The “Vision Thing” Part II

I told you about the woman who suffered permanent damage to one of her eyes after being struck by a car. Crucial to the large settlement of this case was the manner in which I was prepared to demonstrate to the jury how drastically this woman’s life was changed by the accident. It was essential that I rebut any attempt by the insurer to minimize the effect of loss of vision in one eye.

I used two novel techniques to put the jurors in this woman’s shoes, to literally see through her eyes. I retained an expert in vision loss from Pennsylvania College of Optometry to craft goggles that simulated my client’s vision impairment. With a simple pair of goggles and some plastic wrap, we were able to motivate the insurance companyto settle the case for what I believe was fair value. Fear of a large jury verdict is the strongest motivator when it comes to insurance companies.

See Pennsylvania College of Optometry.

Imagine the jurors putting on the goggles and trying to maneuver through the courtroom. The goggles create a jarring effect on the wearer. The first reaction is dizziness. Once the wearer regains her composure, she is confronted with the task of moving through open doors, down steps, up ramps, etc. Simple tasks of daily life take on new complexities when one loses depth perception and full field of vision. Try closing one eye. Notice how your depth perception immediately disappears.

I also had an expert produce photographs that simulated the client’s blurry vision and loss of peripheral vision. This evidence was very important in convincing the insurance company to settle this case.

If you or someone you know has suffered vision loss due to someone’s negligence, please contact me. I can help.

The “Vision Thing” and Personal Injury Litigation

It’s the “vision thing”.  No, I’m not talking about George H. W. Bush.  I’m talking about vision loss and legal rights.  I recently handled a piece of litigation involving a woman who suffered permanent damage to one of her eyes after being struck by a car.  She was left legally blind in that eye, although she retained “light perception”, that is, the ability to discern the source of light through that eye.  Everything else is just an extreme blur.

This unfortunate elderly woman made a very poor decision.  She chose to cross busy City Avenue in Philadelphia just as the light for vehicular traffic turned green.  Although she was struck at low speed, the force of the collision caused her to flop onto the street face first. 

The case ultimately settled for $325,000.  This was quite a feat given that she began crossing this four-lane street when it was not safe to do so.  Crucial to the settlement was the manner in which I was prepared to demonstrate to the jury how
drastically this woman’s life was changed by the accident.

It was essential that I rebut any defense attempt to minimize loss of vision in one eye.  I anticipated that the defense attorney would point out that some jet pilots fly with only one good eye.  Individuals from all walks of life are able to live normal lives even though they are legally blind in one eye.  Next month I’ll tell you how I did just that.

Lawyer Lies Exposed

We interrupt this discussion of medical malpractice litigation so that I can tell you about an amazing discovery I made via the Internet. I recently filed a lawsuit against a lawyer who refused to pay me a referral fee for a personal injury case I had referred to his firm. He had agreed to pay me one third of the total fee. When the case settled, he conveniently forgot about me.

I decided to sue him in Philadelphia in order to gain the “home field advantage”. This lawyer practices in New York and New Jersey. He filed objections to my lawsuit, claiming that he did no work in Pennsylvania, had no connection of any kind to Pennsylvania and that, therefore, the Pennsylvania courts had no jurisdiction over him. “Jurisdiction” is defined as the power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law. He seeks transfer of the case to New York or New Jersey.

I decided to “Google” him, just to be sure. I tried “Googling” his name and his law firm’s name, but found nothing helpful. Finally, I added his middle name, and struck pay dirt. It turns out that thislawyer was licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania in 1998. I learned this from his advertisement on:

www.lawyers.com

He currently holds himself out on that website as a “specialist in personal injury in NY, NJ and PA”.

Also, the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently transferred him to “inactive status”, for reasons I have yet to determine. I found this information on:

www.Pabulletin.com

Since jurisdiction in Pennsylvania is proper over any person who engages in any business or profession in this Commonwealth, I believe the Pennsylvania courts have jurisdiction over him.

