Ep. 66 – Why Do You Need a Lawyer Quickly After a Truck Accident?

David Craig – Host: If you’re listening to this podcast and you happen to have a serious semi wreck, I don’t care what state you’re in, read my book, call me, and I’ll send you a free copy. All the profits for my book, if you do buy it from Amazon, they all go to charity. I want people to make an informed, right decision to find one of these good lawyers so she or he can help you through this process.

I’m attorney Dave Craig, managing partner and one of the founders of the law firm of Craig Kelley & Faultless. I’ve represented people who have been seriously injured or who have had a family member killed in a semi or other big truck wreck for over 30 years. Following the wreck, their lives are chaos. Often, they don’t even know enough about the process to ask the right questions. It is my goal to empower you by providing you with the information you need to protect yourself and your family. And each and every episode, I will interview top experts and professionals that are involved in truck wreck cases. In the Ask David episodes of After The Crash, we switch things up. Instead of me asking questions, I answer the questions. Nothing’s off limits, and they ask me about truck safety, about truck accidents, about semi truck litigation, about commercial motor vehicle wrecks. You name it, I talk about it. This is After The Crash.

Harlan Schillinger: This is a very unique experience, having the opportunity really to ask you the questions. So what is the complexities? Why are truck are commercial vehicle cases so much different?

David Craig – Host: Yeah.

Harlan Schillinger: I know the truck is bigger.

David Craig – Host: Yeah. That’s a great question. So, semi-trucks are regulated by federal rules. Normal car crashes aren’t. You have the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. You have what’s called a CDL manual. Every truck driver has to have a license, a CDL, and they have to take a test. And so right there are two things, is that those are thick books. And so right off the bat, understanding what the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations provide, what a CDL manual provides is different than just if you represent Joe Blow or just every red light car crash. Because these have different rules. Then you have the state laws. Then you have industry standards. And so all that combined is different. Now, on top of that, the equipment’s different. Brakes on a semi tractor-trailer are different than the brakes in a car. So in a car crash, personal injury lawyers don’t even worry about it. They don’t think about it unless somebody claims the brakes are out. In a semi, you have to check those. The control module in a car, you have an airbag module that will lock in. When the airbags deploy, they lock in a little bit of data, but it’s very little bit of data. In a semi, you have an ECM, electronic control module, that will lock in data for a significant period of time, and it’ll tell you a lot more than what’s in a car. But you have to have—

Harlan Schillinger: Is that the black box?

David Craig – Host: The black box. And you have to have people who you know who can get that information. So I have experts that I use all over this country, depending on where the wreck is. I have an expert here who has a private plane. For example, I just got hired on a Florida case where somebody was involved in a flatbed semi case, and my expert’s flying his plane down and doing the download because I know that he’s very good at uploading and getting all the information I need. So it’s different in the complexities of the case. The other thing that’s different is that in a car accident case, a normal personal injury lawyer, time is important but is not nearly as important as these truck cases. Truck cases, the trucking companies are trying to get their trucks back on the road as soon as possible. Now part of it may be to hide evidence, but the other part of it is just business. They need that truck, if they can get it back on the road, they want to get it repaired and back on the road as quick as possible because they’re losing money if they don’t. And so we want to get out there and preserve that evidence really quickly.

And I’ll tell you another thing that people don’t realize. As you know, and you and I’ve talked about it, this time of year is a horrible time of year from the standpoint that people die every summer because of semis and construction zones. Every year… I’m getting ready next week, I’ll be driving up to Michigan with my entire family, and my grandkids, and my kids. I will drive up through construction zones. And I can’t get those visions out of my head where I have seen people killed, my clients killed. Every summer I get hired by families who have lost loved ones and ones who have catastrophic injuries in construction zones. So when you combine a semi with a construction zone, I would argue that there’s not a whole lot of lawyers that have experience in both. Construction zone cases are extraordinarily difficult, they’re extraordinarily different. You have to move even faster than a semi case, and you have to move fast with a semi case. And so I think this time of year—

Harlan Schillinger: So why is that on construction cases? Is it because the markers and because the road is under progress and it changes because of the workflow by the contractor?

