Personal Injury Victim Information - The McCue Law Firm, P.A.

Negligence cases are typically identified by the existence of two factors: liability and damages. As a practical matter, the existence of a potential source of compensation must be identified. If you have suffered injury due to someone else's negligence, you may have the makings of a personal injury claim. However, this area of the law is extremely complex. If you think you may have a case, it is important that you consult with an attorney immediately. Otherwise you may run the risk that the passage of time will prevent you from pursuing your claim.

DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY?

That is a matter of personal preference. You may feel comfortable going up against a well-trained insurance adjuster with extensive experience in minimizing and defeating claims on behalf of the insurance company. There is no mandate that you put an attorney on your side to protect your interests and pursue your rights. Nothing delights the insurance industry more than unrepresented injury victims. Think of “shooting fish in a barrel.”

Obviously, hiring an attorney is a very personal decision. We believe that you should consider the matter carefully. From our standpoint, personal injury work not all about suing your neighbor or being an opportunist. As a society, we all fund the insurance industry. Mostly, we do this in the form of paying insurance premiums. That vast sum of money has been placed in the trust of the insurance industry to be available to us when we suffer a legitimate claim. In a perfect world, you would simply receive the appropriate amount of compensation whenever you deserved it. Unfortunately, in the real world, the insurance industry’s main objective is corporate profits, not to protect you and your family. We see our job as reminding the insurance industry that the money they have received in the form of premium payments is not for executive yacht adventures, but to fairly compensate those who have suffered legitimate claims.

Forgive us for seeming so pessimistic about the insurance industry. After having seen so many instances of insurance companies running roughshod over injury victims, our opinion is, of course, that you should put a competent and experienced injury attorney on your side. We would be happy to discuss your potential personal injury claim with you without any cost or obligation so that you can make an informed decision.

HOW DO I PAY YOU?

We work on a contingency fee for almost all cases. If we accept your case on a contingency fee basis , you will not have to pay any fees up front for us to undertake and pursue your claim. We will only get paid if we are successful in obtaining compensation for you. Generally, the portion we will receive as a fee is one third plus costs on pre-suit settlements, and 40% plus costs on cases in which we filed a lawsuit and pursued litigation. The precise terms are spelled out in our representation agreement.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Simply call our office so that we may obtain some basic information about your potential case. The initial consultation permits us to learn the basic facts of your situation so that we can determine what legal claims may exist. After identifying the legal claim(s) you may have, we then can assess your damages. If your damages are significant enough, you may have a claim which warrants further investigation.

You will receive a candid and straightforward legal opinion regarding your situation. This does not mean that we will take your case. However, you will receive a courteous, professional consultation without obligation. If we are willing to take your case and you wish to hire us, we will take it from there. Alternatively, if we decline your case, you are requested to consult with another attorney about your case. Lawyers frequently have differing opinions regarding legal matters. Getting another lawyer's opinion is essential to protecting your rights.

We will need to know the who, what, where, when, etc. Have as much information available as you can. For instance, for an motor vehicle accident case, try to have the crash report and insurance information handy. We will also ask about injuries and fault. If you have the makings of a case, we will offer to represent you, typically on a contingency fee basis. To get started, you will need to sign a representation agreement. Most often, new clients come to our office to do this. However, depending on the circumstances, we will come to you personally or we will send an investigator. Sometimes, a “sign-up” is even done by mail.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER YOU TAKE MY CASE?

We begin the process of documenting every aspect of the injury event and the resulting damages. Typically, we won't proceed with attempting to resolve your case until you have completed all of your medical treatment, and we have received a final medical report indicating the extent and nature of your injury. After you have reached maximum medical improvement, we will prepare a settlement proposal for the defendant’s insurance company. When we procure a settlement offer acceptable to you, we will conclude your matter. If we are unable to procure an acceptable settlement offer through pre-suit negotiations, we will evaluate your matter for a lawsuit.

HOW MUCH IS MY CASE WORTH?

Generally speaking, the value of a case is tied to the degree of damages which have resulted. For instance, a sprained thumb is likely going to be worth less than a broken arm. However, there are many other factors which come into play in determining case value. An exhaustive examination of all the factors specific to your claim is the only way to make an appropriate assessment of your potential legal damages.

Every situation is unique. We will evaluate every angle before we make what we consider to be an honest, realistic assessment of your case. Conversely, some unscrupulous lawyers fill people’s heads with big, far-fetched numbers in the hopes of signing them up as a client. We believe it is patently unfair to mislead a potential client just to gain his business. Although it is entirely appropriate to discuss the range of value which may apply to a given case, we feel it’s wrong to make promises that cannot be guaranteed. If any lawyer makes such a promise, get it in writing!

The first step is to contact us. You can call us or send us an e-mail. We don't charge people for evaluating a potential personal injury case. Everything discussed is confidential and remains so even if you don't hire us. We'll review your particular circumstances to see if we can accept your case on a contingency fee basis. If it is, and you choose to go forward, our agreement will be set down in writing.