question for Darrell, or any other lawyer out there

**Doc** · 07-09-2018, 05:34 PM

so I got the expected letter today..from the lawyer who is representing the guy I hit. One of those big firms that advertise on tv about how they got their clients $750,000 dollars and a catchy jingle, etc... Of course this wasn't the only bad news of the day but that's another story.

So building my plan and "think" the best approach is to just get a personal injury lawyer myself and stay out of it. I have insurance, for what it's work (100,00/300,00). Of course the guy got out of his truck, saw my car and asked for the gurney due to neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain. I was on not on my phone, not texting (both provable), had an rx for perocet from the hospital on Sunday but had not taken any since Monday night (roughy 40 hrs prior and that drug is 100% clear of your body in 20 hrs--I was given 12 pills and I still have 10 in the bottle). None of my hospital discharge recommend not driving. I have considerable cash investment, 3 and 1/3 properties, an IRA that all need protection. Any suggestions?

**blueboss** · 07-09-2018, 08:22 PM

Damn! Doc, you’ve had a tough go of late.

Good luck, and best wishes on getting on top of your latest challenge.

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**Darrell KSR** · 07-09-2018, 08:30 PM

Doc, contact your insurance company and let them know you've been contacted by this scumbag. Don't say anything to him. Don't tell him a thing. You'll probably be sued, and your insurance company is under an obligation to defend you. If you have a personal connection to a defense lawyer, you can see if they can be hired by the insurance company--they may be on their list of approved counsel. If not, let them defend you and get this off your plate.

So sorry. Man, that was fast.

**KentuckyWildcat** · 07-09-2018, 08:53 PM

In my one experience it was really the insurance companies battling each other. You give a statement and they give one. Hopefully turns out well for you.

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**blueboss** · 07-09-2018, 08:55 PM

They’ll settle...

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**Doc** · 07-09-2018, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by blueboss

Damn! Doc, you’ve had a tough go of late.

Good luck, and best wishes on getting on top of your latest challenge.

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You think thats bad? Today I was told they found I have an aortic aneurysm (very mild), and was positive for lupus anticoaggulant (which is probably a "good" thing, explains why I keep getting clots and embolisms)...plus fell in the kitchen this am and had a panic attack, spent 30 minutes trying to catch my breath and was about ready to call 911. Have another CAT scan later this week to rule out bleeding it my chest.

Hey, but the good news is...no cancer that they can find

**Doc** · 07-09-2018, 09:41 PM

we were just wondering if we should hire our own scumbad personal injury lawyer lawyer or do anything to hide or protect assets.....you know, give stuff to kids, put everything in a trust account for the kids. sell all property accept our primary residence, etc....

**KentuckyWildcat** · 07-09-2018, 10:24 PM

I have also wondered about protecting assets. Just have plenty of insurance?

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**blueboss** · 07-09-2018, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by Doc

we were just wondering if we should hire our own scumbad personal injury lawyer lawyer or do anything to hide or protect assets.....you know, give stuff to kids, put everything in a trust account for the kids. sell all property accept our primary residence, etc....

I’ve got a lot going on right now, and it may not be the greatest time to have an influx in assets and capital.... but for you, I’d be willing to let you set me up in a trust... just say’n.

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**Darrell KSR** · 07-09-2018, 11:03 PM

I wouldn't recommend anything exotic. I don't think it's necessary, and any lawyer worth his salt can undo what you tried to do. There's a fraudulent conveyance statute in every state I know of that prohibits, sometimes even criminally, transfers made to evade claims of creditors, even if the debts are unliquidated (i.e., have not been determined, but the facts exist that show they exist, such as a car wreck where you're at fault.)

Let the defense lawyer do his thing. That's what you have paid exorbitant insurance premiums for years just to do. I suspect you have an umbrella policy, too, which would kick in after the limits are reached on your auto policy, if needed.

Now, after this is done, if you want to start asset protection techniques, setting up an irrevocable trust for your children, or any number of things, then that's fine. And it probably wouldn't hurt now, either. But that's not your solution here. Your solution here is to let the insurance company do what you've paid them dearly to do all these years--protect you. Defend you. And yes, settle the case if that's in your best interests.

