Latest / The Denver Personal Injury Podcast with Reeves D. Whalen / Who Is Reeves D. Whalen? Meet the Denver Injury Lawyer Behind Whalen Injury Lawyers

Transcript

Who Is Reeves D. Whalen? Meet the Denver Injury Lawyer Behind Whalen Injury Lawyers · The Denver Personal Injury Podcast with Reeves D. Whalen

• 0:10
  Welcome to the Denver Injury Podcast with Reeves Whalen.
• 0:13
  My name is McCartney, and this first episode is a little different.
• 0:16
  Before we get into the law, we're getting to know the attorney behind the firm.
• 0:20
  I'm sitting down with Reeves D. Whalen of Whalen Injury Lawyers here in Denver, Colorado.
• 0:24
  Reeves, thanks for doing this.
• 0:26
  Let's start at the beginning.
• 0:27
  What inspired you to become a lawyer?
• 0:29
  I grew up in a small town in Western Massachusetts, and my father was a small town lawyer.
• 0:36
  I grew up watching him help people.
• 0:38
  I had a very large, diverse family.
• 0:40
  I was one of 12 kids, seven adopted, family members of different races and backgrounds and disabilities.
• 0:48
  My parents were great people.
• 0:49
  They inspired me to do great things and want to help people.
• 0:52
  My father was, as I said, a lawyer in a small town, rural Western Massachusetts community.
• 0:58
  I was inspired watching him growing up in between taking care of our family and being a part of the community, but also being a respected attorney that helped people and helped people in the same types of cases that I helped people in.
• 1:10
  People that have been involved in car accidents who have been injured, whose lives have unexpectedly changed and they have to go up against big people, insurance companies and corporations.
• 1:20
  And when I was growing up,
• 1:22
  I saw that on a smaller scale, but it caused me to have great passion and enthusiasm about wanting to take on the Giants and go after them and do great things in my life.
• 1:34
  And so I attribute becoming a lawyer to my parents for the role models they were.
• 1:40
  To me, when I was growing up, it made me want to do great things and help people.
• 1:43
  And I've become passionate about that in my adult life.
• 1:46
  And I was always passionate about that growing up.
• 1:49
  I saw things happen that I didn't agree with.
• 1:51
  I thought people were treated unfairly for a variety of different reasons.
• 1:56
  I was the first one to kind of stand up and challenge people.
• 1:59
  I challenged adults when I was a kid, when I thought that things were wrong, when people were treated unfairly.
• 2:05
  due to their race or their background or just kind of small town things that I saw that I didn't agree with.
• 2:11
  It wasn't always easy, but it was the right thing to do.
• 2:14
  I just got on this path of seeking out what side to be on.
• 2:18
  And if I felt I was on the right side and I was helping people, I went for it.
• 2:21
  And that's what I did since I was a kid.
• 2:23
  And my parents helped me kind of go down that path and do that in my life.
• 2:27
  That's really inspiring.
• 2:28
  So tell me a little bit about your educational background and key credentials that you have.
• 2:33
  Yeah, certainly.
• 2:34
  I went to high school in a very rural community in Western Massachusetts.
• 2:38
  I grew up on a farm, got up early in the morning, 5 a.m. to take care of animals, feed horses and sheep and work on a farm.
• 2:47
  Did that 5 a.m. before I'd get up to go to school in the morning and I'd catch the bus around 7.15.
• 2:53
  I grew up in a community like that in a very rural setting.
• 2:56
  I played sports when I was in high school and ended up going to college in Pennsylvania, a place called Dickinson College.
• 3:03
  Ultimately, I moved out to Colorado after college and
• 3:06
  went to the University of Denver Law School, and then I was honored to end up going to the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program.
• 3:15
  I received recommendations from the governor of Colorado, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a number of other people in the professional community in Denver that believed in me and thought that I was a good candidate for a program like that.
• 3:30
  went to Harvard and met some leaders from around the country.
