What made physicians policies cluster****s is many required Dr consent to settle. Unlike other liability policiesI would assume any 'slam dunk' would be settled by the insurance company ASAP.
What made physicians policies cluster****s is many required Dr consent to settle. Unlike other liability policiesI would assume any 'slam dunk' would be settled by the insurance company ASAP.
It’s become abundantly clear that if a prominent public figure or institution sucks up (or, better yet, pays up) to Trump, they’ll derive significant benefit. Conversely, if Trump perceives them as an enemy, our VP (vindictive president) will go after them.What are your thoughts?
Not Ego Man’s problem. SCOTUS declared POTUS above the law as long as he/she/it’s “working.”It’s become abundantly clear that if a prominent public figure or institution sucks up (or, better yet, pays up) to Trump, they’ll derive significant benefit. Conversely, if Trump perceives them as an enemy, our VP (vindictive president) will go after them.
All of this, of course, has First Amendment implications. But nobody’s crying for a big law firm, or for a law school that refuses to capitulate when Trump’s DOJ attempts to dictate its curriculum. Watch for this administration’s 1A assault, though, to expand significantly in the coming months.
Trump is going to lose every case stemming from these orders--but that isn't the point of these executive orders, These executive orders are to punish the law firms indirectly by having them lose client who do NOT want to be involved in this mess. The damage, for most, was done the moment pen hit paper. No client wants to be bothered by this crap.What are your thoughts?
Bad outcomes don't always mean fault in your typical duty/breach/causation analysis. There's no way to predict what a jury would do. The only things I know about Juries for sure is that they hate liars and they generally get it right. I'd rather have a jury trial in most cases than a bench trial at the state court level.The difference is never the outliers. Where liability is clear from the onset. It’s where something really shitty happened that’s anomalous but you don’t know
Immigrant Mom presents to the ER claiming her water broke. Hospital says nah you’re just pissing yourself. Go home. Er only. Discharge doc one sheet. Drink fluids. Call if belly hurts.
Goes home. It’s actually premature rupture of membranes. “Dry” baby. After two days. Dead. But mom was uninsured and had minimal prenatal care. She also smoked during her pregnancy. And the baby might have been fckd up. But she wasn’t pissing. She had prom and shouldn’t have been sent home. She should have been admitted. A rich person at a rich hospital would have
That’s what you often get. Hospital fckd up. No idea what a jury will do. You want mom to pay?
Agreed but each county is so so different re composition which in the tort world has a huge impact on outcomes. Actually settlements as well as the adjusters know.Bad outcomes don't always mean fault in your typical duty/breach/causation analysis. There's no way to predict what a jury would do. The only things I know about Juries for sure is that they hate liars and they generally get it right. I'd rather have a jury trial in most cases than a bench trial at the state court level.
Another aspect that is important, any good lawyer worth his weight will tell you when you have a shit case. There have been many times where I have thought, "dammit, we take this through discovery, and I'm going to make 500k in fees easily off this". If I did that and the claim is worth $750k and I spent 500k in fees on a bad case defending a design firm that screwed up, I'm going to lose a client. Most lawyers that I deal with think the same way
Agreed 100%. That all goes into the risk calculation.Agreed but each county is so so different re composition which in the tort world has a huge impact on outcomes. Actually settlements as well as the adjusters know.
Rule number one:Bad outcomes don't always mean fault in your typical duty/breach/causation analysis. There's no way to predict what a jury would do. The only things I know about Juries for sure is that they hate liars and they generally get it right. I'd rather have a jury trial in most cases than a bench trial at the state court level.
Another aspect that is important, any good lawyer worth his weight will tell you when you have a shit case. There have been many times where I have thought, "dammit, we take this through discovery, and I'm going to make 500k in fees easily off this". If I did that and the claim is worth $750k and I spent 500k in fees on a bad case defending a design firm that screwed up, I'm going to lose a client. Most lawyers that I deal with think the same way
Of course. But in 3 week trial relating some sort of business litigation, the jury will hate everyone.Rule number one:
The jury must like your client.
I have several war stories that confirm this.
Agreed 100%. That all goes into the risk calculation.
