Navigating Personal Injury and Cultural Perspectives

Transcript: Flager Law Personal Injury Hour

Date: May 14, 2025

Guests: Pat Doherty, Esq. of The Town Law LLC

Host: Adam Flager, Esq. of Flager Law

Joe Dougherty: All right, ladies and gentlemen around the Delaware Valley, welcome to the Flager Law Personal Injury Hour here on WWDB Talk 860. We’re here with our host, Adam Flager. How are you doing, Adam?

Adam Flager: Well, despite this, yeah, kind of gross weather.

Joe Dougherty: You know what’s funny? I never saw—so today, you know, we watched the ball games, and this looks like it could be two rainouts in a row. The way baseball is, I mean, there are no days off. Like, there are days off, but they’re very rare. It’s gonna be crazy if they don’t play today.

Adam Flager: Yeah, it’s three because they’re supposed to have a doubleheader today. And I was saying, looking at the weather, “Would you play in one, let alone two?”

Joe Dougherty: Exactly. And so, real point of interest—I’m not sure if you saw this, Pat—but the Pittsburgh Pirates just traded Paul Skenes to the Phillies for a minor leaguer to be named later.

Adam Flager: He’s a prince artist. On my drive over here, I was talking to my brother; we talk a lot about sports. We were talking about how many years it will be until the Pirates trade Paul Skenes, because he’s going to be either a Yankee, a Red Sox, or a Dodger—one of the big market teams that’s going to pay him an exorbitant amount of money.

Joe Dougherty: If Paul Skenes stays… first of all, he’s the union rep. He became the union rep in his rookie year. He didn’t even start out with the Pirates; he started out in the minors. He comes up, it’s his rookie year, and he’s starting the All-Star game. He was in the majors for like two months. He was that good. The dude is almost a legend if he stays healthy. If he stays on course, right now, you know who the highest-paid pitcher in the history of baseball is? Zack Wheeler, at 42 million a year.

Adam Flager: Yeah, and he’s in his mid-30s.

Joe Dougherty: So by the time Paul Skenes… if he stays on course, I’m not saying he’d be the first billion-dollar player, but he’s going to be making close to it. He might be hiring that kid from the Mets as his valet. I’m just saying.

Adam Flager: Well, hopefully he can stay in the state and the Phillies can get him.

Joe Dougherty: It’s a tragedy, by the way. I want to introduce Pat Doherty. For people who have listened to the broadcast for the last couple of years, Pat has been a regular, has had his own show, and is one of our criminal attorneys and personal injury firms—but in particular, criminal—and does a fantastic job. Welcome back, Pat.

Pat Doherty: Thank you, Joe. It’s great to be back.

Joe Dougherty: We’re talking baseball, and Adam and I have a lot of fun doing that. Pat, you and I had a lot of conversations, but here’s an interesting point: I couldn’t wait to see Pat because I knew that him and his wife were having a baby. Shout out to Mrs. Doherty. My last name is Dougherty—we’re not related, it’s not spelled the same—but a lot of people say my name as “Doherty.”

Pat Doherty: I get “Dougherty.” Spoiler alert for you, Joe: we probably are related. We are probably just one “g” away.

Joe Dougherty: So, Pat, I knew you and the wife were having a baby. How did it go?

Pat Doherty: My wife gave birth on February 24th of this year, 2025. When she first got pregnant, she was very sick. She called a doctor in North Jersey who said that was common, but she said, “Nah, Doc, I’m really sick.” The doctor said if it’s more than normal, it could be a miscarriage. We were prepared for that. She drove to North Jersey; I was in court in Chester County for a big case. I get a text: “You’re not going to believe this.” I thought she meant everything was okay. She says, “Well, sort of.” I’m thinking, does the kid have two heads? She sends a picture of the ultrasound—two little pea pods. She says, “We’re having twins.”+1

Pat Doherty: We don’t do gender reveals. I want to know right away. I don’t do the balloons or the planes; it’s too much money. We were anticipating boys, but sure enough, it was two girls. The joke is I prayed for an Irish son and I got two Italians. Their names are Nora Margaret Doherty and Brooke Rose Doherty. They’re healthy and happy. It’s such a “de-sanitizer” because, as an attorney, you get phone calls that just drain you—clients who don’t understand the process. But when I go home and see those two kids…+1

Joe Dougherty: Is there anything better? Adam, how many kids do you have?

Adam Flager: Two. A boy and a girl.

Joe Dougherty: Okay, so he got the boy.

Adam Flager: It’s a nice thing because we have stressful jobs. No matter what age they are, they can be stressful, but there’s also the calm that it brings you. You might be running around like crazy in court or emotions or client calls, and you see your kids—they don’t care what you do for a living. They just want to love you.

