It’s been a hectic week here at our personal injury firm…

I was supposed to start a trial today in a car crash case with severe low back injuries, including an annular fissure and herniated disks (with not one, but two surgeries required).  It would have been my fourth personal accident or injury trial of 2011, not to mention the several personal injury arbitrations I have arbitrated this year.  However, the court notified us last week that they are too full to hear a civil case. Why?  Well, because they have older cases that are ongoing.  Frankly, this is not all that unusual.  It seems that many of my personal injury cases, particularly the car crash cases for whatever reason, are moved by the court at the last minute.  This is generally due to a lack of judges, since the court tends to hear criminal cases as a top priority, followed by domestic cases, and lastly, civil cases.  I suppose it is the only result, given the lack of courtrooms for our population, particularly where criminal defendants have a constitutional right to speedy jury trial, and the court wants to resolve family matters (especially those cases involving kids).  However, that is sometimes empty solace for those who are injured, who cannot work due to their injuries, who have been out of work for several months, or even years, whose injuries are persisting, and whose injuries require treatment they cannot afford.  I know that the courts are doing the best they can with what they have, but it can be very frustrating for those injured (and their attorneys, too).

Medicare and Personal Injury Settlement Issues

On the bright side, Medicare has finally begun issuing its final lien notifications – or at least seemingly so.  It has held up any personal injury settlement for months now, while it has “re-evaluated” its prior letter. What a pain!  So, after years of pushing and working towards resolution, many of our clients have had to sit on their hands waiting for Medicare to issue these final letters, all the while needing medical treatment, and some way to pay their mortgages.  At long last, it appears as though the log jam has finally cleared, so hopefully the injured can be made right.

Our Newest Personal Injury Attorney

On another note, David Rosen, shined bright yesterday in depositions on a fairly complicated premises liability personal injury case.  This is an injury case where the client was walking through a local store, pushing a small child in a cart, and encountered clear liquid on the floor, causing her to fall and injure her shoulder, knee, and ankle.  The store has come up with all sorts of interesting defenses, first saying that she had a water bottle, so she must have caused the spill (she didn’t), then claiming that the child actually had a cup, and that must have caused the spill.  In depositions, we learned that the cup claimed to have been seen by an employee (who didn’t remember seeing the cup at the depositions) was nonetheless covered with a lid that was fully seated.  Well…if there was a lid, how could the child have possibly spilled something substantial enough to cause a large puddle on the ground?  It never ceases to amaze me how these defendants, particularly corporate defendants, keep moving the goalposts and make things up as they go along.  It makes me sick.  Luckily, the truth shall prevail, as I am sure it will in this case.

In any event, I am taking tomorrow morning off to volunteer at my oldest daughter’s school for field day.  Oh, to be a kid again!

– Tim Williams (Your personal injury specialist)