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Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour on WWBD Talk 860 – 12-11-24 – Pilot
12/04/2025
What happens after an accident goes far beyond the crash itself. From navigating insurance and legal decisions to securing the right medical care, the aftermath can shape a person’s recovery for years. In this episode of the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour, attorney Adam D. Flager joins physical therapy expert Brian Kirby of Capstone Physical Therapy to explore how injury law and rehabilitation intersect — and how smart legal strategy paired with proper medical treatment can change the course of someone’s future.
INTRODUCTION
When someone is injured in an accident, the impact reaches far beyond physical pain. Medical bills, lost income, long-term limitations, and insurance confusion quickly pile on, leaving many victims overwhelmed and unsure where to turn.
In a powerful set of broadcasts on the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour, two perspectives come together to paint a complete picture of recovery: the legal expertise of Adam D. Flager, personal injury attorney at Flager & Associates, and the clinical insight of Brian Kirby, founder of Capstone Physical Therapy.
Together, they explore why legal advocacy and physical rehabilitation must work hand-in-hand — and how injured individuals can protect themselves both medically and financially after a serious incident.
The Legal Side: Fighting for Injured Victims
As an associate attorney at Flager & Associates, Adam D. Flager’s practice is focused on litigation involving:
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Motor vehicle accidents
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Premises liability (slip & fall)
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Defective products
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Construction and worksite accidents
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Municipal representation
Licensed in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey — as well as in federal court — Adam brings a wide-ranging understanding of personal injury litigation across jurisdictions. His experience includes practicing in state and federal courts and serving in the Civil Motions Program at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas under multiple distinguished judges.
During the broadcast, Adam emphasizes one reality many injury victims don’t realize until it’s too late:
Legal strategy starts the day the injury happens — not when you call a lawyer.
What you say to insurance adjusters, whether you seek immediate medical treatment, and how consistently you follow through with care can all determine the value, or survival, of a legal claim.
Flager & Associates operates on a contingency fee model, meaning clients pay no legal fees unless compensation is recovered — ensuring access to justice regardless of financial circumstance.
The Medical Side: Why Physical Therapy Is More Than “Rehab”
Physical recovery isn’t simply about pain relief — it’s about restoring function, preventing future injury, and building long-term strength.
That’s where Brian Kirby of Capstone Physical Therapy comes in.
Brian earned his Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from Misericordia University in 2000 and went on to complete advanced postgraduate study under renowned movement scientist Gary Gray at the Gray Institute. There, he earned:
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Fellowship in Applied Functional Science (FAFS)
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Certification in Functional Manual Reaction (FMR)
Throughout his career, Brian has worked closely with orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine physicians, staying ahead of evolving best practices in functional rehabilitation.
His approach goes beyond symptoms. He focuses on how the body moves in real life — walking, twisting, lifting, balancing — and how injuries disrupt those patterns.
“Pain isn’t just something that happens TO your body.
It’s something your body is reacting to.” — Brian Kirby
Proper therapy isn’t rushed. It’s strategic. And when it’s done right, it protects patients physically — and legally.
When Law and Medicine Align: Better Outcomes for Patients
The show demonstrates an important truth:
Legal success depends on medical credibility — and medical recovery depends on consistency.
Brian stresses that gaps in treatment, “toughing it out,” or ignoring symptoms ultimately hurt patients twice:
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Physically — by allowing injuries to worsen
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Legally — by weakening injury documentation
Adam reinforces this point from a legal standpoint — explaining how insurers interpret medical records and why consistent care often determines settlement value.
Together, they show why early coordination between attorneys and physicians isn’t optional — it’s essential.
A Mission Beyond Litigation
Adam Flager’s commitment extends beyond the courtroom.
As President of the Board of Directors at Libertae, Inc., he supports one of Pennsylvania’s few gender-specific rehabilitation programs for women struggling with substance use disorders. Libertae offers comprehensive recovery services and transitional housing — empowering women to rebuild their lives and strengthen their families.
It’s an extension of the same philosophy Adam applies to injury law:
Justice isn’t just legal. It’s personal.
Why Listeners Trust Flager & Associates
What stands out most in the broadcast isn’t just experience — it’s humanity.
Listeners hear:
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Advocacy rooted in ethics
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Recovery driven by expertise
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Compassion backed by accountability
When legal leaders and medical professionals speak the same language, patients don’t fall through the cracks.
They recover.
They rebuild.
They move forward.
Listen to the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour
These episodes offer invaluable insight for:
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Injury victims
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Families navigating recovery
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Professionals seeking perspective
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Anyone who drives a car, plays sports, or owns a business
Real stories.
Real strategy.
Real solutions.
If you’ve been injured and feel unsure of what to do next, Flager & Associates is here to help.
📞 Call: 215-953-5200
🌐 Visit: https://flagerlaw.com
📍 Offices in Trevose, Philadelphia & New Hope
⚖ Serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey
No legal fees unless they recover for you.
TRANSCRIPT
Station Announcer (00:00)
The following programming is sponsored by DND Media. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its management, or Beasley Media Group.
