Episode #4: Litigation is where it is at! - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

this episode of the B
e
king Do
n The L

Podc
st<
em>
e'
e joined by <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
te
m-membe
s/j
son-
uen/”>J
son
uen >,
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney in Houston
ho speci
lizes in Litig
tion leg
l se
vices. He’s joined by B
e
king Do
n The L Podc
st host,
shley
od
iguez. Du
ing tod
y’s episode
e
ill be discussing the diffe
ence bet
een p
e-litig
tion vs litig
tion in the pe
son
l inju
y l secto
.

My job is
s the he
d of the litig
tion deptment,
lot of the times these cl
ims c
n be t
ken ce of befo
e t
i
l h
ppens befo
e
lsuit needs to be filed. But the
e

e
lot of times in
hich
e
ctu
lly h
ve to file suit on these c
ses.
nd th
t's th
t’s
he
e my dep

tment comes in.
e file suit pe
son
l inju
y c
ses th
t h
ve no othe
me
ns, typic
lly, to get the client
h
t they need to get thei

ecove
y.<
li>

lot of times
e h
ve to file suit bec
use fo
vious
e
sons, the defend
nt might not be t
king
esponsibility. o
the
e might be
dispute on li
bility.
nd the only y to
e
lly figu
e it out is to put it in f
ont of 12 people
ho

e gonn
judge it
nd give us the ve
dict.<
li>

Eve
ybody's hed of the McDon
ld’s c
se, fo
ex
mple, it is
g
e
t ex
mple of people th
t
ctu
lly don’t kno

h
t h
ppened, th
t h
ve m
de
decision b
sed upon info
m
tion put out the
e by co
pote inte
ests

hen s you
l
st t
i
l?
hen

s the l
st time you took
c
se to ve
dict? Those

e questions. No one is going to settle you
c
se
ith you fo million dolls if you don't h
ve
l fi
m th
t c
n get
million doll plus ve
dict.

J
son discusses these points
nd so m
ny mo
e th
t
e couldn’t fit in these sho
notes, so
e hope you’ll join us fo
this episode! St
y tuned fo
the next inst
llment of the B
e
king Do
n The L Podc
st
ith Ste
t J Guss
nd
shley
od
iguez!

Cont
ct Us: 281-783-3934 o
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em> ong> Int
o : 0:10

B
e
king do
n the L, B
e
king Do
n the L
podc
st hosted by
tto
neys
nd leg
l speci
lists discussing eve
yd
y l
nd ho
it
ffects
egul people,
egul

people. Let’s b
e
k do
n the l
ith ou
host, Ste
t Guss
nd
shley
od
iguez. They h
ve the inside scoop on eve
ything leg
l
nd ne
s
o
thy.
shley
od
iguez : 0:36

Hey,
elcome b
ck to the podc
st. Tod
y
e'
e gonn
be t
lking
bout litig
tion.
nd
e h
ve
speci
l guest
ith us tod
y. J
son
uen : 0:43 Good
fte
noon. Ho
e you doing tod
y?
shley
od
iguez : 0:46

I’m doing good. Ho

bout you?

J
son
uen : 0:47

P
etty
ell, p
etty
ell.
h
t do you do he
e?
ell, my n
me is J
son
uen.
nd I’m the he
d of the litig
tion dep

tment he
e
t Ste
t Guss.
shley
od
iguez : 0:54
h
t does th
t me
n?
h
t kind of l

is th
t? J
son
uen : 0:58 So he
e
t Ste
t Gusss
e pctice pe
son
l inju
y l

,
hich me
ns
hen somebody gets hu
t,
nd it's the f
ult of somebody else, they need
n
tto
ney to help them n
vig
te those te
s,
e'
e he
e fo
them. My job is
s the he
d of the litig
tion deptment is,
lot of the times these cl
ims c
n be t
ken ce of befo
e t
i
l h
ppens befo
e
lsuit needs to be filed. But the
e

e
lot of times in
hich
e
ctu
lly h
ve to file suit on these c
ses.
nd th
t's th
t’s
he
e my dep

tment comes in.
e file suit pe
son
l inju
y c
ses th
t h
ve no othe
me
ns, typic
lly, to get the client
h
t they need to get thei

ecove
y.
shley
od
iguez : 1:39

Ye
h, so ou
p
evious episode,
e t
lked
bout the p
e litig
tion dep

tment p

t
nd then
nd so you
he
d of the litig
tion deptment,
ight. So the next steps b
sic
lly?

