Why Rushing to Sue For Your Personal Injuries May Be The Wrong Answer in NY (Or Anywhere Else)

In the May 20 edition of the New York Daily News, it was reported that one of Britney Spears's former bodyguards has sued her for personal injuries that he allegedly sustained due to her negligence. In reading the article's description of this man's background, I was amazed that my gut almost instinctively rejected the merits of this man's claims - even though very little detail about the actual claims is given. And you know what? I imagine that most people reading that article felt the same way.

So, you ask, what was so troubling about the man's past that it turned me, a Long Island, New York personal injury lawyer into a hardened skeptic? He is clearly a very litigious guy, with two other lawsuits that are still pending, and a third work injury-related claim that was resolved some time ago. While it is questionable to what degree an attorney would be permitted to introduce evidence of the other claims at trial, there is a serious risk that a jury will take this new claim - no matter how legitimate - with more than a few grains of salt.

In addition, if you sue over a relatively minor injury to one part of your body, and then subsequently injure that same part of your body more severly later on, you may have unwittingly provided an important defense to the latter claim: that your injury was caused by the first incident rather than the second one. To summarize: before rushing head-first into litigation, you should strongly consider whether this case is really worthwhile; if you don't, it could compromise a more meaningful claim down the road.