Triage as defined in Wikipedia:

Triage is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition. This facilitates the ability to treat as many patients as possible when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate, sort, sift or select.

This can be applied to your everyday life in a non-medical setting. As the three primitive categories were determined on the battlefields of olden days:

        1) Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive;

        2) Those who are likely to die, regardless of what care they receive;

        3) Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.

Which do you fall into in your current state?

I will be providing a three part series of articles about Doctors, Lawyers, and Preachers as it pertains to those families or residents of South Carolina that have been affected by an injury. There is a time when we need each, all, or none.  Likewise, I think everyone should be "triaged" into the 3rd category because immediate care can make a positive difference in all our outcomes.

 

[My mother was an Emergency Room nurse for over 15 years at Lexington Medical Center. As she was one of the greater influences in my life, I felt it appropriate to utilize terms I grew up with and learned through observation, conversation, and integration.]

No doubt there are great lawyers in both the history of the world and of the United States.  Given the fact that I am part of Generation Y, let’s not get caught up in real world details or historic facts.  This ADD Generation enabled by the myriad forms of media outlets does not have time to look in history books or research the "real facts" unless they can be found with a Google search.

Therefore, why shouldn’t one of my role models be a fictional TV series, attorney from Boston Legal? That’s right, Denny Crane! If I were to look up to a non-fictional character in my community, abroad, or from the past, I would have to put up with fatal human flaws, unfounded stereotypes, poor media portrayal and may even become defensive over ignorant people’s opinions formed from other ignorant people’s opinions.  I can accomplish all that with Denny Crane and not be offended because he’s a fictional TV character.

Besides, Denny Crane taught me all there is to know about branding with social networking and being an attorney:

  1. State Your Name Clearly– Get it out there-early and often. I still get called Trip, Trevor, Flood, and other names of ill repute.
  2. Exude Confidence, Especially in the Face of Ignorance-it could be your own or someone else’s.
  3. Reward Yourself-doesn’t matter if you win or lose it’s all in how you thought you played the game.
  4. Stand Behind Your Beliefs-a quote I am quite fond of, "You got to dance with the one that brought you."
  5. Every Girl Crazy About a Sharp Dressed Man-ADD is kicking in. I know you probably lost focus after the first paragraph. So what do I have to worry about?

 

 

 

 

 

A once gregarious, crowd worker that could shake hands, kiss babies, and provide that, "How Yooouu Doing!?" (see below) pop was amazed what a few months of social networking did to his real world social skills this past week on a cruise ship full of strangers.

  1. Instead of playing the name game and asking their profession, I wanted to see a list of their "connections" and a brief run down of their working history as told by them. (LinkedIn). Making connections the new cyber space way. Click here.
  2. I wanted a little photo of everyone on the ship and then ask the ones I felt I had more in common with to be "my friend".  (Facebook)
  3. I realized I was not interested unless they could illustrate their point in 140 words or less. (Twitter). Start tweeting to your heart’s desire.  "Tweet" me here  

          

 

 

I have been trying to find motivation after returning from my first full week of vacation without any contact with the office to offer some great epiphany or advice. Instead I simply return with a clear head and a fresh start, which is good enough for me.

However, I did come across an article in my Google Reader by Leo Babauta, author of Zen Habits entitled "The Single Secret of Making 2009 Your Best Year Ever". In this article Mr. Babauta states:

So what’s that single secret, the one thing that will not only make 2009 your best year ever, but put personal development and self-help bloggers and authors out of business?

Are you sure you’re ready to hear it………

Stop waiting for happiness. Happiness is right here, right now.

As a cancer survivor of 14 years you would think I could keep that one simple mantra ingrained in my head, yet, like all of you, I continue to chase after the proverbial carrot. I spent this past week with good company on beautiful islands in the Eastern Caribbean imagining what it would be like to live on a small sail boat and sail around from island to island.  However, I came to these conclusions:

  1. Work Ethic- I would get bored in a week because I was starting to crave work by the end of our 7 day cruise. 
  2. Passion- When you finally find what you enjoy doing it still remains work but a much more satisfying endeavor.
  3. Civic Duty-We all share this earth and the benefits of what the Lord has provided us and we can never truly receive until we are able to give.

I leave you with this wonderful quote and a map of my visits:

"A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men." (Matt 7:18 to 20).

