Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers tell us that slip and fall cases have no value. And they're right. At least early on. We rarely get a meaningful settlement offer in a slip and fall case without filing suit. And to get an offer commensurate with the severity of a client's injuries, we typically need to: - file suit; - work the case up; - retain experts; - beat a summary judgement motion; and - show that we're truly prepared to try the case. Even after all that, we sometimes still don't get a decent offer. I think that's why a lot of lawyers don't even take unsafe floor cases. Compared to car crash cases, unsafe floor cases often require far more time, energy, and expense. Insurance companies know this. They also know that many lawyers will settle these cases for pennies on the dollar to avoid all the work and the risk of losing at trial. That's why insurance adjusters and defense lawyers tell us that these cases are worthless. I think it's also why many plaintiff's lawyers believe that. But if you can pick good cases and prepare them for trial from day one, you might be surprised at how valuable these cases are - especially in front of a jury. I learned that early in my career, cutting my teeth on a lot of premises liability cases that other lawyers would not accept.  And since 2019, I have gotten 7-figure recoveries in over a half-dozen premises liability cases. Four of those cases were for $3 million or more. I'm not saying take every unsafe floor case that comes in the door. There are a lot of bad ones.  You need to screen them and look for the right facts. And if you don't have the time to work up (or try) one of these cases, you're better off referring it to a lawyer who will give the case the time and attention it requires. If you have questions about how I screen unsafe floor cases, dm me. Happy to talk about it. And if you've seen that unsafe floor cases are far from worthless, I'd appreciate you weighing in below. Thanks.

Heartbreaking story about our client and his family in the New York Times today. When “shaken baby syndrome” was debunked, they changed the name but contunued using the same junk “science.” The government witness ignored all facts that didn’t fit into his theory and likely committed perjury on the stand. We are hopeful for Nick and his family but no family should ever be forced to endure what Nick and his family have suffered. Sadly, the Ohio legislature has severely limited victims’ right to sue medical providers and the government for their trauma.

Throughout my career practicing law in Ohio and Kentucky, I've been told that: - my sense of justice doesn't align with reality. - “A verdict like that is impossible in this town.” - “This isn’t the place for big settlements." As a new lawyer, I remember going to seminars to learn all I could from trial lawyers who'd tried the big cases and gotten the big verdicts I wanted. Now, after practicing for 16 years, I've been fortunate to get my clients 7-figure verdicts, judgments, or settlements in more than 40 cases. That includes trucking cases, slip and falls, dog bites, defective products, and auto accidents. And while I still learn a lot at seminars, I now like going mainly to find hope and inspiration. In the last few months, I've gone to Des Moines to speak at the Iowa Association for Justice conference and to Las Vegas to do a workshop at Trial Lawyers University. At those seminars, I met lawyers from Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, and rural areas across America who are getting record-setting verdicts in cities and towns that are similar to Kentucky and Ohio. While I can appreciate lawyers getting large verdicts in LA or Chicago, there’s something refreshing about hearing stories of record verdicts in Nebraska, Missouri, or Iowa.  Because if a lawyer can get a record verdict in a rural, conservative city in Iowa, then why can't I get a similar verdict in a rural, conservative Kentucky town? Going to these conferences reminds me that there are like-minded people out there trying hard cases across the country. We're not alone in this fight.

This week, I sent an email to everyone in our firm sharing our 10 largest settlements of 2024: $6 Million Policy-limit settlement in a case involving a commercial van and a motorcycle. $5.99 Million Settlement in a transportation wrongful death case. $5.75 Million Settlement in a dram shop case against a bar that overserved a drunk driver. [$ Million]– Confidential Settlement. $2 Million Settlement following an injury caused by unsafe wheelchair ramp at a popular resort in Kentucky. $1.8 Million Settlement for a pedestrian struck by a van. $1.5 Million Partial settlement in a product liability case. $1.4 Million MVA settlement for a head injury $1.25 Million MVA settlement in Kentucky $1 Million Policy-limit settlement for crash involving a semi-truck and a motorcycle. Some folks might feel like I’m bragging with this post. And while it’s true that I’m proud of my team and what we’ve accomplished this year, I'm posting this to share what can be achieved in "conservative" venues (southwest Ohio and Kentucky). The more we, as plaintiff lawyers, push our best cases to trial or the brink of trial, the more likely injury victims will be to receive fairer settlements from insurance companies. Even in conservative areas, you can get great results for your clients if you work a case up diligently and are prepared to go the distance. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about any of these cases or our approach to litigation. Happy holidays to all, and thanks to everybody at the firm for making this year a strong one for Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima.

