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Common Personal Injury Law Legal Terms & Definitions — Transcript

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0:00(gavel thumps)
0:05- [Announcer] Welcome
0:06to "Lawyers in the House with Montlick".
0:11Wish you had a lawyer in the family?
0:13Now you do.
0:15Here's your host, Veronica Waters.
0:19- Hey, welcome to "Lawyers in the House with Montlick"
0:22right here on WSB.
0:23I'm your host, Veronica Waters.
0:25So happy to be back with you another week.
0:28Hope you wiped your feet on the mat,
0:30just come on in, make yourself comfortable.
0:32We are having two dynamic attorneys here to walk us through
0:37something that, you know what?
0:38Maybe we should have done this for you
0:40closer to one of the beginning episodes
0:42right after our first episode about misconceptions
0:45and personal injury law.
0:47We throw a lot of terms around here
0:49from claim to compensation, from arbitration to mediation,
0:54all this kinda stuff,
0:55do you know exactly what we're talking about?
0:58It's not necessarily legalese
1:00but think of this as a sort of primer 101
1:04for common legal terms.
1:05That's what we're talking about here
1:07on "Lawyers in the House" today.
1:08And I've got two attorneys, one new to the show,
1:12one not so new to the show.
1:14Philip Hairston, you remember, was with us before.
1:16He's one of the Grady babies, Georgia native, right?
1:19- That's correct.
1:20This is the guy you may remember graduated from Georgia Tech
1:23with a BS in chemistry.
1:25- [Phillip] That's right.
1:26- And now he's a lawyer.
1:28What composition went into making that?
1:29Well, how did that formula work, Philip?
1:33- Looking back, it's actually kinda a funny decision.
1:35I knew it was something different than science
1:37and I did debate team in high school
1:39and figured law as a natural fit.
1:41So I just went to law school and figured it out.
1:44- So now that you've been in law for how many years?
1:48- [Phillip] Nine years now.
1:48- Nine years,
1:50what makes you know that you did the right thing?
1:54- Well, first of all,
1:55I think we all do what we're good at, frankly.
1:57I think my skills transition law well.
2:00I'm competitive, I'm empathetic.
2:02My clients trust me, they like me
2:05and I believe in what I do.
2:08- [Veronica] You believe in what you do?
2:09- That's correct.
2:11I spent the last four years representing plaintiffs.
2:13You'll hear today plaintiffs are people who are injured,
2:16people who bring lawsuits and they're victims, frankly.
2:19They're people who are hurt,
2:20people who need help at one of the worst times in their life
2:22and they depend on us to help them.
2:24And I'm proud of that.
2:25- I love that.
2:26And the newbie to the show today
2:28but hopefully she will be back many times
2:30'cause I've already grown to love talking to her.
2:32Margaret Grenleski, another Georgia native
2:35joining us here on "Lawyers in the House".
2:37Not a Grady baby but Ken Stone baby.
2:40- [Margaret] Correct. - Is that a thing?
2:41Ken Stone babies, do we say that? (laughs)
2:43- [Phillip] I guess we do now.
2:45- Two Georgia Natives and a Mississippi Magnolia here
2:47like this is an all southern show.
2:49Margaret, you've been in the law for one decade now.
2:53But what's interesting about Margaret is that she comes
2:55to the law after already having a previous career
3:00as a licensed professional counselor.
3:02Now she's this person who's decided to go back to school,
3:07become an attorney after one successful career.
3:10And now how do you feel that you've been in law for a decade
3:15or more?
3:15- I made the right decision.
3:17It's been very rewarding and I enjoy
3:21helping people solve problems or puzzles sometimes.
3:26And so, I get to work on that every day now.
3:29- Did you have sort of a revelatory moment
3:34when you were like, "Yes, this is where I'm supposed to be?"
3:39- Probably the first two or three months
3:41when I was working at Montlick,
3:43I came across some situations where I felt very excited
3:48and intrigued about some solutions
3:50I was able to come up with.
3:52So yes, certainly.
3:56- Sort of the,
3:58is it the figuring out of the puzzles?
