Hi, everybody. This is attorney, Arkady Frekhtman, a New York City personal injury trial attorney. And today, we’re doing Last Week Tonight, it’s your FAQs, we’re answering your questions. We’re looking at the comments on our channel and answering all your questions from the last week.

P.T.S.D

“I’ve been on worker’s comp for 23 years and had several surgeries and feel abused by the doctors who act like every time I see them, they ask me why. I have several reasons why I live in a loop with my PTSD.” That is post-traumatic stress disorder. “I have a bulging disc, a stringing spine that goes on and on getting worse, not better, and bad doctors and some that are right on, still not better.

And OWCP wants to retire me, no one here in California.” Yeah, so that’s a tough situation. I’m really sorry to hear that. That’s just horrible. I’d be happy to schedule a consult. If you had a question, you could text me, 347 566 9595. I’d have to hear you out and listen to more of the story.

If it’s a straight worker’s comp, if there’s a third party lawsuit if you have a workers’ comp lawyer in California. But perhaps you’re not happy with them, I may be able to find someone else for you. I do know a lot of lawyers out in California, although I am here in New York. Whatever you need, but it sounds like a difficult situation.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

And with respect to PTSD, we recently just did a video about PTSD and how it’s as valuable as a brain injury. So if there is a third-party lawsuit with PTSD, it can be as valuable as a TBI. So there was a separate video that we did about that. So we’re going to either post it, either it’s been posted recently or it will be posted very soon.

But we just shot that video earlier this week in fact. And I did a lot of research in order to prepare that video. Okay, let’s see. What is the next question? Question number two for today is from, actually, it’s more of a comment from Ricky Harris. He says, “Great content. I have learned a ton from you during this future journey.

Thank you again for the time you take for us watchers.” No, you’re very welcome. It’s all about being grateful and trying to help other people. I think that’s my real mission. I’m trying to help serious injury victims and their families. So if it gives you any kind of a benefit, that’s great. Just ask your question, and comment, we’re here for you.

That’s our entire vision and our entire mission, both with myself and of my law firm, is helping serious injury victims and their families. And if I could help you by representing you and get something myself, I mean, sure, everybody’s happy to make a profit if you can. But I’m not one of these lawyers that, like these billboard lawyers, they’re all about the profit.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

What they’re really trying to do these, some lawyers, what they’re really trying to do is just profit off other people’s injuries. And that’s really not the best way to practice. The best way to practice is just to find what you’re really passionate about and truly help people. So if I could help someone and not make a penny, but I’ve helped someone, that’s still fine.

Of course, if you could make compensation, that’s good too. But I think too many people focus on the money aspect of it, right? Making money. And that’s why some lawyers get a bad rep. That’s why there are all these lawyer jokes, right? Because lawyers are trying to make money off of someone else’s injury. And that’s not necessarily the best thing to do or the number one priority.

The number one priority has to be about the person, right? Can you help the person? If you can’t help them, then maybe don’t get involved. If you can help them, then do whatever you can to help them and then the money will come. That’s a secondary gain. That’s not the primary objective. Okay. Let’s see what other questions we have. Again, from Ricky Harris, “Can you make a short video on PTSD after an accident and reoccurrence of mental health issues after an accident?

That would be awesome as well. I think mental health, diet, exercise, what you can is a very important factor on getting well after a traumatic brain injury or a traumatic injury.” Yeah, absolutely. We just shot a video about PTSD and how it’s as valuable as a brain injury. So check that out. It’s either been posted or it will be posted very soon. It was about half an hour of video.

It had a lot of information. I spoke kind of quickly in that video. It was actually a compendium of two different sources, just like my own general knowledge about TBI and PTSD as well as there was a CLE that was put on by a doctor who writes scientific journal articles on PTSD. So that was one of the sources. And then the other one was another CLE that was put on by a lawyer and he does a lot of trials with PTSD.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

And so it was some information that I gleaned from both of those sources as well as my own general knowledge. So I thought that was a good video, but let you guys take a look and let us know. And then please comment on that video. And if you have any other questions about PTSD, then we could make follow-up videos. Because it’s such a huge topic. Just the idea of PTSD, it’s not really something that can be covered in a half-hour video.

There are just so many subcategories. There’s the mechanism of how it happens, the actual biology of it, and then, how it’s a brain injury. So all of that, right? You have to get into the brain and all of the different parts of the brain, there’s the reptilian brain, the brain stem, then there’s the limbic system, and then there’s the cortex or the cerebrum. And that’s more of the when people say thinking fast or thinking slow.

