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     Our Lewis & Daggett Blog has had a surprising number of visitors.  As a result, we have moved and intregrated our blog to our firm website at www.lewisdaggett.com   Please visit us there and keep up with our weekly blog posts.   Thank you for your friendship and your loyalty.  We appreciate the time you take to join us.

 

Do Good Things . . .

     Today is a special day here in the Lewis & Daggett family. Today, Mike Lewis’ father, The Reverend Henry A. Lewis, celebrates his 90^th birthday and 65^th year in the ministry. Certainly both of these are significant milestones. What can we learn from him?

     There are many lessons we have and can continue to learn from Rev. Lewis. He tends to stop by the office at fairly regular intervals, and is around enough that he is truly part of our L & D family. We always enjoy it when he stops by, and I always try to pick up a lesson. I may write a book some day on the lessons learned . . . perhaps a fitting title could be “Mike and His Dad – Inter-Generational and Timeless Lessons.”

     The first and most immediate lesson is to smile. Rev. Lewis always has a smile on his face from the moment he walks through the door, and continues to greet each individual with a smile. It always makes you feel good in his presence and is very welcoming. More, it is contagious and makes the whole environment better.

      Rev. Lewis is fond of saying something that incorporates some version of “Do good things.” Which is usually closely followed by “Good things will happen for you.” Wow, what a basic, simple, and a timeless lesson on how to succeed in life.

     Give positive encouragement to others. Rev. Lewis is always good about offering a word of encouragement. Interestingly, within his encouragement tends to be woven a message of high expectation. So, he not only encourages us toward good things and good results, he expects it!

     Oh, did you notice the Wake Forest shirt? Always pull for the home team – win or lose, good years and bad – always let them know which side you are on and pull hard. Rev. Lewis, thank you for always being on our Team! Happy 90^th!

School’s Back In Session!

      There is a lot of excitement around our house – school starts this week! The start of a new school year is always a time of excitement and anticipation, but is also it a time to review and remember a few aspects of safety, particularly for our youngsters. Unfortunately, at our law firm we have seen too many times when an accident, injury, or some other harm dampens the year before it really gets started. 

     The first thing that we will all notice is that traffic in general is heavier. That means we need to remind ourselves to be sure to stay alert and practice paying attention to our best driving skills. Additionally, it is a good time to remind ourselves to be courteous and respectful to other drivers. Good Manners go a long way toward being safe!

     Next, let’s all help to look out for our youngsters. Please pay particular attention during the early morning hours. Schools start early and many children will be out waiting for the buses in the dark. Some of them need a constant watchful eye, while others simply need help just learning where to stand for the school bus. In either case, they need our help and our support.

     Try something with me this week – at least one time offer some of our young people a kind word of support and encouragement. Especially the kids in our own neighborhoods need to know we care and that the they have a network of support. It makes a difference and will make their day just a little bit better (and your’s too!).

     Lastly, all those yellow school buses. Yes, they at times seem to slow us down….don’t they know we are in a hurry! But, we will all get where we are going so please be patient. Every year we hear about injuries from incidents with school buses. They are big, yellow, and have flashers for a reason. Please use extreme caution around the buses. North Carolina has a very a very good resource guide (click here: http://www.ncbussafety.org/) for parents, teachers and students that focuses on these sorts of safety issues.

     Let’s make this a great school year!

     Hard work usually ends up with positive results, and, as we all know, there is rarely a shortcut to hard work. The exciting thing about hard work is how good and rewarding it always feels when the results are reached and the benefits gained.

     This past weekend Doug Nauman and I went on a little bicycle ride that included a long climb up to about 3000 feet on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was no easy way up. Here is a photo we took of ourselves using the cell phone camera at the end my extended arm:

                    

     Doug and I have worked together for about 12 years, but this is the first time we have taken on this sort of adventure together. Climbing to the top of the mountain was hard, but the reward of the view and the long downhill seemed to make it all worthwhile. That’s just the way it works – you have to put in the hard work in order to enjoy the benefits and enjoy the positive results.

     Hard work certainly applies to working on cases in our office. At Lewis & Daggett hard work comes in many forms including accident investigation, legal research, obtaining and assembling documentation, case presentation, negotiations, and in court hearings when needed. Add to this mix a strong desire to help plus a strong dose of client service and we have the ingredients for positive results.

     We believe that hard work is necessary in order to properly do our jobs. It gives us the opportunity to strive for the best possible results and the most favorable representation. We take these obligations very seriously and will always strive to work hard to fulfill the confidence entrusted to us.

     In some of the reading I did this past week I came across an article defining Teamwork as a group working together in a way that the collective value of individuals’ contributions is greater than the total of each individual’s contribution. You may need to read that again and pay particular attention to where the apostrophe falls. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the source – fortunately, I do remember the message.

     This message is very consistent with our firm philosophy. Mike Lewis is fond of saying “none of us is as smart as all of us.” Each individual is important to us, and likewise each individual makes us all better.