Joe Dougherty (Host) (00:12)
Ladies and gentlemen around the Delaware Valley, welcome to the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour here on WWDB Talk 860. We’ve got a fantastic broadcast — certainly one I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
And before we introduce Adam Flager, who has been on the program many times, I’m ecstatic to bring in Randy Flager, who is the founder and managing partner here at the firm. How are you, sir?
Randy Flager
It’s great to be here. Thank you.
Joe Dougherty
It is great to be here. We are on location at Flager & Associates, and so — lots to talk about.
Adam, how are you, sir?
Adam Flager
Doing well, excited for the show.
Joe Dougherty
Oh yeah, me too. Lots to talk about. You know, when we especially get the opportunity to launch a show like this, we like to talk about the origins, okay? And we’re going to talk sports — plenty, plenty.
And I’ll open up, and I’ll just talk a little bit about Saquon Barkley, because we have a mutual admiration with people all over New York and Philly. But I have — really, in my lifetime as a football coach — never seen anything like him, although you pointed out the greats.
When you’re talking about Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, Adrian Peterson — I mean, Mother of God — you’re talking about rare air.
And this guy, you guys, he’s not been a secret, but he’s been injured throughout the years outside of his rookie year. I mean, your thoughts on this, because his skill set is unprecedented.
Randy Flager (01:57)
Ever since Penn State, when he first came onto the radar, he was just unbelievable. And I think the Eagles got a steal when they got him, because if they can keep him healthy, I think their offensive line is so good that he actually has a hole to run through — as opposed to knocking three or four people out of the way before he can get two yards.
Joe Dougherty (02:17)
I mean, the guy’s 5’11”, 232 pounds, right? I’ve never seen a man — first of all, normally you see somebody like that, they’re like 6’3″ if they’re wearing 230–240.
His quickness, his lateral vision, his ability to accelerate, read blocks…
Like we said before we got on the broadcast, it’s been so long since I’ve seen a running back like this playing for the Eagles. We’ve had some good ones, but damn — this guy is someone who can go at any time. How often do you see that?
It’s been like, you know, Marshall Faulk was another good one. I mean, there’s a lot of great ones, but—
Adam Flager (Speaker 4) (03:01)
There’s a lot of great running backs in the league, but they’re not necessarily doing anything different than another running back is doing.
And when you have a guy like Saquon, he has a different skill set that’s way more advanced. And again, now that he’s got not only an offensive line, but a competent quarterback, he’s got teammates that can actually catch the ball — which the Giants didn’t really have a ton of.
So you can’t just focus on him, which is what plagued him for the Giants: put a ton of guys in the box and challenge the Giants to beat you some other way.
You can’t do that with the Eagles now, because you’ve got Jalen who will burn you in the air, and you’ve got great receivers that can do all types of things.
Joe Dougherty
Well, it’s interesting, because I think he’s potentially — as we know, when you have a great running back and a great running game, you can now have balance. Now you have the ability to pass; it opens up the run.
I wonder if this will shift the game a little bit back to a more traditional style. You’ve got to build the line, and that’s the thing: you build the line over years. You never get the opportunity to get that running back.
We somehow got fortunate enough to get him, and it’s just a joy to watch that man run.
And like you said, Adam, there’s a lot of good running backs. I mean, who did I watch yesterday? The running back — the game was on, I think after the Eagles game.
Adam Flager (04:43)
Oh, on the Panthers.
Joe Dougherty (04:46)
The Panthers, yeah. I mean, you know, the running back — Chuba Hubbard — every time he touched the ball, he would just turn and go, he was very difficult to bring down.
And you think to yourself, man, there’s some great running backs — they’re world-class athletes — and yet, when Saquon gets the ball…
Adam Flager (05:01)
He’s still more. When the bar is NFL players, he still leaves them in the dust. That’s how great he is.
Joe Dougherty (05:12)
It’s crazy.
Ironically, he’s been injured, and what I didn’t know was that if you get injured, it’s a workers’ comp case, right? It can be a work comp case. I don’t see Saquon, you know, giving anybody a call and saying, “Listen, stop my benefits.” But he would know, because he’s had some—
Adam Flager (Speaker 4) (05:34)
Yeah, I mean, that’s one of the things that the most recent CBA for the NFL really wanted to address.
If you have a “normal” job where you get injured, you have workers’ comp. And these NFL players — especially in decades past, who weren’t getting the checks that the guys are now — have lifelong injuries.
So a big part of the settlement they had with the CTE stuff and all these head injuries, and the new CBA, was protecting these guys who were giving their bodies up in the name of sport.
Joe Dougherty (06:07)
Now you have quarterbacks making $500 million — I mean, you know, like $50 million a year — and there’s not a lot left in that pie to pay your third-team offensive lineman or even your D-back.
You’re making good money, but you could be one and done. You never know.
Let’s talk a little law.
So, first of all, Randall, it’s awesome to be here, and I love that — and Adam and I have touched on this a few times — the business of law, okay?
You started this firm…
Randy Flager (06:48)
Yeah, I started practicing law over 40 years ago, and I was practicing for another firm that had a couple of different names — including my name on it — and I left, I guess in 1990, and twelve people left with me.
I could have taken more, but I couldn’t afford any more.
