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17 Jul, 2017 by Anonymous
I was referred to Mr. Jackson's firm from an acquaintance. I was passed around to 3 different attorneys in the same firm over a year and I was never told why. My guess would be they weren't going to make a lot of money and they didn't want to invest any time in the case. You could see that from their work, or lack thereof. Perhaps that's why I rarely heard from them and it was only after numerous calls and emails that they ever returned a call. I was never copied on correspondence and pleadings even though I requested that repeatedly after they sent out documents and pleadings that were riddled with errors and even had the wrong date for the Date of Loss. This was a simple BI claim. I was a passenger in a auto accident where liability was never disputed or denied. I was injured and I had the right to recover. As it turned out, I ended up with what I was initially offered by the insurance company, so I would have done better on my own, quite frankly.. All this firm did was drive up my out of pocket costs and yes there were costs to me... even on a Personal Injury case, In my experience, the folks at this law firm were untruthful, and did next to nothing on my case. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT HIRE THEM!
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23 Apr, 2015 by Anonymous
Never called me I always had to go in person to see what's going on with my accident case. Girls in front always on their cell phones Don't trust these people and after the case closed my insurance had to pay 100000 which don't know why my insurance payed that much I didn't cause the accident out of That 100K I got less than what I can imagine don't hire these people as your attorney
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22 Apr, 2021 by Shawn
This guy will leave you in the dark! No information and will cancel meetings on you. They get more money from you the longer the case goes.
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19 Dec, 2020 by Anonymous
This attorney represented my claim with zero respect for my injuries or future welfare. For one settled case, he withheld my money for a year. For my second case, there was little to no prep for a hostile defense attorney except “Say you don’t remember.”. Well, I didn’t remember because it was 7 years from the accident to the totally unnecessary trial. Correct- 7 years. For a rear ender where the opposing client was clearly & admittedly at fault. This trial & 7 year ordeal corrupted a significant part of my and my family’s life.
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25 Sep, 2020 by Anonymous
Some time after representing me in obtaining custody of my daughter he accepted another family member of mine with the intent of fighting me for the same custody I fought for. This is a direct conflict of interest and even the judge called him out on it. He intentionally referred my blood relative to hire one of Geralds lawyer friends who had a prior incident with the judge causing there to be a different judge being appointed. This threw back the case to be seen at a later date. By doing this atrocity he prolonged the case well past what I could afford to pay my attorney. I was left facing the hardest challenge of my life alone without any representative aiding my case. If it had not been for this disgusting man pulling dirty and unlawful tricks I would have had my daughter and given her the life she deserved. It's no wonder his own daughter hates him, and rightfully so. This man is a deplorable, dishonest and shameful crook. Do yourself a favor and NEVER give him half a thought, find a real lawyer that will help you when you need it most, for this person would go to no ends for his own well being, never for anyone elses.
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21 Jul, 2015 by Anonymous
I hired Gerald Neal to file emergency Motion for my Divorce case. The best thing I can say about him is he showed up. Very disorganized, unprepared and unprofessional. You would be better off representing yourself.
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11 Nov, 2019 by Anonymous
Pete Jr. Was brought on by another attorney for reasons unbeknownst to me. When my case went to trial, Pete said both in person and in writing that I would receive a settlement to the time of 250k take home. I was then instructed not to go to court the following day. After months of delay, Pete calls me to tell me that the doctors are not reducing the fees, and instead of getting a $250k settlement, I would now be only getting a $80k. If it weren’t for having the $250k figure in text, I would have been left out to dry. After refusing to take $80k and showing him the text of his original promise, the “miraculously” were able to come up with another 100k in which I took home $189k. The difference of $60k is huge. Not only that, Pete began threatening when I refused to take the $189k saying that if I didn’t take it, I wouldn’t get anything. My attorneys took home roughly $400,000 compared to the $189,000 after all I went through. This is on top of the fact that upon retaining my attorneys, they promised “in no circumstance would they take home more money than me.” I didn’t think anything like this was even possible. I advise anyone seeking counsel from Pete jr. to be very aware and get everything in writing. I deeply regret having got this attorney involved and have since filed both a few dispute and bar complaint.
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19 Dec, 2018 by Javier
Let me preface by saying that Pete junior was referred to me by a top litigator and I was told he's an exceptional criminal defense attorney. After my experience, I went back to the referral source to voice my experience and I was told that mine was not unique. The source told me that he no longer would be referring further clients to Pete junior. I hired Pete at a sizable 5-figure amount for a federal case. The persons involved in the hiring for my benefit had no problem getting in contact with Pete, as they were holding back retainer fee until they felt comfortable that he would give me and my case the attention deserved by such an extraordinary fee that he demanded. My friends and family questioned Pete at length and they felt assured that Pete would give me superior representation. We're all now incredulous at not only the misrepresentation I received, but the refusal by Pete junior and the office to take any action to do the right thing after the fact. The first issue lay in the initial hearing: 1. Pete didn't show up personally, but an esquire was sent. Not generally an issue, but... 2. the esquire wasn't briefed on the specifics and was not prepared for the government's position. This would have taken a moment's cursory discussion with the prosecution or a prior discussion with me beforehand. She never spoke to me until I entered the courtroom in custody. The esquire looked like a deer in headlights. That was the first red flag. 3. All of the legwork done in my initial arguments for my release were done by my friends and family, not by any attorney in this office. When a friend called to report where to gain documents, they asked him to make the calls to get these documents. If I didn't have this friend to do that work, it