the New River Gorge Bridge (almost literally “drove over” the side because my sister, Annie, who was driving wanted to enjoy the scenery too!) and through Hawk’s Nest State Park where we located a little souvenir shop with a backroom that had a mysterious illusion that we were leaning sideways as we walked across the room.  From there we finally pointed our vehicle north and arrived back in Wheeling after dark. While mom was alive we continued to take these little vacations.  Something silly and memorable would always happen and we began calling them “adventures” instead of road trips.  We enjoyed being together and had such a good time making some very happy memories with mom during her last years on this earth. My sisters and I still go on at least one adventure a year.  It’s not quite the same without mom but we still have a great time together, talking and laughing as we enjoy the journey.  There is one very important rule we made years ago while mom was still with us:  no more flying by the seat of our pants!  We never leave town without making reservations first!!

Most of us have certain expectations about how we would like to be treated at a doctor’s office or a hospital. We would all like to be treated with respect, care and compassion and we certainly don’t want to be kept in the waiting room for hours.  One expectation that we should also have is the expectation that we will be given the best care possible under the circumstances.  What happens if we do not get that level of care and somebody gets hurt?  This is the question that faces many individuals and families across the country, as statistics show.  We often get calls from families in these very circumstances and it is not unusual for these families to tell us at the beginning of the conversation that they are not sure what to do or how to proceed.  This is the start of a conversation that eventually turns to whether or not the doctor or the hospital in questions has committed what’s known as “medical malpractice.” So what is medical malpractice?  The first thing to understand is “medical malpractice” is the same thing as “medical negligence.”  What I mean is that in order to have a case, the patient does not have to prove that they were intentionally hurt by a doctor.  They just have to prove that the doctor was negligent.  The patient also does not necessarily have to prove that there was some type of extreme or outrageous facts involved.  They must only prove that the doctor was negligent.  In terms of the law, they need to prove that the doctor fell below something called the “standard of care.”  So what is the “standard of care”? Generally speaking, the “standard of care” means that doctors have an obligation to provide the same care that would be rendered by an ordinary and careful (i.e., reasonable and prudent) doctor acting in the same or similar circumstances.  West Virginia defines the standard of care through a statute, which is typical of the definition of the standard.  As the West Virginia Code states: “(a) The following are necessary elements of proof that an injury or death resulted from the failure of a health care provider to follow the accepted standard of care: (1) The health care provider failed to exercise that degree of care, skill and learning required or expected of a reasonable, prudent health care provider in the profession or class to which the health care provider belongs acting in the same or similar circumstances; and (2) Such failure was a proximate cause of the injury or death.” Of course, the call to our office is only the beginning of the process.  An important step in determining whether a case will be filed is the opinion of experts in the relevant area of medicine.  Before instituting a lawsuit in either Ohio or West Virginia, an expert physician has to sign an affidavit saying that they have reviewed the case and determined that the physician was negligent.  That’s because the standard of care that I discussed above must usually be determined by an expert in any particular case.  Of course, finding and retaining the appropriate expert is one of the most important steps in any case.  Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own. If you or a loved one has been injured by a doctor or hospital, Bordas & Bordas would be honored to speak with you to help determine what your rights may be.