Joe Dougherty
I was just thinking about that, because the business of law is so interesting to me.
As somebody who owns his own small business — I’ve been in business for myself for a long time — when I left the union…
You take twelve people — that’s a lot of cash flow, man. That’s a lot of salaries.
The attorneys might be in it for the cases, but it’s terrifying from a business standpoint. Those cases don’t settle in five minutes. There’s a gap there.
Talk about making that step.
Randy Flager (08:15)
I wanted to leave a couple of years sooner.
When I asked my wife — who’s also our chief administrator and has been actively working in the legal field longer than we have, even though she’s a paralegal — she started when she was 17 and never stopped.
She said, “The fact that you had to ask me tells me you’re not ready.”
So a couple years went by, and I said, “We’re going.” I didn’t ask at that point. I was ready.
And it was terrifying. You had to put your house up on the line for credit lines. You had to put your house up. It gets you very, very focused when you’re looking at that.
In those days, I had three small children, a marriage, and you’ve got to pay people’s salaries. You may not get paid, but everyone that works for you has to get paid, because they don’t own the business — you do.
It took a lot of work. We did it because when we started, we walked out with — we had an agreement with our old firm — hundreds and hundreds of cases that we took with us.
When I started practicing law, I had twelve personal injury cases. When I left, seven years later, we left with over 500. That’s what had been built up over the years.
Then, you know, referrals…
In the beginning, you have some credit lines and it’s precarious. Eventually, as the cases settle, in the beginning you have to pay back your old firm a percentage because you worked out a business deal.
Then, as the new cases settle — which takes time, sometimes years — the good thing about us is that if a case can be settled in three months for the policy, we’ll do it in three months.
We don’t age cases. It’s not like fine wine. Some cases take a couple of years or three years, whatever, but in our firm, if a case is ready to be settled within a year, people want their cases settled for as much as they can, as soon as they can.
Time is not on their side; it’s on the insurance company’s side.
Because of our aggressive nature in settling cases, eventually more and more of the money is yours — you don’t have to pay a referral fee on it.
And then, with a little luck, you survive. And then we’ve thrived.
That was 1990. Here it is — what year are we in? Almost 2025 — and we’re still here. Thirty-five years.
We’re in the same location — we’ve never moved. We’re in the same location.
Joe Dougherty (11:11)
I was going to say, the building’s so beautiful, I wouldn’t know it was 35–40 years.
Randy Flager
Yeah, it was a building built by the old Trammell Crow Company out of Dallas.
Joe Dougherty (11:18)
One of the conversations we’ve had on the broadcast — and we’ve been doing them a long time — is they don’t teach business in law school, okay?
There’s an art to it.
I’ll bring Adam in.
When you hear that, you’ve got to have tremendous respect and admiration for your father and your mother and those who made the commitment at that time to say, “We’re going to sink or swim,” and they did it the right way.
What are your thoughts, understanding that step, that courage — leaving the security of another situation? Granted, there were cases there, but there’s never a guarantee in a business.
And you have your wife — it’s hard enough to stay in a marriage together, let alone be in business together. You have a good woman who’s very experienced, and that’s got to be awesome.
What are your thoughts, Adam?
Adam Flager (12:26)
Yeah, I mean, it’s funny because I lived through it not knowing what was happening at the time — as a young child. But I still remember certain things about it.
Every now and then we’ll look at the photos from the launch party or open-house party we had in this office. My siblings and I were all dressed up and all of that, but I didn’t know it as anything serious. I knew it as a fun thing.
I didn’t appreciate back then the seriousness and the high stakes that were involved.
As I got older and became more aware of things — especially going to college and law school and becoming an attorney — it struck me on a much deeper level:
“Wow, this is the type of hard work my father did to build a practice and to provide for his family.”
Back then, as a seven-year-old, I couldn’t appreciate that at all.
Joe Dougherty
It’s got to give you a tremendous source of pride, correct?
Adam Flager
Yeah. And especially for a number of years now, I’ve really been able to see, “Wow, that was a big deal. That was a risk — but it wasn’t a reckless risk. It was very calculated.”
My father knew, and had that confidence to know, and had the right people around him to say, “We’re doing this great work; we know we can do it. If we can do our own thing and control everything ourselves in-house — not worry about what other partners may say or want to do — and just do this and do it really well, we can not only run a successful law firm from the business side, but also provide great service to our clients,” which he’s been doing for 40-some years now.
Joe Dougherty
What’s interesting, okay, is — and Adam has talked about this on past shows — the culture you have: a family atmosphere.
Is there anything better than knowing that you have staffers who’ve been with you for decades? That’s how much they love working here.
By the way, that says a lot about how the clients are going to get treated.
Talk about the atmosphere and culture at the firm.
Randy Flager (14:38)
Yeah, well, the majority of people have been here a long time.
Our secretary retired after 35 years — we’re still working. She retired, but she still comes to all the events.
We’re having the holiday party this week — she’ll be there. She’ll be one of the honored guests at our party. She’ll be there, God willing, for many years to come.
It’s a family thing. We have a mother and daughter who work here as paralegals.
My daughter and my son work here. My wife works here.
