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Lawyers in the House with Montlick - Your Legal Podcast
057 What Happens If I Have a Case?

057 What Happens If I Have a Case?

Lawyers in the House with Montlick

Attorneys in Podcast: Sarah Neeland, Esq.| Jason Saltzman, Esq.

Ok, you’ve been injured in an accident, you’ve taken the first big step and called Montlick…now what? Sarah and Jason walk listeners through each step of the personal injury recovery process, from intake to case resolution.

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The purpose of this show is to provide general information about the law. Our guests will not provide any individualized legal advice. If you have a personal situation and need legal advice, contact us for your free legal consultation with a Montlick attorney.

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00:04	ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do. Here’s your host, Veronica Waters. VERONICA: Welcome, welcome, welcome. Open the door and come on in. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I am your host, Veronica Waters, and so happy to be back with you for another special episode here in the House.
00:31	VERONICA: Thanks, and come on in. Make yourself comfortable. I think you’re going to like today’s show. I know I am super hyped for it because it’s kind of been on my wish list a little bit. I’m going to call this the sibling show. That’s a little tease about who our two Montlick Injury Attorneys are in the house today with me. I am saying a happy welcome to Sarah Neeland and Jason Saltzman. Hey, you guys. SARAH: Thanks for being in the house. VERONICA: All right, so let’s start off with a little bit of bios here. I’m going to say that actually, in part, they could kind of have the same bio.
01:03	VERONICA: They both grew up watching their dad tirelessly work to help people rebuild their lives after tragedy. Yes, they are sister and brother and they are both Montlick Injury Attorneys. Let’s start off with who’s the… who’s the older? Who’s older? JASON: I’m the older one. VERONICA: Jason Saltzman. All right. Tell us a little bit about your journey to law, Jason. When did you become an attorney? JASON: I became an attorney in 2012. VERONICA: And when did you know that you wanted to be an attorney?
01:29	JASON: Oh, probably not until 2007. VERONICA: Really? Yeah. Even though you grew up watching your dad. JASON: Yeah, it’s kind of a funny story. I got really into it when I got really… I got, like, strep throat in college and I was sitting at home and I was watching that case with Anna Nicole Smith, that big fight that was happening between where she was going to be buried and all that kind of stuff. And I couldn’t believe everyone was fighting over this.
01:56	JASON: And I was like, I could really take either position on this, you know. VERONICA: And you realized that is the mindset of a good attorney. You got to be able to argue from either side. JASON: Yeah, exactly. But I mean, then you kind of get into this point where… who do you want to argue for? And I really always wanted to be an individual’s attorney. I never wanted to be on a corporation’s side. VERONICA: And so, did you talk to your dad about taking that career path? Because I know he didn’t pressure you into it. JASON: No, he definitely didn’t pressure me, but he was very supportive for sure. VERONICA: Yeah. Was he like super proud?
02:27	JASON: At first, he was he was like, are you sure? And then I was like, yeah, I’m sure. He goes, OK, I’m in, you know? And then he’s been a massive help for both of us. Sarah will say the same thing. I mean, it’s just incredible having him. VERONICA: I love it. He is… their dad is Alan Saltzman, who is the managing attorney at Montlick Injury Attorneys. Yes? And so, sitting next to you is Sarah Neeland, your younger sister. I’m not going to ask how many years because, you know, somebody might do the math.
02:57	VERONICA: We don’t need to know how old anybody is on this show. But yeah, so Sarah, you became an attorney in… SARAH: 2014. VERONICA: So just a couple of years after your big brother. SARAH: Yes. And we also went to the same law school together. VERONICA: Were you guys in law school together for a year? JASON: For one year, yes. VERONICA: And where was that? SARAH: Tulane. JASON: And also, we’ve had other lawyers on this show who went to law school with us too. VERONICA: No way. JASON: Yeah. Ellen Forrester, who was on the show a while. I went to law school with her, too. So did Sarah, I believe. VERONICA: I had no idea. That is so cool. Was she in the middle? JASON: No, she was actually in my year.