David Craig – Host: Absolutely. So the construction zones may change overnight. They may change in a week, they may change in a few days. So they’re always working on them and moving the barriers, moving the signs, moving the cones. And there’s different people, and certain construction companies will do a drive-through in the morning and they’ll videotape the construction zone. Well, you want to make sure that’s preserved. So you want to get your preservation letter out saying, “Hey, if you videotaped this the morning of the wreck, I want to see it.” If there’s a dash cam in the semi, they may have it. There may be other witnesses who saw it, and they may have dash cams. And so you want to capture that construction zone as it existed at the time of the wreck. And the longer you wait, even a day or two, could be detrimental to your case. And so that’s one of the reasons why these types of cases are different than other types of cases.

And I’ve already been hired this summer on multiple construction zone cases. And the first thing I do is I immediately get people out there. We shoot them with drones, we shoot them with GoPros, we shoot them with photographs, video. We try to find out who’s out there, and we start getting witnesses, people that are maybe nearby, and we start doing interviews with those people, asking them, “Hey, has the construction zone changed or what’s new or different about it?” So, semi cases are different. They’re a lot more complicated. The other thing, that’s one thing I want to add, is they’re expensive. And not all law firms have the money to up front [the costs]. I remember when I first started, my ethics were the same. So I would spend the money even though I didn’t have it. And I would spend the money because I was not going to do a case other than the best way I could do it. I didn’t care if I had to put my house up. It wouldn’t matter to me. I would risk anything and everything I had for my clients. So it never affected the decisions. But the reality is, it does affect the decisions of some people. And some people will not pull money out if that means they’re not going to get paid. They’re not going to pull money out if they think that they might not get it back. And so—

Harlan Schillinger: Truthfully, I personally think it’s rampant. I had an interesting situation on the heels of one of our telephone conversations. And it wasn’t too long ago. I don’t recall if I ever communicated this to you. But I did what is called secret shops. So you call a law firm and you test them and you talk about the accident. Well, I called three trucking lawyers. One was in your market, two were in another market. And I asked a series of questions. But I knew what questions to ask because you’ve educated me, and I’ve educated myself throughout my career. I should say I knew what to listen for. And not one of those lawyers felt there was immediacy. One lawyer took a while to get back to me because they had to hook up, because they were referring the case out to somebody and they had to find the lawyer. They would’ve lost that case. Two days is not … It was a lifetime.

And the other two never once asked me where the vehicle is. Can we retrieve it? Can we capture that evidence? Now I know that because I work with you and other lawyers, and so I was looking for those kinds of answers. Looking for what was not going to … There was no immediacy. They handled it just like a car wreck. Well, that’s good. They were polite. They were compassionate, but they didn’t want to retrieve the vehicles. They didn’t want to do what you are saying to everybody to capture the evidence. And I think that’s a sure sign of somebody that doesn’t know what they’re doing.

David Craig – Host: And I speak at conferences, and I’ve been asked in private, after I get done talking, they say, “Well, you talk about going out and hiring all these experts at the front. How much does that cost you?” I’ll say, “Well, it’ll be tens of thousands of dollars.” And they’ll say, “Well, but you don’t even know if you have a case yet. You don’t even know how good a case.” And I go, “It doesn’t matter.” You’re talking about a case that the consequences, the damages, the injuries, are going to impact a family for the rest of their lives. So if I invest … And I’ve lost. I can tell you I’ve lost $10, $20 thousand investigating cases in which they turned out not to be a case. And I told my clients on the front end, “This looks tough, but I’ll tell you what, at the end of the day, I’m going to be able to tell you what happened. How come your family member died. I can’t promise you I can help you, but I can promise you I will figure it out, and I will invest the money and you owe me nothing if I don’t get you something.”

And I don’t care if I lose $20 thousand. I, honest to God, don’t care. I care more about not protecting my client than I do about losing money. And there’s a lot of lawyers who don’t do that. Now, fortunately, my law firm is big, now. I now have a bank who’s been doing business with me for long enough that they’ll give me any amount of money I need or want. Honest to God, they just, “David, whatever your line is you need.”