4:00Is it the exploring every avenue for your clients
4:03kinda thing? - [Margaret] Yes.
4:04- What drives you?
4:06- [Margaret] Challenges.
4:06- [Veronica] Challenges. - Yes.
4:08- This is the girl you want, I guess,
4:09if there's an intricate case, right?
4:10- [Margaret] Yes. - Is that what I'm hearing?
4:12Okay, I love it, I love it.
4:14Okay, so we're gonna get to know Margaret a little bit more
4:17and Phillip a little bit more but first,
4:19we're gonna get to know some legal terms,
4:21a little bit more common legal terms.
4:24And I'm gonna say maybe some things that every personal
4:28injury client or maybe just all of us in general
4:32need to know, right?
4:33And clearly, Phillip was already ready
4:35to dive into the content.
4:37So we're gonna rewind a little bit.
4:39Common legal terms 101, plaintiff versus defendant.
4:44We hear this all of the time, all of the time,
4:46on all of the TV shows and movies I watch.
4:48And Philip, you already said a plaintiff is.
4:51- So when there's a lawsuit, there are two parties.
4:54Well, at least two party involved,
4:56one will be the plaintiff, one is the defendant,
4:59the plaintiff is the one who's bringing a lawsuit.
5:01They're the ones who are alleging a harm
5:04or a damage of some kind.
5:06And the defendant is the person
5:07who's alleged to have committed this harm or damage.
5:10So the lawsuit is the plaintiff
5:12bringing a suit against a defendant.
5:14- And you as the Montlick injury attorney
5:15are representing the plaintiff.
5:18- Exactly, all of our clients are plaintiffs.
5:19They're people who have been hurt
5:21due to the negligence of others.
5:23So we bring losses on behalf of our clients
5:24who are the plaintiffs against the defendants
5:26who have caused their harm.
5:28- Okay, Margaret, what do you,
5:32now be honest with me,
5:33people really know these terms, right?
5:35Plaintiff and defendant, am I starting off too easy?
5:38- [Margaret] No. - [Veronica] No?
5:39- No, I have people ask all the time
5:42if they're the plaintiff.
5:44- [Veronica] Oh, and you say, "Yes, you are."
5:46- Yes. - Okay. (laughs)
5:49So I think what's gonna be cool about this show
5:51is we'll try to do the terms
5:53in sort of a chronological order of how a case like
5:56comes to you and how it develops
5:58and maybe we can like sort of layer the education that way
6:02so you can see how it develops.
6:06What do you think about that idea? Love that.
6:07All right, so what's the first thing that you do?
6:10You've got plaintiff and defendant.
6:12Now we know I'm trying to sue somebody for messing with me
6:16or hurting me.
6:17I'm the plaintiff, what's next?
6:19- In a personal injury case, you would find out
6:23if the defendant has insurance
6:26and then contact the insurance company and let them know
6:29that this plaintiff is filing a claim.
6:32So we would have to investigate,
6:35like if you have an accident,
6:37we would look up the accident report and then find out
6:41from there who to contact
6:43as far as the insurance company goes.
6:45- All right, this is one of those things
6:47that you have to explain to clients to?
6:52- Yes, yes, definitely.
6:55I actually had to explain it to someone the other day.
6:57- How do you give examples?
6:59What do you do?
7:01Do you just bring out cases like give us an example
7:03of when you're talking about insurance
7:05'cause on this show I've heard the word adjuster,
7:08I've heard the word agent, I've heard the word insured,
7:12I've heard policy.
7:14I mean, lay this out for me.
7:18Who's who?
7:19- Okay, well, the insurance agent
7:21is the person who actually sells you the insurance.
7:23They represent either one insurance company or several
7:27and they can help you obtain the proper insurance
7:31for yourself.
7:33Now an adjuster is someone who actually handles the claim
7:38once you file the claim and evaluates the claim
7:43or your injuries or property damage or other.
7:47- And those are two different people, Philip?
7:49- That's correct.
7:50So generally the people we deal with
7:52are the claims adjusters.
7:54Those are the people who look at the case
7:57when it's first filed.
