In 1976, not long after the trampoline accident that
broke his neck, paralyzing 20‑year‑old Mike Flippin, doctors
recommended to Flippin's parents that they terminate their son's life
support. He was on a respirator, unable to move or speak, and had
had several incidents of heart and respiratory failure. As it turns
out, Flippin was not in such precarious condition after all: He had
learned to manipulate the heart and respiration machines as a way
to get attention from the medical staff. After 11 months in intensive
care, he returned to his parents' home in La Verne, where for the
next three years he says he did little more than watch "Leave
It to Beaver" reruns. But the determined feistiness he showed
in the hospital finally managed to resurface‑‑and he has
been attracting attention ever since. When the accident occurred,
he had been working as a salesman in a paint store, with no ambition
to do much else. But after settling a lawsuit against the establishment
where the trampoline accident occurred, he used the money to buy a
house and attend Citrus Community College and the University of La
Verne. Deciding to become an attorney, he enrolled at the University
of La Verne College of Law, graduating in 1989 after serving as articles
editor and technical editor of the Law Review, treasurer of the law
fraternity and president of the Student Bar Assn. Today, he heads
his own law firm in Claremont, handling cases involving personal injury,
employment discrimination and issues of disability. His office is
one of the few in the state with an emphasis on litigation under Title
1 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Being an attorney is the key to power, and being able to make
things happen," says Flippin, now 40. "I represent people
who have been discriminated against because of the color of their
skin, their sex or their religion or who have experienced sexual harassment
. . . people who have not been given a job, or been terminated or
not allowed to return to their job after a work injury because of
their disability.
"I think of myself as a dragon slayer," he says. "I
go after the big guys, based on the bodies of law we have to protect
people."
Flippin's
greatest successes under ADA, he says, regard getting people their
jobs back after a disability. "If you put clients back to work,
you give them back their self‑esteem. One man was injured
and went back to work for two years without incident. Just before
his 30‑year retirement, his employer saw his medical records
and put him on medical disability." He hired Flippin. "In
court, the judge confused the client with the lawyer," Flippin
says.
Practicing law from a motorized wheelchair has one benefit, Flippin
says. "People always remember me. You go into a courtroom and
there are 30 lawyers who all look the same‑‑gray suits,
shiny shoes‑‑and the one thing you'll remember is the
one in the wheelchair. I think it's always an advantage, as long as
you make a good impression the first time."
At least one client says he does not think about the fact that Flippin
uses a wheelchair. "As far as I'm concerned, he's not even handicapped,
with the drive he has," says James Ford of Ontario, who fractured
his back almost five years ago when a parking structure collapsed,
pinning him inside the truck he was driving. Flippin successfully
represented Ford in a jury trial.
|
|
Reprinted with the permission of LA Times.
"He's like a god to us," says Ford, who is now on disability.
"He has the heart. A lot of people would want sympathy, but
not him. I rest a lot easier at night, knowing I have him to call
on."
That heart is not reserved just for his clients. Flippin, who drives
a lift‑equipped van, speaks at local schools about his career
and about being in a wheelchair, with an emphasis on making good
things come from bad. He has served on the board of directors of
his law school alumni association for six years, the last three
as president, and has been a mentor for several law students. He
is also a director for mental health and rehabilitation programs.
He was president of the Claremont‑ and Covina‑based
Services Center for Independent Living for one year of his six‑year
term on that enterprise's board, and still volunteers as an SCIL
peer counselor.
Says SCIL executive director Carol Lane, "We've called on Mike
many times to be a role model and peer counselor to others who have
experienced a catastrophic injury. He will go into the hospital
to visit someone and continue to counsel if the individual wishes.
Even if they never follow up, the impact of that first visit says
volumes about the hope, the possibility of future success."
As for his own future, Flippin says, "I want to find out what
my limitations are. Before I die, I want to find out what I can
do. I just keep trying new things. It just seems that if you work
hard, there aren't any limits."
* This occasional column tells the stories of the unsung heroes
of Southern California, people of all ages and vocations and avocations,
whose dedication as volunteers or on the job makes life better for
the people they encounter. Reader suggestions are welcome and may
be sent to Local Hero Editor, Life & Style, Los Angeles Times,
Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.
PHOTO: "I think of myself as a dragon slayer," says attorney
Michael Flippin, left, with client Michon Huston and attorney Gary
Bennett. Flippin handles discrimination cases, often involving disabilities.
PHOTOGRAPHER: PERRY C. RIDDLE / Los Angeles Times Type of Material:
Profile
Copyright (c) 1996 Times Mirror Company
Note: May not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission.
To make a permissions request, please visit http://www.lats.com/rights/
for information and an easy request form.
If you have a question about your account, check here or message
web.billing@latimes.com. If you have other questions,
check Help. |