So the cerebrum is where you have your executive function. That’s more like thinking slowly. You need time to make decisions, right? To think things through. And so a lot of PTSD is from either the reptilian brain, the brain stem, or the limbic system. Right? So that is more like a reaction. So if you were in, say, a car crash and you’re just scared of being in a car, when you see a car, you might start to shake. And it’s not like you’re thinking, “Hey, I want to shake.”

It just happens. There’s only one cell that has to be traveled, one synapse, one cell, and then boom, it’s just instantaneous. Almost like people have fears of spiders or fears of snakes. You see a snake, “Oh my god, it’s a snake, it’s a spider.” They’re not thinking about that, it’s just instantaneous.

So that’s how PTSD works. But yeah, check out that video. It’s a pretty good video, I think. Okay. And here is another comment from Mr. Rockman and he says, “Thank you so much for making this video.” And he’s referring to a video about bus accidents. “Also dealing with a bus accident, helped a lot.” Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Yeah, that was… I think I made the bus accident video actually in response to someone’s comment.

It might have been his comment requesting the video. So if you have any requests, just let us know and we’d be happy to take your requests and make a video about it. Here’s another question also from the same person, “Have you ever done or seen a case where it’s a six-level cervical surgery, C2, C3, C4 are disc replacements and C5, C6, C7 is a fusion, and there’s a hundred percent liability on the defendant in a rear-end crash?

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

If you’ve seen a case like this or similar to this, what was the settlement verdict?” Well, I mean, yeah, that sounds like a serious case. Look, you have a six-level surgery, so that could be 10 million, it could be more. It’s hard to say exactly, depends on where right? The city and state. It also depends on some other factors. So it’s hard to say just from a comment, how much it’ll be worth.

And I think he was saying, “Do you know how?” Oh, I was asking, okay, how much the insurance is? And I believe it’s unlimited insurance. But I believe I said something like, look, a six-level surgery can be worth at least five million if there’s enough coverage. It could be worth more than that.

And then he was saying that if the policy is open. Okay yeah, if the policy is open, it could be even higher because then there’s no limit, right? That’s like it breaks the roof off of the limit. So then an open policy, then the sky’s the limit. It could be much more, whatever the verdict is. So I would really work up that case. I would try to get the human story, loss of enjoyment, and life care plan if necessary.

Of course, all the medical evidence and just try to get as much as possible for all the different categories. Because you have past pain and suffering, future pain and suffering. You have the economic damages, perhaps the lost wages, you have the loss of enjoyment of life, whatever the jury instructions allow for in your jurisdiction, and just try to maximize it.

You line items for each, whatever the law says you can get, and just maximize each. And then when you add it all up, it could be a huge amount. So that’s a great case. That’s a very, very good case. And yeah, I mean, basically it’s just, there’s no exact science to it, of course. All cases are different.

You could have the same exact injury and two different cases and then one gets, let’s say a million dollars, and the other one gets 10 million. Why? Because, well, maybe one person was more likable, more credible, or maybe one lawyer picked a better jury than the other lawyer. So it’s not like an exact science. It’s all kind of like saying there were two surgeries and they were both cancer surgeries.

One was successful, the person healed, and they have no cancer. The other one he lived another three months, then he died. Well, I mean, it’s not necessarily the surgeon’s fault, right? There are other factors. One person’s cancer might have gone into remission, the other person might have had a recurrence or a metastasis even after the surgery.

So it’s just like that. It’s like you never know. It’s not an exact science. We can’t say, especially of a comment, we can’t say exactly what something’s going to be worth. Okay, let’s go to the next question. And that is about New York. It’s from Mr. Cuevas. And he asks,

How long could it take after a deposition in New York?

Well again, there’s not really any set timetable, but usually, after a deposition, it could be as quick as just a few weeks, right? Because after a deposition, the defendants already know what your case is about. They already know how your injury happened and they know what your injury did to you, right? How it affected your life, a little bit about your medicals, a little bit about your human story.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

They also can report to their carrier about how you testify, whether you’re honest, how you appear, and how you would present to a jury, right? Because that’s all very, very important. So then a case could settle right at a deposition, during a deposition. The case could settle the day later, a week later. The case could settle… Do you know?

But in reality, if it doesn’t, it shouldn’t be too much longer. Because once depositions are done, you’re going to put the case on the calendar. And then in New York, depending on which venue, right? And it’s a little bit different in each county. But for the most part, you’re going to be waiting maybe another year. Once you certify a case is trial-ready, maybe another year and a half, two years in some places.