• 3:34
  They were involved in medicine and law and politics, and they were from around the world, not just Colorado, not just from the United States, but it was an international program.
• 3:44
  And these were people that were in leadership roles throughout the world, and I had an opportunity to connect with them, to share our passionate kind of pursuits together.
• 3:53
  And these are relationships that I formed that kind of stick with me now, even as I've practiced law for 20 years.
• 4:00
  So it's been a great experience on the educational front.
• 4:03
  I come from back east, but, you know, I've made my life in Colorado.
• 4:07
  I'm a Coloradan and I love being here and I'm passionate about the work that I do here.
• 4:11
  That's incredibly impressive.
• 4:13
  So I know you touched on a little bit where you're originally from and that you came to Denver, but how does that shape how you practice today?
• 4:21
  You know, Colorado is a special place to me.
• 4:23
  It's where I met my wife.
• 4:25
  It's where I started a family, where I went to law school.
• 4:29
  I feel I'm part of the community here.
• 4:30
  I've practiced law in Colorado for nearly 20 years now.
• 4:34
  Colorado is a good place.
• 4:36
  It's full of really hardworking people.
• 4:38
  people who care about their community, people who want to invest in their community here.
• 4:42
  And it's been a pleasure and an honor to represent these people when they've been involved in unexpected situations where something bad happens and they need help.
• 4:51
  That's how Colorado has become a place in my heart where I live and work.
• 4:55
  It's a place where I feel like I'm a part of the community here.
• 4:59
  And I think I make a difference here in the work that I do, representing people and taking on large insurance companies and corporations.
• 5:05
  On that note, you specialize in personal injury law.
• 5:08
  Within that, are there specific types of cases you focus on most?
• 5:13
  And then tell me a little bit more about why those areas in particular.
• 5:16
  When I first started practicing law in Colorado, I worked for a very large law firm, nearly
• 5:22
  60, 70 lawyers, 100 people in support staff.
• 5:25
  And I got an opportunity to see how things work, working for a large law firm, a big company like that.
• 5:32
  I was never quite suited to be in that type of environment.
• 5:35
  I'm much more hands-on.
• 5:37
  And eventually I started my own firm and it allowed me to work directly with clients and to be a part of my clients' lives from the beginning of the case to the end of the case.
• 5:46
  It provides a basis for a lot of direct contact,
• 5:49
  I specialize in personal injury cases.
• 5:52
  I've done cases against medical device manufacturers.
• 5:56
  I've done cases against pharmaceutical drug manufacturers.
• 5:59
  I've done product liability cases against the auto industry and auto manufacturers, prescription misfill cases against large national pharmacies.
• 6:08
  But over the years, really where I am now is I specialize in commercial trucking cases and wrongful death cases.
• 6:14
  Representing people who have been injured in car accidents or truck accidents or families who have lost someone they loved in a serious crash involving a semi truck.
• 6:27
  We hope those things don't happen.
• 6:28
  We wish those things don't happen to anyone.
• 6:30
  But it's a reality of life.
• 6:32
  They do happen.
• 6:33
  They impact people's lives.
• 6:34
  They change people's lives forever.
• 6:36
  And so.
• 6:37
  I feel like I'm someone who I've developed a relationship with families and community in Colorado where when something like this happens, when someone's been seriously injured or they've lost someone who they love in a serious car or truck accident, they'll come to me as well as other attorneys from the state.
• 6:54
  And they'll ask me to help them guide them through these cases, not just from the standpoint of dealing directly with the client, spending time with them and forming a connection with them.
• 7:04
  But also other attorneys will want to bring me involved into these cases for strategy purposes, because I've been doing this for a really long time.
• 7:12
  And these cases are complicated.
• 7:14
  And the types of things you need to ask for in these cases is extensive.
• 7:18
  We live in a very technologically savvy world now.
• 7:21
  These semi-trucks are equipped with cars.
