Introduction

Since forming Burger Law, I quickly committed myself to organizing my contact list and sending an emailed newsletter every other week to friends, lawyers, colleagues, and clients. I’ve told stories of our clients’ successes, legal issues, my life, and some views on where law meets society.

These biweekly emails have been a great way for me to connect more with friends and colleagues, whose responses to my newsletter are always a bright spot in my day.

A more interesting side of these newsletters is that they have become something bigger. When put together, they tell the story of Burger Law, from our first newsletter announcing the firm, to our latest client win. The first volume of Client Success Stories tells the story of the first two years of our firm. This volume follows us along the next four, through early 2022. It is fun to follow these stories along our journey, and watch this firm grow.

We call it client success stories as it is the client on whom our firm and legal representation is focused and their successes we celebrate. And our client’s success mirrors the firm’s success. Many thanks to the clients who have made this happen.

Thanks also to two of our lawyers, Genavieve Perino and Michael Sheldon, who helped achieve many of these successes for our clients and contributed to the content as well. Thanks also to Martina Doytcheva, our Law Clerk, who compiled this book; Joe Dalton, our Marketing Manager, who edited this manuscript; our COO, Casey Fluegel, who oversaw the process; and to the lawyers, paralegals, and staff who have contributed to the newsletters over the years. Additionally, I’d like to thank my entire team for helping build four more years of success stories, and my family for their love and support.

So, without further ado, I present to you, four more years of successes: More Client Success Stories.

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Happy New Year

January 2018

But first, here's my ten "by the numbers" 2017 review.

1. 3 Offices now - St. Louis, Belleville and Chesterfield
2. 4 lawyers now work at our firm and three paralegals
3. 5 Star review average on Google
4. 25 puppies my wife Kristen and I fostered in 2017
5. 25 -- The number of years I have been practicing law, which is also the age of my law clerk
6. 112 cases resolved in 2017
7. 117 lawsuits filed in 2017
8. 153 depositions taken by Burger Law Lawyers in 2017
9. 173 Google reviews for our main downtown office (now we’re well over 550)
10. 322 open cases right now

Cyberstalking, Circuses, and Custody of Pets -- New Laws for Illinois and Tennessee in 2018

Illinois passed more than 200 bills in 2017 that took effect yesterday.

This includes combating the opioid epidemic. Senate Bill 772 requires doctors to check the Prescription Monitoring Program database to see if a patient has been prescribed a controlled substance by another doctor before writing that patient a prescription. This makes it harder to “doctor shop” drugs from multiple physicians.

Health laws are changing: psychiatrists don't have to be in the same room as a patient and physicians can do virtual medical care. Here's the NPR story I heard this morning on this very topic. Although virtual therapy visits for the opioid addict are slow to catch on.

Also, Senate Bill 314 requires insurance companies to cover breast MRIs if a mammogram detects dense breast tissue, which is a risk factor for cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Other new laws treat pets as children in divorce cases, ban circus elephants, and make cyberstalking a potential hate crime.

Tennessee is making changes too. Using a cellphone while driving in a school zone is a Class C misdemeanor.

Finally, the biggest law many know about taking effect January 1 is a federal law -- the changes to the federal tax system. If you are a small business owner, make sure to check in with your accountant on what might change for you. If you are an individual, read up on the changes.

Settled Auto/Work Comp Case

We recently settled an auto claim for one of our clients. Darius had two claims arising from his accident. We settled his workers comp claim earlier but his auto case took a little longer.

Darius was injured September 18, 2015 on his motorcycle when a car from the left lane turned right in front of him. I try to get the word out to share the road and watch for motorcycles.

Darius had lacerations and bruising, and injuries to his legs, neck, teeth and head. Darius's leg injury would not resolve on its own. His swelling continued and eventually, doctors relieved the swelling by performing calf incision, irrigation and debridement.

Darius also had wage loss claims. Darius had multiple employers he missed work for from the accident. Due to the case taking a while to settle, we had to send multiple demands for his injuries and updates to his wage loss claim throughout the process.

After no offer for a long time the defendant's insurance company offered $45,000, barely enough to cover his medical and work comp lien. So, we filed suit and litigated the case and was able to double the first offer, settling for $90,000.

We negotiated the workers' comp lien asserted in the case. Even after settling the case, it has taken almost 2 months to get the check from the other side. But finally, we are happy our client will ring in the new year with this behind him.

25 Puppies in 2017

My wife fostered 25 puppies through various organizations in 2017. I helped too :-).