7:58So before lawsuit is filed generally,
8:00will file an insurance claim
8:01on the at-fault party's insurance.
8:04And the insurance company will assign
8:06what's called an adjuster to the claim.
8:08And the adjuster will look at our client's medical bills
8:11and their injuries and their damages and try to evaluate
8:14what they, the insurance company, thinks the case is worth.
8:18And so usually before a lawsuit's file will try to settle
8:21or at least deal with the adjuster on the case.
8:25And if we cannot obtain a settlement that our client thinks
8:29is fair or desirable, then we'll look into filing a lawsuit.
8:33But generally we're looking into filing insurance claims
8:35before lawsuits are filed.
8:36- All right, so you said at-fault,
8:39do I need to throw that into the primer too?
8:41Or is it as obvious as it sounds?
8:44- I'm thinking, maybe it is
8:46but for everyone who might not know what it means,
8:48the at-fault party-
8:49- [Veronica] I'm the person at fault, right?
8:50- Is the person who's committed the harm
8:52against our clients, the person who's at fault
8:53for the injury or accident or damages.
8:56- All right.
8:57Can somebody lay out a case example for me
9:00where we can like paint a picture for me
9:02of how this looks in real life?
9:04- Sure, so a lot of our cases involve car accidents.
9:07So let's say for example, Veronica,
9:09you're rear-ended on the way home today.
9:11You would call Montlick, tell us what happened
9:15and we will start by getting a police report.
9:17The police report would list
9:19the at-fault driver's insurance information.
9:21- [Veronica] The person who rear-ended me.
9:22- Yes, exactly.
9:24We would file a claim
9:26against that person's insurance policy,
9:28their liability policy,
9:29the policy that covers them when they hurt someone.
9:33So after a claim is filed
9:36and you complete medical treatment,
9:38we would send a settlement demand to the insurance company
9:43which the adjuster would look at and evaluate.
9:45And we would attempt to negotiate a settlement.
9:48Hopefully, ideally we'll get a settlement offer
9:51that our client thinks is fair
9:53and they would accept the offer
9:54and then the case was closed.
9:55If the offer is something our client refuses,
9:57well, then we'll file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver
10:01on our client's behalf.
10:02- Is the claim the same thing as a lawsuit?
10:06- No, and I think that's sort of an important distinction.
10:09So a lawsuit is when you physically file a lawsuit in court,
10:13that's when you have a plaintiff and a defendant.
10:15That's when you have to serve the lawsuit on someone.
10:18You have to actually give them a copy of the lawsuit.
10:22A claim is simply an attempt to resolve a case
10:26outside of the legal proceeding.
10:28So generally we file claims before lawsuits are filed.
10:33- Can you resolve a claim without a lawsuit?
10:36- [Margaret] Yes. - Okay.
10:37- [Margaret] Definitely. - All right.
10:38Give me an example, Margaret.
10:39- Okay, so once you've finished treating,
10:43your medical issues are resolved or maybe not,
10:49but you've finished your treatment-
10:51- [Veronica] I've got some sort of treatment plan
10:52at least, right?
10:53- Right, so you've completed your treatment
10:55and then you, well, we would obtain
10:59all of your medical records and billing
11:01and then we would send a initial settlement demand
11:05on the claim to the insurance company.
11:07The insurance company will evaluate the claim
11:10and respond to our demand with a settlement offer.
11:14And then at that point, we will notify the plaintiff
11:19or our client of the settlement offer and determine
11:23if we want to move forward with further negotiations
11:25which is usually the case.
11:27- [Veronica] Hmm.
11:28- Okay, so then we go back to the insurance company
11:31with either a new demand or a lower demand of some sort
11:36and then we negotiated out.
11:39- All right, so tell me about that process.
11:40I'm sure that,
11:42is there a case that sticks with you
11:45where these sort of negotiations played out
11:48and you felt really proud of your outcome?
11:52- That's quite often actually.
11:54- Very nice, I love these confident attorneys.
11:56You know, this is really good.