never would have gotten done. I'm supremely confident in that. The problems grew quickly from that point. What I was asking for wasn't extraordinary, simply basic communication. The esquire told me and my family repeatedly that she would visit me in custody to discuss the specifics of my case. This never happened. So my family had to pay for and set up an account with Pete's office just so I could call the office. And even then, I never was able to speak to Pete. My family asked several times for someone to visit and discuss my case. Finally, after a month in custody, an investigator was sent to speak to me. The investigator was competent and as helpful as an investigator could be. But when it came to the legal questions that I had, his answers were, "Again, I'm not an attorney. That's not a question for me." I probably don't have to explain why that's a frustrating answer to hear. After a month, I still hadn't spoken to any attorney in the office aside from the 10 minutes I'd spent in court with the esquire. I couldn't get any answers that I was looking for and the communication was nil. My family hired a different attorney for 20% the amount paid to Pete Christiansen jr. This attorney didn't have Pete’s smooth-talk down but he got me results. As busy as this new attorney was, I was able to easily get him on the phone, he answered every question I had, he told me the good and the bad and kept me abreast of every developing situation in my case. Contrary to claims by Pete's office that he's the best, this new attorney did everything that Pete's office didn't. I felt I could receive the balance back from my retainer, seeing as how Pete was hired on an hourly basis as my attorney of record. 8 months after I hired Pete, the first time I actually spoke to him, and after several months of hounding the office for return of the balance of my retainer, he told me that I won't be seeing any of my retainer back and he's entitled to keep the full amount regardless of how many hours he worked on my case, which was little to none. He claimed it was a flat fee for only my detention hearing, to which he's provided no proof of in any communications.
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25 Oct, 2012 by Gina
In 2 cases this atty represented me on he withdrew just weeks before trial. I was a new single mother at the time and the victim of multiple accidents causing me to have have surgeries. Looking back at the record, it's apparent Cap had no trial experience and bluffed his way through the legal motions until a trial was ordered, then withdrew, without notice, leaving me hanging with medical bills and no legal recourse. I'm just VERY sorry I never filed a complaint with the State Bar.
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13 Apr, 2024 by Cathleen
Do NOT hire Andrea Viera! She agreed to represent my son in a law suit against the Nevada Department of Corrections. She never once went to visit him and repeatabley refused his calls. When I would try to talk to her about his case, she berated me by saying that I don't understand the process, without explaining the process. After a year and a half, she produced no results. We parted ways and she promised to send the file full of things she had done for him. However, she can't produce a file. HARD PASS
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05 Nov, 2023 by Luz
Para mí fue muy mal abogado porque por más que le dije que el doctor estaba equivocado en su diagnóstico a los 9 meses de equivocación Tuve yo que llevarle el papel donde estaba calificada para el cuello la columna y él solo me checaba el brazo izquierdo y la pierna derecha y el abogado no hacía nada como si no supiéramos todos que es una red que están de acuerdo junto con la aseguranza y lucran con el dolor ajeno para mí mala suerte quedé deshabilitada Bravo.
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13 Sep, 2019 by Anonymous
During my conversations with Nathan, he seemed like he was always making things up just to provide an answer, or he was so disinterested in the conversation that when put on the spot he didn't know how to respond. It made him seem like he was not being honest or forthright or even trustworthy. I would not recommend using Nathan as a Lawyer.
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07 Mar, 2018 by Ana maria
He was in the midst of divorcing the mother of his three children for his secretary. He was distracted to say the least. She made several stupid mistakes on important paperwork that cost me money.. Two minutes before entering a court proceeding he told me if I had payed him 10k instead of 5k he would have represented me differently. He also refused to provide crucial testimony as to a case he handled for me prior to this. Completely void of any and all integrity. Unscrupulous.
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07 Apr, 2015 by Anonymous
I did not meet my Attorney Mr. Gary W. Call until 2 years later when my case finally went into the deliberation stage. I got more help from his FORMER Assistant with my case. Things that needed to be followed-up on weren't which caused gaps in treatment which was the main reason this Attorney said "do not go through litigation. If you do I will charge more and drop you." He made me feel had to settle for the little amount the insurance company offered. So being desperate at the time I took the deal and shortly after he was terminated from that firm. I'm not sure what in the world happened but never again!
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24 Sep, 2024 by James
I had the misfortune of hiring Michael Cary Van for my legal needs, and it was a disaster from start to finish. Communication was virtually nonexistent; I felt like I was talking to a wall every time I tried to reach him. My calls and emails often went unanswered for days, and when he did respond, it was dismissive at best. His knowledge of the law seemed questionable, as he often provided me with incorrect information that led to costly mistakes in my case. It felt like I was more of a burden to him than a client. The lack of attention to detail was astounding—important deadlines were missed, and it felt like my case was a low priority for him. In the courtroom, his performance was equally disappointing. He appeared unprepared and seemed to lack basic understanding of the arguments we were supposed to present. I left feeling embarrassed and frustrated. Overall, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere for legal representation. Save yourself the headache and find someone who actually cares about their clients. Michael Cary Van was an expensive mistake I wish I could take back.
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17 Aug, 2024 by Henry
I was not pleased with Michael Van always lied to me . I would tell no one about him I believe he doesn’t have many Black Friends
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18 Sep, 2024 by Joshua
They received more money than I did. I felt very cheated and strung along by the entire experience. They even spoke on making commercials if I received a large settlement. The communication was little to none. RUN fast from there. No good. No integrity...
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What a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Do for You

