Rory Safir

It is a designation from the American Chemical Society's Chemistry and the Law Division, and as of this writing fewer than 120 attorneys nationwide hold it, only six of us in Florida. I earned it through hands-on laboratory training at Axion Analytical Labs in Chicago in forensic gas chromatography, pharmacology, and toxicology. In plain English: I learned to run the same kinds of instruments crime labs use, so when the State's case rests on a lab number, I can challenge how that number was actually produced instead of taking it on faith.

The science. I am one of fewer than 120 attorneys nationwide, and as of this writing one of only six in Florida, trained as an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. I am also an NHTSA-certified field sobriety test instructor, qualified to teach police officers how the roadside exercises are supposed to be administered, which matters when I cross-examine the officer who gave them. And I serve on both the faculty and two national task force committees of the National College for DUI Defense. When your case turns on a machine or a lab report, you want a lawyer who speaks that language.

Act on the license first. The paper citation you were handed doubles as a temporary permit, and it expires in 10 days. What you do inside that window decides whether you keep driving and what appears on your record for decades. Many people take the option that feels easy and lock in a suspension that stays on their record for 75 years. Then, preserve everything: the video, the breath records, the blood paperwork. I wrote a book about exactly this, Arrested for DUI in Florida, and I mail it free to Tampa Bay residents.

Get medical care first, even if you feel mostly fine, because adrenaline hides injuries and gaps in treatment hurt both your health and your claim. In Florida crash cases you generally have only 14 days to get initial care or your own no-fault benefits can vanish. Then preserve the evidence: photos, witness names, and in fall or security cases, a preservation letter to the property owner before the video records over itself. The mistakes that cost people the most happen in the first days, which is why I wrote two free books walking through exactly this.

Maybe, and do not let embarrassment decide for you. The insurance industry counts on fall victims talking themselves out of real cases. In Florida, a business generally must be shown to have known about the hazard, or that it existed long enough that it should have known, and the proof usually sits in the owner's own records: sweep logs, incident reports, maintenance requests, and video. Some fall cases genuinely cannot be won, and I will tell you so plainly. But that answer should come from the evidence, not from a smirk. I am a member of the National Association of Premises Liability Attorneys, and I wrote a book on these cases.

Yes, and to me they were never two different jobs. In a criminal case, one person faces the full weight of the government. In an injury case, one person faces an insurance company that knows every rule. Both are the same work: standing next to a regular person while something much larger bears down on them, and evening out the knowledge so the outcome turns on what actually happened. My forensic background does real work on both sides, from breath machines to proving an impaired driver caused a crash.