And then you’re going to get your trial date. But remember, you don’t have to wait for the trial date. The case could still settle either at a pre-trial conference, at a mediation, or at a settlement conference, or your lawyer could just pick up the phone and settle it with the defendant, right? At any time between the deposition and the trial.

So yeah. So I mean, that’s basically my answer. He said, oh, he said here, it’s in the Bronx. Yeah, the Bronx is actually a little bit backed up. The Bronx could be like two-plus years waiting for trial. So definitely I would try to settle it. But if you can’t, the Bronx is a great venue. People are getting really high verdicts in the Bronx.

Really high verdicts, like eight-figure verdicts, seven-figure verdicts, multimillion-dollar verdicts. But the good thing, but the bad thing is the wait there is a little bit longer than in other places. But hopefully, they’re going to fix that, they’re going to do some kind of an administrative remedy and fix that because it’s just too long. It can’t be that long.

It’s just not fair.

Spinal Fusion

Okay, the next question is from an anonymous. They’re anonymous twice and they ask, “I had a spinal fusion surgery with Laminectomies and decompression. I suffered terribly. The surgeon brushed me off. Finally, he did a scan and did the surgery. Eight months later, I had a fistula fluid, et cetera.

My electric pelvis was gone and felt great. Electric pelvis, I’m not sure what that means.” But okay, “Went home two days later, hadn’t been home an hour and my back suddenly felt soaking wet. I was shooting spinal fluid out of my back, soaking bath towels. The surgeon got pissy and told me to lie flat and drink caffeine.

It went on for two weeks and he still wouldn’t see me. I had gotten so delirious and weak. As soon as she looked at my back, it burst open.” So it sounds like some kind of infection. Yeah, two spinal infections, infectious disease doctors, OR, PICC line, and the surgeon hasn’t even seen her. “Always assisted, only seen the assistant.

And then the back was aspirated before the second surgery and the doctor told him they got out a ton and it was still coming. And then retention stitches, painful hypothermic after the first surgery and everyone said I should sue.” Yeah. I mean, that is potentially the case. I would definitely get all the medical records, and show them to a local attorney.

If you need any help, just text me, 347 566 9595. I would have that local attorney review the case with an expert. And then if the expert, after reviewing all the medical records and speaking with you, or maybe examining you if necessary, if the expert feels there’s a case of merit, then here in New York we could file the lawsuit.

Now the statute of limitations is two years and six months from the date of the malpractice, the date of the medical negligence. That’s in New York. In every state it’s different. But for the most part, I think a lot of the statutes are similar, two years, maybe three years usually. But you could look it up, you just Google it and they’ll tell you what the statute is in your state.

They didn’t put what state they’re from, so I’m not sure. But yeah, feel free to reach out to us. I’d be happy to help you with that kind of case. I handle a lot of medical malpractice cases and that sounds like it could be some sort of a mistake. I mean, in one way, infections do happen and some people say infections are a risk of the procedure, but there are a lot of counter-arguments to that.

And there’s a lot that a lawyer can do to still win a case with an infection. And especially here, because it seems like the doctor wasn’t even willing to see you and send the assistant, and all of that can play into whether he was negligent or not. Okay, let’s go to the next question. The next question is from Beautiful Brown Baby.

And she says, “My attorney has been pretending to be helping since 2019. I just found out they never showed up to any hearings for a court date. And basically, the statute already ran out and my case is in California and my attorneys lied on paper saying that I accepted an offer. And so they got paid, but they kept the money and not showing up. And I could really use help.”

Okay. Yeah. I mean, feel free to text us. Again, it’s 347 566 9595. If the case is still in court and it’s viable, but the attorney’s not helping or just kind of checked out, maybe you can get another attorney. If the attorney really stole some kind of money and then the case is closed and they’re really lying, then you would have to go to the ethics committee and then they could maybe help you.

In New York, we have something known as the Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection. And so it’s like a fund where you can get funds if an attorney has cheated or lied. I’m not sure, they probably have something similar in California, but we could look into that. Okay, let’s go to the next question, and let’s see what we have here.

Gunshot Injury

Okay, here’s a question from King Sedai. And he says, “I had two surgeries, open reduction, internal fixation, had nightmares and mental severe depression, lost everything. It’s been three years. End up eviction and sent up for dead 17 times. Survived, still on the street fighting the case. How much is my case worth, sir?

