“The Economy and Personal Injury Litigation”

With the economy getting worse everyday, several people have asked me “How does it affect your practice?” The truth is, I don’t know. There are several theories, but who’s to say which one is true. The first theory is that when the economy is bad, individuals who are injured by another’s negligence are more likely to retain a lawyer and file a lawsuit. The reason people believe this is because money is harder to come by and those who normally wouldn’t file a lawsuit now may need the compensation more than ever. A counter argument is when the economy is bad, there are less people working so less on the job injuries. As a result, less people need a lawyer and fewer lawsuits are filed. A counter argument to that is when the economy is bad, the first item in a company’s budget to be reduced is safety. When the safety budget is reduced, the number of injuries increases and so more people need a lawyer. What does all this mean? Again, I don’t know. What I do know is that companies and individuals have a responsibility to their employees and to the general public not to cause injury or death. This is true whether in a bull or bear market. So keep paying attention to the details of your daily life and let’s not add insult to injury by getting hurt or killed when times are already tough enough.