I remember hearing the slogan when I was growing up: “Reading is FUNdamental.” I couldn’t agree more.  Reading is a fundamental building block for a successful life and career.  But it’s also fun.  It should be a joy to read, not a drudgery!   That’s why my wife and I read to our daughters from a young age and encouraged both of them to read for themselves.  Now that we have granddaughters, we have an opportunity to start the process all over again. Kids’ books have come a long way.  It used to be that the best you could hope for was a good story and colorful, eye-catching pictures.  But books today are much more interactive.  Even the youngest ones can enjoy reading because there are things to touch, poke, pull and twist as you read the story together.  There are also talking books, singing books, and books that let you make up the story as you go.  It really is a brave new world! But can I share something with you?  You don’t have to buy the books that are the newest or the biggest or the most technologically advanced.  The key to raising a reader is the time you spend together and the fun you have doing it.  Read together as often as you can.  Be fun.  Be spontaneous.  Be silly.  Fire their imagination.  If you make an honest effort, I promise they’ll keep coming back for more. I’ll share one quick story before I go.  My wife was babysitting our granddaughter, Melody, and her little cousin, Logan.  Hearing a noise, my wife peaked into the toy room.  Melody and Logan had pulled all the books off the bookshelf and converted it into their own little reading nook.  With the books scattered all over the floor in front of them, they sat together on the shelf with a book on their laps “reading” to each other.  I  guess we must be doing something right…

Do we really need to be reminded to stay connected with the people we love? I guess so since we have been inundated with commercials from Values.com telling us to take time to talk to our husbands and wives and call our children when we are away on a business trip. While the commercials are sweet, what has become of our society when we have to be reminded to do these things; or worse yet, being guilted into believing we are bad people because we may need an occasional reminder to remember what is important in our lives? In today’s world, there are many households where both parents find themselves having to work to make ends meet. It is not really surprising that many times it is our family who gets the short end of the stick. Everyone gets a piece of us except those who are nearest and dearest. By the time we get home and get dinner and homework out of the way, most of us find it a win when we can carve out thirty minutes to spend time with those we love. But after all, it’s quality over quantity, right? According to Today Parents it is. Now they tell me! I have spent more guilty moments wondering how I was failing my children because I had to work than I have spent actually working. Had I worked at Bordas & Bordas back then, I wouldn’t have had to miss out on all the school plays and field trips with my children since they recognize how important these events are in our lives. Unfortunately, that was not the case, so I spent a lot of time feeling like a failure for missing out on those things and envious of the stay-at-home moms that could, it seemed, do it all. Now, I find out that the quality time that I did spend with my children was more than enough to make them successful adults. And as they say, the proof is in the pudding. All of my children are terrific people and great parents. I guess I can finally give myself a break. So I say to all the working parents out there, cut yourselves some slack and give your family the quality time they deserve instead of worrying so much about quantity. While I do believe in “being there” for my family and to “pass it on” to those that might need a nudge to remember what is important, as the Values.com commercial stresses, most of us don’t really need a reminder to do these things. We have been doing them all along.

I like to think that I have learned a lot about life in the 58 years I have spent on this Earth. Like most of us, my parents taught me most of what I needed to know as I grew up:  the importance of kindness; the personal satisfaction that comes from hard work; and the sore rear end you get when you throw tomatoes at the neighbor’s garage door.  There are some lessons, however, that are best taught by life.  My life -- or more accurately, my life over the last twenty years -- is a perfect example of one of life’s most important lessons:  the need to accept responsibility for one’s actions. Back in the late 1990's, I was divorced.  My ex and I had been married for just over 17 years, which by today’s standards seems like a long time.   We had two wonderful children, a nice house in a nice subdivision, a cat and a dog.  To neighbors and all but our closest friends, we appeared to be the storybook family.  To those who knew us better, we had problems. If you are hoping the following paragraphs will be detailed descriptions of the breakdown of my marriage and the reasons behind it, you are going to be disappointed.   What I will tell you is that I did some selfish things that resulted in a lot of pain and heartache for my family and my friends.  As a result, my life began to disintegrate right in front of me.  My parents, deeply hurt by the actions of a son they had raised to know better, turned away from me.  A successful and rapidly-growing law partnership was ended, and I found myself in a state of financial ruin shortly thereafter.  