When the unexpected happens and you or a member of your family is harmed by no fault of their own, the Collins Law Firm is here to evaluate your case and provide personalized legal strategies for each individual need. A serious injury has implications on your personal and family life- financial, physical and emotional worries that can be overwhelming. The effect of a serious injury can go far beyond initial medical expenses and significantly effect your financial situation for years to come. Often, unconsidered costs include ongoing medical treatment, long term care, lost wages, inability to return to work or decreased earning potential, pain and suffering, and property damage. Our firm is committed to client focused representation, and will aggressively pursue the compensation you deserve.
PRACTICE AREAS
The Collins Law Firm helps clients who have suffered as a result of:
- Auto & Truck Accidents
- Products Liability
- Slip & Fall
- Severe & Catastrophic Injury
- Wrongful Death
- Injuries Caused by Drunk Drivers
- Nursing Home Liability
- Industrial Accidents
- Workplace Related Injuries
OUR APPROACH
We understand that most people seeking the help of a lawyer are already in the middle of a confusing and stressful time. We offer client centered legal services, aimed at obtaining the maximum compensation possible for each victim. Our practice is considerably different than law firms that advertise heavily in the phone book and on television. We do not handle a large number of cases at any given time. In fact, we are very selective in the types of cases that we take, and have strict criteria for the types of cases each attorney will personally handle. Accordingly, your experience with us will likely be different than what you may have had with other firms. By handling a small number of cases, we are able to have a more personal relationship with each of our clients. The attorneys at our firm will work directly with you to determine reasonable goals and expectations for your case, discuss the pros and cons of your situation, create a plan for accomplishing your goals and achieve the best results we can in your particular case. There are no legal fees or costs to you in a personal injury matter unless we win your case. We prepare each case as if it were going to trial, and spend time with each client discussing their options.
NO LEGAL FEES UNLESS WE WIN YOUR CASE
Our firm takes personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf through settlement or trial. Our fees and costs will be paid through a portion of your recovery if we win.
WHAT WE DO FOR OUR CLIENTS
As your attorneys, there are many things we do from the time we agree to represent you until the time your case is concluded. It can be very frustrating to have place something as important as your injury case in the hands of an attorney and not know what’s going on. The following is not a complete list of everything that happens in ever case, but is a good idea what what you’re attorney is doing for you on a day-to-day basis.
Gather Information About Your Case
There are numerous documents and piece of evidence needed to be able to evaluate and handle an injury case, including police reports, insurance policies, medical records and wage information. One of the first things your attorney will do will be to collect these things.
Evaluate Your Case
Once your attorney has gathered the documents, talked to potential witnesses and collected other relevant information, we will make an initial evaluation of your case. The evaluation will address things such as who is at fault, what happened, any insurance coverage, and what damages you may be entitled to recover.
Explain the Law and How it Applies to Your Case
We will spend time throughout your case discussing with you the legal process and the law as it applies to your case. We will talk to you about the legal process your case will go through and the amount of time it often takes to handle cases like yours. We will also discuss any legal issues we anticipate having to deal with along the way.
Negotiate With the Insurance Company
In many injury cases, the overwhelming amount of time that we spend is devoted to preparing for and engaging in negotiations with the insurance companies. Needless to say, the insurance company is usually very reluctant to give you what we would consider to be a fair amount. It is our responsibility to persuade them to compensate you with as much money as possible without having to result to trial.
Help You Evaluate Settlement Offers
After initial contact and negotiations, the insurance company or other defendant will often provide their own settlement proposals to us. The proposal may range from an insulting amount to an amount that comes close to being a fair resolution, and, sometimes, offers that are actually a fair way to settle your case. Once we receive any offer, we are required to provide it to you, regardless of how good or bad it may be. We will then discuss with you how to evaluate the offer and give you any other guidance we may have.
Explain Your Options
Throughout your case, there will be decisions that you will have to make, such as whether to accept a settlement or go to trial. You will ultimately have to decide what’s best for you in each situation. In making these decisions, we will guide you by applying our knowledge, training and experience to the particular facts of your case.
Carry Out Your Decisions
Once you make a decision, it is our job to act on it. We will carry out any directions you give us, as long they are legal and ethical.
File a Lawsuit and Prepare for Trial
In the event we are unable to successfully resolve your case through negotiation, we will then file a lawsuit against the individual at fault and prepare to take your case to trial. When the at fault party is unwilling to settle your case for a fair amount, this is the option you have to level the playing field. Lawsuits and trials are always long, difficult and expensive situations for all involved, but sometimes they are the only option we have for dealing with the at-fault party.
Negotiate with Medical Providers
Sometimes there is not enough money available to pay the attorney’s fees and costs of your case, plus your medical bills, and then have enough left to put enough money in your pocket to fairly compensate you for the harms you suffered as a result of your accident. One thing we will try to do to increase the amount of money you receive out of any settlement or verdict is to negotiate with the medical providers in an attempt to reduce your bills. Less money going to doctors and hospitals means more money for you.
Disburse Money from Any Settlement or Verdict You May Receive
Once it is determined how much you will be compensated for your damages, that money has to be disbursed to the individuals that were involved in your case. These individuals include the doctors and hospitals that treated you, the attorney that represented you, any experts or other professionals who helped you prepare your case, and most importantly, you. One of the last jobs we will perform for you before concluding your case is to receive your settlement, determine what amounts have to be paid from that settlement and calculate how much money you will receive. It is then our job to prepare a report or ledger showing how much goes to whom, and then prepare the checks to each individual. Sometimes this is the only bright spot in a very long and difficult process of recovering money for the harm that you suffered from someone else’s negligence. This is a happy day and a cause for celebration.
Post Trial Motions and Appeals
Unfortunately, not ever case is a winner. Insurance companies understand that juries can often be very conservative in the amount of money that they award or not award money at all to the victim in an accident case. When a jury makes the decision not to award money or to give less than we think is fair, there is little we can do to change their decision. However, in some cases, the jury’s decision is a result of legal mistakes made by a judge during trial. If that is the case, we have the opportunity to attempt to correct those decisions through an appeal and get a new trial. An appeal is also possible where the at-fault party feels the judge made a mistake that resulted in you receiving more money than what they feel is fair. If the an award to you is appealed, we will represent you on appeal and at any later hearings that have to be held once an Appellate Court decides how to handle your case.