Now, you may or may not have a counterclaim. They'll ask the right questions to you for that, too. But let them work. Make them work. Get your protection.

**Darrell KSR** · 07-09-2018, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by blueboss

I’ve got a lot going on right now, and it may not be the greatest time to have an influx in assets and capital.... but for you, I’d be willing to let you set me up in a trust... just say’n.

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I used to tell my estate planning clients for years (back when we had an estate tax that would hit many people, a $600,000 exemption equivalent, especially) that the best estate planning was to spend all of their money. And they could start with me.

That joke usually fell flat, so I stopped it after awhile. It seems I was the only one amused.

**Doc** · 07-09-2018, 11:06 PM

OK. Thats what I figured

**Doc** · 07-10-2018, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by Darrell KSR

Doc, contact your insurance company and let them know you've been contacted by this scumbag. Don't say anything to him. Don't tell him a thing. You'll probably be sued, and your insurance company is under an obligation to defend you. If you have a personal connection to a defense lawyer, you can see if they can be hired by the insurance company--they may be on their list of approved counsel. If not, let them defend you and get this off your plate.

So sorry. Man, that was fast.

Serious question....... does it bother you that their are people in your profession that are "scumbags"? I don't mean that to be offensive to you, but you know, with all the "Lawyer jokes" etc, doesn't it at times just make you want to punch them? I know you and you're a good guy, at least in my opinion, who seems straight up and honest. But you have these "Saul Goodman" types. Does it bother you at all?

**Darrell KSR** · 07-10-2018, 04:44 PM

You know, it does and it doesn't. I hate the ones that take people's money first. I have a few horror stories here with estate lawyers not even gouging their clients, but really blatantly stealing their money because they didn't know better. Extreme scumbaggery.

On the plaintiff lawyer side, I don't begrudge them their occupation (just like I don't for criminal defense lawyers or divorce lawyers). Somebody NEEDS to do it to make the system work. There are some that are really good at it, and really reputable, trustworthy, and do the right thing.

And like the joke goes, "it's the other 99% of us that give the rest of us a bad name."

On the plaintiff lawyer side, I hate the client-marketing aspects that fall below a standard. I have an ad on my church bulletin (not for plaintiff lawyering, for goodness sake, but it's still an ad). I buy a banner for the kid's soccer team. At times I've paid for an enhanced listing on google. I'm ok with that. I've done radio shows for free simply to get my name out there, and done free seminars for my church and others for the same reason.

I'm ok with that marketing.

TV ads, billboards? I guess I have a problem with it from this standpoint. Hey, it's a free world. They can do what they want. But in my mind, they misrepresent it so, so much. Many of the advertisers that do so nationally aren't even admitted to practice in those jurisdictions in which they advertise. That's just wrong, IMHO. All they do is bring the client in, turn them over to ANOTHER lawyer, and get a referral fee out of it. The referral fee aspect of it doesn't bother me as much as the misrepresentation that they (presumably) will be the lawyer to handle the case, when they aren't even legally able to do so.

And even if it's more "local" in nature--there's one that Mick and Darryl would know instantly if I mentioned it--it's also misleading. You're not going to get the guy on the billboard--EVER--because he's the marketing guy. He won't handle the case. While I fully understand farming work to lower level associates, there's a point that is too far and I think that happens.

In your case, I called him a scumbag because it looks to me like he's trying to scoop you up before you get legal representation. I find that behavior beneath the standard. Fine, get the case, and sue "Doc" for his negligent accident. But do so the right way, not the sleazy way.

There are a few you know by name that fall in that category. I don't know very many, though. But like Potter Stewart said about obscenity, "I know it when I see it."

(I also hate the lawyers that will lie to opposing counsel, or to the judge. And there are a few of those on both sides. Those are the ones I detest in day to day work. And I do see them. They "stretch" the truth beyond any recognition. That's abhorrent.)

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