Every attorney will tell you they will work hard for you – that they
will go to bat to get you a good settlement after you’ve been injured.
But the truth is, some lawyers get consistently better results for one
reason or another. I’d like to share with you the reason I am so
passionate and committed to fighting for the rights of the injured and
why I’ve had great success winning substantial settlements for my
clients, whether they were hurt on the job, in a motor vehicle or other
type of accident or were injured because of medical malpractice or were
discriminated or harassed at work causing an employment problem.
Just a few years into practicing law, my life changed drastically and permanently.
I was a young attorney, husband and father living and working in Seattle.
I was driving my car back home from work on Lake City Way on an ordinary
July day in 1985 when it happened – that life changing moment –
a moment I still can’t remember because I was severely injured.
I woke up in the hospital, in pain and disoriented from a head injury
– I had no idea what had happened. The police told my family that
a truck driving in the oncoming lane had rear-ended a car, forcing it
into my lane where it hit me head-on. This is my car after the wreck:
I was lucky to have survived the collision, and I didn’t know it
at the time, but I was about to begin a long journey of recovering from
this traumatic injury.
During the long months I spent recuperating, I thought a lot about my life
– past, present and future. Something I read in college came back
to me – Keats said, “Nothing ever becomes real until it is
experienced.” This explains why I fight so hard for my clients.
I have been where you are. I have been hurt – badly – through
no fault of my own – and know how frustrating it can be. You may
be feeling anger – anger at the person that hurt you. Pain –
physical pain from your injuries and mental anguish as you worry if you’ll
recover physically, financially and emotionally. Shock – you may
be in disbelief that something so traumatic has happened to you and struggling
to understand why. I understand because I experienced all these emotions
and more. “Why me?” I asked myself many times. I worried about
my family, my finances and how my injuries would affect my future. Because
I’ve been where you are, I get it, and that’s why I’ll
doggedly fight for you
Over the next several years, I had ten very difficult surgeries to try
to restore what was broken. Some of the wounds healed – cuts and
scrapes were managed with sutures – even though they left scars.
I recovered fully from a mild traumatic brain injury suffered in the accident.
But the crash I was lucky to survive at all also did permanent damage
that will never heal. I lost a kneecap, and with that, my ability to enjoy
many recreational activities I had once loved and for those I could still
do, I could no longer reach the same level of performance I was once able
to do. For years, even a walk around the block was excruciating and though
I’m able to be more active now, I will never be fully physically
restored. Weeks in the hospital, multiple surgeries, physical therapy
and recovery cost me time with my wife and children that I will never
get back. I understand what you’re going through and will be fierce
in my pursuit of a settlement for you.
When you’ve been injured – permanently and irrefutably injured
– your life will never be the same. Whatever plans you made may
have to be scrapped and redrawn depending on the long term effects of
what happened to you. I have a good life. I’ve been practicing law
for more than 30 years, have a great family, fulfilling hobbies and interests
and make time for supporting my community.
But it’s not the life I would have had if that truck driver had not
been careless and sent a tank (an old Pontiac Bonneville station wagon)
careening head on into me. Coping with that reality and how your life
will change after a serious injury is a challenge – one that I understand.
You can certainly still have a fulfilling life – but you should
also be compensated for the life you would have had – for opportunities
gone and quality of life lost when you were injured. I will fight for
a settlement that reflects not only your injuries now, but the long term
effects they will have on your life.
I recovered from life threatening injuries. It was a harrowing experience.
From this, I know first-hand how important it is to focus on recovery
– physical, emotional and financial. Because I have been where you
are and understand how it is to be injured, in pain, uncertain and stressed,
you will not find a more compassionate, understanding and committed personal
injury lawyer.
My life changed one summer day in 1985 and as a result, I understand how
it feels to be injured and unable to work, to feel the pressure of mounting
medical bills with no wages coming in, to worry about whether and to what
extent you will recover and what all this means to your family’s
emotional and financial well-being. For 30 years, I have been helping
people just like you navigate the legal system, recover medical bills,
lost wages, compensation for pain and suffering and other damages.
