As a business owner, keeping informed about the finer points of employment law is important. If you're getting ready to hire your first employees, you need to be sure that you understand exactly what you can and cannot do. Don't risk getting yourself into legal trouble by asking the wrong question at the interview or making an off-hand comment that's considered legally unacceptable. I created this site to give you the basics of employment law expectations. I hope that the information here helps you to understand what you should and shouldn't do as you're interviewing and hiring your first staff members.
Irene Robertson
Not every injury resulting from an accident necessarily warrants the hiring of a personal injury law firm. In many cases there is a clear-cut at-fault party, or there are no issues with valid insurance claims being filed or paid. However, it is sometimes possible for there to be complications in either the process of filing a valid insurance claim, in quantifying the amount of the injury, or in having a valid claim paid by the corresponding insurance company. In all these scenarios hiring a personal injury law office can be the key to both securing the money required to cover all medical expenses as well as making the injured party "whole." In the context of the legal (and insurance) world, the concept of making one "whole" essentially equates to returning the injured party to the same state as they were before the accident. This can include the restitution or replacement of damaged property and/or monetary compensation to cover expenses arising from the accident, or it could mean to replace lost wages from the same.
While it is completely possible for one to petition and represent their personal injury pro se (a Latin phrase that roughly translates to "on one's own behalf"), it generally a bad idea. Firstly, the legal rules, procedure, discovery phase, and litigation process are all extremely complex, and for the uninitiated novice, it can be very easy to make mistakes of omission or out of ignorance that could completely undermine a personal injury claim. Secondly, the process of calculating a personal injury monetary worth can also be very nuanced. For these reasons, an attorney from a personal injury law office will not only be able to expertly provide all these services but can also be a godsend in sparing the injured party significant amounts of stress throughout the entire legal process. Many times an experienced lawyer can negotiate favorable settlements without the need for the case to ever go to court.
Of course, one of the first things most people consider when thinking about hiring a personal injury law office is how much it will cost them. Many times, due to the nature of a severe injury, they might not have the financial means to pay an attorney's retainer outright. This is not usually a problem. While it is perfectly possible to pay a standard rate to an attorney for their services in a personal injury case, it is not always requisite. It is completely common for personal injury law firms to forgo any payment until the case is settled or won in court. In these scenarios, it is typical for the law firm to take anywhere from 30% to 40% of the settlement or court-ordered award.
To learn more, contact a personal injury law office.