11:59- I mean, sometimes you just,
12:01you look at the information that the insurance company
12:03is reviewing and you go over it with them
12:06and you have to clarify certain aspects of the claim
12:11and the facts and they will increase the offer
12:16and so you just continually go back and forth
12:18bringing up the facts of your claim and what's positive.
12:23- What's positive?
12:24Exploring again, like exploring every avenue.
12:27One quick question before we go to break
12:29and get into some more of these terms.
12:31Sometimes obviously, police are called every time
12:35and they're more often than not probably writing a ticket
12:39or a citation.
12:41Does that have to do with fault?
12:43- Yes, so generally a citation is written
12:46against the at-fault driver and they're being charged
12:49with a traffic violation, a crime,
12:52that at-fault driver have to respond to the citation
12:55by appearing in criminal court.
12:57So that's a big deal for our cases
12:58is because of the at-fault driver admits fault,
13:01becomes easier for our clients to prove their case.
13:03- All right, we're talking about legal terms,
13:07common legal terms, and next,
13:09what makes or breaks the case
13:12now that the claim or the lawsuit is getting underway.
13:16That's coming up next on "Lawyers in the House"
13:18with Philip Hairston and Margaret Grenleski.
13:20Stay with us.
13:23Welcome back to "Lawyers in the House with Montlick",
13:26I'm Veronica Waters here with Montlick injury attorneys,
13:28Philip Hairston and Margaret Grenleski
13:31teaching you some common legal terms,
13:34stuff that you will wanna know
13:35when you're listening to us talk about this show.
13:38Or if you have a case, God forbid.
13:41Let's learn about something that you have talked about,
13:44both of you have used the word settlement
13:45a couple of times already and I feel like I would be remiss
13:48if I didn't get you to explain exactly what that is.
13:52Am I settling for something?
13:54What's settlement?
13:55What's a settlement?
13:56- So you're settling your claim for money
14:00that the insurance company is offering
14:03so it will close out your claim
14:06and you cannot file a lawsuit after that.
14:08- This is like, I'm duking it out
14:09with the insurance companies to get to this settlement?
14:14- We at Montlick are duking it out, yes.
14:18That's for us to do.
14:20But yes, we will go back and forth
14:24with the insurance company and negotiate
14:26for the settlement offer and eventually
14:31you can either decide if you're going to accept
14:33the settlement offer or possibly move forward
14:35with filing a lawsuit.
14:37- All right, so very few of these cases
14:39actually go to trial, even if you file a lawsuit, right?
14:42- [Margaret] Yes.
14:43- But if you're one of the ones that does go to trial,
14:45so much has to happen before you ever get in front
14:48of a judge or a jury.
14:50What's that case?
14:52What's that called?
14:53- So the first part of that will be called the discovery.
14:56- [Veronica] Discovery. - Phase of the lawsuit, yeah.
14:58- [Veronica] That's a cable channel.
15:00- Yes, that too.
15:01So in the discovery part of the lawsuit,
15:03that's the first part of the lawsuit.
15:05The parties, the plaintiff, the defendant,
15:07they're entitled to find out evidence that they can use
15:10against the other party in the lawsuit.
15:13- [Veronica] So I'm discovering-
15:14- [Phillip] The evidence that you could use-
15:16- Okay. - [Phillip] Exactly.
15:16- [Veronica] Got it.
15:17- And so the first part of that starts
15:18with a term called interrogatories.
15:22- [Veronica] What?
15:23- Yes, exactly, it's a mouthful.
15:26- Interrogatories, okay.
15:27- So each party so for example, our clients, the plaintiffs,
15:30they can serve interrogatories on the defendant.
15:35And interrogatories are those long list of questions,
15:38written questions that the defendant has to answer
15:41and the defendant gets to serve our clients
15:43with the same kinda questions.
15:44So they might wanna ask our clients
15:46about their prior medical history
15:48to determine if the injury was caused by the accident
15:51or it was already preexisting.
15:52Our clients might wanna find out
15:55the defendant's driving record to see
15:56they have a habit of hitting other drivers.
15:59So that's sort of the first part of the lawsuit
16:03is just exchanging evidence and getting information
16:05that could lead to finding admissible evidence in a lawsuit.
