Four-way stop sign intersection cases can be tough when both sides claim they had the right of way.

We weren’t certain ourselves. The police report didn’t help. There were no witnesses, no surveillance cameras, and both drivers were adamant they stopped at their stop signs. Each claimed the right of way. For a doctor to take a lien on this kind of fact pattern can mean never getting paid. In these cases, you hope your patient has good med pay.

We didn’t. But we liked and trusted the client.

At first, defendant’s Kemper Insurance denied all liability. Their driver was working for AAA Water Restoration. We had to file suit just to take the driver’s deposition. We felt good about our client, Brian.

Brian lived in Redondo Beach for a while, where the accident occurred. He was very familiar with this intersection. The defendant driver was newly hired and had never driven this route before. His testimony was weak, and his insurance company settled quickly. Litigation helps ferret out the truth. Sometimes your patient falters and the value of the case drops. In this case, we got a New Year’s Eve settlement.

Litigation is a search for truth. You don’t always get it. But you can get closer. Our instincts were right. Our guy was honest — and we proved it.

Happy New Year…

Once in a blue moon, a defense attorney might ask to take your deposition. It’s not as burdensome as it was a couple of years ago — Zoom depos are now the norm.

Still, your answers need to be clean and crisp. Dr. L helps with great advice on how to be more credible and effective.

Keep these tips handy.



• Doctor, will you please summarize your CV?

That’s a tricky question. See what Dr. Lewkovich suggests.

• Doctor, how do you define chiropractic?

Easy to walk into quicksand on this one.

• When did you first examine this patient?

Another trick — especially if the patient was a prior patient.

• What symptoms did your patient present with?
• What were your initial exam findings for this whiplash injury?

See what they did there?

For your copy of the full article, email johntawlian@steeleisner.com.