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What are case expenses and will I have to pay the case expenses?
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I have received compensation for my injuries, how much will I have to pay out in income taxes?
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In all but a few personal injury or medical malpractice cases, any recovery is paid by an insurance company. The insurance company is in business to make a profit. They want to resolve cases for as little as possible. If you don’t know how to put together your case, properly document your losses and damages and negotiate with the insurance company claim agents and attorneys, they will take advantage of you. With our experienced attorneys fighting for you we will recover what you are entitled to. If the insurance company is being unreasonable we will thoroughly prepare your case and take it to trial.
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At Hovde Dassow & Deets your case will be handled by one of our trial lawyers. We have as part of our team, nurse consultants and paralegals who will assist the lawyer in gathering information to prepare the case.
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In addition to the experienced attorneys who have handled hundreds of complex medical cases in the past, we also have legal nurse consultants on staff who formerly worked in the health care field and who have been trained to conduct thorough medical research on any subject matter. We also work closely with expert medical doctors in every field imaginable who will review medical records and tests and provide valuable insight into your medical condition. In the case of medical malpractice, the experts will help to define the standard of care and how it was breached.
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The attorneys at Hovde Dassow & Deets have been representing injured plaintiffs for over a combined 100 years. Because all of our attorneys are experienced trial attorneys, it is a virtual certainty that if you have a personal injury case we will have handled one like it in the past.
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It depends on a number of factors. We will not discuss a specific value with you until we have all of the necessary information. Any attorney who would tell you the case is worth so much without all of the necessary information is simply trying to get your case and is not operating with your best interest in mind. Please contact us and we can discuss all aspects of your situation.
If there are issues that provide the defense with arguments that may reduce the value of the case, then the chances of the defense succeeding at trial must also be considered. The value of a case depends on a number of factors and determining value is not an exact science. Hovde Dassow & Deets has the experience to get it right. The lawyer's opinion of the value of a case is based on his experience and knowledge of similar cases and similar medical issues. Experience is the key factor in the lawyer's evaluation. Because you only have one chance to recover it needs to be done right.
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We typically work on a contingency fee. This means that our fee for handling your case will be a percentage of the total recovery. We will sign a written contract with you that will clearly set out the percentage and all of the details regarding expenses. In a majority of the cases the percentage at settlement is one-third. For example, if the recovery is $100,000 the fee would be a third or $33,333.33. If you do not recover, there is no fee charged and you are not responsible for expenses. Medical malpractice cases have a special sliding fee scale that depends on the amount recovered. The fees are governed by a special statute and will be spelled out in the contract.
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Case expenses are expenses that we pay on your case. These often include fees for court filings, copies of medical records and reports or testimony by witnesses and doctors, to name a few.
In almost all cases, once Hovde Dassow & Deets has accepted your case we will pay the expenses necessary to win it on your behalf and then get paid back out of the recovery. In some medical malpractice cases, we will sometimes ask for a contribution from the client toward the expenses for the initial investigation to cover the cost of obtaining the medical records and perhaps an initial expert review. But after the initial investigation is complete and we decide to go forward with the case, we will advance the expenses necessary to win.
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The rules set out by the Indiana Supreme Court that govern attorney advertising prohibit this in Indiana. We believe this is a good rule. Each case stands on its own. Cases that get resolved for large sums of money do so because that money is needed by the clients to replace their losses which may include the loss of life or the inability to work and enormous medical bills. Regardless of the value of your case, we will use all of our resources to recover what you deserve.
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It often depends on how quickly your medical condition resolves. Once a law suit is filed most cases take approximately 2 years to resolve. The amount of time does depend on the judge and the court’s schedule in determining when the case will be set for trial and what issues may be raised by the defense. It is never good to rush to settlement especially if you are still having problems since once your case is settled, you can’t go back later and ask for more.
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You will be informed of all negotiations and settlement discussions on your case. Our attorneys will explain in detail their evaluation of your case and it will only settle when you agree to the settlement.
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With very limited exceptions, money received for personal injuries is not taxable because it is not considered as income subject to taxation.
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Hovde Dassow + Deets is an Indianapolis-based law firm specializing in Personal Injury Law. Our attorneys practice in the following areas of personal injury law: Truck + car accidents, Medical malpractice, Drug liability, Wrongful death claims, Construction accidents, Nursing home injuries, Injuries to children, Pharmacy + prescription errors, ATV injuries, Defective product claims, Consumer class action, Aviation incidents, Train-crossing accidents. Hovde Dassow + Deets is based in Indianapolis, IN and serves clients and potential clients in the following areas and beyond: