Pain, especially pain that doesn't quit, changes a person. And rarely for the better. The consequences of persistent pain extend well beyond the agonizing sensations of pain itself. Unremitting pain robs a person of the ability to enjoy life, maintain important relationships, fulfill spousal and parental responsibilities, perform well at a job or work at all. Pain may be invisible but,...
In legal terms, “emotional distress” or “mental anguish” has four identifiable aspects for a jury to consider: 1. grief and sorrow 2. worry, anxiety, and fear 3. loss of enjoyment of life 4. loss of self-identify or an inability to obtain self-satisfaction Many people, many jurors in fact, will ask rhetorically: Are these really damages we should compensate for in a personal injury case? This same juror...
Everyone knows it takes money to go to trial. I'm here to tell you that you don't need a bunch of money to have excellent counsel or to have experts with lots of experience on your side. But you do need some things. First, you need courage. Second, you need to be able to trust...
The first time I stood in front of a jury, in a large superior courtroom in Spokane County, I was a younger lawyer with more energy than eloquence, more ambition than experience. I'll never forget the feeling as if my legs might give out and collapse as easily as the accordion files in my briefcase. My mouth...
When we imagine justice, often pictured is the iconic figure of Lady Justice. From ancient Greece to the U.S. Supreme Court, there she is—blindfolded, holding a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. Ever wondered what those symbols mean? Or what they are intended to instill, even as the fate of cases are decided today, at...
In America, we say that liberty and justice are for all. We inscribe it on marble. We teach it in classrooms. We pledge it with our hand over our heart. But that promise is not tested when things are going well. The real test of whether we mean it comes when someone has lost everything money can’t buy. When the life...
