Frequently Asked Questions

What/ How Do You Charge?

No Fees Unless We Win. Seriously.

We’re a business, but we’re in the business of helping people. We firmly believe that access to the justice system should be available to anyone who has a legitimate cause of action, irrespective of their financial standing. In other words, the ability to seek compensation for an injury or wrongful death should be available to everyone, not just those who can afford to pay by the hour. As such, our lawyers work on a contingency fee basis which breaks down like this:

• The client enters into an agreement with the law firm which gives our attorneys the legal authority to represent the client in exchange for attorney fees paid in the form of a percentage of the total recovery.
• The law firm assumes all up-front financial risk in the case and will front all litigation costs and expenses, only to be repaid upon securing a legal victory.
• The client NEVER pays the attorney out of his own pocket. There are no hourly fees.
• The law firm only charges the client if our attorneys are successful at obtaining compensation for the client. The client literally owes no legal fees and is not responsible for any costs or expenses unless we win.

For example:

Sometimes juries will award large verdicts to injury victims but the defendant who caused the injury does not actually have any money. In such an event, our clients would pay us nothing. We only get paid if we put money in our clients’ pockets.

The client volunteers an industry standard percentage of the total recovery as payment to their attorneys.

In short, the client hires us and we represent them, investing our time, hard work, knowledge and experience, and our own money if necessary, and the client agrees to share a predetermined percentage of their winnings with us. Again, the client pays us nothing if we don’t win the case or if we win the case but the responsible party has no money to pay the client.

Why Do We Do This?

We do it because it’s fair. We do it because it makes the justice system available to people other than the wealthy. We do it because it ensures that our interests are perfectly aligned with our clients’ interests. When you hire an attorney who gets paid more by getting you paid more, you win. It’s that simple.

What Percentage Do You Charge?

It depends on many factors; generally the type of case and the amount of risk associated with the particular matter. Most clients will pay the same, industry standard rate, but some cases are legitimately more challenging or risky and will necessitate a higher rate. In any event, we will gladly discuss your case with you, free of charge, determine an appropriate rate and then disclose that rate to you before you hire us. The contingency fee percentage is put in writing and guaranteed. There are no surprises.

Do You Charge Anything Else?

No additional fees or hourly rate, etc. But the client is responsible for paying for court costs and litigation expenses. For instance, the court costs for filing a lawsuit is usually about $350. The law firm will advance this money for the client as a courtesy, but the client is required to reimburse the law firm for that cost… but only when and if the case is successfully resolved. If we don’t win, we absorb the loss of any expenses that were invested into the case. It’s your expense; we’re just advancing it for you. To be perfectly clear, we cannot and will not charge the client for any expense that is not justifiable and we don’t charge interest on expenses. To be frank, we have as little desire as you do in investing our own financial resources into a case if it’s not absolutely necessary to help the case. Once again, expenses are simply reimbursed, dollar for dollar. All paralegal time, in-house investigation efforts, attorney time and effort, etc. is paid for in the attorney fees. The expenses are only expenses and nothing else.

Why pick law firms with certain practice area concentration?

In this day and age focusing on a specific area of the law is key. Grossman Law Offices is primarily focused on personal injury and wrongful death cases. With your typical "one stop shop" type of law firms, your attorney may work on your personal injury case while he is juggling a divorce case, immigration case, real estate case, etc.

We feel that is not the best way to practice law. Our attorneys spend all day every day focusing on 18-wheeler accident cases, car accident cases, wrongful death cases, construction and work accident cases, and a few other personal injury related types of law. Ultimately, any potential client needs to consider whether they would be best served by an experienced and dedicated personal injury attorney, or "one size fits all" law firm.

How do I go about hiring a lawyer for my case?

It's quite simple. Give us a call, click the chat button above, or complete our online form. We will contact you promptly and arrange a meeting with you whereby we will discuss your case in detail. In most cases, we can meet with you at your home or office, or you can meet us at our office as well.

Most personal injury cases are taken on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you will not have to pay anything out of pocket to hire us, and the consultation is always free.

Am I assessed a charge for consulting with a lawyer at the beginning?

Initial consultations with any lawyer in our law firm are free of charge. These are intended to determine the validity/strength of your case and balance that against our relevant experience to ensure an appropriate match.

Are judges and juries required for all cases going to trial?

Contrary to what you see on TV, going to trial is a last resort. Trials cost money and time, and when it all comes down to it, you are at the mercy of the jury, that is to say, you are at the mercy of 12 complete strangers who may or may not have their own biases.