J
son
uen : 1:49

Th
t's coect. Th
t’s co

ect.
nd typic
lly, the life of the c
se
ill go th
ough. Once they cont
ct us. Somebody h
s been hu
t, they don’t kno

h
t to do. Typic
lly
hen they c
ll us, it’s one of the
o
st d
ys of thei
life, they’
e confused, they'
e hu
t. They don't knohich di
ection to go.
nd pt of ou
job
s pe
son
l inju
y
tto
neys is to
ssist them
nd help them
nd guide them.
lot of th
t p
ocess t
kes pl
ce in the p
e litig
tion ph
se of the c
se, but sometimes
e h
ve to immedi
tely t
ke it into litig
tion. Th
t’s unusu
l, but it does h
ppen. it’s mo
e likely th
t
ftee've
ttempted to get the client t
ken ce of befo
e suit needs to be filed, th
t the c
se is settled,
nd then
e c
n move on. But
lot of times
e h
ve to file suit bec
use fo
v

ious
e
sons, the defend
nt might not be t
king
esponsibility. o
the
e might be
dispute on li
bility.
nd the only

y to
e
lly figu
e it out is to put it in f
ont of 12 people
ho e gonn
judge it
nd give us the ve
dict.
shley
od
iguez : 2:48 Got it?
hy pe
son
l inju
y l fo
you o
did you just f
ll into it o
do you h
ve
p
ssion?

J
son
uen : 2:55

Th
t's
g
e
t question. I
ctu
lly
ent to l school to be
c
imin
l
tto
ney. I

nted to be
p
osecuting
tto
ney
nd th
t’s
he
e my p
ssion h
d led me.
nd
hen I

s in l

school I kept ultim
tely
hen it comes do
n to it, I h
te
bullying. L School sho
ed me
lot mo
e
bout the
o
ld th
n I expected. I
o
ked fo

lot of diffe
ent l fi
ms in l

school, I got to see
lot of diffe
ent types of l

.
nd one th
t did
ppe
l to me

s pe
son
l inju
y l. It is the ultim
te sto
y of the pe
son th
t gets hu
t
nd needs help,
nd th
t it s c
lled to me. So I’m
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney
t het bec
use I like to help people
nd bec
use I h
te
bully.

Int
o : 3:32 Excuse me. Do you help me?
shley
od
iguez : 3:34

Ye
h, I me
n, th
t's
g
e
t
e
son to be in it. So b
e
k do
n ex
ctly. the litig
tion p
ocess, like
fte
?

J
son
uen : 3:45

Ok
y, so,
e use the te
m litig
tion to me
n eve
ything th
t h
ppens in
c
se once
lsuit h
s been filed. So th
t me
ns th
t
e h
ve litelly filed
l

suit
ith
cou
t th
t me
ns th
t
petition o
compl
int h
s been c
e
ted th
t is l
ys out the
e
sons fo
in ou
situ
tion, ou
clients inju
y l
ys out
ho's
t f
ult fo
it
nd
he
e they c
n be found.
nd then,
fte

petition h
s been filed,
e
ill send it out fo
se
vice
nd
p
ocess se
veill t
y to find the defend
nt
nd get them se
ved to b
ing them in the l

suit.
nd they h
ve
n oppo
tunity to
ns
e
the c
se. Typic
lly,
h
t h
ppens is the individu
l it's se
ved
ill tende
his offense to his insu

nce comp
ny
ho
ill p
ovide him
ith
n
tto
ney.
nd th
t
tto
ney,
e'll t
ke it f
om the
e.
nd then moving fod. The
e’ll be
discove
y ph
se in
hich ou
client h
s to
ns
e
questions
nd the defend
nt h
s to
ns
e
questions, depositions, heings h
ppen on v

ious thei
vious guments eithe
on discove
y motions o
on othe
motions to kind of p
i
do
n
h
t the t
i
ls
ctu
lly going to be
bout,
nd then the t
i
l h
ppens.
nd th
t's kind of
n hopefully
t the end of the d
y,
t the end of the t
i
l, the
e’s
ve
dict th
t suppo
ts ou
ve
sion of the c
se
nd gets to
ecove
y fo
ou
client.
shley
od
iguez : 5:14
nd so
e t
lked
bout the defend
nt.
nd so yes,
e