Joe Dougherty (15:09)
Your daughter…
Randy Flager (15:13)
My daughter is the bookkeeper.
Joe Dougherty
I met her, I think, when I came in the last time.
Randy Flager
Melissa, yeah. She’s great. She handles all of our financing.
And the people that I have here — I mean, I would take a bullet for them, and they would for me. When you come to work every day, you’re coming amongst your family.
I consider them family. I have my family, and this is my work family. I’m very close to them and very protective of them.
I always tell employers — I know the tendency nowadays is to try to get people for as little as you can or to take advantage of them. We don’t do that.
Any time there’s a new holiday, we adopt it. I want — like a football team, we talked about football — I want our team well paid and well rested.
If you can get an extra couple days — like the day after Thanksgiving, the day after Christmas, the day after New Year’s — to be with your family, that’s good time to take off.
And you know what? We all have computers at home, we all have cell phones. We’re in 24-hour communication, for better or worse, with the outside world. So if something happens, we can immediately respond to it.
But it’s very important to me — always has been — that everyone be treated like family.
Joe Dougherty (16:23)
So Adam obviously became a lawyer.
Randy Flager
I told him, “Adam, we have a law firm. Become a lawyer.”
Joe Dougherty (16:33)
Well, it’s so interesting you say that, because obviously he’s very bright.
But you worked your whole life — you and your wife, your family. What does it mean to you for that legacy to continue?
You’ve worked so hard for it; it’s going to live on.
Are you a partner yet? On the website, you have team members, your son’s working his way up, there’s respect, structure. You’ve created a legacy of success and a team here where your son is in a good position, respected by everybody, and at the same time learning and growing.
What does it mean to have that legacy for the future?
Randy Flager (17:51)
It means a lot to me personally.
Adam’s very, very bright. Obviously, you can’t try seven jury trials in the last year unless you have a certain skill set and are able to think on your feet.
We have our senior trial lawyer, Mike Levin, who’s been here with me for 20-some years, who’s an unbelievably gifted, brilliant litigator and attorney. He’s taken Adam under his wings and helped — really, everyone teaches everyone.
I learn from him; they learn from me.
We have another attorney named Scott Hulbert, who does a lot of our municipal practice and is also a brilliant lawyer.
Joe Dougherty (18:41)
And you have the resources here.
I’ll ask Adam: What does it mean to have those resources — your dad, obviously — but also the resources within the firm?
When you’re representing somebody, they have access to a team around you that’s awesome and experienced.
Adam Flager (19:11)
They get the whole firm.
I mean, I think that’s something everyone should do, but they don’t.
Joe Dougherty (19:18)
Egos get in the way with a lot of people.
Adam Flager (19:21)
If someone wants to take all the credit for it — because it’s for their bonus or what have you — that’s one thing.
But if we have a case where maybe it’s a weird issue, we have an office meeting — that’s a great time for us to bounce it off everyone.
Now you have hundreds of years of experience chiming in:
“Hey, this issue might be solved that way, this other part of the case might be solved another way.”
So it’s collaborative.
And as my father was mentioning, Michael’s got a lot more experience than me, but there might be an issue that I’ve dealt with more than him. Even though he would otherwise be the one giving me advice, sometimes I can help out there.
Joe Dougherty (20:08)
You’ve been a lawyer for how long now?
Adam Flager
Fifteen years.
Joe Dougherty
Okay, so you’re not a rookie.
Having that type of experience when you walk into a firm, and having that culture — you’re dealing with people who are sometimes in very, very difficult times in their life.
Randy Flager
They’re in a terrible spot. That’s right.
And one of the great strengths we have is our paralegals, our support staff. Without our paralegals, we can’t function.
If I answered every phone call that came in personally for me, I could never get anything done.
A lot of times, people just want to give you an update on their treatment, what they’re doing, or they need this or that. Our paralegals — who are basically lawyers without the paper, because they’re that well-trained — handle those things, and they’re unbelievable.
Joe Dougherty (21:00)
But they’re only one step away from you.
What I love about this firm is, first of all, it’s a nice-size firm, but it’s one degree of separation. You might talk to the paralegal, but there’s no long chain; there’s access.
It’s a team effort so people can get immediate answers to their questions. There’s trust.
That culture is what people want. Especially when you talk about communication — they know that in the most difficult times, they can get the top people and the best advice possible.
How long have your paralegals been with you?
Randy Flager (21:56)
Forty years. Thirty years. Twenty-some years. Forever.
And the thing about it is, with modern computer systems, we talk to each other — we don’t even have to get out of our offices and have a meeting.
We’ll send out a note from a case to four or five people and say, “What do you think?”
Everybody will chime in in real time. You’re not waiting a week or two days; you’re getting an answer within three minutes.
Joe Dougherty
Randy, where do you get the passion?
You’ve been doing this successfully for a long time. I’ve been here five minutes — I walk in and you’re hitting it and getting it.
There’s success here, and you love what you do, but you could get out at any time. Yet you’re as passionate as if you just started last week.
Randy Flager (22:47)
Yeah, I know. I still love doing it.
I love beating up the insurance companies and giving money to our clients who have been horribly injured by other people’s negligence.
