Food Recall Epidemic: What Is Wrong With The Food Industry?
Authored By: Candace Whitman
Lately, it seems like there are new food recalls reported every single day. Listeria in ham, salmonella in crackers, metal pieces in beef jerky: It’s never-ending. It begs the question, what is being done in the food industry to prevent these hazards?
Francine L. Shaw, President of Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc., provides her expert insight in a recent article for LexBlog. Shaw says that our country has a “serious ongoing food safety problem” and our food industry is in denial.
Shaw reports that there were 438 food recalls in 2017, and each year in the U.S., there are 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths due to food-borne illnesses.
The number one cause of recalls is undeclared allergens and mislabeled products. Shaw cites one incident where a raw pork product was falsely labeled as ready-to-eat. The second biggest reason for food recalls is “the possible presence of dangerous pathogens” such as Listeria and Salmonella.
According to Shaw, some of the most likely reasons for this food recall epidemic is a disregard for safety protocols and corporations’ unwillingness to change food safety plans and spend the money and time needed to make the improvements.
Shaw suggests that technology could help the food service industry keep better track of food safety checks as opposed to the pencil and paper method that is currently in use that leads to lost or incomplete records. She also says that inspections are currently scheduled ahead of time so more impromptu inspections could help the food service industry get a real idea of how they can improve.
To read more about this issue, click here to check out Francine L. Shaw’s article on LexBlog.
Photo Credit: flairmicro
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Law Offices of Seaton & Bates, PLLC Score a Big Win
Congratulations to our friends at the Law Offices of Seaton & Bates, PLLC for their recent $4.5MM settlement.
On the evening of September 30, 2015, the Plaintiff was attempting to make a left turn at a traffic light in Johnson City, Tennessee. The Plaintiff driver was transporting herself and three passengers when the vehicle was struck on the left side by a large tanker truck traveling southbound through the intersection. The Plaintiff’s vehicle was rotated counter-clockwise upon impact and was pushed into the oncoming lanes of traffic, coming to rest after colliding with three additional vehicles. All the occupants in the Plaintiff’s vehicle sustained severe injuries.
Everyone here at Advocate Capital, Inc. appreciates the hard work required by our friends and clients in the relentless pursuit of justice. We want to say thank you for your dedication.
Rebecca Stottlemyer
Executive Client Manager
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Employee Appreciation: Fall Festival
Taking a little time to relax and have fun with our co-workers is all part of the Employee Appreciation program here at Advocate Capital, Inc.
The September event was hosted by the “Dream Team” (Executive Client Managers, Quality Assurance Analysts & Training Staff). The theme was Fall Festival, and employees were treated to fall-themed fare from Panera Bread Company.
The activities were the highlight of this event with “Minute to Win It” style games including wrap the mummy, candy toss, and elephant march.
Check out our pics in our Facebook album and see our video below!
The amazing team here at Advocate Capital proves that you can have fun and enjoy your workplace while rocking all your professional goals as well!
Donna Jones
Senior Vice President
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Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo, LLP Secure $9.1M Jury Verdict for Injured Cyclist
Congratulations to Attorney Boris Treyzon and the team at Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo, LLP for securing one of the largest bicycle-related jury verdicts in Los Angeles history.
The Plaintiff, an avid cyclist, was severely injured while riding home on Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades. Road signs instructed cyclists to ride on the shoulder of the highway between the travel lanes and the cliff. While attempting to avoid a pile of debris that rolled on to the shoulder, the cyclist veered on to the travel lane and was side-swiped by a vehicle’s side mirror, causing him to lose control of his bicycle.
The crash left the man with severe brain damage and unable to work.
The California Department of Transportation, who owns the highway, hired the City of Los Angeles to maintain the road free of sand, gravel and other debris. During the trial, city sweepers testified “they would simply swing around …and ignore it” rather than clean the area.
State and local officials were aware of the unsafe conditions and still failed to monitor and properly maintain the roadway. The jury found the City of Los Angeles and the California Department of Transportation liable for the injuries sustained by the Plaintiff and awarded the cyclist $9.1MM. Before trial, the Plaintiff’s legal team extended an offer to settle the case, which the city rejected. A separate Defendant, the State of California, opted to settle the case before trial for $999,999.
Boris Treyzon credits this outcome to the incredible support he receives from his family ACTS and says that it could not have happened without it.
Advocate Capital, Inc. is proud to partner and support personal injury law firms like Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo, LLP in their relentless fight to protect our Seventh Amendment rights and pursue equal justice for all.
Donna A. Jones
Senior Vice President
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Loss of Limbs Medical Malpractice Suit for $25.3 Million
Authored By: Amanda Unterreiner
53-year-old mother of four was awarded $25.3 million in a medical malpractice suit in Milwaukee where she lost both of her arms and legs.
According to an article written by Shapiro & Appleton, the woman was rushed to Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital with severe abdominal pain, fever and a rapid heartbeat. She spent nine hours in the hospital before she was released and told to call her gynecologist.
Reportedly, later that evening, she collapsed at home and was taken to a different emergency room, where they diagnosed her with a septic infection caused by Strep A. The hospital was able to stop the infection, but not before she suffered enough vascular damage to require the amputation of all four limbs.
