Never Say Never…..

As part of the litigation process, clients go through an Examination for Discovery. This is essentially a question and answer session. Since COVID it’s mainly been done virtually.  The client comes to our office and we go online together to meet the defence lawyer and a court reporter. All the evidence given is recorded and written down.

Prior to the discovery we have an appointment with the client to prepare them for the types of questions they may be asked an why they may be relevant.

We also send a letter outlining advice and important points to remember such as giving a verbal answer; listening to the question being asked and answering that question; being truthful and not guessing if you don’t know the answer to something. Saying “I don’t know” is an answer. Then there is the important advice of not answering in absolutes. Saying….I never do that…..or…..I always do this….can be a problem if your medical records or a witness or surveillance says otherwise.

So this advice of “never say never” was particularly relevant this summer.

I hate needles….

First a little history. I have never liked needles. I suspect a dislike for being jabbed is pretty common. I became desensitized to this on the journey to motherhood and with being my mother’s caregiver in her final weeks. Needles are not my favourite thing in the world but I am no longer a total chicken.

Now another little nugget of history. My mom got her first tattoo at 65 once she survived her first cancer surgery. She went on to get 4 in total. A shout out to Dean Sleiman who heard my mom say she may not survive his lengthy wait list for a 3D monarch butterfly and promptly got her an appointment. Mom loved you Dean!

My take on tattoos has always been – nope, no way, no thanks – that’s never going to happen. Not even the offer of matching sibling tattoos in memory of my mom could move me from that position.

Disney Magic and Minnie Mouse

Then this summer happened. Call it the magic of Disney or the crazy love I have for my family but 8 of us got tattoos in Florida. 7 Mickey Mouse and 1 Minnie Mouse.

I faced my fear of needles and rationalized I could endure 5 minutes of discomfort. On the pain scale (many of you know it well) I ranked it a 3 out of 10.

So the discovery advice I give my clients also applies to everyday life. Never say never because you may end up doing something you once could never imagine yourself doing.