My Cup Spillith Over…Again

In what is often referred to as the bane of my professional existence as a plaintiff’s lawyer, the infamous McDonalds case has resurfaced again. Since it inspired the title of my entire blog, I thought I should spotlight its latest phoenix-like rise. It comes back into the watchful eye of popular culture now in [...]

How Much Is My Case Worth?

Contrary to the belief of the general populous, many of my clients who first come to me are not really focused on money. Most have a healthy dose of outrage that the insurance company is denying to pay them for even the most basic and related treatment. Most are scared that they are going to [...]

All Things Being Equal

Plaintiff’s lawyers are a mostly male bunch. And when I say, “mostly male,” I’m not so much commenting on their gender, but on the spectrum of maleness – Plaintiff lawyers tip the scale to one side to the nearly, “good ‘ole boy” order. My real life experienced of how I arrived at this stereotype: 1) [...]

You Want Me To Grant You An Extension To Do What To Me?!

The discovery process, much like everything else in the law, is governed by strict time lines. Most of the time these can be pushed out, [...]

What’s the Harm In a Simple Status Post? How Social Media Can Affect Your California Personal Injury Case

I admit that I am 100% guilty of what I’m recommending in this week’s blog. So, I am officially qualifying this post by admitting wholeheartedly that I recognize the hypocrisy of my lawyerly ways and understand I am taking a “do as I say, not as I do” stance. Even worse, after finishing this week’s [...]

Pot & P.I. – The Medical Marijuana Debate Continues

Justice Should Not Be Furloughed

Five years after my client’s car accident the case finally went to trial. And after three days a verdict was reached that made me angry about the what she went through at the hands of the system. I realized much of my anger was directed not so much at the person that hit [...]

Say What You Mean

In preparing to draft a demand to the insurance company, I am reading through my client’s medical records. I come upon a recent report from her doctor. I read the latest report that purportedly summarizes the results from her bone scan. The report says the following: “There was a focus of intense abnormal [...]

Why Explaining Is Losing in The Plaintiff’s Deposition

In every personal injury case there comes the day when the defense attorney will want to take the deposition of the plaintiff. They do this for several reasons: they want to find out what happened (fact finding), they want to observe and size up the witness (character finding), and they want to elicit unfavorable testimony [...]

One Free Bite

A lot of folks are still harboring the old common law notion that you aren’t liable if your dog bites somebody for the first time. It used to be referred to as the “one free bite” rule. The idea was that after your dog showed vicious behavior by taking a bite out [...]