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One misstep derailed Shawn Haynes’ two-decade career path as a revered electrician foreman for a local electrical construction company, MYR Group.
“I knew that I was going to need somebody to represent me because this was going to change my life, good or bad,” said Haynes, who snapped his ankle on a remote desert job in November 2018. “I had to take the initiative. That’s just common sense.”
A friend recommended GGRM when they realized Haynes was in serious danger of losing his foot.
“It was pretty clear from the start that it was a good decision,” said Haynes, who, with his wife, Elise Warren, runs All American Drones and Smartest Solar Group along with a non-profit SSG Enterprises, which he started after his settlement last summer. “The firm was good at always replying back and making sure they were there for me. I could tell they were straight-forward, common sense people.”
The debilitating break and subsequent surgeries turned into a lengthy recovery. Haynes initially underwent three surgeries over eight months to repair his shattered ankle enough for him to be mobile.
“I went back to work in August 2019,” Haynes said. “I thought I was fine.”
A few weeks later, he woke up to a throbbing ankle swelled to three times its normal size. An infection that secretly festered after his last operation ravaged the mended ankle bones.
He would undergo seven more surgeries, one of which to remove bone marrow from his femur to fuse his restructured ankle. The active union foreman was incapacitated for six months with a halo around his shattered ankle as he underwent reconstructive surgery. “That was really hard,” Haynes said. “You just lay there and there’s nothing you can do.”
The GGRM team stepped in and stepped up. “My attorney David Rothenberg, Mr. Martinez, and just everyone we worked with went above and beyond,” Haynes said. “They would drop off paperwork and run errands for us if we needed it. They were amazing. Whatever they could do for us they did.”
“The people at GGRM have been just really great,” Haynes said. “They were supportive when I was injured and long after I got my settlement.”
The settlement arrived in July of 2020. Haynes immediately went back to work, but not for long. The life-altering event and subsequent relations with GGRM helped Haynes realize his passion was in helping others.
He quickly resigned from his lucrative position as an Operations Manager for a solar company contractor with the State of Nevada to start his own company, Smartest Solar Group. As he built the company, he also created a non-profit, SSG Enterprises, to help at-risk young adults who need an opening to work in the growing field.
“We provide a way to get people in this industry that has so much potential,” Haynes said. “This also allows us to pick the cream of the crop to get into this evolving technology.”
Haynes has built a strong solar operation and maintenance business that uses drones to map roofs before the solar panels are installed. “There is so much that drones can do to make this job easier and more efficient,” Haynes said. The potential for the new technology was not lost on the entrepreneur. He recently launched a second business, All American Drone Solutions, to provide state-of-the-art drones to first responders and law enforcement agencies.
“The way we can use drone technology can change the way that police officers and EMTs respond to emergency situations and keep everybody safe,” Haynes said. “This can save so many lives.”
A personal slogan is hand-painted on a wall in a meeting room at Haynes downtown Henderson office that reads “We Use Common Sense.”
“I believe in that a lot,” Haynes said. “We would all do a lot better if we slowed down and thought about things before we reacted.”
Contact GGRM. We Can Help.
If you’ve been injured on the job and have questions about your choice of doctors, you should consult with the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at GGRM. We have over 50 years of experience helping injured workers. To set up your free consultation, contact us or call us at 702-384-1616 today