working on cases involving exactly these kinds of injuries, experiencing them myself lent a new insight into what each of my clients has truly gone through. It sounds trite, but pain really hurts, surgeries really hurt and having gone through it makes one more able to empathize with others who have gone through it too. Lesson Three — it’s just different when it’s you. After being released, I spent two months on crutches and in a boot. I could barely walk and I could not drive. Because of brain fog due to my concussion and the overall fatigue from recovering from surgery, I could barely work much on my existing clients’ cases. But I could not stop thinking about my own case — it was right there with me, all the time. Plus, I was worried about how it would turn out and who better to trust than oneself? Again, it sounds trite, but one’s own claim is always the most important claim — another thing for us to remember as we work with multiple clients. For each of them, they have only one case: theirs. We injury lawyers must remember that. So, during my recovery, I became my own personal injury client. Though my law partners and staff were extremely helpful and supportive, tackling much of the initial administrative work on my behalf, I ultimately handled the settlement negotiations with the insurers and medical lienholders myself. Although these tasks are essentially what we injury lawyers do all the time, it felt different managing a case involving my own injuries. Somehow, drafting one’s own demand letter seems momentous and, although I did not end up having to, I’m certain filing a lawsuit would have felt even more monumental. Also, I worried about the outcome, knowing that motorcycle accident cases are notoriously difficult on liability. The idea that I might be blamed for my part in this accident caused me a lot of anxiety — anxiety I rarely feel for my clients when comparative fault is alleged against them. In other words, when it’s personal, it feels much different. “Despite spending years working on cases involving exactly these kinds of injuries, experiencing them myself lent a new insight into what each of my clients has truly gone through.” See Motorcycle Madness p. 32 31 Trial Lawyer | Fall 2024
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