CASE 101

ACCEPTANCE OF YOUR CASE:

If we accept your case, then we believe you deserve justice. We will immediately begin investigating your case further to see if we believe it will ultimately be successful. We do not want to waste your time, and we will immediately let you know if our investigation shows that we should decline the case. Personal Injury cases involving catastrophic injury or death may require enormous and costly case preparation which may include one or all of the following: extensive investigation, high tech photography, in depth witness interviews and preparation, detailed medical records retrieved, and experts in the medical, economic, reconstruction and many other fields are generally interviewed and/or retained. State of the art demonstrative evidence will also generally be compiled, including computer simulations; medical illustrations; flow charts on damages; scaled models; and day-in-the-life video projections. Cliff Roberts has networking capabilities throughout the United States with the capacity of using national database exchanges. Case preparation will most likely be followed by a comprehensive legal and factual investigation.

FEES:

Roberts Law Office will conduct a free initial consultation with you concerning your case. Personal injury and wrongful death cases are handled on a contingency percentage basis – meaning simply, that our fee will be a percentage of any money damage recovery. There is no charge to the client up front. In addition, there will never be a fee charged to the client unless we make a recovery for the client. Court costs and the related expenses are separate from fees. However, these costs are generally advanced by Roberts Law Office and reimbursed by the client at a later date upon recovery or settlement.

LOAN ADVANCES:

Loan advances to clients are given in select cases subject to the appropriate Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and may include loans for certain medical and living expenses. In addition, the firm can generally defer certain medical expenses in your case until final settlement by issuing a Letter of Protection to the medical care provider or offering to pay the medical care provider up front.

REFERRING ATTORNEYS AND JOINT RESPONSIBILITY:

Referring attorneys remain a welcome part of the trial team, and referral fees will generally reflect the mutual benefit that our clients receive as a result of our referring attorney’s referral or involvement. Personal Injury or Wrongful Death cases will likely be worked on jointly with other lawyers or firms at no additional fee to the client. We believe that assembling a team of lawyers is in the best interest of the client and said associations will be made in accordance with the appropriate Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Joint responsibility will be maintained. The consent of all parties will be obtained.

MONEY DEMAND:

Once the full extent of the victim’s injury, treatment, damages and/or losses are determined, our team will usually make a money demand upon all of the responsible parties and/or their insurance companies. Generally, strict time limits are set for acceptance of our demand. Although the firm cannot guarantee a recovery in every case, money damages that are generally sought for accident victims include money for a victim’s past and future: physical and mental pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical and mental impairment, medical expenses and loss of earnings. In addition, compensation in select cases may also be awarded for loss of consortium, loss of household services, loss of services of a minor child, loss of part of the body, loss of mental and intellectual functioning, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of inheritance, bystander emotional and mental anguish, loss of chance, pecuniary loss, loss of love and affection, funeral expenses and prejudgment and post judgment interest. Furthermore, we may also ask for punitive damages in cases where the responsible party acted with malice.

LAWSUIT:

If the responsible party does not respond satisfactorily to our team’s money demand then a lawsuit may be filed. The client will have the ultimate decision making power as to the amount of money to accept or whether to proceed to lawsuit or trial assuming the case has not been rejected at that point by our team. Cliff Roberts will answer any questions you may have about the various lawsuit options you may have depending on whether your case is a true individual case, class action case or a Multidistrict (MDL) litigation case. In all cases where one is wrongfully injured or killed, there is a Statute of Limitations which may dictate the time period within which a lawsuit should be filed to preserve the claim. The legal timeline to file your lawsuit is of the essence and must be filed within a certain time or you will forever lose your right to file your claim.

STANDARD OF PRACTICE:

All work is performed in a timely manner. You are kept informed at all stages of your claim by copies of relevant correspondence and documents that we produce, send or receive on your behalf. Telephone calls are answered and returned as promptly as possible. The firm’s primary objective is to see that you receive the quality legal services that you deserve.