He also induced a neighbor's son, who had just collected $100,000 in a personal-injury case, to invest half his settlement with him.

Insurance companies and city agencies can also sue to recover money lost in the personal-injury cases.

Moreover, if you are hit by a car, wearing headphones may compromise any personal-injury case in a suit against a motorist.

He hadn't seen the old man for more than a year, when he tried a personal-injury case in his court.

In many malpractice and personal-injury cases, he said, the privilege is waived voluntarily by patients.

"In personal-injury cases, an attorney can work for a contingency fee," she said.

If the lawyer is working for a contingency fee, a practice that is standard in personal-injury cases, almost all states require a written agreement.

For the most part, he represented plaintiffs in personal-injury cases involving medical malpractice and products liability.

But, like many plaintiffs in personal-injury cases, Ms. Ernst says that this trial is not about money for her.

However, the courts are reluctant to allow it in personal-injury cases, where the defense can raise an issue of fact that requires a trial.