Personal Injury Law

Erin's Corner - Introduction to St Louis personal injury from the perspective of a non lawyer and former personal injury law skeptic

By Benjamin J. Sansone, Esq.

I?m new to the Missouri and Illinois personal injury law firm known as Sansone Law, LLC and new to personal injury law. I am the new legal assistant to Mr Sansone and I will be writing a blog entry once a week.

My background is as a legal assistant to domestic/family law attorneys. I found myself in need of a job and was referred to this firm by a friend. When I heard this was a St Louis Missouri personal injury firm, I admit, I snarled a bit. Like most of you, my image of personal injury attorneys was of slick, omnivorous ambulance chasers, who dramatized every spilled coffee and grocery store fall.

Being a research fanatic, I decided to find out more about this firm and what exactly personal injury attorneys do. So between the introductory phone call and the offer of employment, I did my homework. I have to say, my eyes were opened. I admit?.I was wrong. So for all of you kindred cynics out there, let me break it down. This is what this particular personal injury law firm does. And this is why personal injury attorneys are so very much needed.

The joke is that waitresses and beauticians are the only people not allowed to make mistakes. But the reality is, food can be remade and hair will eventually grow back. But what about errors made by professionals, corporations and manufacturers that are more difficult, if not impossible, to fix. They should be held to a strict standard of culpability for wrongdoing. Most people immediately associate personal injury law with medical professionals. I know I did. Doctors do have an especially great obligation to serve their patients. My friend is dying of cancer and it is my belief that the erroneous methods used by her physician took away any chance for her recovery. There was no malicious intent behind his actions, but he was negligent and he should be held accountable.

I hear people question time and time again, what good would it do, the damage has been done. Through carelessness, their mother, father or child has been injured or has even died. Why exacerbate the sorrow by filing a lawsuit? Two major reasons come to mind: personal injury cases are about accountability and compensation. We must get out of the mindset that lawsuits are for retribution. Lawsuits are not motivated by greed, filing a lawsuit against a medical professional is supposed to stimulate a greater sense of responsibility in them. Also, families of victims of negligent acts need this option for a small amount of restitution for their loss. While no monetary sum can replace the loss, victims should not be responsible for the financial burden that accumulated through other?s carelessness.

Look through some of the firm?s cases listed on this site. Loss is not only the death of a loved one. There is loss of time at work or with family, loss of physical mobility in addition to financial loss. See how this firm has been relentless in making sure negligent drivers, corporations, medical professions, and other institutions and individuals are held accountable for their actions.

How many of you were told as a child, ?You are known by who you associate with.? It does not matter if it is the choice of a friend or boss. I needed a job, but I could afford to be a little picky. I was not going to knowingly choose to work for a person with a bad reputation. As I?m sure you deduced from the first paragraph, I tend to be a little too judgmental sometimes. I?m a tough critic. But, I guess I?m still waiting for the shoe to drop.

Mr. Sansone has a reputation for conquering tough cases where other firms could not. But make no mistake; he does not take cases without merit. Quite frankly, you do not want an attorney who is not passionate about your situation nor confident about your case. I encourage you to look at his qualifications. Look at his track record. Many of these cases you see were hand-offs from other firms that just could not get the job done. Contact him with any questions you may have. You should never be intimidated or apprehensive in speaking with your attorney because they work for you.

I hope you continue to read the blogs posted weekly. I hope you email me with your own experiences, topics you would like to discuss or questions you may have.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Law Blog on May 01, 2009 (boomark / email).