16:07- And in addition to interrogatories, there are-
16:10- [Margaret] Depositions.
16:11- Depositions.
16:12- Which are usually in person and they bring in
16:19a court reporter and record the deposition
16:22and they ask you many, many questions,
16:24many of which are not even allowed
16:28to be brought up in court.
16:30However, they're just getting to know you
16:32and finding out information.
16:33And we can also depose the defendant as well.
16:37- Same kinda questions this time on video?
16:40- [Margaret] Yes.
16:41- Okay, now we're getting, it's kinda scary.
16:42All right, so what happens after the discovery,
16:45the interrogatories, the depositions.
16:48Now we're moving into maybe the final stages of that.
16:51That's coming up next
16:52on "Lawyers in the House with Montlick".
16:54I'm Veronica Waters, stay with us.
16:59Welcome back to "Lawyers in the House with Montlick",
17:02I'm your host, Veronica Waters
17:04here with Montlick injury attorneys,
17:05Philip Hairston and Margaret Grenleski.
17:08We're talking about common legal terms.
17:10And I want to take one second to show you this book,
17:15this thing, I think it's like something like 10 pounds,
17:19"Black's Law Dictionary".
17:21Listen, there are so many legal terms that these two know,
17:24that they carry around this knowledge in their heads,
17:27apparently day in and day out.
17:30We're not gonna give you through that but I just wanted to,
17:32this is almost as thick as a a dollar bill.
17:35All right, "Black's Law Dictionary"
17:36which I'm told is like the end all be all for attorneys.
17:39And my friends, a couple of lawyers who say,
17:42no attorney's office is complete without one.
17:46Is that accurate, yes? - [Phillip] I'd have to agree.
17:48- Yeah, okay but Philip likes his online, right?
17:52- Yes, that's a little heavy for me to carry around.
17:54- He's Mr. High Tech.
17:55Lawyersinthehouse.com is where you can find us 24/7.
17:58Also reach out to us on social all platforms,
18:00we are @montlicklaw.
18:02And you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
18:05any place where you love to get the hottest podcasts,
18:08you will find "Lawyers in the House".
18:10Make sure you subscribe, like us,
18:12give us some cute little reviews and see our smiling faces.
18:16All right, so we are talking about common legal terms.
18:19I've learned, I'm a plaintiff suing a defendant.
18:22I've made a claim, we've filed a lawsuit,
18:24we've gone through the discovery process.
18:25So we discovered what each side had to offer,
18:28what are we saying in the interrogatories
18:30and the depositions on video.
18:31Now let's get down to the nitty gritty.
18:35It's the dollars and cents, yes?
18:37- [Margaret] Yes. - Okay, go.
18:40- Well, at some point after discovery,
18:43you will end up either going in front of a judge
18:45or a jury at court, depending on the type of case you file.
18:51And so all of the information that you've collected
18:54during the discovery process will be,
18:57not all of it necessarily
18:59but a lot of it will be used in court.
19:02And once the jury hears the the-
19:08- [Veronica] Evidence.
19:09- Evidence, yes.
19:10And the judge or the judge, they will make a decision
19:15as to how much of an award you will receive.
19:18- So what do you call that?
19:20Awards?
19:21Awards, compensation?
19:22- [Margaret] Compensation yes. - Compensation.
19:24All right.
19:25But so many of these cases are resolved
19:28without going to trial, yes?
19:31Are you still in front of a judge if you don't have a trial?
19:35- [Margaret] No. - No, okay.
19:37- [Margaret] No.
19:37- All right, so how do you determine, what's compensation?
19:39What are the types of compensation
19:41that I could possibly get?
19:44- So I guess I would start by just clarifying that
19:47you can only get monetary compensation.
19:50So a jury- - [Veronica] As opposed to?
19:52- Anything else.
19:53A jury can't make them give you a car.
19:56They can only award you money and that seems simple,
19:58it's something important to understand
19:59because the civil system only allows you
20:03to get monetary compensation.
20:05So that's important to think about.
20:07So when you go before a jury, you can ask for damages
20:12and that's the harm you've incurred
20:14and there's different kinds of damages.
