001 The Basics of Personal Injury Law

VERONICA: Welcome to the premiere episode of Lawyers in the House on WSB.

ALYSSA:  Thank you.

VERONICA:  So, let’s start with Alyssa. I’ve got to know how much of what we hear about personal injury law is true, and what’s one thing that you think people believe about personal injury law that couldn’t be farther from the truth?

ALYSSA:  Well, probably the number one thing that I wish people knew upfront was just it’s not a quick money grab.

VERONICA: So. I think you’re right. A lot of us see these really big headlines about the dollar figures that people can get. but I know there’s more to what you’re doing out there than just getting somebody a big check.

VERONICA: So, what’s the biggest mistake people make then?

ALYSSA: The biggest mistake people make is telling the insurance company everything that happened and how they’re feeling right after the accident. Because really, anything you tell the insurance company, whether you think they’re helping you or not, they’re going to use it later against you.

VERONICA: And Jason, what is on everybody’s mind after something like that? You’re getting people and often what are really traumatic moments.

JASON: You have all kinds of things going on. Aside from the property damage, you’ll also have people who are so injured that they can’t get back to work.

VERONICA: That’s amazing.

ALYSSA: Well, so in my situation, I was rear-ended, and luckily, my children were not in the car, but I still had to deal with their car seats needing replaced, getting a rental car, juggling me going to medical appointments, and still trying to take care of everything that my kids needed to be picked up from school and taken to events. So even though I handled my case myself, I handle cases for people every single day.

VERONICA: But I would think that, what if it’s not a huge accident? Maybe it was just a tiny little fender bender and I’m thinking, this isn’t worth anybody’s time. My headache is going to go away. Whatever.

ALYSSA: Even the smallest accidents can cause big injuries. And one of the common tactics that an insurance company will use is exactly what you just said, Veronica – is it wasn’t a big bad accident. How could you possibly be hurt? But let me tell you, it’s possible.

VERONICA: What’s the one thing that I need to do? And by the way, I know surfing around Montlick.com, I saw that there is this checklist of what you should do, but what do you advise folks to do? Like, first thing?

VERONICA: Jason, when I think about maybe an insurance payout or something, I’m sort of a kind-hearted person, and I’ve heard other people say, too, I would feel bad about trying to bring a case against somebody.

JASON:  I’d say mostly fiction. I mean, if you have an auto accident, generally, there’s not going to be any profitability in going after someone who has no money or has no auto insurance. Putting a person into bankruptcy doesn’t help get you compensated for your injuries.

JASON: No, generally not.

VERONICA: Okay, that’s good to know. And it’s probably maybe you hear clients worrying about that. Seems like probably a sigh of relief, too, to know I can be taken care of, and I’m not really going to hurt somebody else in the process.

NIKKI: Well, Veronica, I always knew that I wanted to go into the family business.

VERONICA: Wow, that’s really powerful. And it reminds me of something that I talked to Jason about, because, Jason, I don’t think I’m exaggerating a lot when I say that you were running through the halls of Montlick in diapers. Am I exaggerating at all?

Jason: No, not really. Nikki just brought up that I was at her mother’s baby shower for Nikki’s little sister when I was probably eight or nine years old.

VERONICA:  Good cake?

JASON: Well, that part I don’t remember, but I was always . . . My father has been an attorney at Montlick for over, I’d say, 34 years now. And I was in the office, periodically, growing up. And once, when I went to college, I started working as a legal assistant there before going to law school.

VERONICA: Did it feel like a calling to be there?

JASON: Yeah, it was always a calling. I mean, I always wanted to help people, and as I went into college and decided I wanted to be a lawyer, I knew that I wanted to represent individuals and not companies. And ultimately, Montlick seemed like for me, it felt like fate to me.

VERONICA: Can you think of a case that really brought home your passion for helping people and giving people that kind of empathy with that ethical representation?

JASON: Yes. In fact, one of the earlier cases that had a huge profound impact on me was a woman who was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street.  She was killed, unfortunately.