And whether it’s a small case or a multi-million-dollar case, I have the same passion. When I settle a case, I’m thrilled for the person if it was successfully settled, regardless of the size.
Joe Dougherty (23:14)
I think about people who often try to navigate things on their own and how badly they can get beat up.
Randy Flager (23:23)
What do they say? “He or she who represents themselves has a fool for a client.”
I can tell you from our own standpoint: when we have a legal issue, we don’t represent ourselves. We have the firm represent us.
Joe Dougherty (23:43)
And you get a lot of clients who don’t know anyone — they don’t know what to do.
One thing you hear a lot is, “Oh, the adjuster was so nice.”
They don’t realize it’s often a setup.
I joke around a little bit when I’m watching the ball game. I’ll say to my wife, our insurance agent is Tim Wade — he’s in the area — and I’ll see Tyrese Maxey after the game, talking about his insurance.
And I’m like, “Get Tim on the phone. Tyrese just hit three three-pointers in a row. I’m going with his recommendation — all 21 years old of him.”
People often have no idea what to do. They don’t know their legal rights, and they certainly have no idea what they’re up against.
Let’s talk about what comprises your practice.
We talk about personal injury — we know you have a municipal practice, that’s specialized — but the primary area is personal injury.
What comprises that? What is personal injury, what types of cases?
Randy Flager
We do primarily auto, motorcycle, and truck accidents, slip and falls, products liability.
Occasionally someone has a dog bite, but those are few and far between.
The majority of our cases involve a motor vehicle of some sort, or somebody tripping, slipping, and falling — something like that.
Joe Dougherty (25:25)
Let’s talk about autos, okay?
I’ve said this to Adam before — and you don’t have to worry about me — “I’ve got full coverage, I’m good.”
That’s sarcasm, right?
So having done these shows, we actually try to advocate to people and have this conversation with our listeners, because it’s an epidemic.
I’ve learned from your son and a lot of attorneys that I hear high 90s — 90-plus percent of people — have no idea what kind of insurance they have.
So I try to advocate on behalf of consumers — side by side with the best attorneys in the world on the program — when you’re not here and when they’re not here.
When I’m watching TV, I’m happy for Andy Reid when he left here. You know, it’s nice. But in his commercials and the other big insurance commercials, I don’t hear much about uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
I don’t hear a lot about personal injury protection, or all those things. I do hear about “bundling” and cute slogans.
But they don’t educate you.
Is it an understatement to say people often have no idea what they have?
Randy Flager (26:49)
Almost always they have no idea what they have.
They find out by accident — literally — when they have the accident.
Then they say, “Oh, I had a car crash, and I have limited tort. What does that mean?”
It means you have a limited right to bring a claim for personal injury.
Sure, they’ll pay for your car to the extent there’s coverage, some excess medical bills, whatever it might be, but the majority of a claim is made up of a tax-free award to the client for pain and suffering.
And that’s restricted. You have to have a serious or permanent injury, but it’s not clearly defined.
There are exceptions — like if the person who hit you was drunk, or it was an out-of-state vehicle, or a commercial vehicle that you were a passenger in. Those can help you.
But people have no idea. People just care about the rates:
“I saved $250.”
Great — and then they have an accident and they just lost $200,000 that the case was worth because they only had $15,000 of insurance, or they have limited tort and they don’t have a claim at all, or they have a claim where instead of being worth $100,000, the insurance company offers you $40,000 and says, “Do you feel lucky? You want to go to a jury trial and see what the jury thinks? Because you could get zero.”
The insurance company can afford to lose — but can you?
A lot of times the consumer can’t.
One of the things that we do is we offer a brochure — it’s on our website, the Flager Law website (F-L-A-G-E-R-L-A-W) — about limited and full tort and what you should ideally have for your policy.
Again, we don’t sell insurance. We’re not recommending a particular company — they’re all equally good or bad depending on the coverage that you have.
Sure, we have our personal favorites. There are companies I would never buy insurance from, but I’m not going to mention that here today.
People need to have the proper insurance coverage, or they’re just… When they say they have “full coverage,” it means they have no idea what they’re talking about.
“Full coverage” means you have collision on your car. That’s great — for the body of your car.
What about your body and the bodies of your loved ones in the car?
Joe Dougherty (29:03)
What about that?
Adam, what’s that conversation like when somebody comes in and they have a serious injury, and not only do they not know what they have, but they find out they have minimal coverage — not what they were hoping for?
Adam Flager (29:34)
Yeah, I mean, one of the first things we have to do for any new client is figure out what coverage they have.
Even when I’m on the phone with them before they come into the office:
“Hey, what insurance company do you have?”
People don’t know what coverage they have. Sometimes they don’t even know what insurance company they have.
Then I have them pull up their declaration page, which shows what their coverages are. I’ll go through that with them.
When I’m sitting face to face, I go line by line:
“Here’s what you have for this. Here’s why that’s good. Here’s why that could be better.”
I tell them the practical implications:
“You have limited tort. Here’s what that means. It’s essentially a hurdle you have to get over. Sometimes you can’t get over that hurdle. Here’s what happens if you can; here’s what happens if you can’t. Here’s how it affects your case, the value of your case, whether you have a claim or don’t.”
