Personal Injury
 |
Car Accident |
|
Brain Damage |
|
Wrongful Death |
|
Slip and Fall |
Personal Injury
Do as adversaries do in law,
- Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Taming of the Shrew, 1593-4, act I, sc. II)
This page will suggest ways to proceed with your case.
We represent clients who have been physically or economically harmed by others, commonly known as personal injury law. Our goal is to provide high quality legal services, to resolve claims in a fair manner, and to do so as rapidly as legal requirements and responsible case preparation will permit.
The attorney/client relationship is based on trust and confidence. You must feel free to tell us everything that relates to your case even if some of the information is sensitive or embarrassing. We need your complete honesty so that we can effectively represent your interests. Evidence that is kept from us may make it more difficult to obtain a fair settlement or could cause the loss of a case at the time of trial. If you have questions concerning how sensitive or embarrassing information might affect your case, please bring this to our attention.
As I am sure you can understand, no attorney can guarantee any specific outcome in a legal matter, particularly one that involves determining fair compensation for physical injuries or pain and suffering. However, if we take on your case, we would only do so if w believed that your case has merit. We will then commit our time and the resources of this firm to your case. Ultimately it will be the strength of the evidence that will most likely determine the outcome.
Let's take a moment to introduce our legal assistant, Dorene Hobson. Dorene has been our legal assistant for many years. She has many responsibilities, including gathering information, calendaring important dates, processing medical bills and medical records, and other duties. Dorene will be able to answer many of the questions you may have as your case proceeds.
It will be necessary to incur costs in order to handle a personal injury claim. Medical records may need to be obtained, investigation conducted, expert's reports obtained, and other expenses. Since those costs must ultimately be paid by you, we attempt to keep those costs as low as possible consistent with effective presentation of a claim. If at any time you have questions concerning the costs incurred in your case, please feel free to call.
We send copies of the paperwork that is received by us or that we prepare and send out to the other side. We can send copies of all documents in *.pdf format by email. In this way we will keep you informed about how your case is proceeding.
It is very important that you keep an attorney advised concerning your medical treatment. Be absolutely honest with your doctors and let them know what pain and limitations you experience. Follow your doctor's advice. Do everything you can to get well.
Normally, when you see your doctor those records and that visit are private. That private relationship is called the physician/patient privilege. However, when you make a claim for damages that involves injury to your body the law usually requires a waiver of this physician/patient privilege. This is so the other side in the lawsuit can view your medical records and verify for themselves that you have in fact been injured and verify the nature and extent of those injuries. State law provides for an automatic waiver if a law suit is filed..
If your claim involves physical injury, we obtain a copy of the medical records needed to prove your claim. We need to obtain records that pertain to the injury to show what injuries were caused by the at-fault party. In some cases we will obtain a copy of medical records from before the injury in order to show prior good health or to explain prior injuries to the body. We usually send these medical records to the defendants' representatives as we receive them since this will help speed resolution of the case.
If there are matters in your medical records that you believe will hurt your case or that are so sensitive that you do not want them disclosed, you should contact your attorney immediately to discuss this and decide what to do.
As you get further involved with your case there may be some more specific advice for you. In the meantime, here are some general suggestions that you may wish to follow.
1. Retain an attorney early on in the case. Do not discuss the case with anyone other than your attorney, your spouse, or your doctors.
2. Consult with an attorney before you do something that might affect your case, including changing doctors.
3. Sign nothing dealing with your claim until you have received instructions or approval from your attorney.
4. Do not discuss your claim with your own insurance company adjuster, but advise that you would be willing to give a statement in your attorney's office. If you choose you may resolve a property loss claim on your own or you can have the assistance of an attorney, if you prefer.
5. Make sure that your doctor is aware of all your symptoms so that he or she may write them into his medical records which can be produced in court or submitted to the insurance company at a later time.
6. Follow your doctor's instructions.
7. Keep copies of all bills you receive as a result of your claim (whether paid by insurance or not) so you can provide them to your attorney.
8. Obtain a receipt or bill for all drugs or appliances purchased by you so you can provide them to your attorney.
9. Notify your attorney at once of any changes in employment, raises or reductions in salary, or loss of job. Similarly, if you are required to miss any work due to your injuries, keep your attorney's office informed of all work missed and the date you are to return to work.
10. Notify your attorney's office at once of any change of address and home or business telephone numbers.
11. If you are going to be out of town for more than one week, please advise your attorney's office of when you will return and how you might be reached while away.
12. Keep a record of all expenses incurred as a result of the accident, including persons you have to employ to perform services for you, and any other expenses that were caused by the accident.
13. If you are self employed, keep a record of all the times you are unable to work or perform your duties and discuss with your attorney how they might best demonstrate your loss of income.
14. Notify your attorney immediately if you hear anything that you feel may affect your case.
15. Keep a record of the distance in miles to each doctor which you visit.
16. You may wish to keep a journal which outlines your progress and your thoughts. Indicate the date you experience pain and describe the pain. This document may be considered confidential by a court, but some attorneys advise against keeping such a journal because it is possible that the journal may need to be shown to the other side's attorney at a later date.
Resolving personal injury cases takes time. We will be happy to discuss the value of your claim if you contact us. We hope that the above information and instructions will be of assistance to you.
Aggressive Representation
| Maximize your settlement |
| Maximize your results at trial |
Contingent Fees
| Name | |
| Type of injury | |
| Company | |
| Description of accident | |
| Phone |
