I've Got Gas

There was an explosion at my house a few nights ago. My wife decided to operate the grill and make us dinner, when normally the grilling is left to me. Our grill is a gas grill, and my wife neglected to shut the propane tank's valve after she was done grilling our chicken and corn. This obviously presents a problem since we routinely eat outside on our deck and light citronella candles to keep the insects away. In case you missed the visit by the local fire department on Safety Day in first grade, propane gas and an open flame mix about as well as oil and water.

While I do spend a lot of time in my office, I lucked out in not having to live there this week. I was able to fortuitously discover my wife's omission before the back half of our house disappeared in a ball of flames. When asked why she did such a thing, she replied, "I forgot." I will say, I did not handle this marital situation with the most diplomatic approach, and hence the "explosion." I hope my wife is not reading this, as it's still a touchy subject.

Like my wife, many of us often overlook things throughout the course of our days, weeks, and months. These things might be trivial, such as forgetting to buy stamps. Or, they might be substantial, like forgetting to shut off an explosive gas source less than 10 feet from an open flame and the back of one's humble abode. We often don't mean to, but in today's society life is fast-paced and things get overlooked.

Litigation is unfortunately not a quick process. Sometimes, depositions occur over a year or even two after a collision. Trial can be even further away. It's not uncommon for many of my clients to forget details about the collision, their medical treatment, and how it affected them.

Forgetting things is not in and of itself a problem in litigation. We have resources like recorded statements, client interviews, accident reports, and medical records to help refresh a client's memory. What I find clients have the most difficulty remembering is the pain and suffering they endured. As time passes, they forget what the pain felt like and their daily struggle to deal with it.

The passage of time and the forgetfulness it often brings presents a problem in this area. Pain and suffering comprises a large portion of a case's value, but that value doesn't amount to much when all the client can articulate a few years later is that they couldn't do "stuff." Stuff doesn't equate to monetary compensation in a juror's mind. It equates to "who cares?"

A jury will likely not be inclined to put a premium on your pain and suffering if you cannot articulate what you went through. I find that my clients tend to lose the ability to articulate the details as time passes. Hopefully, the client has contacted us sooner rather than later and we can document what the client tells us they are going through as they recover from their injuries. Sometimes, however, that doesn't happen.

If you have been the victim of someone's negligence, it is important that you strive to remember what you had to go through during your recovery as time passes. All of us have different methods to remember different things, so you should do whatever works best for you. The most common method I find clients utilize is keeping a diary, which is often a good resource later down the road. It should be noted, however, that there is precedent in North Carolina that suggests that such a diary is not necessarily considered "work-product," so you should keep in mind that diary may one day been seen by someone other than just you and your attorney.

The ability to recall how your injuries affected you is crucial in a personal injury case. The more details you can provide as to how your life was affected, the more fuel your attorney will have in arguing to the jury on your behalf.

Disclaimer: The views of the author are his own. This blog post is not intended to convey any specific legal advice upon any specific individual. The author's wife is in good company. In his hometown, the local fire station once burned down because the firemen forgot to turn off the stove when they went out on a call. The ironic humor still makes the author chuckle. Gasoline, natural gas, and oil are dangerous substances that should be handled with absolute caution. This is especially important to remember if you're British Petroleum.