Transcript:
A lot of people don’t know what to expect once they have been injured in an auto accident and decide to bring a claim.
My name is Zachary Cole; I am a personal injury attorney with Probinsky & Cole and I am going to walk you through that process.
So, first and foremost we would need to determine exactly what happened.
So, we would meet with you; discuss the accident, how it happened, your injuries, and your first growth condition before the accident.
Then, we would also do more of the paper investigation and get things like the police report and the photographs of the vehicles damaged in the accident or the scene.
We will contact witnesses to the accident and see what they had to say about who was at fault, the severity of the accident, things along those lines.
Also, we would investigate the insurance. Either through your insurance, through other parties’ insurance or the property insurance depending on the situation.
So, once we are able to gather all this information, we will communicate that information to the affected party’s insurance company in writing and make a demand.
Depending on the insurance suggestions response to that demand, we may negotiate a little further, or we may decide that it’s appropriate to bring a lawsuit in the case if we don’t feel that the insurance company is treating you fairly.
If we do bring suit that starts another process that we are here to walk you through which includes several filings and a discovery process where we get all the information that we need to pursue the claim from you and take care of that through the courts.
Also, as the suit progresses, you may be asked by the other side to sit for a deposition, that’s something we would be right by your side for the whole thing we would, of course, prepare you in advance for.
After the discovery phase of the lawsuit, a lot of cases if they are still not settled, bargained by what’s called mediation where both sides sit down with an independent intermediary, and a direct negotiation takes place.
A lot of cases settle at mediation, but some don’t also. And of the ones that don’t that negotiation process still takes place over the next month or two leading up to trial.
Most cases don’t go to trial, so a lot of people think that if they bring a claim, they will have to testify in front of a judge and a jury but that’s not the case in 95 plus percent of the time. We do go to trial, we’ve been very successful in most cases, but most claims are settled at mediation, even before lawsuit’s brought, sometimes even on the courthouse steps before trial.
Another thing people ask is how long this whole process takes, and because cases are so different that’s a really hard question to answer, but in some cases, it can take as few as a couple of weeks to a couple of months if it’s a clear case of liability and the damages are clear.
But, in cases where you have to file a suit and the insurance company is fighting you every step of the way the process can take up to and in sometimes a little bit more than a year.
Then again, this is something that a law firm does on a very regular basis, and we would be here every step of the way with you to explain what’s going on and explain what to expect and how long we would expect things to take as the case progresses.
Once again my name is Zachary Cole, Probinsky & Cole and serves the state of Florida, if there are any questions that we can answer for you, we would be happy to talk to you any time.
You can set up a free consultation at our office, and our contact information is below.
—- Probinsky & Cole
Probinsky & Cole has been recognized for outstanding service to Florida residents. The families we have helped come from all walks of life. They are people who work in service industries, construction, manufacturing, agricultural or commercial sectors.
Our firm represents clients in cases of personal injury, medical malpractice, accident injury, wrongful death, immigration law, workers compensation, and more.
Sarasota, Florida Office
3414 Magic Oak Lane
Sarasota, FL 34232
Phone: 941.371.8800
Brandon, Florida Office
1407 Oakfield Drive
Brandon, FL 33511
Phone: 813.817.1197
