For many years, the “common law” has recognized that people owe duties to one another – essentially to act with reasonable care in their dealings with other people and their property. When someone breaches that duty, and a personal or property-related injury results, we often have legal recourse.
When you or a loved one has been injured, many questions arise. For example, should I have my own insurance company or Medicare pay my medical bills? What deadlines exist for suing the responsible party? Can I be compensated for lost wages if I am not able to work?
The answers to those questions are best found with the help of an experienced lawyer. We thoroughly prepare your case after taking it on, to get you a fair result. We will, among other things, get a complete copy of any police report or accident report, order copies of medical records and bills, contact witnesses, and contact the insurance companies, both the responsible party’s and your own. You may have coverage under your own policy, even if you are not at fault. These different sources of compensation are needed while you recover from the injury. We seek to spare you the work and hassles of protecting yourself legally.
Always remember that, if you settle with an insurance company and sign a release, you are giving up your right to claim additional compensation, even if your injuries turn out to be more serious than you originally believed. Therefore, an injured person should not settle — i.e., accept a final payment — without very careful consideration and advice.
When you are ready to settle or sue, it is important to know how to place a value on your claims. Many factors go into this, including researching years’ worth of Montana verdicts in similar cases and calculating medical bills that may arise in the future. In some cases, your future earning ability may have been affected, which must be calculated. Insurance companies, even if they admit that their insured was at fault, will often make offers that are on the low end, to say the least. Never feel pressured to accept an offer or “rush into” settling without having reached a point where you are ready.
For accident and personal injury cases, we charge on a contingency fee basis. This means that, if we do not obtain a settlement or verdict in your favor, we do not receive a fee.
After an accident, you may be contacted by the responsible party’s insurance company and asked to do a recorded interview. You are not required to give an interview if you do not choose to do so. If we represent you, we would be present for any such interviews.
In addition, you may hear from the insurance company and/or any unpaid health care providers. Again, once we become involved we generally handle those matters for you, under your guidance.