Avid Golfer
I am going to go off-topic for this blog post. I want to touch base on something that I am passionate about – golf. I’ll tell people that I am doing one of three things – working, spending time with my wife, or golfing.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid golfer and it encompasses my life. If you’ve been to my office, you’ll see golf clubs scattered around. There are also photos, paintings, and scorecards hanging up on the wall.
A Car Accident Changes Things
As much as I could talk about my love for golf, I bring it up to let potential clients know who they are dealing with. I am an active person who has a life outside of the office. Why does this matter for your personal injury case? Because after practicing law and defending claims for insurance companies for a number of years, I was hit by a negligent driver. To make matters worse, it was in a parking lot (insurance companies think that parking lot accidents are not as serious as other accidents).
I had plans to play golf the next day. After the accident I felt a small tweak in my neck, but I didn’t think much of it. I had been defending these claims for years on behalf of insurance companies and there was no way that I was legitimately injured in a parking lot accident – it just doesn’t happen.
My car was towed from the scene of the accident and my wife was nice enough to drop me off at the airport to get a rental car (the accident was on a Saturday so the airport was the only place to get a rental car that late in the day). Hour by hour my back began to stiffen, but I didn’t think much about it. I was playing golf the next day.
It Can’t Be That Bad?
I went home that night and went to bed. When I woke up the next day and was barely able to move. Then I did some yoga postures to stretch my back, but they didn’t help. What was happening? For years I heard plaintiffs in their depositions say they didn’t feel anything at the scene of the accident, but then a day or two later the pain set in. For years I didn’t believe it. Then, on a Saturday afternoon, it happened to me.
I went from playing and practicing golf several times a week to not being able to stand over a putt. As the days progressed and the pain continued to set in, I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing golf for a number of months. Sure enough, I didn’t swing a club for nearly four months. All this from a parking lot accident? Yes – all of this was from a parking lot accident.
So there I was – on one hand I was an insurance defense attorney defending claims on behalf of automobile carriers, calling bluffs on claims. On the other hand I was having a hard time sitting for 20 minutes at a time.
I Knew I Wanted To Be A Personal Injury Attorney
Ever since law school I always knew that I wanted to represent accident victim. I honestly don’t really have a great reason why – I just knew that’s what I wanted to do. I also knew that the best way to do that was to defend insurance companies and businesses against claims so that I could learn the tricks of the trade and learn how companies defend against cases. This is actually one reason why I like slip-and-fall cases (because I learned how insurance carrier defend them).
I didn’t know how long I would work for insurance companies and businesses, but after getting in a car accident, I knew that the time had come to switch sides.
So there I was – able to practice or play golf 3-4 times a week, in shape, working out 2-3 times a week, running about 15 miles a week, and now I couldn’t stand over a putt. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months.
So How Did It Turn Out?
Simple – It turned out fine. Actually, I’m probably better than I was before the accident because I now know how important it is to strength train your lower back. It wasn’t easy though. I was injured, had to live a sedentary lifestyle (which I had never done before), and had to give up golf. But I stuck with the doctor’s orders. When something didn’t work, I let the doctor know and tried something different. After months of chiropractic treatment and physical therapy, I bounced back.
So why I am writing about my personal story? It’s simple – I want my clients to know that I have some idea what they are going through. Sure, I would never be so bold to say that I know what it is like to lose a loved one in an accident or to be catastrophically injured, but even having my active life taken away for several months was enough to understand the effect that a car accident can have on someone.
If you’ve been involved in a car accident, slip and fall accident, or any other type of accident that prevents you from doing the things that you are passionate about, give me a call to discuss your case. There are no obligations and I don’t take any fees or costs unless I am successful in obtaining a settlement on your behalf.