e kind of suing th
t defend
nt, but
e'
e
e
lly suing the insu

nce
nd so th
t’s
hy they p
ovide them
lye
,
ight? J
son
uen : 5:24 Um, so
bsolutely not.
shley
od
iguez : 5:25 No J
son
uen : 5:26
e’
e
bsolutely suing
n individu
l o

comp
ny. The issue is,
nd this is p

ticul

ly the c
se in Tex
s, tech, Tex
s is not
di
ect
ction st
te,
hich me
ns if somebody, fo
ex
mple gets hit by
d
ive
,
nd th
t d
ive
h
s
llst
te Insunce,
nd
llst
te
efuses to m
ke
n offe
o
h
s m
de
te

ibly lo
offe
, bec
use th
t’s typic
l follst
te to do. Then
e don't get to sue
llst
te.
llst
te is hiding behind the d
ive
so
e get to sue the defend
nt, bec
use it’s
e
lly the defend
nts f
ult
nd then
llst
te is
equi
ed by contct l to p
ovide him
ith
n
tto
ney. But ultim
tely the pe
son th
t's going to settle the c
se is not going to be in th
t situ
tion. It’s not gonn
be the defend
nt, it’s not going to be his
tto
ney, it’s going to be the
llst
te
djusteho holds
ll the money. So the
e
l client in th
t situ
tion fo
th
t defense
tto
ney is not in
g
in, this is ethic
lly it's the defend
nt. But if you look
t
ho p
ys him, it's the insunce comp
ny
nd the insunce
djuste
tells him
h
t to do. Th
t is not the c
se in eve
y single situ
tion. But it's the c
se often enough th
t I like to m
ke su
e th
t
e h
ve th
t distinction he
e. Some people th
t do not h
ve insu

nce comp
nies, fo
ex
mple,
ill p
y fon
tto
ney out of thei
pocket. Some people th
t e self insu
ed,
hich me
ns they h
ve
lot of funds
ill p
y fo

n
tto
ney out of thei
pocket. Some comp
nies do th
t. But the v
st m
jo
ity of the time the defense
tto
ney is essenti
lly hi
ed by
n insunce comp
ny o
m
ybe
o
ks fo
th
t insu

nce comp
ny. Th
t’s not the c
se in fo
ex
mple, oh,
nd it’s ve
y impo
t
nt to point out he
e, th
t the ju
y doesn’t get to kno
th
t. They don’t get to kno
th
t the
tto
ney on the othe
side is
ctu
lly
o
king follst
te, fo
ex
mple.
shley
od
iguez : 7:08 Oh
e
lly! J
son
uen : 7:10 They only kno
th
t he's
n
tto
ney,
nd he's
ep
esenting the defend
nt.
nd the
e’s
lot of
ules
bout
hethe
o
not th
t info
m
tion c
n come in o
not come in. So in most in
h
t
ill c
ll distinguish bet
een
thi
d p

ty c
se,
hich is
h
t
e've been t
lking
bout,
nd
fi
st p

ty c
se in
hich you c
n sue
n insu

nce comp
ny in Tex
s,

nt to be ve
y cle he
e. It’s
diffe
ent
ule. In Louisi
n
, fo
ex
mple, Louisi
n
, you get hit by
n
llst
te d
ive
, you c
n sue
llst
te
long
ith the d
ive
. C
n’t do th
t in Tex
s, you c
n only do th
t if it’s you
insunce comp
ny. Th
t's not giving you
s
tisf
cto
y settlement.
shley
od
iguez : 7:44

Gotch
. J
son
uen : 7:45
nd in th
t situ
tion, you could sue th
t insunce comp
ny, but it’s
h
t
e
efe
to
s
fi
st p

ty c
se.
nd it’s
little bit diffe
ent, but it’s the s
me b
sic ide
. Th
t c
se St
te F

m o

llst
te
ould sho
up
nd defend the l

suit
ith theitto
ney.
shley
od
iguez : 8:01 So
h
t do you think e the benefits of
ctu
lly going to t
i
l? If you c
n’t
g
ee on
settlement in p
e litig
tion. J
son
uen : 8:09 One of the m
in
e
sons th
t you go to t
i
l is bec
use the insu

nce
djuste
o
the defend
nt h
s not v
lued the c
se coectly, o
is offe
ing y too little money to the client to get them t
ken c