 

 

Dave Swanner, author of South Carolina Trial Law Blog, has a very resourceful and informative article about "How to Be a Better Trial Lawyer". In this article he cites 8 great points ranging to involvement in local and national trial organizations to learning anatomy and physics.  I think if you take to heart all of his points you have an excellent guidepost to kicking off your trial career.  I would only like to add several points that I have picked up in the past three years that have helped me:

  1. Keep Detailed Records of Values– I use an Excel Spreadsheet indicating the client, type case, insurance agent, insurance company/defense attorney, settlement amount, attorney fees, and month in which the settlement, or trial, occurred.  The more detailed your records the better you can understand the other side.  There are some attorneys out there that let a case go if a law suit and eventual trial is a strong possibility.  You don’t want to be lumped into that category. Keep an eye on verdict reports and SC Lawyers Weekly.  Numbers are also more important to your partners and managing attorneys come review time.
  2. Find Your Passion-Then funnel it into focus for your litigation. This is easy for me because I hate insurance companies for what they did when I was sick with cancer and what they did to my mother when she was dying with lung cancer.  I draw from that hatred, which is not healthy, and remind myself that I am the only voice and advocate for my clients.  They have come to me because they have been injured, wrongfully accused, misinformed, taken advantage of all their lives, and rest all their confidence on my shoulders.  What a great feeling!
  3. Communicate Without Legalese– You have to speak and explain things like a normal person with your clients, the jury, and the court administrators and personnel.  You can use all those fancy words with opposing counsel and corporate clients but the jury is made up of ordinary people in the community, often times not lawyers or professors.  Remember the jury’s role from your law school education? As George W. Bush would say, "They’re Deciders! And they decide things."
  4. Keep Templates from Previous Trials/Work-Issues you faced in your first trial will most likely be issues in your subsequent trials. Evidentiary issues on Hearsay and Expert Testimony seem to always crop up.  Likewise, pretrial and post trial motions you make can be similar.
  5. Be Able to Find the Courtroom-I was late to a Minor Settlement Hearing because I failed to do just that.  I was already running late and failed to get directions but assumed I could find downtown and thus the Courthouse. It was in Laurens County where the Courthouse doesn’t hold court but had been moved out on the bypass into an old shopping center.  By the time I got there I was stressed, flustered and angry at myself.  A lot to carry into a courtroom in front of a judge. 
  6. May It Please the Court-remember the logistics of the courtroom and certain formalities. The party with the burden of proof sits closest to the jury, know the number of jury strikes each side is allowed, if you’re the plaintiff will you be allowed the final word after closing, etc.   

I think Dave’s tip #7, is the most important one of all.  You can’t call yourself a trial attorney if you have never done a trial. 

There are two general courts, and thus two different areas of practicing attorneys: Civil & Criminal

  1. Civil law, or municipal law, relates to the relationships of contract and exchange between private parties (individuals, businesses or individuals and businesses), such as marriage, divorce, buying and selling property, contracts and warranties, etc. Civil law encompasses all law that is not criminal law and is divided into two branches: Contract Law and Tort Law, aka Personal Injury cases. Civil law cases are litigated in civil courts as law suits and the end result is normally financial compensation.
  2. In Criminal law, the suit is initiated by the state or federal government through a prosecutor rather than being initiated by the victim, as it is in civil law.
  • One of the major differences between civil law and criminal law is that civil law suits are initiated by the victim rather than the Federal or state government through a prosecutor.
  • Civil law and criminal law proceedings are also very different, and one of the main differences lies in the "burden of proof."
  • In a criminal case, the defendant must be proven guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."
  • A civil case only has to be proven on the "balance of probabilities" (i.e., it is "likely" that the defendant is guilty).

A good example of this is the O.J. Simpson trial. While it was not proven "beyond a reasonable doubt" that he murdered his wife; it was proven in the subsequent civil trial that, based on the "balance of probabilities," he had been responsible for her death, which subsequently led to the financial award to the victim’s family.

I am a Plaintiff’s (Civil) Trial Attorney that can help you if you have been wronged, harmed, or injured by someone or something and you seek monetary compensation. 

 

The Associated Press has announced that the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) gave South Carolina an A for its medical liability laws and a B-plus for quality and patient safety, especially in handling heart attacks and strokes.

However, South Carolina did receive a "C" from ACEP for how it handles emergency medicine. Dr. William Finn, Emergency Medicine Chairman for Greenville Hospital Systems, stated that:

"The report accurately reflects conditions in South Carolina……The number of employees, primary care and mental health providers are well below average, as well as the number of pediatric specialty centers, like the children’s emergency department. We need more of those."

