Section 1
General Outline of What to Expect
• You will be assigned a lawyer and a
legal assistant to your case. Your legal assistant will process all paper work and is
available to answer most of your general questions. Many of our
legal assistants have broad claims management experience in dealing with major
insurance companies and other law firms. Our Legal Assistants are under the supervision of
a lawyer and all lawyers are under the supervision of Attorney James
M. Shaw. Under most circumstances you will receive a Legal Assistant on the
very day you sign a contract with our law firm. Your Legal
Assistant
is always your first contact to inquire about the progress of your case.
In the event the Legal Assistant does not have an answer, or if the answer
requires legal advice, the Legal Assistant will consult with the lawyer
assigned to your case for a prompt answer. As always, you may speak
directly to the lawyer assigned to your case if your questions cannot be
answered directly your Legal Assistant or Mr. Shaw.
• We can provide assistance notifying or
scheduling Medical Providers when clients need help finding
expert and competent treatment. You may want to use a family doctor you are familiar with or
another doctor you know and trust. In those instances where one does
not have a family doctor, or does not know a specialist, we will, upon
request, provide a list of doctors and specialists that come with high
recommendations. Keep in mind all decisions about your medical care,
including which doctors and/or hospitals to use, are solely your
discretion. We are not medical professionals and cannot give you
medical advice about treatment. We will attempt to assist you in
locating medical providers only upon your request.
• We will send out all appropriate Notices
for documents needed to begin the claims process. We identify the
responsible party's insurance carrier and determine any additional
coverage(s) (such as Personal Injury Protection, Uninsured and
Underinsured Coverage) that may assist you in protecting your rights.
• Investigative personnel will begin
gathering evidence for your case by obtaining the police report, and by
taking pictures of your vehicle and/or obtaining pertinent witness
statements to build a solid foundation for future negotiations and/or
other legal actions.
• Your file is professionally kept,
updated and maintained to assure that your medical records and complete
documentation are in order. You will need to provide us with copies of
ALL your accident-related bills and receipts and which medical providers
treated you for this accident.
• Loss of Earnings: This may become an
additional claim. Employer reports which confirm pay rates, job
descriptions, and time lost are needed for any time you have missed
work. You are responsible to keep track of any time your doctor
determines you are unable to work. This includes keeping detailed
records of the exact days and hours you are unable to work. These
documents will help support your case during the settlement negotiations
period.
• Settlement Negotiations will most likely
start after you are released from all accident related medical care and
your settlement brochure has been delivered to the responsible insurance
company(s). Insurance companies move slowly to negotiate an acceptable
settlement to all. This will require much patience on your part.
Usually, negotiations last 60 to 70 days after you complete your medical
care.
• Disbursement or release of the
settlement funds will be made following your written acceptance of the
settlement of your claim. This normally takes 15 days due to procedures
that must be followed, e.g.: required signatures and your final release
papers must be sent to the insurance company(s). Once again, we
respectfully ask for your patience and understanding while we work to
get you taken care of.
• On occasion, Mediation and/or Litigation is
required when an acceptable settlement cannot be reached. If this
becomes necessary for your case we will fully explain the mediation and/or
litigation processes to you. If a satisfactory settlement cannot be
reached, we will advise you on filing a lawsuit. We will sue under your
permission only. Keep in mind, a settlement is always possible and is
often reached just before trial. A petition would be filed to begin the
suit, and delivered to the other party as notification of the suit
resulting from the accident. You will now be addressed as the plaintiff
and the other party as the defendant. The defendant’s insurance company
will have an attorney respond to our suit by filing an answer. The
discovery process will begin where both sides obtain information about
the suit. During the discovery process you may be required to give a
deposition, testifying under oath while the attorneys and a court
reporter that records your statements are present. Instead, the
attorneys may submit interrogatories or written questions to be answered
in writing by the opposing party within a specified number of days. The
attorneys for both sides may use various other techniques to find out
all the facts. If your case is determined to be a candidate for
litigation, we will provide you with additional information which will
answer most of your questions and concerns. As the case fully develops
through the discovery of facts it will bring about the possibility of
settlement once again. In reality, the majority of all cases are not
tried, but settled just before the trial date. However, if your case
cannot reach a fair settlement, we will proceed to trial. It may take a
year or more before your case is heard before a judge and jury, due to
the backlog of pending court cases. It is extremely important for you
to exercise patience if litigation is necessary. In some cases we can
request mediation between you and the at-fault insurance company.
Mediation is a procedure where both the plaintiff and defendant agree
to meet with an independent mediator for assistance in settling the
case. This focused and time consuming process can take a full day to
present to a mediator for a recommendation. It is important to remember
that the mediator’s decision is only a recommendation and is not binding
on either party. Many times it is just what a troubled case needs to get
resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. Oftentimes, the court will
order mediation for a case already in litigation. Otherwise mediation
is an option that can be pursued by agreement of the parties. We will
advise you if your case is a good candidate for mediation.
Confidential Client Information Form: At
your initial conference with us, you gave us general information about
your case. On this website there is a Confidential Client Information
Form, which we ask you to complete and e-mail to us. It may seem like
unnecessary probing into your background. This information is kept in
strictest confidence, but the opposing counsel will inquire fully into
these matters. By giving us this information in advance, you can help us
forestall many problems that may arise from the omission of this
information. Keep in mind, all auto insurance companies have an index
system on a nationwide basis showing the names of all persons who have
made personal injury claims. One of the worst things a client can do is
to deny a past injury, claim, or medical condition, only to be proven
contrary. We therefore stress that you give complete and detailed
answers to all of the questions. If you are unsure how to answer a
question, please explain your uncertainty in your answer. |
