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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Not necessarily.  We at least need to establish that the driver who hit you was liable for the accident.

It will certainly help establish liability if we can obtain cell phone records that show the driver was sending or receiving text messages at the time of your accident.

You have three years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit in Washington State for injuries you sustained in a car accident.

No, you should not.  There is nothing that is going to help your case by speaking to them.

It really depends on a number of factors ranging from the extent of your injuries, the amount of your bills, your expectations, and the available insurance.  Feel free to call us for a consultation.

Yes, you have two options.  You can either try to reach the driver’s personal assets, such as their home or car if they have either in their name.  Second, you can file a claim with your own insurance company, assuming you have this kind of insurance.  This is known as a UIM claim, which stands for Uninsured Motorist Claim.

It is much too soon to tell this information.  You may recover no money at all or a million dollars.  It really depends on the level of your damages.

You have three years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit in court.

Yes, you do.  This is what is called a pre-existing condition.  You can still bring a claim despite this.  Your settlement or jury award might be reduced by a percentage relative to your pre-existing injury, but as long as you can clearly distinguish the two injuries you can still bring a claim.

It is the law to be honest that your medical condition is the result of a company’s negligence.  Therefore, you need to be honest that your injuries are the fault of another company or person, so you should answer the letter truthfully.

The answer is not immediately, not until you are able to reach a settlement with Safeway, which will have an insurance policy, and the settlement includes medical bills for your injury.  In the interim, you will need for your own health insurance to step in and pay.

You have three years from the date of your accident to file the documents in court, and by documents we mean the lawsuit.  You do not have to be finished with your case; you simply have to have filed the lawsuit, which is called a Complaint, in court within three years of the date of your accident.

It could be.  It is always helpful to have witnesses if liability is disputed in your case, meaning that the defendant claims they did not cause your injuries.

Yes, it could be true.  It just depends if you have what is called a “third party case,” which occurs when a company or individual other than your employer caused your injuries while you were on the job.  You will not have to repay 100% of your medical bills.  You will, however, have to repay a percentage of them.

That also depends on the severity of your injuries.  It also depends on how much insurance there is available to compensate you.  Feel free to call us for a consultation we can give you an expected range of possible outcomes.

This is hard to know without knowing the specifics of your case.  Some cases may only take a few months to wrap up whereas other cases take several years.  It really depends on the severity of your injuries and how the insurance companies react to the amount of money you want to settle your case.

Yes, this is not an option.  In order to make a claim against a dentist, or someone in this industry, you have to have an expert who does identical or similar work make a report that lays out his opinions or her opinions and clearly states how the injury occurred, that the care rendered breached the normal and accepted standard in the community in which you live, and that your damages or injury is related to the breach.

A lingual nerve is a nerve that runs along the base of your mouth.  It can often be severed completely or impaired during a dental procedure.  You will know if you have suffered such an injury because you will experience a flash of very intense pain.  Most of the time this pain will subside and feeling will return eventually.  However, there are cases when the numbness will remain permanent or when you will feel pain forever.

Yes, you need to have a dentist who can make a report on the negligence that was or was not committed by your dentist or the professional who performed dental work on you.  So if an oral surgeon was the reason you were harmed, then you need to have an oral surgeon write a report who has reviewed your records and determined that negligence occurred.

You have three years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit in court.

You can notify health and licensing officials if you choose, but it will not have an outcome on your case.

If you are number after a dental procedure, you may or may not be able to have the feeling return.  In particular, if you have a lingual nerve injury, which often happens when a drill slips or when an injection to numb you has been misplaced, you may not recover from this.

Yes, you have the right to do this.  You have to prove that the dentist’s care fell beneath the standard of care for a dentist in the community you reside.

Without knowing how much money you are seeking, the extent of your damages, and the available insurance, it is hard to answer this.  All of these factors can play an important role in figuring out how much money you should receive for your injuries.

You have three years from the date of your injury to bring a claim in court, meaning to file the documents in court.  There is also something called the “discovery rule” which says that you can toll the statute of limitations, meaning pause them, from the date that you reasonably should have discovered the medical condition you have.  You have three years from that date to bring a claim in court.