Do I Have A Case? – Medical Malpractice Litigation

There are many factors that affect whether a lawyer will accept your case.  First, despite what you may read in the newspapers, a medical malpractice case is not a guaranteed lottery ticket worth millions.  Medical malpractice cases are among the hardest types of personal injury cases to win.  The doctor prevails in most cases that go to trial.  

Since most cases take a number of years to resolve, the cost of preparing and presenting the case through trial is a major factor in whether a lawyer will accept your case.  Medical malpractice cases are taken on contingency fee.  When the case is resolved, the lawyer is reimbursed for her expenses and paid a percentage of the award or settlement as the fee. 

These cases are very expensive to pursue because they require the lawyer to gather the medical records, hire medical professionals to review the records, write reports and testify as expert witnesses.  The lawyer must also pay the costs of pretrial preparation and trial.  It simply does not make sense to pursue a case that has a potential value of $50,000, if the cost of pursuing and presenting the case is $20,000 or more.  Consequently, many smaller cases are not pursued, even if the negligence is clear.

If the case is particularly difficult, the attorney may ask the client to put up at least some of the costs of the suit.  This not only makes the case more economically viable for the lawyer, it causes the client to feel more invested in the process.  If the case is quite strong, the attorney may be willing to front the costs himself. 

You should not expect that the case will settle quickly.  It will not.  Most of these cases must be tried before a jury before compensation can be obtained.  This is primarily because, in many states, the doctor’s insurance company cannot settle the case without the express consent of the physician.  Since it is not the doctor who actually pays any judgment in the case, the doctor has little risk if the case actually goes to trial.  The doctor may want to preserve his or her reputation for providing quality care, rather than accept a settlement that implies malpractice. 

Clients Say the Darnedest Things

I got these gems off of my trial lawyers listserv.

Client on date of accident:
“It’s not about the money”
Client on date of settlement:
“I thought the costs come out of your share?”

One client advised that she just got back from the “choir practor.” And then there was the client who had a “tubal litigation.”  And the client who had a mental condition said she was “bipoland”.

One of my colleague’s ads used to seek Workers Comp “hearing loss” claims.  One day a guy called, said he had “lost” his Workers Comp “hearing”, and asked if the lawyer would take his case.

A former client once asked about a deflamation case.  The lawyer told her to call the fire department.

The mother of a kid that got bit in the face by a dog stated that after he was bit he had a foreskin over his eye.  Guess she should have called a mohel rather than a doctor.

A male client told his attorney that he injured his cervix in a car accident, “the cervixial part of his neck”. 

And I’ll never forget the client who broke “the femur in my leg”.  Good thing the femur in her arm was ok.

Here are some other stories:

Client at deposition:
Defense attorney:    When were you born?
Plaintiff:    1948
Deft attorney:    How old are you?
Plaintiff:    Do the math!
Defense attorney at deposition: 
Is my client the driver who rearended you?

Cambodian client at deposition (through
translator): 
I’m not sure.  All you white people look alike.
Defense attorney at another deposition: 
What do you do for a living?

Plaintiff: 
I take stuff from the dump to the recycling
place.

Defense attorney: 
Is that called short hauling?

Plaintiff: 
No.  It’s calling taking stuff from the dump to the
recycling place.
Plaintiff’s attorney: 
How far were you from the back of Ms. B’s car
when you first noticed it?
 
Defendant: 
About 30 feet.
 
Plaintiff’s attorney:
What happened then?
 
Defendant:
I don’t know.

Plaintiff’s attorney:  
Why?
 
Defendant:
I passed out because I was so drunk.
 
KA-CHING

On the subject of drinking, there was this lawyer who had prepped his client extensively to testify that he coped with his pain from back surgery by the use of medication, hot showers, laying down etc.  So here’s how it went:
 
Q:   Tell the Judge how you cope with your pain on
a daily basis.
 
A:    Alcohol.

Construction Accident

I was retained several years ago by the parents of a 7 year old boy who suffered severe injuries to two of his fingers during a construction accident when an improperly mortared cement block fell on his hand. I did not feel that I could properly assess the value of this case until the boy reached his full height. When he turned 18, I began settlement negotiations.