This is up from 16 in 2016. Kristen is amazing at caring for them and finding them homes. We adopted one out at our Christmas party a couple weeks ago and thought we would take a break.

But Kristen got a call that Gateway Pet Guardians found 5-week-old puppies out in the cold. So, we took three in to ring in the New Year. With this weather they would not have made it.

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Hi There, Friend, and Happy MLK Day!

Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech was given almost 55 years ago. We have progressed in King's dream that his children, "live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

But our president picked this week to question admitting darker skinned immigrants from Haiti and Africa instead of white people from Norway. Racial ranking in immigration challenges our progress.

Did you know choosing immigrants from countries as a race litmus test was raised by conservatives in the 1920s? This led to race superiority theories in Germany and Italy before and during WWII.

This 1924 immigration reform was discussed and promoted by Trump campaign spokesman Jeff Sessions and Steve Bannon.

I try not to be controversial in these emails, but as Dr. King said in his Dream speech: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter."

Below will talk about some good news about race relations, a funny video fail of mine with my son Jordan, influenza and a court victory last week by Nicole Grotowski.

First, here's some wisdom by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are in an inescapable network of mutuality, ties in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

–Letter from Birmingham Jail

"So, I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends."

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Words that are still relevant today as our president is making comments about people from other countries.

A Bit of Good in all the Bad

While disheartening, recent stories about those working to help others and denouncing Trump's comments are welcomed.

Senator Dick Durbin confirmed Trump made those "vile" comments repeatedly during an immigration meeting in which the Senator was present. Senator Durbin describes Trump's words as "sickening and heartbreaking words."

Senator Durbin wasn't the only one to rebuke Trump's words – many reacted to the news. Another great story about an area Judge is truly inspiring.

A story was recently published on Federal District Judge Richard E. Webber. Judge Webber's story is astounding, you can check out the full article here. Understanding he can make a difference, Judge Webber makes it a purpose to meet with all of the people he sends to prison, to let them know in his words, he cares about them. Here's an excerpt:

At one point, the judge, who is white, knelt before one of the men in the all-black audience to say how sorry he was for sending so many young black men to prison — and to drive home his main point. “I’m here to tell you that I care about you.”

Judge Webber says for many, they tell him he is the first person to ever tell them that. Judge Webber encourages them to take classes and graduate high school or get their GED, and when they do, they often send their certificate to him.

Judge Webber says the only way change is ever going to happen is if "everybody rolls up their sleeves and puts aside a lot of their preconceived ideas and looks for new ways to really solve some of these problems that aren’t being solved."

Justice For Our Clients

This week, one of our attorneys, Nicole Godowsky, had a great victory for a young woman who was sexually assaulted on a college campus. As happens too often, the University did not accommodate the young rape survivor, and refused to remove the perpetrator from campus.

He attended class with her and there was no school recourse, contrary to Title IX. The woman was forced to see her attacker on campus daily as she attended class despite the fact that her perpetrator continued to harass her.

Thanks to the work of Burger Law, the woman was able to get a hard-fought full order of protection barring the rapist from campus until well after she graduates. He can’t be within 500 feet of her, go near her home, or go anywhere near where she works. Justice prevails and clients are safer due to the work of our attorneys!

Get a Flu Shot

Many people think the flu is no big deal and don't take symptoms seriously. We had a client a few years ago whose husband exhibited flu-like symptoms. In her claim, we sued two emergency room physicians who failed to timely diagnose and treat sepsis in Lisa’s husband.

There are many signs of sepsis infection and it can originate from anything. Sepsis is a general term referring to infections. However, when a bacterium becomes a sepsis infection, it can lead to cascading events that can bring on death quickly.

The flu can be fatal. As a part of her mission, Lisa helps raise sepsis awareness after her husband died.

She has truly taken his memory and her love of him and made lemonade out of lemons by trying to save the lives of other people who get sepsis infections.

There are other stories about the potential dangers of the flu and other infections that arise in the winter that many people shrug off. A San Diego Navy veteran was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit after his flu-like symptoms (headache, chills, body aches) turned into difficulties breathing and renal failure.

After a healthy 21-year-old man died this year from complications of the influenza virus, Time Magazine did an article outlining specifically what the flu does and how it can turn fatal.

Texting and Driving Reminder

As conditions worsen in the winter season, I want to remind everyone about the dangers of texting and driving. Texting and driving and other distracted driving are one of the leading causes of accidents.

In 2018, states like Tennessee are cracking down on texting, enacting more laws to ensure the safety of others and lower the incidents of distracted driving.