Personal Injury Lawyer

I was a passenger in my wife's car in a recent rollover accident and have a rib injury and bruised ankle. My wife was driving, the car was titled & registered in her name. Am I entitled to settlement? I live in New York State

Asked by Rick almost 11 years ago

Would you say it is wise to pursue a JD, given that law schools are graduating more people than the market can absorb?

Asked by Steve almost 11 years ago

Why are damage awards higher when the defendant is rich? I never understood that. If an NBA player assaults me, why can he face $ millions in damages, while a regular Joe faces much less? Isn't the crime the same?

Asked by defcon0 about 11 years ago

When the economy went south a few years back, did the number of personal injury lawsuits skyrocket?

Asked by Cee7 about 11 years ago

They didn't necessarily skyrocket, but I do believe that the personal injury field is recession-proof.  There may have been a few more lawsuits a few years back, but whether the economy is in good shape or bad shape, a case still needs to be legitimate to bring a lawsuit.  There may have been more people calling lawyers to inquire about possible lawsuits because they needed money, but ultimately, if the case is a loser, we're not going to take it. 

I am currently involved in a personal injury case. Their side just submitted a doctor's report which contained untruths making it seem as though I was barely injured. Is this typical and how does the judge differentiate between what is truthful?

Asked by TiredTeacher about 11 years ago

Unfortunately this is the norm in personal injury lawsuits.  The Defendant has the opportunity to send you to a doctor of their choosing to examine you and write a report to be used at trial.  These doctors are basically on the payroll of the insurance companies.  As long as they keep writing reports which state that the Plaintiff isn't injured, they will continue to use them.  These doctors, who rarely actually treat patients anymore as a part of their practice, make millions of dollars writing reports and testifying for insurance companies and defendants.  Ultimately, it's up to a jury to determine if they believe the treating doctors for the Plaintiff, or this doctor that was paid for by the insurance company.  It's a terrible system, but nothing can really be done about it.  It's up to your lawyer to make their doctor seem like a fraud to a jury.

How do lawyers pick jurors? What's the thought process?

Asked by Coma_toes about 11 years ago

Picking a jury is by far the most politically incorrect process i've ever been apart of.  There are studies that show what kind of juror will be more favorable to a plaintiff or to a defendant.  Since, the thought process is to get people on your jury that will favor your side more than the other we use these studies as a benchmark for who we want on a jury.  Without getting too politically incorrect, i'll simply say this.  Juries in the Bronx give the highest verdicts of any county in America whereas juries in Manhattan, Westchester and Long Island tend to be alot more Defendant friendly and more conservative with their awards. 

Do you ever see or suspect that certain judges show favoritism along gender, race, age, etc?

Asked by Jamie Marz over 11 years ago

Actually, I'm glad I can answer no to this question.  I really haven't noticed this before although I have seen favoritism from Judges before.  Usually though, that favoritisim is because a Judge may have a better relationship with one attorney over the other, or may dislike an attorney for the way he's behaved in his courtroom before.  I've also seen Judges show favoritism towards witnesses before, but I believe that was really just based on the witness either being really likeable or the witness lying through their teeth.  Thankfully, nothing to do with gender, race or age.