Ideas in the Wild: How Brian LaBovick Aims To Help Car Accident Victims Navigate a Complicated Post-Wreck Process

Automobile accidents change everything. Within seconds, every plan is altered, every project delayed, and every concern before that moment is overshadowed by an uncertain future.

Following hours in the hospital and a wrecked car awaiting insurance-approved repairs, victims feel stuck. They’re mad. And they’re starting to think that they’ll never recover — in more ways than one. That’s where injury lawyer Brian LaBovick comes in.

In Brian’s new book Not a Good Neighbor, he shares how to navigate the paperwork and pitfalls of an automobile accident case. He recalls stories from nearly three decades in practice to help readers maximize their benefits in this often complicated process. I caught up with Brian to learn more about what inspired him to write the book and his favorite idea he shares with readers.

What happened that made you decide to write the book? What was the exact moment when you realized these ideas needed to get out there?

My experience in dealing with literally thousands of people who have been involved in automobile accidents made me want to write the book. It wasn’t a particular moment that came over me, but more about the weight of people that continue to ask questions about their automobile accident cases. These people all want help on fixing their life after an automobile accident case, but they don’t have the damages to necessitate hiring a lawyer.

Plus, most of the people in my practice don’t want to hire a lawyer because they feel there’s a stigma about being one of those, “sue-happy people.” These people avoid hiring a lawyer, even when they really need help because they think they can work the claim out fairly themselves.

We speak with these people all the time. We have an entire Intake group just to help advise people on the timing and the need for an attorney. I wrote this book so that people can educate themselves and make a determination as to whether or not they really need a lawyer, and if they don’t want to hire a lawyer then they are welcome to get their case settled on their own.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned going through the journey you share in the book?

There are a few really hard lessons that I’ve learned being an injury attorney. The first is that there are sadly many situations where finding a fair point of justice is an impossibility.

The second lesson that I learned is that there are a lot of people who allow the fear of what a neighbor or family member will think of them to hurt them substantially by not fighting for what is right. Those people almost always call when it’s too late.

The last thing that I learned is that most people don’t understand insurance and what it covers. We all drive and pay automobile insurance for years. And even though it’s explained to us, we still don’t know what is covered, when it’s covered, how it’s covered, and who is covered! People need this primer just to understand their automobile insurance policy right upfront.

How will you apply this lesson in your life moving forward?

My goal in writing this book was to better serve my community. By giving my clients the tools they need to handle their own cases — one in which an attorney is not necessary — will give me the time I need to concentrate on those cases that need a warrior for justice.

One of the lessons I did not note above, but it’s very apparent after many years of practicing in personal injury, is that the insurance industry is not in the pursuit of truth, justice, or fairness.

They are in the pursuit of settling claims as cheaply as possible for profit maximization. They will use whatever they can to undermine the value of a claim and they do not take account in any significant way for the human element, unless they believe it will affect the jury and the amount of money a jury will give you in a case. This is a painful but very apparent truth that people who are truly injured have a hard time reconciling.

Most people believe that even a heartless insurance company executive will have empathy for their real damages, and will provide them a fair settlement. That will not happen, unless that injured person is prepared to hit that insurance carrier with a very large stick. That very large stick is embodied in the form of an aggressive trial lawyer. It is just a fact.