Part of the mission statement of the Law Offices of Michael F. Hupy & Associates, S.C., is to do well by doing good. One of the things we have done to accomplish this objective is to sponsor a safety course for motorcyclists. The main part of the course is taught by nurses and paramedics, who teach participants what to do in the case of an accident before the ambulance arrives. Our firm contributed over $4,000.00 to start the program. First aid kits are made available at cost to participants. Others involved in the program include nurses from Wausau Hospital, who originated the idea, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The program has been given throughout the State of Wisconsin since January 1996. The program has been so well received that we are going to present it in at least five locations in Wisconsin during 1998. The program has also been presented, by request, in Tennessee. Members of our law firm participate in organizing and lecturing at the program on aspects of accident scene management dealing with the law and the investigation of accidents. If a claim is going to be made as a result of an accident, it is important to have an attorney involved as soon as possible so he can preserve important evidence. Those who attended the course were asked to rate on a scale of one to four, with four being the highest score, how good they thought the program was. The average score is 3.759. The biggest complaint about the course is that it was not long enough.

To meet the concern we gave an expanded course at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee on two consecutive days in the fall of 1997.

The course is open to the public and free of charge. In the spring of 1997, Dan Chronister took the course in Madison. It is fortunate that he did because what he learned saved his wife’s life.

In the summer of 1997, he and his wife were riding their motorcycles on a U.S. Highway, when they came upon a sudden hot weather pavement elevation in the road that sent both bikes airborne. Dan remembers seeing Chris’ tires at eye level. Each of the Chronisters had a son riding on their bike with them. When her bike stopped rolling, Chris lay motionless on the side of the road. She was not breathing and she did not have a pulse. The only way to save Chris’ life was for Dan to revive her by using what he had learned in our course. Dan attended to his wife bringing her back to life.

For more information about when the course may be given, please contact our law office and ask for Tony. Although our law firm supports many education and safety programs, we can think of no better way to give back to the community than by helping save someone’s life.