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• How
do I choose an attorney?
• How does your firm
charge attorneys’ fees?
• What happens if there
is an appeal?
• I can’t afford
to pay for costs? Will your law firm pay them?
• Do I have a case?
• How much is my case
worth?
• What happens after
I sign up?
• How does the litigation
process work?
• Should I talk to
the at-fault party’s insurance company?
How do I choose
an attorney?
The first thing to consider when selecting an attorney is
the attorney’s level of success handling difficult and
complex personal injury cases. An attorney with a “general
practice”, who does a little family law, a little criminal
law, a little real estate, and a little personal injury law,
cannot master of all these areas. You are best off with a
lawyer that devotes his or her practice to representing plaintiffs.
Most personal injury lawyers have practices that focus only
on smaller accident cases that are relatively easy to resolve.
These lawyers tend to handle a large volume of cases and are
uncomfortable devoting significant time and expenses towards
a larger more complex case. If your case involves significant
damages and complex liability issues, your case will require
a great deal of time, energy, and possibly money to bring
to court. You should make sure that your attorney is prepared
to handle this type of case.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you should feel comfortable
with the attorney and the law firm’s staff on a personal
level. It is important that you feel that you can trust your
lawyer and that your lawyer is the type of person who will
listen to you and be available to you when you need him/her.
Part of feeling comfortable with your attorney is knowing
that your case is as important to your attorney as it is to
you. A lawyer that is not committed to your case in his/her
heart, or who is simply too busy to take your calls or do
the necessary work to handle your case is not going to get
you the best result.
How does your
firm charge attorneys’ fees?
We believe in being up front and honest about our attorneys’
fees, so we explain in detail on our website how we are paid.
If we accept your case, our law firm works on a contingent
fee basis, which means you pay no fees unless we successfully
resolve your case by settlement or verdict. Our typical fees
are 1/3 of any gross recovery we obtain by settlement or verdict.
1/3 is the standard in the industry, although many firms have
now increased their fees to a 40% fee structure.
An example may be helpful: If we obtain a verdict in the amount
of $1,000,000, our fees would be 1/3 of $1,000,000, or $333,333.33.
This leaves $666,666.67 after attorneys’ fees.
What happens if
there is an appeal?
Approximately 90% of our cases settle prior to even filing
a lawsuit. Of those cases where it is necessary to file a
lawsuit, approximately 90% settle before trial. Of those cases
that have been tried to a jury, only 10% have resulted in
an appeal. Although it may seem very unlikely that your case
will go through an appeal, providing for it in the fee agreement
in advance is a good idea. Most law firms do what we do, which
is increase the percentage of the contingent fee to reflect
the amount of additional work that will need to be done. Our
typical fee agreement states that if an appeal is necessary,
our contingent fee percentage increases from 33% to 45%. This
is standard in the industry, although some law firms will
charge up to 50% in the event there is an appeal.
Example: If we obtained a $1,000,000 verdict at trial and
the defendant appealed the case, we would respond to the appeal.
If after the appeal we were required to try the case again,
and if at the second trial we again obtained a verdict of
$1,000,000, our fee would increase from $333,333.33 to 450,000.00.
I can’t
afford to pay for costs? Will your law firm pay them?
Costs are separate from attorneys’ fees. When we accept
your case, we agree to advance all costs necessary to bring
your case to a successful conclusion. This includes minor
items like copying expenses, medical records, deposition expenses
and filing fees. In a larger, more complex case, it may also
include expenses for experts such as a doctor, engineer, vocational
rehabilitation specialist, or an economist. Our law firm uses
some of the most experienced experts to help give our clients
the best chance at a successful resolution of their case.
These experts are not inexpensive, so we will always discuss
with our client before hiring these experts and incurring
any major expenses on their behalf.
Do I have a case?
This depends on the facts of your case, the witnesses, and
the injuries you sustained. If you would like us to evaluate
your case, call us or click on the “case evaluations”
button above. We are available to review your case online
or by telephone.
How much is my
case worth?
If you have been injured due to the negligence of another,
under the law you may be entitled to compensation for past
and future out of pocket damages, including medical expenses,
wage loss, and loss of earning capacity. In addition, you
are entitled to reasonable and fair compensation for what
the law calls “general damages.” General damages
include such things as pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement,
and loss of enjoyment of life.
Assigning a dollar figure to general damages is not an exact
science. Factors to be considered are the nature and the extent
of the injury, the degree of pain and/or emotional suffering,
the degree of disability, and the length of time and extent
to which the injury will affect your life.
Our attorneys are experienced at evaluating cases and determining
what they are worth. To have your case evaluated by one of
our attorneys, call us or click on the “case evaluations”
button above.
What happens after
I sign up?
One of our goals is to make the process as easy as possible
for you. After you sign up, we will immediately take action
to preserve evidence and protect your interests from any insurance
companies that may be involved.
