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.

Ice Water Results

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

Risk Tolerance Redux

Back in March 2021 we sent out a newsletter entitled: Risk Tolerance—A Bird in the Hand.

Energy, Efficiency, and the Brain

The brain has around 86 billion neurons and nearly a quadrillion synapses. Each synapse works like a molecular switch.

But How Can We Settle When ____ is Still Treating?

Clients fall into two groups. The first group wants to try to settle the case before they’ve even started treatment.

The "Concussion" is Actually the First Domino

We’ve all heard that half the damage after a sprained ankle is caused by the swelling.

But They Fixed it Right After the Fall...!

Fixing something—or making a safety improvement—after someone gets hurt is a clear signal that the “thing” was unsafe from the beginning.

We Know We Were in Pain... But the Memory Doesn't Capture the Whole Experience

Pain is a big component in most personal injury cases. When we’re asked about pain, we “remember” it.

Vacations After an Injury

At trial (and even before) the defense likes to express indignation and disbelief.

Disability Coverage— Don't Leave Benefits on the Table

I’ve gone through a number of “re-inventions.”

Collision Reports Aren't Worth the Paper They're Written On

Many people think that the collision report is dispositive on all issues related to a wreck.

The Doubtful Guest and Residual Symptoms

I love Edward Gorey. He’s written all sorts of cool things. But my favorite is The Doubtful Guest.

Small Changes Make Big Differences

People look a lot alike. There are so many similarities. Eyes, noses, ears, mouths, etc.

Symptom Attribution After a Car Wreck

The defense loves spinning the narrative that the injured person is blaming everything on the collision.

Examining The Attorney's Most Important Job... Listening.

Even before I started law school I knew what attorneys did. They were paid to talk. To use words to make things seem a certain way. Law school did nothing to disabuse me.

Chiropractors and the Insatiable Desire to Write Reports

We have a lot of cases where patients have been helped by chiropractors.

Veterans' Day and the Irony of Coming Home

My dad lied about his age and joined the Army Air Corps. He served during World War II.

Independent Medical Exams

I learn things experientially. I guess that’s the silver lining associated with having so many different kinds of health conditions.

Fun Facts About the Brain

I love “fun facts.” At trial they're a nice way to break the ice with the jury (and everyone in the courtroom) at the start of the day.

Bankruptcy: The End of the Line

Personal injury laws allow a debt to be collected. Bankruptcy laws prevent some debts from being paid.

Neurology Enters The Middle Class and Medicare Recognizes TBI as a "Chronic Health Condition"

That’s a funny title. But don’t worry. I’ll connect those two ideas.

Motorcycle Wreck and Near-Miss Survey: QR code

Safety is one of the most important civil rights. It’s integral to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Attorney Experience—When does Flexing Go from Impressive to Embarrassing?

I feel like being the youngest one in the room for most of my career. But the hands of time have caught up to me. And now I’m frequently the oldest.

Nihilism and Finding Meaning in Personal Injury

The hardest questions I have to answer as a lawyer is “what does it mean?"

DIY Demand Letters

Demand letters basically describe the collision, injuries, treatment, impact and conclude with a demand of a certain dollar amount to settle a personal injury claim.

Wildfires and Concussions

Setting a fire is a little bit like causing a concussion. The fire may start small. But depending on where and when it’s set, it can cause massive impact.

Am I Locked Into What I said at Deposition?

At the risk of over-simplification…if you testify dramatically differently at trial than you did at your deposition you’re going to have some explaining to do.

We can't Mention Insurance in the Courtroom... WTF?!

That’s what a client said to me earlier this week.

Bad Things Come in Pairs...

It seems like once is enough.

Danger Lurks on the Other Side of the Border— Your UM Carrier Might Not Provide Coverage

For decades there wasn’t much difference between the way personal injury claims stemming from car accidents were handled in BC and Washington. And then everything changed.

A Modern Version of the Pain Diary

I've rejected a lot of advice because of how I feel about the person giving it rather than the advice itself.

Attorney Advertising: What Moves the Needle When Deciding to Hire an Attorney?

We’ve never really advertised. But we have more bandwidth now than we’ve had in the past, so I’m considering it and would like feedback.

Kids and Concussions

The yearly statistics are massive; about 100,000 children sustain brain injuries requiring hospitalization. Most of these are moderate or severe brain injuries.

Claims for the Rest of the Family

We pay the most attention to the person who gets hurt. But one person's injury ripples through the whole family.

There's No "I" in Team

In January, I was diagnosed with throat cancer. That came as a surprise for a couple of reasons.

Jury Verdict Research

Before Zillow, it was hard to know what other homes were worth. Now there’s an abundance of information. It’s not perfect, but it gives you a pretty good idea.

Damages: All the Small Things

When I started practicing, I focused on “big” events that people missed after an injury to establish how an injury had eroded their quality of life.

ER Doctors and the No-No Diagnosis

There are a lot of studies about concussions being missed in the ER. Everyone was floored when Dr. Powell’s article came out in 2008.

Deciding Not to Go to the Hospital Doesn't Mean there Isn't an Injury

It happens all the time. Defense doctors earnestly testify that our client "couldn’t possibly" have suffered a concussion because they didn’t go to the hospital right away, refused an ambulance and/or were able to walk or drive away from the scene.

Crosswalks Don't Have to be Marked Giving Pedestrians the Upper Hand

I’ve been driving for 42 years. And have been practicing personal injury law for 33 years.

Sub-Concussive Events

Just like it’s in the public consciousness that people with a history of concussions do worse after another one, it’s soon going too be general knowledge that sub-concussive exposure creates the same kind of risk factor.

Memory: A Collage Rather than a Video

We have this impression that our memory is like a collection of video clips. This construct—which includes the impression that memory is static—is convenient but inaccurate.