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ACCIDENTS / MALPRACTICE / PERSONAL INJURY
Q. I've been injured in an auto accident caused by someone else. How much is my case worth? A. That's up to the jury. Q. Can you give me a ballpark figure? A. Yes, but we won't. You can't be sure that the jury will remotely agree with our estimated value. The award could be higher or lower. Q. What are the chances that my case will settle without a trial? A. Pretty good. Strong cases most commonly are settled at some point before trial. Q. How long will it be before my case ends? A. Sometimes cases settle in a week. Sometimes cases end in a jury verdict after several years. Q. Do I have to pay anything to prosecute a personal injury case if we don't get any money? A. Frequently, but not attorney fees. Contingency fee cases can and usually do have expenses associated with them. You'll commonly have to pay for medical records and police reports, to give the more common examples. If the case goes to trial you may well need to pay an expert witness, such as a doctor. Q. I slipped and fell at the grocery store. Will the store's no-fault insurance cover my medical bills? A. No. No-fault insurance applies to auto accidents only. Sometimes stores will pay for medical bills on a voluntary basis, presumably on the theory that if they're nice to you you won't sue them. Q. I had a back operation to relieve pain and now I can no longer walk. Is this a good medical malpratice case? A. Possibly, but you can't tell without further investigation. It is sometimes true, for example, that the surgeon did nothing specifically wrong but that there are inherent risks in the operation. This is called a maloccurrence. You should, however, have been informed of the potential possibility of a bad result in advance of the operation. Q. I fell in a hole on someone else's property but wasn't hurt. Is this case worth anything? A. No. Even if you can show negligence on the part of the homeowner, there must be some injury or loss to you. Q. I fell in a hole on city property and broke my arm. Do I have a good case? A. Maybe. The big question is whether the city had notice that its premises were defective. 'Notice' means (essentially) that the city knew about the defect before you hurt yourself. If the city had notice, you probably have a good case. If not, you probably don't. |
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