Joe Dougherty: We talked about the way you guys impact people’s lives who can’t defend themselves. Adam is a huge Philly sports fan. Adam, where is your family initially from?+1

Adam Flager: My dad’s side is from New York, but my son is everything Philly. His bedroom is turning into an Eagles shrine. He was born in 2018, the year they won the Super Bowl. My wife was 11 centimeters dilated when they won, and she gave birth two days later. The day after was the parade. We were at the hospital in Center City, and it was actually great because no one could get to us; the city was a zoo.+1

Joe Dougherty: Here’s a question for both of you: there’s a million-dollar case walking in. They’re going to give you the million up front. But you find out it’s a Dallas Cowboys fan. Do you take the money?

Adam Flager: Hey, if you don’t take it, somebody else will! Better to take a Cowboys fan’s money so they have a little less.

Pat Doherty: If that was the only thing going against them, I’d allow it.

Adam Flager: Our clientele is like the United Nations. We have people of all different colors, backgrounds, and nationalities. That’s the beauty of it—you learn about different cultures and food.+1

Pat Doherty: I had a client recently from Vietnam charged with endangering the welfare of a child for hitting his kid because he didn’t do well on a spelling test. I spoke to him, and he had a puzzled look. He said, “I don’t understand. This is my culture. My father disciplined me; his father disciplined him.” The judge said, “This is all culture.” What he did was regrettable, but there’s an element the DA wasn’t taking into account. You never know what’s going to come through that door.+2

Adam Flager: I’m a firm believer that all knowledge is power. If I find out something random about a different country and then I have a client from there, I can break the ice. Now I’ve connected with my client; I’m not just some random guy.

Joe Dougherty: Adam, remind our listeners about yourself and the firm.

Adam Flager: Adam Flager, Flager Law. We’re a full-service personal injury firm handling motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, premises cases, dangerous products, and dog bites. Our main office is in Trevose, but we have offices in Philadelphia and Bucks County. 215-953-5200; flagerlaw.com.

Pat Doherty: My name is Patrick Doherty. I’m one of the founders and partners at The Town Law LLC. We’re located at One Liberty Place. We handle primary criminal defense and personal injury. 215-307-5504.

Joe Dougherty: Building the trust factor with different cultures is incredible.

Pat Doherty: We represented a guy from another country who asked, “Can we just give money to the judge?” He said where he’s from, if you pay money, everything goes away.

Adam Flager: We have a municipal practice with an attorney, Scott Hulbert, who has worked to clean up messes like the “kids for cash” scandal in Luzerne County. When judges take kickbacks, it’s a scandal. Keeping our court system honest is a bedrock of this country.+1

Pat Doherty: Now with body cams and dash cams, you can’t just drop charges. If I took a bribe, it would eventually come back via the disciplinary board. My license is not worth it.+2

Joe Dougherty: If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Pat Doherty: Whenever a client calls and says, “I’ve got a slam dunk case,” it’s probably not a slam dunk.

Adam Flager: You have to do the legwork. I had someone call about an accident, but once I asked questions, it turned out they pulled out of a parking lane into a driving lane. The person in the driving lane has the right of way; there was no liability.+1

Pat Doherty: The worst thing is when you have a great case with substantial injuries, but the policy limits are low. I heard of a guy who lost a leg and only got $25,000 because that was all the insurance the other person had.+1

Adam Flager: People often have a “friend” who supposedly got more money than there was insurance, but I’d love to hear how that’s possible. You need uninsured and underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage. You’re relying on the idiot who hit you to have enough insurance to cover you. In Philly, people often buy insurance just to get the card and then cancel the policy.+3

Joe Dougherty: The narrative is always “buy cheap insurance.” No one educates you on UM/UIM or full tort.

Adam Flager: Marketing is about “save money,” but there’s never a focus on the person. We have to educate people about the policies they have that no one explained. Call your agent and ask, “Why did you sell me such a horrible policy? Why don’t I have full tort?”

Pat Doherty: Americans are often cheap and assume they won’t get into an accident. Insurance brokers would rather sign up cheap policies in volume than provide legal advice.

Adam Flager: Brokers will say, “If you’re really injured, you’ll still be able to make a claim.” That’s the script, but they don’t mention the insurance company will fight you to the death.

Joe Dougherty: How often do you take a case that another firm turned down?

Adam Flager: Sometimes it’s a red flag, but sometimes a firm only handles seven-figure cases and the case was “too small” for them. Or maybe nobody wanted to do the work to figure it out. If you take the time, you can make it into a real case.

Pat Doherty: I had a case rejected by a firm that said it was worth $30k; we settled for $750,000. If a client has seen ten attorneys, that’s a red flag.

Adam Flager: I take the time to explain to people why they don’t have a case. Even though I’m not making money, they appreciate that someone listened and gave them peace of mind.

Joe Dougherty: This was the fastest hour in radio. Shout out to the twin girls, Nora and Brooke. On behalf of Adam Flager and Pat Doherty, I’m Joe Dougherty. Thanks for listening!