The Worry Can Be As Bad As The Injury

I attended the deposition of an injured client yesterday. She was a very pleasant lady who had the misfortune of driving through an intersection at the same time another driver failed to stop for a red light. As a result, she was broadsided and has suffered with pain and limitations ever since.

The deposition lasted more than two hours, not unusually long for such a deposition. The questioning by the defense attorney was pretty straight-forward. There was nothing out of the ordinary from my point of view. But, from the point of view of my client, the whole experience was traumatic and troubling.

My client was in her 70’s. At this point in her life she should be enjoying the good things in life. She should not be worrying about giving testimony under oath in a lawsuit. She should not have to fear a faulty memory.

My point is that a negligent driver causes much more than physical injuries and physical pain. Even much more than emotional distress associated with new limitations. The injured victim is taken out of a normal routine and lifestyle and required to enter the world of claims adjusters and lawyers. And, as pleasant as any of us may be, our world is not normal for the victim. It is foreign and frightening.

I do not have a solution for this situation. I can only try in my Florida-based law practice to soften the blows or minimize the grief. My support staff and I need to renew our efforts to protect accident victims from as much of the worry as possible.