e of. So th
t's
n th
t's
p
imy
e
son th
t people
ould end up filing
l

suit bec
use the
e’s no othe
y to do it. I c
n’t m
ke
n
djuste
look
t
c
se
nd go, Oh, ye
h, th
t’s
ctu
lly v
lued in
pp
op
i
tely,
e h
ve to offe
you mo
e money. Even though it's obvious f
om the evidence, th
t's the c
se,
h
t h
s to h
ppen is th
t you h
ve to t
ke it out of thei
h
nds
nd you h
ve to put in the h
nds of 12 people pulled it

ndom f
om the community
nd h
ve them decide
h
t the c
se is v
lued
t
h
t h
ve them decide
h
t the inju
y is
o
th,
nd h
ve them decide
h
t the p
in
nd suffe
ing fo
my client is
o
th in
monety y.
nd th
t's
ve
y difficult thing
nd it’s
ve
y impo
t
nt thing th
t
e h
ve
ju
y th
t c
n do th
t. Most of the time, the ju
ies do
g
e
t job of this, they
ill look
t
c
se
nd they
ill
pply
common sense.
nd they'll come up
ith p
etty much
h
t
e think is the co

ect
esult. Sometimes they don't.
nd th
t's pt of the
isk inhe
ent in litig
tion.
shley
od
iguez : 9:20 Ye
h,
e t
lked
bout th
t
little bit
ith B

ntley
nd p
elit. Th
t, you kno
, you t
y to h
ve the settlement bec
use it c
n then be out of you
h
nds
t th
t point
hen you go to t
i
l,
nd then you’
e just kind of hoping th
t the ju
y gets it
ight.

J
son
uen : 9:36
nd th
t’s, th
t's
he
e th
t
o
d comes f
om settling. It's
settlement bec
use you'
e both settling fo
th
t numbe
.
lot of the times th
t even once
e file
c
se,
e
ill end up getting
settlement befo
e it goes to t
i
l. The v
st m
jo
ity of the time
ctu
lly is
ill settle
c
se befo
e it goes to t
i
l bec
use
fte
enough discove
y h
s been done. enough info
m
tion h
s been
eve
led enough evidence h
s been put out the
e
nd the the unive
se of
h
t the t
i
l
ith the ju
ies is going to look
t, it’s
e
lly n
o
ed. They don’t get to t
ke considetion eve
ything. They only get to t
ke into considetion the things th
t ou
p
ocess
llo
s them to look
t. Fo
ex
mple, I mentioned th
t they don’t get to kno
th
t the
e's
n insu

nce comp
ny out the
e th
t's
ctu
lly going to p
y the judgment. They get to think it’s th
t, fo
ex
mple, little
l
dy
ho

n

ed light
nd hit my client
ho’s
stpping young guy,
nd m
de him h
ve su
ge
y.
ell, the ju
y is gonn
look
t th
t
nd they only get to l
st. Ye
h, they’
e gonn
look
nd I h
d this c
se not th
t long
go,
he
e I
e
lly h
d this
onde
ful little l
dy
ho p
ob
bly need to get he
eyes checked
g
in, n ed light
nd sm
shed into my client
nd essenti
lly put him into
bout it

s
bout eight months of thepy
nd t
e
tments
nd su
ge
y, they h
d to cut him out of his c
ith the js of life. But this is onde
ful,
onde
fully p
esent
ble, little l
dy th
t I’m going to h
ve to get in f
ont of
ju
y
nd beg h
ve them fo
money.
shley
od
iguez : 11:01
nd they think it's f
om he
, J
son
uen : 11:03
nd they think it’s f
om he
.
shley
od
iguez : 11:04 But she's been p
ying fo
he
insu

nce fo
e
son.

J
son
uen : 11:06

They don’t kno
th
t she’s got
million doll insunce policy, bec
use this isn’t he
fi
st

eck. They don’t get to kno
th
t.
nd
lot of times if they kne
th
t they’d come to
diffe
ent decision, but th
t's pt of the p
ocesses, th
t ou
system is designed to limit info
m
tion th
t m
y o
m
y not h
ve
n effect on the c
se, bec
use
h
t they

nt the ju
y to conside
is only the f
cts of the c
se,

Int
o : 11:31 Excuse me, Is th
t leg
l? J
son
uen : 11:34
nd keep out
ny extneous bi
ses th
t might
ffect it.
nd the f
ct th
t she h
d
million doll policy
ould
bsolutely h
ve
ffected in the minds of some of those ju
o
s. But th
t’s p

t of the p
ocess. So th
t c
se did not go to t
i
l, bec
use the insu

nce comp
ny c
me up
ith enough of
n offe
th
t my client

s
illing
illing to settle fo
it
g
in, bec
use of the d
nge
of going to t
i
l
ith the little l
dy. Ex
ctly.
shley
od
iguez : 11:59