20:15- [Veronica] Okay, okay.
20:17- So the first would be,
20:19so what I would call special damages, actual damages.
20:22Those are something that's easy to specify and to calculate.
20:26So for example, medical bills,
20:28that's gonna be a certain number.
20:29If you had lost wages 'cause you couldn't work
20:32'cause you're injured,
20:32that's a certain number you can easily determine.
20:35So that's part of what you can ask for.
20:38Medical bills, lost wages.
20:40You are also entitled to pain and suffering
20:42which is harder to calculate.
20:44Pain and suffering is a subjective damage
20:48that a jury would determine.
20:51And there are a lot of different ways to prove
20:54pain and suffering.
20:56So I always ask my clients in the beginning of the case,
20:59you're hurt, tell me something or tell me things
21:02that you could do before you were hurt
21:05that you either can't do today
21:07or couldn't do for a certain amount of time?
21:09And those examples are how I explain to a jury
21:13my client's pain and suffering.
21:14- So give me an example of one of those.
21:16- For example, I had a client who was a lifelong
21:19Atlanta Hawks fan.
21:20She's had season tickets for years.
21:23And she went to almost every single game every season.
21:26And she was in a pretty bad car accident
21:28and the accident hurt her lower back.
21:31So she was unable to sit for long periods of time
21:33without pain.
21:35So it made it very hard for her, really impossible
21:37for her to go to an Atlanta Hawks game
21:39and just sit there for two and a half hours.
21:41So she'd end up missing maybe 20 home games
21:44which for her is most she's missed in decades.
21:48So for her, that was a really big deal.
21:50And like I said, this is subjective.
21:51Some people don't care about basketball
21:53and they don't think that's the big deal but to her,
21:55that was her life, that was her biggest hobby.
21:57That's what she did outside of seeing her family
22:00and working which is going to Atlanta Hawks game.
22:01So for her, that was a really big deal
22:03and we had to explain that to a jury
22:07why she should be compensated for that.
22:09That's an activity she couldn't do anymore.
22:11- And did the jury get it? How did they respond to that?
22:13- Her case ended it favorably.
22:14I think they responded to her and agreed with her.
22:18Anyone who's hurt is gonna have their life affected.
22:20I don't care if it's broken back
22:22or just a scar on your face.
22:25Any kind of injury is gonna affect your life
22:27and you should be compensated for that.
22:29And our job is to fight for you.
22:31- Margaret, I would think
22:33and obviously correct me if I'm wrong,
22:34but I would think that if I've been hurt
22:36in like a car accident, we've been saying or anything,
22:39that pain and suffering is like an automatic.
22:43I've had pain, I'm suffering because of it.
22:45Yes, no?
22:47- It should be, however, the insurance company's job
22:50is to diminish your pain and suffering.
22:52- You're not really hurting like you think you are Veronica.
22:55- Exactly. - Oh, okay.
22:56- So it's our job to collect all of the information
23:00from you, all of your medical records
23:03and prove that you have suffered this pain and suffering.
23:06- Give me an example of when you've had to fight
23:09through one of these cases for like this somebody
23:11who actually did have that pain and suffering.
23:14- Well, I can think of a couple of cases
23:16where I had new mothers and they were actually
23:22unable to hold their child or breastfeed after the accident
23:27without immense pain.
23:29So it actually affected the, I guess,
23:33bonding with their newborn, the breastfeeding time
23:38which is very almost traumatizing for these women
23:43because they're a new mother and they want to bond
23:46with their newborn.
23:47So that's something that we've definitely talked about
23:51with the insurance companies in the past on different cases.
23:54- How do you calculate that?
23:55How do you calculate that though?
23:57And I just, understandably it's subjective, right?
24:02But it's emotional, you're painting this picture
24:05to the insurance companies, the juries,
24:08but how do you calculate?
24:09I mean, that's a priceless thing.
24:10I'm not a parent but I know many parents and I'm a daughter
24:14and how could you put a price tag
24:18on not being able to bond with your child?
24:22- It's difficult.
