For those at the beginning of a personal injury case, this very brief overview will provide a high-level guide to what you can expect in the near future as your case develops, and prior to any formal litigation. Of course, not every case will fit the timeline I will describe here, and my practice and experience are based on procedures typical of Colorado. But understanding this broad overview of some of the most common pre-litigation steps can be helpful even for […]
Do Not Hire a Firm That Sees You as Just a File
How will you choose a personal injury lawyer? The fact that you are reading this indicates it won’t be as simple as calling the first phone number you see on television. You are more careful than that. Maybe you are looking for someone who will take your case to trial if needed. Maybe you want to find a lawyer you feel you can trust, and someone with experience. Above all, you probably want someone you believe will actually care about your case, and not just say that to get you in the door. If all these are true, you are looking for me.
Selecting someone with experience handling cases like yours is a good start, but there are plenty of law firms who handle hundreds, or even thousands, of injury claims each year. Why go with a smaller law firm? Why should you care if you choose the attorney you will work with, or if someone else in a large firm simply assigns someone to you?
There are a number of things that you should look for in a lawyer. First and foremost, do you trust that the attorney you are hiring actually cares about you and your case? Many large injury firms advertise one attorney but assign cases to associates based on the firm’s overall workload. You may meet with one “closer” attorney for intake, then have your case assigned to another lawyer once you have signed up. Going to trial could mean shifting over to yet another attorney in the office. Sometimes your case gets moved simply because a new attorney is hired and the workload needs to be shifted around. That is not choosing a lawyer. That is more like throwing your case in with mountains of other cases and hoping for the best.
If I accept your case, you will work directly with me from start to finish. You will personally meet me before representation even begins. You will meet with me to discuss your case as it progresses, and if your case goes to trial I will personally help you prepare for that phase as well. At Ready Law, you know your attorney and your attorney knows you. My clients know they will not be shuffled around. They know that when they are trying to choose an attorney, they can evaluate my communication, my competence, and my drive right from the start.
You are not a number here.
There are plenty of Denver personal injury lawyers to choose from. But when you choose Ready Law, you get a legal professional who understands that getting the best possible outcome requires more than just knowing his way around a courtroom. I pride myself on being:
Accessible, Communicative, and Driven.
Being seriously injured is stressful enough. Pursuing an injury case simply adds to the stress of recovery. It may be confusing. The lawyers for the insurance company will claim you are lying, or at least exaggerating your injury. That will probably happen more than once, especially if we file a lawsuit. There are times when the legal side of things will seem slow to you. At least while you are in treatment, there is no way to avoid that. Clients tend to come to me feeling that recovering from their injury is enough to deal with without also trying to go toe to toe with a giant insurance company to negotiate a fair outcome.
To help combat these feelings and keep you informed, I make myself as available as possible. I keep you updated and drive your case toward your best possible outcome as quickly as possible. I use my experience to prepare you for what is coming. If I am in court or a meeting when you call, I will return your call before the end of the next business day. All these benefits rely on good communication between us. This is why it’s important to have direct access to your lawyer. Having every call answered by a staff member is never going to feel quite as good to you.
In addition to trying hard to be accessible, I believe it is very important to help clients understand the strengths and weaknesses of their case. You are unlikely to hear “I’m the lawyer. Just go with what I tell you” from me. I want you to know what is going on with your case, and I want you to know why. You will have options and decisions to make as your case moves forward, and I will keep you informed along the way. The law can get complicated. So my ability to communicate with a client is important, and I try to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible.
Like many of you, I am motivated by righting wrongs. That is one of the reasons I do not accept every potential case. What that means for those clients I do work with is that I am genuinely engaged in their case. I believe in them. When I evaluate my work, I need to feel I have done something valuable. I am in this job to make a difference for people. That means I care about what happened to you, how it impacts you, and how I can help. At Ready Law, I show that I care by committing my time and efforts to help my injured clients recover, and to stop those responsible from injuring others.
Don’t be Rushed or Bullied into Settlement.
Like most big businesses, insurance companies often have a few primary goals that can sometimes get in the way of doing what is right. Their goals usually do not include making sure the injured are fully taken care of. That’s what they tell people when they are selling the policies. Unfortunately it is rarely the most apparent goal when they are dealing with actual claims. In that context it just seems their goal is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Their contractual obligations to compensate for injuries and other losses are expenses they would like to reduce.
It is simple enough to see the true goals of an insurance company when they may attempt to rush settlements, obstruct claims, or even threaten or bully those they owe compensation to. None of those tactics work out when you are represented by a personal injury attorney who cares about getting you a fair outcome. A thorough knowledge of the law regarding wrongful injury and wrongful death, courtroom experience, and a high level of personal preparation will overcome any attempts by an insurance company to bully or intimidate.
I can be an advocate in your corner who will not stop battling for you until every legal option has been exhausted. I understand how much the outcome of your case can impact not only your life but also the lives of your family members. It is a responsibility that I take very seriously. If you hire me, I can deal with the legal case while you focus on healing.