I try to speak in plain English and explain how it’s going to affect them, and let them know from the start.
We’re not a firm that’s going to blow smoke and just make you feel great. My job as a lawyer is to tell you things that aren’t necessarily good but that you really need to know.
And then it’s my job, regardless of the coverage, if we take on that case, to fight like hell to get you over that hurdle.
Joe Dougherty (31:03)
If you were to counsel somebody about — not the brand of auto insurance — but what coverages they should be looking out for, what would you say?
People try to do it themselves on the computer, they unclick boxes, the price goes down and down, and they say, “I got the best rate possible.”
I equate it, after being on broadcasts like this and being educated by attorneys like yourselves, to this:
If your son was walking on a tightrope and you thought there was a net under him — in a health sense there might be no net underneath him, and you just don’t know it.
If you were to talk to somebody about the types of coverage they should look out for, what would you say? I’ll ask Randy.
Randy Flager (32:01)
Well, they should have a decent liability limit.
The minimal under the law in Pennsylvania right now is 15/30. It’s been that way since the ‘60s or ‘70s. Think of the cost of living since then.
You should have no less than 100/300, more if you can afford it.
One of the things they should have is uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage equal to their liability limits.
What I mean is: if I have $100,000 of liability limits and I injure you, God forbid, that’s what you could get under my policy.
But if you hit me and you don’t have any insurance, or you only have a minimal policy, and I don’t have underinsured motorist coverage — or only have $15,000 — I can only get either zero or $15,000.
So I’m insuring a stranger — you — more than myself and my family.
I always say: that underinsured/uninsured coverage is less expensive. “Un” is when they have no insurance. “Under” is when they don’t have enough.
And I would also get stacking. If you have more than one car, you can stack your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
If you have two or three cars and you have a $100,000 policy, it’s a very inexpensive coverage — you can double and triple your coverage. In a serious crash, you need that in a motor vehicle case.
Joe Dougherty (33:23)
How many people — we don’t need an exact number, but if we were to estimate percentage-wise in the metropolitan area — are uninsured or underinsured, putting the rest of us at risk if we’re also uninsured or underinsured?
What’s the landscape like?
Randy Flager (33:50)
Maybe 20–25% of the people don’t have insurance.
Joe Dougherty
What do you think, Adam?
Adam Flager (33:57)
And then the amount of people who technically have legal policies, but they’re bare minimum.
If you live in Philly — which I did for 12 years — there are a lot of people who are basically getting the minimal coverage just so they’re street legal, and that’s it.
Having that uninsured and underinsured coverage protects you from the person that you can’t rely on.
You would never, in any other part of your life, rely on a complete stranger to take care of you in a time of need — and that’s what you’re doing when you rely on the other driver’s insurance.
You don’t just give your kid to a random stranger — you check out the preschool, you check references.
But when it comes to car insurance, Joe Schmo hits you, and now you’re asking him to take care of you. You don’t do that in any other part of your life, which is why uninsured and underinsured is so important in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, where we live.
There are so many people that either have no insurance or have very little insurance.
Joe Dougherty (35:17)
People think — like I would think if I didn’t know any better — “Well, I’ve got great lawyers; they’ll figure it out.”
There’s nothing they can do about it, right?
Adam Flager (35:24)
We hear that from clients:
“Well, I had a friend who got around that issue.”
Listen, if a billionaire hits you and they only have a certain amount of coverage, that’s great — you can go after them personally.
Randy Flager (35:39)
We had that happen one time in 40 years.
The guy who hit our client was worth a quarter of a billion dollars — with a B — and he only had a $300,000 policy. The case was worth about a million.
He actually wrote a check in his lawyer’s office to us for the rest of it.
I said to his attorney, “Do you want to run this through your escrow account?”
He goes, “Why? The check is better than anything I can give you.”
And son of a gun, the check cleared.
I said to the guy, “How is it you can write me a check for this much money from your checking account?”
He goes, “I always have between two and five million dollars in my checking account, because you just never know when you’re in Jamaica, on the beach, and see a beautiful house you want to buy.”
I had a hard time relating to that at the time.
The point is: you’ve got to figure that Bill Gates and Elon Musk are not going to hit you.
A regular working person is going to hit you — and maybe they’ll have a decent policy, maybe they won’t.
If someone’s going to put me out of work, I can’t depend on them having enough to make me whole.
Joe Dougherty (36:48)
Absolutely.
Let’s do this — let’s take a quick break.
We’re going to have more from the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour on WWDB Talk 860 in just a moment.
Commercial Break
Flager & Associates Radio Spot (Firm Ad) (approx. 37:30)
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Back to the Show
Joe Dougherty (40:00)
Hi, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour on WWDB Talk 860.
We are here with firm founder Randy Flager and, of course, Adam Flager.
In a sense, we’re covering the gamut, but we’ve talked about insurance, auto insurance.
One thing I’d like to just cover real quickly is what somebody should do at the scene of an accident, okay?
Obviously, going to the hospital and getting medical treatment is the first thing.