24:23I mean, how is there a price tag?
24:25So you have to really collect information from the client.
24:30You know, a lot of times they'll write a statement
24:32of how it affected their life and then we will present that
24:36to the insurance company or in court.
24:38I mean, if they're in court,
24:39they're gonna be testifying in court
24:43about how this has changed or what they've experienced.
24:47- You ever had a case, Margaret,
24:49where it was hard to keep your emotions out of it?
24:56- Of course, yes, definitely.
24:58- [Veronica] Yeah?
25:00- Yes because you wanna fight for your client
25:03as hard as you can and sometimes
25:06the things that they've experienced are just catastrophic.
25:12I did have a case where this young couple was driving home
25:19one night on their motorcycle and a man
25:24who actually came from another state
25:25drove into the city of Atlanta to buy some illicit drugs,
25:30actually ran over the motorcycle with my clients on it
25:35and left the scene.
25:37It was a hit and run.
25:39He was also on illicit drugs.
25:43He abandoned the vehicle somewhere
25:45and some other antics ensued after that
25:49while the police were trying to locate him.
25:52So that would call for punitive damages
25:57because anytime you have some willful or want and conduct
26:01that you commit, then you're gonna be punished.
26:04So punitive damages is designed to punish the defendant.
26:10So in that situation, I presented a punitive damages claim
26:16for the property damage.
26:17- [Veronica] Okay.
26:18- And so we actually used the wedding band,
26:21her wedding set, okay?
26:24And she was so proud of this wedding set,
26:27she said that she went, picked it out,
26:30her husband actually couldn't pay for it all at once
26:33so he had actually put it on layaway
26:35and paid for it over the course of a year or two for her.
26:37And she just felt as though that meant a lot to her
26:42especially now that he was deceased on the scene
26:45at the accident.
26:46- [Veronica] Of course.
26:47- So her wedding band was destroyed from basically,
26:51the road rash that she experienced.
26:53And I presented that wedding set
27:00for the punitive damages claim for the property damage.
27:04The adjuster actually had the gall to call me and say
27:09that it was purchased at Kmart and it wasn't worth the value
27:14of the minimum limits in Georgia of $25,000.
27:19And I'm probably gonna tear up right now talking about this
27:21but I just, I totally lost it.
27:25It was all I could do to compose myself and I just told him,
27:28I said, "I don't care if this came from a gumball machine
27:32"for 25 cents, this was her wedding set
27:36"and now her husband's deceased and I just can't believe
27:40"you would even bring something like that up."
27:42And what I later learned is or I figured out is that
27:46while she was in the hospital for two weeks on morphine,
27:50the insurance company had sent someone into the hospital,
27:53into her room and had been talking with family members
27:56and that's how they knew that the wedding set
28:00was possibly from a store like Sam's.
28:04So yes, I was just, oh, I was so upset.
28:11- That has got to be so hard to hear.
28:14And I've heard so many Montlick attorneys talk about
28:19how they love being able to represent people,
28:25the folks who are actually hurt here.
28:28And it makes me think that someone who might throw out
28:32that idea would maybe not be thinking so much
28:34about the people behind the wedding band, so to speak.
28:40You know, how do you-
28:43- Their job is simply to diminish your claim.
28:47That's the whole job of the insurance adjuster.
28:51- Even if it sounds really harsh.
28:53- Yes, definitely. - Overly harsh maybe.
28:56- [Margaret] Yes. - Yeah.
28:57Philip used to work for insurance companies.
28:59- I did for the first four or five years of my career
29:02represented major insurance companies
29:05pretty much doing what Margaret just said,
29:06trying to reduce the value of people's injuries claims.
29:10And after doing that for a couple of years,
29:12I decided to make a change and do some good in the world.
29:15- Yeah, did you and quickly, if I remember correctly,
29:19didn't you work as your own lawyer one time?
29:22- Yes, during 2020
29:25I was involved in a rear end collision myself
29:27so I was hit from behind so I had to file my own claim
29:30against this driver's insurance company.
29:33And I had to explain to them, well one, I'm hurt
29:36and my own pain and suffering.
