Newsletter Navigation
- A Commitment to the Community
- Christopher Taylor Named Shareholder
- Firm Honors Life Of Community Service
- Baxter Dializer Linked To Deaths
- Use Space Heaters With Caution
- Recent Case Filings
A Commitment to the Community
The Hill Boren Law Firm will make possible the first Habitat for Humanity House built for 2002. In December, Hill Boren donated funds to Habitat for Humanity for materials for a home. It is just one way that our firm is able to give back to the community. With $16,000 of seed money, many community volunteer hours, and 500 sweat-equity hours by the new homeowner, a family's dream will come true.
It will be wonderful watching their dream become a reality.The Habitat for Humanity gift was presented at a recent ceremony honoring service, patriotism and the life of Andrew "Tip" Taylor.It is a wonderful coincidence that Ab Taylor donated the land, where the Andrew "Tip" Taylor Memorial Home will be built. Ab is not only a longtime friend of mine but also a cousin of Judge Taylor. Our firm is now working to help secure the labor to get the house built.
The house is to be started Mid-March and finished in about ten weeks. The new homeowner will give 500 sweat-equity hours to the construction and attend another 100 hours of seminars that educate about home ownership. A new Habitat family is selected based on need, ability to pay and willingness to partner through an application process, credit check and home visits.
We are happy to participate in this worthwhile project to help provide homes for working people. We'll keep you updated this year as the house is completed and its new owners move in.
Christopher Taylor Named Shareholder
The lawyers of Hill Boren P.C. are proud to announce that Christopher L. Taylor has been named a shareholder in the firm.
Mr. Taylor, who has been with Hill Boren P.C. since 1996, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law. For the past four years, Mr. Taylor has primarily handled cases in the firm's Memphis office. As a shareholder, he will continue practicing out of Hill Boren's recently acquired office building at 191 Jefferson Avenue.
"We are extremely proud to have Mr. Taylor as a shareholder," T. Robert Hill said. "Clients find in Chris someone who understands their situation and will work hard for them."
Mr. Taylor is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers of America, the Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations, the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association, the NAACP and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He has a degree in political science from Middle Tennessee State University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Arkansas State University.
"I am proud of Hill Boren's long standing reputation for protecting the rights of injured people and I've always been excited to be a part of this firm," Mr. Taylor said.
Mr. Taylor and his wife, Chantal Hess Taylor, a special education teacher at Chickasaw Junior High School, are natives of Brownsville. They have one daughter, Gabrielle and one son, Christopher L. Taylor, Jr. He is the son of William and Fannie Taylor of Brownsville. He graduated from Haywood County High School in 1987, where he was the captain of the football team. The Taylors reside in east Memphis.
In his free time, Chris volunteers at Chickasaw Junior High as both a mentor and football coach and participates in the Attorney Basketball League.
Firm Honors Life Of Community Service
Community leaders and the Hill Boren firm honored the late Judge Andrew Thomas "Tip" Taylor, veteran and life-long community servant with the dedication of a new flagpole on the front lawn of the firm's Jackson office. State House of Representative Johnny Shaw was master of ceremonies.
"Andrew Tip Taylor gave of himself like few individuals have in the last century. He served his nation and the great state of Tennessee as a veteran, candidate for governor and a man of faith," T. Robert Hill said, as he addressed the crowd. "He served his profession as a lawyer and a great judge."
"Tip" Taylor was best known as the senior circuit judge in the 12th district of Chester, Henderson and Madison. Educated in Jackson public schools, Judge Taylor was a graduate of Union University, 1934, and earned his law degree at Cumberland University, 1937. He was a Colonel in the Tennessee National Guard from 1942 to 1946. During his career in public service, he served as State Commissioner of Institutions, was a member of the public service commission and a member of the American and Tennessee Bar Associations. He made a run for governor in 1958.
The Color Guard of the VFW Post 1848, where Taylor was once the commander, raised the flag. Lee Thacker, a long-time Hill Boren staff member sang the "Star Spangled Banner." Representative Johnny Shaw led the Pledge of Allegiance.
T. Robert Hill presented $16,000 to Habitat for Humanity. The Habitat funds will be used to build the Andrew Thomas "Tip" Taylor Memorial Home, the first new house of 2002 for the organization.
Harry M. Meyer, executive director for the Regional-Interfaith Association, R.I.F.A., was presented with $5,000 for that organization, a group that operates the food bank, a soup kitchen and other services for the homeless.
Several representatives of the Boys and Girls Club presented T. Robert Hill with a framed child's crayon drawing of a Christmas tree when they received a check for $5,000. The club hopes to use the funds to help purchase a van.
Baxter Dializer Linked To Deaths
Kidney dialysis blood filters have been recalled after some 53 deaths in the United States and Europe have been linked to a Baxter International Product. The product, a dializer, is a cylindrical tube about the size of a long flashlight with a hollow center filled with thousands of hair-like fibers that help remove waste products from the blood.