03:28	VERONICA: OK, so you guys… that’s so awesome. Why did you choose law? And when did you know that you wanted to be an attorney, too, Sarah? SARAH: Definitely the end of college.
03:53	SARAH: I was an anthropology and journalism major, so I switched paths and wanted to help people. Partially also didn’t want to move home after college and decided that law school would be a good fresh start and a place to make an impact on others. VERONICA: Where were you in college? SARAH: UGA. VERONICA: At UGA. And, where were you? Where’d you go to college, I mean? JASON: University of Pittsburgh. VERONICA: Okay. Well, those are two disparate experiences. And yet you both ended up in the law and you work at the same firm.
04:23	VERONICA: How lovely is that? Now, the last time I had you guys… or I had you on the show, Sarah, I said, have you guys ever done a case together? And you said, no, but I would love to. Is that still the same? JASON: Oh, yeah, I’d do a case with Sarah. SARAH: Absolutely. VERONICA: No, not that part. Have you guys had a chance to get on a case together yet? SARAH: Not yet. VERONICA: Oh, okay. JASON: We’re waiting for the right one. But it’ll happen eventually. VERONICA: Well, we’re talking about the journey to justice today and how you make the right steps along that journey. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB.
04:54	VERONICA: I’m Veronica Waters. Jason and Sarah, thanks so much again for being in the house. JASON: Thanks for having us. VERONICA: They say that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. What about when you’re taking that journey and you’re really, really hurt? Maybe you’ve been in a car accident, maybe you’ve had a slip and fall. For some reason, you’ve been hurt and it’s through no fault of your own. You’re reaching out, you’re looking for a good personal injury attorney to help you on that path.
05:26	VERONICA: How do you keep from making the wrong turn? So, we’re going to talk to Jason and Sarah today about navigating you to your journey to justice if and when you’ve ever been hurt. Let’s start off at the beginning, you guys. I’m talking about the first step. What is the first step? How do I know even if I have a case? What do I do? JASON: I think… Well, usually the first step is going to be speaking with a lawyer. And when we talk to the person, we want to get all the information on what happened, whether it’s an auto accident or some other type of incident.
05:58	JASON: You know, I think the clear thing is, you know, do you have an injury that resulted from someone else’s negligence? Did someone do something wrong that caused you to have some type of injury that requires medical treatment? You know, that’s generally going to be the first question as to whether you have a case. VERONICA: And generally, I can tell you that right away, right? I slipped in the store. I… somebody ran into my car, some whatever, right? Something fell on me at work or whatever.
06:25	SARAH: I think it’s also really important when you are calling attorneys to make sure that you’re comfortable and you find someone who’s the best fit because that attorney-client relationship is extremely important. You want to make sure that you have an attorney that’s experienced, knows what they’re doing, asks the right questions on the front end so that evidence is preserved so that nothing is left on the table that we have to find out later. So, finding out all the available avenues of insurance and things like that.
06:53	SARAH: So that first initial call, you’re also interviewing the attorney because you want to make sure that you find someone that is really going to help you. VERONICA: I know, though, from listening to your dad Alan Saltzman talk, he is really big on this. And I think he’s probably drilled it into everyone how your health comes first. Your health comes first. It’s not just about getting this case together and gathering evidence. It’s like, how are you doing? SARAH: Absolutely. And your health does come first.
07:22	SARAH: I tell that to all of my clients, really, that the most important thing about this is not your case. It’s really getting better. So, do all of the treatment that you need to do to get better because your health is the most important… highest priority thing for you to get back to where you were prior to the accident. JASON: That’s why you encourage them to get on a treatment plan as early as possible, too. You know, you want to make sure that they’ve got that foundation there. Like if they have health insurance, then you want to kind of guide them in the right direction. If the person has health insurance, it’s okay, get with an orthopedist, right?
07:55	JASON: If they don’t have health insurance, then you got to kind of help that person find a doctor that can treat them without requiring an upfront payment. Maybe there’s an agreement with that doctor that they’ll get paid later out of the proceeds of the case and stuff like that. VERONICA: Also, though, that’s different from having some attorney tell you you can only go to this doctor. You can only go to this treatment provider. SARAH: Oh, yeah. VERONICA: Big red flag. SARAH: Big red flag. There are doctors all over Georgia who will treat people who don’t have health insurance.