• 7:23
  multiple cameras and telecomatic systems and a lot of other systems that are in place where you have to understand the technology, you have to understand how these vehicles are monitored by large companies, and you have to understand what to go after in terms of obtaining evidence in these cases, as well as the experts that you have to hire.
• 7:43
  So my primary practice now is in car accidents and semi-truck crashes.
• 7:49
  And, you know, I operate in the personal injury world.
• 7:51
  It gives me an opportunity to meet great people, meet great people at points in their lives where they're being challenged and feels like the world is turned upside down on them and
• 8:02
  I get to be that person that they rely upon.
• 8:04
  And I take that very seriously.
• 8:06
  And I'm proud of where I can take them in these cases to try to get their lives back together and make things return to some type of normalcy when it's all over and make them feel like they've been treated fairly and they haven't been taken advantage of.
• 8:19
  And, you know, we beat the bad guys.
• 8:21
  So that's what I focus on in my life these days.
• 8:23
  And that's what I do in Colorado in my personal injury practice at Whale and Injury Lawyers.
• 8:27
  So tell me, what's one thing you wish more people understood about what personal injury attorneys actually do?
• 8:34
  When you're a lawyer in a personal injury case, you have a lot of work and you have a lot of people that rely upon you.
• 8:42
  And there's a lot of client coordination.
• 8:45
  and letting the clients know the direction of their case and how their case evolves and develops over time.
• 8:52
  But then on the other side of it, there's the active part of the case where you're going up against insurance companies and big corporations, you are filing lawsuits, you are going to depositions, you're going to court hearings, you're filing motions.
• 9:06
  You're going to mediations.
• 9:08
  You got to get up in front of the court.
• 9:09
  If you go to trial and present your case, it's complicated.
• 9:12
  And the universe of the experts that you have to hire in these cases is incredibly complicated because vehicles now have black box data and they have for over a decade.
• 9:23
  And that provides a wealth of information in these crashes.
• 9:26
  And you need to know how to get it and who to hire to be able to obtain that evidence and extract it from these vehicles.
• 9:36
  talk about what was going on in the moments leading up to the crash.
• 9:40
  You have to know how to hire accident reconstructionists and medical legal forensic experts, human factors experts, a whole bunch of different people that over the course of the life of this podcast, we'll have an opportunity to talk about.
• 9:52
  But these cases are very complex.
• 9:55
  They involve a lot of time and a lot of energy, and you need to know what you're doing.
• 9:59
  Our firm's been doing this for a long time, and we do it at a very high level.
• 10:02
  So that kind of shapes the direction of where we go with these cases.
• 10:06
  Let's dive into the mission behind Wayland Injury Lawyers.
• 10:09
  What are the core services your firm provides and what types of clients do you find yourself working with most often?
• 10:16
  I find myself working with a wide variety of different types of clients.
• 10:21
  I've represented politicians.
• 10:23
  I've represented judges.
• 10:24
  I've represented other lawyers, professional athletes, and everybody in between from every type of background.
• 10:33
  Car accidents don't target any particular person.
• 10:36
  They happen to people unexpectedly all the time, and it can happen to anybody.
• 10:42
  It can have a profound impact on anyone's life at any given time.
• 10:46
  No one plans for it.
• 10:47
  No one sees it's coming, and it pulls the rug out from underneath you.
• 10:51
  When we get involved in these cases, we get to form relationships with our clients.
• 10:55
  We get to work with them directly.
• 10:57
  My clients all have my cell phone number.
• 10:59
  We have a very welcoming and warm, effective, and competent staff.
• 11:04
  These clients get to know our staff.
• 11:06
  They get to spend time with our staff, rely upon the people at my office as well as myself to guide them through this process, and we form incredible relationships.
• 11:15
  And these relationships generally at my firm extend beyond the life of the case.
• 11:21
  There are clients that I talked to that I represented over a decade ago, and I'm still a part of their lives, and they're still a part of my life because we went through something difficult.