VERONICA: Still, though, a lot of people think about those checks, but it’s really about more than the money.

JASON: Yes. And what I say to people is that there is no amount of money that can actually compensate you for what you’ve been through. But in the American judicial system, you have a civil process, and really the only way the law allows you to get justice for what happened is some type of monetary compensation.

VERONICA: And that’s how you help. Coming up, I’m going to talk to my friends here about some of the many ways that Montlick gives back to the community. You’re listening to Lawyers in the House on WSB.

NIKKI:. Well, when David Montlick founded Montlick & Associates in 1984, he had two goals in mind. He wanted to provide exceptional client service unlike anything he had experienced before, and he wanted to give back to the community in a really meaningful way. And the way that we do that is through our public service programs, which we have.

VERONICA: It seems like such a really touching thing, too. I mean, I can’t imagine all of the stories that you guys have to pore through to come up with even five finalists. How tough that must be.

NIKKI: Yeah, we actually just finished our Soon-to-Announce the winner from last year’s competition. But there are so many incredible stories and deserving families.

JASON: Yes. I always felt that the firm presented itself in a very professional way that distinguished itself in the Georgia community.

VERONICA: I love it. This is really cool. We’re getting to know a little bit about personal injury law and how those folks can help you and breaking down the myths versus the truths about the entire field. And I’m going to top off my coffee right quick.

JASON: Yes, I think you’re referring to the Liebeck v. McDonald’s case that happened in the 1990s, which was heavily publicized and politicized, really, on both sides of the aisle.

VERONICA:  It was Jackie Chiles. Yes. It’s outrageous. It’s egregious.

JASON: Yes. And really what the story was, was a woman had gotten a cup of coffee. She was with a family relative.  I guess she was in the passenger seat of her car. They stopped in the parking lot at McDonald’s to get situated, and she put the coffee between her legs to kind of lift the lid off, I would think, to put cream and sugar in it or something. And the coffee spilled on her, and she ended up sustaining fourth degree burns in her groin area, needed skin grafting surgery.

VERONICA: So, McDonald’s was just kind of duking it out with her and saying, “No, we’re not going to give you anything?”

JASON: Essentially, yeah.

VERONICA: How often do cases go to trial? Listen, I’m not shy about telling you that a lot of what I see about personal injury comes from TV and the movies. Right? And does anybody watch Goliath?

JASON: No, I think it’s actually a very small percentage. I think 90 something percent of cases settle before trial. And really, I’m not going to say that there’s no trial with some type of flare that you see on Hollywood TV and all that kind of stuff, but they are a lot rarer than people believe they are.

VERONICA: Here’s something that I have always kind of thought, too.

JASON: No, generally not.  Usually, your attorney is going to try to negotiate the claim first, and often many cases can be resolved with insurance companies before it even gets to litigation, which is the road to trial.

VERONICA: Alyssa, you were not scalded by hot coffee, gratefully, but you did have your own rear-ender.

ALYSSA: Yeah, it’s scary and stressful. And just as a working mom of two little boys, it’s a huge hassle on your life. And I think one of the services and something that we pride ourselves in is really helping our clients navigate the process. So, when somebody calls, I can say, “Listen, I’ve been there. I know that you have to go pick up your kid by 4:00 every day, and I understand.”

JASON:  The thing about these accidents is, for many people, it completely stops their life from moving forward. I mean, they have no choice but to get medical care. And, you know, to piggyback on what Alyssa was saying . . . I mean, you do have a lot of people without health insurance, but that doesn’t mean that they’re dead in the water.

VERONICA: You talk about doctors too. I think that’s important. But I’ve heard this phrase called running cases. What is that? Is that something that personal injury lawyers do?

JASON: They’re not supposed to. VERONICA: Oh, okay. What does that mean?

JASON: Essentially, running cases is also the actual name for it is Barratry.  Georgia’s

VERONICA: So that’s what running cases is,

ALYSSA: Yes, exactly. So, if you’re in an accident and somebody calls you, that’s a huge red flag, because lawyers, according to the State Bar of Georgia and the rules that we are governed by, we cannot solicit clients. So, if somebody calls you and says, “Hey, I know a doctor that will see you after this accident,” – that’s a huge, huge red flag. It’s unethical. It’s criminal behavior. And we see it a lot.