Ultimately, it is a risky proposition for both sides.

We are a firm of experienced trial lawyers. We are always willing to go to trial, and we have a very successful track record. However, it is often in your best interest to try to resolve your case through other means such as mediation and arbitration.

We evaluate every case on an individual basis, weigh all of the options, and proceed down the path that has the greatest chance of success.

How long will it take for my case to settle?

Wrongful death cases will typically start at the demand phase, and the litigation phase will begin rapidly. In other words, wrongful death cases pick up a lot of momentum very early on in the process, and are generally resolved in 6 months to a year.

In regard to personal injury cases, every case is different, but almost every case goes through three distinct phases:

• The Medical Attention Phase
• The Demand Phase
• The Litigation Phase

The medical attention phase is generally the longest phase of your case. During this phase we will conduct all of the investigative work, coordinate with your doctors, and make contact with the defendants, their attorneys, and their insurance company. You simply need to focus on following your physician's advice. We usually do not move onto the next phase of a case until you are back on your feet, or until your physician has developed a solid prognosis regarding your future medical needs.

The demand phase moves rather quickly. Our attorneys calculate all of your damages (lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, etc.) and put together a demand packet which is then sent to the defendant. The initial rounds of negotiation will begin. This phase can take as little as a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, large insurance companies move at a snail's pace, and there can often be a delay of a couple of months where the insurance company is simply passing your file around their various departments. This is an issue from time to time, but usually this phase moves quickly.

The litigation phase can be non existent or it could take a tremendous amount of time. This is entirely proportionate to the specifics of your case. In a case where you are clearly not at fault, this portion of the case will generally move quickly. If we are required to prove the other party's fault, or if you have said or done anything to complicate your case before our firm got involved there may be months of negotiation or additional work to "prove up" your case. In other words, this phase will move fast or slow depending upon the level of opposition from the defendants. If the case goes to trial, we are at the mercy of the court system which is generally backed up in most counties.

There are additional circumstances that may make your case move faster or slower, but generally speaking, a routine accident case will take around 3-6 months to resolve with 80% of that time devoted to the medical attention phase. However, your case may take longer if your doctor recommends that you need to treat for a longer period of time.

How will my lawyers inform me about case proceedings?

We will contact you when important deadlines or court appearances are necessary, as well as keep you abreast on all major changes. Since we will most likely be dealing with an insurance company, you can expect a reasonable amount of latency between significant events, as these insurance companies move rather slow. We are always available to speak to our clients and we encourage our clients to contact us as often as they would like to get an update, but as mentioned, our clients will be notified when anything major occurs.

I have a question – What do I do?

We are happy to answer any questions you may have. We can always be reached by phone or email anytime. For normal day-to-day questions about your case, the paralegal assigned to your case is qualified to assist you, and the same confidentiality you have with your attorney applies to your paralegal or any of our office staff. For questions regarding specific legal advice and more detailed information regarding your case, our attorneys will be glad to assist you.

Will my case be settled without my approval?

Every settlement offer proposed to us will be discussed with you. No settlement offer will be taken without your consent (see contract for details).

What is a fair amount for my settlement?

Evaluating a claim incorporates many different factors that your legal counsel will discuss with you. Recommendations will be made with reasons given for every one by your attorney. Since each of our lawyers has a wide breadth of experience in regards to case settlement and has knowledge of juries and judges behaving similarly in similar cases, clients usually follow our lead as far as recommendations are concerned.

What's the difference between legal assistants and actual lawyers?

Legal assistants and lawyers do not share the same responsibilities. Legal assistants are professional, experienced members of your legal team that help prepare lawsuits by conducting investigations, performing medical and legal research – along with other supplementary work. Legal assistants cannot offer legal advice. When you need legal advice on the spot, legal assistants will turn to a lawyer immediately. However, in your claim's everyday preparation, legal assistants require your undivided attention and cooperation. They are here to serve you.

What types of cases do you handle?

Our primary focus is on 18-wheeler truck accidents and other common sources of personal injury and wrongful death, such as: auto accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, drunk driver accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, drowning accidents, construction accidents, worker injury, wrongful death claims, birth injuries, brain injuries, nursing home abuse, motorcycle accidents, ATV accidents, boat accidents, and much more.

It is important to consider that we DO NOT practice any type of family law, tax law, real estate law, etc. We focus solely on helping injury victims and the families of those wrongfully killed.