Before dying, the dialysis patients suffered shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cardiac arrest or stroke symptoms within hours of being dialyzed, according to Baxter International. Tests indicate that a fluid used in making the filters' fibers failed to evaporate properly, leaving a residue that proved fatal to patients. The FDA found the problem to be with the perfluorohydrocarbon, used in the filters, which is a liquid at room temperature but when warmed to body temperature becomes a gas and could have created gas bubbles in the blood stream.
The recalled dialzers were labeled either Althane or Baxter and included series A11, A15, A18 and A22; AF150, AF180, and AF220; and AX1500 and AX220. The filters were distributed between January, 1998 and October 15, 2001, to dialysis facilities in more than 50 countries. Baxter has decided to permanently cease manufacturing the dialyzers.
FDA Warning on LifeSite Valve
Also, the Federal Food and Drug Administration warned Vasca, Inc. for its failure to adequately report 129 complaints involving deaths related to its kidney dialysis equipment. The device, LifeSite, is an implantable valve made of silicone, stainless steel and titanium. It is accessed by a needle that goes from a dialysis machine through a small, permanent opening in a patient's skin. It is used in end-stage renal disease patients. About 3,000 patients in the United States have used LifeSite since the FDA approved it last year.
According to the FDA, there were at least 129 complaints involving death or serious injury in patients using the device. The FDA stated in its warning that a review of some 20 complaints suggests that the device may have been the cause or contributed to the patients' death or injury.
Use Space Heaters With Caution
To keep the chill off, the use of space heaters - gas, wood, kerosene and electric - is growing. More people are choosing portable sources as a means of saving money.
While a space heater saves money, it comes with increased risk for the potential for fires and burn injuries. More than 300 persons died and 6,000 were injured in some 25,000 residential fires last year, according to The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Just recently, West Tennessee experienced several deaths and injuries as a result of faulty heaters.
Be safe. Following are some suggestions for the safe use and maintenance of space heaters:
- Select a space heater with a guard around the flame area or heating element.
- Select a heater that has been tested and certified by a recognized testing laboratory.
- Read and follow all of the manufacturer's operation instructions.
- Keep children and pets away from space heaters.
- Keep the doors open to the rest of the house - this helps to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improper venting.
- Never leave a space heater on when you go to sleep or leave the area.
- Never use or store flammable liquids near a space heater.
- Be aware that mobile homes require specially designed heating equipment - only electric or vented fuel-fired heaters should be used.
- Make sure heaters are at least three feet away from objects such as bedding, furniture, curtains, etc.
- Have heaters inspected annually to make certain they are in proper working condition.
- Make certain the heater is placed on a hard, level, non-flammable surface.
- Refuel outdoors and never use gasoline in a kerosene heater. Store kerosene outdoors.
- For wood burning stoves, remember to check the chimney and stovepipes frequently. Do not burn trash or any other materials. Use a metal container for removing ashes.
- Gas heaters should be equipped with an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS) to detect reduced levels of oxygen in the area where the heater is operating.
- Have at least one smoke detector on each floor and one outside each sleeping room.
- Install a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm in the hallway near every separate sleeping room.
- Have annual safety check of all heating equipment and practice your fire escape plan.
Recent Case Filings
Jeff Boyd has filed a suit on behalf of a 70-year-old woman pedestrian, who was struck by a van owned by a corporation. She sustained $28,000 in medical damages.
Chris Taylor has filed for a woman whose husband was injured due to nursing home negligence. The nursing home was negligent in the treatment of her husband causing substantial injury resulting in hospitalization, pain, and suffering. The suit asks for $1 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
John Hamilton recently filed a suit for the mother of a cheerleader, who went to basketball game to watch her daughter and fell through the bleachers. The bleachers had not been repaired properly, causing them to give way. The woman has several thousand dollars in medical bills and may have suffered permanent nerve damage to her back and leg. The suit asks that she be compensated for her lost wages, that her past and future medical bills be paid, and that future patrons of sporting events be provided a safe environment.
Sherry Percival has filed a suit on behalf of a construction worker, age 23, who fell at his job site and sustained very serious injuries. He is now a paraplegic. A suit has been filed against both the general and sub-contractor seeking medical care and wages, until age 65, as entitled under worker's compensation.
John Hamilton recently filed a suit for a security guard at a local prison, who acted heroically by stopping a commissary cart that was allowed to roll down a steep hill by a prison inmate. Had he not stopped the cart it would have injured several people. He suffered a serious back injury that will require surgery. The suit is seeking compensation to ensure that any future medical problems are paid for by workers' compensation, compensation for the vocational disability that the injury has caused him in the open labor market and wages lost due to his injury.
James Krenis recently filed a case on behalf of the parents of a child who was injured in an automobile accident. The child was unrestrained in a car driven by her caretaker, when her car was struck by another vehicle. The child suffered head trauma as a result of the accident.