This article is entitled "State Earns a ‘C’ in Emergency Care" but failed to pick up on the real gem of the report done by Emergency Physicians:

SOUTH CAROLINA RECEIVED AN A FOR ITS MEDICAL LIABILITY LAWS!

  • Does this mean the JUA and medical community are going to have to stop blaming those darn personal injury lawyers for all their woes? 
  • Does this mean that doctors can come back to practice in the state of South Carolina after having been pushed out by high premiums (another alleged cause of those darn lawyers)?
  • Or were those problems totally ignored on factual basis and exploited in the media to hide the fact of JUA’s mismanagement of financial funds in the late 90’s (thus causing physician’s premiums to rise)? 

"Things That Make you Go Hmmm"

 

 

….her girlfriend got $100,000.00 dollars for an injury case just like mine. 

When I hear comments like that I often times think of Saturday Night Live when Seth Meyers & Amy Poehler  do their "Really?" skit.

  • Your Friend’s Friend’s Baby Mama’s Uncle’s Girlfriend said that she got $100,000.00 dollars for an injury case like yours. Really?
  • When I ask you to go out find another attorney that can guarantee you a monetary amount, you come back with nothing. Really?
  • When I ask you detailed questions about this "other" case, ie  year, state, attorney or insurance company involved, you come back with nothing. Really?
  • Once I have gotten a fair settlement on the table and you remind me of this large amount this person received at some point in time, I ask you to bring back a signed piece of paper from any surrounding attorney verifying they can get you a higher settlement and you show up two days later with nothing. Really?

Every person’s injury claim is different and many factors determine the actual outcome or valuation.  One of the biggest factors would be the actual jurisdiction, or venue, in which the case will be brought. A very general definition is provided by Wikipedia:

Venue is the location where a case is heard. In the United States, the venue is either a county (for cases in state court) or a district or division (for cases in federal court). Venue deals with locality of a lawsuit, that is, with questions of which court or courts with proper jurisdiction may hear a specific suit.

South Carolina is known to be more conservative than say California, New York, or Illinois so please understand you are comparing apples to oranges when you start finding large verdicts and/or settlements on the internet in a different state.

What REALLY matters are:

  1. the circumstances in which you were injured;
  2. parties involved;
  3. legal issues;
  4. insurance coverage; and
  5. the amount of witnesses or evidentiary pieces that support your perspective of the event. 

You may very well have a six figure case but don’t come to that conclusion through hearsay and the real life version of the "gossip game".  Talk to a competent attorney that consistently goes to court in the venue of your injury.

"Let’s Talk About Insurance"

(Punch it, Jim Yo, Lawyers can’t talk about this in court
Come on, why not?
People might misunderstand what they’re tryin’ to say, you know hear the truth about this lady being able to afford 10 times this poor injured person’s medical bills and impairments?
No, but that’s a part of life)

Come on

[CHORUS]

Let’s talk about insurance, baby
Let’s talk about “He” and “She”
Let’s talk about all the good things
And the bad things that may be
Let’s talk about insurance
Let’s talk about insurance

Let’s talk about insurance for now to the people at home or in the office
It keeps coming up anyhow
Don’t deny, delay, and defend like Allstate or make void the topic
Cuz that ain’t gonna stop it
Now we talk about insurance in our offices, on the phone with adjusters, with defense attorneys being paid by the hour
Too bad our clients and the public don’t know, anything goes
Let’s tell it how it is, and how it could be
How it was, and of course, how it should be
Those who think it’s dirty have a choice
Pick up the pen, phone, or email and tell your Department of Insurance off
Will that stop US Chamber from bad commercials or adjusters from lying to clients prior to representation, Pep?  I doubt it
All right then, come on, Spin

[CHORUS]

Hot to trot and confusing, too many options make any man’s wallet pop
Insurance Companies use what they got to get whatever they don’t got
Unsavvy consumers drool like fools, but then again they’re only human
This person was hit because the other driver behind them was really moving
Texting, chatting, drinking, playing with the child seat in the backseat
Nothin’ they ever swore was ever common
The mistakes were always in place, thanks to lobbying insurance to heads of state, men of distaste
hospital administrators, doctors, insurance adjusters, defense attorneys, no one is able to be self-insured with her not to get with
Or even mess with, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce she says was next on her list
And believe me, you, it’s as good as true
There ain’t a Chamber alive that Insurance Companies couldn’t get next to
Insurance Companies had it all in the bag so they should have been glad
But they were mad and sad and feelin’ bad
Thinkin’ about the things that they never had
No truth, facts, or empirical evidence to make claim for reform,no frivolous lawsuits to actually point to, no common sense approach to claims adjusting, no mention to their insured’s that they actually represent at fault drivers in uninsured claims, just butt sex, followed next without a check and a note
That last night was denied!

