Negligence Cases
In negligence cases, if your case is viable, you are entitled to a plethora of damages. These include having your medical bills paid, pain-and-suffering, lost wages, and more. You should discuss with an experienced personal injury attorney what kinds of damages you are entitled to given your particular case.
Many clients are under the impression that the insurance company will cut them multiple checks for each of these damages. This is not the case. The insurance company in an automobile wreck case will cut the separate check for your property damage but only one check for your bodily injury. Your medical providers must be paid out of the bodily injury money if they have not been paid yet.
Moreover, your lawyer’s fee will come out of that second check. It is crucial to sit down with your attorney when the insurance company has made their final offer. Have him or her detail all the costs and expenses which will be deducted from the bodily injury check. Doing this thoroughly will save you much aggravation later on, especially if some medical bill has not been paid, and the provider now expects payment and no more checks are forthcoming.
††Client will be liable for any expenses in addition to the fee. Fee will be computed “off the top” before deducting expenses.
It is critically important in both workers compensation and tort cases to make all your doctors appointments. Of course, sometimes this is impossible as conflicts do arise, but the less information your doctors can verify about your condition and corresponding treatment, the more difficult will be for me to prove your case.