Newsletter

Snowflakes And The Aftermath

“Concussions are like snowflakes.” I’ve heard a couple of doctors use this explanation.

Penicillin

This newsletter has both nothing and everything to do with penicillin.

Altimeters And Treatment Expenses

We have an altimeter at our cabin.

Reflections On Mediation

Mediation is a facilitated settlement negotiation.

Cars

About five months after getting hit by a valet driver I was able to pick up my car today. It’s nice to have it back. But what a hassle.

Thirty Years in the Saddle

And just like that it’s been 30 years since I started practicing law.

Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine

People who cause wrecks have all sorts of excuses for why they’re not responsible.

Kids and the Law

We’re on winter break. A lot of concentrated time with the kids.

Photos Lie

With the advent of cameras in phones, photos are a much bigger part of our practice. Particularly premises liability cases.

Small Things Make a Big Difference

Most stories have a theme:

Fate v. Free Will, Good v. Evil, Man v. Nature

Rich, Woke And Un-Repaired

There was a really interesting piece in the paper. It was about Tesla stock price. But it went deeper in terms of what it means to own a Tesla.

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

Not many First Amendment cases get filed. The vast majority—maybe 99 percent—get dismissed.

Pinewood Derby

Even though I’ve been doing this a long time there are some things about every case that feel new. I think that’s because every person is a little bit different, and every case is a little bit different.

The Amount of the Settlement is the Amount of the Settlement

When personal injury cases settle--at least in Washington--it's almost always for a gross amount.

Ice Water Results

Last week I wrote about the Hot-Cold Empathy Gap (HCEG).

Routine and Interruption—Measuring the Loss

It’s essential to understand what routines do for us so we can understand what’s lost when injury interrupts them.

Government Liability for Wrecks Involving Disabled Vehicles

Disabled vehicles end up parked or abandoned in unsafe places. There are a lot of collisions involving disabled vehicles.

Cycle Time. In Other Words: How Long will my Case Take?

I’ve been reading about private equity purchasing personal injury practices. The articles use all sorts of terms that I’ve never heard of before.

The Illusion of Insurance

Explaining insurance is kind of like explaining the English language. There are exceptions to every rule.

E-Bikes

E-bikes are everywhere. It seems like there’s a news report about an e-bike collision almost every day.

How Do You Depose an Entity?

Depositions are like interviews. Except there’s a court reporter there to take down all the questions and answers.

Cautionary Tale

It has to be exceptionally painful writing a check for an uninsured loss or for expenses that could have been covered if more UM/UIM had been purchased.

#nofilter and Personal Injury Cases

It’s easy to fall into the trap. There are so many things that condition us to try to make life look perfect.

A Dent Doesn’t Appear Over Time…How Come Brain Injury Symptoms Can Show Up Later?

We had a case recently with a defense engineer/doctor who trumpeted: “Trauma is an event not a disease.”

How did the Defendant Come up with this Counteroffer?

We can ask this question a lot. Answering it is a little bit like trying to explain Google algorithm.

Striping and Motorcycles

When my wife and I were in Mexico we saw a sign advertising "stripers" at the local club. We were intrigued.

Pain Scales and Timelines

I was talking to a doctor about pain scales. The doctor said something I thought was really interesting.

An Unexpected Loss: The Ability to Argue and Resolve Conflict

Sometimes it’s impossible to argue with someone who’s suffered a brain injury.

How Should We Measure the “Severity” of a Brain Injury?

I recently wrote (in Wildfires and Concussions) about the relationship—or lack of relationship— between the the GCS and the GOSE.

Misunderstanding and the Thin File

At mediation an adjuster insisted that good money was being offered. She explained to the mediator that the reason the case wasn’t settling was that because the greedy plaintiff’s attorney (me) was putting his own financial interests ahead of the client’s.

Discounts and the Value of Getting on with the Rest of Life

American society is built on the idea of fair market value. On supply and demand. On arm’s length transactions.

Plausible Nonsense

My mom forwards me a good financial newsletter every month.

PTSD is a form of Brain Injury

We’ve handled quite a few cases where providers have diagnosed PTSD.

Claims Against Cities, Counties and States: Tapping into Bi-Partisan Dissatisfaction

Jury verdicts—particularly against public entities—are getting much larger. Why its that? One reason is because public trust in government has never been lower.

Women, Collisions and the Short End of the Stick

Have you ever seen something where it seems like there's a mis-match between odds and outcome?

Parallel Realities: Most People and the Injured Person

I wrote before about an injury in late middle age potentially being career-ending even if it isn't "catastrophic" in the traditional sense.

Brain Injury isn’t Binary (and a Related Success Story)

For most of my career traumatic brain injury has been all or nothing. There is either a concussion or there isn’t. That’s been the end of the story.

Personal Injury and Age

I've sent out newsletters about age before. Usually it relates to things like concussion. But there's more to it than just how age affects susceptibility to and healing from certain types of injury.

Youth Sports: Educating Adults and Jurors

I wrote before about heading the ball and sub-concussive events. It’s a big issue for young soccer players.

Law Tigers: A Case Study

I've been following an online discussion about non-lawyers being able to purchase law practices in some states.

A Normal Cranial Nerve Exam is Almost Completely Irrelevant to Determine whether Someone Suffered a mTBI

It’s playbook in mTBI cases for defense doctors to highlight: “cranial nerves II-XII grossly intact.”

What Matters Most? Severity of Initial Symptoms or Severity of Impact on Injured Person?

Brain injuries are characterized based on initial presentation. Basically: How bad are symptoms right after the injury?

Why Would the Defendant Want to Help Us?

Someone is injured by another person. The injury was caused by negligence or something worse. So why trust the person who caused harm?

But I Paid for $1M of UIM Coverage!

I used to have clients tell me that they couldn’t settle for $X because it wasn’t enough to pay off their truck or $Y because it wasn’t enough to pay off their house.

Who Referred you to Dr. __________?

Insinuation is a powerful tool.

Pain and Perspective

I was reading some email from a listserve today. An attorney asked a question about a case. It involved emotional distress after a fractured rib.

Zone of Danger: Recovery for Non-Family Members who Witness Something Horrific

A couple months ago we sent out a newsletter about bystander claims.

How Much Should We Ask the Jury to Award?

One of the goals is engaging the defendant and helping it understand why it may be advantageous to settle the case.

Cash Flow

Collisions impact cash flow.

Dog Bites: Looks Like Friend…Not Friendly

We have a couple of dog bite cases in the office right now.