Let’s talk about insurance, baby (deny it)
Let’s talk about “He” and “She” (delay it, defend it)
Let’s talk about all the good things
And the bad things that may be
Let’s talk about insurance (on your home, auto, or self)
Let’s talk about insurance (don’t do it)
Let’s talk about insurance (Oo No)
Let’s talk about insurance

Ladies, all the ladies, louder now, help me out
Come on, all the ladies – let’s talk about insurance, all right
[repeat]

(Yo, Pep, I don’t think they’re gonna print this in the paper)
And why not? Everybody has insurance
I mean, everybody should be paying their premiums and asking questions
Come on, how many people you know actually ask questions and look behind the false claims, misleading marketing by Chamber of Commerce and other Justice Deformers?
Not too many jurors I know)

[CHORUS]

  For those humming "Let’s Talk About Sex" 

  I recommend clicking this and re-reading the article:

 

 

Then start doing it and stop just signing everything people put in front of you. Yeah, I know those are long contracts and sometimes they have big words but once you sign that contract, you are obligated to what the contract says. Courts often times look to the "four corners" of the document.

In Regions Bank v. Schmauch, 354 S.C. 648, 663-664 (S.C. Ct. App. 2003), the court set forth numerous cases illustrating the same point:

  • A person who signs a contract or other written document cannot avoid the effect of the document by claiming he did not read it. Sims v. Tyler, 276 S.C. 640, 643, 281 S.E.2d 229, 230 (1981); Evans v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 269 S.C. 584, 587, 239 S.E.2d 76, 77 (1977).
  • A person signing a document is responsible for reading the document and making sure of its contents. Every contracting party owes a duty to the other party to the contract and to the public to learn the contents of a document before he signs it. Burwell v. South Carolina Nat’l Bank, 288 S.C. 34, 39, 340 S.E.2d 786, 789 (1986); Sanders v. Allis Chalmers Mfg. Co., 237 S.C. 133, 139-40, 115 S.E.2d 793, 796 (1960); Stanley Smith & Sons v. D.M.R. Inc., 307 S.C. 413, 417, 415 S.E.2d 428, 430 (Ct. App. 1992).
  • One who signs a written instrument has the duty to exercise reasonable care to protect himself. Maw v. McAlister, 252 S.C. 280, 285, 166 S.E.2d 203, 205 (1969);
  • "The law does not impose a duty on the bank to explain to an individual what he could learn from simply reading the document." Citizens & S. Nat’l Bank of South Carolina v. Lanford, 313 S.C. 540, 545, 443 S.E.2d 549, 551 (1994).

There are exceptions and unique instances that could vary but the general rule is: read before you sign. People enter into contracts every day over real estate, personal property, rental agreements/terms, employment, insurance settlements, etc. If you don’t understand what you are signing ask someone to help you better understand it.

Real World Examples:

  1. Real Estate Foreclosures– You never asked anyone what an ARM was? It sounded great for the moment but all of the sudden your payments tripled. That’s not fair! Why the hell not! You agreed to it in a contract you probably signed 10 times. Why is it the bank’s fault because you didn’t read the fine print?
  2. Automobile Insurance– You checked the box that said you did not want the optional UIM insurance. Then you get injured by someone with minimum coverage that has no personal assets.  What can you do? Well the insurance company never explained what UIM was. Did you ask them? Or were you in a hurry and just wanted the cheapest coverage?  Oh, never mind, it doesn’t matter you already signed the contract.
  3. Car Loans– You were in a bind and you were way behind and you were willing to make a deal, …… and if you win you’ll get this shiny car made of steel, …..but if you lose the devil gets your soul. So you agreed to a $15,000.00 loan for that 98 Mercury van with 100,000 + miles. They paid you $2,500.00 up front in cash and you financed the rest at 35% interest over the next five years. You get in a wreck the next week and the at fault insurance company tells you the car is worth $2,500.00. What about that loan you agreed to? Will you still have to pay it? Yes sir, indeed. You know why? You signed a contract.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice merely common sense illustrated by legal opinions and case law.  We have not entered into a attorney client relationship. Feel free to consult with an attorney about any contract you do not understand.