Hiring a Lawyer

November 22, 2010

Can An Attorney Charge For Travel Time?

I have hired a lawyer to represent me in a lawsuit. Can she charge me for time she travels while working on my case?

It depends on the fee agreement the two of you entered when she started working for you.

In personal injury and wrongful death cases, most attorneys work on a contingent fee basis. If you have a lawyer working on a contingent fee, it would be highly unusual for the agreement to provide that the lawyer is paid extra for travel time. Travel expenses are usually provided for in a contingent fee agreement, but travel time is usually part of the contingent fee and no extra charge for traveling is assessed. (Read this post for information on travel expenses.)

November 18, 2010

I Was Hit By A Police Car!

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was driving to work in Franklin, Tennessee. A police car driven by an officer who was on-duty ran a red light and hit my car. I had to go to the hospital in an ambulance and spent three days in the hospital. Can I sue the police officer?

No, you cannot sue the police officer. Tennessee law does not permit you to sue a government employee who negligently caused an automobile wreck while he or she was on-duty.

However, you can sue the governmental entity that employed the police officer, and it is responsible for the harm caused by the police officer if he or she is found to be negligent. There are special laws that limit the liability of governmental entities that cause harm to their citizens in automobile wrecks and other types of personal injury cases, but an experienced personal injury lawyer can guide you through this process.

November 14, 2010

Big Verdicts Posted on Lawyer Blogs

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I am looking for a personal injury lawyer and have noticed that many personal injury law firms have blogs that report big verdicts. They must be pretty good lawyers to get such good results. Do you think they will take my case?

Be careful. Read the blog post over very carefully. Many of these posts are written by lawyers who had absolutely nothing to do with the case. Instead, they are simply writing about cases handled by other lawyers. The purpose of these posts is to make you think that they handled the case and that they have the ability to get significant jury verdicts or settlements for you.

This is a disgusting practice that I find to be misleading. Lawyers who have to blog about the results obtained by other lawyers without making it clear that they had nothing to do with the case are not the type of lawyer you should hire. Although their behavior is not as scummy as lawyers that call accident victims they don’t know and solicit cases, their behavior is beneath that which we have a right to expect of lawyers.

November 13, 2010

What Does It Mean When A Lawyer Says He Will Work on A “Contingent Fee?”

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I hear personal injury lawyers advertise that they will work on a "contingent fee." What does that mean?

A contingent fee is a fee that is payable only in the event the case is successful. No fee is owed if the case is not successful.

In personal injury and wrongful death cases some lawyers will accept the case for a percentage of the recovery. For example, if a lawyer agrees to accept representation in a case on a one-third contingent fee, that means that the lawyer will not charge any money if the case is lost. If the case is successful the lawyer will be paid one-third of the total recovery. For example, if the recovery is $60,000, the lawyer’s fee is $20,000. If the case is lost, the lawyer charges no fee for the work performed on the case.

November 9, 2010

Why Do I Have to Document My Lost Wages?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was hurt when I fell in on a slippery floor in a grocery store. I broke my right leg. I missed ten weeks of work on my construction job. My lawyer says that we need a statement from my employer stating that I missed ten weeks of work and indicating how much money I would have made had I worked. Why is that necessary? I don’t want to hassle my boss with this.

Insurance companies need documentation to evaluate personal injury cases because some people don’t tell the truth about what happened to them or how the injuries they suffered cost them money. The claims adjuster for the insurance company has to make sure that his or her file demonstrates that they did a good job gathering evidence to properly evaluate the claim. This includes seeking information from other people, like your boss, to back up what you say.

I am sure that you are telling the truth about the time you missed from work. The insurance adjuster may think you are, too. But the adjuster needs to be able to prove to his or her boss that your claim was thoroughly and properly evaluated, and that is why documentation is necessary. The files of insurance adjusters are evaluated from time-to-time by auditors to make sure that they are not handing out the company’s money without good reason, and thus the insurance adjusters want to make sure that their files reflect a reasonable basis for the decision they made to settle the claim.

