While this sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, involving a priest, minister, and a rabbi, it’s not at all funny.
In fact, this is precisely what happened to my client, K.
Fortunately, she recovered after being knocked down and injured by a car.  I was able to get her a fair settlement to compensate her for her medical bills, physical injuries, lost work and income, pain and suffering, and loss of a normal life.
Car Runs Over Client
I don’t care how jaded you are, hearing that a human being was hit by a car hits a nerve. …
Continue Reading A Comic Gets Run Over By A Car

In a recent blog, I discussed denial of personal injury claims by insurers.  
What about workers’ compensation cases?  Insurers deny these claims all the time, for all sorts of reasons.  Many people torpedo their own cases by failing to do a few basic things.
What can you do to protect your rights  if you are injured while working?  
A Person Walks into Work and Gets Hurt
That heading sounds like the beginning of a joke, but that’s how it all starts.
The basis of workers’ compensation law in Illinois is contained in the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act and the subsequently…
Continue Reading Denial—Workers’ Compensation Edition

It’s not just a river in Egypt (old joke, not worth explaining).
Seriously, I get this question often from prospective clients, “can the insurance company deny my claim?”  The answer, of course, is a decided “yes.”  Another variant is, “can the insurance company deny my claim based upon the police report?”  Again, a resounding “yes.”
In short, insurance companies base their denials of claims upon multiple factors, and they only need to base it upon some good faith belief to avoid being penalized for acting in bad faith.
How can you avoid a denial of your claim, and what can…
Continue Reading Denial

You know that feeling you get when a car is gunning the engine to turn in front of you?  And all you can do is slam on the brakes and hope you stop in time?
That’s what I experience several times a day.  On every bike ride.
Why does this happen?
Primarily because drivers don’t pay enough attention, or make their intentions clear enough.
Or they don’t see, or don’t look for, bikes and pedestrians.
Just the other day, a car nearly ran over a woman pushing a stroller because it started to turn without bothering to look in the…
Continue Reading Fear

Sometimes personal injury cases take on a life of their own.  The liability is not disputed, or the injuries are obvious and serious, or the insurance coverage is ample, but not so huge that insurers can drag their feet.
My client J’s case was such a case.
At first glance, it appeared not to be an exciting kind of case.  My client was older, 81.  And while she was hit hard by the other vehicle, her injuries were not obvious or serious at first analysis.  And I had no idea what type of insurance liability limits existed.
Then things began…
Continue Reading Stimulating a Settlement, or Two

If you’ve been conscious for the last few decades, you have undoubtedly been bombarded with (and are undoubtedly sick of) the lawyer ads that jump out of your television, attack you in your car from billboards, and assault you on your electronic devices.
Needless to say, especially in areas of practice where the lawyers try to reach consumers directly, such as personal injury, workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, bankruptcy, mass torts, and criminal and traffic offenses, these ads are ubiquitous.
And annoying.
But since the 1970s, they’ve been legal.  For my entire legal career, which began in 1990, lawyer advertisements have…
Continue Reading Lawyer Referrals

It’s been a while since I have written about topical case results and resolutions.  Thank you for waiting patiently while I worked on a rather involved case.
At first glance, it’s a simple case; a woman, stopped for a red light, was rear-ended by someone who failed to stop for a red light.  Her car was heavily damaged, and she was injured.  
To many of you regular readers, this sounds like a “snoozefest”.  Nothing exciting happening here.
Except that my client is 81, and before the crash she’d had a spinal stimulator surgically implanted to keep her back pain under…
Continue Reading A Personal Injury Case in Two Parts

If you own a car, a condo, a house, or anything else that you have insured, you undoubtedly noticed your bill got a LOT larger recently. You probably have two questions: 
1) Why? 
2) What can I do about it?
The Whys
Insurance premiums increase (they almost never decrease!) because the entire insurance industry is based upon risk.  If an insurer is more likely to face claims, or higher amounts of claims, it will protect itself by raising premiums.
So what in the world is going on to cause such stark increases?  A lot of things.
A recent article in …
Continue Reading OMG…My Insurance Went Up!

You may be wondering, “why is he still writing about his darn shoulder surgery?”
Hey, it’s my blog and my shoulder, so I’m allowed to write about what I want.
In all seriousness, I have a reason for writing one more time about all of this.  By the time you read this, I will have met with my surgeon for the six-month post-operative appointment.  The only reason this appointment exists at all is because I was the recipient of an allograft, or graft of tissue from a deceased donor.  This was done to strengthen the shoulder repair.
Lonzo and Me—What’s…
Continue Reading Six Months a Laboratory Rat

Most of the time, when I achieve a great settlement, arbitration award, or verdict for a client, I want to tell the world.  Most of the time, my clients are only too happy to allow me to do that, provided their names and specific identifying information isn’t included.
But there are exceptions.
One of my latest settlements was a great result for a deserving, and very satisfied, client.  I suspect the attorney who referred this case to me would also be rather pleased.
However, we cannot really talk too much about it.
Why, you ask?
The specific terms of the…
Continue Reading Shhh…It’s a Secret

May 10th will be the anniversary of my 35 years as a lawyer.
It’s been a wild ride, and I couldn’t have imagined at the start it would be as interesting, successful, or fulfilling as it has been. And it’s not over yet!
A lot of lawyers write on LinkedIn about how wonderful they are. I hate that. The attorneys who resonate with me – and probably with you – are open, honest, and human. Human beings, flawed as we are, make pretty good lawyers – because our clients are also human beings.  And so are defense attorneys, insurance adjusters,…
Continue Reading Thirty Five Years in Practice!