I think th
t's just thing is
s pe
son
l inju
y lye
s
e get, you kno
, the
hole
mbul
nce ch
sing thing bec
use
e’
e ch
sing the little old l
dies fo
money. But you kno
, J
son
uen : 12:09 Ye
h, th
t's th
t’s p

t of the p
ocess.
lot of people go into
ju
y
ith
bi
s
g
inst pl
intiff’s
tto
neys bec
use they've seen the comme
ci
ls they've seen the the
e
lly neg
tive
ds th
t

e out the
e. Eve
ybody’s he

d of McDon
ld's c
se, fo
ex
mple, th
t'd be
g
e
t thing to t
ke
look
t in depth on
l
te
sho
is th
t McDon
ld's c
se is
g
e
t ex
mple people th
t
ctu
lly don't knoh
t h
ppened, th
t h
ve m
de
decision b
sed upon info
m
tion put out the
e by co
po

te inte
ests by insunce comp
nies to
e
lly colo

l
dy.
shley
od
iguez : 12:39

Th
t coffee s hot. J
son
uen : 12:40 It s hot enough to give he
thi
d deg
ee bu
ns on he
genit
ls. Th
t’s ho
hot th
t coffee

s.
nd the
e

s
numbe
of othe

spects to th
t c
se th
t e f
scin
ting, but, but th
t kind of goes b
ck to
he
e I come f
om.
s
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney. My job is to punch bullies in the teeth
nd the
e e no bigge
bullies out the
e th
n the insu

nce comp
nies. They you e not in good h
nds. They

e not out to p
otect you. They e out the
e to p
ovide money fo
thei
sho
e sh

eholde
s.
nd th
t's th
t’s p
etty much
he
e
e come in
nd
e m
ke su
e th
t
t some point they don’t get to m
ke the decision
nymo
e.
ju
y does.
shley
od
iguez : 13:14

Ye
h, the
e’s
buffe
in bet
een. Um, so do
ll pe
son
l inju
y l fi
ms h
ve
litig
tion deptment?
nd
hy do you think it's impo
t
nt fo
us to h
ve one J
son
uen : 13:24
nd you me
n othe
l

fi
ms
shley
od
iguez : 13:26
ctu
lly, ye
h, they go,
ell, they get
t
i
l o
do they just settle?

J
son
uen : 13:30

It’s
g
e
t question. Th
t’s
nothe
g
e
t question. So I’ve been doing this fo

bout 10 ye

s. I’ve
o
ked fo

numbe
of diffe
ent l

fi
ms.
nd I’ve been ve
y much in the mino
ity in
hich the fi
m’s I’ve
o
ked fo
e
ll litig
tion fi
ms. So th
t the th
t I
ould s
y th
t most pe
son
l inju
y fi
ms do not h
ve
litig
tion

m.
lot do
nd
lot of solo pctitione
s do, but
lot
lot. It’s it’s h

d fo
me to put into numbe
s but it’s
ve
y impo
t
nt component, in my opinion of
pe
son
l inju
y fi
m th
t you h
ve
litig
tion. Th
t you c
n t
ke it
ll the y.
shley
od
iguez : 14:11

So th
t'd be
good question fo
you to
sk
hen you'
e hi
ing
l

ye
o pe
son
l inju
y l

ye
is do you h
ve
litig
tion dep

tment?

e you
illing to t
ke it
ll the y to t
i
l? If I decide th
t.

J
son
uen : 14:20
hen s you
l
st t
i
l?
hen

s the l
st time you took
c
se to ve
dict? Those

e questions
e took
c
se of ve
dict this
eek, fo
ex
mple, those e the c
ses those

e the fi
m's th
t
ctu
lly c
n
dd
lot of benefit to you
c
se, simply bec
use the insu

nce comp
nies e in the business of tcking info
m
tion. They e th
t’s
h
t they do.
nd they tck the
tto
neys th
t go to th
t go to t
i
l
nd those th
t do not. They tck the
tto
neys th
t settle befo
e t
i
l
nd those th
t do not. They tck the
tto
neys th
t h
ve o
de
ed c
ll in Tex
s to
e
s ve
tix
nd those th
t do not. So you h
ve to h
ve, in my opinion,
s
10 ye

