FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What are your fees?
On personal injury cases, including wrongful death and medical malpractice, fees are on a contingency basis. That is, if you do not receive compensation for your injury, we do not charge a fee. All initial consultations are free.

With regard to fees, The Florida Bar requires that each Florida lawyer provide you the client with a Statement of Client's Rights, and that you sign the statement indicating you have received it. We provide all of our clients with the Statement of Client's Rights and with a written fee agreement.

In complex commercial litigation, our fees of course are on an hourly basis. We would like to discuss them with you.

2. Can we settle out of court, and what is mediation?
A claim can be settled at any time. It can be settled before suit is filed, after suit is filed, and of course before trial is started. Suits and claims are also settled during and after trial. Statistically, most cases settle before trial and a few go to trial.

Mediation is an informal procedure where all parties and their lawyers meet in a conference room to attempt to negotiate a settlement. At mediation, I will make a brief presentation discussing our side of the case to the mediator (usually a retired lawyer or a judge) and of course to the lawyer for the other side and his or her representative (usually the insurance company adjuster). The lawyer for the other side then will make a brief presentation about their side of the case. You are required to attend mediation but you are not required to say anything.

After the initial presentations are made, the mediator will meet with you and me separately from the other side and their lawyer. The mediator then will discuss the positives and negatives of our case and attempt for us to lower our demand. The mediator will then meet with the other side, also in private, and attempt to persuade them to increase their offer to us. This process can be as short as one hour and can go on for several hours. The court orders that mediation take place and that you and the other side appear in person at the mediation. The Court does not order, or course, that the case settle at mediation.

3. How much is my case worth?
Every case is at least slightly different. In personal injury cases, you are entitled to compensation for such things as pain and suffering (past and future); lost wages and ability to earn income (past and future); medical expenses (past and future); disfigurement; disability and loss of enjoyment of life (past and future). In order to evaluate your claim, we will have to speak with you and ask you some questions. Some of the questions we will ask are the following and you can speed up the process by providing this information in your e-mail or telephone call:

1.. Full name, address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail;
2.. Date of birth;
3.. When did the accident or incident occur (date and time);
4.. Where did the accident happen;
5.. Describe what happened and what caused the accident;
6.. Describe your injuries;
7.. When and how long were you treated in a hospital or by physicians;
8.. What are your medical expenses, including those which have been paid
for and those which have not (and what medical expenses do you anticipate
having in the future);
9.. Have you lost time from work as a result of your accident? How much
in lost wages have you incurred so far? How much in lost wages will you
incur in the future?
10.. Describe your disabilities and what you can't do now that you could
do before the accident?
11.. Were you ever treated for this type of injury or problem before
this accident?