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I had to put my forum viewing on hold while running (and learning the ropes) of my new tax office (see also https://www.customerssuck.com/board/...-promotion-too) and studying for my Enrolled Agent exams https://www.irs.gov/tax-professional...sked-questions (I had planned to do that last summer but a certain life event got in the way https://www.customerssuck.com/board/...ack-up-for-air but I passed Part III last summer
(I had already paid for the exam sitting) and Part I earlier this month
–that leaves Part II for July.
I have some threads about some of the locals I met at my new digs as well as an update to MIL’s estate.. Yes, I’ll be doing taxes for at least three more seasons as Mrs. TGK joins the KMA club in November 2025. We’ll finalize retirement plans then.
I was on a jury from the last week of February to the first week of March. From the sparse crowd in the holding area, I should have known that I would get chosen, in retrospect. The case was about a railroad worker,D, suing the railroad over a job injury. No likely book deal, bummer.
As the case progressed, it became clearer that much contrary to D’s claim that the AC in his machinery wasn’t working resulting in heatstroke and PTSD; he was overusing (and likely abusing) opioids and got taken off the favored machine when his behavior became increasingly erratic and dangerous.
Some of the evidence: despite heatstroke, D somehow managed to drive (without wrecking) about 8 hours from Chicagoland to southwest of St. Louis. (I’ll let the health professionals give the details about the improbability, if not impossibility of this feat.) D did not even see a doctor ‘til 2 months after this event.
D was NCNS for 5 days after this incident (at my former workplace 3 is enough to trigger a termination hearing for job abandonment)....and did not get shitcanned by the railroad. D returned to work and stayed on the job with no complaints for the rest of the month. This is when he was taken off his favored machine–the allocation of machinery is by seniority.
When D finally did see a health professional, the physician assistant apparently took his claim of heatstroke at face value. Electronic and radiation scans showed no organ damage at all. Keep in mind that he was already taking opioids for kidney stones (pain pills were the only remedy for this problem?). The kidney ultrasound showed nothing abnormal.
D saw a procession of health and psych professionals (doc shopping?
) over the next 4 years. For some reason, the health and psych pros (I’m starting to use that term loosely
) kept automatically (blindly
) refilling his pain pill scripts and adding what would ultimately become a cocktail of antidepressants
. That lawyer was clearly going for emotion. How many of the health pros were referred by the firm and union. Tellingly, D’s lawyer objected to the railroad lawyer admitting a weather report and Google Map directions from the rail yard to D’s house.
The railroad’s case boiled down to the AC working fine–-or at least D made no discernible effort to alert the management of a problem. The guys who ran it when the plaintiff was NCNS found no problem: one stating that the biggest problem with the AC was the fan above the driver’s seat, onto his shaved head.
The next witnesses were more competent doctors and psychiatrists. One of whom had been with VA and knew genuine PTSD when he saw it. Guess what? That’s right, D never had it, nor did he ever have heatstroke. The cocktail of opioids and antidepressants was very much a part of the problem.
In closing arguments, D’s lawyer poured on the emotional appeals. The railroad lawyer restated facts and the timeline. Deliberations began after we broke for lunch. A foreman volunteered for that duty. The first vote was railroad 10 votes, D 2 votes. For the next three hours, we worked on those hold outs.
One claimed the railroad was involved in a conspiracy. OK, what’s the evidence? Feeling and objectively verifiable facts are rarely one and the same. He came around in the next round of voting.. The last holdout at first didn’t want to give the railroad the benefit of the doubt…sorry, ma’am that’s not the way the justice system works: the accused always gets that benefit. She would take an hour to review her notes and finally came around. YAY!!!!
We signed the documents. The foreman notified the bailiff. The judge then recalled the jury. Once we were all seated, the judge asked each jury if this was our verdict. We all said yes. I was nervous when Her Honor got to the holdout. Ms. Holdout concurred with our verdict. The bailiff then gave us our checks and a suitable-for-framing certificate of thanks for our service.
(I had already paid for the exam sitting) and Part I earlier this month–that leaves Part II for July.I have some threads about some of the locals I met at my new digs as well as an update to MIL’s estate.. Yes, I’ll be doing taxes for at least three more seasons as Mrs. TGK joins the KMA club in November 2025. We’ll finalize retirement plans then.
I was on a jury from the last week of February to the first week of March. From the sparse crowd in the holding area, I should have known that I would get chosen, in retrospect. The case was about a railroad worker,D, suing the railroad over a job injury. No likely book deal, bummer.
As the case progressed, it became clearer that much contrary to D’s claim that the AC in his machinery wasn’t working resulting in heatstroke and PTSD; he was overusing (and likely abusing) opioids and got taken off the favored machine when his behavior became increasingly erratic and dangerous.
Some of the evidence: despite heatstroke, D somehow managed to drive (without wrecking) about 8 hours from Chicagoland to southwest of St. Louis. (I’ll let the health professionals give the details about the improbability, if not impossibility of this feat.) D did not even see a doctor ‘til 2 months after this event.
D was NCNS for 5 days after this incident (at my former workplace 3 is enough to trigger a termination hearing for job abandonment)....and did not get shitcanned by the railroad. D returned to work and stayed on the job with no complaints for the rest of the month. This is when he was taken off his favored machine–the allocation of machinery is by seniority.
When D finally did see a health professional, the physician assistant apparently took his claim of heatstroke at face value. Electronic and radiation scans showed no organ damage at all. Keep in mind that he was already taking opioids for kidney stones (pain pills were the only remedy for this problem?). The kidney ultrasound showed nothing abnormal.
D saw a procession of health and psych professionals (doc shopping?
) over the next 4 years. For some reason, the health and psych pros (I’m starting to use that term loosely) kept automatically (blindly) refilling his pain pill scripts and adding what would ultimately become a cocktail of antidepressants. That lawyer was clearly going for emotion. How many of the health pros were referred by the firm and union. Tellingly, D’s lawyer objected to the railroad lawyer admitting a weather report and Google Map directions from the rail yard to D’s house.The railroad’s case boiled down to the AC working fine–-or at least D made no discernible effort to alert the management of a problem. The guys who ran it when the plaintiff was NCNS found no problem: one stating that the biggest problem with the AC was the fan above the driver’s seat, onto his shaved head.
The next witnesses were more competent doctors and psychiatrists. One of whom had been with VA and knew genuine PTSD when he saw it. Guess what? That’s right, D never had it, nor did he ever have heatstroke. The cocktail of opioids and antidepressants was very much a part of the problem.
In closing arguments, D’s lawyer poured on the emotional appeals. The railroad lawyer restated facts and the timeline. Deliberations began after we broke for lunch. A foreman volunteered for that duty. The first vote was railroad 10 votes, D 2 votes. For the next three hours, we worked on those hold outs.
One claimed the railroad was involved in a conspiracy. OK, what’s the evidence? Feeling and objectively verifiable facts are rarely one and the same. He came around in the next round of voting.. The last holdout at first didn’t want to give the railroad the benefit of the doubt…sorry, ma’am that’s not the way the justice system works: the accused always gets that benefit. She would take an hour to review her notes and finally came around. YAY!!!!
We signed the documents. The foreman notified the bailiff. The judge then recalled the jury. Once we were all seated, the judge asked each jury if this was our verdict. We all said yes. I was nervous when Her Honor got to the holdout. Ms. Holdout concurred with our verdict. The bailiff then gave us our checks and a suitable-for-framing certificate of thanks for our service.
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