08:22	SARAH: And essentially what they’ll do is they’ll… you won’t have to pay copays or deductibles because there’s no insurance, but they’ll lien the cost of the treatment to the personal injury case, which is really the next best thing if you don’t have insurance so that you can get the treatment that you need. And some people get catastrophically injured and don’t have insurance. But there are plenty of doctors. So, you don’t just have to go to one doctor. There are doctors all over Georgia that any client could treat with. VERONICA: Yeah, and same for every state, right? Because you don’t… you don’t only represent clients in Georgia.
08:51	JASON: Yeah, there’s usually… I mean, most states are going to have different… I don’t know what’s the word for it. I mean, I think you’re going to have different communities of doctors, depending on what state you’re in. I mean, I think that certain states, I’ve had people find doctors a lot easier than others. But generally speaking, you know, across the country, you’re always going to find doctors that are used to treating people on a third-party liability basis. Some will do it. Some won’t do it. So, you got to kind of identify the ones that are willing to do it.
09:21	SARAH: And the good ones. VERONICA: And OK, and the good ones. So, for me, one of the scariest things I think would be the bills starting to pile up. Whether or not I had insurance, insurance definitely helps. So grateful to have it. But as you said, some people are catastrophically injured. And if you don’t have insurance, is that one of the main things that people ask you about, too, when you when they call you from the jump? Like how do I afford you? How do I afford treatment? SARAH: It’s a very scary thing to be injured and not have insurance and have to be worrying about the bills piling up and not being able to get to work.
09:54	SARAH: And we want to make sure that that person is getting the care that they can so that they can get back to work and provide for their families. But it’s a question we get all the time. We always, you know, at the end of the case if we need to, we will work to get those bills reduced. We will do whatever we can to help our clients get the most money possible with whatever the available facts are, depending on what the insurance is and what assets are available and things like that. But we do whatever we can to get those bills lowered. VERONICA: All right. So that’s from my point of view, the personal injury client, the person who’s hurt and comes to you.
10:22	VERONICA: What are you guys doing on your end in this time, this beginning time? I’m on a treatment plan. I’m going to my medical appointments. Now, how do you start to gather the evidence you need? JASON: So, the first thing is you’ve got to definitely make contact with the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier (if it’s an at fault driver), or the liability party’s insurance carrier. If you’re in an auto accident situation, you’re also going to want to get any claims filed with any uninsured motorist carriers that are that are in play in that case.
10:49	JASON: And then if there are… when appropriate, you’ve got to there could be witnesses to disputed liability cases that you got to interview. Get them kind of locked down on a statement early so that later if something different comes out or if they disappear and you don’t, you know, you lose them. You want to get those people locked down. And you also want to send letters to the defendants to preserve any evidence that you might think that they’re in possession of, right?
11:21	JASON: If you’re in a trucking, if it’s a trucking case, you want to get that truck preserved in… when appropriate. I mean, it depends on the type of case, but often you may want to inspect that truck and download the data on that truck. If it’s a… if it’s a slip-and-fall kind of case, there could be camera footage that saw the event or saw what led to the event. So, you want to make sure that that footage is preserved.
11:44	JASON: Because if you get that letter out and they fail to preserve that evidence, you can end up in a situation later in litigation where the defendant is getting punished by the court for failing to preserve that important evidence that you could have relied upon. VERONICA: Right. I know that it has happened. I’m not sure who told… was that you? JASON: I’m in a case right now where it happened. VERONICA: Really? JASON: Yeah, I’m in a case right now where a tractor trailer was not preserved and also a second inspection was scheduled.
12:12	JASON: And then they removed some of the things that we wanted to inspect in the second inspection on purpose. I’m in that case right now. VERONICA: Oh my gosh. And when that happens, what goes through your mind? JASON: What I’m going to do about it as far as yeah… I mean, you know, if you’re in a litigation setting, you’re going to be looking to file some motions to get some type of a deferential jury instruction, or you may even be able to strike the defendant’s answer in the complaint, which can have a very, very positive impact on the plaintiff’s case.
