Q&A: PERSONAL INJURY
HELPFUL TOPICS:
(1) Personal injury accident - Typically involves some type of vehicle
whereby someone’s negligence caused a person to suffer bodily injury.
(2) Jurisdiction - The county and state where an action can be filed.
(3) Parties - The persons or entity who are potentially involved in a
case/lawsuit.
(4) Statute of limitations - The time in which a party has to bring an action
or lawsuit. If the case is not filed as a lawsuit or settled before the statute
of limitations runs you are forever barred from recovery. The time for the
typical personal injury case is two (2) years.
(5) Damages - The result of the accident, this is generally an injury to the
person, place or thing involved in the accident. You must have damages to
have a cause of action.
(6) Medical bills - The result of most accidents involve a trip to the
hospital, then a follow up with surgery, physical therapy or other types of
treatment, all of which cost money. Most medical providers will file a lien
for payment. We help with the management of the bills, liens and work to
obtain payment from the insurance company.
(7) Insurance - This is a complicated topic.
(8) Property damage - The damage done to an automobile, vehicle or
property.
(9) Experts - Depending on the issues involved in your case you might
need someone to help with a certain topic.
(10) Filing a lawsuit - A lawsuit is filed any time prior to the expiration of
the statue of limitations as a way to motivate the other side to work toward
a resolution. The compensation due to an injured party is money. That is
how the system is designed to compensate personal injuries and assist in
deterring future negligence. Every day an insurance company can keep
money in the bank, they earn interest. The insurance company has two
goals: (1) to pay the least amount of money possible; and (2) to keep their
money in the bank as long as possible. When a lawsuit is filed it is typically
filed in the county where the accident took place. After the filing of a
lawsuit the court will set deadlines to move the case forward. The parties
will conduct depositions and exchange discovery.
(11) Mediation - This is a common practice in most injury cases. The
parties attend a conference with a mediator to attempt to settle the case.
Each party outlines their case to the mediator. The parties and their
attorneys are then separated and the mediator spends time going back and
forth between the parties attempting to settle the case. Mediation is an
excellent opportunity to settle a case.
(12) Trial - If all else fails and the parties cannot agree on how to settle the
case, the mater will be set for trial before a judge or jury.
(13) Settlement - Most cases will be settled before trial. Typically all
parties are working to settle the case before trial.
(14) Value - What is my case worth? This varies widely depending on the
facts and circumstances of the case. A true evaluation typically cannot be
determined until all of the treatment is done and the facts and evidence are
gathered.
(15) Fees and costs - Cases are typically handled on a contingency basis
with all fees and costs advanced by our firm.
(16) Why do I need a lawyer - Because they have a lawyer and the
resolution of your case to them is just business. The business is to keep
profits up and costs down. This may seem harsh but it is the basic principal
of a successful business. The insurance company is not your friend. The
system is complicated, confusing and not user friendly.
(17) Final thought - If you were involved in an accident and injured
someone, would you want your insurance to pay? By pursuing
compensation you are simply exercising your legal right. You are not taking
money from the other party. You will be paid by an insurance company.
Your lawsuit will not harm the other party. The other driver's record was
damaged when they caused the accident.
(1) Personal injury accident - Typically involves some type of vehicle
whereby someone’s negligence caused a person to suffer bodily injury.
(2) Jurisdiction - The county and state where an action can be filed.
(3) Parties - The persons or entity who are potentially involved in a
case/lawsuit.
- Plaintiff - the person or entity bringing the action (lawsuit).
- Defendant - the person or entity against whom an action or lawsuit
is filed.
(4) Statute of limitations - The time in which a party has to bring an action
or lawsuit. If the case is not filed as a lawsuit or settled before the statute
of limitations runs you are forever barred from recovery. The time for the
typical personal injury case is two (2) years.
(5) Damages - The result of the accident, this is generally an injury to the
person, place or thing involved in the accident. You must have damages to
have a cause of action.
(6) Medical bills - The result of most accidents involve a trip to the
hospital, then a follow up with surgery, physical therapy or other types of
treatment, all of which cost money. Most medical providers will file a lien
for payment. We help with the management of the bills, liens and work to
obtain payment from the insurance company.
(7) Insurance - This is a complicated topic.
- Property coverage - typically covers the vehicles.
- Liability - only covers who you hit.
- Full coverage- really means nothing.
- UM - coverage you have and pay for to help if the third party was
uninsured or underinsured.
(8) Property damage - The damage done to an automobile, vehicle or
property.
(9) Experts - Depending on the issues involved in your case you might
need someone to help with a certain topic.
- Medical expert - to explain injuries, treatment and future medical.
- Accident - a person to help establish the events which caused the
accident and fault.
- Economic - deals with loss of income due to injury or death of a
party. Assistance in valuing a case.
- Other - experts exist for almost any issue and their assistance is
irreplaceable.
(10) Filing a lawsuit - A lawsuit is filed any time prior to the expiration of
the statue of limitations as a way to motivate the other side to work toward
a resolution. The compensation due to an injured party is money. That is
how the system is designed to compensate personal injuries and assist in
deterring future negligence. Every day an insurance company can keep
money in the bank, they earn interest. The insurance company has two
goals: (1) to pay the least amount of money possible; and (2) to keep their
money in the bank as long as possible. When a lawsuit is filed it is typically
filed in the county where the accident took place. After the filing of a
lawsuit the court will set deadlines to move the case forward. The parties
will conduct depositions and exchange discovery.
(11) Mediation - This is a common practice in most injury cases. The
parties attend a conference with a mediator to attempt to settle the case.
Each party outlines their case to the mediator. The parties and their
attorneys are then separated and the mediator spends time going back and
forth between the parties attempting to settle the case. Mediation is an
excellent opportunity to settle a case.
(12) Trial - If all else fails and the parties cannot agree on how to settle the
case, the mater will be set for trial before a judge or jury.
(13) Settlement - Most cases will be settled before trial. Typically all
parties are working to settle the case before trial.
(14) Value - What is my case worth? This varies widely depending on the
facts and circumstances of the case. A true evaluation typically cannot be
determined until all of the treatment is done and the facts and evidence are
gathered.
(15) Fees and costs - Cases are typically handled on a contingency basis
with all fees and costs advanced by our firm.
(16) Why do I need a lawyer - Because they have a lawyer and the
resolution of your case to them is just business. The business is to keep
profits up and costs down. This may seem harsh but it is the basic principal
of a successful business. The insurance company is not your friend. The
system is complicated, confusing and not user friendly.
(17) Final thought - If you were involved in an accident and injured
someone, would you want your insurance to pay? By pursuing
compensation you are simply exercising your legal right. You are not taking
money from the other party. You will be paid by an insurance company.
Your lawsuit will not harm the other party. The other driver's record was
damaged when they caused the accident.
Our Mission is to
help our clients
obtain
extraordinary
results in the
Oklahoma legal
system through
professional
representation.
help our clients
obtain
extraordinary
results in the
Oklahoma legal
system through
professional
representation.
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| ALBERTS & ASSOCIATES |
| Attorneys & Counselors at Law |
Phone (405) 232-2444 john@albertslaw.net Fax (405) 232-2445