Frequently Asked Questions
Personal injuries and wrongs suffered at the hands of individuals, employers, corporations, and insurance companies can be devastating and disrupt your whole life. The Parkersburg, West Virginia lawyers of Goldenberg, Goldenberg & Stealey, PLLC are dedicated to getting you the help you need to make things right. Here are some of the questions frequently asked by injured people seeking legal advice, along with some personal answers from the members of the firm.
- Can I get a free consultation?
- How much will you charge me?
- How long will my case take?
- How often do cases settle rather than go to trial?
- What is discovery?
- Are there too many frivolous lawsuits?
- What can I expect from the other side?
Securing justice for the injured and wronged
Because of the large volume of questions received, and the desire to provide sound and comprehensive legal advice, the firm formally advises only clients with whom it has a written agreement following an in-person consultation and discussion. To discuss your case with the lawyers of Goldenberg, Goldenberg & Stealey, call 304-485-4516 or contact the firm online. Your initial consultation is free, and most cases are accepted on a contingency fee basis.
Can I get a free consultation?
Yes. Goldenberg, Goldenberg & Stealey provides one free consultation to discuss most issues. However, you will not receive legal advice until you are a client, with a signed agreement. At that point, you are provided with detailed, in-depth advice about your case. Until you are a client, our lawyers can only explain things in a general way and advise you on whether your circumstances have potential to be a case.
How much will you charge me?
Once the firm accepts a case, we enter into a signed fee agreement with our clients that explains in detail the fee and how it is calculated. We will discuss the fee with you ahead of time, because we realize you do not want any surprises.
Except in unusual situations, we operate on a contingent fee basis. That is, our contract specifies that if we recover money for your claim, we receive the agreed-upon percentage as our fee. The flip side is that if we do not get anything for you, you do not owe us a fee. That is why we carefully assess cases before we accept them. Our participation in any case involves substantial time, expense, and risk. It is a team effort between lawyer and client, with both of us working toward a common goal of getting you full and fair compensation.
How long will my case take?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions. The time to complete your case depends on some factors within our control and many things outside our control. For example, how long your injury takes to heal, the time it takes for your doctor to send us the injury report, how seriously both sides negotiate before the lawsuit is filed, how crowded the court's docket is, the availability of witnesses for trial, and so forth. Once we have obtained the records for your particular case, we can estimate the time for completion based on our experience.
How often do cases settle rather than go to trial?
As much as 98 percent of all civil cases settle without going to jury verdict. While that means very few cases overall are taken to a jury verdict, our philosophy is to assume each case we accept will go to trial, and we prepare accordingly; it is better to be prepared. If a case does settle, its value is maximized when prepared to go to trial. That way, if the insurance company does not offer a fair amount to you, we are ready to ask a jury for justice.
What is discovery?
When a lawsuit is filed, one possible end result is a jury trial. To avoid surprises, municipal court rules now permit each side to take specific steps to discover the other side's evidence. These steps include sending written questions to the other side and questioning witnesses in the presence of a court reporter, who transcribes everything that is said. Each side may also request the other side to let them see the documents connected to the issues in the case. The process is literally an opportunity to discover the opponent's evidence.
Are there too many frivolous lawsuits?
That depends on who you talk to. If you ask an insurance company or a person who has been sued, the answer probably will be yes. If you ask someone whose health was ruined forever or who lost a loved one because of someone’s negligence, the answer will be no. In fact, the insurance company propaganda specialists can point to very few truly frivolous cases. If a case is judged frivolous by the court, laws exist to penalize the people who bring them. So, if you are talking about all the cases filed in every court in every county in every state of the United States, yes, there are likely some frivolous lawsuits.
In our view, one frivolous lawsuit is too many. But keep in mind that the existence of one person's frivolous lawsuit should not work to deny you the right to full and fair compensation for your legitimate claim. We do not put every driver off the road just because a few people drive carelessly.
What can I expect from the other side?
Every case is different, but in general, you can expect the insurance company's lawyers to attempt to put all or part of the blame on you or the driver of your car. You, as a plaintiff, have the burden of proving your case. You can expect the insurance company to dig into your medical history, looking for something else to blame your injuries on. You can expect to be examined by a doctor of their choice, who will write a report and testify in favor of the insurance company and against you. Having an experienced and well-prepared attorney at your side to dispute these allegations with facts assures you a just hearing. You can also expect the jury to be fair and do what is right. We have faced these problems many times before, and understand the best way to combat disinformation.