November 8, 2010

I Have a Personal Injury Case. What Do You Charge For Meeting With Me?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was hurt in a car wreck. I missed two weeks of work and have a bunch of medical bills. I think I need to talk to a lawyer about my rights but I don’t have money to pay my mortgage much less pay a lawyer. What do you charge for meeting with me?

Our firm does not charge clients with potential personal injury cases for an initial meeting or for any investigation we do to determine if we can accept representation.

If we are able to represent you, we are willing to work on a contingent fee, which means that we are only paid if we are able to collect money on your behalf. The financial arrangements are discussed in detail at our initial meeting and are reduced to a written fee agreement.

October 27, 2010

What Does It Mean When a Personal Injury Lawyer is Included on the “Best Lawyers” List?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I am looking for a personal injury lawyer and see that a few lawyers are included on the "Best Lawyers" list. What does that mean?

“Best Lawyers” is a national organization that recognizes outstanding lawyers in each state in a large number of legal specialties. Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. In the U.S., Best Lawyers publishes an annual referral guide, The Best Lawyers in America, which includes 39,766 attorneys in 80 practice areas, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This publication is one way you can determine if the lawyer who you are thinking about hiring is respected by his or her peers. You can read more about the selection process here.

I am honored to have been listed in Best Lawyers in America every year since 1993, when I was 36 years old.

October 25, 2010

Some Lawyer Called Me About My Car Wreck

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a car wreck last week. I was hurt pretty bad. I got home from the hospital last night and a lawyer called me and said that he wanted to represent me in my case. I have no idea who this guy is or how he got my name and telephone number. Nobody in my family has ever heard of him. Can he call me like this? Should I hire him? He said he could get me a lot of money.

This lawyer is a scumbag – not only should you not hire him but you should report him to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Rule 7.3(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct says this about soliciting a potential client by telephone: "(a) If a significant motive for the solicitation is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain, a lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by in-person, live telephone, or real-time electronic contact from a prospective client who has not initiated the contact with the lawyer and with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship." The Comment to the rule explains why is exists:

[1] There is a potential for abuse inherent in direct in-person or live telephone contact by a lawyer with a prospective client known to need legal services. These forms of contact between a lawyer and a specifically targeted recipient subject the layperson to the private importuning of the trained advocate in a direct interpersonal encounter. The prospective client, who may already feel overwhelmed by the circumstances giving rise to the need for legal services, may find it difficult fully to evaluate all available alternatives with reasoned judgment and appropriate self-interest in the face of the lawyer’s presence and insistence upon being retained immediately. The situation is fraught with the possibility of undue influence, intimidation, and overreaching.

October 18, 2010

I Might Need Surgery!

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was hurt in a boating accident. It was the other guy’s fault. The doctor said that as I result of my injuries I might need knee surgery one day. Can I recover damages for the cost of that surgery?

You can recover damages for a future surgery only if a doctor says it is reasonably likely to occur. If the surgery is merely possible or might happen, the law of Tennessee does not permit you to ask a judge or jury to award damages for the cost of that surgery.

October 11, 2010

How Quickly Will My Case Settle?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a car wreck about 6 months ago. The other driver admitted fault. My medical bills are about $25,000. I have been released by my doctor. My lost wages are $2000. How quickly will my case settle?

At the outset you need to understand that your case may not settle at all. In Tennessee the insurance company does not have a duty to settle your case and in fact does not even owe you a duty to fairly evaluate your case. It can settle a case, or not settle a case, on whatever schedule it wants to put in place.

However, if the insurance company wants to settle the case it needs to have information from your lawyer. At an absolute minimum, the company needs the accident report, your medical records and bills, perhaps some of your previous medical records, proof of lost wages from your employer, and an understanding of how the injuries have impacted your life. To the extent you claim a permanent injury, future medical expenses, future loss of earning capacity, or other damages, the insurance company will need proof of that.