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(314) 500-HURTEvery personal injury claim is unique, but hearing others' stories can help you understand what to expect. Burger Law offers a collection of our previous clients' stories and how we were able to help.
Happy Monday James,
A bunch of recent cases, either pending or just resolved, have required me to catch the defendant lying to win the case. My clients say "they" can't do that, it’s not right – how can you lie in a case. Here are a few of those stories and some advice on how to spot a liar.
August 21, 2016 at 2:40 am a vehicle crashed into my office building downtown. The driver and a passenger jumped out of the car and ran. We represented the building management company trying to recover the building repair cost.
The car was a rental and the renter claimed the car had been stolen. Since it was "stolen" and we could not identify the driver, the insurance company would not accept liability. However, many of the circumstances surrounding the story did not add up. She called the police 20 minutes after the crash and lived 20 minutes away.
I filed suit, litigated it for a while and deposed the Defendant. She testified she had to emergently use the bathroom in her home and left car unlocked and running on the street for 20-30 minutes in the middle of the night.
She said was preoccupied on her phone with Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram and did not “text or communicate with anyone” after the car was stolen other than the police and her husband. She filed a Motion for Summary Judgement and her lawyers told me they were going to win the case.
We obtained the Defendant's cell phone records which showed she was lying. We were able to run a skip trace on the phone numbers and identified everyone she called.
The Defendant was called right after the crash. And she communicated 12 times after the crash and before calling 911. We searched her Facebook page, and found pictures of the "friend" and his mom with whom she was talking. That friend looked exactly like the picture of the criminal we had on the security footage who crashed the car.
It was obvious her friend called and told her about the crash. Then she called and worked on her story before she called the police. She also made about 15 phone calls right after she called 911. So, it was clear she was lying in her depo and we knew her "friend" was the "thief" who took the car.
After filing all of this information in our response to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, they settled with us the very next day for the full policy limits.
Did you know there is no civil action for perjury, so we couldn't claim that against her? And yes, we are calling the police to let them know about the false police report and the rental car company.
Do you know how to tell if someone is lying? We often can tell – won't look you in the eye, delay in answering, makes up a long story, etc. But we can encounter really good liars, too.
I spent 8 hours last Tuesday in Nashville, TN deposing the CEO of a company we are suing. And he was a tremendous liar. I repeatedly showed him documents contradicting his testimony. His inconsistencies within the deposition were crazy – I kept asking – didn't you say something different about this just a little while ago?
But he looked good – even when he gave multiple different explanations of his made up financial statements and documents. With people like that I have to doggedly and repeatedly show the lies. And when I do, juries get really angry – no one likes being lied to.
If someone does any two of the following behaviors within 10 seconds of a question and a third behavior within 30 seconds they are probably lying (I list 7 here but there are a ton more in the blog link below):
Do not give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to a question when they should; Smiling inappropriately; Face touching; Repeated blinking; Voice goes up; Compressing lips; Eyebrows raised; Answering the question with a question; Repeating the question; Use prefatory language like “well” and “you see”; Providing too much information and unnecessary details and a very long answer rather than just a simple answer to a question; Fein a lack of recollection.
Of course, you do have to factor in the context of the person’s behavior and consider whether they do these things regularly or are just nervous.
For example, if someone has a nervous twitch, never looks at you when they are talking or moves their body a lot on a regular basis then these behaviors may not be lying indicators. And politicians never answer questions directly.
However, if a person is an otherwise calm, ordinary person and they suddenly do weird things, then these behaviors likely indicate lying.
Why do people (non-politicians) behave quirky when they lie? Because lying is a stressful cognitive burden - much more so than telling the truth. It’s the stress of lying which produces unintended and unmonitored deviations from normal behavior.
You can get around lies by asking basic questions with yes or no answers. Then insist on clear answers and repeating questions until you get them. Ask direct questions with easy answers. If you do get admissions from someone, expand on these by asking for any other similar actions before drilling down on their individual admissions. This way you may be able to pull more information from them.
Another question technique is rather than saying ‘did you take out my car when I told you that you couldn’t?’ ask ‘is there any reason why someone would tell me that they saw you driving around in my car?’ This technique forces a person to pause and decide whether or not you really know the truth.
The reality is that everyone lies – some studies suggest that the average person lies 10 times or more per day. So, without making judgments these are some ideas about how to detect lying and get to the truth.
