0:00

So in conclusion, uh, what I'd like

0:03

to impress upon you is it's a pretty rigorous process

0:06

that I go through in deciding whether or not to take a case.

0:10

So in things that I look at is how definitive,

0:13

how clear is the negligence?

0:15

If it's pretty clear, uh, then we can kind of move on.

0:19

If it's in a gray zone, uh, we have

0:21

to do a little more digging to see, you know, what

0:24

that's going to involve.

0:25

If it's in a gray zone

0:27

and we're looking at minimal damages,

0:29

it's not something I'm really going

0:30

to be interested in taking.

0:32

If it's clear negligence, um, that again, I,

0:36

I'm gonna wanna see reasonable damages moving forward.

0:39

So it is a, a significant factor

0:41

that we look at in determining whether or not to take a case

0:45

and basically do the risks

0:49

versus the benefits justify moving forward,

0:54

uh, in this process.

0:56

And is there a substantial harm

1:01

that's created long-term damage

1:03

and substantial damage for a patient?

1:06

It's important for you to understand

1:07

that these cases are incredibly expensive.

1:10

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars is going

1:13

to be spent in, not only out-of-pocket costs,

1:16

but attorney's time in moving forward.

1:19

So the damages really do have

1:20

to justify making that decision.

1:24

Uh, another very important element for me

1:28

as the plaintiff's attorney is how does my client present?

1:33

Is this going to be a likable person that the jury is going

1:36

to say, yeah, we've got some harm here

1:38

that this person needs to be compensated for.

1:41

Um, and that's a big factor.

1:43

I've seen cases and done cases where

1:46

I've got clear negligence, large damages,

1:50

and a very unlikable, um, nasty plaintiff.

1:55

And the juries do not like that at all.

1:57

You can have the clearest damage and, uh, or negligence and,

2:01

and large damages.

2:03

And if they don't like the person,

2:05

they're not gonna award them.

2:07

That, that's where you get the situation.

2:08

Yeah, okay, there was negligence and here's a dollar.

2:11

Um, so as an attorney,

2:13

I'm not interested in being in that situation.

2:16

So I'm looking at the overall case.

2:18

Do I meet all four elements?

2:20

Do I have a likable, presentable client that's reasonable

2:24

to move forward with that suffered real harm

2:26

because of a physician's negligence?