Please note that this is an informational blog. I accept no professional responsibility for this blog, and it is not intended to be a treatise on this subject matter. A person with an injury claim should consult my firm or another attorney about a personal injury matter.

In many facets of life, people can express sports analogies or sayings. Sports comparisons or analogies can be a way to make a point that can connect with people. In my work as an attorney, and as a sports fan, I have definitely made my fair share of sports analogies in conversations with clients and others! In my specific area of representing mostly plaintiffs/claimants in personal injury cases, I will mention five sections of analogies as they can apply to the immensely popular American sport of football.

(1) The Client's Personal Injury Lawyer Can Be Similar to a Coach or General

Manager

Football coaches and general managers make personnel and roster decisions concerning their team. Coaches, in particular, work with their players on techniques and other aspects of football.

For a personal injury lawyer, there are lines between coaching and providing a client with information. Yet the reality is that a plaintiff personal injury lawyer will usually spend considerable time with a client going over deposition testimony, treatment issues, issues to consider in dealing with the opposing party's attorney or insurance company, expert testimony decisions, trial strategy, and a range of other aspects of a given case. The lawyer frequently has discretion to make various case strategic decisions—the lawyer can act as a playmaker.

The personal injury client ultimately has decisions to make about their case; however, the client's attorney can certainly play a positive role as being similar to a coach or general manager in trying to help make the case conclude with a favorable result for the client.

Another analogy that I have used over the years is that part of my role as the attorney for the client is to be their “tour guide” in helping the client get through unfamiliar travels.

Coaches have a similar responsibility to “guide” their players through the game.

(2) A Plaintiff Personal Injury Lawyer Has a Role as the “Offensive Coordinator”

In football, the offensive coordinator's job is to help run plays and coordinate all aspects of the offense, which includes overseeing the quarterbacks, running backs, linemen, tight ends, and wide receivers.

As a plaintiff's lawyer, you are essentially going on the offense for your client. You must factually and legally work on building up the case in terms of proving liability and damages. You need to help the client in deciding what “plays to run” and how to succeed when the skilled insurance defense team is trying to stop your client from “scoring” (getting a recovery) and/or “getting more points” (a higher monetary recovery).

(3) A Plaintiff Personal Injury Lawyer Also Has to Be a “Defensive Coordinator”

The defensive coordinator on a football team has a similar role as the offensive coordinator, except the defensive coordinator helps manage all aspects of the team's defense.

In representing a personal injury client, the lawyer is not necessarily dealing with only “offensive matters.” In my years doing this kind of work, I have also found myself helping the client with a matter that must be defended. This can occur in addressing a client's medical history or a challenging issue from the past. A personal injury lawyer can also be on the defense when it comes to addressing a comparative negligence allegation or another type of affirmative defense that a defendant may raise.

(4) A Personal Injury Lawyer Must Be on the Lookout for “Special Teams”

In football, special teams can play a key role in a game. These are players on the field during kicking plays. College and professional teams have a person who coaches the special teams.

In my work as a plaintiff's personal injury lawyer, I see the “special teams” as being broad. It can be retaining the right expert witness for the case or helping the client find a good health care provider. Decisions are also made in terms of personal injury law as to when to bring in the “special teams” and say, “kick a field goal,” or decide instead to go for the “touchdown” and get more “points.” There are other analogies, too, when it comes to the “special teams” aspects of a personal injury case.

(5) A Personal Injury Lawyer Sometimes Must Run a “Reverse Play”

In football, the reverse play is a play that involves the offense running initially in the opposite direction.

In plaintiff's personal injury work, an aspect of personal injury work that is often a “big elephant” in the room is subrogation. Subrogation can allow a first party (the claimant's own insurance company), in certain situations, to recover proceeds from a client's personal injury settlement or judgment.

When it comes to the third-party claim (the client's claim against the alleged at-fault party), the client's personal injury lawyer must do all she reasonably can to try to increase the value of the client's personal injury claim. But when it comes to subrogation, the lawyer must essentially run a “reverse play” and try to prevent the client's insurance company from obtaining an excessive subrogation interest. The lawyer must go “high” on the third-party claim and then try to go “low” on the subrogation claim. Perhaps not a perfect analogy, but the subrogation phase of a claimant's personal injury case can be a bit like a reverse play because of the need to go in a different direction than in other parts of the case.