Auto Accident Series (Part 12) – Mediation and Arbitration: how might they fit?
Your lawyer will let you know if they feel that use of Arbitration and Mediation may assist in bringing your dispute over a fair settlement to a conclusion in your favor. These two methods have been gaining greater traction over the last several years, and in some cases, they are required by the courts during the pre-trial phase. Since these methods are gaining in popularity, an understanding of why and under what circumstances they may be used to resolve disputes is probably in order. Yo...
Auto Accident Series (Part 11) – What if my case requires litigation?
Your attorney will give you their best legal advice concerning whether to accept an insurance company’s offer or whether to pursue litigation. If they recommend litigation, a series of activities will begin, which will end in a resolution for you. Litigation is not just going to court to argue a jury trial, but includes many other preceding activities, several of which may lead to a resolution prior to a trial date. Your case may settle at any time during the litigation process up to and includi...
Recent Verdicts & Settlements – Summer 2019
Multi-million-dollar jury verdict for personal trainer with neck, back, and arm injuries from collision with bus. Multi-million-dollar settlement for security guard with neck and back injuries from rear-end collision. Multi-million-dollar settlement for retail store worker with neck and back injuries from collision with vehicle that failed to yield. Multi-million-dollar settlement for security manager with back injuries from defective chair that collapsed. Multi-million-dollar set...
Firm News – Summer 2019
Once again, Richard Harris was recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a top personal injury plaintiff attorney. Johnathan Leavitt, Samantha Martin, Jessica Munoz and Mike Sandoval were named “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine. Avvo ranks Richard Harris 10 out of 10 “Superb,” the highest possible rating. Martindale-Hubbell ranks Richard Harris and the Richard Harris Law Firm AV – “Preeminent,” the highest possible rating. The Clark County School District School-Community Par...
Samantha Martin: Courtroom Champion
One week after landing her first legal job, Samantha Martin was in the courtroom representing a client. As a fierce advocate for her clients, being front and center in court was a natural fit for one of the most experienced trial attorneys at Richard Harris Law Firm. “The courtroom is a stage, and I’m a natural performer,” said Samantha about her draw to the courtroom. “I don’t fear going to trial. Sometimes it’s the best way to get the best results for my clients, and that’s what I’m after.”...
A Law Practice For The People
In 1982, the Richard Harris Law Firm began with a single client and one thing remains constant over the years, our clients come first. As advocates for the people, we fight for the causes and rights of negligence victims and champion the underdog against corporate greed and government overreach. What started as a small automobile accident personal injury law practice in the early 1980’s quickly expanded to include premises liability cases, medical malpractice, products liability, nursing home...Auto Accident Series (Part 10) – The Settlement
After an injury accident, and prior to hiring an attorney, the insurance company may make an offer of settlement. If you haven’t hired an attorney yet, and you were injured in the accident it is best not to accept such an offer. A quick offer of settlement after an injury accident is a leading indication that you have a significant chance of a larger settlement and the insurance company wants to take you off the street. Accepting a settlement comes with a release of all future claims, meaning...
Auto Accident Series (Part 9) – Negotiating your Auto Accident Claim
Once a well-structured and strong Demand for Settlement has been filed as part of your Auto Accident Case, negotiations begin to obtain a fair settlement for your case. The demand is actually the first step in negotiating your claim and sets the conditions for the remainder of the process to obtain a reasonable and fair settlement for you. Your lawyer has evaluated your case and set a value range for a fair and equitable settlement to take place, based on experience with similar claims and k...
Auto Accident Series (Part 8) The Auto Accident Demand
Your recovery from your accident will be under the direction of medical providers, and specialists, who will provide treatment and pos sibly prescribe medications to manage pain. As your accident claim progresses, your doctor may disable you for a time. You may be referred to chiropractors and/or physical therapists to assist in the healing process for soft tissue injuries. You should follow their directions to the letter. Once your doctor finds that your recovery is essentially complet...
