Jon Groth's Wisconsin Personal Injury Weblog

Client Testimonial “Incredible Peace of Mind” November 18, 2010

I received a “Thank You” card from a client recently and I was really touched by the kind words of this former client.

My husband and I just want to thank you for everything you had done for us with the case.   You took an incredibly bad situation and helped us come out of this as best as possible.  You gave both of us incredible peace of mind and honesty.  Cannot thank you enough!

Injured In A Collision? Who should you listen to? November 17, 2010

I read the following blog post on Attorney Trey Mills’ site the other day and thought it made perfect sense.  His analogy of an injured party taking advice from an insurance adjuster to taking advice from an opposing team’s coach is right on.

Would Clay Matthews take advice from Brett Favre when they play next?  I don’t think so!

Attorney Mills states:

The game I refer to as the “Insurance Game” befuddles many but the dynamics are the same. You have one side playing offense and another side playing defense.  Why are you going to listen to a representative of an insurance company that eventually will have to pay you money based upon many factors but the largest factor being the amount of medical treatment and bills you have incurred since the negligent act that caused your injury?

Instead of seeking out a free initial consultation with a personal injury attorney you will listen to the advice of the negligent party’s insurance company that is trying to minimize the amount of money paid out on your claim. Makes no sense. I don’t care that I am jaded by being a personal injury attorney but I follow my own advice when it comes to real estate closings, I know nothing about. I seek assistance from a real estate attorney. I don’t trust that the landowner I am purchasing from will take care of my best interest. I trust the attorney I am paying will protect my interest.

Facebook and Litigation November 16, 2010

I’ve spoken on this topic a number of times over the past few years.   Here is another example of how someone’s Facebook page has been used against them in court.  Again, Facebook is not entirely private.  What you post on Facebook may eventually find its way to someone who wants to use it against you.

Technology to Fight Texting While Driving in Wisconsin November 15, 2010

If you haven’t seen the billboards or the news articles or the flyers from insurance companies let me remind you that texting while driving is dangerous.  A bit of an understatement, I know.

Don't Text and Drive In Wisconsin

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation texting while driving was linked to at least 24,000 injures and almost 1,000 deaths in car crashes last year.  In my opinion these numbers are probably low.  I can speak from experience that it often takes an attorney to prove that the at fault driver in an auto accidents was texting or on a cell phone.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel an inventor from New Berlin, Wisconsin has built a prototype device that will block texting and phone use while a car or truck is in gear.  When the truck or car comes to a stop the system allows the phone to work again.

You can read more about this device and the New Berlin, Wisconsin inventor, John Looby at www.jsonline.com.

Attorney Groth’s Guest Piece at InsideMilwaukee.com November 9, 2010

For those interested I wrote an “Ask a Lawyer” piece at InsideMilwaukee.com.

Here’s what I wrote:

Q: Does Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney Mean I Have To File A Lawsuit?

A: When you are involved in a car accident or other personal injury matter you usually hire an attorney soon after the collision/incident. Again, usually the victim of the car accident/personal injury is continuing to go to the doctor and the true extent of the injuries are not known (i.e. residual pain, whether bones completely heal or whether other future treatment is needed).  When a victim hires a lawyer this does NOT mean that a lawsuit has been filed.

In Wisconsin, a lawsuit is filed when a Summons and Complaint are filed with a County’s Clerk of Courts. Along with the Summons and Complaint a fee, set by the county, must be paid. After the Summons and Complaint are filed and the fee is paid these documents must be served on the defendant(s). From the date of this filing, depending on the County, it may take up to 1-2 years before the victim of a car accident’s case is decided by a jury.

When a lawsuit is filed a Judge is assigned to the case. One of the first things the Judge will do is schedule a hearing date to set the Schedule for the case.  At this point the Judge and Attorneys set deadlines for witnesses, depositions, expert doctor reports and motions. (If a lawsuit were filed immediately after a collision it may be difficult to make sure that the injured victim gets full compensation allowed by law for all of his/her injuries given the Schedule set by the Judge. In addition, once the lawsuit is filed the costs of the case can increase drastically.)

The odds of a personal injury victim having to file suit are low. On average, maybe 90% of personal injury cases that I have handled settle before having to file a lawsuit.

In the end, that may be the benefit of hiring a lawyer. You’ll have someone fighting for you from day to ensure you get the compensation that Wisconsin Law allows. If need be you’ll have an advocate in court.  But, the odds are that the lawyer will help you avoid going to court to get compensation for your personal injuries.

 

– Jonathan P. Groth of Groth Law Firm SC