Immediately after you sign up with us, we will send out letters
to any insurance companies indicating that we represent you
and that they must now talk to us if they want to talk to
you. They will not be allowed to contact you directly and
you will therefore be protected from their attempts to obtain
recorded statements or obtain irrelevant private information
about you and your medical history.
We will also immediately take any steps necessary to preserve
evidence in your case from important key witnesses. Doing
this early is very important because witnesses may forget
significant facts, move, or pass away. Obtaining and preserving
evidence early can be the difference between a successful
and unsuccessful result in a case.
Once the facts of the accident and the nature and extent of
your injuries and future damages are thoroughly known to us,
we will typically put together what is called a “demand
package” and present it to the at-fault party’s
insurance company. A demand package is an extensive summary
of the evidence that we will present at trial. It includes
a summary of the facts of the accident, an analysis of the
applicable law, a summary of all past and future out of pocket
losses you have incurred, and an analysis of all past and
future damages for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of
life, disability, and disfigurement. Our analysis will be
supported by important exhibits including relevant medical
records, medical bills, witness statements, and expert opinions.
The conclusion of the demand package is an offer for settlement
for an amount that you and your attorneys will have agreed
to in advance based on the factors in your case.
A thoroughly prepared demand package is the best way to avoid
litigation. In fact, approximately 90% of all of our cases
settle at this stage, before a lawsuit is ever filed. For
those cases where it is necessary to file suit in order to
obtain a just result for our clients, the next step is to
file a lawsuit.
How does the litigation
process work?
Litigation begins when the case is filed and defendants are
served with a summons and complaint. A complaint is a legal
document that summarizes the plaintiff’s (injured person’s)
claims against the defendants. Each defendant is then required
to file an Answer to the Complaint, wherein the defendant
admits or denies the facts alleged in the Complaint.
The next step in the litigation process is called “discovery”.
During discovery, both sides use formal Court procedures to
obtain information from each other. These procedures include
written questions, or interrogatories. Witnesses may also
be placed under oath and asked questions before a Court Reporter,
who transcribes the interview in what is called a “deposition”.
After both sides have completed their discovery, they are
ready to try their case before a jury. Prior to doing this,
however, the parties typically engage in a formal attempt
to settle the case, called mediation. We find that if a case
is well prepared, most cases will settle at this stage without
the necessity of proceeding to trial.
Should I talk
to the at-fault party’s insurance company?
We recommend that you not speak to the at-fault party’s
insurance company unless you have first spoken to an attorney.
Even if these insurance companies have advertised themselves
on TV as being virtuous and kind, and even if the person on
the phone sounds friendly, beware. Insurance companies make
more money the less they pay in claims. These friendly adjusters
are well-trained investigators seeking to obtain information
that may be damaging to your case.
Unfortunately, these adjusters often misrepresent the truth
and the law to unsuspecting accident victims. One common misrepresentation
is that you have to give a recorded statement to them. This
is false. It is not recommended that you give any recorded
statement without the presence of an attorney.
Another common misrepresentation made by insurance adjusters
is that you have to sign a release allowing them to obtain
your medical records. While it is true that any insurance
company will need to review relevant medical records in order
to evaluate your injuries, it is not true that the insurance
company is entitled to review irrelevant private medical records.
Typically, the release the insurance company will try to get
you to sign is overly broad and authorizes them to invade
your privacy. Experienced attorneys in our office will know
what the insurance company is and is not entitled to, and
can modify any release to protect your right to privacy.
Another practice frequently employed by insurance companies
is the premature offer of settlement. The adjuster will portray
this ploy as providing excellent and prompt customer service,
and a willingness to compensate you for your injuries. What
is in fact happening is that the adjuster is trying to resolve
your case for a small amount and have you sign away your rights
before you are fully aware of the nature and extent of your
injuries and before you are aware of what you are entitled
to under the law.
Beware of any offer of settlement made prior to the completion
of your medical treatment. Insurance companies know that a
certain percentage of injuries do not fully resolve and that
a certain percentage of people end up with permanent problems,
sometimes requiring surgery and sometimes preventing them
from returning to work. If you settle your case early for
an amount you think is reasonable, and later learn that your
injuries were worse than you expected, you will not be able
to come back to the insurance company for more money. That
is why it is never a good idea to settle before you have all
the facts about your injuries, an opinion from your doctor
about what the future will hold for you, and discussed your
case with an experienced attorney. |
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1.888.604.3438 |
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“It
is important that you feel that you can trust your lawyer
and that your lawyer is the type of person who will listen
to you and be available to you when you need him/her. A lawyer
that is not committed to your case in his/her heart, or who
is simply too busy to take your calls or do the necessary
work to handle your case is not going to get you the best
result. ” |
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