Hi friends,

I want to start by saying I am not anti-AI. I use AI. It has helped plan my last three vacations. It helps me sort my thoughts. It reviews my papers, marketing plans, and emails. It can be, and often is, a helpful tool.

But it is not your lawyer and never should be.

It’s come to my attention that many people are using Chat, Claude or Grok for legal advice. I get the temptation. It’s free. It’s at your fingertips. It’s instant. Here’s where my issue with AI lies: The greatest danger isn’t that AI is always wrong. The greatest danger is that it sounds right even when it’s wrong.

It is extremely confident and can destroy a case before it’s began.

Please, if you will, hear me out on a few things:

1. AI is not the same as legal guidance

Every day, people are turning to ChatGPT to see if they have a legal case on their hands. Why wouldn’t you? Sometimes the answer can be helpful. Sometimes it is incomplete, missing key details to a case. The problem? Without years of experience working in personal injury (we’ve got more than 30 years), you have no way of knowing whether you just received a helpful or hurtful answer.

2. It’s Not Human, and Therefore, It lacks Key Knowledge

All in all, ChatGPT can explain legal concepts. I’ll give it that. It is remarkable in many ways. But it cannot:

  • investigate facts
  • preserve evidence
  • evaluate witnesses
  • negotiate effectively
  • recognize when someone is lying
  • subpoena records
  • take depositions
  • file lawsuits
  • comply with procedural rules
  • try a case before a jury
  • exercise legal judgment based upon years of courtroom experience

You need these things, and we have them. I don’t think you need much convincing when I say it’s not human, and it hasn’t replaced our need for humans.

It can explain what contributory negligence is. It cannot know the road design, whether there were witnesses, whether there were prior complaints, whether the trucking company destroyed evidence, whether there are multiple insurance policies at play, whether there are surveillance videos that disappear tomorrow.

Please hear me: you need those things. They change everything in a case.

3. AI Can’t Smell Smoke

We notice things that don’t appear in the written facts. For example, if you come to me after an incident and say, “My shoulder hurts,” I hear a possible rotator cuff injury, an MRI, a possible future surgery, maybe some vocational damages. All of this amounts to future medical expenses, something you should be compensated for.

AI answers the question it was asked, and it does a remarkable job. But after 30 years, we ask questions you never knew to ask.

4. Your Opponent Has Information AI Doesn’t

This is a big one. Just like lawyers know more than Chat does about interpreting the law. So does the insurance company. At this point in time, AI can’t replace the knowledge learned over decades of experience. Adjusters evaluate things like venue, jury tendencies, plaintiff credibility, defense counsel, medical providers, and local judges.

5. AI Is Far, Far Too Confident When It Is Wrong

I touched on this earlier, but it is so important. Have you ever experienced this? It will confidently say something about your situation, until you correct it, and then it says, “You’re right. It is ____.” It’s comical, honestly.

But it’s not funny when it comes to your livelihood.

Lawyers admit uncertainty. Experienced doctors admit uncertainty. But AI often answers with dangerous confidence, and it can’t detect a lie.

Experienced lawyers can detect inconsistent medical histories, hidden insurance, employer misconduct, fraud. Our instincts to detect when something is off has come from decades of doing this work.

6. AI Has Never Tried a Case

Of course it hasn’t. It cannot stand next to you in court and perform opening statements or a cross-examination. It cannot visit you in the hospital or check in on your family. It cannot serve as your expert testimony or watch how the jury responds. It cannot read facial expressions or detect lies.

Because I’m not an AI prude, here’s what AI should be used for.

It would be great at:

  • explaining terminology
  • organizing records
  • summarizing medical records
  • generating questions
  • understanding insurance vocabulary
  • preparing for meetings

It is not ready to:

  • decide whether to settle
  • interpret local law
  • calculate case value
  • handle litigation without counsel

All in all, AI is incredible. I use it almost every day. But—I wouldn’t let it represent my family in legal guidance.

The law isn’t simply information.

It is judgment. Experience. Strategy.

And sometimes the difference between a seven-figure recovery and nothing at all is recognizing one fact, asking one additional question, or filing one document before midnight.

AI can’t replace that. At least not yet.

One More Note

If you’re turning to AI because it’s free, I get it. I really do. There’s a lot of scary (and expensive) fears around hiring an attorney. But at Alabama Personal Injury Lawyers, we have a contingency fee. Meaning, we only get paid if we win. You will never pay out of pocket to hear legal advice from our team.

Think you might need representation? Contact us at (659) 216-8641 today.