12:43	VERONICA: So, before we go to break, I just want to ask… or ask you to just clarify for me… litigation that’s going to trial, right? That’s filing a lawsuit that’s ending up in a courtroom, which is how we generally see it in the media. But how often do you think that the cases actually go that far? JASON: It’s a minority of cases for sure. VERONICA: It’s a minority. JASON: But the value of your client’s case is a prediction of what’s going to happen in litigation, right? So, you’re always wanting to prepare that case as if you’re going to litigate it, even if most of those cases aren’t going to get litigated, because that’s going to be the way you’re going to convince that insurance company to pay your client.
13:15	VERONICA: Jason Saltzman and Sarah Neeland, Montlick Injury Attorneys. I see a smile on Sarah’s face. She’s got something to say. Coming up, we’re going to talk about more along this journey to justice. You know, when you’re going somewhere, you’re going to need a map. What are the directions? So, we’re going to talk about Montlick’s systematic approach to getting your justice for you. Coming up on Lawyers in the House. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick.
13:45	Join us 8:00 a.m. every Sunday if you want to listen live on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I’m Veronica Waters here with Montlick Injury Attorneys Jason Saltzman and Sarah Neeland. They are sister and brother. And even though siblings might fight from time to time, you know what, these are two attorneys who are always going to fight for you. I can’t say anything about whether or not I’ve heard about squabbles in the hallways of Montlick. I don’t know.
14:14	VERONICA: You know, we’ll have to ask them about that off the air. But seriously, two lawyers who are good at fighting for justice and who are known for digging in their heels, really, and knowing the intricacies of the law. We’re talking about your journey to justice if you’ve been hurt through no fault of your own. And no two personal injury cases are exactly the same, right? But they all have a commonality. Somebody’s been hurt. So, you’ve got to have a common roadmap, if you will, on that journey to justice for how you handle them. Yeah?
14:45	SARAH: Yes. I think it’s really important from the beginning to – once you’ve decided you’ve found an attorney that you have a good relationship with – is to make sure that you stay in touch with us. We are calling you to make sure that you are consistently getting the treatment that you need and there’s not something that needs to change because you might need something else that your doctor prescribed. I don’t know. But we want to make sure that we are in touch so we know exactly what’s going on, so that you know exactly what’s going on and so that we are communicating with our team as well as the insurance company.
15:15	SARAH: Letting the insurance company know early on what type of injuries someone has sustained will help them in kind of thinking about what they value your case, which of course, we’re not going to know the value of your case most likely until you have finished treating. We want to make sure we go over the importance of permanent injuries and things like that. But we want to make sure we’re in touch with the insurance company and letting them know all of this information. VERONICA: Yeah. I know that you two told me that a lot of people are surprised, too, on the intake.
15:45	VERONICA: When you’re asking them questions initially, they’re like, why are you asking me these questions? They kind of seem like they’re out of left field to us. JASON: Definitely. I mean, I think that people are always surprised about when you ask them what insurance they have and what insurance family members in their home have, on those auto cases. Because those types of policies, I know we talked about uninsured motorist coverage on the show many times, but those types of policies come into play on many cases and they can make a huge difference in the value.
16:13	SARAH: Without penalizing anyone’s insurance company also, which is what people are concerned about. VERONICA: Yes, that’s the fear. Yeah, my rates are going to go up. JASON: Yeah. SARAH: It’s against the law. It can’t go up if it’s an uninsured motorist claim not caused by any fault of your own JASON: in most… in some states. I mean, there are states that have different rules, but SARAH: In Georgia, though. JASON: In Georgia and Florida, for example, they’ve got laws that say that the rates can’t go up if the accident’s not your fault. VERONICA: OK, which is really good to know. Very good to know. So, don’t be panicked about that.
16:41	VERONICA: And I guess the bottom line, never be afraid to make the call, right? If you can’t help, you’ll tell somebody, and you’ll tell them why. But you don’t lose anything by just making the call. Coming up on Montlick’s Lawyers in the House here on WSB, we’re going to talk about how we as clients, should it come to that, help the lawyers help us. “Help us help you” is what we’re going to talk about next. That’s coming up on Lawyers in the House on WSB. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick.
