Robert Austrian’s Post

Another satisfied client. This gentleman’s case is a great example of why we always have our clients photograph their injuries throughout their case where possible. His injuries included permanent scarring. Fortunately, the client had the wherewithal to take photos of the initial lacerations from the day of the incident. Since my paralegal Ashley and I had him capture clear photos of the scarring as it developed later on, we were able to maximize this recovery to his satisfaction. Please don’t hesitate to message me or call/text at 646-450-6112 if you or someone you know has been seriously injured. Attorneys: we pay referral fees in accordance with the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.

At first I was bummed out that I had to put on a suit and go to court during 4th of July week right after I got back from my honeymoon, but it ended up being fun because I ran into my Brooklyn Law School classmates Melissa Ronan and James Koblenzer in the Kings County Jury Cooridnation Part yesterday. Great to see them in court and doing well (even though they’re on the defense side).

Here’s what going on my honeymoon taught me about personal injury law: …just kidding. It taught me absolutely nothing about personal injury law. No locals I met in Portugal and Morocco even knew what an injury lawyer was, because injury law isn’t really a thing there the way it is in the US. This was actually refreshing and humbling. I guess the lesson here is just enjoy life. Here are some photos of my wife and I on an ATV tour in Marrakech, and at a swimming hole in Akchour. Happy 4th of July everyone!

I just did my first damages-only inquest, and the court awarded our client $751,500 ($750k in past and future pain and suffering, and $1,500 in out of pocket expenses) after hearing her testify during direct examination and receiving the medical records into evidence. I conducted an opening statement and a brief summation as well as her direct examination. It was my colleague’s assigned case, and he did an excellent job working up the case and preparing it procedurally for the inquest. He went through all the steps of ensuring that service was effectuated properly, making a motion for default, getting the business records certifications for the medical records to be entered into evidence, and just crossing every t and dotting every i. Now, our client has a judgement for $751,500 in her favor. Of course, the hard part is collecting and enforcing that judgement, and unfortunately it’s very possible that the judgement debtor has no assets. But, we made sure that our client’s rights were protected by obtaining the judgement. Please feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or by cell at 646-450-6112 if you or someone you know has been injured. Attorneys: we pay referral fees in accordance with the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.

I actually don’t think this decision is that novel of a concept. A premises owner generally can’t enforce a blanket waiver for their own negligence. Especially where a premises owner’s negligent act or omission violates a state law, as it did here. My understanding is that the Colorado Ski Safety Act basically says as much too. However, a waiver can be some evidence of assumption of risk for inherent dangers of an activity, such as the dangers posed by cliffs or trees while skiing. Closely related ideas, but with important differences. There is an ongoing case dealing with this issue applying New York law called Perrone v Catamount Ski Resort, LLC, 1:20-cv-563 (N.D.N.Y.), where defendant ski resort’s summary judgement motion was recently denied for similar reasons to the concepts described above. https://lnkd.in/ejawvVPx

Organizing and brining order to the sheer volume of papers, emails, phone calls, zoom meetings, tasks, legal work, scheduling, and general case management requires me to be outside of my comfort zone in terms of natural skill. I am a much more naturally “right brained” creative/free flowing kind of person, and I am generally better at things that involve quick thinking, improvising, public speaking, and creativity. Put me in court, in a deposition where I have to react to the unexpected, or in front of clients and I am in my wheelhouse. I am NOT inherently good at “left brain” stuff like being organized. Something I’ve been working very hard to overcome since, obviously, I have to do “left brain” stuff a lot. But, we all know that bringing order to the daily chaos, being organized, and ultimately just getting sh*t done is critical to success, and today’s book recommendation has been teaching me how to do that. The organization and task management systems taught in “Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress Free Productivity” by David Allen have dramatically improved the control I have over my time and my daily work flow. While I’m not perfect since I’m still “right brained” and still learning, I am much more productive, organized, and efficient because of what I’ve learned from this book. I do not use the all the systems in this book perfectly or in their entirety. But even just implementing a few things I’ve learned (using @ACTION, @RESOURCES, @WAITING FOR folders as the way to organize my email instead of organizing by topic, the “two minute rule” drill, designating daily specific times for certain tasks, the list system, just to name a few) has given me a lot more control over my work and improved productivity. I think my assigned support staff appreciate it too, because there is a rhythm to our work flow using these systems that’s predictable to them. I am still far from perfect and am always trying to get better, but this book has helped a lot. Overall, highly recommend.