The most surefire way to do this is to hire an expert witness who can make an opinion on the alleged malpractice.  How do you do this?  You do it by hiring a doctor or medical professional who does the same kind of medicine as the professional who harmed you.

Possibly, but it also may not be.  The proper question to ask, when it comes to a medical malpractice case, is to determine whether “the standard of care was breached” or whether the medical care “fell beneath the acceptable standard of care.”  Just because the operation or procedure did not go according to plan does not necessarily mean it was malpractice.

It is hard to say whether a medical malpractice case will proceed to a trial or if it will be settled prior to then.  Most cases are settled before they go to trial, but not all of them are settled prior to trial.  It depends on a lot of factors.

Yes, you can.

No, not necessarily.  The nursing home or assisted living facility has a duty to make sure that their home or facility is safe, which includes making sure residents are not abusing or harming other residents.

Because of client confidentiality laws, I cannot disclose this, but the Jackman Law Firm has successfully settled many nursing home abuse cases for six figures.

You have three years from the date of the negligence to file the documents in court.

If your elderly loved one is so out of his or her element mentally-speaking so as not to be able to make decisions on their own intelligently, then you will have to petition the court to appoint you, the child, or another competent adult, to become the GAL, which stands for guardian ad litem.

It is hard to know this without knowing the facts of the case.  For instance, it is helpful to know how much money you are seeking, how much your loved one’s medical bills are, if any.  Feel free to call us for a free consultation.

It can take as little as a month or as long as three years to settle a nursing home case.  It just depends on where you are in the case.

Typically, you should look for physical signs like bruises, welts, or cuts.  But sometimes it is also helpful to be on the lookout for behavioral signs too like him not acting like himself, being abnormally shy, for example, or seeming distant.

No, this is not true.  Dogs cannot just attack people and have their owners escape liability, even if the dog just bit one time.

The answer is no.  Don’t let this be a deterrent between you getting the justice you deserve.  Dogs cannot attack people without their owners being held accountable.

Yes, you can.  It is important that you are able to reasonably prove the amount of these damages.  For instance, it is helpful to have tax returns and pay statements from the past to show what you lost.

This depends.  Some insurance companies will pay you a fair amount, but many will not.  It really depends on the insurance company and the offer that was made to you.

If your child was under the age of 18 at the time of the attack, then the child has three years from their 18th birthday to bring a claim in court.

You have three years from the date of the dog attack to bring a case in court.  This means you simply have to file the documents in court.  The case does not have to be resolved.

Yes, you do.  Sometimes the police do not come, though it is always a good idea to make the call and ask them to come to the scene.

After you receive the appropriate medical care, you should call the police, notify your car insurance company, and call the Jackman Law Firm to discuss your options.

You have three years from the date of your accident to file the documents in court.

Not necessarily.  Settlements are very much like people in that they are unique and it is hard to make comparisons between cases.

It really depends on how big the insurance policy is and how large your medical bills are and how much you feel like your pain and suffering is worth.

Then the only choice you have is to either sue the driver and try to recover his or personal assets or make a claim through your own car insurance company.

This can be difficult.  It is always best to have some form of insurance pay for your damages.  However, if there is truly no insurance, including no Medicare/Medicaid/Apple Health, then the only option is to have your providers put a hold on your bills.  Sometimes if your lawyer sends what is called a “letter of guarantee” they will hold your bills until the outcome of your case.  This means that your lawyer guarantees to pay the healthcare provider the bills from the settlement proceeds of your case.

 

If these answers have not fully answered your question, feel free to call us for a free consultation to discuss your case and provide a greater explanation of how we can help you.

Possibly, yes.  It’s pretty rare that the insurance company is going to offer you a fair amount of money for your injuries right after your accident.  Call us for a free consultation to see if it makes sense to settle or litigate your claim.

While it’s the law in most states to wear a helmet, it is not going to end your case.  While it won’t necessarily help it, the fact is that you, presumably, did not cause the accident, so you are still the victim.  This may go to what is called “mitigation of damages,” meaning that you had a duty to try to lessen the extent of your damages and not wearing a helmet might have worsened your damages.

It is not a good idea to do this.  After a motorcycle accident, they are likely looking to settle your case as quickly as possible for an amount that is not fair to you.

