February Book Recommendation

This is a quick story and then a book recommendation. It's all about a favorite group of people (mostly): Lawyers. I will ignore Shakespeare's Henry VI line: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Trust me, when you need a lawyer, you need a lawyer!

The story first.

While on her cell phone, a high school senior hit a telephone pole. Her car had minor front-end damage, and she seemed fine. As the first EMT on the scene, I stepped carefully over the fallen wires and walked up to the car. The girl — a little teary eyed— was sitting in the car on her cell phone.

I introduced myself and started the initial assessment to determine if we needed to transport her. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a woman wearing a power suit leaping over the wires and sprinting to the car.

She arrived breathless, and the girl in the car said, "Mom, I'm okay. I'm sorry I dented the car!"

I asked the driver what had happened. Before she could answer, the mom blurted out, "Inadmissible! Client-attorney privilege!"

I looked confused, and the daughter said, under her breath, "My mom just passed her bar exam."

"Huh," I said, "So tell me, are you hurt?"

The mom immediately spoke up again, saying, "Hearsay, she's not a Doctor!"

There was a pause as the daughter, and I looked at her mom. The mom thought for a moment and finally said, "Sorry, I can't help it. I'm just going to go stand over there," and she walked away.

I asked a few more questions while keeping an eye on Mom. She had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot. Happily, her daughter was not hurt. Fortunately for me, she was eighteen and could sign the "I am not a patient" form herself. Had she been a minor, her mom would have had to sign it. That would have been a protracted legal battle. I took our paperwork and told her I was glad that she wasn't hurt just as the sheriff approached the car. Getting into our ambulance, the last thing I heard was the mom telling the officer, "I'm her attorney! You can only talk to her with me present!"

Now, the recommendation. First, wish for a blizzard that keeps you in your home with nothing to do but read. Then, choose Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series or the Harry Bosch series (both recent TV movies). If you like courtroom and police drama, these are great books.

Hersch’s book “Firefighter Zen: A field guide for Thriving in Tough Times” is available at bookstores and online!