Frequently Asked Questions

Most injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. That means the attorney gets paid a percentage of what he is able to earn for his client. He does not get paid until he recovers something for his client. The percentage of the fee can vary depending on the type of case and what the attorney and client agree to in the contract. If there is no recovery, then there is no attorney fee. The risk of success or failure is carried by the attorney.

Contingency fees are a way to level the playing field for everyday people. Most of us could not afford to pay an attorney $400.00 an hour to help us when we are injured by someone’s careless conduct. It is hard enough to pay for the medical treatment, even with health insurance. Without contingency fee agreements large corporations and insurance companies could just say “sue me” to most people and get away with it. Insurance companies and large corporations can afford to employ in-house attorneys or they can pay armies of lawyers $400-$800 an hour without thinking about it. Contingency fee agreements allow me to represent teachers, nurses, contractors, mechanics, welders, and janitors against any defendant, no matter how big and powerful they are. They can still be brought before twelve people from the community for justice.

All of my clients retain me through a contingency contract. At our initial meeting we will go over your case and the financial paperwork. I will answer any questions about the contract. If you decide you want to take the paperwork home, read it again, and think about it; that is encouraged. While it is important to hire a lawyer as soon as possible, it is more important that they are the right lawyer for your case. You have to feel comfortable and trust them.

There is that old saying that an attorney that represents himself has a fool for a client. It is even worse for someone not experienced in law. When a case is personal our judgment is clouded. We might focus on things that are really not that important.

Getting past the emotion of an injury case, there is also the practicality that Insurance companies are only interested in settling cases for the least amount possible. Their interests are directly adverse to yours. Every time you speak to the person from risk management or the insurance adjuster they are taking notes of everything you say. They are going to probe you for information that they can exploit to their advantage later on down the line. It could be facts about the case or even trying to get you to discuss settlement numbers before you even know what the extent of your injuries are. Kaplan Law, has the expertise in building cases from the ground up, evaluating cases in terms of liability, and what they are worth, and dealing with insurance tactics designed to make most injury victims want to quit. Just remember that your only leverage to being treated fairly is to file a lawsuit and take your case to either an arbitrator or a jury. If you are not represented by a lawyer, the other side knows that you have no leverage so why should they treat you fairly.

Being injured is stressful enough; suddenly you are missing work, feel less than 100%, not having your normal vehicle, and going back and forth to medical providers, all while trying to juggle your everyday family issues. That is quite a bit to deal with, especially if this goes on for some time. While I cannot take away all of the above, I can keep the insurance adjusters from calling and sending you letters. I can let your medical providers know that I represent you and request they not send you to collections. This will give you some peace of mind so that you can focus on feeling better and not which insurance adjuster said what over the phone.

If your case is going to need some investigation and gathering of information you need someone to do that right away. Some evidence “disappears” soon after the incident. A spoliation letter from attorney is a good deterrent to the destruction of valuable evidence. I have had a few serious inadequate security cases over the years and it is amazing how the security camera footage at the location either malfunctions or is taped over.

The length of a case depends on a number of factors. When did the injury causing incident occur? In Oregon there are different statutes that govern when a case has to be filed. If you are close to the deadline, your case has a chance of going to trial or resolving faster than a case that just occurred.

Are you medically stationary? That means that you have fully recovered or your treatment providers believe they understand your injuries and have a plan laid out for future care should it be necessary. Kaplan Law is not a factory that rushes the clients through the mill. We will not attempt to settle a case until we know what is going on medically. Once a client is medically stationary, we will request their bills and records from their medical providers. Getting medical records is an inexact science. This can take two days or six months. I can tell you that my office will be thorough and work diligently in our attempt to get all of your records so we can make an accurate assessment of your case. Once we have all of your records, I read the records and evaluate the case. We will either have an in office meeting or a phone conference to discuss my evaluation. Upon your approval and input I will send out a demand on your behalf. The defense will take time to evaluate the settlement package we sent and eventually contact my office. If an agreement does not occur, then it is time to file a lawsuit. Trials typically take place within 13 months of filing. This can be delayed much longer depending on the county and the complexity of the case.

As you can read, there are a lot of factors that determine timeliness of resolution. Another factor is my schedule and caseload. We have to prioritize cases by deadlines. So it is possible we might have everything we need to evaluate your demand, but we are slammed preparing another case for trial. Assuming your case does not have a pending deadline, we have to give the other case priority. When we have time we are always looking to move cases forward toward resolution. The patience of all of our clients is greatly appreciated.

No. If you want to accept a settlement offer that you are comfortable with, then I have done my job. Before you make that decision you will get my counsel. Just keep in mind that most insurance companies are banking on that fact that you will give up and take a lesser offer. It takes real courage and determination to fight on through trial.

If you have been injured you should go to see a medical professional and let them know exactly what are your injuries. We want our clients to be accurate in telling the doctors what is hurting them, in order to help the provider run the necessary diagnostic tests and give the proper treatment.

It is also important to photograph any physical injuries as well as any evidence of what caused the injury. This can be difficult if you had a serious injury and are hospitalized, so it is helpful to have your partner help out in coordinating this effort. If you do not have someone to help, do not stress about it. Get an attorney on board and focus on treating your injuries.

My office is located in Portland, Oregon so the majority of my clients come from Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington Counties. I really enjoy traveling throughout the far reaches of Oregon and Washington in order to help people. I am fortunate to have represented families and injury victims as far east as Pendleton, John Day, Hermiston, and Milton Freewater; as far south as Roseburg, and Medford and Ashland in Jackson County; and on the coast in Tillamook, Lincoln City, and Astoria. Because of the proximity to Portland, I find myself being retained quite a bit for cases in Lane County (Eugene and Springfield), as well as Corvallis in Benton County and the Salem Kaiser area in Marion County. I am now licensed in Washington State so I have represented some families in the Tacoma area as well as throughout Clark County.