It’s wrist permanent gunshot injury.” Wow. So that’s… I’m sorry to hear that, that’s horrific. That is a serious, serious case. I don’t know how the case happened. A gunshot injury, depending on the liability, two surgeries. Open reduction internal fixation basically means the fracture is so bad that it has to get opened and it has to get reduced and fixated with metal.

So either plate and screws or sometimes they have vertical external. And then internal fixators are usually plates and screws. He didn’t say what part of the body, but he also has severe depression and mental, as we talked about PTSD or there was another video I did about emotional injuries. So yeah, all of that comes into play. And it’s a serious case.

I mean, yeah, I’d have to, reach out to me, I’d have to find out more because I don’t know what the liability is, what happened except for this gunshot wound, and who’s at fault for that and whether there’s… It could be a negligent security type case. That’s a possibility. So I’d have to learn more in order to give a definitive answer.

But definitely, it sounds like it has a lot of potentials. It sounds like it, so. But good luck to you. I hope you feel better and I hope you get justice in your case. That’s what it’s all about. Okay, let’s go to the next question.

New Laws in My State?

And it is from Matthew Gilliard and he says, Sir, are there any new changes or rules for the state of South Carolina in 2022?”

Okay, South Carolina. So not that I know of, but if you need a consultation in South Carolina, I do know some excellent lawyers out there. So I could refer you to one of the lawyers and maybe they could answer your question, get a consultation, or if you needed them to help. I’m not familiar if there are any new changes, but I believe from my memory, this person was asking, they had also a strong case may be against the state or against a prison.

And I believe what had happened is there’s a cap and they wanted to see if you can get around the cap. I think the cap was 250,000 and their case was worth more. But if it’s a cap like that, you can’t really, there’s nothing new that would get around the cap. I think the only way to do it is to petition the legislature and to change the law.

That’s the only way to really get around it, unfortunately. Okay, the next comment from Calico Jack, “Clicked on this video by mistake. Thought this was Russell Wilson.” Interesting. I think I do look a little bit like Russell Wilson, I think. But I answered him and I said, “I have a much better win percentage.”

Yeah, Russell Wilson hasn’t been doing so well, so I think we have a much higher win percentage, at least in 2022. Okay, let’s go to the next one,

“I like the music in this video more than the other music you use. You should use this track more often.” And that is from an independent medical exam video, you need to know this about IMEs. Okay, I’ll check that out.

Maybe I could change the music and use that one. I don’t even know which one that is, but I have to listen to it again and figure it out. Okay, next question from JN, “30 years ago, a bunch of guys kicked my head into a wall. Was unconscious for only a few days I was told, but no memory for months, and never any treatment afterward.

No medical insurance. Was hard to admit to myself that I changed, but finally had to. Could not and still can’t tell people apart. The organization is well, not good. Lost all my friends. I hid from people, ashamed. I know I became kind of weird and awkward. I keep to myself after work, no family. On my own at 18 and happened at 20. Was tougher at times.

Still a mess, but not so hard like it was earlier. I live alone. My messy apartment has a lot to do with that. I try to organize, but hard to make the time.” Yeah. I mean, it sounds like some sort of a really serious TBI or possibly the PTSD that we talked about earlier, but I really am really sorry to hear that. If you need any kind of legal help, feel free to reach out and wishing you all the best for a recovery.

Sometimes you can get a recovery if you have the right medical care. So perhaps somebody guiding this person to the right medical team of professionals, best in class care can then lead to a recovery and a better result. So I’m hoping that’ll happen. Okay, let’s see. What other questions do we have? Oh, here’s a question from Out of Sight. And he asks, “I have a question.

18 Wheeler Crash

If you have an 18-wheeler case with a client who’s had treatment at pain management for six months, two operations, all because of a herniated disc pushing on a nerve due to the 18-wheeler hitting the car. There were three neck injections, three lower back injections, a microdiscectomy, which did not help to finally have major surgery, a C3, C4 and C4, C5, cervical arthro plasty with bills totaling $100,000.

I’ve heard several times that each case is different, but if you have to put a dollar amount on this case, not to mention it being the 18 wheeler’s fault, what would you say? Thank you.” Yeah. I mean, this case… oh, and he mentions the cases from Philadelphia. So yeah. I mean, a case like this, I really think it could be worth multiple millions.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

And mostly because of course we don’t know anything about the client’s human story, how this crash has changed his life or her life. So that is a major, major part, right? That could be worth more than the actual medical injury, right? If it’s presented the right way. Because ultimately, the case is about what you make it about.

