If you were injured should you seek the advise of a Personal Injury Attorney?
You were injured and now you think you should get some advice from personal injury attorneys as to whether you have a case or not. But where to start and who should you trust to handle getting justice for you? We are bombarded by commercials on television by injury lawyers that tell us that they have our best interest in mind. Most personal injury lawyers will give you a free initial consultation to determine whether they think you have a legitimate case. This is your chance to tell your story and find out if you are being listened to. How attentive and empathetic are they to your situation. If they don’t have time for you now then how much time will they have for you later?
Most injury lawyers will only be interested in your case if you have sustained physical injuries that can be proven by a doctor. Make sure and document your injuries as soon as possible by taking pictures and going to a physician. This evidence will be crucial later on when you go to court or when negotiating with the insurance companies. Do not sign or even discuss the matter with an insurance company until you have retained the services of a reputable personal injury law firm.
Make sure to interview several injury attorneys before agreeing to let them take on your case. You definitely want to ask lots of questions to determine how the case will be handled and what retainer fees are involved. You may also want to know exactly which lawyer the firm is going to assign to your case and then get some background information on how much trial experience they have. It could make a great deal of difference as to how much money you get if you have to fight a stubborn insurance company. Also you want the people representing you to specialize in personal injury law as they will have the edge over a firm that handles all types of general law.
It may take some time to find the right fit for you and your case. Make sure to be patient, trust your instincts and gut feelings when interviewing potential personal injury lawyers. A good lawyer should also be there to advise you based on his experience as to good and bad settlement offers. The bottom line is that you must get good advice on when to accept a settlement or when to fight it out through the legal system.
You also need to understand how the personal injury attorneys get paid. Probably the best scenario for the client is to only pay the lawyer if he is successful at getting a settlement or award in court. Then it will only benefit the law firm if they do a good job on your case. Leave it to the professionals to push for the most money possible because they are receiving a percentage. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions and also ask to see the win/loss ratio of court cases taken on by the paticular lawyer that is going to be representing you.
Personal Injury: Legal Information from FindLaw
FindLaw provides legal information about personal injury. URL: www.findlaw.com
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Product Defects – Personal Injury: Legal Information from FindLaw
FindLaw provides legal information about personal injury caused by product defects. URL: www.findlaw.com
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How does Personal Injury Protection Insurance work when you are driving someone elses vehicle.?
I was driving my in laws truck when I was hit from behind. I filed a claim for medical under my mother in laws personal injury protection (PIP). If I used the maximum $2500 does that leave my mother in law without PIP if she is in a wreck?
No, PIP is per occurance, so your mother in law should still be covered. It covers you, any household resident, or passenger in your vehicle. It also covers you while you are a pedestrian hit by a vehivle. It is called no-fault, ment to help lower the amount of medical lawsuits. Anyway, this is how it works w/my insurance company. I would ask your mother in law to call thier insurance company & just verify – but I believe it is the same for every insurance co. Hope you feel better.
Does a personal injury claims adjuster have a limit as to the amount they can settle a case for?
I was wondering if a personal injury claims adjuster has to go to his or her superior for a larger dollar amout? What is the process for a claim that will potential settle for around the 100,000.00 mark?
Pretty much any claim over $5,000, has to be reviewed with a supervisor. Any claims over $20,000, usually need a department supervisor to sign off on – this is a FRAUD control measure that the insurance companies implement.
But NO carrier is going to settle a case for more than the POLICY LIMIT.
Personal injury attorney not releasing funds from settled portion of our case?
We have been dealing with a personal injury lawsuit for about two years. The accident occurred in CA and we reside in another state, so we are dealing with our attorney all long distance. The case has been complicated, mainly due to an inattentive attorney from the start, whom we fired. We retained our current attorney not too long ago and the case against the defendants insurance company has been resolved and funds have been sent to our attorney. Here is where it becomes tricky. The funds for my settlement have been sent to us, the attorney is holding the funds from my husband’s portion of the settlement until a settlement is reached with our insurance company (the defendant was an underinsured driver, we had underisured driver coverage). Our attorney claims he cannot release these funds because he will more than likely need to spend the money on litigating the case against our insurance company..and it just does not make sense to me. In our eyes, the case against the defendant is closed (and in the courts eyes) I don’t see why the funds cannot be released, but my attorney alleges this is normal practice in personal injury law. Anyone have any experience with a situation similar to this? Thanks.
@leo, I don’t think you understand the nature of the question.
Obviously the attorney you’re working with is working on a contingent fee basis rather than working on retainer.
As such, his cutting you a check for part of the settlement was actually rather accommodating on his part.
The way contingent fee contracts typically work is as follows: the client pays nothing, the attorney assumes the initial expense of the case as well as the risk involved should he not prevail. A running tally is kept of any fees (depositions, filing fees, record fees, process server fees, postage, long distance calls, copying fees etc.) as well as medical expenses if the attorney guarantees medical costs as the case progresses.
After the case is completely resolved, the attorney takes his cut (33 1/3 is fairly standard) and then deducts expenses from the client’s portion of the award and cuts a check for the balance to send to the client.
Since litigation is continuing against one party in your suit, obviously he’s not going to send you all the money until he knows what his expenses are going to be (and what his cut will be).
So yes, it’s a very normal practice in personal injury law when dealing with contingent fee situations. As I’d said, I’m surprised he was willing to forward anything as many firms normally won’t until the matter is fully resolved.
Now, had you gone out and retained an attorney (through a retainer fee up-front) you’d be absolutely correct in expecting to receive the full balance due to you of an award as soon as practical after your attorney received payment.
At this point, if you really want the money now, your best option would be to direct your attorney to end all legal actions being taken against your insurance company, but be aware that any expenses he’s made on your behalf in the matter involving your insurance company would also be deducted from the remaining award before he’d cut you a check
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Mount Soledad Landslide San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys
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The Dolan Law Firm Oakland, CA Trial Injury Lawyers
If there’s a good chance your case is going to trial, then you need to go to The Dolan Law Firm and put your case to the test. At law offices in Oakland, California, attorney Chris Dolan has a custom-built courtroom that allows him to try various legal strategies before taking your case to judge and jury. Why risk your one chance with a blind shot when you can go to The Dolan Law Firm?
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Hispanic Television Personal Injury Lawyer- Abogado
Hispanic Personal Injury Lawyer TV Commercial. Aviso de Abogado para accidentes y mala practica medica. Law firm for car accidents, motorcycle accidents and serious injuries including brain damage, slip and falls, wrongful death, amputation and medical malpractice.
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