The irony is that there is a deception paradox – we need to ignore the truth of what someone is saying in order to discover the truth we are seeking. Click here for the full blog on how to spot a liar. To get the amazing book “Spy the Lie” by Philip Houston, et al. (which this blog is based on) click here. It’s an amazing book with practical advice for everyday lie catching.
I was able to catch a physical therapist in a lie recently. Our client was injured because the PT attempted to adjust her vertebrae during a therapy session. She had never been adjusted before and spine manipulation was not ordered by the doctor.
The defendant therapist flat out denied manipulating her. Ever. He testified he did not adjust her, never would have, never manipulated the lumbar spine like my client described, and didn't even speak with my client about manipulation. His assistant (who was in and out of the room) corroborated his story. The records did not reference an adjustment.
My client was really mad her medical professional denied hurting her and didn't chart the event. She was injured, obtained medical care and took a long time to recover. It was my client's word against his.
During the PTs deposition, he was steadfast and doubled down on his denial. With a guy like this, you just have to show everyone, the jury, the judge (and eventually him) the lie. I wouldn't, couldn't let the medical record go - till he acknowledged the obvious.
I asked: If you never manipulated her spine and this didn't happen – why did you talk to her about it a week later? Why was manipulation brought up on her last PT visit? You said you didn't even discuss it, right? Why were her hamstrings tight all of a sudden? Why was her pain higher all of a sudden when she had been getting better?
He said he possibly could have discussed spine pathology with her. But he had to have a context – nature (and liars) abhor a vacuum. So I asked:
Q: Hypothetically, in a vacuum not relating to what she complained to you?
A: No, not hypothetically, this was a direct response to her pain and maybe a question that she asked.
Q: And her allegation of manipulation, right?
A: Possibly, yeah.
Boom – he admitted as much as he was able to. He was confronted with his lie that he never talked to her about manipulation (and couldn't explain the increased pain he had documented). Then:
Q. Did she tell you she was having pain because you had adjusted her forcefully on 4/28?
A. According to the records no, but she did mention manipulation and that's why we spoke about it.
Spotting the lies in the story made all the difference. But the depo was longer than shown here – it took a while to get the good stuff.
My Dad (Dr. Gary Burger Sr.) is a statistics professor. His favorite Stats quote contained in Mark Twain's autobiography (who attributes it to Disraeli) is:
”"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Carved our pumpkins yesterday. Happy Halloween.
Response
“Very good article. I have a case now where my client worked for a defendant for 6 years. We have pictures of my client working at the restaurant and wearing a hat that has the name of the restaurant on it. The defendant claims he doesn’t know my client and never saw him before! I showed him the pictures and he kept saying that he can’t recognize the place. He refused to look my client in the eye. I am going to nail this guy…”
--Michael
Happy Sunday Funday Dave,
Do you have stink bug problems like I do? They are all over inside my house. I had a pesticide company come out and spray. After the spraying was done, the guy told me that it wouldn’t do anything for stink bugs because they come through the chimney.
After I tell you how I solved the problem, I discuss stories of some great clients for whom we got great results in a tanker truck vs tractor trailer crash, a Federal Tort Claims Act against the post office, and a Workers Compensation shoulder recovery.
I have seen posts and have had friends discuss stink bugs. They get in the house and seem to show up everywhere.
Last weekend was time to solve the problem. I went to Home Depot and got an aluminum screen and zip ties. Then I went up on my roof and put the screen over and around all the vents coming from my chimney. I cut the screen in strips, wrapped it around, punched holes and zip tied them.
Low and behold while I was up there a stink bug was trying to get into my house. They come from the trees and are attracted to the heat coming out of the chimney.
I was excited to do this myself for a couple of reasons: I saved a bunch of money by not having to pay someone to get up there and do this dangerous work; I got to feel really handy; and I gave my wife an anxiety attack. (It is less relaxing doing roof work when your wife is watching you the whole time).
I found out a stink bug is more likely to invade homes in the fall. It survives the winter as an adult by entering houses and structures when autumn evenings become colder, often in the thousands. In one home, more than 26,000 stink bugs were found overwintering.
They will enter under siding, into soffits, around window and door frames, chimneys, or any space which has openings big enough to fit through. Once inside the house, they go into a state of hibernation. I hope this works.
In the afternoon of January 28, 2013, John Birkner was driving his regular tractor trailer route. John has been driving tractor trailers for 30 plus years with a great record. As he approached a curve in Gasconade County, Missouri, a tanker trailer came around the curve too fast in the opposite direction. The tanker on the back of the truck turned over in the middle of the curve, into John’s lane and came straight at him.
