Q. Can I represent myself?
A. The simple answer is "Yes." However, the real question is "should you represent yourself?" The answer to that question is more difficult to answer. Please take time to look over our top ten reasons to hire this law firm found on this site.
Q. Why do I need an attorney?
A. Because insurance companies are in business to make a profit and they will not offer you a fair settlement without an attorney.
Q. Everything seems fine with the insurance company. Why do I need an attorney?
A. Everything is not fine if: You have given a recorded statement to the insurance company, or you are going to a doctor who is not experienced in insurance claims or lawsuits.
Q. Does it cost anything to speak to an attorney?
A. There is no charge for an initial conversation with this law firm and no charge for follow-up conversations prior to hiring us to represent you.
Q. How do I pay your firm?
A. We are only paid if there is a money recovery. If there is no recovery you owe us nothing.
Q. How do you charge?
A. In almost every case we work for a percentage of the settlement or judgment. Our fee is 33 1/3% if the case settles without litigation, or 40% with litigation. We pay for court costs and other reasonable and necessary expenses and deduct these amounts from the client's portion of any recovery.
Q. What happens if you incur expenses and we collect nothing?
A. You owe us nothing. Our agreement says that you owe us nothing if there is no recovery.
Q. I do not live close to your office. How do I hire your firm?
A. There are several ways for you to complete our paperwork and get it back to us: we can fax our forms to you, we can mail our forms to you, we can Federal Express our forms to you and you can return them by Federal Express (we pay), we can drive or fly (commercial airline or charter aircraft) to your location to visit with you, we can pay for a taxi or other land transportation to our office or we can pay to fly you to our office. Let us know if you have another idea of how we can help with transportation for you.
Q. Do I pay for long distance calls to your office?
A. No. We provide a nationwide toll-free number to our office. We will not charge you for using our toll-free number.
Q. Would I need to travel to Houston?
A. It's possible, but not likely. If it is necessary we can advance travel expenses.
Q. Do we have to file a lawsuit?
A. We try to avoid filing lawsuits when possible. We will do our best to settle your case without a lawsuit because lawsuits typically slow down the process. Even though our attorney's fee percentage is higher with a lawsuit, we would like to be paid sooner than later.
Q. How long does it take to settle my case?
A. We do not advise settlement until you have reached maximum medical improvement. In other words, when you have received almost all medical treatment necessary for your injuries. We can have your doctor estimate future medical expenses. Settlement can take time because it is necessary to negotiate with the insurance company or at-fault party. We will need to demonstrate that you are prepared to take your claims to court if necessary and that you will not jump at their initial lower offers of settlement.
Q. Who has the final say on my case?
A. You have the final say. We give advice and you make the decisions. If you want to accept a settlement, we will follow your orders. If you don't want a lawsuit, we will follow your orders. We will let you know if we don't like your orders, but we will follow them or withdraw.
Q. How much is my claim worth?
A. Under Texas law, you are generally allowed to recover for compensation for pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of quality of life and other non-economic damages. This is different in every case.
Q. The insurance company says I don't need an attorney and that attorneys just take part of my settlement. If this is true why should I hire an attorney?
A. The insurance company knows you will get more with an attorney and they don't want to pay you more. This is the reason everyone hires an attorney. The insurance companies have more knowledge and experience in these matters than you and you are at a disadvantage trying to deal with them. They will take advantage of you.
Q. I don't want to take advantage of the insurance company?
A. Even with an attorney, this won't happen. Insurance companies only pay when they must. They pay only to avoid higher court awards and they have plenty of attorneys working for them to protect their interests. You would do well to follow their example, not what they say.
Q. Isn't it wrong to sue someone?
A. It isn't wrong to sue someone who causes an injury to an innocent person and refuses to allow their insurance company to settle, or who refuses to pay for the losses of the person they hurt.
Q. Why can't I trust an insurance company?
A. The purpose of insurance companies is to spread financial loss over a very large group so that the loss doesn't have to be borne by a single person or family. Insurance started out as a good idea.
Q. How can I trust an attorney more than an insurance company?
A. Because the attorney is only paid after you agree to a settlement or a court makes an award and the attorney is only paid if he obtains a recovery for you. The more the attorney collects for you the more he gets for himself. Assume that insurance companies and attorneys are greedy and then make up your mind.
Q. My friend said I should hire his attorney. What do you think?
A. Have you noticed how people always think their judgment is the best? Almost everyone believes they have the best attorney or the best doctor and get the best deal on a car. How has the friend done with his own decisions? Is this friend successful in other business matters? Would you trust them to handle your finances?
Q. What is the best way to choose an attorney?
A. As much as possible, look at the attorney's or the law firm's work. Pay attention to how they deal with you prior to being hired and check them out with their state bar association. Our work is exhibited on our website. Compare our website with other law firms. Call and talk to one of our attorneys, one of our legal assistants or with anyone in our office. Determine if our staff is respectful, and knowledgeable, and if you feel comfortable talking with them. You don't have to know anyone's name, just ask if you can talk to an attorney and do the same thing for legal assistants. |