Harlan Schillinger: Well, that’s because of your credibility.

David Craig – Host: And so that’s what you need, is a law firm that won’t hesitate, that puts their money out and hires the right experts. And like you said, immediately, not a week from now.

Harlan Schillinger: Yeah. Yeah. That’s a whole conversation about selling the client short and what’s involved in all of that. The legal profession is so much changed with the new generations coming in. And ethically, it’s gotten to be a very sad, in many cases, a money grab. And I have a disdain for that.

David Craig – Host: But the good news is you work with great attorneys, you work with good people. And the good thing about it is, there are good ones. I had a Supreme Court Justice who came by and, a state Supreme Court justice, and he’s like, “David, what do you think about all this marketing?” And I’m like, “You know what? I’m okay with it. I have faith in people.” When I walk in front of a jury, I have faith that they’re going to make the right decision as long as I give them the right information. And that’s why I wrote the book, was that let’s give the people the information because I have faith they’ll make the right decision if they learn the secrets. They learn the bad things, they learn the red flags, they learn the things that you and I have been talking about. I have faith in them. And there are really good ones out there. You just need to go find them and not just click otno something because there’s a billboard or a television commercial or an ad. Go in and dig deep because there are some damn good … I am proud to be a lawyer. I am proud to work with you. I am proud to work with the people who you work with, are good lawyers all over this country. And there are really good people out there.

I just want you, if you’re listening to this podcast and you happen to have a serious semi-wreck, I don’t care what state you’re in. Read my book, call me, and I’ll send you a free copy. All the profits from my book, if you do buy it from Amazon, they all go to charity. I want people to make an informed, right decision to find one of these good lawyers so she or he can help you through this process.

Harlan Schillinger: And that’s getting back to the Supreme Court decision on them being able to advertise. And the Supreme Court, and in their finding, in their summation of the case, they wanted to give people the opportunity to be able to do their homework and make an intelligent choice, an educated choice. So tell me, what should you really expect? It’s on the heels of what you just said, what should you expect from the right lawyer that you hire?

David Craig – Host: Yeah. Lawyers can’t predict the results. They can tell you similar cases. But what you should expect is to be treated the way that you want to be treated. You should expect to be important to them, as in, your case is as important to them as it is to you. You should expect that they’re going to work diligently. You should expect that you should get your phone calls returned, and you should not be intimidated or scared to talk to your lawyer about anything. I don’t care if it’s expenses. I don’t care. Whatever the question is, you should be able to talk to your lawyer, and your lawyer should be able to answer your questions.

As you know, I work around the clock, and I tell my clients … I had somebody, one of the paralegals, said, “Well, I don’t know how we’re going to set up a Zoom. I can only do it in the evening.” I’m like, “Well, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll be happy to sit in with them at midnight. I don’t care.” But that’s the key, is that you as the client have power. You as a client can make the decision, and the lawyer should be grateful to have you as the client. So if I got asked the questions, make sure that you’re being treated the way you want to be treated. I don’t force my clients to settle, but I also don’t force my clients to go to trial. I respect the fact that it’s their decision, but I want to make sure it’s an informed decision and that they have the option of going to trial. So that’s what I would expect to be treated as a decent human being. Which I always tell people, if people learn the lessons they teach us in Sunday school or in kindergarten, it’s the same stuff.

Harlan Schillinger: You do unto others as others do unto you.

David Craig – Host: It is. It’s the same thing. It’s common sense. Just treat people with human decency, tell the truth, work hard, be diligent, treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Harlan Schillinger: Well, we wish the world was more like that, right?

David Craig – Host: Yeah. Absolutely.

Harlan Schillinger: I have an important question. I think all these questions were important, but I got a ringer here for you. Not an easy one, the hardest one. But I want to just say that I have heard from at least a dozen really great lawyers, and they say the same thing at different occasions and different times about the work ethic and presenting to a jury. And they have all said, a great lawyer has always said to me, “Trust the jury, but trust me to present it to the jury. The jury can only make a decision based on what I present them, which is the hard work. But trust the jury system.” It’s the greatest system in the world. There’s no question. I hate to say most of the time, juries get it right, but you have to present the evidence to the jury and then trust that the jury is consuming that evidence. But you have the responsibility to present it in an honorable and effective manner so that they can absorb it and make an intelligent decision.