• 11:30
  We went through something hard, and we had to count on each other, and it forms a bond and a certain relationship that can last a lifetime.
• 11:39
  You find people at their worst in the worst type of predicament, and you've got to be the go-to guy for them.
• 11:45
  You have to guide them through it and make them feel like they're safe
• 11:49
  and that things are gonna be okay.
• 11:50
  And I think with our law firm, we really care about forming those personal connections and having our clients be a part of our lives.
• 11:58
  And this is a constant thing.
• 12:00
  Sometimes people ask me, what do you do for a hobby?
• 12:03
  Do you golf?
• 12:04
  Do you...
• 12:06
  Do you travel?
• 12:07
  And it always comes around to the same thing.
• 12:09
  I don't do either one of those things.
• 12:11
  My hobby is my job.
• 12:12
  My energy goes 100% into my job.
• 12:15
  I love what I do.
• 12:17
  And it's a 24-hour-a-day type of job.
• 12:21
  And you got to be there for people.
• 12:22
  And you got to be there ready to go.
• 12:24
  And so I pride myself on focusing on my work, focusing on my job, and limiting any kind of distractions so that I'm there all the time, ready to do what I'm good at.
• 12:34
  I've always felt if you're good at something, then you need to do it 100% of the time.
• 12:38
  And I feel like I'm good at this and I've been good at this for a long time.
• 12:41
  And so I dedicate 100% of my energy to it.
• 12:44
  That's what makes our firm a little bit different, I think.
• 12:46
  And I can see how passionate you are about your career.
• 12:48
  So tell me, how did you get from law school to where you are today?
• 12:52
  You know, law school is an interesting place.
• 12:54
  Law school, it gives you the fundamentals, but it doesn't necessarily teach you how to practice.
• 13:00
  This is a whole nother education you have after you get out of law school.
• 13:04
  And it's an important education.
• 13:06
  It's a hands-on education.
• 13:08
  And the first five years out of law school,
• 13:11
  It's something that is incredible.
• 13:14
  It's stressful.
• 13:15
  It's difficult.
• 13:16
  Most things in life that are hard, they're worth it.
• 13:19
  Law school was worth it.
• 13:20
  And the first half a decade of practicing after law school was hard and difficult and stressful.
• 13:27
  But it's how you set the stage for where you're going to go in your life.
• 13:31
  It's a journey that you take.
• 13:32
  I think about the time that I got out of law school and how I developed as a lawyer.
• 13:37
  I think a lot of times it's baptism by fire, but it always helps to have a good mentor and some good guidance.
• 13:42
  My journey has led me to a really good place.
• 13:46
  And it's that confidence level experience that you have for many years that gets you to a place where it's second nature.
• 13:53
  You don't think twice about it.
• 13:54
  At
• 13:55
  nearly 20 years of practicing law, these things come intuitively now, but you watch other lawyers and how they develop their skill sets and it's a journey, but it's a good one.
• 14:03
  So you have a ton of experience, but tell me about some of the cases or achievements that you're most proud of.
• 14:10
  You know, the interesting thing about practicing law is that a lot of the highlight reel can fall under confidentiality because when you're involved in really big cases that account for really big outcomes, typically a lot of these companies don't want people knowing about it.
• 14:26
  When you take on big insurance companies and you take on big corporations and you beat them at their own game, they walk away with a little bit of a distasteful experience for it.
• 14:36
  You have to do the best you can for your client.
• 14:38
  And your job is to take on the other guy.
• 14:42
  And at the end of the day, to be successful in how you put these cases together.
• 14:47
  I've handled cases where people are injured and their lives are changed, but they're able to get through it and they're able to recover and they're able to get to a good place.
• 14:56
  And then I've had cases where people's lives are irreparably changed and their recovery and their journey back only can take them so far.
• 15:05
  I've handled cases against big companies and corporations and auto manufacturers that have been in excess of $10 million.
