People love to throw around words. Sometimes it is not intentional but they don't always mean what they say or say what they mean. I use words and language to serve my clients. It helps to explain things in terms most suitable for the situation and my client's perspective.
In a personal injury case the term disabled is way different word than word impaired. Yet people use these words unknowingly. Both can be temporary or permanent, both can be whole or partial, but they are worlds apart in terms of monetary value or case impact. btw disabled relates to a "job," impaired relates to a "part of the body" or a "function."
1. Success and Failure are Judgments
Whether someone or something is a success depends on how you define it. I always get results. I like to say it is a good result or a bad result based upon the total picture. If my client receives their due based upon their injuries, the impact to their life, and the type of accident (in a particular location) then it is a good result in my opinion.
Results have to take into consideration their age, their job, their liability, and their location. Notice that I used the word "their" because injuries are unique to every individual. Do not compare a Brooklyn bus case with one in upstate New York, they are two different animals.
2. Time and Money are Interrelated (they both have value)
People want results now. They would rather have a bird in the hand than two in the bush. Is waiting going to result in more? Or is waiting going to result in a little extra benefit? Yes, time has a value in regards to money. Money is time and time is money. Having a fast and complete closure of a legal issue can be of great value. This is true in injury cases and this can also be true in criminal cases. Spending more time and more money don't always yield a better result. In fact, prolonging the agony of waiting is not what many of us want.
Waiting may be in your best interest financially, but is it what you want to do?
Going to trial may also be in your best legal interest, but do you want to take that risk? Do you want to spend that time? Do you want to go through that emotional roller coaster?
3. Best for YOU Should Be Best for Your Advisor/Lawyer/Counselor
Conflicts of interest bother me. If someone has a stake in any outcome it may influence their decisions. Your attorney should always be looking out for what YOU want. What are YOUR goals? They may not fit in with the goals or the desires of your attorney. Lawyers are supposed to put aside their own biases, and conflicts. That is why under the ethical and professional codes of conduct they have to remain neutral, work for you, and pace themselves in a fiduciary capacity.
A fiduciary is one that has Fidelity (from the latin Fe) to you. Faith in you, allegiance to you, and place nothing in between that. We should expect that of our professional advisors.
Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Newman
Doctor of Chiropractic
Attorney and Counselor at Law
504 North Aurora Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
http://www.ithacainjurylawyer.com
607-229-5184
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