An increase in human interaction is a welcome development for most after such a long period in isolation, but injury lawyers say it will also create new hazards.

"I do expect to see an uptake in all activity for good and bad," plaintiffs lawyer Stuart Ratzan of Ratzan Weissman & Boldt in Miami recently told Law.com's Jasmine Floyd. "People will be out there bumping into each other, whether it's at the hospital or on the roadway, the more encounters people have with one another, the more likely things will go wrong. Statistically, more human interaction will result in more opportunities for wrongdoing and negligent conduct, so it's more of a numbers game.

His partner, Stuart Weissman, agreed.

"As the world opens back up, which is well under way, it is inevitable," he said. "Things are bound to happen. We were all bound up and confined in our homes for the last 12-plus months. So, yes, I think we will see an increase in cases out there whether it's medical malpractice or any other type of injury case."

Before we dive in, I'm interested to hear what you think: what types of personal injury claims do you expect to increase as life gets back to something resembling the pre-pandemic normal? Let me know at [email protected] and I'll feature your feedback in a follow-up column.

The Buzz:

>> Ratzan was one of a number of personal injury lawyers who predicted back in December that medical malpractice cases would rise precipitously once pandemic restrictions subsided.

"People have retreated from going to the dentist, their private doctor, and it's gotten to the point where major health care systems have put together this website called, 'Stop Medical Distancing,'" Ratzan told Law.com's Michael A. Mora at the time, adding that the billboard on I-95 told visitors, "It's time to start talking to your doctor again."

Ratzan predicted that by summer 2021 there would be a heavy burden on physicians to put as many patients under the knife as possible to meet the surging demand to avoid losing a potential patient who might seek surgery at another medical facility in order to obtain treatment sooner.

"The trouble is on the health care provider side, they are just so hungry for work again they will overburden themselves by increasing patient load," Ratzan said. "And if patients are neglecting their care or avoiding their own warning signs for fear of seeing a doctor because of the virus, that could contribute to that outcome."

Ramon A. Rasco, a partner at Podhurst Orseck in Miami, agreed, telling Mora "you're definitely going to see an increase in surgeries in 2021."

"Just like jury trials are being postponed, you're going to see an uptick in those surgeries and that will be a source of additional cases of medical malpractice," he said.

>> Similarly, injury lawyers are preparing for a surge in motor vehicle accident cases as more people get back on the road, whether they're behind the wheel or not.

Aron Solomon, head of strategy for Esquire Digital, a lead generation/internet marketing company geared toward trial lawyers, wrote this week in a commentary piece for Texas Lawyer that we're about to witness a post-pandemic boom in injury cases stemming from Uber and Lyft accident.

"Part of the issue here is volume," Solomon wrote. "As demand for ridesharing increases across more cities than ever, the number of accidents—often fairly horrific ones—goes up."

He added: "Another feature of increased demand for services such as Uber and Lyft is that to meet consumer demand, these companies do less than optimal driving screening and training, if they actually do any at all."

In addition to the statistical likelihood that more crashes will occur with more vehicles on the road, San Francisco-based personal injury lawyer Mary Alexander wrote earlier this month for The Recorder that she also anticipates a post-COVID spike in injuries and deaths as the result of road rage incidents.

"With mask guidelines being eased and more businesses and events reopening across the United States in 2021, many more of the 280 million registered cars are expected on the road as people get back to work and resume leisure activities," Alexander wrote. "These factors can easily provide the backdrop for an increase in traffic accidents and fatalities that stem from road rage."