So if you’re the plaintiff lawyer presenting the case, if you make it about, say the human story, how his life has changed. Like some people commented, they became homeless, they lost all their friends. If you could really convey something like that, right? That’s what happened, it could be a huge case, it could be worth 20 million. Right? But see, a lot of these questions are asking what is it worth, and they’re just giving me the medical injury. But it’s not like that.

It’s not a computer formula, right? Where I say I have bulging disc L5-S1, that’s worth 10,000. I have herniated disc, C3, C4 with surgery, that’s worth two million. It’s not a formula like that. It’s not an exact science. So it’s really hard for me to say. But in Philadelphia, I think the venue is pretty good.

And these injuries, if I’m limiting the answer to the injuries that the person gave us, the, I mean, obviously the injections to the neck and lower back, that could be worth, let’s say a hundred thousand right there. The injections could be a little bit more. The microdiscectomy could be worth a few hundred thousand, 300, 500.

But then the real value I think is from the cervical arthroplasty because that is a major surgery. It’s two levels, three and four and four and five., that’s two different levels. That’s serious. That could be worth multiple million. So when you add it all together, I mean, conservatively, I think it’s worth two to three million at least as long as there’s enough coverage from that 18-wheeler, which will also depend on how much insurance there is.

And you have to find out the primary, the access, the umbrella, the supplemental, the concurrent because… And then there’s also other things like you have a real lawyer who specializes in trucking. They can get into shipper liability, broker liability, there could be a separate insurance for the trailer, then for the track.

There are a lot of different elements, but it just depends on the lawyer also who’s handling the case, whether they’re pursuing all those different avenues, whether they know how to pursue all those different avenues. So yeah, if you have any questions, feel free to just text me or reach out. I’d be happy to help you. Okay.

Do I Have to Wait to Settle ?

The next question is from Dwayne Carter, “Hello. I want thank you for the videos that you provide us. A very informative. But I have a question that I haven’t seen an answer to on your videos. I and my girlfriend were stopped at a red light for about five to 10 seconds and we got rear-ended by a truck. The liability is clear because in the police report, the driver stated he wasn’t paying attention.

Now my question is, we have been treating since January of 2022 and she just finished her treatment about two weeks ago, and I’m still treating for medical issues. So can she settle her half of the case or does she have to wait for me to finish treating?” Okay, that’s a good question. Yeah. Well, I think that each of you could settle at different times.

You don’t have to wait. One person doesn’t have to wait for the other. In a case like that where it’s clear liability on the truck, right? You guys were stopped for 10 sec, up to 10 seconds. So you’re not, I mean, she’s not suing you and you’re not suing her. Right? So you’re both suing the truck, the owner and the operator of the truck. Right? So you’re what’s known as united in interest, right?

It’s clear you’re both going against the truck. Now the truck has insurance, right? And they’ll have a per-person limit and a per-accident limit. So each of you can get compensation. So if the lawyer feels like her injuries are a certain value and he or she wants to try to settle her case and she’s all done treating, she’s not going to have any more surgeries, and the lawyer’s ready to settle her case, meaning her case is right for settlement, the lawyer can go ahead and do it.

As long as they understand that later on, and they should put the carrier on notice, the insurance company for the truck on notice that there’s this other person and then the other person being yourself is still getting treatment. And then they’ll be settling as well. But they don’t to, she doesn’t have to wait for you. No, there’s no reason to do that.

She could settle right away. Okay. Let’s see.

Semi Truck Accident with Injections

What other questions do we have? Here’s a question, “Can trigger point injections make a nice case? Brain injury, bad memory loss, epidural injection, bulging disc, headaches, almost going on a year now, couldn’t move my neck for three months, eight months of physical therapy, and still going. Semi at fault, head-on collision, not stopping at a stop sign.”

And he said this was in Chicago, he’s getting epidurals and going to need epidurals for life, but he doesn’t need surgery. So I mean, yeah, injections can definitely make a good case. I would say from my experience, epidural injections are worth more than trigger point injections. Trigger points are more part of physical therapy. They’re not really worth that much by themselves. But as a part of a course of treatment with epidurals, epidurals could definitely be a worth a significant amount.

If you have, let’s say a herniated disc and you need the epidurals, there’s also percutaneous discectomy, which is a minimally invasive procedure. That can make the case worth even more. But what I really see here in this question and real, the elephant in the room, he got a brain injury and he says it’s bad, memory loss. So has that been worked up? Is there a neurologist? Is there a neuropsychologist? Is there a neuroradiologist, meaning a 3T MRI, a neuropsychological workup, a neurologist?

