Wealth Preservation and Preventive Law Alert Number 12
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Someone Finds Me Unconscious—Then What?
This Preventive Law Alert was written by: John Goodson, Colleen Manley and Christine Goodson Forakis.
These Preventive Law Alerts are patterned after an annual publication to all mountain climbers called “Accidents in North American Mountaineering” which writes up all mountaineering accidents describing the accident, what caused it, how it may have been prevented so that further mountain climbing catastrophes may be avoided. The Preventive Law Alerts are the equivalent of “Legal Accidents in North American Law” – a description of the legal catastrophe and how it may be avoided using preventive law techniques.
The Legal Catastrophe
Simp McVictim had a heart attack on his morning walk through the park. A passerby found him and called 911 for help. When the paramedics arrived they looked through his wallet in order to find someone to notify of the situation. They found credit cards, various membership cards and cash, but there was nothing within the wallet that would identify someone close to Tim who had the authority to consent to emergency treatment or pay the medical bills. The critical delays caused by not having a wallet information card on hand notably reduced Tim’s chance of survival.
The Preventive Law Solution
You should ALWAYS carry contact information in your wallet or purse as well as your attorney’s business card. We always give to our clients a “wallet information card” so they may: (1) designate who to call in case of an emergency; (2) list critical medical information such as blood type and known allergies; and (3) provide the location of basic legal emergency documents (BLEDs). Providing the location of (BLEDs) such as a living will, medical power of attorney and HIPAA medical information disclosure authorization will facilitate prompt action in order to handle the emergency without delay.
Also, you want to have on your cell phone “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) numbers to be contacted should there be a crisis. In addition to searching for a wallet, emergency teams will also look for a cell phone and look through it for data as to determine who would be most appropriate to contact. Having both your cell phone and your wallet equipped with valuable emergency contact information will significantly boost your chances of survival in the unfortunate event of an emergency.
Important Action Step 1
Call your attorney to obtain copies of his business card to carry in your wallet. Also, be sure to obtain wallet information cards from the law firm for you and your family members to fill out and carry with you at all times.
Important Action Step 2
Email jgoodson@gmdlaw.com or call John Goodson (602 252-5110) with the names and email addresses of (1) family members, (2) friends, (3) colleagues, (4) business associates and personnel, (5) organizations/clubs, (6) customers or clients, (7) parents in your schools, or (8) anyone else who you think cares about this topic that you want to receive our Preventive Law Alerts. We will send the previous alerts and include your referrals on our email list to receive future alerts as they are published.
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For additional information, please call (602) 252-5110.