17:13	Join us 8:00 a.m. every Sunday on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: And welcome back to the House. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I am your happy host, Veronica Waters, here to tell you that if you missed any of the great gems in the first half of the show talking about Journey to Justice, then you know what? Don’t worry. We got you. Just subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform. Get every new episode as soon as it drops right into your earbuds and like us.
17:43	VERONICA: Subscribe to us. Let us know what you think about us. Leave us a comment. And always remember, you can follow us in between the weekly shows anytime 24/7 on every social media platform: @MontlickLaw. I’m here today with Montlick Injury Attorneys Sarah Neeland and Jason Saltzman. Spoiler alert: they’re sister and brother. And I got to say, they had me giggling up a storm here during the commercial break. We’re talking about cows and Tulane Law and law school outlines. And yes, and I did say cows. Cows.
18:12	VERONICA: Who knew that in personal injury, you could actually have cows become part of well, maybe not part of a lawsuit, right, but…? SARAH: Cows, horses, pigs. JASON: Yeah. The cow isn’t a party to the lawsuit, but the cow could give rise to the lawsuit. SARAH: Thank you for clarifying. VERONICA: Could give rise to the lawsuit. It’s wonderful. We’re talking about the journey to justice, Jason and Sarah. And so far, you’ve given us some knowledge about how you keep things on the right track. Yes. But I want to know if I’m hurt, what I can do to help.
18:43	VERONICA: You know, I said we were going to talk about like, “Help us help you,” which is what I have a feeling that sometimes you’re probably saying to your clients. SARAH: Yes. Oh. JASON: You want to take—you can take this one first? SARAH: Okay. Well, I was going to say, I think journaling is really important. Making sure that you remember all of the things that were hurting you throughout the process or things you were unable to do.
19:02	SARAH: So if you were unable to help, you know, a disabled family member that you normally help because you yourself are going through a hard time, I want to know about that because we want to bring that human component back into your case because the insurance company looks at you more often than not as a statistic in what they can settle your case for and what other cases like yours – that they deem are like yours- would settle for. And we’re bringing that human component back. And part of that is helping yourself and letting us know really those intricate details in your life that are giving you the most grief that you may forget later when you since recover.
19:38	JASON: Yeah, like maybe your client is a single mother and has three children and she’s dealing… and she’s, you know, she’s got a job and she’s dealing with the injuries while going through that. Or you might have a… I remember I had one client who… I mean, she was a marathon runner. She couldn’t run marathons anymore. And that was the whole case. That was what caused the value of that case to go up. VERONICA: Really? JASON: Yeah. I mean, that case couldn’t have been successfully pursued without bringing in that component because this person was going on really long cross-country types of runs, marathons.
20:14	JASON: And it’s just crazy how everyone can be affected differently. And you never know, even with the insurance companies, right, someone… at least now we’re not at AI evaluating claims yet… but that adjuster or that defense attorney is also a person and you never know if they’re going to somehow relate or sympathize to your client. So, it’s important to get that stuff out. VERONICA: It’s the before and the after, then, is what I’m hearing. JASON: Definitely. VERONICA: What could you do before your injury versus what can you now do after?
20:44	SARAH: Absolutely. JASON: Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. VERONICA: And you said journaling, Sarah. So, like, how so? What do you mean? SARAH: Yes, I love when my clients actually write journals or diaries. I’ve had people send me notebooks at the end of their case. And it does not have to be well written. It just needs to show the struggles that you were going through. I find that more often than not, people, when they get better, they kind of black out the stuff that they don’t want to remember.
21:09	SARAH: And the journaling and keeping a diary will really help prevent that so that we can really let the insurance company know, or the defense attorney who’s on the other side, exactly what you went through and the hardships that it created for you. VERONICA: So, I can help you gather the evidence by just simply being me and by simply like dictating into to my phone or writing a note or something… writing. SARAH: I think that’s simple. JASON: Even if it’s bullet points, you know. VERONICA: Really? JASON: Yeah. Did you have trouble doing laundry? Could you not do things around the house? Right. Do you have…? SARAH: Did it hurt to wash your hair?
