The fact is, not every injury has a remedy.  Some injuries -- and in my view, especially minor ones -- are not worthy of a making a claim, let alone a lawsuit.

Pursuing an injury claim costs money. Simply filing a lawsuit and serving a single defendant costs more than $500 nowadays.  Medical records are $1.00/page plus a $15 retrieval fee in most instances. 

While in isolation that may not sound like a lot, doing it over and over again does add up.  I do not file every case to see what will "stick" and what does not.

Types of Motor Vehicle Accidents I Generally Do Not Accept

Due to the high volume client inquiries that I receive, I have found that the only way to provide personal service is to decline those cases that do not meet my strict criteria.

Therefore, I generally do not accept the following types of cases:

Cases with no clear objective evidence of injury

If you have a sprained neck or back, and the x-rays, MRI, and CT scans do not indicate a very large disk bulge or disk herniation, then I will not accept your case.

Insurance companies do not pay a lot for these cases because they know that local juries do not award significant sums of money without clear objective evidence of injury.  There are plenty of lawyers who take these cases and I will be happy to give you the names of several of them.

Cases involving minor impact

My experience with juries and knowing from my discussions with other attorneys across Florida and the country about their own experiences is that, by and large, jurors do not believe that a minor impact could cause substantial personal injury.

Many cases have been tried where the medical evidence was very strong, yet the photographs and the property damage showed little or no damage.  Even though well-qualified physicians testified for the clients, these cases were either lost or received very low verdicts.

Thus, I believe that the risk to the client is too great to warrant pursuing these claims.  There are other attorneys with different opinions about these cases and, again, I will be happy to supply you with several names.

Cases where the statute of limitations will soon run

I like to have at least four to six months to adequately investigate and evaluate your claim.  Your delay is not going to become my crisis.

Generally, I will not represent you if you were charged by the police in the accident.

I know that the police can be wrong; but if after interviewing the witnesses and evaluating the scene the police officer gave you a ticket and not the other guy, then I will not represent you.

If your only care has been by a chiropractor, then I won’t represent you.

This goes along with what I said above about having a serious injury.  I respect the chiropractic field, as well as all methods of alternative therapies such as acupuncture, but my experience is that juries do not.

There are plenty of attorneys who are happy to try cases where the only healthcare provider is a chiropractor, but I will not.

Now, if you have treated with a chiropractic physician in combination with other doctors, such as neurosurgeons, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, or pain management doctors, then I will consider your case.

If You Were a Able-Bodied Adult Before the Injury And Chose Not to Work, Then I Will Not Represent You

I stay away from those able-bodied and mentally competent adults who -- before the injury -- never had a job.  This does not apply to our seniors in retirement after a work history or children.

If, however, you were able to work and simply did not, playing "the system" for free handouts, and hoping that your injury claim means yet another one, then I will not represent you.  In my view, there is no excuse for this type of behavior, is a sign of trouble ahead, and is not just not for me.

Not only do I have a deep philosophical problem with that past behavior and attitude, but it is too hard to explain to people on a jury -- most of whom have jobs or a job history -- why such a person never worked before the accident injury, when that person had the chance.

There may be many lawyers who do not care about this type of background, but I do.  Don't bother with the call.