To make a bad day even worse, suddenly someone blows a stop sign and smashes into your car.  No what?  There is no one correct answer to this question, so let’ s cover it by topics.

On the scene:

While still on the accident scene, assuming you haven’t been taken away by ambulance, the first order of business is to call the police.  Dial 911 and provide all in the information requested.  You should also see if the other driver and occupants of that vehicle are ok. If not, make sure you tell the police you  need an ambulance.  You will also need to get the other driver’s information, including driver’s license number, registration, insurance information and write down the license plate number.  If you have a cell phone with camera, take a picture of all damage to your vehicle, as well as the other car, including a picture of the license plate.   Secure also the names and contact information from all witnesses to the accident and write down any other important information such as weather conditions, road repairs in progress, exact street location, etc.

After You Leave The Scene:

Once you leave the scene, if you are hurt, GO TO THE DOCTOR OR HOSPITAL!!  It may take a lot of time to get in and out of the emergency room, but it is worth your effort if in fact you are injured.  When you see the doctor, make sure you tell them you had just been in an accident and describe the accident, e.g., I was rear ended -I was at a complete stop when I was smashed in from behind-the impact was very heavy, etc.  Make sure you tell the doctor all things or parts of your body that are hurting!!  Just because your neck is the most painful, don’t forget to tell the doctor about your chest or arm too if they hurt as well.

At Home Later:

Once you get home, follow your doctor’s instructions for rest, ice packs, pain medicine or whatever was prescribed.  Also, over the next day or so, check yourself very carefully for any bruising, cuts, scrapes and lacerations, and TAKE PICTURES OF THEM!!  Visible injuries heal much faster than you think, and much better to document them while they are present.

Do I Need A Lawyer:

Only you can answer this question, but if you decide to get a lawyer, hire one that only helps victims of accidents!  Your friend that helped with your real estate closing or divorce may have the name of someone, but don’t rely on your real estate lawyer to have the expertise to help with your injury claim!  You wouldn’t hire an injury lawyer to help with your divorce either, so make sure you hire a person that knows what they are doing!

Conclusion:

Accidents are never expected, they happen suddenly, and they interrupt your day and weeks ahead (or your entire life!).  Take a few  moments to do the things above, and you will have helped yourself tremendously if you decide to hire an injury lawyer to help you further.  Good luck!  Glenn

     Well, you hired a lawyer and it just doesn’t seem like you are getting the level of communication you were  hoping for.  It seems as if you call and leave a message and wait for days to hear back.  Hopefully, at the outset, you hired a lawyer that concentrates in the area of law you hired him/her for.  If they do not consistently practice in your area of need, that may explain some part of the delay.  On the other hand, assuming you were injured in an accident and hired a lawyer that concentrates in  handling injury cases, there should be no communication issues.

     In our state, one of the leading causes of complaints against attorneys in general is the failure to communicate with the client.  From our perspective, this is just unacceptable. As attorneys, we are professionals, and under our ethical commitments to our clients is the necessity of keeping them informed of the status of their claim or lawsuit every step of the way. 

     When you hire your lawyer, have a frank discussion about communication.  We tell all of our clients that they can call our office as often as they wish.  I personally tell my clients that I return all phone calls within 24 hours, sometimes in the evening depending on court schedules.  If I know I’m going to be out for extended periods due to trials, or depositions, I have my office call my client back to arrange a convenient time in the upcoming days that I can call them and discuss their case.  I also tell my clients that each file has an associate attorney or paralegal assigned to it as well and that they are always free to contact that person for an update if needed.  Additionally, we typically carbon copy our clients on nearly every letter we write, which also serves to update them.  After status hearings in court, I typically write to my clients and give them an update on what the court scheduled at that time.  We also call  our clients on an as needed basis.  Up front, we tell our clients that if they don’t hear from us for a week or so, it is only because nothing is actually happening at that point.  Typically, there is some delay between writing for records and getting them in, or writing to the insurance company and getting any response from them.  Nevertheless, our clients are ALWAYS free to call in and see what is going on. 

     Each lawyers level of communication is unique to that particular client and their needs.  Even so, you as the client should NEVER be frustrated with a lack of information from your lawyer.  Your lawyer is your “agent at law”, and is acting for YOUR benefit.  If you are not getting phone calls returned, set up a meeting to learn why.  Of course, your lawyer will also be busy with other client’s work, but that does  not absolve them from properly communicating with you.  After all, it is your case, and you have a right to know what is going on!   Good luck!

     You or a loved one have been in an accident, or you or someone you know and love has had a bad medical outcome or worse yet, died in a  hospital or under a doctor’s care and something just does not seem right.  Should you hire a lawyer right away?  Should you wait and see if the at fault driver’s insurance company is going to do the right thing?  Should you wait to hear from the doctor or hospital what went wrong?  There is no one right answer to these questions, but there are some things to keep in mind.

     If you call a lawyer right away, particularly only a lawyer that concentrates in handling injury and death cases, you immediately have a hard working advocate on your side that will zealously protect you and your family’s interests at this terrible time.  Turning over to the lawyer all questions and dealings with insurance companies and doctors allows you and your  family to focus on the extremely important task of getting the best medical help you can or dealing with the difficult but important tasks of choosing a funeral home and arranging for a  proper funeral and burial.  When you have such important things to do, it provides a great deal of peace of mind to know that your lawyer will be there every step of the way to answer questions, field phone calls, assist with burial arrangements, write letters on your behalf, and deal with the insurance companies. 