According to Gacovino Lake’s news article, the doctors were originally treating for a possible infection, but did not tell her of this diagnosis and did not give her the option of an antibiotic treatment before sending her home.
She was awarded $25,300,000 by the jury, including $15 million for pain and suffering and $1.5 million for her husband’s loss of companionship.
For more information about this case, view the article here.
Photo Credit: vchalup
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Claiming Your Law Firm’s Google My Business Listing
Authored By: Candace Whitman
Has your law firm claimed its Google My Business listing? Google My Business is a free, valuable marketing tool for any business. Your listing is your firm’s face online in the same way that your website is. Your potential clients will most likely google your firm to find your website and other information, so you want to make sure your firm is well represented on Google with a complete, accurate listing.
You can claim your listing by going to business.google.com and clicking “Manage Now.” You will then enter in your firm’s name. It will tell you if your listing is complete, needs updating, has already been claimed, or if one does not already exist. Depending on the status of your listing, you can verify the details of your listing, update it, request ownership, or create your listing.
Once you have claimed your listing, you can sign into your Google My Business dashboard anytime. On the dashboard, you can edit your listing, see insights such as how many searches and views your listing has received, and more.
Google My Business is not just a place for your address and phone number. You can upload your logo, professional photos of your team and photos of the interior and exterior of your building.
Another great feature of Google My Business is the ability to create posts. You can use your Google My Business listing to draw attention to your firm’s blog posts or any other pages on your website that you want potential clients to see, such as your testimonial’s page. These posts will show up at the bottom of your listing when someone searches for your firm.
There are so many useful features on Google My Business that can help you market your firm to potential clients. It is a great way to show people that are researching you online that they should give your law firm their business.
Photo Credit: prykhodov
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Now Hiring: Credit Compliance Assistant II
Our team here at Advocate Capital, Inc. is continuing to grow!
We are currently looking for a Credit Compliance Assistant II to join our corporate team in Nashville, TN.
The Credit & Compliance Assistant II (CCA II) serves as the administrative backbone of the credit department at Advocate Capital, tracking renewal timelines, preparing research/documents for credit analysis, as well as organizing all credit-related information.
Are you interested in this position or would you like to recommend a qualified candidate? Send your resume to CCA@AdvocateCapital.com.
Click here for the job posting.
To learn more about our amazing company and culture, visit www.AdvocateCapital.com for more details.
Photo Credit: kritchanut
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Excel Tips & Tricks – The If Function
The “If” Function is a great Excel tool that can be used to add a little logic to your spreadsheet. For example, if you want to add, delete, or change data based on certain criteria, you might be able to “tell” your data to do so by use of the “If” function.
In today’s example, let’s say we want to add data. We want to add a column of data in our spreadsheet based on what state an employee is in. We have a spreadsheet with column A containing Employee. Column B containing Address. Column C containing City and Column D containing State. We are going to assign an HR rep to each employee based on what state they live in. If they live in Tennessee, they will be assigned to “Jane Smith.” All other employees will be assigned to “Bob Jones.”
In Column E (your first empty column), enter the formula:
=If(D2 = “TN”, “Jane Smith”, “Bob Jones”)
This formula assumes that your first line of data is in row 2. Basically, the above formula reads like this in laymen’s terms:
“If the date in field D2 equals TN, then put “Jane Smith” in this field. Otherwise, put “Bob Jones” in this field.
Note: “If” functions can get very complex. You can use more than 1 criteria. After starting with the basics, try out some different uses of the function.
We love feedback from our customers and implement suggestions often. What shortcut do you use the most? If you have a question or idea for a Microsoft Windows or Excel tip that you would like to see, let me know and I might write about it!
Billie Hardison
Training Specialist
BHardison@advocatecapital.com
Photo Credit: akkamulator
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Now Hiring: Credit Compliance Manager I
Our team here, just keeps on growing!
We are currently recruiting a Credit Compliance Manager I to join our corporate team in Nashville, TN.
A Credit Compliance Manager will be someone who provides responsive and professional credit-related customer service to internal constituents. If you are interested in the position or would like to recommend a candidate, please submit a resume for consideration.
To apply, please send your resume to CCM@AdvocateCapital.com.
Click here for the job posting.
To learn more about our amazing company and culture, visit www.AdvocateCapital.com for more details.
Photo Credit: gajus
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Donuts, NJA, and San Diego…oh my!
Are you heading to San Diego for the Nevada Justice Association’s convention? The theme of the convention this year is “Roll On In For A Rockin’ Good Time” and is taking place from October 4-6 at the Hard Rock Hotel.
The convention will feature more than 12 hours of CLE programs taught by some of the best trial lawyers, judges, and experts from around the country.
In between CLE programs, don’t forget to stop by our Advocate Capital, Inc. booth. Jeff Glueck and Barry Epstein will be there to tell you about our case expense funding and The Advocate Flexline®. Don’t forget to grab a Frat Boy Donut and enter to win a pair of Beats Studio Wireless Headphones.
Photo Credit: Andrew Zarivny
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