What You Should Know When Hiring Austin Kurtz as Your Phoenix Personal Injury Attorney
What Is Your Fee Structure for Personal Injury Cases in Phoenix, and How Much Will It Cost Me to Hire You?
When you work with our law firm, you owe nothing upfront and nothing out of pocket. For personal injury cases, we work exclusively on a contingency fee. With contingency fees, we don't get paid until we successfully settle or win your case. It costs you nothing out of pocket to hire our firm. If we don't negotiate a settlement or obtain a court award on your behalf, you owe us nothing for our services. If we do obtain compensation for you, our fees come directly out of that compensation.
Do You Offer Free Personal Injury Consultations in Phoenix?
Yes, absolutely! We always offer free, no-obligation personal injury consultations in Phoenix for any case which we believe may be worth pursuing. This consultation will allow you to get to know our firm and see if we would be a good fit to represent your claim.
During this consultation, we will ask many questions about your injuries and how they came to be. We will want to identify who may be at fault for causing your injuries, if they were negligent, and your injuries and damages. If we can't identify these things or don't think we will be able to after an investigation, it's possible that we may not be able to help you. If the case doesn't seem a right fit for us, we will politely decline to consult and may suggest some next steps for you.
If we mutually agree to move forward together with your case, you can sign an engagement contract at the end of the consultation. We will get to work on your case right away.
How Will You Communicate with Me throughout my Phoenix Injury Lawsuit, and How Frequently Can I Expect Updates?
This is a stressful time for many injured parties, and we understand that communication is extremely important during personal injury cases. The good news is that you can expect regular updates from our office as appropriate and new information is available.
We will communicate with you via phone calls, emails, or texts– however you prefer. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns that you have. Rest assured; our staff will respond promptly to address them.
Sometimes your question or concern can be adequately addressed by our office staff or a paralegal, and other times it may require your attorney's expertise. No matter who answers your question, you can count on us to provide you with a trustworthy and reliable answer.
How Do You Determine the Value of My Phoenix Personal Injury Case and What Damages I May Be Entitled To?
There are two determinants to value in a Phoenix personal injury case– liability and damages. If we can prove you are not at fault for your injuries, then the value will be directly linked to how significant the damages are. However, to recover compensation, we must be able to identify at least one liable party. How much compensation you receive will also depend on any available insurance policies that may cover your accident and injuries.
Your damages will be based on a variety of issues, including your past and future medical bills, past and future pain and suffering, and any loss of wages. Your past and future medical bills can include the following:
- Ambulance services
- Emergency room bills
- Doctor and specialist visits
- Labs, x-rays, and other diagnostic tests
- Hospital stays
- Surgery
- Prescriptions and over-the-counter medications
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Rehabilitation services
- Medical devices
Our team will work diligently to obtain all of your medical bills and records to ensure we have the evidence to prove the value of your medical bills.
Depending on the nature of your job and your benefits, lost wages might include:
- Your regular salary
- Commissions in addition to your salary
- Overtime
- Tips
- Bonuses you might miss out on by being unable to meet your yearly goals
- Potential promotions
- Pension benefits
- Fringe benefits or perks (such as a cell phone or gym membership)
- 401(k) contributions
- PTO
Our staff will work with your employer to obtain the necessary documentation to prove your lost wages and other income. This often involves wage statements from the employer and even tax documentation.
Pain and suffering can include:
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of a bodily function or part
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
Pain and suffering damages can be harder to prove than medical bills and lost wages as they are subjective and less concrete. Even still, we will stand up for your rights to receive compensation for them and establish them within your case to the best of our ability. While you may not have any receipts or invoices for these types of damages, they are just as real and deserving of compensation as your tangible losses after a personal injury.
Suppose you had property damage—such as a vehicle in a car accident or a wedding ring or prescription eyeglasses in a slip and fall. If that's the case, then it will also raise the worth of your claim.
The severity of your injuries and how long they may impact your life will also affect the value of your claim. For example, suppose you slipped and fell in the grocery store and fractured your wrist. Your claim would be worth more if you needed surgery and physical therapy and still couldn't gain full motion of your wrist or hand than if you had a simple break that merely required several weeks in a cast and nothing else.
How Will You Handle Negotiations with the Insurance Company or Other Parties Involved in the Case?
First, you can rest easy knowing that we will handle all negotiations in your case. When you hire our services, you won't need to negotiate with other parties; we do this on your behalf. However, we will always discuss our negotiations with you and keep you abreast of any developments. This is your case; we are your lawyers, always arguing on your behalf.
Decisions about whether to settle your case or how much to settle for belong to you. We will provide you with sound legal advice based on our education, experience, and professional opinions. But, at the end of the day, you are still the one with all the rights to call the shots. It would be illegal and unethical of any attorney not to let their client ultimately direct their own course.
What Are Some of the Potential Risks or Obstacles That Could Arise during My Personal Injury Lawsuit in Phoenix, and How Will You Handle Them?
Personal injury cases can be full of difficulties, hurdles, and various challenges. But, after being in practice for many years, our law firm has seen them all, and we know how to approach them and what solutions might prove effective and successful.
Risks or obstacles with the case include refuted liability, flawed witness testimony, limited treatment, or limited coverage. In addition, the other party may claim that you didn't suffer the injuries or damages that you say you did.
We handle these inherent risks by preparing early and often in the case to ensure we understand the full landscape of the claim and constantly making minor adjustments to our litigation strategy to keep our plan aligned.
We aren't afraid or intimidated to take on cases with challenges, as often, these turn out to be our most significant victories. We also have multiple resources at our fingertips, including expert witnesses that we can use to help prove complex cases.
How Long Do You Anticipate It Will Take to Resolve My Phoenix Personal Injury Case?
Unfortunately, there is no straight answer to how long a personal injury case can take to resolve. If a case goes to trial, it will take much longer than if not. However, on average, a personal injury case takes anywhere between 6 and 18 months from intake to resolve.
A resolution may come within a few months in cases with clear liability. However, resolution may take a few years in cases involving multiple parties, severe injuries, or other complexities.
Whenever possible, we attempt to settle your claim for an amount that is fair to you. Settlements are often beneficial to injured claimants as they:
- Resolve the case sooner
- Eliminate the stress of having to go to trial
- Are less expensive than litigation
- Give you more control over how your case ends
What Are the Next Steps to Set Up My Phoenix Personal Injury Consultation and Hire You?
If we seem like a good fit for your legal needs, the next step would be to contact our office. We will schedule a time to discuss your case and injuries to see if we can be of assistance. If, after this consultation, we mutually decide to move forward together with your claim, you can hire us. The process is simple, and we are here for you.
