THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE OF THE PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER
Three recent unrelated cases can illustrate just how broad an area the issues facing the personal injury attorney can cover. *(Taken from www.claimsjournal.com )
Case 1: Man Sues PetSmart–Says He Slipped on Dog Feces
Case 2: Woman Dies After Getting Stuck in Elevator
Case 3: Teen Sues School Over Stabbing
The attorney receiving these cases will have to analyze a wide variety of issues in making an initial evaluation as tho whether or not there is a valid, sustainable lawsuit. In addition, the attorney will have to decide whether or not it makes “economic sense” for his firm to accept the matter. This latter issue is usually based on two factors: first, what is the extent and nature of the injury incurred; second, is there a realistic source from which monetary damages can be obtained (in most cases, insurance).Let us imagine differing scenarios in the above cases:
Case1: What if the dog feces occurred when another customer’s dog, whose owner was in the shop to purchase an item for his dog, had just relieved itself a moment before the victim fell? Would the store owner be liable?
Case 2: What if a woman forgot to take her heart medication that day, the elevator gets stuck for a few minutes, and the women, who is also claustrophobic, begins to panic, and dies? Is the building owner or elevator company liable?
Case 3: What if the victim of the stabbing sought refuge in the school but was not permitted inside by a school guard (correct fact in this case)? And what if this event was part of a gang fight outside the school? Did the guard have to let this victim back into the school?
These scenarios demonstrate the complexity, at times, that arise with the wide variety of fact patterns Personal Injury Attorneys are confronted with on a daily basis. In many firms, partners will often meet to digest and contemplate facts surrounding a “difficult” case and decide whether or not that firm can be comfortable in accepting a matter.
When a firm accepts a case, it is understood that a client is depending on that firm to alleviate, in some manner, through the obtaining of monetary compensation, the suffering that client has endured and may continue to endure into the future. No responsible attorneys would want to have a client depend on them for such an awesome responsibility without being as sure as possible that their firm is in a position where a successful outcome, while never a total guarantee, will be a more than likely outcome.