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DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE! NY TRIAL LAWYER EXPLAINS APPLES v. ORANGES

By Gerry Oginski

APPLES v. ORANGES

I received a call today from a potential client who was in the middle of an active medical malpractice case in Brooklyn, N.Y. He had an experienced attorney handling his case, yet for some unknown reason, he was calling me to see if I would take over his case. After a few minutes of talking with this man, it became clear he was talking apples instead of oranges.

What do I mean? His case was ready for trial and was waiting to be called for jury selection. His attorney had told him about a very encouraging settlement offer made by the defense attorney. This man was outraged. He told his lawyer in very specific terms that he wanted to go to trial because his injuries were worth much more than the defense was offering. So far so good.

The problem arose when this man started doing his own research into the value of his type of injury. He scoured the internet for cases that had similar injuries and found one. Here's the where the problem started. The case he found was in New Jersey. He even went so far as to speak to the New Jersey lawyer who handled the case with the similar injury, and with that new-found information, went back to his own attorney to demand that additional settlement negotiations take place and demanded that under no circumstances would he accept anything less than what this New Jersey client received for his injury.

What this potential client failed to understand is (1) The venue (the place where the case is pending) is different; (2) The age of the injured victim in the NJ case was different and (3) The extent of the injury was totally different. Hence the apples and oranges.

When comparing an injury in similar cases, there are many factors for an experienced New York accident lawyer to evaluate to determine the true value of your case. Some factors include your age; whether you were hospitalized; if you had surgery to correct the problem; how long you remained out of work; what physical therapy and rehabilitation you received during your recuperation; what medical care and treatment you will need in the future; the extent and type of your permanent disability and how your injuries affect you on a day-to-day basis. Other factors include medical bills that you had to pay out of your own pocket and lost opportunities because of your ongoing disability.

The reality is that every case is different, and every injury affects different people differently. If you compare your injury with someone else, make sure you're comparing apples to apples, and not apples to oranges.

For more information about accident cases in New York, take a look at Gerry's popular website, http://www.oginski-law.com or call Gerry personally at 516-487-8207 for answers to your questions.

Full post as published by New York Medical Malpractice Blog on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).