p

cticing
tto
ney they don’t Those pe
son
l ent
ies in Tex
s you h
ve to h
ve
litig
tion

m to
e
lly get the best benefit fo
you
clients in p
e litig
tion, not just in litig
tion, but in p
e litig
tion to no one is going to settle you
c
se
ith you fo

million doll

s if you don’t h
ve
l

fi
m th
t c
n get
million doll

plus ve
dict.
shley
od
iguez : 15:23

Th
t's
ve
y good point. So, um, is the
e
diffe
ence bet
een like going to t
i
l
ith like
c
ccident ve
sus
slip
nd f
ll like the
e's
diffe
ent
mount of time th
t things t
ke?

J
son
uen : 15:35
ell, ye
h, it’s yes
nd no,
t
i
l c
n l
sts.
nd
e’
e t
lking
bout specific t
i
ls.
co

ect c
se. Th
t’s ve
y simple
ith one defend
nt, one pl
intiff, ve
y cle li
bility. No, not
lot of docto
s involved in it might be
n
fte
noon. It might t
ke me five hou
s to put th
t up the
e
nd get it to the ju
y
nd the ju
y to
ule on it o
might t
ke t
o
eeks,depending on the difficulty of ho
m
ny expe
ts do e needed, ho
difficult

s li
bility s it sn't
n 18
heele
th
t n into this pe
son.
nd not only is the 18
heele
d
ive

t f
ult, but his comp
ny’s
t f
ult fo
m
king him d
ive fo
20 hou
s stight
nd the b
okeho'd got him the contct to delive
might be
t f
ult might might h
ve be some
esponsibility
nd m
ybe the lo
d s Miss lo
d, m
ybe the
e

s
p
oblem
ith the lo
d itself,
nd m
ybe
e need to b
ing those people
nd the
e might be tons of diffe
ent defend
nts in
pe
son
l inju
y c
se, in eithe
not just
moto
vehicle c
se, but
p
emises li
bility c
se,
hich is the slip
nd f
ll c
se th
t you just mentioned, p
emises li
bility is kind of
def
ult fo
non moto
vehicle c
ses. It might be
dog bite c
se, fo
ex
mple. Those e p
etty st

ightfo

d
nd simple. But it might be ve
y complic
ted if you, fo
ex
mple, t
ipped on
piece of m
te
i
l th
t s sticking out of
p

king lot.
ell,
hy

s the m
te
i
l sticking out? s it the f
ult of the o
ne
s of the p

king lot?

s it the f
ult of the m
n
gement comp
ny, the p

king lot

sn’t the f
ult of the const
uction c
e
th
t c
me out the
e did some
o
k
nd didn’t cle
n up
fte
themselves,
ho

s
t f
ult fo
th
t?
nd I might h
ve to do
lot of discove
y to figu
e th
t out.
nd it might t
ke fou
o
five d
ys oeeks to get to th
t in f
ont of
ju
y, bec
use the impo
t
nt p

t is does the ju
y unde
st
nd
h
t's going on? C
n they sift th
ough the f
cts
nd
ll the smoke th
t's being put up by the defense to come up to the
e
l
ns
e
? Hmm.
nd th
t’s
e
lly the question, ho
long is th
t going to t
ke?
nd ho
long is the judge c
n give us to get get th
t ju
y to th
t point?
shley
od
iguez : 17:44

Ye
h. So you
e
lly just depends on the c
se.
nd it could t
ke

hile, just depending on the evidence.

J
son
uen : 17:49

Ye
h, it's I think, one of the longest c
ses I’ve he

d of is, I think you’
e looking
t like ext
emely difficult c
ses in the m
ss to
ts

en
, o
the like the Viox c
ses, c
ses
g
inst in p
oducts li
bility o
the upcoming c
ses
ith the phm
ceutic
l comp
nies, the tob
cco comp
nies, thei
month long t
i
ls, they'
e months
nd months
nd months of t
i
ls befo
e you get to the ve
dict
t the end of the d
y.
shley
od
iguez : 18:18
lot mo
e pl
intiffs
nd defend
nts.