• 15:12
  some very large cases with some really big outcomes that help people in the future make it so that something that changed their life they have some level of security and they have some level of safety and knowing that this car accident isn't going to be something that puts them on the street down the road that they'll never be homeless they'll have some financial resources that'll take a lot of the stress away from them
• 15:39
  People get taken out of their jobs from car accidents and trucking accidents.
• 15:43
  They get fired from their jobs because they can't return to their jobs.
• 15:47
  Their lives are completely changed.
• 15:48
  Sometimes people in these cases, they experience chronic pain from car accidents.
• 15:53
  And chronic pain is an awful thing.
• 15:55
  It can lead people to have frustrating relationships and
• 15:58
  with their children and their spouses and their families.
• 16:02
  Because when you suffer from chronic pain, you can't be meaningfully present with your kids, your spouse, or your family.
• 16:10
  And so there's a lot that can get taken away from you.
• 16:13
  And in handling these cases, you have to look at them from a lot of different angles to make sure that you can help people
• 16:20
  long term, not only just with financial resources, but with medical and counseling resources so that they can transition back into their life as close as it was before a crash.
• 16:31
  And that's part of my obligation and part of the journey that I'm on with clients that I represent.
• 16:35
  Well, clearly you care a lot about others.
• 16:38
  So how do you give back to the legal community beyond your casework?
• 16:41
  I've been doing volunteer work for a really long time.
• 16:44
  I've been a youth mentor.
• 16:46
  I've been a part of the Denver Public Schools in the past before as a professional interventional teacher that will come into the Denver Public Schools.
• 16:56
  I've worked in a lot of different charities and nonprofits.
• 16:59
  I've done a lot of fundraising for charities and for organizations that I care about that I believe make an impact on the community.
• 17:06
  When I first started off as an attorney, there was a period of time where I went to Haiti
• 17:11
  with another attorney from New York City who was involved in a nonprofit that was building a orphanage in Haiti.
• 17:18
  I went and lived in Haiti for a period of time, and I was involved in this nonprofit and building an orphanage there and providing support to that community.
• 17:29
  And that experience changed the direction of my life.
• 17:31
  I was involved in the Clinton Foundation for a number of years.
• 17:35
  And, you know, I was really fortunate to be recognized for
• 17:39
  a lot of my community-based involvement.
• 17:41
  I was one of the youngest people to ever be a Denver Business Journal 40 Under 40, one of the top 40 Under 40 trial lawyers in the country.
• 17:49
  And I've had a lifetime of recognition for the type of things that I've done, which I guess that matters to clients.
• 17:56
  I don't know that it matters to the person, but it matters to clients because they wanna feel like
• 18:01
  their lawyer is a part of their community.
• 18:03
  And there is a symbiotic relationship in terms of what someone does in their community and then what they can do professionally and what they do professionally.
• 18:12
  And then beyond that, what they do in their lives and its entirety across the board.
• 18:16
  So those things I'm really proud about.
• 18:18
  It's not about the recognition.
• 18:19
  It's about just putting in the hard work and doing those things.
• 18:22
  It makes a difference.
• 18:23
  And I feel like it's made a difference in the course of my life.
• 18:26
  We touched on this a bit, but have there been any awards, recognitions, or honors specifically that have been meaningful to you?
• 18:33
  When I was recognized as one of the youngest ever Denver Business Journal 40 Under 40 recipients, that meant a lot to me.
• 18:40
  And...
• 18:41
  I was the American Constitution Society Attorney of the Year, as well as a Colorado super lawyer and a national trial lawyer's top 100 and top 40 under 40.
• 18:51
  I've been recognized as one of the top high stake litigators in the country pursuing these types of high stake cases against corporations and companies.
• 19:00
  And again, those things are they're impressive.
• 19:04
  and they're accolades that lawyers can tout in front of their clients.
• 19:08
  At the end of the day, I'm who I am, and I think that my energy and my enthusiasm and my passion kind of speaks for itself.
