Summer Legal Internship Experience With Stuart A. Carpey
This article was written by Daniel Lopez a current student at Villanova University School of Law.
During the summer months most law students work or intern at law firms in order to learn and gain valuable experience about the profession they will soon be entering. In better economic times virtually every law student was guaranteed a position at one firm or another. However, in the new economic climate, summer positions for law students have been dwindling and getting a position is highly competitive.
As a Villanova Law student I began searching for summer jobs at Philadelphia personal injury law firms as early as January. Early on in my search I applied to an open position with Kreithen, Baron & Carpey, where I interviewed with Stuart Carpey. Thankfully, he hired me to work and gain the experience I desperately craved.
Confident with my knowledge and ability I began work immediately after finals. I thought that I would know exactly what was going on because of my law school education. Boy was I in for a surprise. From day one I realized how much I didn’t know and how knowledgeable Mr. Carpey was in the area of personal injury, medical malpractice, civil rights cases, and the litigation and trial of those kinds of cases.
One of the first things Mr. Carpey began talking about when I first started working for him was the difference between full tort and limited tort coverage in car accident cases. I had no clue what he was talking about. So, I had to put my pride to the side and asked what the difference was. Stuart then clearly explained that a limited tort insurance policy is one where the policyholder pays lower premiums but gives up the right to be compensated for pain and suffering if involved in a car accident except where the injuries are quite serious. He explained that a full tort policy allows the policyholder to proceed with a personal injury case and to file suit if necessary for pain and suffering if involved in a car accident, without having to worry about the limited tort threshold. I couldn’t believe I had never heard of full tort or limited tort before. Stuart then handed me both of the books that he has written “Purchasing Auto Insurance In Pennsylvania” and “The 10 Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Pennsylvania Accident Case.” From that moment, I knew I really didn’t know that much at all about car insurance and how it applied to injured accident victims. Moreover, if I didn’t know the difference between full and limited tort, the odds were that most Pennsylvania drivers didn’t know the difference either. It was frightening to know that many Pennsylvania drivers had unknowingly given up an important right because it would save them a few dollars a month. It also became clear to me, as Mr. Carpey explained, that insurance companies and their agents were doing a disservice to their insureds by not fully informing them of their rights.
Within a few weeks of working for Mr. Carpey, I met a variety of clients and listened to them speak with Mr. Carpey about their injuries. From listening to these discussions I learned how important it was for doctors treating accident victims to fully detail what the injuries were, and to fully document in the medical chart the full extent of their patients’ pain or discomfort. I was surprised to learn that insurance companies go out of their way to minimize an injured accident victim’s claim for damages, and that a complete medical chart is the best way a patient can combat that.
I learned a lot about how Mr. Carpey prepares for depositions and trial, and how it is important to keep your client informed of the process of his or her legal case. I was also part of Mr. Carpey’s program both on the Internet and in his written materials, of informing his clients and the public generally of their rights in personal injury cases.
These are just a couple of the things I learned while working with Mr. Carpey this summer. Now as I enter my final year of law school I will take my experience from this summer and use it to guide me in the future. I can say without hesitation that Stuart Carpey is a great person, mentor, and lawyer, and that this was a great summer experience.