21:38	JASON: Maybe you’re a baseball coach for your kids team and you couldn’t do that. You know, all of that kind of stuff is really important because again, and I know I keep coming back to this, not that you’re going to end up in court, but you might one day. And those types of things are what a potential jury could hear in that case. And if the insurance company knows that, they are more likely to be concerned that they’re going to lose in court and offer you a better settlement.
22:04	VERONICA: Right, and nobody is going to sort of pish posh it away if you’re a parent, a mom or a dad or a grandparent or whatever, and you can’t lift your child anymore. You can’t pick up your kid or whatever it is. You can’t reach in the cabinet. You can’t run for fun, stress relief, whatever. Give me an example. I know you’ve probably got… you said you’ve had clients who’ve done it. Have you actually had something like that make the difference in a case? SARAH: Absolutely.
22:32	SARAH: I think when insurance companies, whether it’s before the case is in litigation or when you’re in litigation, when they hear the injured person talking about the things that they couldn’t do, when they have their eyeballs on you, if it’s a deposition, if they’re reading about all of the things, whether it’s a demand letter that you weren’t able to do, I think that makes a big difference because they’re thinking, oh, man, this is going to resonate if we have this type of person on a jury, or if we have that type of person on the jury. We bring that human component back so that they understand that it is important. And this is how someone’s life was affected.
23:03	JASON: So interestingly enough, I had a case that was supposed to go to trial this summer and it settled four days before trial. And what caused it to settle was that we decided that we wanted to put the 11-year-old daughter on the stand to talk about how her mother couldn’t do puzzle time in the house, right? Like as a before and after witness. And I… we called the defense attorney and we were like, listen, we want to bring this girl on. Are you going to object? Because it was four days before trial, right? We were past the point where we had identified our witnesses.
23:33	JASON: And she was like, “Can we just get this done?” And then we settled it that day just from asking that question. So, it’s just amazing how some of these things can play such a role, you know. VERONICA: It does strike me that if you’ve got an attorney who’s the right fit for you from the start on your side, that it could be the difference between how well the evidence is gathered, how well you’re building your claim versus not, right? I mean, because I certainly don’t know what to do.
24:03	VERONICA: And I know you’ve talked about having clients, in all honesty, come to you and say, “I don’t know what this firm I’m with is doing,” right? JASON: Yeah. I mean, I’m sure Sarah would agree with this. I mean, we are definitely… I mean, there are other firms out there that are different, and you have to make sure that the lawyer you’re hiring is not some type of a settlement mill. Right? It’s not just about sending a packet of information. You have to really get to the heart of why that person’s life was impacted.
24:35	JASON: That’s one of the most important parts of making a claim for pain and suffering. SARAH: And I just want to be clear, when you call us for, you know… whether it’s your first time or if you need to speak to us for another reason, if you ask to speak with an attorney when you first call in- you will always speak to an attorney when you first call in, I should, I should say that. But if you need to speak to your attorney later, your attorney will be calling you whenever you need to speak to them. And, you know, we, of course, we have legal assistants and paralegals and other staff that work for us that are fantastic. But you will always be able to speak to your attorney at our firm.
25:06	VERONICA: I just talked to a woman the other day who was telling me about this incident that she’s been going through with her. She has a personal injury case now. And she literally told me she’s never spoken to an attorney. I think she’s been dealing with this thing for this injury and all this for like more than a year. She says she’s never talked to an attorney. SARAH: That’s crazy to me. JASON: Yeah. How can you…? I mean, it’s just crazy. I mean, hopefully if you’re represented, you’re represented by a lawyer and your lawyer is involved in that case. SARAH: It’s hard to know if you’re not talking to someone.