A personal injury lawyer specializes in helping individuals who have been physically or emotionally injured due to the negligence or wrongful actions of another party. Whether you've been hurt in a car accident, suffered a slip and fall, or experienced medical malpractice, a personal injury attorney works to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries. They can help you recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related expenses.

Personal injury lawyers act as your advocate, navigating the legal system on your behalf and dealing with insurance companies to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. They understand how to handle complex legal matters and help you avoid common pitfalls.

When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Hiring a personal injury lawyer can be beneficial in many situations where you've been harmed due to another's negligence. Some key scenarios include:

  • Severe injuries: If you've suffered significant or permanent injuries that result in substantial medical bills, a lawyer can help ensure you are fairly compensated.
  • Long-term or permanent disability: Injuries that affect your ability to work or require ongoing medical treatment are complex, and a lawyer can help estimate long-term damages.
  • Disputed liability: If the responsible party or their insurance company denies liability for your injury, a lawyer can gather evidence and advocate on your behalf.
  • Insurance company lowball offers: Insurers often try to settle personal injury claims for as little as possible. A lawyer can negotiate to get you a fair settlement.
  • Medical malpractice claims: Injuries caused by a doctor, nurse, or healthcare provider due to negligence require a personal injury lawyer experienced in medical malpractice law.
  • Exposure to hazardous substances: If you've been injured due to exposure to toxins, chemicals, or dangerous substances, a lawyer can help pursue legal action.

Hiring a lawyer early in the process is crucial, especially if you're unsure of the full extent of your injuries or damages.

What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do?

