The Court Of Public Opinion

1. Lawsuits seek to compensate you for your injuries.

a. They compensate you for:
i. Your lost wages, and your future lost wages,
ii. Your medical expenses, both past and future, and
iii. Your pain and the suffering it caused in the past, and for the future

2. Lawsuits do not directly seek to harm anyones reputation.

3. A doctor who is sued will not lose their medical license if the lawsuit is successful.

4. A lawsuit attempts to compensate the injured victim, and at the same time, try to ensure that the same type of bad treatment is not repeated in another patient.

5. A lawsuit is not a lottery.

a. This phrase is often used by defense attorneys during jury selection to remind jurors that their job is not simply to allow the injured victim to hit it big and award huge amounts of unjustified money.

b. A more realistic approach to a lawsuit is for reasonable, full and fair compensation to allow you to recover all of your past and future expenses, and all of your past and future pain and suffering compensation.

6. You dont have to pay any money upfront to an attorney to handle your case. There is no hourly fee.

a. Medical Malpractice and injury cases are generally handled on contingency.

b. That means that the attorney fee depends upon you winning your case. If you lose, the attorney loses as well, and receives no fee.

c. The expenses that the attorney pays to prosecute your case are technically supposed to be repaid by the client in the event the case is lost. However, as a personal matter, I have never asked a client to reimburse me for my expenses if I lose a case. It just doesnt make sense to do so, and in my personal opinion, its bad business. However, some attorneys do require this, so make sure you ask first before you make your decision.

7. Not every attorney has the same experience.

a. Ask your attorney how many years theyve been in practice,

b. Ask the attorney what percentage of medical malpractice or accident cases he handles compared to other types of cases,

c. Ask whether he/she tries cases in the Supreme Court (its the trial level court for New York,

d. Ask whether hes ever lost a case;

i. If he tries cases, and claims hes never lost a caseId suggest either that the attorney is not being accurate, or simply only accepts clear-cut cases that he cannot lose- thats extremely rare.

ii. The majority of trial attorneys will have lost a case from time to time. Unfortunately, its the nature of the beast.

e. Ask whether the attorney you meet with will be the one handling your case on a day to day basis. If not, who will be your attorney? Whom will you call with questions? How quickly will the attorney call me back? How often can you expect to receive correspondence from the attorney about the status of your case?

8. A lawsuit takes time to come to a conclusion.

a. The average time is 2-3 years from start to finish.

9. How often do I have to come into the attorneys office during this time?

a. Once to meet the attorney in an initial meeting,

b. Once to sign documents that start your lawsuit (often this can be done by mail),

c. Once to have your deposition (where you are asked questions by the other sides attorney),

d. At least once to prepare you for trial, and sometimes two or three additional times to prepare you.

10. As in life, there are no guarantees to winning. However, with good experienced counsel and thorough preparation, you stand a much better chance of being fully informed about your prospects and achieving a good result.

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Q: What is a deposition, and will I have to testify at a deposition?

A: First, a deposition is a question and answer session where you will swear (or affirm) to tell the truth. The questions and answers are recorded by a Court stenographer, who will later transcribe all of the questions and answers into a booklet.

If you are bringing a lawsuit for injuries you or your loved one suffered then you will be required to testify about your knowledge of the events and your knowledge of the injuries. You will also be asked questions about how those injuries have affected you (or your loved one) and what treatment you’ve received to treat those injuries.

The attorney(s) for the people you have sued will be questioning you, usually in my office. Sometimes, because of an inability to travel, we can accomodate the injured victim and conduct the deposition closer to their home. Naturally, I will be there with you every step of the way.

Prior to your ‘deposition’ you will meet with me, either on the day you are scheduled to be asked questions, or on a scheduled day before the deposition. During that meeting, I will prepare you extensively about what you can expect will be asked of you by the other attorney(s). By the time we have finished our meeting, you will be aware of practically all the types of questions you will likely be asked by our adversaries.

During the deposition, if you have any questions or concerns, we can take a break and discuss them in the privacy of my office.

Once your deposition session is finished, you can expect to receive a copy of the booklet that contains all of the questions and answers asked and given. You will also receive special instructions about how you must review the transcript for any errors, and what to do if you find factual or typgraphical errors.

On another date, I will have an opportunity to then question the ‘defendant’ (the party that you have sued) to determine from them what happened and why. You are welcome to attend the defendant’s deposition with me, however there are some instances where I will advise against being there, and in some instances I will encourage the client to accompany me.

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