My favorite was I had a case in this remote rural co in Missouri. Was a death case. The lawyer on the other side would simply not respond. To anything. Finally I left him a couple of incredibly nasty messages. Nothing. Called back to make all these threats and the prick picked up. Before I unloaded again he goes please. Listen to me for one second. And I am hoping you’re one who can appreciate this.Rule number one:
The jury must like your client.
I have several war stories that confirm this.
That's the best story I've read in a year. Including Moby Dick.My favorite was I had a case in this remote rural co in Missouri. Was a death case. The lawyer on the other side would simply not respond. To anything. Finally I left him a couple of incredibly nasty messages. Nothing. Called back to make all these threats and the prick picked up. Before I unloaded again he goes please. Listen to me for one second. And I am hoping you’re one who can appreciate this.
I am 63 years old. Right now I am sitting at my gf’s kitchen table in her one bedroom one bathroom apartment outside of fort myers studying for a bar exam I have no chance of passing as there’s no chance I have the stamina anymore. It’s been 40 years since I took the last one. I left my wife and
I go STOP. just stop. Do what you need to do and you will not hear as much as a peep from me until you can.
About two months later the guy calls at like 9:30 on a Sunday night. Hey would you take this?
Big number. So he comes back for the wrongful death settlement hearing. He walks into the courtroom. Ct clerk hugs him. You know I’ve been thinking about you you old fool. Call me once in a while. Judge goes “hey buddy.” I’m like wtf. I start my statement and the judge puts his hand up. Didn’t even get a full sentence out. Hey Mike this is a big number. You good with doing this. Sure about it? He goes I am. Then he signed the order.
As we’re walking out I go to the lawyer: god damn. I don’t think a trial would have gone that great for me here.
He goes. Not on anything in controversy 🤣🤣🤣🤣
It gets better. He called me two years later out of the blue about his son. He was finishing law school and was looking for a job. We hired him. And he did great. Fast forward a couple years and he left us to start a firm with his dad.That's the best story I've read in a year. Including Moby Dick.
Great stuff.
Hell, at 63 I was in my prime. Did he pass the bar and move to Florida?My favorite was I had a case in this remote rural co in Missouri. Was a death case. The lawyer on the other side would simply not respond. To anything. Finally I left him a couple of incredibly nasty messages. Nothing. Called back to make all these threats and the prick picked up. Before I unloaded again he goes please. Listen to me for one second. And I am hoping you’re one who can appreciate this.
I am 63 years old. Right now I am sitting at my gf’s kitchen table in her one bedroom one bathroom apartment outside of fort myers studying for a bar exam I have no chance of passing as there’s no chance I have the stamina anymore. It’s been 40 years since I took the last one. I left my wife and
I go STOP. just stop. Do what you need to do and you will not hear as much as a peep from me until you can.
About two months later the guy calls at like 9:30 on a Sunday night. Hey would you take this?
Big number. So he comes back for the wrongful death settlement hearing. He walks into the courtroom. Ct clerk hugs him. You know I’ve been thinking about you you old fool. Call me once in a while. Judge goes “hey buddy.” I’m like wtf. I start my statement and the judge puts his hand up. Didn’t even get a full sentence out. Hey Mike this is a big number. You good with doing this. Sure about it? He goes I am. Then he signed the order.
As we’re walking out I go to the lawyer: god damn. I don’t think a trial would have gone that great for me here.
He goes. Not on anything in controversy 🤣🤣🤣🤣
He never took it. He worked remotely and came back when he had to. Then left and started his own firm with his sonHell, at 63 I was in my prime. Did he pass the bar and move to Florida?
The good thing about representing an organization is that you can usually select your courtroom client from among a group of people.Of course. But in 3 week trial relating some sort of business litigation, the jury will hate everyone.
It really is crazy how different counties are. The city. Holy shit.The good thing about representing an organization is that you can usually select your courtroom client from among a group of people.
I tried plaintiffs side PI for 6 months before landing my job at the class action firm. Thought I wanted to be a real deal trial lawyer. My first trial where I was first chair. On my own. No help. Car wreck case. Rear ender, plaintiff claimed she needed back fusion, but hadn't done the procedure (no insurance, no money). Opposing counsel was trying his 100th jury trial. 40ish years old. Told me while drawing up jury instructions together that the only reason he hadn't settled the case was because he hated my boss so much (perfectly valid--I did too).It really is crazy how different counties are. The city. Holy shit.
