Pennsylvania Injury Law Report : Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Stuart Carpey Law Firm : Auto Accidents & Product Liability : Pennsylvania Injury Law Report

Two articles caught my attention today in the Philadelphia Inquirer business section. The first had to do with the number of increased bankruptcy filings. The author talked about bankruptcies among the rich and famous, including that of former Phillie Lenny Dykstra who apparently owes between $10 and $50 million. I am no bankruptcy maven, and there may be very good reasons Mr. Dykstra is pursuing bankruptcy, perhaps to protect his other assets from creditors. Sure seems like he was irresponsible with the large sums he made as a player.

The second story I read today was about the trials and tribulations of large law firms who are having a tough time in the current recession because big firms, as the writer puts it, don’t have coherent business models.

That’s surprising to me. Having a business plan starts with putting on paper your purpose for being in business. For instance, mine is to have clients who are regularly informed of the status of their personal injury case and who are kept informed of the process throughout the litigation of the case. This creates a steady stream of satisfied customers who speak well of me and my firm, simply because they are informed. Of course, I am in business to make money. But, as far as I am concerned, that cannot be the primary purpose of my business. If my primary goal was simply to make money, my clients and their cases  would become a secondary concern. It’s a simple business plan that is regularly communicated to my staff.

Incidentally, I have found that doing right by my clients equates to better settlements and verdicts for my clients. My clients are well informed of the risks of both settlement, and trial. This process of constantly keeping my clients educated about their case leads to happier clients, who then refer more clients to me. No surprise there.

At a minimum large law firms need to end the excessive waste of time, and waste of their clients’ money. Hourly billing rates by defense firms with no end in site in the litigation of a case, the filing  of needless motions (something I see every day in the personal injury cases I litigate for my clients) is sure to raise the ire of a client, big or small.  It’s simply irresponsible money management.

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A client came into my office the other day having been in a car accident. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Her car was wrecked. The accident was not her fault. She had some questions and some comments which I hear fairly often.

• I am not the "suing type".

One of the first things she said was that she was "not the suing type."  (She meant that she was opposed to litigation generally, and that there were "other" people responsible for litigation, regardless of whether those "others" included individuals or business attempting to enforce or protect their legal rights). When I come across a client like this, I try to make it clear that litigation is not an easy undertaking.  (I call it a "meatgrinder" to drive the point home) and I rarely file suit except as a last resort.  I try to politely suggest that categorizing someone as the "suing kind" is nothing more than an urban myth.

• I think I should get punitive damages.

In a typical personal injury case, recoverable damages include "special damages" and "general damages."  Special damages are for itemized amounts, like wage loss and medical bills. General damages are for non-economic damages, that is,  pain and suffering. Punitive damages, designed to punish the wrongdoer, are rarely if ever applicable or recoverable. I try to explain to my client at the outset that my role is to try to help them recover their out of pocket expenses and non-economic losses related to their accident.

• The other guy injured me. Why should my (car insurance or health insurance) pay for my medical bills?

I explain that Pennsylvania law rightly and correctly requires your own insurance company to pay for your own medical bills, whether it's your car insurance, health insurance, or through workers compensation benefits if injured on the job. This is a benefit to you that you paid for in some way, either directly or, in the case of workers compensation benefits, by the very nature of being employed. You may also be a beneficiary of insurance benefits, say for instance, if you are a passenger in someone's insured car and you have no insurance of your own.

• Should I not go to work? How long should I go to the doctor?

These are issues that require medical consultation and advice. I always explain that issues related to medical treatment  and disability should always be left up to the doctor that my client sees, after consultation with my client/their patient. I urge my clients to go to their doctor visits armed with questions.

• This didn't hurt before, but now it does. It had to be caused by the accident.

It very well may be. But unless an injury can be related to an accident by credible medical expert testimony, it cannot be proven as related to the case. Put another way, your doctor must make the causal link between your injuries and the accident. The worst thing to do in a personal injury case is to overreach. That's not to say you should not tell your doctor of all of your ailments. But  you should also rely on the competency of your treating doctor to causally connect your injuries to the accident and only those injuries that are related to the accident.

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Layoffs are pounding the legal profession in the Philadelphia legal community. Firms are merging in order to stay alive in the recession. Wolf Block, with over 300 lawyers,  went under in late March. In early March, Morgan Lewis & Bockius announced it was laying off 55 lawyers and 161 support staff. Big and medium size law firms have lots of overhead in terms of salaries, rent, equipment, you name it. They can't be nimble in an economic downturn, at least not nimble enough. They can't change course quckly enough to catch new opportunities in the legal marketplace.

Of course, the same pressures that medium and large law firms face are no different than the pressures faced by other businesses. Any business owner can testify to the fact that opportunities for growth abound, even in this recession. But  slight adjustments in a company's or law firm's business plan must be on the books (at all times) and ready to be acted upon (when needed).

Smaller law firms don't face quite the same financial pressures as their larger counterparts. In this economy, that could turn out to be a benefit for consumers in need of legal services.

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