{"id":980,"date":"2011-02-01T15:39:09","date_gmt":"2011-02-01T20:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=980"},"modified":"2012-03-19T15:15:49","modified_gmt":"2012-03-19T19:15:49","slug":"q-how-many-lawyers-does-it-take-to-screw-in-a-lawsuit-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=980","title":{"rendered":"Making a record: Composing yourself and your story for a potential lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it. \u2013 Samuel Johnson, from Boswell\u2019s Life of Johnson<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What I did the day after I got home from hanging around St. Vincent\u2019s Hospital:<\/p>\n

Making A Record.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My friends S. and E. came over with milk (great) and a digital camera (even greater). I pointed E. to the location of the accident and he took excellent photos which would be Exhibit One in proving the liability of the building\u2019s owner. If eventually necessary, E. could provide an affidavit stating that he\u2019d taken the photos, and when.<\/p>\n

One thing you can do if you\u2019re trapped in an apartment on crutches: you can sit at the computer and, as Samuel Johnson said, you can write.<\/p>\n

Good. Because you’ll need to fully document the details, the sooner the better. You’ll be asked to repeat them over and over, reciting every detail precisely as you first stated it, even years after the injury. So etch these details into your head by memorializing them in writing asap.<\/p>\n

First, a bit of research.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I entered New York City\u2019s generous data base at NYC.gov. <\/a>and ran a property search on the offending building. A dab of glamour: the woman who owned the building\u2013my future defendant\u2013was an ex-supermodel, now actress. (Who pays her real estate taxes, more than I can say for the scoundrel Skush-O\u2019Briens.)<\/p>\n

Preparing for the first visit with a lawyer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I then documented and printed out basic information I knew a lawyer would need. How did I know this? Because how many times in my working life had I made up files on legal cases without all this information? Lawyers can get so entranced by the case story they forget the mundanities\u2014and then someone like me has to call the client and ask for:<\/p>\n