It is essential in every legal case in which suit is filed to serve the lawsuit papers on the defendant. I needed to locate the homeowner who had long since moved. I was amazed to find that by “Googling” this person, in a matter of seconds I had found her. The case settled soon after I filed suit.

Whether you are acting as your own lawyer or looking for one, you never know what you might find when you surf the crest of an Internet wave. And it’s all at your fingertips. Although I don’t recommend you pick a lawyer this way, there are many websites that purport to help you find legal representation. For example, for national search visit FindLaw.com Website and for Philadelphia you could try Philadelphia Lawyers Search.

You certainly should use the Internet to research any lawyer you are considering. You should also look at the firm’s website, understanding that the firm is putting its best foot forward in its website.

The bar association in your area may have a website you can search for the disciplinary record of any lawyer you are considering. I also suggest that you simply “Google”
any such lawyer and firm.

Philadelphia Accident Case

I recently tapped the Internet to help defeat a motion to transfer a case from Philadelphia to a rural county. The defendant claimed that trial would be improper in Philadelphia since the accident happened in the rural county. Historically, jury verdicts are much higher in urban settings so I set about to deny the motion to transfer.

First, I accessed the Philadelphia Court website.I was quickly able to discover that one of the other defendants in the suit had filed 973 lawsuits in Philadelphia in the last 8 years.This helped me to convince the Court to deny the motion to transfer.

Imagine the agony of poring over thousands of files in City Hall trying to discover what my computer revealed in a matter of seconds.

Truck Accident

I am working on behalf of the estate of a young man who tragically was run over by an 18-wheeler. I was able, via the Internet, to find out an amazing amount of information about the truck driver and his company. You can do this too. In many states, you can gain access to driving records. I decided to invest a few dollars on a driving record search and may just have struck gold. I learned that the driver of this tractor-trailer has four speeding violations and two separate careless driving violations, all in the last six years! This doesn’t even count the accident involving my client.

Not withstanding this disgraceful record, his employer permitted him to drive the streets with a loaded weapon. We are pursuing punitive damages against this employer for negligent hiring, negligent retention and negligent entrustment of the truck. The employer’s representative informed me that they were not aware of his driving record. Unfortunately for them, federal regulations require that the employer keep a copy of each driver’s driving record in the employee’s file.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

What is the Philadelphia Lawyers Referral Service?

Philadelphia Lawyers Referral Service was created in November of 2001 with the idea of helping local attorneys generate legal leads. The service was started for a Philly Personal Injury Law Firm. After initial  success, we expended our services to other law areas, such as Bankruptcy, Criminal and Bankruptcy Law.

How is our service different from the others? Well, for once we only work with Law Firm in the Philadelphia area. We know the market, (we have been generating leads for the past 5 years) and we know marketing on the internet.

Web marketing in the legal industry has changed a lot over the past few years. There used to be no competition on the local/city level. Nowadays all big players have areas dedicated to each major city, region and they spend good amount of time promoting these areas. Still, when it comes to Philadelphia we can make a dent and get some decent leads for any legal law firm. Our fees are much lower plus you get a local firm that is always ready to talk to you on the phone or meet in person. How do you like being handed off to some college kid who will be your “Account Manager”? Well, that does happen everywhere, even at Google itself. We have seen it before. We have taken clients from large marketing corporation and found their internet marketing a total mess.

Our service brings benefits to the clients as well. How many people out there still think that they can not afford a lawyer? Well, I am here to tell you that some attorneys will invest their own money to make your case as strong as it can be. Fill out the free lawyer request on our site and we will put you in touch with legal representation for criminal, bankruptcy or personal injury lawyer in Philadelphia, at no fee and no obligation.

All our contracts are exclusive, meaning that we will not take more than 1 client in any specific legal area. Believe me, it is much easier that way. Things get complicated when you start competing against yourself.

To sum things up. What is a Philadelphia Lawyer Referral Service? It’s the only place you should look when needing legal representation or legal leads . So long.