Get to Know Don

When I left law school, many of my friends went on to work for insurance companies and corporations.  Many of them were frustrated that they were basically filling out paperwork and that this work wasn’t meaningful.

I’ve found being an injury lawyer lets me make real impact on people’s lives. 

Our clients find themselves hurt through no fault of their own and they often don’t know where to turn.  Many of our clients have never hired a lawyer before and don’t know the process.  Often, they have made mistakes dealing with the insurance company before calling us, either because they don’t know their legal rights or they have gotten bad advice from friends and family and on social media.

It is difficult to deal with insurance companies – especially while trying to heal from injuries and navigate medical treatment at the same time.  The insurance companies know this and can take advantage of people who don’t know better.  Over the years, insurance companies have invested billions of dollars to develop strategies to pay as little as possible on injury claims.  This includes teaching adjusters to befriend injury victims and make them believe they are on their side  — even though the adjuster’s primary goal is often to pay as little as they can get away with.  Most of the time, the injury victim hasn’t talked to an injury lawyer and has no idea what their case is really worth.

Being an injury lawyer is about leveling the playing field.  It’s about making sure people know their rights and are not taken advantage of.  Our clients just want to be treated fairly, and I enjoy making that happen.  In the end, being an injury lawyer allows me to make a real difference for people who need help.  Doing my job well can change someone’s life forever, and there really isn’t a better reason to go to work.   

I’ve handled many catastrophic injury cases which have left people permanently disabled and unable to work or provide for their family.  The result we get in those cases can change the lives of the injury victim and their family permanently, making certain that the client gets the medical care they need for the rest of their life and their family has the financial security they deserve.  Getting a result for an injured person that changes lives forever is something you never forget. 

Many of the nursing home and abuse cases I’ve handled over the years also stand out.  There is something especially tragic when you entrust a loved one to someone else’s care and they breach that trust.  For families who have had a loved one abused or neglected at a nursing home, it is really all about holding those companies accountable to try and prevent the same thing from happening to someone else’s Mom or Dad.

Honestly, though, many of the less serious cases also stand out.  We work with people who are going through a difficult time even though they did nothing wrong, and anytime you can prevent someone from getting taken advantage of is important.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”  – Tim Notke

In my experience practicing law, and in life, there’s nothing more important to success than outworking everyone else.

In some ways, good lawyers are always at work because they are constantly thinking about their cases, whether driving home or eating dinner.

But when I can get away, my passion is flying. I’ve been an instrument rated pilot for over 20 years. Although I don’t have the time to fly as much as I’d like, I love the beauty of being in the sky alone with my thoughts. I am a single-digit handicap golfer and enjoy playing tennis and ice hockey.