Do I Have a Case?

 

Do I have a caseWe hear this question often. Tell us your story.  There are many personal injury accidents and each one is unique.  Depending upon where you were hurt, on land (private property or a public street) on the water or in the air during a domestic or international flight different laws of liability and damages apply and you must comply with the law to recover.  There are complicated rules of law for where you have to file a lawsuit against different corporations.  Some are required to be filed in the state where the accident occurs and others require you to file in a different state based upon a ticket for cruise ship travel. There are even rules that require you to file in either state or federal court to avoid having your case dismissed. You have know the law that applies to your accident as a starting point.

FAQ    We have helped thousands of clients. These are the most important frequently asked questions that may help you get started.

A: WARNING: Case settlement is not for the “do it yourself” type, unless you want to be taken advantage of by an insurance company one receive only a small portion of what you are entitled to recover. First, you should speak to a competent lawyer that practices law limited to personal injury to get free legal advice before any settlement offer is accepted.There is no cookie-cutter answer for the ease or difficulty in settling a claim. Each claim is fact specific: who is potentially liable for the accident; who is the insurer; who is at fault and why; where in the world are they located and where can they be sued; the severity of the damages and how easily can they be established.
A: Maybe. Many claim settled before the filing of a lawsuit. Others require a lawsuit be filed but then they settle shortly thereafter. Other lawsuits have to be filed and go all the way to jury trial. We are trial lawyers and we will not settle for less in significant injury and damage cases. You may have to come back to Florida for testimony, medical examinations, mediation (settlement) and trial. It depends on the nature of your claim, the hearing and the type of court appearance.
A: We work on a contingency fee basis which means you pay nothing if we do not recover for you which allows you the benefit of a very experienced lawyer that specializes the hand of these types of claims with no upfront cost. This is important because each time that the court awards us attorney fees against an insurance company we usually obtain a rate that exceeds $400.00 per hour for the time incurred. It may take hundreds or thousands of hours to complete the work on your claim.Percentage of fees that we charge typically start at 33.33%; if there is a need to file a lawsuit after a failure to reach a settlement agreement, then after an “answer” is filed by the defense the legal fees rise to a total of 40%. If the defendant admits of they are at fault 100% for the accident in their answer then the fee remains at 33.33%

If there is an appeal, legal fees may further increase 5%.However, if you sue the State of Florida, then attorney fees cannot be more than 25% against the governmental entity.
A: Some cases resolve shortly after the medical treatment for the injury has concluded. Others may remain in process for several years if they are complex. We usually resolve cases between 12 and 18 months after filing a lawsuit. We quite often are called pick a jury less than 12 months after we file suit because we work on a small number of large cases and we have implemented efficiencies in our law practice.Remember that there is no guarantee that your claim will result in a settlement, but assuming that your case does settles, the amount of time that will transpire before that settlement is reached will vary.
A: As a matter of policy our office generally does not allow our clients to give recorded statements to the defendant’s insurance adjuster. An insurance adjuster is allowed to take an informal statement that is not recorded of our client. They are welcome to meet with our client in person when we are present, ask questions and take notes. They are allowed to take photographs of the injuries if they are visible. We do not believe there is any benefit to our client in allowing the defendant to record the statement of our client during this phase. In our estimation an early recorded statement would only be used at a later date and time to challenge our client’s version of the story before all the facts may be known.

There will be expenses associated with your claim, but we make every effort to keep them low and only spend money that is essential to obtaining a recovery for you. Remember, if we do not recover for you then you do nit pay even one penny of the money that we have invested in your claim. If we do recover for you only then will you reimburse us for the reasonable expenses that we actually incurred out of the recovery. Expenses often include the cost of medical records and radiology studies, expert witness consultation fees to investigate a complex claim.

If a case needs to go to suit then the expenses will naturally increase. It is important to have a detailed discussion with your attorney to understand exactly what costs may be incurred.

If you need help or just have a question invite you to contact us today for a free initial consultation.  You can take comfort in the fact that everything that you tell us will remain completely confidential and if we accept your case you will never pay us even a penny unless we win money for you from a jury verdict or a settlement.  You can contact us 24/7/365.  We are available to meet with you anytime and anywhere.

Your initial consultation is always free and we have a staff of legal professionals standing by to take your call 24/7/365.

Call us today!

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