Worst of all by far, I could see the hurt in the eyes of my children who were forced to deal with the emotional turmoil that inevitably comes with divorce.  I felt as if I was living a nightmare, but it was a nightmare of my own creation. Psychologists tell us that it is human nature to rationalize behavior one knows is wrong.  No one likes to face the fact that he has been a selfish jerk.  The problem is that until a person is able to admit his mistakes, it isn’t possible to learn from them.  It took me some time to face up to the way I had lived my life in the years leading up to my divorce, and when I was finally able to do so, I didn’t much like what I saw.  At that point I realized I had a choice to make.  I could continue to try and defend the indefensible, or I could accept responsibility for my past and move forward with a new life.  Not a particularly difficult decision when you think about it. The first part of that equation was easy.  The second part was more of a challenge.  I had accepted responsibility for what I had done and where I was at that moment in my life, but moving forward would prove to be more difficult.  I wasn’t sure how to climb out of the hole I had dug for myself.  I can still remember the exact moment when the answer came to me.  I was sitting in my doctor’s office waiting to undergo my annual physical, flipping through one of those “How to Make Your Life Better” magazines that are on every table in every doctor’s office in the country, when I came across this passage: “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you choose to deal with it.” In that simple yet powerful thought, I found my answer.  I had a choice.  I could not change my past, but I could change tomorrow, the next day, and the rest of my life. I had known for months that I had hit rock bottom.  In that moment in my doctor’s office, I decided that I would use rock bottom as the foundation for a new life.  I am still amazed when I look back at how quickly and dramatically my life changed once I accepted responsibility for where I was and how I had gotten there.  My closest friends, at least one of whom called me every single day throughout the nightmare, could see the dramatic change in my outlook.  With the love that only a parent can understand, my Mom and Dad welcomed me back home.  My professional career once again began to prosper, and then -- standing there directly in front of me -- was the greatest gift I had ever received since the birth of my children:  there was Denise. I’m not ashamed to admit that every time I think about the moment Denise came into my life as more than a friend, the tears well up in my eyes.  Looking back, it was as if God had decided that I was finally choosing to live my life as I should, and he wanted to make sure I knew he was watching.  So, he gave me Denise.  She knew all there was to know about me and my past, and she loved me anyway.  She showed me the incredible, awesome power of forgiveness, and she reminded me of the need to forgive myself.  Denise and I were married on a beach in 2003, and though our life together in the years since has had its share of bumps (and whose hasn’t??), we have fought through them all with love, understanding, and unshakable commitment to each other.  Denise both saved and completed my life, and though I still feel as if I was unworthy of her love, I am so incredibly grateful to have it. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die.  And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”  I was particularly struck by the second sentence of that quote.  “ The process never ends until we die.”  It made me realize that no matter how far I had traveled down the wrong road, it was never too late to turn around.  So turn around I did.  I committed to being a better father, and I helped my children understand and deal with the fallout of their parents’ divorce.  I was honest with them about what had happened, and I encouraged them both to learn from my mistakes.  I also decided that I needed to seize upon opportunities to give back to my community.  Most recently, that commitment has seen me being asked to serve on the Boards of Directors for the Marshall County Animal Shelter, the Marshall County Animal Rescue League and the Strand Theater Preservation Society, and to serve on the Moundsville Christmas Parade Committee, the Marshall County Schools Pride & Progress Committee, and the Grand Vue Park Foundation Citizens Advisory Board.  I also decided I needed to do more for the welfare of children.  I re-committed to my work as a court-appointed guardian for abused & neglected children, and soon thereafter I was asked to serve on the Boards of Directors for the West Virginia Children’s Advocacy Network (WVCAN) and Harmony House Children’s Advocacy Center.  All of these commitments take up an extraordinary amount of time, but the personal satisfaction I receive from serving makes it all worthwhile.  I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity.  Giving back feels so much better than taking. As much as I am ashamed of the decisions I made twenty years ago, I am fiercely proud of how I have re-built my life in the years that followed.  Since that moment in my doctor’s office, I have dedicated myself to being the best husband, father, and person that I can be.  As a result, I have been blessed with a wonderful marriage, the best job I have ever had, and an opportunity to pursue a position where I can help to make my home a better and safer place to live, work, and raise a family.  I can’t ask for much more than that.

