Please choose from the list below to answer your most frequently asked questions:
Why do I need an attorney to represent me if I have been injured?
- An experienced personal injury attorney knows what information to give to an insurance company, what information to obtain from them and what your legal rights are.
- An experienced personal injury attorney knows what evidence and information is needed to be obtained and knows how to obtain it.
- As an injured victim, you have many obstacles facing you on your road to recovery. An experienced personal injury attorney can shoulder all of the burden regarding your legal and insurance issues while you concentrate on getting better.
- Having an experienced personal injury attorney representing you signals to the defendant's insurance company that you have a serious personal injury claim.
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Why do I need to hire a personal injury attorney instead of a general practice lawyer?
- Every day new legal cases are decided and/or state laws take effect which change how important issues are being resolved in every type of legal field here in Pennsylvania. An experienced personal injury lawyer would have the time and incentive to stay on top of those issues which affect physically injured victims like yourself.
- An experienced personal injury attorney deals with issues regarding victims' rights every day. A general practice lawyer might be writing a Will one day, filing documents for a corporation another day and representing a defendant in a criminal matter on the third day. Whose experience would you want working on your case?
- When you have a heart problem, do you seek out expert medical advice from your family doctor, or do you make an appointment to see a cardiologist? Your personal injury claim is important to you. You only have one chance to have it properly presented to the representatives of an insurance company or a jury, if necessary.
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Is there a difference between a personal injury attorney and a plaintiff's personal injury attorney?
- Someone who advertises as a personal injury attorney probably represents both the plaintiffs (injured victims) and defendants (those responsible for causing the injuries). On one day, those attorneys can represent a person with a broken ankle. The next week, they could be standing in front of a jury arguing on behalf of a defendant to persuade a jury to minimize the value of another person's injury claim.
- On the other hand, a plaintiff's personal injury attorney (like myself), does NOT have any such conflicts. My sole focus is representing the legal rights of injured victims to the best of my abilities 365 days a year.
- Insurance companies and their defense adjusters have a whole network of information available to them to identify and classify attorneys. They're aware of those attorneys who are experienced litigators working solely on behalf of injured victims as opposed to those lawyers who "work both sides of the fence."
- An attorney such as myself, who only represents physically injured victims, states that clearly and openly in his/her website and advertisement. To the contrary, when you do not see that phrase in a website or advertisement, it would be fair to assume that that attorney or law firm does legal work on behalf of both insurance companies and injured victims.
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How quickly after an accident should I hire an attorney who only represents physically injured victims?
- You should make the call to obtain your Free HOME Consultation as soon as possible.
- Your plaintiff's personal injury attorney will promptly take all the necessary steps to protect your legal rights with all of the insurance companies who may be involved in your claim. Undoubtedly, there may be many legal issues which you would not think of because you do not have the legal background that an experienced personal injury attorney who solely represents injured victims would possess.
- Your plaintiff's personal injury attorney will promptly obtain all necessary evidence and information and will free you up from those time-consuming duties. It will allow you to concentrate on seeking the appropriate medical care and getting you back to full health and the ability to totally perform your job duties.
- An experienced personal injury attorney who solely represents injured victims will have the knowledge of a host of medical specialists whom they can refer you to to obtain the best medical care as quickly as possible.
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Who is responsible to pay for my injuries?
- Under Pennsylvania law, the person or business who acted wrongfully and caused your injuries is responsible to provide you with just and full compensation for all of your injuries.
- Your potential recovery is based upon the injuries that you actually sustained, the insurance coverage of the defendant(s) and, in a motor vehicle case, whether you paid for additional protection in the form of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
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When can we try to settle my case?
- While your medical care is ongoing, your plaintiff's personal injury attorney should be ordering and obtaining your wage loss documents, your injury photographs, a police report, eyewitness statements and all other necessary documents to fully support your personal injury claim.
- In almost all cases, it is necessary to wait until your medical care is concluded and those medical records have been ordered, received and reviewed by your plaintiff's personal injury attorney.