Were any of you good people on the corner of hodamont and Martin Luther king boulevard at 1:30 am on Tuesday April 5 2021.
Two hands go up.
WHAT?!!! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!!!!!
Do any of you have any personal experience with a police officer
THEY SHOT MY BROTHER!!!!!
THEY LIE!!!!!!!!
Poor insurance defense goat. Okay ladies and gentlemen please remember that there has to be a basis for anything you award. I can’t state this strongly enough. This is not Powerball. Please. It’s not Powerball.
holy shit!!!!! fantastic. i had a lawyer friend who worked with a captive firm. trial setting every single monday. would look at it on sunday night. they got graded based on a scale. soft tissue case in some random county. $2k in meds. jury awarded $50k. he quit on the drive back. went to work fixing tickets and running night court dockets.I tried plaintiffs side PI for 6 months before landing my job at the class action firm. Thought I wanted to be a real deal trial lawyer. My first trial where I was first chair. On my own. No help. Car wreck case. Rear ender, plaintiff claimed she needed back fusion, but hadn't done the procedure (no insurance, no money). Opposing counsel was trying his 100th jury trial. 40ish years old. Told me while drawing up jury instructions together that the only reason he hadn't settled the case was because he hated my boss so much (perfectly valid--I did too).
During voir dire, I'm asking all these questions I'd read about from Mike Tigar (my crim law prof who defended Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma bombing case) and Bob Cilfford. Real upper level stuff. At a break the judge, retired but who came back when the trial docket was overflowing, is asking me WTF, this is a car wreck case not the Nuremberg trials. I tell him judge, this is how I do things. He says, counselor, how many trials have you had? I lie and say "this is my third, judge." The jury pool comes back in and I start asking "has anyone ever been in a car wreck?" A few hands go up. So I ask the first one, describe what happened. He does. I'm "actively listening" and a question just pops into my head, so I ask it, real conversational-like: "Did the guy who hit you have insurance?" Oh fvck, I think, as the words slipped out of my mouth.
Holy shit was there an uproar. Defense counsel objecting like mad. Judge irate, yelling at me in front of the jury pool "Did you just ask him about insurance!" "Judge, you granted the motion in limine!" Judge calls a recess, brings me and the defense lawyer back in his chambers, and chews me out for a good 10 minutes. I say nothing. Judge tells me these are the questions you're going to ask for the remainder of voir dire, write them down, and if I hear anything else asked, I'm calling a mistrial.
I excused myself to the bathroom before we went back in, promptly puked in the toilet, cleaned myself up, looked in the mirror and seriously contemplated just leaving and quitting the practice of law, and then went back into the courtroom. Ended up winning the trial, but jury award was only for the amount of the surgery, nothing else. Very conservative collar county. Client was ecstactic, boss was furious and chewed me out for not getting 500k.
Ha.It really is crazy how different counties are. The city. Holy shit.
Were any of you good people on the corner of hodamont and Martin Luther king boulevard at 1:30 am on Tuesday April 5 2021.
Two hands go up.
WHAT?!!! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!!!!!
Do any of you have any personal experience with a police officer
THEY SHOT MY BROTHER!!!!!
THEY LIE!!!!!!!!
Poor insurance defense goat. Okay ladies and gentlemen please remember that there has to be a basis for anything you award. I can’t state this strongly enough. This is not Powerball. Please. It’s not Powerball.
That's great. without an experience like that, you likely would not be the man you are today- book club would have never started, and frankly you probably would have just gone on to some rando message board posting memes of muppet characters.I tried plaintiffs side PI for 6 months before landing my job at the class action firm. Thought I wanted to be a real deal trial lawyer. My first trial where I was first chair. On my own. No help. Car wreck case. Rear ender, plaintiff claimed she needed back fusion, but hadn't done the procedure (no insurance, no money). Opposing counsel was trying his 100th jury trial. 40ish years old. Told me while drawing up jury instructions together that the only reason he hadn't settled the case was because he hated my boss so much (perfectly valid--I did too).