     Our photos this week are of a firm lunch cookout. This was special because our attorneys and managers did the cooking and served our larger team. Obviously, there is nothing for the folks on our Team that’s “not my job!”  Here they are working and serving:

  
                 

     Nothing was really over the top, but it is a good example of our working together for the benefit of all. Here is the Team all together before heading back to work:

   
               

     At Lewis & Daggett we are proud of how our team comes together to help our clients. Whether they are injured in an auto accident, hurt at work, or suffer from a disability, our team comes together with our best pieces in an effort to best serve our clients. Our Team includes Legal Assistants, Paralegals, Client Services Representatives, Negotiators (former insurance adjustors), Front Desk Services, a wide range of Support Staff, Investigators, and Attorneys. Of course we all have specific duties and responsibilities, but we intentionally have the flexibility to bring individuals across department lines and strict job descriptions so individual unique talents can help further our client’s cause.

     We believe that the collective contributions from the members of our Team makes us all better, makes us better at what we do, and makes us better able to serve. We look forward to further developing our Teamwork and thereby our ability to serve.

     Commitment!

     Commitment is a timeless virtue and is certainly valued by us at Lewis & Daggett. It seems that in the hustle bustle and ever changing modern society that commitment isn’t what it used to be. Perhaps that is why we tend to value it so much when we see it.

     We have discussed before how proud we are of our Lewis and Daggett team. We recently reflected on all of our folks who have been with us for more than 10 years – wow!  On top of that, we just had two long term folks celebrate 17 and 18 years with us. Pictured below are Ann Clifton (18 years) and Ken Haynes (17 years):

              

     Ann and Ken daily demonstrate their dedication not only to our team, but also to all those who we serve. Ann has spent most of her working career with us, and is now our senior client services representative. She has been helping people hurt in accidents daily for all these years – and she is still young! Ken brings a broad background including newspaper reporting and photography to his work as our firm investigator.  He is a model of efficiency and dependability.

     Next week Mike Lewis and I will mark 22 years together, which is also quite a milestone, and a bit of a rarity in the legal community. Mike has certainly led the commitment of our team with his guidance, support and encouragement. We remain committed to the future, to our Team, and to our clients.

     We believe this environment of commitment also displays itself daily in our interaction with and work on behalf of injured and disabled people who turn to us for help. Part of what we think makes our group special is their commitment to service, commitment to continued learning and improvement, and their commitment to each other.

     We truly believe we have a special place here. Commitment is one of the virtues that we believe helps make it so special. In future articles we will further introduce you to our Team and the qualities we believe are important in our service to you.

     Please help us keep our children safe. I was running today at lunch and came across three kids playing in the street – one riding a bike, one on a skateboard, and one on rollerblades. I’d say they were 10 – 12 years old or so. None of the three had helmets or any other visible safety attire, and they were in the street!

     Here is a photo of a little girl with proper safety equipment. Maybe just add sunglasses to protect the eyes and she is set!

                                                       

     Two of the bigger areas of safety concerns we see regarding children are the proper use of car seats, and the wearing of helmets. Moreover, they are both the law!

     First, regarding car seats. North Carolina law requires children to use child safety seats until the child is 8 years old, or weighs 80 pounds. The attorneys in our firm confirm that the simply don’t see serious child injuries, barring of course phyical contact or penetration by an other object, even in serious accidents if a child is properly secured in a car seat.

     National statistics confirm that children are more than twice as likely to be seriously injured or killed if they are not properly restrained in car seats. Specific emphasis is placed on making sure the safety seats are properly installed. In North Carolina your local law enforcement, Highway patrol office, and fire departments can direct you to a local approved “Checking Station” to help you confirm proper installation.

     Bicycle helmets are required for every person under 16 on public roads, areas, or paths in North Carolina. The helmet must be a proper and approved bicycle helmet. Local bicycle shops will gladly educate you on the safety certification stickers inside all quality bicycle helmets.

     A very high percentage of serious injuries and death from bicycle wrecks are due to traumatic brain injuries. Some estimates are as high as two-thirds all deaths are due to head injuries. Further, estimates range anywhere from 50% to 75+% of all serious traumatic brain injuries from bicycle accidents would have been preventable with a proper helmet.

     Back to my little friends on the street – please let’s help keep them safe by giving them our support and encouragement.

    

     Hello and welcome to Lewis and Daggett. We are a North Carolina accident, injury, and disability law firm. Please allow me to share with you a little bit about us and to introduce our firm to you.  Below is our firm photograph – We are proud of our team!

 

      In our firm we pride ourselves in having a history of helping people. Helping people is not only in our practice areas; it’s with anybody who calls our firm for guidance. At Lewis and Daggett we focus on helping individuals, children and families who have been wrongfully injured, hurt at work or who are disabled. We also provide guidance and direction to members of our community that just need general legal guidance to help themselves.

     We are proud of our team here at Lewis and Daggett. Of course we have attorneys but we also have a professional staff that includes legal assistants, former insurance adjusters, client’s service representatives, investigators and an administrative team who all work together to help you.

     We look forward keeping you updated on our law firm and other information that may be of interest to you. Thank you.