Hi this is Brian Wiklendt with Garfinkel Schwartz. I’m here at my Maitland Florida office I
just wanted to talk to you because there are some things that happened with some cases
recently that I’d like to discuss.
What is the Value of My Defense Base Act Case?
I just want to give people out there just some information on the value of Defense Base
Act case. This usually arises when an event happens such as a bombing or a mortar fire
attack or a car accident in which there are multiple parties injured and they all know
each other and they discuss and they talk about certain things amongst each other.
It is kind of a close-knit community in the defense industry I understand that. A lot
of people know a lot of other people in the same industry. And what I’ve been getting
a lot more recently than I than I’ve gotten in the past is people coming in and they say,
“well my coworker just got $400,000 and someone else got $350,000 and how much what
should I do to get that? Or what should I get? I was in the same incident and I have
PTSD just like them.”
And this area of law, Defense Base Act, it’s very different than state worker’s comp
cases. DBA law is very different than personal injury cases. I know that in some areas of
law like when I used to practice other types of law a knee injury would be a $30,000 injury
and in a personal injury context if you slipped and fell at the Kmart or Walmart or something
like that there’s a formula.
There is No Formula for DBA Cases
In this area of law there’s no formula it’s simply a totally individual thing. And when
I say that I mean your lack of earning capacity for your future is what you can and can’t
do both physically and mentally.
So the story that I usually like to give my clients just as an example is if I wanted
to go overseas as an attorney and I got a job doing something that I’m qualified to do.
I got my legs chopped off in a bomb and that same person was in another room, and in another
job and he got his leg legs chopped off too. Same explosion.
The difference is that while I was a lawyer, he was doing some mechanical type of work.
Well yes, the injuries are the same and the treatment is the same.
I get prosthetic legs.
He gets prosthetic legs. Then it comes to a lack of earning capacity.
Well my claim for my lack of earning capacity would be zero—as a lawyer. And the reason
for that is because the insurance company will rightfully argue and do what’s called
a Labor Market Survey on me.
They’ll say, “Brian even though you don’t have any legs you can work for a large law
firm or you continue working in your firm. For what you do, you can wheel yourself into
court anywhere and you can use your brain and your experience as a lawyer to make a
lot of money so we don’t owe you a dime.”
Whereas the other person the mechanic who can’t do mechanical work anymore for the
rest of his life who maybe he has no other skills necessarily. Maybe in terms of he didn’t
graduate from high school necessarily, or has the education and has only been a mechanic
all of his life. That person might have a very large lack of earning capacity.
He could’ve made say $120,000 working at a US Embassy overseas as a mechanic but now
he can’t make anything. Now he can’t do much of anything other than maybe deliver
pizzas or something.
So his Lack of Earning capacity will be very large and his claim will be very large for
the rest of his life whereas mine would be zero!
So every case is individualized that the person that got $400,000 may or may not have skills.
They may live in a certain area where the insurance company cannot find them a job that
pays any decent money whereas it can be completely the opposite for somebody else.
That’s just something to take note of and to understand that it’s very difficult to
evaluate these claims and the insurance company evaluates them completely the opposite way
that I that I do. And so it’s always it’s always safe and it’s always good to have
an attorney on these things.
If you don’t hire me and you don’t touch base with me you have to find someone that
knows this area of law that can help you. And even if it’s in the process and the
insurance company’s paying you right now, at some point in time--either you’re going
to have to value your case because you don’t want the insurance company valuing your case
for you.
So that’s a little tidbit of advice. Again we’re always here to touch base with at
any time for free. I can help you evaluate your case if necessary and I can come to remediation
with you for that stage. And we’re always here to help. That’s what we like to do.
We don’t want you to short suit yourself here. This is the rest of your life that you’re
talking about.
So again Brian Wiklendt from the Maitland Florida office of Garfinkel Schwartz signing
off. Talk to you later. Thanks.