A personal injury lawyer provides a wide range of services to guide you through the legal process and maximize your compensation. They can:

  • Evaluate your case: A lawyer will assess the strength of your claim and determine whether you have a viable case.
  • Investigate the incident: Gathering evidence such as police reports, witness statements, medical records, and expert opinions is key to building a strong case.
  • Negotiate with insurance companies: Lawyers handle communications with insurance companies to ensure you receive a fair settlement and aren't taken advantage of.
  • File a lawsuit if necessary: If a fair settlement can't be reached, the lawyer can file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf and represent you in court.
  • Help calculate damages: This includes medical expenses, lost wages, future medical needs, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.
  • Prepare and file legal documents: Lawyers handle all the paperwork and deadlines associated with your case, including filing motions and discovery requests.
  • Represent you at trial: If your case goes to trial, the lawyer will argue your case before a judge and jury to obtain the compensation you deserve.

How Are Personal Injury Lawyers Paid?

Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means they only get paid if they win your case, either through settlement or a court judgment. Here’s how it works:

  • Contingency fee percentage: The lawyer will take a percentage of the settlement or award, typically between 25% and 40%, depending on the complexity of the case and the stage at which it's resolved.
  • Costs and expenses: In addition to the contingency fee, the lawyer may deduct other costs associated with the case, such as filing fees, expert witness fees, and court costs. These expenses are often advanced by the lawyer and repaid out of the settlement.
  • No upfront payment: Since the lawyer’s fee is contingent on winning, you usually don’t pay anything upfront.

Always discuss the lawyer’s fee structure during your consultation to avoid surprises.

How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

The cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer depends on the specifics of your case and the lawyer’s fee structure. However, since most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, the amount you pay will depend on the outcome of your case. Here are some general guidelines:

  • Contingency fees: Typically range from 25% to 40% of the settlement or award. The percentage may increase if the case goes to trial or requires an appeal.
  • Other costs: In addition to the lawyer's fee, you may be responsible for case-related expenses such as expert witness fees, medical record retrieval fees, and court costs. These are often deducted from your settlement, so you won't have to pay out of pocket.

While the cost may seem high, hiring an experienced lawyer can significantly increase the amount you recover, making it a worthwhile investment.

Top Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer

Before hiring a personal injury lawyer, it's essential to ask questions to ensure you’re choosing the right representation. Here are some important questions to ask:

  1. What is your experience with personal injury cases like mine?
    Make sure the lawyer has handled cases involving similar injuries or accidents.
  2. What is your fee structure?
    Clarify whether the lawyer charges a contingency fee and what percentage they will take from any settlement or award.
  3. How long will my case take?
    While it's hard to predict, a lawyer can give you an estimate based on similar cases they’ve handled.
  4. How often do you take cases to trial?
    Some lawyers prefer to settle quickly, while others are more comfortable going to court if necessary.
  5. Will you personally handle my case?
    In larger firms, junior lawyers or paralegals may handle some aspects of your case, so it's important to know who will be managing your claim.
  6. Do you have references from past clients?
    Speaking with past clients can provide valuable insight into the lawyer’s effectiveness and professionalism.

How to Check the Credibility of a Personal Injury Lawyer

To ensure you’re hiring a credible personal injury lawyer, take the following steps:

  • Check bar association records: Verify that the lawyer is licensed and in good standing with your state’s bar association. Look for any history of disciplinary actions.
  • Read client reviews and testimonials: Online platforms like Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, and Google reviews can provide insight into the lawyer's reputation and client satisfaction.
  • Look at their track record: Review their experience with personal injury cases, particularly how many cases they’ve successfully resolved or taken to trial.
  • Ask for references: Credible lawyers should be willing to provide references from past clients who can vouch for their work.
  • Check professional memberships: Lawyers who are members of respected organizations, like the American Association for Justice (AAJ), often have a solid reputation in the field.

What Should I Prepare for My First Consultation?

To get the most out of your first meeting with a personal injury lawyer, prepare the following:

  • Detailed account of the accident: Write down everything you remember about the incident, including dates, times, and locations. Include any witnesses or police reports if available.
  • Medical records and bills: Bring any documentation of your injuries, treatments, and associated medical costs.
  • Insurance information: Provide your insurance details and any communication you’ve had with the other party’s insurance company.
  • Employment and income records: If your injury has impacted your ability to work, bring proof of lost wages or reduced earning capacity.
  • Photos or videos: If you have photos of the accident scene, your injuries, or property damage, bring them to your consultation.
  • Questions for the lawyer: Prepare a list of questions to ask, including how the lawyer will handle your case and what you can expect in terms of timeline and outcome.

By preparing thoroughly for your first consultation, you’ll help the lawyer understand your case more quickly and get a better sense of your legal options.

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