- Then all of those documents need to be received and reviewed by both the defense adjuster and his/her superior before meaningful settlement negotiations can take place.
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How much is my case worth?
- Once those tasks identified in the above question and answer have been completed, your plaintiff's personal injury attorney can begin a dialogue with the insurance company's representative to obtain a fair and just settlement proposal for your review.
- Your experienced attorney will then have the ability to thoroughly discuss with you his/her analysis of the offer in light of the value of each type of damage that you have sustained.
- The amount of damage settlement that you have a right to expect will be based upon similar case results in trial verdicts, arbitration awards and settlements of cases similar to yours in the general geographic region of where your accident/incident occurred.
- The value of your claim may be enhanced if the defense is aware that you are represented by an experienced plaintiff's personal injury attorney who is unafraid of placing a case into litigation and presenting it to a jury for a final result, if necessary.
- Settlement strategies and attitudes of insurance companies vary, and an experienced plaintiff's personal injury attorney should be able to bring his/her past experiences with that insurance company (and hopefully of the defense adjuster) to the forefront in best representing your interests.
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Some other attorneys/law firms have bold headlines bragging about one or several results - why don't you?
- I represented my first personal injury victim in 1981. Over the course of 26 years, I have received many jury verdicts, arbitration awards and settlement amounts that I am proud of. However, I am a professional and I take great pride in being a member of the legal profession, and I find those type of ads to be personally objectionable.
- Rule 7.1 of Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, which control the actions of all attorneys here in Pennsylvania, states that "A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services." It is my opinion that a one-line statement about a result in one case can create an unjustified expectation that the same result could be obtained for other clients of that lawyer or law firm.
- For at least the last 5 years, a competitor law firm with 4 attorneys has led their ads with a headline about a 1.5 million dollar verdict that one of their attorneys obtained in one case. In the last 15 years, I have averaged obtaining a recovery for 44 individuals in personal injury cases each year. If we apply that same average to that law firm, they should have successfully resolved at least 880 cases in the 5 years they have been running those ads. Why haven't their ads discussed any of the other 879 cases?
- Each year I receive many referrals from current clients, past clients and medical providers who have seen firsthand what my view of personal service, as well as my experience, means to each and every one of my clients.
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If I am physically injured due to a car crash, slip and fall or dog attack, how long do I have to make a claim for my injuries?
- In most cases, you have 2 years from the date of the incident to file suit and serve the defendant(s).
- HOWEVER, there are some circumstances where the time deadline to perform certain legal obligations to preserve your legal claim is less. One example would be a claim versus a government entity, such as a school district. Another would be a case against someone who died after the accident.
- Since you are not an attorney, it would seem to make sense that a consultation with an experienced plaintiff's personal injury attorney would provide you with the best opportunity to make sure your legal rights would be fully protected.
- If you miss the legal deadline(s), the excuse of "I did not know" will not be accepted by the Court.
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I did not get medical care on the date of my auto accident or slip and fall. Now I am in a lot more pain - what should I do?
- Your #1 priority should be to obtain the necessary medical care as soon as possible, whether it is at the emergency room of your local hospital or an appointment with your family doctor.
- You should then call a plaintiff's personal injury attorney to obtain your Free HOME Consultation to review your potential case.
- The longer that there is a gap between the incident and your medical care, the more suspicious the insurance company may be about the truthfulness of your damage claim. DO NOT DELAY IN GETTING THE NEEDED MEDICAL CARE.
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What is a contingent fee?
- In almost all personal injury cases, a law firm is hired based upon a "contingent fee."
- A "contingent fee" means that an attorney will only receive a legal fee if there is a successful result for the injured victim with a payment made to them for their damages, including pain and suffering.
- When I meet with a potential client during the Free HOME Consultation, I provide the client with an original and a copy of our contract, which outlines in easy-to-understand language, the contingent fee arrangement.
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