Frivolous is a word too often attributed to personal injury lawsuits. Many people believe our nation has too many lawsuits and believe that most of the cases that are filed are frivolous.
In my experience as a personal injury lawyer in the Kansas City area, the most frivolous claims I’ve seen are the defenses to a personal injury lawsuit. When the law and the facts are on your side, a wrongdoer will feel backed into a corner and will make up outlandish defenses to get out of responsibility.
Here are a couple ways we fight against those frivolous defenses:
Head them off at the pass.
The first time the defendants will show some of their defenses is in their answer to your lawsuit. When you file a petition, the person or entity you sue must file an answer. The answer must state all of their affirmative defenses. These are allegations against a plaintiff that would decrease or negate their obligation to pay compensation. Missouri law requires these affirmative defenses conform to certain rules and oftentimes a defendants’ affirmative defenses won’t. The first line of attack is to file a motion to strike those affirmative defenses. This helps narrow a wrongdoer’s defenses.
Use our experience to anticipate what the defenses will be.
Lawyers who defend someone who committed negligence oftentimes follow a certain playbook. With our experience, we’ve learned what that playbook is and can anticipate the frivolous defenses from the outset. This lets us get ready for them and allows us to prepare our clients for the inevitable questions that come with those defenses. For example, a common frivolous defense is to claim that you already had the injuries you got in the crash, fall, or other incident. Knowing this, we can get old medical records or talk to loved ones who know you well to show that your injuries are new.