Law Office Story--Brain Damage

One of the the bigger-than-life lawyers of south King County, WA, was George Fiori, Jr. He was a large man, always stylishly dressed, with a booming  voice but a notoriously bad temper. Story had it that when he came to work in a bad mood, he would walk down the hall firing every employee in sight, but they learned to ignore him. He was also said to be quite the ladies’ man.

     Unfortunately, he suffered a devastating stroke that left him using a wheel chair and dependent upon hired caregivers to keep him fed, clothed and clean, although his mind seemed sharp. His daughter Loretta had worked for me, so when her Dad was sued by a caregiver for sex harassment, she brought him to me.

     The lawsuit was a chippy thing that we disposed of quickly, but one of the allegations was that he had called his nurse “Sweetheart.”

     “Well, did you?” I asked him.

     “How should I know, dear, I’m brain-damaged!” he answered, and laughed heartily.