Without knowing the particular details and facts of your case, this is hard to know.  Feel free to call us for a free consultation to discuss your case and we can give you a range of the case’s value.

Without knowing the particular details and facts of your case, this is hard to know.  Feel free to call us for a free consultation to discuss your case and we can give you a range of the case’s value.

Yes, Washington State would have jurisdiction over this accident if the company was originally from Canada when they hit you.

This is hard to say at an early stage in your case.  It is helpful to know the particular details of your case to make a determination.  Feel free to call us so we can help you make sense of this.

Yes, it does not matter if you happen to be from out of state or not from the area to bring a claim against the trucking company or truck driver in Seattle.

The only difference is that one vehicle is used for work purposes and the other is used for just a normal person who is not driving the truck for a company at the time of the accident.

Yes, it is helpful to have a police report that explains how the accident happened.

The Jackman Law Firm has the resources and understanding to properly prove this.  We can send a legal document called a subpoena to get his cell phone records.

After being in a car accident, there are a few things you should do.  First, call the police.  Second, go see a doctor or medical professional.  Third, call the Jackman Law Firm so we can discuss your options and make sure you do not sign any settlement documents with an insurance company before it is too soon to settle.

It depends on whether you have to file a lawsuit, if you are still treating for your injuries, and if you do not wish to file a lawsuit.  A case can be settled in as little as 30 days or it could take up to three years.

You can certainly challenge the taking, but understand this is normally an uphill battle you will likely lose. Since eminent domain is widely accepted, it’s hard to win unless you can show that the government is not taking your property for a legitimate public use. If you refuse, the government will file an action in court and you will have to appear in court, if asked, and file the appropriate legal documents in opposition to those filed by the government. If you lose, and the judge allows the taking to go forward, then a new trial will be started that allows each to make the case for the land’s value.

Every lawyer is different, but The Jackman Law Firm charges a third of whatever money you recover from the government, provided that amount is greater than the original offer you received. We only get paid, in other words, unless you both win and your award is greater than what you would have received without help.

This is a procedure to attempt to settle your case. The special commissioner is made up of three landowners who have no interest or relationship to you or your case. A judge selects them. The commissioners will hear you and your attorney make your case for the value of your land, as well as the government’s side, and from there they will decide the value of your land.

You don’t have to accept the offer from the government. You can fight for more money, but be aware you are going to need certain experts to validate your position, including surveyors, appraisers, and real estate brokers. These experts can persuade the judge or jury the true value of your land.

Every case is unique and different. It can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. In general, cases where the government is involved take a long time, typically a year or so. If a private company is involved, the process will usually be much faster.

You have three years from the date of the accident.

Statistically, it is not likely since most cases settle out of court, but the best way to settle the case is to prepare as though you are going to trial.

It is important to understand whether your doctor can clearly separate which accident caused your injuries. The Jackman Law Firm can assist you in this.

It depends on whether you have to file a lawsuit, if you are still treating your injuries, and if you do not wish to file a claim. A case can be settled in as little as 30 days or it could take up to three years. Our firm can work to minimize the length of your case process, so reach out to us to learn more.

After being in a car accident, you are naturally wondering how much your case is worth. The honest answer is that without knowing the details of your case, it is impossible to know because there are many variables and unknowns that can impact the value of your case.

In most cases, people can recover damages for:

  • Medical bills
  • Future medical bills
  • Lost wages or future impairment of wages
  • Pain and suffering
  • Out of pocket expenses
  • Loss of consortium

Call us and we can explain more about how your damages are calculated to determine how much you will receive.

UIM insurance stands for Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage. It is a form of insurance you have to buy through your own car insurance company.

It will be hard if they have no insurance and you do not have what is called UIM coverage, which stands for Underinsured or Un-insured Motorist Coverage. We can help you find out whether you have this.

The Jackman Law Firm works on a contingency fee, meaning we only recover fees unless you win your case. We typically take 33%. We will never send you a bill.

No, it does not matter. You just need the name and address of the driver who hit you.

No, you don’t. It is best you don’t in fact.

PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection. It’s a form of medical insurance through your car insurance. PIIP will pay your medical bills that are related to your car accident. If you get a recovery from the at-fault driver’s car insurance company, you must pay PIP back a portion of your medical bills.