My wife says that some folks don’t know what a “personal injury lawyer” actually is. What kind of cases does an injury attorney handle?

Let’s start at the very beginning:

Lawyers say that they do “personal injury cases” or “accident cases” or “wrongful death cases” and yet, my wife Sandi tells me that she does not think that everyone understands exactly what this means. Indeed, people who have known me for years will come up to me and ask me for a referral to an automobile accident attorney! They do this even though I think that they know exactly what it is that I do.

A personal injury, automobile accident, or wrongful death case is any type of claim where a person has been injured or killed due to someone else’s carelessness. If the only damage in your case is that your car got banged up, then you don’t have a personal injury case – but you may have a property damage case. We do not handle property damage cases, but there are many lawyers who do so. If both you and your car have suffered an injury, then you have both a personal injury and a property damage claim. In those circumstances, either your insurance company or their insurance company will usually take care of the property damage claim.

If someone’s negligence causes the death of another, then this is called a “wrongful death” claim. The law of each state or jurisdiction differs significantly regarding what can be recovered in a wrongful death case. You need an attorney who understands the specialized wrongful death laws.

Just because there has been an accident and it wasn’t your fault, that doesn’t mean that there must be some insurance company that will pay for your bills, lost wages and injuries. It doesn’t work that way.

Just because your child got hurt in a store, or on someone else’s property doesn’t mean that someone owes you money.

In order to be entitled to compensation the following must be true.

1. Someone or some company must have been negligent (careless)

2. Their carelessness must be a direct cause of the injury.

3. In Virginia, you must not have caused your injury in any way.

4. You must not have assumed the risk of your injury (i.e. gotten into a car with a drunk driver, for example.)

This is no lottery. These cases are not windfalls. An experienced Virginia personal injury attorney can help you sort through your own, individual, situation.

One of the big questions we get in the office about personal injury cases is whether the defendant’s insurance company will pay medical bills as they are incurred by the victim.

This can be particularly important when the victim has no health insurance (or one of those stupid policies that won’t “cover” medical care for injuries received as a result of the fault of someone else.)

While the defendant’s insurance company may ultimately be responsible for your medical care (and more, including pain and suffering, lost wages, the dimunition in wage earning ability) they don’t have to pay it piecemeal and most won’t.

Now, a smart insurance company would try to get in offer to make an advance, in the hopes that you don’t go see a lawyer. We see this sometimes. Most won’t however. Some are just hoping that they can force you into a lower settlement because they are putting the squeeze on your financial condition.

Congratulations for Richmond’s John Shea on his reported settlement of a very sad (and difficult) case of a little girl who was killed in a trucking accident. More details are here.

As mentioned in a previous post, we have been getting calls from clients of attorney Stephen Thomas Conrad. Apparently he has been arrested. The local paper has a police briefing here.

Information about the Virginia State Bar and it’s client protection fund is here. Those who feel they may have a claim may want to contact the Bar for more information.

Some folks tell me that before they come in to meet with a personal injury attorney, they’d like to ‘get to know them a little better.” To some extent, the Internet has made that more possible than it ever was before. After all, we even have video today.

Here’s an audio interview that you can listen to at your computer; download to a MP3 device or burn to a CD. This link will take you to the Ben Glass personal injury interview.

Within the last few days, our office has received several inquiries regarding cases that were being handled by Woodbridge, Virginia attorney Stephen Conrad. The Virginia State Bar has this information about Mr. Conrad at its website. November 20, 2007

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“Stephen Thomas Conrad, 1986 Opitz Boulevard, Woodbridge, VA 22191

VSB Docket Nos. 08-053-071695, 08-053-071778, 08-053-072155, 08-053-071337

On November 20, 2007, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board administratively suspended Stephen Thomas Conrad’s license to practice law for failure to comply with a subpoena duces tecum.”

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Several of the calls to our office have been people seeking representation and apparently were represented by Mr. Conrad.

First, let me be clear that I don’t know anything about Mr. Conrad’s status other than what the Virginia State Bar has at its website.

The State Bar has a client protection program/fund, so if you believe that you may have a claim against that fund, you should contact the bar at 804 775 0500.

If you have a pending claim, you should consult with an experienced attorney in that practice area (personal injury, family law, criminal.)

Our practice is limited to personal injury and medical malpractice work. To inquire about our services we require that you first visit www.BenGlassLaw.com and request our personal injury book.

We hate frivolous lawsuits. We condemn the lawyers who bring them. Here’s a cool video from our friends at InjuryBoard.com. Think you know what a frivolous lawsuit is?

Watch this!

Have you seen that internet chain email about the “Stella Awards?” The “Stella” they are referring to is the lady who was badly burned by McDonald’s hot coffee all those years ago. Purportedly, the “Stella Awards” focus on ridiculous lawsuits that are supposedly happening someplace.

California personal injury attorney Jonathan Stein has a great post reminding us that this is pure fiction, drummed up probably by an insurance company executive trying their best to keep from paying a legitimate claim.

Here’s another great place to go whenever you get one of those “too hard to believe” emails.

Ever seen a lawyer ad that said that? I see them all the time. TV…Radio…Yellow Pages…

What, exactly does it mean? Do you find it helpful in making a determination as to which attorney to hire?

I’m guessing you wouldn’t find an ad that says “I care and will work for you” very helpful, either.

After all, isn’t that what you would expect to hear from a lawyer soliciting your business?

That’s why I wrote The Truth About Lawyer Advertising.