So what should you do if you feel that you’ve hired the wrong lawyer, and how do you feel you and that lawyer should approach this ethically?

David Craig – Host: Now, that’s a tricky one because when people hire lawyers, we all know that we have to be real careful not to interfere with their contract. And so they’ve already got a lawyer, they have a contract with somebody. And so lawyers are really careful when somebody calls you and says, “Hey …” One of the first questions we ask: “Do you have a lawyer?” I look at it a little bit differently. This will get me in trouble.

Harlan Schillinger: Well, I just want an honest, ethical answer on how people can intelligently either get in or get out of a bad situation.

David Craig – Host: Well, the truth is, and what makes it uncomfortable is that, the rule isn’t that I can’t talk to somebody else’s client. I can’t try to take the case, but I can talk to them. So when somebody calls my office and says they’re unhappy, first of all, I say, “Have you talked to your lawyer and have you explained that to them?” Because that’s the first thing. Because it could be just a communication problem. Lawyer may not even understand that you’re unhappy with them. You need to make sure that they understand that you’re so unhappy that you called me. And you can tell them, “I called David Craig and he told me to call you back and try to straighten this out.” And so a lot of times that takes care of it. Sometimes I’ll ask who the lawyer is, and if I know the lawyer’s a good lawyer, then I’ll tell them, “Hey, that lawyer is a really good lawyer. I’m sorry you’re having some problems. You need to call them back because I know their office. I know the lawyers. They’ll take good care of you and you need to do it.”

Now, let’s say they tell me somebody who I think maybe doesn’t know their area and is not a good lawyer and they’re giving bad advice, which I had one just recently. Then I tell them, “Hey, look, I’m sorry you already have a contract, but you’re entitled to a second opinion, and I’d be happy to be your second opinion, but you may have to hire somebody else. Not me.” And that way I’m not interfering, I’m not trying to steal you from an existing attorney. But if you want me to look at your file, I’ll be happy to do that, but I can’t promise you I’ll take your case. I can’t promise you anything, and you’d have to terminate your representation. And I can recommended other lawyers out there that maybe can help handle your case.

But it is tricky. Sometimes I’ll call the lawyer and say, “Hey, look, I’ve been contacted by this client,” and a lot of times they’re relieved. I had one case, a really good lawyer, but he was just over his head, and he was not doing a good job on this particular case. And I called him and said, “Hey, what’s going on?” And he’s like, “Dave, you’d be doing me a favor if you took this client and took this case because I know that client will be in good hands.” And I said, “I’m happy to share my fee with you and take care of all the expenses you’ve advanced.” And in this particular case, he said, “No. If you just make a donation on my behalf …” It was a really good case, but he just didn’t … Some lawyers go through tough times. They go through divorces, they go through sicknesses, they have family members that are sick. And so you can have a really great trial lawyer who’s struggling.

Harlan Schillinger: He’s distracted.

David Craig – Host: And distracted. So I don’t think, it’s not a knee-jerk reaction that if you have a bad situation, first of all, try to straighten it out, try to clear it up. If you can’t do that, you have the absolute right to switch lawyers, and you can switch lawyers and it’s not going to cost you any more. The lawyer, whoever takes your case, is going to pay the lawyer that you had previously, and they’ll work out of the attorney fee, what they owe, and they’ll reimburse them expenses. And you shouldn’t be stuck. There’s a second Supreme Court case was in … Everybody knows the Bates case. That was ’77. And there was a ’78 case, the United States Supreme Court, that talked about the difference between solicitation and marketing and advertising. And in that case, these lawyers went into a hospital and got these people that were hurt to sign up while they’re in a hospital.

Harlan Schillinger: They solicited them.

