Frequently Asked Legal Questions
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I do not know if I need or want to hire a lawyer to help with my claim. Do I have to pay a lawyer just to talk about my claim?
Hemmerling Law offers a free initial consultation on all personal injury matters. A lawyer will meet with you to review your claim and answer questions that you may have as to how your claim should proceed.
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Do I need a lawyer?
To get fair compensation for a personal injury claim, you need to have the right evidence gathered and presented on your behalf. Also, statistics do show that those people who are represented by lawyers routinely receive higher settlements than those people who deal with insurance companies themselves. The decision to hire a lawyer is ultimately yours – but you should likely at least speak with a lawyer before making any final decisions. -
How long will it take to resolve my claim?
That depends. Each person’s personal injury claim is unique and each settlement or court award is meant to compensate for the unique losses suffered by that person. How long resolution of your case will take depends on several factors including: (i) the length of your recovery (ii) the severity and extent of your injuries (iii) the amount of your employment, business and other financial losses. Some cases can be resolved in a matter of months, some cases cannot be resolved fairly for several years.
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Can the lawyer tell me how much compensation I will get for my claim?
The value of your claim is similarly dependent on many things: (i) whether or not you are partially responsible for the injury (ii) the nature and extent of your injuries (iii) the amount of treatment required for those injuries (iv) the amount of income you have lost due to your injuries in the past and how any disability you will continue to suffer will affect your income in the future. When your recovery is complete (or has reached its maximum level) your lawyer will be able to give you an opinion as to the range of damages that would be fair compensation for your claim. -
Do I have to go to trial?
Well in excess of 90 per cent of personal injury cases in which a law suit is commenced, are resolved by settlement. Each case however should be prepared as if trial is likely so that the maximum settlement amount can be obtained. -
Will the insurance company be investigating me?
The insurance company who will be defending your claim is within its rights to investigate the claim you are putting forward. This often entails the right to have you assessed by a doctor of their choice, speaking with witnesses who might have relevant evidence about your claim, investigating your Internet presence (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and in some cases conducting video surveillance. As such, we recommend to our clients to only speak about their accident related issues to their health care providers, employers (as necessary) and their lawyer. Also remember, even with privacy settings on your internet accounts, what is put out on the internet may be found and used in your lawsuit. -
How does my lawyer get paid?
Hemmerling Law offers contingency fee agreements for personal injury claims. This means that we take a percentage of your ultimate settlement or Court award. If you receive no money – you pay no legal fees. The amount of the contingency fee is based on when your case settles and can be as low as 25 per cent to as high as 33 1/3 percent. -
Do I need to pay for anything as my case goes along?
Hemmerling Law will pay the expenses related to running your lawsuit as it progresses. These costs include Court filing fees, fees for the production of medical records and reports and various fees involved in the discovery process. These costs (called “disbursements”) are routinely collected at the end of the litigation as part of the settlement. Each client is however ultimately responsible for these disbursements should the case not be successful.