John had no time to react; there was nothing he could do. His tractor slammed right into the tanker and stopped. This made it to the front page of the local newspaper: John was taken via ambulance from the scene.
A good lawyer and friend of mine in Illinois, Mike Korein of Glass & Korein did a great job for John in his Workers Compensation claim. After the bruises and incident pain subsided, John's lingering injury was to his knee. John had knee replacement surgery as a result of this crash.
Mike got a great recovery in the Illinois work comp in that case and then asked me to assist in the civil case. So, we filed suit and litigated the case.
We took the deposition of the Defendant. We scored a lot of points – the driver admitted a pretty significant speeding and criminal history and being on his cell phone at the time of the incident. Of course he denied going too fast.
He was traveling first in a line of three tanker trucks going into the turn (with his boss behind him). He was very familiar with the turn. The only way the tipping of the load could have happened was if he took the curve too quickly.
Frankly, the main challenge in the case was that John had prior knee injuries and prior knee surgery. Doctors usually say knee replacement surgeries are not done for acute injuries like John had, but because of degenerative changes which happen over time.
John had a long work history of pretty heavy duty labor and significant degenerative changes in his knee. The risk in his case is a jury thinking the knee replacement was not caused by the crash. However, doctors often testify that the incident at issue contributed to cause the need for knee replacement or was the straw that broke the camel’s back (or knee).
Regardless, we were able to get a great result for our client. We also used R.S.Mo §287.150 to reduce his workers’ compensation lien to put as much in John's pocket as possible. Interestingly, we did not have much of a wage loss claim in this case. This is because John is such an incredible hard worker. He stopped driving tractor trailers and went to a job making a little bit less per hour. But he works more hours to maintain his level of income for him and his family.
Representing John and helping him get a great recovery is really the reason why I do this work. It is incredibly satisfying to get a good and full recovery for such a kind, hardworking and salt of the earth man.
Back in 2015 our client Sabrina injured her neck and back when she was rear ended on a highway ramp. The defendant was a United States Postal Worker transporting mail. But this wasn’t a small mail delivery vehicle - it turned out to be a Mack tractor-trailer which rammed her from behind.
It's tough to sue the United States when you are injured. This is because the U.S. has sovereign immunity - which shields the nation from lawsuits. However, in 1946 Congress enacted what is called the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). The act allows injured parties to sometimes sue the U.S. It waives sovereign immunity in particular situations.
There are some caveats – one of them is that you are not entitled to a jury trial and the case must be tried by a judge. These cases must also be held in Federal District Courts as they have exclusive jurisdiction over these cases.
In Sabrina’s case we attempted to negotiate with the National Tort Center. The top offer issued by the representative was $30,000. Because our client had missed a great deal of work and had significant neck problems, we decided to file a lawsuit under the FTCA. Sabrina had a soft tissue injury and continued problems.
After working hard on the case for a year we were able to negotiate a settlement with the Assistant District Attorney for $75,000. We will be able to reduce her liens and get her a significant recovery.
Keith M. is an electrician who was injured on the job when he fell from a ladder. The fall caused him to tear his rotator cuff. He had already had a prior tear and surgery to this same shoulder (which he had injured about ten years ago). He was out of work for the surgery and then placed on light duty during his recovery.
While his employer thought the world of Keith, their worker's comp insurance provider was consistently 2-3 weeks late in paying Keith's temporary wage benefits, and even shorted him several hundred dollars on some of his payments.
These payments (Temporary Total Disability for time he could not work, and Temporary Partial Disability, for time when he could only work light duty at a lower wage) were statutorily guaranteed to Keith. We filed a Hardship Motion with the court and went to several hearings about it.
We fought hard for Keith and forced the insurance company to start express mailing their checks to Keith. We ultimately got Keith a great settlement for his shoulder injury, and we forced the insurer to kick in extra money for Keith's frustration in the delayed temporary wage payments.
We're very happy for Keith. Sometimes even though you have a great relationship with your employer, their insurance company will be delinquent on paying you what you're owed. The payment delay was difficult for Keith – Justice delayed is Justice denied. We fight hard for every client and take pride in getting clients great settlements.
Hopefully this will help them out.
Response:
“Great advice Gary. Thanks for the entertaining e-mails.”
--David
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