Before a client executes a release or signs a check for a property damage claim, I want to review the release if they have a potential personal injury claim from the accident. Particularly in uninsured motorist cases, but this paranoia extends to every type of accident case. Why? I don’t…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals today considered the circumstances under which a landlord may be liable in dog bite injury claims. This case involved a tenant in Towson who was breeding pit bulls. The CSA found that Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Martin erred in granting the…
Car accidents can cause circulatory system injuries. My law firm has seen heart attacks, spleen injuries, liver and lung injuries, gallbladder injuries. Jury Verdict Research provides a study on median compensatory award for circulatory system injuries: Heart attacks: $443,750 Gallbladder injuries: 259,117 Liver injuries: $221,185 Spleen injuries: $40,342 Overall: $225,000…
I have a serious injury case with GEICO. Unfortunately, GEICO only has a $100,000/$300,000 policy and no underinsured coverage (and no evidence the defendant has meaningful assets). GEICO did the right thing and offered the policy. It is a shame, but that is the way it is in many traffic…
On Monday, I wrote about the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ flawed economic model. Now, an ABA Journal survey tells us that social media does not help clients find lawyers, and blogs don’t work either. Okay, our law firm is heading back to the Yellow Pages. No, wait, the ABA Journal says the…
Jake Brigance gave one of the greatest closing arguments ever in A Time to Kill. This remains true even though Matthew McConaughey has tried to cheapen my memories by making so many “not so very good” chick flicks. In the actual world, closing arguments rarely sway a jury like Jake…
Metro Verdicts Monthly’s cover graph is hip replacement settlements and verdicts in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The graph just says “hip replacements” so there is really no context. I will assume that these are primarily injury cases and not product liability claims because those claims – most notably against…
I read an interesting article in the Washington Post yesterday about the downfall of big Washington, D.C. law firm heavyweight Howrey, who closed its doors earlier this month. It is an unbelievably steep fall for a law firm that had $570 million in revenue in 2008. In my heart, I…
Yesterday, I wrote that we would buy David Ball’s 3rd edition of “Damages.” Little did I know we had already ordered the book. I will write about things in this book that grab me, in no particular order at this point. Ball writes: “Among the hollowest of advocacy moments can…
David Ball’s book, appropriately titled “Damages”, is now out. You have already bought the first two editions of a book that is just ridiculously priced, $105 for a paperback. Insane. Ball has never had a jury trial and is not even a lawyer. But buy it anyway. We will and…