I would focus on that, right? Because the brain injury is worth way more than any epidurals. A brain injury could be worth just by itself if it’s worked up the right way and you have the medical evidence as well as family and friends, people who knew you before the crash, people that know you after, that could say how you’ve changed, that could be worth multiple millions. Right?

So if you’re not going to need or have any surgery, I would focus on the brain injury and work that up. And the good thing about brain injuries from a plaintiff’s perspective is that I don’t necessarily think that you need to work them up right away. So even if this case happened a while ago, right? Many months ago, and you haven’t had a brain injury workup, you can still get it now as long as the doctors say, “Look, that’s from the crash.”

And then also using those circle of friends, witnesses, right? People that knew you before to explain how your life has changed. People from work, people from neighbors, friends, whoever’s in your life. But definitely in Chicago, that could have significant, significant value. Again, it’s hard for me to say exactly, but if the brain injuries worked up, it could be multiple millions. Okay, let’s go to the next question.

What if I Didn’t Know all Injuries Until Later ?

We have a question from a Mr. Cabrera, and he asks, “I had an accident at work and I have a disc protrusion on disc L5-S1. But a week later I started with pain on my shoulders daily, which I believe may be cervical disc damage. I called the insurance adjuster and denied treatment because I didn’t mention at the time of my first visit. What can be done for the insurance to approve treatment for the cervical issue?

Please advise what options I have. This happened in Massachusetts.” Okay, so that’s an interesting question too. It sounds like it’s worker’s comp, but it’s not clear. We just know it’s an accident at work. So when you have an accident at work, it could be pure worker’s comp, meaning all you have is worker’s comp, it’s a work accident. And then you get your lost wages and you can get your medical bills paid.

But there’s nobody to sue because in most states you cannot sue your employer, right? Directly. Now you could have a work accident with a third party component where you’re suing a third party, someone else that’s at fault, that’s not your employer. Those cases, you have both the personal injury lawsuit as well as the worker’s comp.

So it’s unclear here, but his real question is since he didn’t mention the shoulder and they denied treatment. So I mean, I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure exactly what treatment they denied. He just says he has this L5-S1 disc herniation or protrusion. Oh, and a week later he had pain on his shoulder. I see. So they probably denied the shoulder treatment.

I mean, I think you can get around that if you have a worker’s comp lawyer or if you have just a local attorney that’s good. They should be able to get around that because it’s a medically known thing, right? That people, especially after say, any kind of accident, some things are instantaneous that you’re going to feel right away that day. Maybe for example here, the lower back injury, right? The disc protrusion, you felt it right away.

So they know about that. But then you didn’t feel the shoulder until the week later. But that’s a known thing that sometimes things get felt later. In fact, that’s why they don’t do MRIs the date of a car crash or the date of a fall, they do MRIs three weeks later because these injuries can appear later.

So the fact that it appeared just one week later, I don’t see an issue with you being able to get medical care for it. It sounds like maybe you were trying to deal with the insurance adjuster on your own. And that’s always a mistake because they try to strong arm you and use their bully techniques. So if you get a lawyer that knows what they’re doing, I don’t see an issue there.

Spinal Fusion Verdicts

Okay, another question here, “Can you do a video next on big spinal fusion disc replacement verdicts?” Yes, absolutely. That’s a good topic. Spinal fusions and in general, spine surgeries are very common injuries. So I will do a video. I’ll do a little bit of research on verdicts, probably verdicts that happened in New York since I’m in New York.

But I could talk about maybe recent verdicts, whether all types of recent verdicts, whether they were defense verdicts for zero or big verdicts, small verdicts, maybe all the verdicts from now until, 2019 till now that I could find on a jury verdict reporter. And then I could do another one where I filter the search and I only search for big cases like say five million and up.

And we could talk about all the big cases and how people got those big results, five million and higher and what it took and what those cases were about. So yeah, I’ll do some research and I’ll shoot a video about that. Okay. The next question, “I was hit by a semi a trailer and he kept going for a good 25 minutes.

He had no idea he switched lanes and hit me. I have a video of me chasing him trying to get his attention. Then he finally pulled over and denied the whole thing.” Yeah. Well, sorry to hear that. I mean, but if he changed lanes into you and he had no idea that he did it and you have proof, you get a police report, and take photos at the scene, it should be a clear-cut case. Because that’s a VTL, a vehicle, and a traffic law violation.