ALYSSA: Lawyers cannot solicit business. And so, we always encourage people to call us.  Call us right away so we can get a jump start on it and explain all of these things to our clients from the beginning so there’s no confusion later.

JASON: And why would you want to hire an attorney who is willing to break the law to try to retain you as a client?

VERONICA:  Nikki, what are you going to say?

NIKKI:  Yeah, an attorney should never approach you at the scene of an accident or at the hospital. That’s a red flag. And you should run, if that happens.  VERONICA: Run, run far away. Alyssa and Jason, if somebody did want to talk to you about a case or something, if they wanted to just get in touch with you and maybe run a couple of questions by you, what’s the best way to reach you?

Alyssa: Yeah.

VERONICA:  You call that number and an actual attorney is on the other end, Jason

JASON: Not an intake specialist, non-attorney. It will be an attorney who speaks with you. Every person who calls our firm, whether they have a case or not, gets a free consultation with an actual lawyer.

VERONICA: I love that. So, we’ve gotten into some of the truth and the myth about personal injury law and the way that you guys help folks.

NIKKI: Well, we have our public service program, I Ride Safe and Help Keep Kids Safe, which we’ve been doing since the 90s, which basically we’re trying to facilitate events and programs to help educate not only adults, but teen drivers and children about safe driving practices on the roads.

VERONICA: When you’re talking to kids – and anybody can chime in on this one. We’re doing stories all the time about teen drivers and safety and Handsfree Georgia, another thing I know Montlick is big on.  But do teens. especially do young drivers really kind of hear that? Or are they just like, it’s over my head?

JASON:  I’ve helped with this, in the past few years. Our firm worked with a nonprofit, and we did what we call the Teen Driver Academy, and we spoke with middle schoolers and high schoolers and would do presentations on the dangers of unsafe driving, drinking while driving, doing drugs. A lot of times I feel like the younger kids, they’re not old enough to drive yet, so sometimes it’s kind of harder to reach them.

VERONICA: And Nikki, since you’ve been doing this since you were a kid, I would imagine that you kind of have a hand in some of the messaging to make sure that kids are really hearing what you guys are trying to say.

VERONICA: It is crazy. Sometimes the stuff I’ve seen on the roads, I’ve seen people reading a magazine, typing an email, maybe doing something on their phone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve beeped at a light because somebody clearly was looking at a phone or something and not going forward. Jason, tell me just right quick, the thing . . .

VERONICA: It’s amazing the things that people will do behind the wheel of a car. But at least now I know I can find a good lawyer to help me out should somebody be on TikTok and run into me.

VERONICA: Jason, does it really make that big of a difference?

JASON: Huge. We can’t stress enough how important it is.

ALYSSA: And another thing that’s super important, too, and that people don’t understand is if the driver that hits you has insurance, sometimes they don’t have enough insurance. So, if you go to the ER, you might have a 30 or $40,000 bill by the time you’re done there. And if the person that hit you only has a Georgia minimum, you’re out of luck unless you have this additional underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage.

VERONICA: That’s got to feel so gratifying to be able to help somebody in a situation like that. So, final word to Nikki Montlick.  Montlick is always out there helping folks. If folks want to know a little bit more about what Montlick is up to these days, what’s the best way they can find out?

NIKKI: You can follow us on Instagram, TikTok. Our handle is @MontlickLaw. You can also add us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or you can go to Montlick.com, where you can sign up for our free email blast, where we have family safety tips and product recalls.

VERONICA: All right, thank you so much. That is our show for the week. Thanks for coming to our housewarming on Lawyers in the House. And thank you so much, Jason, Alyssa, Nikki for sharing some heart and soul with us this week. [ALL:Thank you.] We will see you next time. And I’m Veronica Waters. This is Lawyers in the House on WSB.