Although my husband’s stroke was a catastrophic event in both our lives, we have learned to cope with the help of friends and each other and his wonderful caregiver, Terri. He has improved to the point that I can leave him totally alone for an hour or so to go to the store or to the Mall. Sunday was a big day in his life.  When I got home from Church, Terri had him bathed, shaved and shined up!  We were going out!  I have always been averse to having a TV in our living room, but after giving it some thought and deciding what the living room looked liked really didn’t matter.  What did matter was his comfort and happiness.  Think of spending day after day in the same room, going from bed to chair and back to bed.  That certainly wouldn’t appeal to me. I thought about it!  I decided if he had a TV in the living room, he could go in there (either walking with his cane and Terri’s help or by wheelchair (if I’m the only one there).  And, I thought that maybe people would be more comfortable visiting him if he was dressed and not in a “sick” room.  SO!! Sunday when I got home from Church, Terri and I got him in the van— OK, let’s be real here – Terri got him in the van.  She helped him down the basement stairs while I carried/rolled the wheelchair to the garage where he rode the rest of the way to the van.  I put the chair in the back of the van and off we went.  We first stopped at H.H. Gregg and looked at a TV I had already checked out.  It was a good deal and what he wanted.  HOWEVER, they wanted to charge $79.00 to deliver it.  Deal breaker!  We live about 2-1/2 miles from the Mall and couldn’t see a $79.00 delivery charge. So we decided to see what Sears had to offer.  Terri got him back in the van and we went to Sears, where I went in first and “cased” the place to make sure they had 40” TVs.  He then got out of the van and in to Sears to see for himself.  They had a 40” LG TV and after we decided to take it, they dropped the bomb!  A $39.00 delivery charge! Although it was more reasonable, we told him that that wasn’t acceptable.  The salesman went to his manager and they waived the delivery charge.  So, while I stayed and paid for it, Terry wheeled Clayton through the Mall to the food court where we had lunch at Fabio’s. Remember, he hadn’t been out of the house except to go to two doctor’s appointments in several months.  So, what might seem like an ordinary day to some, was a red-letter day for him (and for me and Terri). About a year ago, I introduced him to the pleasure of a pedicure, which he loved.  So I asked him if he was up to having a pedicure while he was out and he was pleased.  So after lunch, I wheeled him down to The Escape Spa, where he got a pedicure.  I might add here that I have always teased him about his feet.  They never touch the floor bare except to step in and out of the shower.  He always has on shoes or slippers, so his feet without a pedicure are softer than mine with one! I tell him they are “baby-butt” soft. Although he was exhausted when we got home and he got back up the stairs, he was one happy man.  Realizing that he was not necessarily homebound now that he was stronger helped his outlook. This is not something I can do alone, since I couldn’t get him down the stairs and in the van and back up the stairs by myself, but then I don’t have to.  We have Terri and we have wonderful friends from our church, Anthony and Dionne Cox and Kenny and Dawn Gainer who are always willing to help. I have more “life post-stroke” thoughts and stories, but I’ll save them for another blog! I will close with:  Don’t take your good health for granted.  Things can change in a heartbeat.

