Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 238 - 235: Following Procedure

Time flew by, and it was already mid-March.

In the half month since Cognitas Law opened, no cases have come in. Rhonda Wagner couldn’t sit idle, so she took a criminal case from the legal aid center to warm up and discussed it with Aurora Buckley.

Meanwhile, Sienna Thornton had worked for half a month at Forrester Group, holding several meetings with different teams in the legal department for a few consecutive days to make plans. She intended to spend the rest of the month at Cognitas.

Originally, she planned to just inform a few managers, but then she recalled Simon Forrester’s reminder not to offend Nolan Kramer. So, she took ten minutes before the end of the day to go up to Nolan’s office to report.

When she knocked and entered, Nolan was having tea with the general affairs director. Seeing her come in, he invited her to sit.

Soon after, a cup of hot tea and a case file were handed over to her.

Sienna Thornton looked up at Nolan Kramer.

Nolan smiled politely, "Mr. Thornton, you’re here at just the right time. There’s a case that might need you to handle."

"What kind of case?" Sienna asked, but she didn’t reach for the case file.

Nolan glanced at the general affairs director, who then briefly explained the case’s background and details.

Two years ago, a female employee named Anwell at a heavy machinery manufacturing plant under Forrester Group violated operational procedures, leading to a comminuted fracture of four fingers on her right hand. Although she regained some hand function after timely surgery, the long recovery process prevented her from returning to work. At that time, Forrester Group had paid all treatment expenses and provided basic monthly wages to Anwell for living expenses until six months after her injury, when the payments ceased.

It was then that Anwell brought a level-seven disability assessment report and recovery recommendations, demanding over 200,000 yuan from Forrester for compensation due to her inability to work during her recovery and the cost of rehabilitation. But the then CFO, Bianca Fordham, believed that since Anwell was initially in violation, the company had already covered all medical expenses and her salary for half a year, and there should be no further compensation.

Bianca Fordham’s management style was notoriously stingy and assertive, so the case was dragged on for nearly two years. Now, Anwell has filed a lawsuit against Forrester Group in court, claiming over 2 million yuan.

After hearing the general affairs director’s account, Sienna Thornton nodded and said to Nolan, "Mr. Jenner, I usually handle foreign economic cases. This is a liability case; you can let Lawyer Young from the litigation team handle it."

The case wasn’t difficult, and Sienna was capable of handling it, but there was no justification for Nolan to summon her at a word and expect her to take it on. She could handle a case if it went through the procedures, with the legal department allocating who would handle it and how. It shouldn’t be like now, where a cup of tea was all it took for her to be named to handle it.

Nolan said, "As far as I know, it seems there are lawyers among the other two partners at Cognitas who can handle such cases. If you’re not adept at this type of case, you can let other lawyers at Cognitas assist."

Nolan assigning work to Cognitas as well? His attitude made Sienna feel disgusted, but outwardly she could not show it.

She didn’t touch the case file, instead reporting her plan not to come to Forrester for the next half-month, standing up to leave.

"Mr. Thornton," Nolan called after her, "this case was specifically mentioned by Mr. Forrester for you to handle. If you can’t handle it, I can speak to him for you."

Sienna turned, glanced down at the case file quietly lying on the coffee table, and smiled, "Go through the procedures, send it directly to the litigation team, let them handle it first. If necessary, then I’ll step in."

Nolan’s face turned dark.

The general affairs director sitting beside him also appeared awkward. After Sienna had closed the door behind her, he whispered, "This new chief legal officer certainly has quite a demeanor."

Nolan brushed aside his emotions, looking at Sienna’s graceful departing figure through the blinds, giving a cryptic smile, "Anyone with some ability inevitably has some stance. It’s better to have someone like this than to have someone with no presence and no ability."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Jenner, you’re right."

-

A week later, while Sienna was at Cognitas, she received a call from Forrester’s litigation team requesting her return to discuss the liability case together.

Sienna happened to be free at that moment, so she went back to Forrester in the afternoon.

The litigation team was waiting for her to start the meeting. When she arrived, they respectfully ushered her to the head seat of the long conference table.

Sienna acknowledged everyone in the litigation team with a smile and a nod before sitting down and beginning to review the file on the table.

The plaintiff’s evidence was substantial, including a variety of treatment and rehabilitation records and a workplace injury report. Additionally, there was a diagnosis from a local authoritative psychologist confirming that Anwell indeed suffered from severe depression, presumably due to a major life setback.

A litigation officer and three assistants sat quietly, not saying a word.

Sienna briefly went through the plaintiff’s submitted evidence materials, and then asked the litigation officer, "Lawyer Young, what are your thoughts on this case?"

Lawyer Young replied, "We’ve consulted Anwell’s orthopedic surgeon and rehabilitation therapist. They both indicated that it’s normal to experience restricted finger movement, joint stiffness, and some difficulty with fine motor skills for about a year post-surgery, but it’s only temporary. Most patients with similar injuries recover full hand function in about two years."

Sienna listened carefully, jotting notes in her pad.

Lawyer Young continued, "The doctors also made it clear to Anwell that her hand would certainly recover with about two years’ time. Yet, Anwell claims this has caused her severe depression. I think there’s an issue here."

Sienna looked over, "Please, continue."

Lawyer Young sounded indignant, "The main reason she can claim over 2 million yuan now is this diagnosis of depression. Anwell suggests her depression is because we delayed in dealing with her claim for two years, and stopped her disability stipend six months post-injury, without paying the thirteen-month stipend for a level-seven disability, leading to her financial issues and ultimately, depression. Honestly, is depression that easily developed?"

Sienna pondered, "So, you believe the psychiatric assessment is flawed?"

Lawyer Young nodded firmly, "How about we apply to the court for a re-evaluation of her psychiatric condition?"

Sienna didn’t hesitate, "If the second evaluation yields the same result?" She glanced at the case file, "Plus, whether Anwell genuinely violated the procedures is also debatable. In such cases, the court is likely to rule in favor of the plaintiff. It’s a risky move."

Lawyer Young hung his head, "That’s true."

Sienna reviewed Anwell’s psychiatric evaluation report closely, twirling her pen in thought.

After a while, she raised the report confidently, "I do believe the depression is real, but whether it’s due to the work injury is questionable. I’ll talk to some relevant people; I’ll inform you if I find any leads."

Lawyer Young quietly asked, "Who will you speak to?"