PERSONAL INJURY AND UNJUST DEATH

Mike Kerensky has been Board Certified in Personal Injury since 1988.

If you have come to this page because you or a loved one of you has been seriously injured or killed, let us provide you with information about our experience in this area. I have represented the injured party 99.9% of the time in these types of cases.

We have handled personal injury or wrongful death cases involving:

Car accidents

Commercial truck accidents

Defective products, including:

• Defective cars and trucks
• Defective drugs
• Defective medical implants
• Defective power tools
• Defective construction

Medical malpractice including:

• Hospital negligence
• Doctor Negligence
• Nursing negligence
• Nursing Home and Long-Term Acute Care Units

Dangerous railroad crossings

Dangerous premises, including:

• Failure to provide adequate security
• Dangerous design
• Dangerous tripping hazards and slippery surfaces.
• Mold infestation in residential and commercial properties.

If you or a loved one or friend has been injured or killed by the negligence of another or by a defective dangerous product, here are some tips on how to get started in the right direction:

Do not give a recorded statement to the other person’s insurance adjuster until you have hired an attorney, no matter how clear you believe the other person’s fault is.

See a doctor immediately. Make an appointment with your family doctor and document your injuries.

Preserve the evidence. The car, accident scene, investigation records, surveillance tapes, and defective product must be protected. Sometimes involving an attorney early can help protect crucial evidence.

Report the car accident to the police if possible and wait until they arrive to do an investigation. If it is a minor accident and the vehicles are drivable, exchange information with the other driver, take lots of pictures of the damage to both cars. Then, as soon as possible, go to a police station and fill out a report on what happened, if the police did not show up to document the accident.

If you see a doctor for your injuries, follow their advice. If they send you to physical therapy, be sure to attend and follow the medical rules. If you are prescribed medication, take it. If they tell you to come back for more tests in two weeks, introduce yourself. If they recommend exuis radios, an MRI, or a cat scan, go for it. If you do not follow your doctor’s plan for your recovery, the other party will argue that it is your fault that you have not recovered from your injuries.

Be honest and do your best. Do not overdo it. Don’t go out of business just to create a claim. If you can work, work. If you can work part-time or light duty, go for it. One of the worst things a personal injury plaintiff can do is attempt to stretch an injury claim beyond what the evidence in the case justifies. Your doctors will know if you are saying that you are still suffering and if it is not true. They are trained to detect this type of simulation. There is no better case killer than to be less honest about the extent of your injuries.

Don’t minimize your injury. If you have pain, tell your doctor about all the places where it hurts. If it’s not documented in medical records, it’s like it never happened in the world of personal injury. Be complete Be thorough Be precise. Be consistent.

If you had a previous injury to the same part of your body, don’t think they won’t know about that previous injury. They will find out fast. It is particularly important to share with your doctor that you had a previous injury similar to the one you are complaining of from an accident. The law allows you to recover for an aggravation of a pre-existing condition. However, if you try to hide that pre-existing condition, the other side will find out and this is like exaggerating your symptoms, and it results in a case killer.

It may be that you watch the security without you being told. Insurance companies do this all the time. They hope to catch 30 seconds of you doing or trying to do something that your injury will no longer allow you to do. The video they capture of you never shows the two days you spent in bed after lifting anything beyond the restrictions set by your doctor. Be careful. Insurance companies make money by collecting premiums and denying claims and will do their best to develop evidence that you did something you told your doctor or could no longer do.

Virtually all personal injury and wrongful death cases are handled on a contingent basis. This generally means that if the case is settled before a lawsuit is filed, the fee for the attorney is 1/3 of the gross recovery. If the case is resolved after the lawsuit is filed or is won at trial, the fee is generally 40%. An attorney working on a contingent fee generally finances the cost of the litigation and, after settlement or collection of the judgment, reimburses those expenses after paying the fee. This can change depending on the risk involved in the case. If there is no recovery, the attorney loses his investment in the case and a fee is not paid.

If you have suffered a serious injury that will have long-term effects, you need a lawyer. Do not try to handle it yourself. Best practice is to hire someone who is board certified in personal injury.

Contact our office for a free, no-obligation consultation regarding your personal injury or wrongful death claim.