On March 25, 2015, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Brady v. Urbas, held that evidence regarding informed consent is irrelevant in cases involving claims solely based upon medical negligence. Ms. Brady sought consultation with Dr. Urbas, a podiatrist, for problems with her right foot. Dr. Urbas informed Ms. Brady of the nature of her condition, i.e. “hammer toe,” and they discussed available treatment options, including surgery.  Dr. Urbas also informed Ms. Brady of the risks and reasonably anticipated outcomes associated with each alternative treatment, and specifically advised Ms. Brady that even under the most optimal surgical circumstances, bad outcomes could still occur.  Ms. Brady memorialized her understanding of the information by signing a consent form. Dr. Urbas performed four (4) operations between March 2008 and January 2010.  Ms. Brady’s pain persisted; her toe was shorter and less stable.  In August 2010, Ms. Brady consulted a different podiatrist, who performed a bone-graft operation, which returned her toe to almost its original length and function with less pain. In December 2010, Ms. Brady sued Dr. Urbas, alleging that he negligently treated her toe in the three follow-up surgeries performed after March 2008.  She averred that she could not have reasonably discovered the harm she suffered until after the fourth surgery because Dr. Urbas’ advice, assurances and recommendations lulled her into a false sense of security and concealed the true nature of her condition.  As to the alleged negligence, Ms. Brady asserted that Dr. Urbas failed to determine the cause of her original toe condition, and recommended and performed procedures that were not indicated.   Notably, the complaint did not include a cause of action for lack of informed consent. At trial, Ms. Brady filed a motion in limine to exclude any consent-related evidence at trial, including the surgical consent forms she signed before each procedure. Ms. Brady argued that such evidence was not relevant to whether Dr. Urbas performed within the appropriate standard of care.  Dr. Urbas responded that the risks and complications of surgery would be relevant to Ms. Brady’s credibility as a witness and to her state of mind at the time of the surgeries, and that the evidence of consent would not be used to prove or disprove informed consent. The trial court denied the motion and permitted admission of the consent-related evidence, stating that the risks and complications associated with the alleged negligent procedures and the course of treatment to alleviate those complications were relevant to determine if Dr. Urbas was negligent. At trial, experts for both sides agreed that the complications Ms. Brady experienced after the first surgery were common, although they differed as to whether Dr. Urbas was negligent in his recommendations, care, and treatment. Dr. Urbas testified that he informed Ms. Brady of the possible complications from the surgery and that the follow-up procedures were reasonable to alleviate these problems.  During deliberations, the jury asked to review the consent forms, stating that they needed to know what Ms. Brady agreed to.  The court provided the forms,  and soon thereafter, the jury returned a defense verdict. Ms. Brady appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, who vacated and remanded for a new trial.  The Superior Court established a per se rule of exclusion mirroring the law of Virginia, explaining that “evidence of informed consent is irrelevant in a medical malpractice case.” The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to endorse the Superior Court’s broad pronouncement to the degree it may be construed to hold that all aspects of informed-consent information are always “irrelevant in a medical malpractice case.  Still, the fact that a patient may have agreed to a procedure in light of the known risks does not make it more or less probable that the physician was negligent in either considering the patient an appropriate candidate for the operation or in performing it in the post-consent timeframe. Put differently, there is no assumption-of-the-risk defense available to a defendant physician which would vitiate his duty to provide treatment according to the ordinary standard of care. The patient’s actual, affirmative consent, therefore, is irrelevant to the question of negligence.

While a significant amount of oil and gas lease negotiations have been completed over the last several years, many individuals are only now learning the true extent of the oil and gas operations which will be conducted on or near their properties. Significantly, many people who do not own their mineral rights and could not sign oil and gas leases are now faced with the day to day burdens of oil and gas production, but receive none of the monetary benefits of bonuses and/or royalties. Faced with non-stop traffic, noise, and light pollution, many individuals are attempting to fight back against oil and gas companies through lawsuits seeking to recover damages for private nuisance and the loss of the quiet enjoyment of their properties.  Many gas companies, however, are attempting to cut off their liability for such claims by placing enticing offers in front of those individuals likely be affected by the constant noise and activity associated with well pads.  It has been reported that EQT Corporation recently made $50,000.00 offers to residents in Finleyville, PA to compensate those individuals for damages associated with the oil and gas drilling and production process.  While that might sound like a great deal, there are strings attached.  In exchange for the payment the gas company asked residents to sign “release” documents, which would forever release the gas company for future claims.  