During voir dire, I'm asking all these questions I'd read about from Mike Tigar (my crim law prof who defended Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma bombing case) and Bob Cilfford. Real upper level stuff. At a break the judge, retired but who came back when the trial docket was overflowing, is asking me WTF, this is a car wreck case not the Nuremberg trials. I tell him judge, this is how I do things. He says, counselor, how many trials have you had? I lie and say "this is my third, judge." The jury pool comes back in and I start asking "has anyone ever been in a car wreck?" A few hands go up. So I ask the first one, describe what happened. He does. I'm "actively listening" and a question just pops into my head, so I ask it, real conversational-like: "Did the guy who hit you have insurance?" Oh fvck, I think, as the words slipped out of my mouth.
Holy shit was there an uproar. Defense counsel objecting like mad. Judge irate, yelling at me in front of the jury pool "Did you just ask him about insurance!" "Judge, you granted the motion in limine!" Judge calls a recess, brings me and the defense lawyer back in his chambers, and chews me out for a good 10 minutes. I say nothing. Judge tells me these are the questions you're going to ask for the remainder of voir dire, write them down, and if I hear anything else asked, I'm calling a mistrial.
I excused myself to the bathroom before we went back in, promptly puked in the toilet, cleaned myself up, looked in the mirror and seriously contemplated just leaving and quitting the practice of law, and then went back into the courtroom. Ended up winning the trial, but jury award was only for the amount of the surgery, nothing else. Very conservative collar county. Client was ecstactic, boss was furious and chewed me out for not getting 500k.
Easy. Train your bouncers. It’s your responsibility. Negligent hiring. Negligent supervision LFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Story happening here in Evansville. Good example why I don’t care for ambulance chasers.
Guy goes to a bar. Thinks his bill is too high. Shouts at a female bartender, gets up “in her space”, two bouncers come over and beat the shit out of him. He’s badly injured. Whole thing is filmed. Bouncers are arrested and charged with battery.
Guy gets a greaseball lawyer all over billboards around here and sues….you guessed it…the bar. Lawyer says he may sue the bouncers, too. But he needs to sue the bar for both compensatory and punitive damages…so that this sort of thing never happens again.
As if this bar owner or any other bar owner instructs their bouncers to pummel anybody who causes any trouble.
If this bar owner did do that, then I’m fine with the suit. If the owner and/or manger sat back and watched it happen without making any effort to call them off, also fine.
If not, I don’t see why the bar should be liable. Makes no logical sense at all - except for the bar having more insurance money for the greaseball to put in his pocket.
Story
Outrageous!!Easy. Train your bouncers. It’s your responsibility. Negligent hiring. Negligent supervision LFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I gotta better one.Story happening here in Evansville. Good example why I don’t care for ambulance chasers.
Guy goes to a bar. Thinks his bill is too high. Shouts at a female bartender, gets up “in her space”, two bouncers come over and beat the shit out of him. He’s badly injured. Whole thing is filmed. Bouncers are arrested and charged with battery.
Guy gets a greaseball lawyer all over billboards around here and sues….you guessed it…the bar. Lawyer says he may sue the bouncers, too. But he needs to sue the bar for both compensatory and punitive damages…so that this sort of thing never happens again.
As if this bar owner or any other bar owner instructs their bouncers to pummel anybody who causes any trouble.
If this bar owner did do that, then I’m fine with the suit. If the owner and/or manger sat back and watched it happen without making any effort to call them off, also fine.
If not, I don’t see why the bar should be liable. Makes no logical sense at all - except for the bar having more insurance money for the greaseball to put in his pocket.
Story
No dram shop rider for the bar?I gotta better one.
My guy goes to a bar, is overserved and is plastered. Knows not to drive home so asks his buddy, who was also drinking, to drive him home. He calls his daughter to come down and drive his car home. She is 15, no drivers license. On the way home my guy falls out of the pickup as it turns left. Probably didn’t even shut the door. The daughter runs over him, quadriplegic. He’s the brother of a good friend and she asked me what could be done to get some money. I sue the bar under the overserving- liability law. The bar owner doesn’t have a pot to pee in, we settle for policy limits.
Postscript: Because of this case the legislature changed the law to exclude the person drinking from making a claim.
Right after we settled, the insurance company files bankruptcy, it took years to get all the money. Rockfish’s old firm represented the insurance company’s receiver.
Yes. That’s how we got policy limits.No dram shop rider for the bar?
Damn that’s a nutty fact pattern.