25:36	JASON: Yeah, at our firm, you’re always going to have a very involved attorney on your case. VERONICA: Yeah, I really didn’t… Honestly, I mean, it’s not that I don’t believe you guys, but it’s like so hard to actually imagine that that actually happens until you meet somebody and they’re like, hey, this just… guess what’s going on with me? And I was like, oh, wow. SARAH: Not all firms are created equal. So do your research. We’ve been doing this a long time. And like I said at the beginning of the show, I think it’s really important… your treatment is the most important thing. And then next, finding an experienced attorney that you trust.
26:06	VERONICA: But some people might be lured in by the talk from maybe some attorneys are saying, look, we can handle this pretty quickly. It’s just, you know, a couple of letters and a couple of phone calls and, you know, we’ll get you out of here. SARAH: I would be scared of that. There is more than just a couple of letters that goes into lawyering. A lot more. Like we were saying, the details can make or break your case. JASON: Big promises. Watch out for the words. You know, this is a slam dunk case. There’s no such thing. SARAH: A fee that sounds too good to be true probably is because it is too good to be true.
26:36	JASON: Yeah, that’s very true, too. VERONICA: Tell me some cases that stick with you guys as we talk about this journey to justice. I know you guys have landed justice. Both of you, Sarah and Jason, have landed justice for your clients in ways that have really impacted you after the fact. JASON: I mean, I had one. I mean, sometimes it’s really important to, like, look at all potential defendants, right? We’ve had… I had a case years ago where a guy was just sitting in his house in his living room watching TV, and some drunk driver crashes into his mailbox and his car flips and beer cans are scattered across the road.
27:11	JASON: So, the guy wants to help him, right? He’s not hurt yet. He goes out to go help the guy and then a hit and run driver hits the client while he’s helping the drunk driver. And we were never able to find out who the hit and run driver was. And there were no witnesses or anything like that. But on top of the uninsured motorist claim, I also argued that the drunk driver was at fault for the hit and run driver hitting him. And I didn’t even know if it was going to work.
27:38	JASON: Anyone who’s a lawyer, even if they’re not a personal injury lawyer, they know from law school this type of situation, you have to prove foreseeability and duty of care and all of those kinds of things. And I remember the adjuster calling me up and she said, Jason, I’m going to tell you that I had a long conversation with our lawyer on this one. And I really don’t agree with you on this, but we’re scared that you might be right. So, we’re just going to pay it. VERONICA: Wow. JASON: And it was… it was crazy, you know, and those kinds of cases…
28:05	JASON: Like, sometimes you have to look at those different avenues of a recovery because if you can get another defendant or you can get another insurance policy, that gets your client more money. I mean, the injuries were very serious in that case. VERONICA: Right. And that’s where the money… like a lot of people think about personal injury law is just about the money, but the money is really just to make you whole. It’s to try to get you someplace closer to where maybe your life would have been, to help you with your treatment, to help you with whatever your diagnosis was, and your prognosis is.
28:37	VERONICA: And, you know, I have been guilty of that. And one of the other Montlick Injury Attorneys, Michael Rubin, because I was like ballyhooing that he’s like in this million-dollar attorneys club. I’m not sure what the name of it is, but you know something like that. JASON: Million Dollar Advocates Forum. VERONICA: That’s yeah. And I said, that’s amazing. And he’s like, well, you know, but that comes at a cost to the client because they are, you know, they… they do get these great judgments. But why? He said, you have to be hurt really badly. SARAH: And I think if anyone could choose whether they could be hurt really badly or receive a large sum of money, they’re going to choose not to receive the large sum of money because they’re really going to want to just have their health.
29:12	SARAH: Health is the most important thing. VERONICA: 100%. JASON: Weren’t we talking about recently about how like no one gets a windfall? They’re never… like even if you get a person millions of dollars, right? They’re never really made whole from that injury, you know? So, I always hate that word windfall because I feel like it doesn’t actually happen. I mean, no one would rather get the money. SARAH: Lose a limb and receive millions of dollars. JASON: Yeah, exactly. SARAH: That may prevent you from holding your child ever again, you know? So, I agree with you.