Amazingly, the list of precluded future claims includes everything from property damage to nuisance to even personal injury and/wrongful death.  While $50,000.00 is a significant amount of money, it pales in comparison to the potential claims that one might be giving up by signing a release.  If someone were to accept the $50,000.00 and sign a release, then be killed in an oil and gas well site explosion on neighboring property, that individuals family may very well be precluded from bringing a lawsuit against the oil and gas operator.  The release would essentially be a license for the gas company to do anything it wanted in the future and not to face liability. Later reports have suggested that some landowners in Finleyville were able to negotiate more equitable terms. This is not only happening in Pennsylvania.  Bordas & Bordas, PLLC currently represents West Virginia landowners who complained to an oil and gas operator about the extent of its operations only to be offered $40,000.00 by the large oil and gas company to settle those claims.  In exchange for that money, however, the oil and gas operator asked the landowners to sign a release providing that the landowner would be giving up any claims for future damages or injury. The proposed release would have also precluded the landowner from contacting the news media to complain about any of the operations or any disputes between the landowner and the company.  Thankfully, the landowners sensed something was wrong and contacted our firm.   We now represent those individuals in ongoing litigation against the oil and gas company. Whether it is through arbitration provisions or overly broad release agreements, many oil and gas operators have taken substantial steps in order to avoid being dragged into court to answer for their improper operations.  While oil and gas production has been a major financial boom for our area, operations need to be conducted safely and gas companies should be honest and up front about the scope of their operations.  Marcellus and Utica natural gas well sites are often large industrial endeavors.  The sites are busy and loud.  Overnight operations keep many neighbors awake all night and smells and traffic disrupt neighbor’s daily lives.   Landowners, however, may have recourse.  Most states permit some variation of a legal claim to assert that you and/or your family’s quiet enjoyment of your home has been violated.  If an oil and gas well site is causing pollution, property damage, noise or other aggravation to your daily life, contact a mineral rights attorney at Bordas & Bordas, PLLC to discuss the matter to determine if there is anything we can do to help.

My sister, who is nine years younger than me, will graduate from college this May. I can’t wait to see her walk at her graduation ceremony and claim her hard-earned diploma, and I’m sure many other local families are eagerly looking forward to watching their loved ones do the same.  While I’m sure I will annoy her over the next few months with plenty of unsolicited advice, here are just a few suggestions off the top of my head for the other soon-to-be college grads out there: Learn to balance your checkbook and do your taxes. For a lot of us, online banking is so second-nature that we don’t even bother to balance our checkbooks each month.  But learning the very simple process of balancing your account each time you get a statement will make you much more aware of precisely how you are spending your money each month.  It can be very stressful to look closely at your finances, especially when you’re fresh out of college and barely have enough money to pay your bills and student loans, but reviewing your account in this way will give you a good idea of areas in which you might be able to spend a little less and save a little more. Most recently-graduated college students don’t have particularly complex tax returns, meaning you can easily learn how to file them yourself.  While they may seem very daunting at first, learning how to do your taxes yourself while they’re still simple will make it easier for you to understand what forms and deductions you need as you get older and your returns become more challenging. It’s OK if you change careers a few times. College students are expected to pick a major as soon as they enroll, if not during their application process.  In some cases, high schools also encourage students to focus on a particular course of study even earlier.  That’s a lot of pressure on a 16-18 year old to decide how they want to spend the next 60+ years of their life!  But if you graduate from college and simply aren’t sure what you’re going to do next, that’s completely OK – AND it’s still OK even if you loved the courses you took in your major but don’t know how that will translate to a job.  Most Americans change jobs anywhere from 5 to 7 times over the course of their lives, and more recent studies show that people born between the late 70s and late 90s may change jobs 15 to 20 times.  It is very likely that you will move around a bit and your first job will not be your last job. Nobody knows what they’re doing. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Fake it till you make it.”  No one graduates from college with a sudden and complete grasp on how to do all the things you need to do to take care of yourself and “be an adult.”  It’s perfectly fine, and expected, if you make mistakes or are stressed by the new responsibilities you have – what matters is that you keep trying.  One day you may find that a task which sounds horribly stressful and scary now (like balancing your checkbook) has finally become second-nature to you and actually helps you feel more in control of your new, independent life. Best of luck to all the soon-to-be college grads out there, and congratulations to the class of 2015!