Negligent entrustment. All sorts of madness.
This will make crazed hate lawyers. I had one. Chick is the bartender. Serving her boyfriend all night. She gets off work and together they go to a 3 am bar. He buys one drink. We have the receipt. Was visibly wasted. They leave and he crashes the car. Fckd her up as passenger. We sue the bar. They never bother taking a depo. Just tender the limits. No clue that she was the one serving him all nightYes. That’s how we got policy limits.
Justice under the law is created, not discovered.This will make crazed hate lawyers. I had one. Chick is the bartender. Serving her boyfriend all night. She gets off work and together they go to a 3 am bar. He buys one drink. We have the receipt. Was visibly wasted. They leave and he crashes the car. Fckd her up as passenger. We sue the bar. They never bother taking a depo. Just tender the limits. No clue that she was the one serving him all night
He was visibly intoxicated by c and c and shouldn’t have been served but she the passenger served him all night. Sort of fckd up. But her damages were so great they just folded before bothering with discoJustice under the law is created, not discovered.
Because of that, it is a scarce resource that requires time, effort, and money to create. That's what a lot of people don't realize.
When my partners and I were getting our businesses we have now together we’d jokeThe law offices of McMurtry, Quarterzip & Feckery...![]()
When my partners and I were getting our businesses we have now together we’d joke
Press 1 if you been injured in a car crash
Press 2 if you’re interested in our line of consumer products
Press 3 if you want to take your product to the next level
Press 4 if you’ve been injured at work
Press 5 for franchise opportunities and
Press 6 if this is an attempt to collect a debt
We’re sorry. The mailbox you’ve attempted to reach has not been set up
If you ever need seed money for a business go to a lawyer.And much like congress critters, this is the reason people love "their" lawyer, and fecking despise all others.
It's funny because it's true.If you ever need seed money for a business go to a lawyer.
Don’t you want to know about the business
No. Don’t care. I have only one question. If it works will it get me out of this? Someday?
Yes
In
This will make crazed hate lawyers. I had one. Chick is the bartender. Serving her boyfriend all night. She gets off work and together they go to a 3 am bar. He buys one drink. We have the receipt. Was visibly wasted. They leave and he crashes the car. Fckd her up as passenger. We sue the bar. They never bother taking a depo. Just tender the limits. No clue that she was the one serving him all night
Guy in the blue tie looks like a serial killer. Bar has a responsibility to train its bouncers. A bouncer has no money. Have to follow insurance hence the barUgh.
And, look, I want to be clear that my disdain for Lawsuit, Inc. isn’t a blanket sentiment - even for that class of lawyers. I’m sure many, if not most, claims have a rational or at least reasonable basis.
My problem is that I hear about so many of them that clearly (to me, anyway) just don’t. And it befuddles me how these get anywhere with a judge, assuming they get that far.
And it starts to sometimes look like something pretty distinct from justice.
In the case I referenced, he sues the bar instead of the two guys who actually did it. And he says it’s about making sure it never happens again, blah blah blah. It’s total bullshit and anybody with half a brain knows it.
![]()
The lawyer bringing it is the guy in the middle. I’ve met him, and he seems like exactly the person you’d think he is by this photo…and his benevolent and altruistic approach to law. He’s doing it to protect all of us regular people from the ravages of diabolical, violent bar owners, doncha know?
What does he know all you board lawyers don’t? He seems like he’s having fun and winning the game…Ugh.
And, look, I want to be clear that my disdain for Lawsuit, Inc. isn’t a blanket sentiment - even for that class of lawyers. I’m sure many, if not most, claims have a rational or at least reasonable basis.
My problem is that I hear about so many of them that clearly (to me, anyway) just don’t. And it befuddles me how these get anywhere with a judge, assuming they get that far.
And it starts to sometimes look like something pretty distinct from justice.
In the case I referenced, he sues the bar instead of the two guys who actually did it. And he says it’s about making sure it never happens again, blah blah blah. It’s total bullshit and anybody with half a brain knows it.
![]()
The lawyer bringing it is the guy in the middle. I’ve met him, and he seems like exactly the person you’d think he is by this photo…and his benevolent and altruistic approach to law. He’s doing it to protect all of us regular people from the ravages of diabolical, violent bar owners, doncha know?