J
son
uen : 18:20

Ye
h, it could it could be th
t it could be the f
ct th
t the issues

e so complex, th
t you'
e going to h
ve to educ
te the ju
y on scientific components th
t the 12

ndom people th
t e in the community h
ve no ide
. So they h
ve to le

n th
t you h
ve to te
ch them th
t they h
ve to unde
st
nd it in such
y th
t they c
n
pply those f
cts to the situ
tion th
t’s in f
ont of them
nd come to the
pp
op
i
te
esponse.
nd th
t's it's not
simple thing. It’s not
n e
sy thing.
nd
g
in, it's
e
shley
od
iguez : 18:52 H
ve to be
ble to h
ve
n educ
ted decision.

J
son
uen : 18:54
bsolutely. If you'
e not educ
ting you
ju
y, then you
ju
y is gonn
come to the

ong decision. Ide
lly, you'
e getting given the
ight info
m
tion in it, it come to the
ight decision.
shley
od
iguez : 19:06 So do you think the
e’s
nything else
e should kno

bout pe
son
l inju
y litig
tion?

J
son
uen : 19:14

Ye
h, the
e’s
unive
se of info
m
tion out the
e
bout
h
t goes into it. It isn’t the simplest thing to t
lk
bout. But
nybody th
t’s
e
lly eithe
conside
ing th
t
s, Oh, I

s just in I

q, I need to sue this to sue the guy.
ell,
emembe
,
hen you ente
into litig
tion, you’
e opening you
self up. You

e putting you
life into the conve
s
tion
ith the judge, the defense
tto
ney.
lot of my clients think, fo
ex
mple, th
t they shouldn’t get to kno
things th
t h
ppened to me in the p
st, like, m
ybe 10 yes
go, you did something stupid, he
ent to j
il.
ell,
nd you’
e not th
t pe
son
nymo
e.
ell in
pe
son
l inju
y l

suit o
civil lsuit
lot of times th
t info
m
tion
ill be found out.
nd so long
s you don’t lie
bout it, it might not eve
get in f
ont of the ju
y. Especi
lly if it's not
elev
nt. Th
t’s the
ule one. It's you don't b
ing in f
cts th
t

e not
elev
nt. But not being t
uthful
bout th
t f
ct
bsolutely comes in eve
y single time.
shley
od
iguez : 20:19 Bec
use then they’
e beginning
p
tte
n of not being t
uth. J
son
uen : 20:22
ell, it m
kes you
s

itness be unbeliev
ble.
nd if you

e not believ
ble
s

itness, then the ju
y gets to kno
th
t
nd they
ill punish th
t eve
y single time. So the most impo
t
nt thing I c
n tell
nybody th
t might h
ve
pe
son
l inju
y cl
im o
pe
son
l inju
y l

suit, is you’ve got to be 100% honest
ith youtto
ney. Bec
use if you e not, it's going to come b
ck to bite you.
nd the defense
tto
ney is going to figu
e it out. Th
t is
h
t they get p
id fo
. They get p
id to figu
e out the sec
ets th
t you'
e hiding. Th
t's going to h
ppen so you’ve got to let you
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney kno
. Otheise, you'
e going to get blindsided in the
oom
t the
o
st possible time.
shley
od
iguez : 21:01
ell
nd th
t’s impo
t
nt to hi
e someone th
t you t
ust. So th
t

y you c
n be honest
ith them,
nd then go fod
nd t
ust th
t they c
n do
h
t they c
n do to keep th
t out. J
son
uen : 21:10 Hund
ed pe
cent 100%. You've got to h
ve

el
tionship
ith you

tto
ney th
t you t
ust th
t they

e looking out fo
you
best inte
est
nd you’
e going to t
ust them
lot of info
m
tion, just you
medic
l info
m
tion, but you
histo
y
nd you
desi
es
nd ho
the incident h
s
ffected you
life in
g
in, I'm in this
ole, t
lking
ith people th
t e going th
ough
nd
lot of c
ses the
o
st thing th
t h
s eve
h
ppened to them in thei
life.
nd I t
ke th
t s
n
ll of us he
e
t Ste
t Guss t
ke th
t
s
ve
y, ve
y c
itic
l
esponsibility. Th
t is ou
job is to t
ke c

e of these people. Bec
use, you kno
, th
t's
hy
e'
e in the business.
shley
od
iguez : 21:50
l
ight,
ell, th
nk you, J
son, fo
being on ou
sho
tod
y.

J
son
uen : 21:54

My ple
su
e. Th
nk you fo
h
ving me.
shley
od
iguez : 21:55
ll
ight.
e'll see you
ll next time.

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