But in Philadelphia, as we all know, the police don’t always come, especially if it’s not a seemingly catastrophic injury.
Now, someday you both may meet my wife — if you do, look at her neck. She’s got a scar right here.
When we were kids — 19 — which, as you can imagine, is not long ago: five or six years ago.
Adam or Randy (joking)
I was going to say “on point,” but…
Joe Dougherty
We’re in the ballpark.
But 1983 or ‘84, we were driving up Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia, making a left on Princeton at the light — left-hand turn.
The kid behind us — the through traffic went green, but the arrow didn’t turn. He ran right into us.
Now, it was seemingly a fender bender. Even though that wasn’t the rule back then, a police officer came. You would’ve thought it was a minor dent.
My wife seemed fine. A couple weeks later, she developed a pinched nerve that continued and continued until her disc blew out in her neck.
She had to get, back in ‘83/’84, a full cut right across the neck, and back then they did a fusion.
My point is: it was a catastrophic injury — it just didn’t look like one.
Now, police may not show up at the scene — not because they’re lazy, it’s just policy.
It’s very shocking when you’re in an accident. No matter how small it is, if you either hit somebody or they hit you, you’re in shock.
What should somebody do at that traffic accident to make sure they do what they have to do and follow the right protocols? Because the police may not be right there to fill out the report.
Joe Dougherty (clarifying)
Let’s just say it’s not catastrophic — you’re not going directly to the hospital.
So the police aren’t coming, okay?
Randy Flager (42:41)
You want to exchange information, of course.
You want to get photographs. Everyone’s phone is a camera nowadays. You want to do recordings of the cars, the positions they’re in, where they are — whatever you can.
Information is power.
You want to get as many photographs and videos as you can. Witnesses are also important.
If there’s not going to be a police report and people saw it, you want to get their information.
Joe Dougherty (43:13)
Do you want to go to the district as well?
Randy Flager
Yes — afterwards you can still make a report.
I always say make a report — especially if it’s not your fault.
Why would you not want to make a report for your insurance company?
That way, you attempted to do that.
Of course, this is assuming you’ve called and the police don’t come.
You then report it to the district — but before you do that, you want to get all the information you can: both photographic and witnesses.
Adam Flager (43:45)
Yeah, and to piggyback on the photos — sometimes people send us photos, whether it’s a slip and fall or motor vehicle, and it’s all these super zoomed-in close-ups and you don’t know what you’re looking at.
You need to show some close-up detail, but you also need to show the scene:
Where you are in the intersection.
Is there debris all over the place — broken glass, a bumper, a fender?
You want the zoomed-in and the zoomed-out.
Taking photos of their ID, their insurance card, their license plate — all of that.
You have a digital camera at your fingertips with your phone. It’s so easy to snap a bunch of pictures and videos.
If you don’t do it then, you’ll never have another chance to capture that scene.
Joe Dougherty (44:38)
I’ll tell you what — to your point, I should’ve done that with a tow truck driver.
I had a flat, tow truck comes to my house, and he smashes my car into my garage.
I took all these pictures — he was a nice guy — but afterwards I said to my wife,
“I didn’t take any pictures from back, showing the whole scene. They were all up close.”
So that’s a great point you make, having an idea of the actual scene, not just the damage.
Adam Flager (45:11)
We’ve had that with slip and falls a lot, too.
Someone might have a raised sidewalk or deteriorating concrete, and they’ll take a picture of that, but it doesn’t show me what building it’s next to.
Yes, I need to see it so I can see how deep it is, how wide it is — but I also need to show that it’s in front of this person’s business or house.
For the insurance company, they’ll say, “How do we know this is the one?”
We can say, “Here’s the close-up. Here’s the wide-angle shot. You can see it’s right in front of your building.”
Joe Dougherty (45:57)
So what shouldn’t they do?
I’ll give an example.
Randy Flager
They shouldn’t give a recorded statement to an insurance company.
Joe Dougherty (46:01)
That’s exactly what I was going to ask.
Randy Flager (46:07)
That’s the last thing you want to do.
People say, “Well, I was just telling the truth.” Of course you were.
But what you think the truth is — especially at the moment of impact — you may not really know exactly what happened.
We’ve had family members who’ve been in very serious mishaps lately, and it’s very shocking.
Your body goes into shock. It’s a defense mechanism — a good thing. Adrenaline is pumping, you’re all excited.
As your body relaxes, you start to feel the pain, and you can be very seriously injured and not realize it at the moment.
So if you say to the insurance company, “I feel pretty good,” they’ll say,
“Well, you said you felt really good. That was then — and now you hired a lawyer and suddenly you don’t feel so good.”
Even though you have a herniated disc or an extruding disc — clearly something is wrong — that early statement hurts you.
No matter how careful you are, how conscientious or honest you are, you end up hurting your own case.
Come to a lawyer. Let us be your spokesperson and put some distance between you and the scene.
Joe Dougherty (47:33)
That can also apply when you’re actually adverse to your own insurance company — like if it’s uninsured/underinsured motorist and it’s a hit and run.
Now you may be in an adversarial position with your own carrier, correct?
Randy Flager (47:50)
Of course.