• 19:16
  I don't think people hire me because of all the awards.
• 19:18
  I think people hire me because they spend time with me.
• 19:20
  They get to know me.
• 19:22
  I think they like my energy, and they feel my passion and what I want to do to be able to help them.
• 19:27
  So what motivates you to keep doing this work and fighting for your clients?
• 19:30
  Car crashes and trucking crashes, they don't end.
• 19:34
  They're constant.
• 19:36
  There are people that come to our office every day that are in these situations that need help.
• 19:42
  And if it's not me, it's going to be another lawyer.
• 19:45
  But I feel in my heart that I'm the right choice.
• 19:48
  And I feel that if I handle a client's case, they're going to get the best possible outcome.
• 19:54
  They're going to get the best representation.
• 19:56
  And they're going to get me 100% because that's how I practice within my firm.
• 20:01
  And so...
• 20:02
  I feel like I'm incredibly talented and good at what I do, and it'd be a sin if I stopped doing it.
• 20:08
  People rely upon me, and I feel like I need to be there for people that need help in these cases.
• 20:13
  I'll never stop doing this.
• 20:15
  I'll leave it all on the field, and I'll work until I'm in my 70s or beyond.
• 20:20
  This is my passion.
• 20:21
  This is my life.
• 20:22
  This is what I want to do, and I'm never going to stop doing it.
• 20:25
  I can help people, and I'm not going to stop helping people.
• 20:28
  That's how I feel about practicing law.
• 20:29
  And that's how I feel about practicing law in the context of representing people in catastrophic injury and major injury, life-changing injury, in personal injury cases and that sort of thing.
• 20:41
  I mean, I'm just, I'm dedicated to it.
• 20:43
  There was an old mentor that I had at my old firm.
• 20:45
  And what he always used to say was he liked to say, are you all in?
• 20:49
  And I've been all in on this for a long time.
• 20:52
  So that's how I feel about it.
• 20:54
  Well, if someone listening wants to find you online, where should they go?
• 20:57
  They should go to our webpage, www.whaleninjurylawyers.com, and they can find us there.
• 21:03
  They can find all the backgrounds of the talented and exceptional people that work there, and they can pick up the phone and give us a call.
• 21:10
  The phone number at the office is 720-307-2666.
• 21:16
  They can reach out to us.
• 21:18
  And if you call my office, someone will pick up the phone, but you'll be talking to me the same day.
• 21:23
  That's how I handle my practice.
• 21:25
  I talk to every one of my clients.
• 21:26
  I'm involved in the case from beginning till end.
• 21:29
  And beyond just getting some cursory information, my clients get to know me.
• 21:33
  They don't ever have to wonder who their lawyer is.
• 21:35
  They'll know who their lawyer is.
• 21:37
  It's me.
• 21:37
  And I'm there 100% of the time.
• 21:39
  reach out to us and you'll be talking to me.
• 21:41
  And I look forward to representing you and I look forward to explaining things to you.
• 21:45
  And I look forward to taking a very bad situation in your life and doing everything I can to make it better.
• 21:50
  And similarly, for someone who's been in an accident and thinks they might need help, what's the best way to reach you?
• 21:56
  Listen, clients should go to our webpage.
• 21:58
  There's a lot of information about our firm and the types of cases that we handle.
• 22:02
  They should call the office, or they should go to our social media pages, or our YouTube page.
• 22:08
  There's a lot of information out there about us, or they could Google my name.
• 22:12
  Go to whaleninjurylawyers.com, call 720-307-2666.
• 22:18
  Go to the social media accounts, the YouTube account.
• 22:22
  Get to know our firm.
• 22:23
  do a Google search on my name as well as the law firm, Whale and Injury Lawyers.
• 22:27
  I think that clients gain confidence from learning about the firm that they're thinking about having represent them.
• 22:35
  And I think that a lot of our cases, over 90% of them come from direct referral.
