Q. Tell us about yourself and about your practice.
A. I am Michael Pezzulli— a civil-trial lawyer with a law firm in Dallas, Texas. I am board certified by the State Bar of Texas in Civil Trial Law and Texas Monthly magazine has named me, a Texas Super Lawyer several times. I represent clients in both federal and state court. I have over 30 years of experience in trying all types of cases from commercial matters to civil-rights cases, to divorce and child-custody cases. I also try product-liability, nursing-home abuse, wrongful-death and other serious personal-injury cases. In addition to trying lawsuits, I speak at educational seminars for lawyers and recently wrote a chapter of one of the American Bar Association’ s Treatises on the Attorney-Client Privilege.
Q. Do you offer free initial consultations?
A. We understand the pain and hardship caused by a personal injury or an injury to a family member or loved one. So, we initially consult with people about a potential personal-injury case at no cost.
Q. Does your office offer paralegal services for simple forms and filings?
A. Legal assistants are an invaluable part of our firm’ s practice. But of course they do not practice law. Also serious personal-injury cases involve more than simple forms or filings.
Q. Do you accept any of the pre-paid “legal plans” that are offered to help with legal fees?
A. We do not accept pre-paid legal plans. But people rarely use such plans in serious personal-injury cases. More often personal-injury clients hire us under a contingency contract— which means that the client pays us only if we recover something for the client. The client also reimburses us for expenses only from a recovery.
Q. What is the process to file a personal-injury lawsuit?
A. I am sure that this process is different for different law firms. In general a prospective client telephones us and we schedule a time to meet. We discuss the potential case as well as the potential client’s needs and expectations. If we believe that we can assist, then we discuss and sign a contract between the new client and the firm. Afterwards, generally we investigate the client’ s case, engage and consult the appropriate experts, draft the lawsuit papers and file the lawsuit. Under court supervision, we then obtain information from the other side as well as provide information to the other side. Of course the exact path differs for each case and various stages may take longer in any given case, depending on the circumstances.
Q. How can one determine how much his or her claim is worth?
A. No amount of money can truly compensate someone for a serious personal injury, much less for the serious injury or death of a child, spouse, parent or other loved one. But the legal system can award compensation in the form of money damages only. In turn, we hope that the system gives people and companies more incentives to behave safely and to make and sell safer products and services. Otherwise, assuming one or more defendants is legally at fault the value of a serious personal-injury claim turns on the type, severity, and duration of the injury and the related suffering— as well as other factors such as state and federal law. People may suffer less-serious injuries or they may suffer broken bones, permanent disabilities or disfigurements or even death. Also some injuries inflict great physical and mental suffering and anguish. Many states including Texas have passed so-called tort-reform measures such as caps or limits on non-economic damages, especially in medical-malpractice cases. Sometimes, these limits can unfairly restrict the value of a person’ s claim. For example a stay-at-home mom may work hard caring for her family, but the value of a serious injury to her may be difficult to measure in traditional economic terms because she doesn’ t hold a job outside the home. Thus she can’ t point out to a concrete salary that she has lost. State law will also identify the types of damages an injured person may recover. In Texas for example, an injured person may recover for past and future physical pain and suffering loss of earning capacity, disfigurement, physical impairment and expenses for medical and psychological care. Also a person whose spouse is injured may be able to recover for past and future loss of household services and loss of consortium. Parents may recover certain types of damages for injuries to their minor children. And spouses children and certain others may recover various types of damages for a loved one’ s death including loss of companionship and society, mental anguish, monetary loss and loss of inheritance. In rare circumstances involving a defendant’ s extreme wrongdoing an injured person may recover exemplary or punitive damages. State and federal law often limit these as well.
In addition regardless of the value of a person’ s claim a defendant’ s resources will affect an injured person’ s compensation. Some large companies have more money or assets to compensate people they seriously injure. Others have insurance. But a seriously injured person may face bleak circumstances, if he or she was injured by a defendant with limited resources or no insurance. Lastly, other factors may unexpectedly influence an injured person’ s final recovery. For example a person’ s insurance or health-care plan at work may pay for his or her medical care. Often these insurers or benefit plans have a right to— and will— seek reimbursement from the person’ s recovery in a lawsuit. Also the federal government and some states tax various elements of damages in a person’ s recovery. A person who has suffered a serious personal injury or who has a family member, who has been injured should consult an attorney about the possible value of his or her claims.
Q. Can a person recover damages for injuries sustained on someone else’ s property?
A. The answer depends on state law. But in general yes— if an owner was negligent. The standards for recovery will depend on the injured person’ s relationship to the defendant and the reasons that he or she was on the property and was injured. For example a person who shops at a store during business hours and suffers an injury because of an unreasonably dangerous condition may recover if the owner knew or should have known of the danger. Also the owner has a duty to use reasonable care to inspect for unsafe conditions or to warn about them. On the other hand a land owner owes fewer, if any, duties to trespassers who improperly enter another’ s property. But there are exceptions even here. For example a land owner may owe certain duties to known and tolerated trespassers, such as children who improperly walk across another’s land as a shortcut to school. And a land owner who maintains an attractive nuisance— some condition or thing that is attractive to a child - owes a duty to use reasonable efforts to eliminate dangers or otherwise protect the children. Also other rules come into play depending on the circumstances. For example worker’ s compensation law generally applies to a claim of a person who suffers an injury while at work on the employer’ s property.
Q. Do most cases go to trial to recover damages?
A. In the U.S. court system less than one percent of all cases go to trial. Nonetheless, injured persons need an attorney who is capable and willing to prepare the case for actual trial. Defense lawyers and insurance companies - and stores and other corporations often have insurance for personal injuries arising out of their business— value claims as if they were going to go to trial. If they sense that an injured person’ s attorney is unable or unwilling to try a case then they will either not settle or will settle for an unfair amount.
Q. How does a prior injury affect a claim?
A. An earlier injury may affect a claim’ s value. It really depends on the exact nature of the earlier injury and the injury resulting from a defendant’ s new negligence. Are the two injuries to the same area of the body or separate areas? Was the old injury part of a deteriorating condition? Did new negligence aggravate an old injury? An injured person and his or her lawyer must look at this question case by case. |