I mean, at least here in New York, I mean, in most states you can’t change lanes when there’s a car in that lane. Obviously, you have to make sure it’s safe first before you change lanes. So a tractor-trailer like that, a semi with a trailer, and he changed lanes into you, that’s a slam dunk case. It’s completely his fault. And it’s a good case.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

As long as there’s any kind of injury, I would recommend getting medical care. That could be a huge case. That could be worth millions. So an excellent case. Okay. The next question, “Two months ago I was hit rear-ended by a tractor-trailer when prepared to exit from the highway. I hired a lawyer and followed the procedures for medical treatment.

I got a head injury and needed to put 15 staples for two weeks on my scalp to recover the wound. And now I have some scars. I went for an MRI of my head, shoulder, and neck. They found some disc herniation even I don’t feel any pain. I go twice a week to physical therapy. And last time I visited pain management. The doctor recommended putting me on a one-time epidural steroid injection.

But if I don’t want, he will prescribe me some medication for pain. I don’t have any pain, just when I drive more than three to four hours, start getting some pain on the neck. But when it stops for 15 minutes, it disappears. The reason I am not sure if I have to go with epidural steroid injection is because a year ago, I had heavy COVID treatment and they injected me a lot of steroids.

After that, my blood glucose was going too high. It took me several months to get back to normal. And even I have some pain. It is not so bad not to be handled. So my main concern is if I don’t get the injection, how this will affect the settlement. And of course, any idea how much money I can get for this case in Texas.” So yeah. I mean, it depends on which city in Texas, obviously. It would depend on a little bit on that.

It sounds like a good case. Again, it’s a tractor trailer. So tractor-trailers usually have millions in insurance, so that’s good. A head injury with staples is already something, right? So again, like the last question, maybe a little bit of a workup. It could be an MTBI or it could be some kind of a concussion. So maybe a workup from a neurologist.

Just get that checked out, because it’s good. It’s for your health to make sure you don’t have an injury. You want to rule that out so that you know, hey, I don’t have any kind of mild traumatic brain injury. But if you do have it, well, then you’re entitled to compensation. And then with respect to the back, I mean, sounds like they have some herniations and they don’t want to get injections.

So I mean, that’s really a decision you have to make with your doctor. Have the doctor evaluate you and tell the doctor about the history you had with steroids and the fact that you might have some contraindications. There are a lot of different procedures. You don’t have to do injections. Right? There are epidural steroid injections, then there’s also radiofrequency ablation.

There’s an entire field of pain management, like percutaneous discectomies. Not everything will be contraindicated. A percutaneous discectomy, for example, they don’t put anything in your body. All they’re doing is removing the leak from the herniation. So if your disc has ruptured and the liquid inside the disc is leaking outside the disc and touching the nerve roots causing pain, all the striker decompression that goes in does is it remove that extra portion.

Now the disc is a perfect circle the way it should be, a healthy disc should be. So that could be an option. But even if you don’t do anything, I think the case could have substantial value because of the staples and because of the head injury. So I wouldn’t really try to determine what I’m going to do based on how much I’m going to get.

I would just do whatever you need for your health first and then the result will come. The result will come.

Fall in Jamaica

Okay, the next question, “Slip and fall in Jamaica at a large resort. This resulted in a head injury that required 10 stitches on site. I now have facial scarring that I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life.

The resort’s legal team has indicated they would like to proactively settle this matter as they are aware that a staff member removed a caution slip sign the night of the accident. Pictures show the sign had been removed and pictures show the sign had been put back up the next morning. Could you answer on a future Q and A, how would a case like this be handled since it happened outside of the US?

Also, could a case potentially like this, what could it be worth? Is it worth less since it could be based in Jamaica, even though I reside in the US? Love your content, keep up the great work.” Yeah, this is a good question. I mean, I don’t know if I could answer that off the top of my head right now. I’d have to do a little research.

I’m not familiar with Jamaican law, but I have had cases in the Caribbean. I believe I had one case maybe in the Dominican Republic, but I was able to settle it here in America. And the reason was because the resort also did business in America. I think the resort in that case was from Pennsylvania.

So we could file the lawsuit. Although because there was diversity, meaning different states, the client was in New York and the resort was originally from Pennsylvania, they removed it to federal court. And that was, I think, a broken leg. And it settled, but it didn’t get as much as I think it would’ve gotten had the lady fallen in, let’s say New York.

So it was a little bit tougher in federal court. But it did settle for a substantial amount. Here you have 10 stitches. Facial scarring, it would depend on the scar. We’d have to see a photo of the scar. But feel free to reach out to me. If you have a lawyer already, especially a lawyer that’s familiar with litigating in the Caribbean if it has to be litigated in Jamaica or litigating these types of cases, resorts in the Caribbean, then great stay with that lawyer.