29:38For me, I'm an avid runner, I love running races.
29:40I do 10Ks and half marathons fairly regularly.
29:43And I had to miss two races
29:45'cause I physically could not run following my injuries.
29:48- Were you successful on your behalf?
29:50Did your attorney prevail for you?
29:52- Yes, I did.
29:53We did settle without filing a lawsuit, yes.
29:55- All right, fantastic.
29:56All right, thank you so much.
29:57Phillip Hairston and Margaret Grenleski giving us the 101
30:01on common legal terms.
30:03Coming up, the Montlick Closing Argument,
30:06what's it gonna be?
30:07Philip and Margaret are gonna take it away.
30:10Stay with us, you don't wanna miss it.
30:12(bright upbeat music)
30:15Welcome back to "Lawyers in the House with Montlick" on WSB.
30:18I'm your host, Veronica Waters.
30:20We've been talking common legal terms here
30:22on this episode of "Lawyers in the House"
30:24with Margaret Grenleski and Philip Hairston.
30:27I don't know what "Black's Law Dictionary" says about
30:32exotic young women.
30:33I'm gonna see if I can find a definition in here for that.
30:37But in the meantime,
30:38it is time for Montlick Closing Argument.
30:41So Margaret and Philip, you've got the floor.
30:44- Okay, well, Veronica, just wanna mention that
30:48with "Black's Law Dictionary", you shouldn't be overwhelmed
30:51because that's what we're here for.
30:53We're here to help you navigate the case or the claim
30:58and the situation and you can always call 1-800-LAW-NEED
31:03which is nationwide and we can assist you
31:07to walk you through the steps to file a claim
31:11if you're injured in a personal injury claim.
31:12- [Veronica] I don't have to handle it alone?
31:14- No, that's what we're here for.
31:16- And I would add that every call,
31:18every consultation's completely free.
31:20There's new obligation.
31:22I think we said before that we only get paid
31:25on a contingency fee which means that we only get paid
31:28if we can get our clients an award.
31:30So if we don't get anything, you don't owe us anything.
31:33So there's no obligation, there's no risk in calling us.
31:36If you have any kind of questions or concerns
31:38or how would you think might be a case?
31:40Just give us a call and we'll talk about it.
31:41- Yeah and also, how often do you have somebody
31:45who maybe calls and doesn't even know the terminology?
31:49I don't know what I don't know.
31:51And I shouldn't be intimidated, right? To ask?
31:54- Right and that's what we're here for
31:54and that happens all the time.
31:55Clients think they might have a call or might have a case,
31:58they call, we talk about it and if they have a case,
32:00that's great.
32:01And if not, we tell 'em how we can give mother help
32:03or point 'em the right direction.
32:04- What's one of the best feelings that you've had
32:09in this business since you became an attorney?
32:15- Marg, you wanna take this one or should I start?
32:18- Well, I mean, anytime you resolve a claim for someone
32:22and they feel as though they've been compensated
32:26for their loss, that's a great feeling.
32:29- [Veronica] Does it ever get old?
32:30- No, absolutely not.
32:33- [Veronica] Never feels like the same day
32:34over and over again, guys?
32:35- No, every case is different.
32:38Every case has different intricacies and different facts.
32:42- I agree.
32:44All of our clients are hurt through no fault of their own
32:47and they all need help.
32:48So helping people get what they deserve
32:51is never old or tiring.
32:53Frankly, it's it's fun and it's rewarding.
32:55- Today's word,
32:57one more word I'm gonna throw in there, compassion.
33:00That's what you're getting when you get these attorneys
33:02from Montlick.
33:03Thank you so much for staying with us.
33:05For "Lawyers in the house", don't forget to find us online
33:08at lawyersinthehouse.com.
33:10See us where you get your podcasts and make sure
33:14that you hit us up on social @montlicklaw.
33:16We would love to see you,
33:17send us your questions 24 hours a day.
33:20I'm Veronica Waters, we will see you
33:22for the next episode of "Lawyers in the House"
33:24right here on WSB.
33:26Peace out.
33:27(bright upbeat music)

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