Personal Injury

On my way into work this morning I was thinking about some of my personal injury cases.

One client was just in a motorcycle accident, and lost part of his leg. I've seen him a couple of times in the hospital now. It's sad to see that happen to someone, especially someone you know. He's a great guy, and I'm sure he'll recover well. I've never driven a motorcycle. I've been driven on them a couple times, but this really drives home the point of why I don't want to be on one much. It's nice to have 3000 pounds of steel around you when you get hit by a car.

A couple of my clients in car accident cases are heading for surgery. One on her toe, the other on her shoulder. I worry that some clients may allow the litigation to affect their medical decisions. With one client in particular, I have strongly encouraged a second opinion before the surgery. If the surgery is a good choice you should do it, but not if it's a bad choice. It might make your case worth more money, but it won't be that much money and it won't be worth the money.

Personal Injury cases might get you some money, but that money never turns out to be as much as you might think. It will rarely change your life. It might make your life a little better for a short time, and in a particularly good case it might be enough for a new car or even a new house. But in the end, when you think about spreading that money over the next 40 years, it has to be an awful lot to make a profound difference.