29:42	VERONICA: Yeah, it’s not something that anyone would wish for. But it does put you in a position as the attorney, Sarah Neeland and Jason Saltzman, to try to help get them back on track. You know, no matter how horrific the injury is, you have someone in your corner to fight for you to help you find justice. Yeah. How we can help on that journey, how we can help you help us. Thanks so much for giving us those details. I know that’s going to help somebody. And coming up straight ahead on Lawyers in the House with Montlick, it’s the MCA that is on the way.
30:12	VERONICA: The Montlick closing argument is just around the corner. You don’t want to miss it. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. If you want to listen to our radio show live, you can hear it every Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: Welcome back to the House Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB.
30:41	VERONICA: I’m Veronica Waters here with Montlick Injury Attorneys, Sarah Neeland and Jason Saltzman talking about navigating you on your journey to justice. You’ve been waiting for it all hour long. You know you have. Guess what? It’s now here. It’s the Montlick closing argument. Jason and Sarah, take it away. SARAH: I think the most important thing other than your recovery is hiring the right fit, the attorney that’s really going to advocate the best on your behalf. And it can make all the difference.
31:11	SARAH: For example, I had a client who was catastrophically injured when she was rear-ended by a car and then she was standing behind her vehicle exchanging information with the other driver when the other driver’s car then was rear-ended, pinning her between the two vehicles. She’s one of the strongest women I have ever met and toughest. She lost both her legs and we were able to argue and this kind of goes into it’s not just sending a couple letters. It’s way more than that.
31:40	SARAH: We were able to argue that it wasn’t just one single crash. It was two separate accidents, two separate uninsured motorist claims, two separate claims for liability to increase her recovery in the best way that we could. VERONICA: And that makes sense. I mean, but for the first accident, she wouldn’t have been there where the second one happened. SARAH: Absolutely. VERONICA: Yeah. JASON: Definitely. I mean, just like Sarah said, I mean, huge difference hiring the right attorney who’s going to listen to you and investigate all avenues of recovery.
32:08	JASON: So important because you may not get someone who’s as creative, who isn’t going to see other ways to get that. And it can be… it can make a difference of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. SARAH: Or send an investigator out to somebody’s house to make sure that they’re not lying about how many cars are in the driveway. And that could potentially increase the recovery. We’ve had that happen several times. JASON: Like the defendants, yeah. That person who caused your accident may be covered under multiple insurance companies. And you can’t rely on their insurance company to disclose that to you.
32:39	VERONICA: Wow, yes. So, you have to have the resources to be able to sniff it out yourselves to figure out where it is. JASON: Definitely. VERONICA: Yeah. And what about accident reconstruction? I know you guys have put a lot of effort, time and money into those. That’s got to be a big deal. JASON: Those can be really important, too, when… in the appropriate types of cases. You know, you have to have I mean, if you’re going to have an accident reconstruction type of issue, you know, it’s usually going to be with a disputed liability case or in a serious injury case where you need to make sure that you’re going to be able to prove that claim.
33:11	JASON: You don’t want to lose important evidence that you may need later. SARAH: Hiring the wrong attorney might mean losing that evidence, not getting the accident reconstructionist and not having the resources to really increase the value of your case. VERONICA: And you have had people call you where you’re like, sorry, I wish you had called me first? SARAH: Absolutely. JASON: Absolutely. All the time, every month, many, many times a month. We get that call or I didn’t treat. I’m really hurt, and I haven’t been… SARAH: A delay in treatment, a delay in hiring the right attorney.
33:40	SARAH: If the case was just sitting with somebody that didn’t do anything for many months or even a year or more, that happens. We’ve heard that story so many times. VERONICA: And that’s a delay on the journey to justice. JASON: And sometimes we can help those people, too, still. Like we can still kind of piece things together. I’ve been able to save cases, too. And I’ve been also able to partially save cases. You know, I mean, it depends on how long it took. SARAH: Sometimes the evidence is gone. JASON: Yeah, sometimes there’s things that are gone and you just got to deal with that. But call the right person early.
34:13	VERONICA: You won’t know if you don’t actually make the call. Thank you so much to Montlick Injury Attorneys Jason Saltzman and Sarah Neeland. I’m Veronica Waters. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick. We will see you next time. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Catch us live every Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on 95.5 WSB.

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