David Craig – Host: They solicited them. And they were drugged up, and they were hurt. And so they eventually fired … They wanted to fire those lawyers, and they then turned them in to a disciplinary commission. And the Supreme Court said, “No, we can’t do that. You’re not allowed to go personally solicit these cases.” And so if somebody goes and gets you signed up in a hospital like that, that’s unethical. That’s improper. If you call me and say, “Hey, this is what happened—”

Harlan Schillinger: Let me stop you there. Let me clarify that. You’ll go to the hospital to sign somebody up at their request.

David Craig – Host: That’s true.

Harlan Schillinger: There’s a difference. And I want to make sure that the audience knows that difference. Solicitation is when you, unbeknowing, are approached by somebody soliciting you unannounced.

David Craig – Host: Correct.

Harlan Schillinger: I want to make that very clear.

David Craig – Host: That’s unethical. If you want to hire me or any other lawyer, they’ll come to see you, but you shouldn’t have people dropping in on you that you’ve never heard of to try to get you to sign a case. And if you do sign a case like that, then by gosh, you should be able to get out of it because that’s improper and it’s unethical.

Harlan Schillinger: It’s ambulance chasing.

David Craig – Host: Yeah. But there’s lawyers out there, and every big case I’ve had in the recent years, there’s been somebody who’s done something to try to get that case improperly. Because the bigger the stakes are, the more people are willing to risk their license to try to get those cases.

Harlan Schillinger: I hate to throw the word greed into the mix here, but there’s a lot of greedy lawyers. Ethics are very self-interpreted, many times. Good character is not.

So David, is there anything that you would like to say in regard to your book and how it impacts people that should read it? And this will be my last question with you.

David Craig – Host: Yeah. No. I was excited to write it. I wrote it out on a legal pad at night. Really late at night. Me and my dog, who you’ve seen over here on my couch. She sat out with me. My wife would go to bed, and me and my dog would go out on my porch and I would write it out on legal pad. And then my poor office … Somebody in my office had to type it out. And I really enjoyed writing it. I had a lady, Abby Hayes, she was a researcher. She was working on her master’s degree. She helped me do the research and research the cases and the statistics. And Abby did a great job. And it was a lot of fun to put together. It was a little bit controversial. I didn’t know how attorneys would like it. But the good lawyers are actually handing it out to their clients because it’s consistent with what they already know on how to pick a good attorney. But I was surprised at how well it’s done. It hit best-selling status at Barnes & Noble. My mom was excited about that one, because she shops at Barnes & Noble.

Harlan Schillinger: It must be good because I read it twice. The first time I read it is when I purchased it on Amazon because I was anxious to get it. And then the second time is when you sent me a hard copy. I just wound up reading it twice. It was an easy read. And what I was really surprised at how you were able to articulate and not belabor things and not continue it, and 16 chapters of this. There’s five chapters, which is very unusual for a book, but they’re very self-contained. It was easy to read. If I could understand it, anybody can understand it.

David Craig – Host: Well, I think one of the things you tell me is, you talk to people like you would talk to a jury, and that book is written just like I was talking to the jury. And if you’re talking to the jury, you don’t want to bore them. You don’t want to talk too long. So you make it short, succinct. That’s what we did in this book. I’ve been really excited. I got an award out at some book club. It’s always rewarding when you see something like that. My goal in life is to make a positive difference in the lives of others. I think that this book will, hopefully, help somebody out there, whether it’s a divorce or estate or a personal injury lawyer victim, they’ll get to the right lawyer.

Harlan Schillinger: Well, with all the bombardment of social media and messaging, I think you get 13,000 messages a day to cipher through. You are helping people make more intelligent and better decisions. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions in my life, and I try to learn from them. It took me a while to recognize that and be humble about it. But this is a great book. I love talking to you because I always walk away, not really energized, but I walk away learning something. And you’ve taught me a lot, and you’ve taught a lot of people a lot.