I recently took a case where my client's total medical bills were under $1,000. Within 60 days, we settled for the $100,000 policy limits. My client was on Medicaid and had suffered only soft tissue injuries in the car crash. And after going to the ER directly from the scene, he only had one follow-up doctor visit. Based on those facts, another lawyer had already declined the case when I talked to the client. Why did I take his case? Because when I called the client, he told me the full story. The at-fault driver was possibly driving while impaired. When the full police report came out, we learned that his BAC was more than three times the legal limit. It was his second DUI, and he hit my client's vehicle while driving the wrong way. Many lawyers equate treatment and medical bills with case value.  I get that. But when a defendant’s conduct is egregious, jurors don’t just evaluate injuries—they feel anger. And angry jurors drive big verdicts and higher settlements. So if you’re only looking at injuries and treatment during intake, you might be leaving value on the table.

A few highlights from 2024!

“Adopt a Family” through SAFE on Main in Lebanon!

In law school, I helped my dad prepare for trial in a murder case that was front-page news for years.  Our client, Ryan Widmer, was charged with murdering his wife. He ended up going to trial three times. The first trial was the one my dad handled, and it ended in a mistrial after two days of deliberation and a conviction that got thrown out due to juror misconduct.  For the second trial, my dad advised Ryan that a different defense attorney would give him the best chance at trial. Since the prosecutors were likely to follow the same script, a new defense lawyer would approach the case differently and keep the government guessing. That second trial ended in a hung jury.  By the third trial, I was an attorney and believed so strongly in Ryan that I supported the two lead trial attorneys for free. That trial ended with a conviction. Ryan is still in prison today. After those trials, I didn't think I would like the immense pressure that comes with high stakes criminal cases. That's why I started to build our firm's injury practice. I've now tried dozens of cases in front of juries in both civil and criminal cases. And I think the combination of criminal defense and plaintiff's injury work has made me a better trial lawyer in a number of ways. But Ryan's conviction still weighs on me 15 years later. At the time, I believed Ryan was innocent. I still do. And if it weren’t for that trial, I probably would have followed in my dad’s footsteps working almost exclusively as a criminal defense lawyer.

We had some fun unwinding and watching the Lebanon Horse-Drawn Carriage Parade at our office this weekend!

I did not want Bob to cry on the stand at his wife’s trial. But he did.  Even after dozens of trials, I still get nervous when my client or a family member cries in the courtroom. That's partly because I get uncomfortable when anyone cries around me.  But in the courtroom specifically, I also have a concern that the jury could misinterpret my client’s emotion as some sort of show. The moment jurors get the sense a plaintiff (or their lawyer) is disingenuous or deceitful, you’ve lost the jury—and the trial. Bob and Sharon are a salt-of-the-earth couple. After Sharon had to undergo emergency surgery because hospital personnel made a mistake during a routine procedure, Bob became her caregiver. After enduring three years of litigation for their day in court, Bob was on the stand to testify about how he felt about becoming his wife’s nurse, helping Sharon change her surgical bandages every day and in the middle of the night. Ahead of trial, the defense never made a settlement offer. On the first day of trial, the insurance company rep told us the case was worth nothing. So Bob was under a tremendous amount of pressure. That he would get emotional under the circumstances was completely natural and appropriate. This clip is the moment Bob started crying. I asked Sharon to leave the courtroom because I thought it would be easier for him to answer my questions. But after this short pause and Bob's joke, I thought “what more can I gain?” and decided not to ask any further questions. Jurors are smart.  They saw Bob’s true emotions. They did not need to hear a lot more words describing that pain. His testimony contributed greatly to the jury returning a substantial verdict in our favor. But this moment he broke down still made me nervous. And I don't think I’ll ever get totally comfortable with a client crying in court.