Standing in My Clients' Shoes

Preparing for Surgery

Having represented thousands of clients over the past 18 years, I have heard on hundreds of occasions that my clients are going to have back surgery because of the pain they are experiencing after an accident.

Well, tonight I find myself on the eve of having the very same procedures that many of my clients undergo. Much like in anything in the human existence, all those bad things that happen, happen to "other people.” But tomorrow, it is happening to me. 

I have complete and utter faith in my surgeon and that the procedure is right for me. But I can't help but think of all the things my clients must think about on the eve of surgery.

Will it fix the problem?

Will the problem get worse?  

Will I make it through surgery?

I've called my family and my friends are all on standby to hear that I am in recovery and everything went well.

Even though insurance companies brush off these procedures as routine and are unmoved by the surgical notes that they read day in and day out, nothing can convey to them the fear and anxiety associated with the unknown result of the surgery. They don’t consider the flip-flop between second guessing your decision and the convincing you have to do to stop second-guessing.

I applaud the bravery of my clients who have gone through a surgical procedure and will use this experience to further convey to insurance companies and juries the understated and often overlooked suffering my clients experience beyond the physical.

— Michael Brehne