• 22:41
  That's former clients, that's other attorneys, that's people in the medical practice or medical field, and personal recommendations are,
• 22:49
  They go a long way, and they really can be the deciding factor between who someone hires to represent them in one of these cases.
• 22:59
  But I'll say this.
• 23:00
  Do your own due diligence because a referral isn't the end of the road.
• 23:05
  Look up the law firm.
• 23:07
  see what cases they handle, see what other clients had in terms of experience with that firm, and take a look at the lawyers who you're considering have represent you.
• 23:15
  And look at the specific lawyer that you're looking to have represent you.
• 23:19
  At my firm, it's me.
• 23:20
  Take a look at my background.
• 23:22
  Take a look at my reviews, my accomplishments, my awards, designations.
• 23:26
  Get comfortable with who I am before you even talk to me.
• 23:30
  And the day that you reach out to my office, you will talk to me.
• 23:33
  There's not some process in place here where you talk to somebody else and you don't know who your lawyer is and you only know what the firm is that's representing you.
• 23:41
  We don't work that way.
• 23:42
  We've never worked that way.
• 23:44
  You'll know me from the beginning till the end.
• 23:47
  And I'll become a part of your life.
• 23:48
  And I'll help you on your journey to get to a good place.
• 23:51
  So you can find me.
• 23:52
  We're in Denver, Colorado.
• 23:54
  Whale and Injury Lawyers.
• 23:55
  Well, Reeves, thank you so much for sharing your story.
• 23:57
  But before we wrap up, if someone's listening to this because they were just in a crash, what's the one thing they should do right now?
• 24:04
  Try to collect evidence.
• 24:05
  Try to get information on your own.
• 24:08
  Make sure that the police intervene in these accidents.
• 24:12
  Because oftentimes people are untruthful when there's not a police report and there's not some documentation about what happened in the accident.
• 24:20
  People leave the scene of a crash and they make up some kind of story that doesn't fit what really happened.
• 24:26
  So take photographs, wait for the police, make sure to give the police a statement, and then make sure to contact a lawyer.
• 24:33
  Because a lot of times you don't know where these cases are going to go.
• 24:37
  Sometimes people think that after an accident, if they get checked out at the ER and the ER says that generally everything comes back negative, then it's smooth sailing and that they don't have a serious injury.
• 24:50
  But most serious injuries from car accident cases, they develop in the weeks and months following a crash.
• 24:56
  There's a misconception that a serious auto accident case involves a situation where someone has major traumatic intervention on the day of the accident.
• 25:06
  And that's just not how it goes in these cases.
• 25:08
  More likely than not, someone develops symptoms that get progressively worsening in the weeks and the months after an accident.
• 25:17
  You need to hire a lawyer.
• 25:18
  You need to make sure that you have someone to communicate with the insurance company.
• 25:22
  You should not talk to the insurance company.
• 25:25
  Insurance companies hire and train adjusters, and they have lawyers hire and train adjusters to teach them to ask you questions that they intend on using against you down the road.
• 25:38
  They're not on your side.
• 25:39
  Their interests are not aligned with yours.
• 25:42
  Protect yourself and your family.
• 25:44
  Hire a lawyer and do it sooner rather than later.
• 25:46
  It makes a difference.
• 25:47
  It'll make a difference in your case.
• 25:49
  It'll make a difference in your recovery.
• 25:51
  And it'll make a difference in the type of resources you have down the road if things turn a bad corner for you.
• 25:56
  Well, Reeves, thank you for that information.
• 25:58
  And thank you so much for being here today with us.
• 26:01
  Thank you so much.
• 26:01
  I really enjoyed spending time with you and talking to the viewers on the first podcast.
• 26:05
  Thank you for your time today.
• 26:06
  Well, that's the first episode of the Denver Injury Podcast with Reeves Whalen.
• 26:10
  And don't forget, you can reach them at whaleninjurylawyers.com or 720-307-2666.