Clients are very often and understandably concerned about their cars – in addition to their injuries – following a collision. Depending on the severity of the damage caused to your vehicle, the responsible driver’s insurance company should either pay to have it repaired or pay you fair market value for the vehicle as a “total loss.” At Terry & Kelly, we are happy to help guide our clients through the process of resolving their property damage claims in addition to their injury claims. We do this as a courtesy to our injury clients – without charging any fees – so that they can get their cars repaired or replaced and regain their mobility as soon as possible.

It is sometimes difficult for individuals to determine if they have a legal case or need a lawyer to pursue the case on their behalf. At Terry & Kelly, we believe that almost anyone who has been seriously injured due to another person’s negligence can benefit from hiring an effective personal injury lawyer. The reason is that insurance companies do not owe you any duty to be fair or even honest in adjusting your claims. As a result, individuals are often unprepared to take on an insurance company – with millions of dollars in resources and no obligation to do the right thing. If you were injured in a car wreck that was not your fault, you likely have legal claims that can be pursued and we would be happy to speak with you about whether we can assist.

At Terry & Kelly, we do not charge our injury clients up front for representation. Traditionally, when you hire an attorney you must pay a cash retainer before the attorney will begin their work. At our firm, we are paid for representing personal injury clients through a structure known as a contingent fee arrangement. What that means is we only get paid if we recover money for our clients. We believe this structure is ideal in that it aligns the interests of the client and the attorney. In other words, the attorney does not get paid unless they produce tangible results on behalf of the client.

Unfortunately, there is no specific amount of time it takes to resolve a personal injury case. Each case is different and comes with its own unique circumstances and issues that can drastically change the time it takes to resolve the matter for the client. What is common throughout most injury cases is that the client’s medical treatment largely dictates the length of time it takes to resolve the case. For instance, if a client requires six months of treatment for their injuries, the case will often take longer to resolve than a client whose injuries are resolved within one or two months of medical care. However, if a lawsuit has to be filed to force the insurance company to pay a fair amount, cases take considerably longer to resolve, regardless of the length of medical treatment.

How much a case can settle for is dependent on many factors. First and foremost, the severity of a client’s injuries and the cost of the medical treatment necessary to treat those injuries affect the damages presented to the insurance company for consideration in the settlement. Furthermore, the amount of insurance coverage available can set a limit on the amount that can be recovered regardless of the client’s injury and damages. For example, if an individual with a state minimum automobile liability policy and no assets causes significant injury to a client, there may be no more than $30,000.00 that can be recovered. Finally, the settlement value is driven by the at-fault driver’s insurance company. By definition, settlements are voluntary so a good personal injury lawyer must know how to convince an adjuster to pay a fair amount, within policy limits, to resolve their client’s case.

It is not, but we encourage you to call us as quickly as possible. It is often what a client doesn’t know that gets them in trouble and insurance companies are looking to obtain any information from you that they can to unfairly lower the value of your case. An experienced personal injury attorney can speak to the insurance company on your behalf in a way that we believe presents the best opportunity to resolve your case fairly and voluntarily. For this reason, it is our opinion that it’s always best to consult with an attorney as soon as you are injured to determine how to proceed.

Medical costs are on the rise and many people, even those with health insurance, are unable to pay for the cost of their treatment out of pocket. After a car wreck, clients can feel overwhelmed by all of the bills that come as a result – especially since the expenses were caused by someone else’s failure to follow the law and societal rules designed to keep us all safe. At Terry & Kelly, we will work with you and your medical providers to find a solution that ensures you get the medical care you need to recover from your car accident injuries while still being able to support your family during this very difficult time.