I actually know a lawyer who’s a real specialist in litigating cases in the Caribbean. He actually lives in the Caribbean. And whenever I get a Caribbean case, I usually give him a call, I give him the referral and he’s done a great job on these. So if you need that resource, just text me, 347 566 9595.

And he could probably give you more of a definitive answer exactly to the questions that you’re having as well as possibly help you with the case. But yeah, but I would say a lot of these resorts are not based in the country, because they have a location pretty much they could be based out of Florida, they could be based out of any state, or they could even be based out of Europe. Right? They could be from Spain or from wherever.

And then they just have locations, one in Jamaica, one in the Dominican Republic, one in Anguilla, one in somewhere else, all over the Caribbean. So it just depends on that. So it’s kind of like a specific detailed based on what’s happening in that specific factual pattern. So it’s hard for me to say without knowing who the resort was. Okay. Okay. The next comment from Blake Woodcrest.

Don’t Adopt Defense Mantra

He says, “Wow.” And he’s responding to the video, How Does a Preexisting Injury Affect My Personal Injury Claim?” And he says, “Wow. I’m sure that most folks take that narrative from the defense and even an inexperienced attorney and get shafted.” Yeah. I mean, sometimes people do take or adopt the defense mantra and then they don’t believe that they can get more and then they get shafted or just, it’s unfortunate, but it does happen.

Legal Fees Only on Pain & Suffering ?

Okay. The next question, we got a lot of questions here. Okay, we’re almost done. The next question, “So I was wondering, the lawyer takes one-third of the amount. So let’s just say for example, a case went to trial and got 30 million in total, 27 million for past and future pain and suffering, non-economic damages and two million for future lost wages, and one million for future medical bills.

Would the attorney only take one-third of the pain and suffering amount? Would the attorney also take one-third of the plaintiff’s economic damages?” I mean, most attorneys will take one-third of the recovery, just a total recovery. So they’re not going to limit it like, “Pain and suffering, I’m going to take the fee, but economic damages, I’m not going to take the fee.”

Because you might think, I mean, some people might think, “Well, how come the attorney’s taking a third of the economic damages? That’s just my lost salary. If I made say a hundred thousand dollars a year and now I’m not making that a hundred thousand, why should I only get 70,000 because the attorney’s taking a third?’ But you got to remember that the attorney has to do a lot of work to get that.

He has to hire an economist, maybe a vocational rehabilitation expert, perhaps an occupational therapist. There’s a lot of life care planner, there’s a lot of work, a lot of experts, a lot of money upfront and being able to obtain those economic damages. So usually it’s just the total amount that the attorney gets.

Rear Ended Dump Truck

Okay. The next question, “Can you make a video about getting rear-ended by a dump truck and your passenger?

Just the usual outcomes on cases like that?” Yeah. I mean, I don’t think there’s any particular outcome just because it’s a dump truck. I mean, I could do a video about dump trucks, but it’ll be more about maybe what discovery to get in dump truck cases or garbage trucks or stuff like that. The amount really depends on your injury, right? And how it’s affected your life. That’s the damages portion.

The liability is more like how it happened, right? Whether it was a trip and fall, a truck, a bus, a motorcycle, a dump truck. So I don’t really think there’s a connection there necessarily. But I mean, I would say in general, just generally speaking, yeah, dump truck cases should be very serious cases because it’s a dump truck. You got hit by it and you’re going to get seriously injured. If you got seriously injured, they’re going to be high-value cases.

The outcome should be good if you got rear-ended because it’s a clear liability. You’re going to win on summary judgment, right? As a matter of law, the dump truck is at fault if they rear-ended you. So that’s good in terms of the legal result. But yeah, feel free to text me the 347 566 9595. I’m happy to give you a personal consult and maybe steer you in the right direction if you let me know what city and state you’re in.

More Injury More $$$ ?

And then the final question, okay, the home stretch, the final question comes from Victor Jackson. And he says, “So the more injuries, the more you could be compensated? Question mark.” Yep. I mean, yeah, obviously. The whole purpose of the law is to put you back in the position that you were in before you got injured. So the more injury that you have, the more was taken away from you.

So then the more compensation they have to give you back to the same level you were before you got hurt. So it makes sense. Okay, I hope this has been helpful. Let us know what other questions you have. Like and subscribe to our channel, leave us comments, leave us questions, and that way we can do another Last Week Tonight, next week and answer all your questions. And we are here for you. Okay, everyone, have a great day. Have a great weekend.