Trial Lawyers Care

Mark Mandell, a Rhode Island trial lawyer and past President of the American Association for Justice, made an inaugural contribution to the Providence Community Relief Fund to support ongoing COVID-19 efforts to help residents. The fund is held at the United Way of Rhode Island.

“We all have a shared responsibility to help each other – it is so important that we do that, especially during tough times,” said Mandell in a press release from the Providence Mayor’s office. “I invite all who are able to join me in helping to provide basic needs to our fellow Rhode Islanders.”

Mandell donated $25,000 and is pledging to match another $25,000 when that amount is also raised by the community.

The funds will be distributed to nonprofits to support a variety of initiatives, such as food assistance and direct financial relief.

Texas-based Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers donated $100,000 to food banks this spring in communities where its employees live and work.

“As a personal injury law firm, what we do is help people who are in a crisis,” said Kevin Glasheen, senior partner at Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers. “In this case, that crisis isn’t an injury, but instead a need for food.”

Local food banks are almost always in need of donations, but now more so than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Glasheen, Valles & Inderman’s $100,000 donation is broken down as follows:

• $20,000 donated to the South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock, Texas;
• $20,000 donated to West Texas Food Bank in Odessa, Texas;
• $20,000 donated to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank in El Paso, Texas;
• $20,000 donated to Roadrunner Food Bank which operates in Albuquerque ($10,000) and Las Cruces, New Mexico ($10,000); and
• $20,000 donated to benefit the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico.

“We have had a lot of success representing families across the region in catastrophic injury and death cases, so we are able to help,” said Glasheen.

Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers is a regional personal injury law firm that focuses on cases involving catastrophic injuries and death, serving clients through West Texas and New Mexico with offices in Lubbock, Odessa, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Austin.

As a plaintiff lawyer for over forty years, Clyde Bergstresser has typically brought cases against health care providers but also has developed a niche practice of representing physicians as “personal counsel” when others have sued them. Thus, he has forged many relationships with doctors and other clinicians.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Clyde felt compelled to help healthcare workers risking their lives for us all. “I felt the need to honor their efforts and to say thank you in a way that could provide some support for those on the front lines fighting this deadly disease,” said Clyde.
Clyde first set out to investigate what was needed to help colleagues in medicine. The local legal community joined Clyde’s cause, including his partner Russ Pollock; Chris Duggan of Smith, Duggan, Buell & Rufo; former Boston College Law School classmates; distinguished trial lawyers Joan Lukey of Choate Hall & Stewart and Walter Prince of Prince Lobel Tye; retired Federal District Court Judge Nancy Gertner; and Jon Albano of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Retired Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall agreed to assist the cause as Honorary Chair of the Honorary Advisory Committee. Others joining the Honorary Advisory Committee included the President of Boston Medical Center, prominent Massachusetts physicians and lawyers, as well as representatives of the major Massachusetts medical professional liability insurers.
Initially, Clyde and his colleagues contacted Boston Medical Center, which has been on the front lines caring for individuals of color, a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Boston Medical Center had established an emergency fund for its staff, which was in dire need of additional funding.

They then reached out to Boston Emergency Medical Services, which has supplied the majority of first responders in the community during this crisis—with many describing their day-to-day work as like being in a war zone. Clearly, there was a great need for additional funding to help these brave men and women who need counseling and support.

Having identified the need and a way to honor their colleagues in medicine, Clyde and his colleagues created the charitable corporation, Lawyers Honoring COVID-19 Caregivers Inc. Please visit the website and support this worthy cause. Individuals can donate by clicking here or by mailing a check made out to “Lawyers Honoring COVID-19 Caregivers Inc.” to their treasurer, Chris Duggan, Esq., Smith Duggan, 55 Old Bedford Road, Lincoln, MA 01733.

Lawyers Honoring COVID-19 Caregivers Inc. has just started the ramping up of collections but wanted to quickly get relief to those in need. In the photo below, Clyde is presenting a check for $50,000 to Norman Stein, Senior Vice President of Boston Medical Center.

They are continuing efforts to spread word about Lawyers Honoring COVID-19 Caregivers Inc. to the legal community through various bar associations, professional societies and personal connections.

The personal injury lawyers at Hurst Limontes LLC have always been there for their community in Indianapolis, and they have stepped up once again during the COVID-19 outbreak. Managing Partner Alex Limontes and lawyers at the practice have immediate family members fighting the coronavirus on the front lines in local emergency rooms across Central Indiana; and the firm decided they would do what they could to help.

Last week, the firm sponsored meals for dozens of ER staff and hospital personnel at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital and Hancock Regional Hospital as they work long hours to help #flattenthecurve. The firm regularly works with doctors, nurses, and medical professionals obtaining important information regarding their clients’ injuries and treatment resulting from car accidents and other personal injury cases. They are honored to extend this small token of their appreciation to those healthcare workers on the front lines.

Atlanta-based law firm Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC specializes in litigation to protect the public from dangerous medical products and inadequate medical care that threatens patient safety. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the firm immediately heard of healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers bravely confronting this disease without the necessary PPE to protect them.

In response, they began purchasing KN95 masks—in partnership with Georgia streetwear company LEX Apparel—and distributed them to healthcare providers in need. They then reached out to local law firms for additional donations and information about community needs.

The theme of their program is Lawyers United to Stop the Spread. “It was important to us to include credible defense firms in donation efforts to show that our mission sometimes goes beyond litigation and can include joint efforts with adversaries,” said partner Brandon Smith.

By including defense firms, they were able to create a level of comfort with healthcare entities that may have otherwise been uncomfortable reaching out to a plaintiff law firm for PPE. Several defense firms were eager to join the program with a donation, and all were encouraging and supportive.

A variety of firms and individuals have made generous donations to Lawyers United to Stop the Spread, and contributions continue to come in. The firm has dedicated staff to assist in coordination efforts and continues to cover costs and purchases not covered by donations. As a result, they have now distributed thousands of KN95 masks to numerous healthcare facilities and individual healthcare workers/first responders; and have expanded the program to offer face shields to those who need them.

If you are interested, you can join in and help as well. Any and all donations are appreciated. Please e-mail nedwards@cssfirm.com for details and include “PPE Donation Program” in the subject line.