When accidents happen as the result of someone’s negligence, it is often hard for an insurance company or a jury to fully understand how the injury has impacted the victim’s life. “When accidents happen, the focus of the injured is primarily on trying to get better. As a result, often the specific details of that recovery like the constant pain, the strain on relationships, the impact on employment get lost in the victim’s effort to recovery and frustration for even being placed in the position of having to recover. One of the tools I try to provide my clients with is the actual journal and understanding of how to best document the highs and lows throughout their recovery,” Lawyer John Hayes explained.
Initially, they should be certain to detail their recollection of the accident or injury causing incident. Paying particular attention to the details of their actions and the at fault party(s). Identifying, to the best of their memory, exactly what they did leading up to the accident/incident, every turn and observation they recall. Even seemingly inconsequential facts can end up being determinative. Documenting timeframes, weather and what the other party(s) to the accident/incident did as well as what might have been said is crucial.
Sometimes, one of the most important pieces of information that gets left out related to an accident/incident is identifying any witnesses. Giving your attorney as much information, early on, about witnesses will assist in tracking them down and documenting their recollection as close in time to the accident/incident. As we all know, people tend to have more reliable memories the closer in time to an event so the sooner their recollection can be documented the better.
Ongoing and changing pain/discomfort throughout a person’s recovery is particularly difficult to explain months or years after experiencing it but by detailing those moments through a victim’s recovery, while it’s
happening, paints a much clearer picture for the insurance company, judge or jury. Especially when pain can sometimes be the most defining factor through a person’s recovery.
“Detailing the level of pain/discomfort is not necessarily the most important thing in journaling but rather identifying how someone’s pain/discomfort are impacting their lives is. An injury could be the difference between providing for one’s family or not. That is where the brush hits the canvas; explaining how an injury is preventing a victim from the activities they need or love on a daily or weekly basis; how the injury is changing their lives as its happening,” Hayes noted.
The assumption that insurance companies or juries will naturally understand the impact injuries have on people’s lives and be sympathetic is often not true but a journal can change that by bringing that victim’s experiences to life much like a movie or book that tells us a story that brings us to tears; we can then see it and imagine it. “A story without much substance and/or detail is hard to connect with and making that connection is key for any good lawyer. The journal provides your attorney the tool to make that happen,” explained Hayes.
Five Things the Michigan Marijuana Law Does Not Allow
Many people are happy that Michigan legalized recreational marijuana for adults. The truth is people who choose to use recreational marijuana realize there are some strings attached. Below we discuss what the law does not allow you to do.
*The law does not allow you to use marijuana in public.*
“People need to be very careful about where they use marijuana,” Lawyer Mike Van Tubergen said. “I think this part of the law may get overlooked by many people and they could end up getting in trouble. It
is still illegal to light up a joint in a ‘public place’.”
*People cannot use marijuana in a vehicle.*
“Like alcohol, it doesn’t matter if a person is driving the vehicle or a passenger in a vehicle; marijuana cannot be used while the vehicle is in use or in a public place,” Van Tubergen noted.
*People who decide to grow marijuana can’t let their growing operation be seen by the public.*
The best way to avoid this is to grow it inside an enclosed structure or have it concealed behind a privacy fence. “The bottom line is the marijuana plants must be out of view where people can’t see them. This
includes people walking or driving through a neighborhood,” Van Tubergen added.
*Marijuana users can’t bring marijuana onto school grounds.*
An obvious thing users can’t do is to bring marijuana onto school grounds.
*Marijuana users are not allowed to drive under the influence of marijuana.*
“This is certainly a ‘gray area’ in the law because people are interpreting this differently. It is clear that anyone feeling the intoxicating affects from cannabis are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle,” Van Tubergen said. But what about someone who uses recreational marijuana on a Saturday and drives to work on Monday? The current drunk driving law in Michigan states that a person cannot operate a motor vehicle with any presence of a Schedule 1 controlled substance in your system. This could be interpreted by law enforcement to mean anyone operating a motor vehicle with THC Metabolite (which stays in your system for 30 days) as being illegal. “The current drunk driving law directly conflicts with the new marijuana law. I think the new law trumps the old law (which makes its illegal to operate a motor vehicle with any presence of THC in your system) but the reality is the law is open to interpretation and the courts are likely to issue interpretations that are subject to litigation for years,” Van Tubergen added. For this reason, Van Tubergen recommends that anyone who is interested in using recreational marijuana and continuing to drive their car (when not under the influence) obtain a medical marijuana card. The “Medical Marijuana Act provides protection for medical marijuana patients from prosecution. I think the safest route is to simply obtain a medical marijuana card.”
If anyone in the Grand Haven, Spring Lake or Muskegon area has any questions concerning the new Michigan marijuana law, contact VTH-Law. We will gladly answer those questions.