You have a seminar coming up on August 4th, and you’re going to have a room full of lawyers that you’re going to teach and you’re going to share. And it’s interesting. When I first heard about that, I said, “Well, why are you telling everybody your secrets?” But you walk the talk when you say you want to educate people, even the people that are, you call direct competitors, you’re not afraid to throw it out there. You’re an extremely humble man. Your whole family, the whole practice has got that same character. But this seminar is on the 4th of August.

David Craig – Host: Yeah. And I appreciate that. I don’t look at these folks as my competitors. I have an abundance philosophy. I believe there’s enough cases out there. And so I’m not looking, I’m not worried about what somebody else is doing. I’m worried about, how do I keep getting better? How does my firm keep getting better? How do my lawyers keep getting better? How do we provide a higher-quality service? You talked about AI. How can I use AI to better service my clients? Not, how do I make more money? And so I look at it, and teaching other lawyers is exciting. I like doing it. I’m the weakest … I like the fact that there’s speakers I’m bringing in from all over the country that know more than I know on certain areas like product liability. Even in semi truck wrecks, there are niches within the niche. And so when I have a case, I know who to call on a certain type of issue. If it’s a crash avoidance software issue, I know who to call. And that lawyer’s going to speak at our conference. So I love learning, but I also love sharing.

One of the things, somebody I was writing … They’re putting out my materials, and I was listing all the experts I use, and one of the attorneys is like, “Well, why would you tell everybody who we use?” I’m like, “Why wouldn’t I? They’re good people.” I don’t believe anything bad can come from helping others. When I’ve had lawyers that are competitors ask me to have a cup of coffee with them, have a beer with them, I’ve never turned anybody down and never will. And I will tell them anything and answer any questions honestly. And if I can help them, that’s great. Because the truth is that I believe that the good guy wins in the end, and so I would hope that our firm are the good guys.

Harlan Schillinger: Well, you are also talking about karma and contributing to life. Giving back. I’m not going to top you on this, but I’ve tried to do that all of my business life. And my competitors would call me and say, “Why are you giving all this free information now?” And I ignored that. But when I retired, I was in 96 markets and they were not. I have the honor right now of interviewing. And I mean this. You’re one of the finest people and finest lawyers I know, and I know a lot of lawyers, you know that. You’re ethical, the way you deal with things ethically, you have a good moral compass, but nobody’s going to outwork you. And that’s my impression. That’s what I’m attracted to you. And that rubs off on all the lawyers that you talk to.

David Craig – Host: You and I have that in common. And I think that’s why we’re a good fit. You’re an extraordinarily hard worker. You’re available anytime, whenever I want to talk, when I need to talk, you’re always there. You don’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s Saturday.”

Harlan Schillinger: Well, I figured you need me, so I’m going to answer the question.

David Craig – Host: I do believe that you and I both have the same philosophy, and life’s too short. The firms that are out there just for the dollar, I feel sorry for them. I see on Facebook, their businesses, they’re dropping off their Ferraris at their house and all those kinds of things. And that’s great if that’s what you’re into and that’s what you want. But I want to make a difference in somebody’s life. And every day I can do that. It might be a little difference. It might be a huge difference. But every day you have the opportunity to do something right, to make a difference in somebody’s life by something you say, by something you do, and I love that. And you and I both, as we get older, we realize that those are the things that are important.

Harlan Schillinger: Well, they certainly are to me. And I think it’s proved time and time again, if you give more, you get more. But don’t do it just to get more. Do it because it’s the right thing to do. I read all that in a book that I read many years ago, and I reread it. I only read the First Testament, though. I got tired. I didn’t read the second, but I do believe in the second.

So, David, this has been an honor for me. I’ve always wanted to do an interview, and I had the chance to interview somebody I really, really respect.

David Craig – Host: This is David Craig, and you’ve been listening to After The Crash. If you’d like more information about me or my law firm, please go to our website, ckflaw.com. Or if you’d like to talk to me, you can call 1-800-ASK-DAVID. If you would like a guide on what to do after a truck wreck, then pick up my book, Semi Truck Wreck: A Guide for Victims and Their Families, which is available on Amazon, or you can download it for free on our website, ckflaw.com.Ep. 66 – Why Truck Accident Cases Require Immediate Action || After the Crash Podcast