Articles Posted in General

Ten years ago today I flew into NYC to attend a meeting of the Amicus Committee of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA). The Amicus Committee, of which I was, and still am, a member, submits amicus curiae (“friends of the court”) briefs in important cases on appeal in New York State where the rights of injured people are likely to be greatly affected. I am proud to have been selected to be a member of the Amicus Committee, and to submit briefs to fight for the rights of New York personal injury victims.

But I never made it to that meeting 10 years ago. On the shuttle bus from JFK airport to the midtown tunnel, the guy sitting to my left cried out, “did you see that”?! We all looked. We saw fire and smoke spewing out of a gaping hole in one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The man informed us that a plane had just run into the tower. Someone commented, “what an idiot – how could that pilot have failed to see the towers on such a clear day”!

When we emerged from the midtown tunnel and got off the bus in Manhattan, everywhere people were talking about a second plane having struck the second tower. We were under attack. All of us headed to the nearest bar with a TV, and the rest, of course, is history.

Boring. That’s what reading medical records is. I’ve been reading and re-reading 15 years of medical records for a client whose case I am trying in a few weeks. Cup of coffee? Yes, Thanks. Yes, boring. Dry. Dull. It’s a sure fire insomnia cure. So why do I do it?

Necessary. This is one job that can’t be delegated to a paralegal or associate. If you are a New York personal injury lawyer, and you are going to try your client’s injury case, you have to know, almost by memory, the medical records. And that means you have to read and re-read them. No shortcuts.

Your paralegal might give you a nice summary, or might highlight important entries. But if you are trying the case, you simply have to read them. Absorb them. Know them. Imbedded in these records is the story of your client’s injury, which you must bring to life before the jury’s eyes.

Although I haven’t been to the New York State Fair yet this year, I read in the Syracuse Post Standard about an interesting – at least for a Syracuse New York personal injury lawyer like myself- exhibit. It’s called “Safety Town“, a creation of the New York State Office of Fire Protection. Check it out in the Science & Industry Building.

It consists of four interactive dioramas with push buttons that illuminate common hazards created by careless living. For example, the diorama “the House of Hazards” shows true-to-life tableaus of common household dangers caused by unsafe choices:; a hot iron teeters dangerously on top of the refrigerator about to fall on small child’s head; a man sleeps with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth; a girl plays with matches in a closet; candles are burning next to curtains blowing in the wind; and paper items are placed on a hot stove where food cooks unattended.

Since this exhibit is put on by firefighters, it emphasizes fire hazards, but other common negligence-created dangers are also represented (Example: Dad is about to step on a stray roller skate). In fact, the exhibit is chock full of all kinds of negligence-created hazards. It seems like an amusing cascade of accidents-waiting-to happen.

Most New York personal injury cases settle soon after the injured victim has finished her medical treatment. At that time, her personal injury lawyer and the insurance adjuster can see the full extent of the injury. At that time, most New York personal injury lawyers, including myself, sit the client down, advise them on what a fair settlement would be, and then get the insurance adjuster to offer that, or more.

Sometimes, though, no matter how skillful a personal injury lawyer is at negotiating with insurance adjusters, he or she can’t get the insurance adjuster to offer fair compensation for the injury. When that happens, the next step is to advise (the decision is up to the client) the client to let us sue. Usually after we sue, and the insurance carrier sees we mean business, the case is resolved either by settlement or trial within a year, or at most two.

But once in a while a case just takes a course of its own — a long one. I am talking about those rare, but unforgettable, crazy, complicated, over-the-top, seemingly never-ending cases. Right now I have two such cases that I have had in suit for more than 5 years. The first one has been up on appeal twice (I won both times) and still has not gotten to trial. It is likely to go up on appeal one more time before we finally get to trial. After trial, who knows, maybe another appeal.

When folks find out I am a New York personal injury lawyer, it doesn’t take them long to ask me, usually with a snide grin on their face, about the McDonald’s case. The undercurrent of the question, no matter how it is posed, is something like this: “You scumbag personal injury lawyers sure know how to milk the system, tricking juries into raining huge piles of money on undeserving clients.” Well, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but you get the point.

That one case has done more to tarnish personal injury lawyers than any other in history. Late night comics have had a field day with the case. To conservative politicians and their insurance-company/big-business lobbyists, it has been the poster child for everything wrong with personal injury lawsuits and our civil justice system.

But all of this was actually the result of a deliberate misinformation campaign by corporate America to undermine the civil justice system. I know you won’t believe this (yet), but the case actually showcases everything that is right about our civil justice system. A recent documentary spotlights the McDonald’s case, and shows how corporate America distorted its true meaning. Skeptical? Don’t believe your mind has been manipulated about that case? See the new documentary, Hot Coffee, which premieres on HBO June 27. You can see the trailer below. See it, then watch the film, then email me and tell me what you think.