You can end up bringing a claim against your own insurance company.
Now they’re the defendant.
Joe Dougherty
They must be a lot nicer, though, right, Randy?
Randy Flager
Oh, they’re wonderful.
Adam Flager (48:06)
They’re generally better in that sense, but they still have a job to do, which is potentially the opposite of what my job is.
Randy Flager (48:15)
They want to minimize every injury.
“It’s pre-existing. It’s your weight. It’s a high school football injury. It’s your job. It’s arthritis.”
Listen — from the day we are born, our arthritis starts to set in.
It’s amazing: somebody feels perfectly wonderful, they’re driving along, somebody smashes into them, and all of a sudden they have to treat with a doctor.
But it’s almost like it’s their fault for being injured — to the insurance companies.
“How dare you be injured?”
Joe Dougherty (48:52)
I’ve heard the saying: they’re in the business of taking in premiums, not paying out.
And they’ll go there.
Especially when it’s a work injury, and I know you have experience in all areas.
How do you deal with the medical when somebody has no idea what to do?
I’ve heard many attorneys say if there’s no treatment, there’s no case.
You find out there’s a gap in treatment — often they’ll say, “I was depressed and I couldn’t do it.”
No medical, no case — is that…?
Randy Flager (49:42)
Or they’re in pain and they don’t have a caregiver to drive them to the doctor.
If someone in our family is hurt, we have people who can take them to appointments.
It’s a problem.
The insurance companies have repealed the laws of physics.
If a tree falls next to your house and comes crashing down at three in the morning and you’re sound asleep, did it make a noise?
We all know that, according to the laws of nature/physics, it did.
The insurance companies say, “No. Not only did it not make a sound — it never fell, because we don’t have any proof of it.”
They’ve repealed the laws of physics.
Unless you document your injuries, you don’t get paid for them.
They say, “Everyone says, ‘Oh, my back still hurts.’ Well, if it hurt you, how come you didn’t go to the doctor?”
And they have a point.
If you only went to the doctor six times and told your doctor you were okay and then stopped, but two years later you say you’re still in pain — the insurance company isn’t going to value that the same.
If you’re injured, you should appropriately treat. If you’re better, then you stop treating.
We don’t gild the lily. We want you to treat responsibly and in accordance with what your doctor recommends.
Joe Dougherty (51:14)
One of the things I love about what you guys do is: you’re seeking justice for your client that they can’t get on their own.
Many people may be injured for the rest of their life, so that settlement or verdict is a resource they may need for the rest of their life.
Also, nowhere can you promote change more than in the courtroom or in the halls of justice.
If somebody gets T-boned and you’re fighting on their behalf, you’re not only fighting for that client — you’re fighting so it doesn’t happen to someone else.
Maybe there’s a traffic light up there now because of the case.
Talk about that feeling — we only have a couple of minutes — when you’re able to not only get justice for your client, but also make the community safer.
Adam Flager (52:24)
We had a case that was settled earlier this year — a tragic case, a death case of a young person.
The family obviously was distraught, as they should have been, and as we all were. Our entire team was at the funeral.
They were upset especially because they didn’t want another family to go through what they did.
Through the course of our case for the family, this business that basically shouldn’t have been where it was — which caused the accident — ended up getting tossed from that location, evicted from that location.
Nothing could bring their family member back, but knowing that that area was safer for other people, so they wouldn’t go through what the family went through, was very, very important to them.
Sometimes things like that can happen.
For us, it was great as well, because we helped facilitate a meeting with the township about all of those things.
These are things that are kind of outside what our “job” technically is, but we knew it was important to them and to the safety of the community.
So we worked with local officials to make sure this area was safer for everyone.
It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s very rewarding.
Joe Dougherty
Fantastic.
Let’s do this — we have about a minute left.
Contingency fee agreement:
If you’re of your caliber, somebody might be listening to this broadcast saying, “I could never afford them.”
Talk about what that contingency fee means.
Randy Flager (54:09)
You don’t pay us unless we recover for you.
No out-of-pocket fees.
We lay out all the expenses, and you only pay a percentage if we’re successful — and the rest is yours.
It’s tax-free — you don’t pay state, local, or federal taxes on it.
Joe Dougherty (54:28)
Fantastic.
Adam, contact information here at the firm?
Adam Flager (54:31)
Sure. It’s Flager & Associates. We are in Trevose, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and New Hope as well.
We practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Our phone number is 215-953-5200, and our website is www.FlagerLaw.com — F as in Frank, L-A-G-E-R-L-A-W dot com.
Joe Dougherty (54:57)
Awesome, awesome.
Gentlemen, fantastic. Randy, it’s so awesome to finally meet you, sir.
Randy Flager
Pleasure to meet you.
Joe Dougherty
And it’s a pleasure to do our first official broadcast together.
Adam, another fantastic show. Looking forward to a great run.
I want to thank all of our listeners for tuning in to the Flager & Associates Personal Injury Hour.
I obviously want to thank Randy Flager, firm founder and managing partner, and Adam Flager for being fantastic hosts.
On behalf of Randy and Adam and everybody here at Flager & Associates, I’m Joe Dougherty.
Thanks for listening.