Auto Accident Series (Part 7) – Social Media and your Accident Claim
Privacy is a word that gets thrown around a lot today. What can others find out about us in the internet age, that used to be considered private? The answer is a lot. Before the advent of the internet, about as much as anyone could find out about you, without hours of investigation, is your phone number and address in the phone book. Further information could be gathered, but from specialized sources which were either expensive to access, or difficult to find. Today a determined individua...Auto Accident Series (Part 6) – The Legal Process of an Accident Claim
Once you’ve retained an attorney for your Auto Accident Case, continue seeing your doctor and follow their instructions regarding treatments, taking your medications, visiting with specialists if needed, obtaining needed physical therapy, and concentrate on the processes which will allow your body to heal. It’s important to your case, that all instructions from your doctor be followed to the letter. Once you’ve retained our firm, your case will be entering the first phase of the legal proce...Auto Accident Series (Part 5) – Communications with our firm
Once you have retained our firm to represent you in your Auto Accident case, the need for ongoing communications between you, your lawyer, and our staff becomes critical. It is important that our lawyers and staff obtain all needed documentation that wasn’t submitted during the Initial Consultation. Much of the additional information will be obtained from the information given in the Initial Consultation. In the first few days after your case opens, many activities take place establishing o...AUTO ACCIDENT SERIES (PART 4) – THE INITIAL CONSULTATION
After a car accident which resulted in injuries to you, you’ve now determined to hire a lawyer to assist with your case. When you call the Richard Harris Law Firm, you will talk with a Legal Assistant known as an Intake Specialist who will gather and record general information about your accident and will discuss with a lawyer whether our firm can assist you, based on the circumstances of the case. Then an appointment will be set for the Initial Consultation. Perhaps your first exper...
AUTO ACCIDENT SERIES (PART 3): WHEN TO HIRE A LAWYER AND CHOOSING THE RIGHT LAWYER
In our previous blog entries in this series, we’ve discussed the accident itself and ways to protect your rights at the accident scene, and what the objectives of the insurance company are in handling your claim. If you’ve been in an accident, you may have learned that dealing with the opposing insurance company is not in your best interest. You’ve been injured, you’ve sought medical treatment and you’ve now decided to hire a lawyer to represent you in your accident claim, but don’t know w...
AUTO ACCIDENT SERIES (PART 2): INSURANCE COMPANY OBJECTIVES
Car, Crash, Examining, Expertise, Insurance In the words of Richard Harris, “The insurance company’s objective is to settle quickly and unreasonably, for as little money as possible. But the objective of a skilled attorney is to make sure your settlement will be fair and reasonable to the injuries you sustained, with proper and complete medical treatment to restore you to the health you enjoyed before the accident.” Are They Really On Our Side? Insurance companies spend millions eac...
AUTO ACCIDENT SERIES (PART 1): THE ACCIDENT
No one plans for an accident when they get in their vehicle. But the statistics indicate that getting into an accident at some point in your driving career is likely. In 2016 alone, over 3 million injuries occurred due to car crashes nationwide. A little bit of advanced planning isn’t a bad idea. Some items which would assist in case of an accident are: First Aid Kit Cell phone (if it’s a smart phone with a camera, even better) Pad of paper and pen Vehicle registration and ...
INTRODUCING THE AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT SERIES
A large portion of the Richard Harris Law Firm is devoted to representing people who were injured in motor vehicle accidents. While we have reported on this subject previously in several blog posts, we realize that having information regarding all aspects of the accident itself, and the subsequent decisions of hiring a lawyer and going through the process of pursuing a fair claim, is confusing and intimidating. For that reason, we will be devoting the next several weeks to a series of artic...
Jury Awards to Round Up victims continues to gain momentum
In the third jury verdict within a year, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, were awarded $2 billion in punitive damages, as a settlement for cancer which the couple maintains was caused by using Round-Up weed killer on their Northern California property. The case revolved around a claim that the product’s manufacturer, Monsanto, which was purchased in 2018 by Bayer AG, failed to warn users of the product that it could cause cancer. What’s happened in previous Round Up trials? Three verdicts fr...
