West Palm Beach Injury Lawyer
FAQ
Will it cost me any money to talk with your firm about my case to see if your law firm can help me?
Answer: No, there is no charge to discuss your potential case with you. However, speaking with you by phone will not create an attorney-client relationship between our law firm and you. We may even have several calls, but until an attorney-client contract if fully signed between us, we do not nor can we represent you on any matter as your lawyers.
Do I have to come to West Palm Beach, or can we meet closer to my home to talk about my case or just by telephone?
Answer: We are normally available to speak with you initially by phone. A great deal can frequently be accomplished during that initial telephone conversation. We can also meet with you here in West Palm Beach, or, if necessary, in your town or nearby. We can accomplish a great deal initially by speaking by phone.
What information do I need to bring to our meeting or to have with me when we speak by phone?
Answer: Normally, information about you, your address and all phone numbers, how we can always reach you, the date when you or a loved one was injured, names of the people who caused the injury or death, in what county and community it occurred, how the injury or death happened, any written report of the incident causing injury such as a police car crash report, your insurance company and the name of the insurance company for the responsible party who caused the harm. With these basic facts, we can go a long way towards advising you as to the potential you may have for a claim and as to some of your basic rights under the law.
Do I have a case?
Answer: Only with spending some time with you on the phone or in person can we make a reasonable preliminary analysis of your facts and the likelihood that you can win. The law changes frequently and statutes of limitations may bar you from filing suit if you have waited too long to get your problem analyzed by a lawyer knowledgeable about these matters. For that reason, you can have a case but be prevented from bringing it, even if you have suffered a serious injury or death. See our more complete discussion of this subject in our "Do I Have A Case" section.
What is my case worth?
Answer: No responsible lawyer can tell you the true value of your case until they have heard and analyzed the facts and the applicable state or federal law. Sometimes, you may have a valid legal case, but the value of the case may not be sufficient to make it worth you time and effort.
How long will it take to investigate, settle, and if necessary, litigate my case to conclusion?
Answer: This may range from 90 days to many years. The facts of the case and the extent of the work by the lawyers on both sides of the dispute can be extensive. For that reason and others, most of our work involves cases where we are hired on a Contingency Fee basis; we get paid for our fees only if we win money damages for you. In that way, you can litigate against large corporations and insurance companies without fear or running out of money to pay your lawyer to work on your behalf by the hour.
What legal rights do I have as a client of your law firm?
Answer: We provide you with a Statement of Clients Rights which our law firm and you will each sign, laying out these basic rights.
How can I afford to pay a law firm to investigate and fight my case for me when the people who have injured me are a big corporation insured by a large insurance company?
Answer: Hiring a civil trial lawyer who will work on your case on a contingency fee basis and, if necessary, who will advance the funds necessary on your behalf to advance your case forward to conclusion.
Will my case settle?
Answer: No attorney can answer that question until he begins work on your file and has been able to view the entire picture of what occurred. Some case are clearly of the type that a lawyer can get settled for you without a lawsuit being filed on your behalf. If the case can settle without suit, then there is a tremendous savings in time, money for attorney fees and in costs that will be to your benefit. Unfortunately, many cases do not settle and have to be litigated.
What is a statute of limitation and why should I care?
Answer: Laws in every state limit the time in which you can file suit if you have been harmed. Often, the statutes of limitation are used to defeat valid claims. For that reason, the earlier you sign a contract with a law firm to represent you on your claim, the quicker you can be assured your claim has not been barred. The time limits differ for car crashes, medical malpractice claims, claims for wrongful death and other matters where someone has been hurt or killed through the wrongdoing of another. There are often special notice provisions also which must be used to comply with the law or your claim can be time-barred. Careful attention to presenting the facts are key to taking full advantage of the statutes of limitation so that you claim is not time barred.
How is a medical malpractice claim handled?
Answer: After we are hired to represent you in writing, signed by each of us and dated, we obtain the necessary medical charts and records, and radiological films, and have them reviewed by an independent expert in the field of medicine involved. The expert must attest under oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that you have a valid case or we cannot proceed further by Florida law. If the affidavit is signed, we send it to the defendant health care provider with a notice that we intend to initiate litigation against him. After a minimum of 90 days, the case can settle right then, can go on to a fast track arbitration proceeding, or the defendant can deny our claim and we must file suit in circuit court. Case timing is critical to make sure all statutes are complied with by the patient or the patient's family. If the case does not settle we file suit within 60 days as required by law .We normally demand for your case to be tried by a jury rather than by a judge alone. Florida medical malpractice law is very complex and contains many traps for the inexperienced and for even for the experienced lawyer.
How are other injury, death and commercial litigation claims handled in the court system?
Answer: Negotiations to settle are normally attempted, and failing that, suit is filed. As in all cases then, each side has an opportunity to get information about their adversary by deposition, by written questions called interrogatories and by having records, documents and witnesses subpoenaed for trial. Cases are then mediated with the hope they are settled; if not, a jury decides the case.
Do you accept every case you are offered?
Answer: No, not at all. We screen the cases to make sure can present a solid case under the facts. Not all cases are meritorious. Not all cases involve sufficient damages to justify litigation for our law firm or for the plaintiff who wants to hire our firm. We do not want to put you or your family into a lawsuit that you do not belong in. Most people whose cases we cannot take, are satisfied to learn why we did not accept their case, as we can normally answer many questions for them after we hear what happened and how. Litigation is a time consuming and stressful situation normally; if you do not have a valid claim, then the situation is even more stressful to you. We want you to avoid that whenever possible. Some cases may, however, be handled by other types or lawyers or firms. We often refer out those cases to the other law firms for handling.
Do you win every case?
Answer: Absolutely not. No lawyer or law firm wins every case. Hopefully, if we carefully choose the clients we represent, we can do better for them as their cases progress. It is always important that our clients fully cooperate with us in handling their claim.
Your law firm is in Florida but I live in another state. Can you handle my case here or in the state where I was injured?
Answer: We often are involved in cases in states outside of Florida and in federal jurisdictions and state courts which require our law firm to make a pro hac vice (Latin meaning "for this particular case only") appearance so we can continue to work on your case, even though we are not normally admitted to practice law in that state. The courts review our credentials and the nature of the case and issue a special court order allowing our involvement before the court. Most times we also associate with a local law firm in the same community to best serve the case.
I am from a country outside of the United States but I was injured in the United States. Can you speak to me and see if you can help me with my injury or death claim?
Answer: Yes. For example, we are currently representing families residing or working in several countries outside of the United States. In past years, we have provided legal services to clients from such countries as Korea, Italy, Amsterdam, Holland, and The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
