In the following foreword to Robert Simon's Trying Disc Injury Cases, nationally renowned trial lawyer and Trial Guides author Nicholas Rowley shares his thoughts on the book and why he recommends it
to any lawyer who handles disc injury cases:Over the past fifteen years, I have seen Bob Simon and his allies righteously flip the script and change the way spine injury cases are looked at, handled, and valued—paving a path for the countless humans who deserve full compensation and justice for the changes to their bodies and lives caused by the negligence and wrongdoing of others.
Approximately 3 million people in the United States suffer from whiplash injuries each year. Half of them end up living with chronic pain for the rest of their lives. Sadly, only a small percentage of these humans ever end up being fully compensated. The rest are written off, settled out for cheap, and forgotten. They are classified as “soft tissue” cases, instead of real people with compelling human stories who have suffered real, life-changing injuries. There are different reasons for this sad reality. The most important one is our collective failure as trial lawyers to believe in these cases, invest the resources, do what it takes to go the distance, and dedicate the time and resources needed to teach others. The time to rectify our failure is now.
This wonderful book shines new rays of hope into the pits of darkness where most lawyers get stuck or are otherwise unwilling to go. Having spent what seemed like endless time in those pits, struggling to get out of them over and over again with my clients and oftentimes their families on my shoulders, trust me, I know how dark and difficult things can be. If there is a knight of justice dedicated to keeping his clients out of the pits, fighting the dragons, and dragging them out into the light, then Bob Simon is that champion. If the Mandalorian were a trial lawyer, I know what he would say about this book. He would tell us “This is the way.” Having spent over two decades trying these difficult cases, educating myself, testing new methods and strategies, and learning from some of the best in our field, I can confidently say that no better tool exists to teach lawyers how to best represent clients who have suffered spine injuries than this book.
By reading the referenced cases and seeing the way the medicine is thoroughly explained in conjunction with how the human stories are told, you will become a lawyer who is capable of winning full justice for the people you convince to trust you. By committing to learning how to do things better and differently, you will learn how to handle neck and back injury cases from the moment you get the first call to prelitigation, discovery, dealing with defense medical examinations, knowing which experts to hire, and (if you are willing to go the distance) how to effectively present these cases and human stories to juries, whether they are liberal, rural, conservative or otherwise. This book teaches us how to smack down typical defenses such as when the defense expert testifies that the MRI shows nothing but wear and tear or the defense makes its primary focus the unimpressive property damage or gaps in medical treatment. If the radiology room is something you don’t know much about, and you want to learn more, you will soon understand things such as the difference between clinical and nonclinical radiologists.
If someone has told you that the merit or value of spine injury cases is determined by the size of the disc protrusions, bulges, or herniations, you’ll learn how that is very far from the truth and why. I could go on and on, but the book does a much better job. I do have a wish that I hope the decision-makers publish, which is that all personal injury/accident billboard lawyers in America buy enough copies of this book to ensure the people they have intaking and working up these cases learn how to do their jobs better. If my wish comes true, I am confident we will see a ripple effect of generational justice over the next few decades with less pain and suffering and a whole lot more life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
I am very honored to write this foreword, express my respect and belief in the authors, and insist that every trial lawyer read this book. I have known Bob Simon and his twin brother Brad since they started their law firm in 2010, a decade and a half ago. I specifically remember how proud they both were handing out pins and hats with their new “Simon Law Group” logo at a lawyer mixer in Malibu. These two brothers had moved out west and started their law practice with nothing but the shirts on their backs. From the beginning, they have always been good and generous people who give back even when they have little or nothing to give. It makes me proud to have grown up with these great humans as a fellow trial lawyer and friend.
In terms of trial work, Bob Simon started his career straight out of the chute, running against the grain and breaking the mold and winning jury trial after jury trial. He tried cases others didn’t believe in. Judges told Bob he would lose, defense lawyers laughed, colleagues asked him what the heck he was doing, but Bob kept putting one foot in front of the other. He chose to believe in his clients and do whatever it took to figure out how to win. As young lawyers, we would find ourselves trying cases next door to each other, down the hall, or Bob would be waiting to start a trial as I was finishing or vice versa. I saw him win, I saw him evolve, but most importantly I saw that he never gave up or let anybody beat him down. I have seen Bob, his family, and his partners and law firm put it all on the line, repeatedly standing up for the people and issues they believe in. This book is a precious and beautiful gift to us all.
With gratitude, your friend and ally,
Nick Rowley
To learn more about Robert Simon's comprehensive guide to winning disc injury cases, click here or the links above.