FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question? We have answers! If you don't see your question answered below, then please head over to our contact page and let us how we can help. We'd love to hear from you.

If you can answer yes to these 2 questions, you have a case:

1. Did you sustain a serious injury in an accident? A serious injury is defined as one requiring medical treatment for a sustained length of time.
2. Did someone else cause the accident you were involved in? Remember, the police do not always get the story right as to who is at fault. They were not present, you were. Sometimes witnesses will give the police false or untrue information about what happened. Don’t assume you were at fault just because the police report says so.

Think you have a case? Contact us to get started!

The following are factors that will determine how much money we will collect for you:

1. The severity of your injury. Obviously, a fractured femur is worth more than a bruised knee. Whether or not you require surgery is also a key factor.
2. The biggest factor is the length of time until total recovery from your injury. A person who suffers from an injury for years has greater monetary damages than someone who is healed in three months.

Most cases are resolved in one year. Some take longer and some are settled sooner. Please contact us to get a better estimate.

As to payment for our services, we work on a contingent fee. That means that you only pay if we collect money for you. If we collect nothing, you owe nothing. If we do collect for you, you pay one-third of the amount collected. There are two important things about the contingent fee agreement;

1. You don’t pay unless we collect.
2. If we receive one-third of what we collect, we want the amount collected to be as much as possible. The more you get, the more we get.

You have no cost or obligation to us unless we collect money for you.

The following is a typical breakdown of how a lawsuit works, from start to finish. You can also view this process here.

1. We meet with you face to face for about one hour to learn the details of your accident.

2. If we agree to go forward, we start collecting information immediately, including the following:

Police reports
photos
witness statements
expert witness investigations
detailed reconstruction of accident scene
medical records
insurance documents
legal research
Doctor’s review of injuries
interviews with police, EMS, firemen and eye witnesses

3. After about 90 days we have enough information to either resolve the case with an insurance company or we file suit.

4. Filing suit is not as scary as it sounds. 99% of all cases are settled without a trial or even stepping foot in a courtroom.

We do most of the work, and your involvement is as follows:

1. Answer written questions called interrogatories. These are supplied by the insurance company lawyer and ask questions about the accident and your injury. We help you answer these.
2. Give your testimony at deposition. This takes an hour or two and takes place in our office with one of our lawyers sitting beside you. We thoroughly prepare you for your testimony and most people enjoy the experience.

5. Facilitation – This is an informal method of settling cases.

We and the defense attorney agree on a neutral party (often a retired judge) to try to settle the case early in the proceedings. You and I go to the facilitation, and we advise you of whether settling is in your best interest. One third of all cases are settled at this point.

6. Case Evaluation is a more formal attempt to settle cases.

The attorneys appear at the Courthouse and present the case to a panel of 3 other attorneys. The panel then puts a monetary award on the case which they believe it should settle for. Both sides have to accept the award amount for the case to be resolved. This procedure settles about one third of cases.

7. The Final Pre-Trial Conference with the Judge at the Courthouse is the last chance to settle prior to trial.

Of the remaining cases that haven’t settled yet, most are settled here. The Judge talks to each side separately and puts pressure on both sides to resolve the case. If you can’t settle (less than 1% don’t settle by this time), we go on to trial. As stated previously, the entire process from start to finish usually takes about one year.

We work on a contingent fee. That means that you only pay if we collect money for you. If we collect nothing, you owe nothing. If we do collect for you, you pay one-third of the amount collected.

No. We work on a contingent fee— you have no cost or obligation to us unless we collect money for you.

M — F 9am - 5pm. Closed on weekends and we respect all national recognized holidays.

In beautiful downtown Howell, right across from the historic courthouse building.

110 State St. Howell, MI. 48843
Click HERE for a link to google maps (opens new window/tab)

(517) 546-9504

Take a deep breath and relax. Feel better? Ok, now call us. Don't feel like calling? No problem, email us instead. We'll gladly walk you through the process to get you on your way. Head to our contact page to get started.

Of course we do. If you've been injured, Livingston County's best personal injury attorney has you covered. We've settled big cases and small cases, and everything in between.

Think you have a case? Contact us to get started!