     There are other practical reasons why you would want to get a lawyer sooner rather than later, including to make sure that all witnesses are located and statements taken, that photographs of the accident scene are taken while it still shows evidence of what happened, to get all medical records from the hospital or doctor that harmed your loved one.  As time goes by, so evidence seems to disappear–evidence you will need for your case. 

     So, should you get a lawyer right away?  Well, I can only think of good reasons why you should, and no reason why  you should not.   Get yourself peace of mind–call a trusted injury lawyer  in your time of need.  It will be one of the best decisions you can make at your worst time of need to get a committed professional working exclusively for you to make sure you and your family get the justice you deserve.  Good luck. 

     If you or a loved one underwent hip implant/replacement surgery in the last couple of years, it is very possible that the device implanted was made by Zimmer and is its “Durom Cup” system.  If so, you may be at risk for premature failure of the device! 

     I previously wrote a more detailed blog entry about this problem, which will provide you with more detailed information about alleged problems with the device.  I am writing again because, as you know from prior blog entries, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE in having these types of matters reviewed by an attorney very knowledgeable about the problem. 

     If you or a loved one has a Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant, do not delay calling our office if you need help!  We have experience in suing product manufacturer for failed hip implant systems.  You need someone with that type of experience in the medical device field on your side!  Give us a call or send us a confidential inquiry and we can get started helping you right away!  You know that Zimmer will hire the best lawyers it can find, shouldn’t you as well?  Call or email us today.  Good luck!

     So your lawsuit has been pending for some time, you’ve given your deposition and your lawyer has taken the depositions of the defendant and key witnesses, and then you get a phone call from your lawyer suggesting that a mediation may be helpful in getting your case resolved.  “Mediation” you say to yourself, what in the heck is that?  Is there a jury?  a judge?  Are you limited in how much money you may get? Do you testify? 

     If you have hired experienced and competent counsel, your lawyer will be able to very clearly explain what mediation is and what it can do for your case.  If you haven’t hired that lawyer, read on. 

     Our goal for each one of our clients is to get their cases fairly resolved in the shortest amount of time.  Our jurisdiction is the largest unified court system in the world, and it can and will take a number of YEARS from the day we file a lawsuit until it gets to trial.  Of course, our system has a procedure where both sides can certify the case as ready to be tried, but we don’t find too many defense lawyers trying to “hurry up” the case.   Mediation affords, usually, a quicker resolution to your case. 

     In its most simple terms, mediation is a voluntary, usually non-binding process where both sides to the dispute meet with a neutral mediator acceptable to both sides (often a retired judge) who then plays shuttle diplomacy between both sides to try and work out an agreeable settlement.  If both sides agree to the amount, the case is finished.  If one or both side doesn’t agree, then the court system is still available to try the case.   In my experience, there is no downside to mediation, except for the additional cost of paying your client’s share of the mediation costs. 

     Are there benefits to mediation?  Absolutely!  When a case is presented to a jury, you are entrusting your outcome to 6-12 people, albeit from your community, but people that don’t know you and that each bring their own experiences in life to bear on your case, experiences that may be very dissimilar to your own and perhaps not advantageous to your case.  Each juror also has their own likes and dislikes and of course their own prejudices about certain things as well.  During jury selection, your lawyer of course is trying to determine those characteristics of each juror, but of course there is only so much time allowed to ask jurors questions and most jurors will not admit bias or prejudice in front of a room full of strangers.  Consequently, although your lawyer is trying to only get “good” jurors on your case, any lawyer that has tried enough cases knows that even on the best of days, you really learn very little information about each juror, and much is left to “hunch” or “feelings” about who to leave on and who to strike.

     In mediation, however, there is NO JURY!  Also, in non-binding mediation, the mediator cannot force you to settle your case.  Therefore, you see that YOU have the sole power to decide the outcome of your case.  Assuming the defense is offering a fair sum to settle your case, the decision to accept or not is only yours to make.  With a jury, your lawyer will suggest to them a fair sum to award in your favor, but it is uniquely up to the jury alone to decide how much to give you.  So in mediation, you eliminate the discretion of 6-12 strangers from deciding the outcome of your case, and secure to yourself the ability to decide what should happen.

     Another benefit to mediation is that it can actually save you money, thereby putting more money in your pocket.  How?  Well if your case goes to trial, your lawyer will (SHOULD!) prepare compelling exhibits, blow-ups, etc for the jury.  There is also the cost of bringing doctors to court to testify, or taking their evidentiary deposition before trial, which will then be read to the jury. Most doctor’s fees for depositions run in the hundreds of dollars per hour of testimony or trial time is often billed for half or a whole day, which can run in the thousands of dollars.  At mediation, you most likely will not need any doctor testimony because your lawyer can explain the nature and extent of your injury and its affect on your life.  Your lawyer will not be constrained by the rules of evidence as he would at jury trial.

     Also, there is no “cap” on the amount of your recovery at mediation unless there is a cap in your jurisdiction for certain types of damages.  If there is a cap in your jurisdiction, then no defense lawyer is going to offer you $$ that is greater than you could get at trial.  If there is no cap, then the only limit on your recovery is what you and your lawyer and the mediator can convince the defense/insurance company to pay. 

     So, if your lawyer is suggesting mediation for your case, we think that is a GOOD thing!  It may be a quicker, but still fair way to resolve your case, and it may save $$ on litigation expenses.  Most importantly, mediation gives you alone the power to decide your case.  Good luck!