In this Legal Beagle podcast, Jonathan Negretti explains what his law firm charges to represent clients. He goes on to illustrate what a client might receive in recovery — whether the case goes to trial or is resolved prior to trial. Further, he explains how his firm strives to simplify personal injury claims for its clients.

This is the fourth and final article in a series designed to help new and prospective clients become acquainted with Negretti & Associates. We’d like to offer this “peek behind the curtain” to showcase the inner workings of our firm — how we work and what we believe in.

By Jonathan Negretti

In previous articles of our Get to Know Negretti & Associates series, we talked about our core values, our staff’s unique personalities and talents, the types of cases that we handle, and the states in which we practice law. This week, I’d like to discuss we charge for representation and what our tagline “Simplifying Personal Injury” means.

Talking about what a law firm charges remains a bit of a taboo in the legal profession. I’m not really sure why. Regardless, I want to explain and be very transparent with you about how our relationship with you, as the client, is structured, and what you would ultimately pay for our representation.

Two Types of Contingency Fees

If you visit our site’s Our Process page, you’ll see an illustration of what we charge and how those numbers break out. We explain this so that you, the client, are fully informed on the representation that you are agreeing to when you sign up with us.

The example we use lists two different types of contingency fees:

• If we can get your case resolved without having to file a lawsuit, then our fee is 33% of that recovery.
• If we have to file a lawsuit then our fee increases to 40% of that recovery.

Why are there two types of contingency fees? Once we file a lawsuit, the rules change, the amount of time changes, and our involvement — in terms of our ongoing participation in the case — changes greatly. To offset that, we increase the contingency fee to our clients.

But remember, our fees are contingent on recovery. In other words, our fees are dependent on our ability to recover something for our clients. It is simply a percentage of the recovery. We receive a percentage of the amounts we recover for our clients.

If we don’t recover anything, we don’t send our clients a bill. Clients don’t see letters from us saying, “Here’s an invoice for all of the hours we spent on your case.”

We offer a sample illustration of how this works, using basic numbers. If we recover $100 for our client, and we do so before a lawsuit is filed, our fee is $33 — one-third of the total recovery. If we were to recover that money after a lawsuit is filed, even if we went all the way to trial, our fee is 40% of that recovery, or $40. The balance that remains is left for the client.

Legal Costs

However, I want to be clear that not all of the remaining balance goes to the client, because our firm must also be reimbursed for legal costs that we incur during the recovery process. Legal costs are what we spend to represent you to get your case in a position where it can resolve fairly for you, the client. Those costs can include ordering a police report, acquiring medical records, doing depositions, and hiring experts — if the case ends up in litigation.

Legal costs can vary greatly depending on the path that your case takes towards resolution. At Negretti & Associates, we don’t mark up our costs. We do not ask for more than what we spend. Further, in an effort to minimize what the client would have to spend out of pocket, we pay those fees on behalf of the client up-front, and ask to be reimbursed when a case concludes.

Let me take the previous illustration one step further. Imagine that our firm spent $5 in legal costs while working on your case, and we got the case resolved before we filed a lawsuit. Our fee would be $33, and an additional $5 atop that. Our firm would receive $38, leaving $62 for the client, right?

Again, in an effort to be completely transparent, not all of the remaining $62 goes to the client. Medical providers may be owed reimbursement, as well. Health insurance may have interest in the recovery. Point is, there may be other parties that need to be paid from the total recovery. In effect, the client may not receive that full $62 difference, after our fee and legal costs.

So, sticking with this same illustration, let’s say that the client owes a medical provider $10. Now, $48 of the total goes to the law firm, to compensate the law firm for legal costs it advanced, as well as $10 to a medical doctor who provided treatment. This means client gets the remaining $52.

To summarize:

• $100 in recovery
• – $33, which goes to the law firm for its work
• – $ 5, which goes to the law firm for legal costs
• – $10, which goes to the medical provider who provided treatment to the client
• Balance: $52

The balance is what is remitted to the client as their part of the case’s settlement proceeds.

Ask Yourself “What Will My Recovery Be?”

Before settling a case, before signing anything from your law firm — ours included — I encourage you to ask, “What will my net recovery be?”

Net recovery is an important term. It simply means what you are going to put in your pocket when a case reaches its conclusion. This doesn’t need to be explained in fancy terms. It’s simply, “What do I get? What is my in-pocket amount? What am I going to walk away from this case with?”

It sounds nice when an attorney says, “Look, I got you a $100,000.” You might say, “Great! How much am I going to get?” But the attorney would say, “You get $2,000.” This just means that $98,000 went to everybody else! This doesn’t seem like a fair deal! However, if you were to get $20,000, and you were able to keep maybe $10,000 or $12,000 of that, this seems like a much better deal.

Make sure that you ask the law firm that represents you — and I say this with ours in mind, as well — to “show me the breakdown.” At Negretti & Associates, we aim to be transparent. For this reason, we provide a settlement breakdown for every single case we handle. We show our clients exactly what they are going to receive, what we are going to receive, what doctors are going to receive, and what might be due to a health insurance company or other third party that’s owed money. We openly share this with our clients.

What’s more, we make sure our clients have all their questions answered before they sign anything, so that they are not left wondering why everyone else is paid so much, while they did not receive as much.

We do our best to try to be fair to our clients on the back end through our representation. If we can reduce medical outstanding bills or liens — those are what providers would hold in case they treated the client without receiving any compensation — we try to reduce those outstanding monies owed, so that the client does receive a fair in-pocket amount.

We’re not in the business of taking a case simply so that we get paid, so that doctors get paid, and the client gets nothing. We remember that the client is the injured party — the reason that the whole case started in the first place. The client should be fairly compensated for what happened.

If a lawsuit is filed, and our firm’s contingency fee percentage rises to 40%, the same breakdown applies:

• $100 in recovery, after lawsuit
• – $40, which goes to the law firm for its work
• – $ 5, which goes to the law firm for legal costs
• – $10, which goes to the medical provider who provided treatment to the client
• Balance: $45. This is what is remitted to the client as their part of the case’s settlement proceeds.

Keep in mind that our fees and costs are two different things, and they are broken out. Our fees change based on where a case is at — whether it can be settled in prelitigation (before a lawsuit), or if it is resolved after a lawsuit is filed. We share this information to be transparent with our clients, so that they can have a good understanding of how our relationship works.

Before even signing up with us, talk to an attorney at our firm — whether it’s me or one of the other very capable attorneys at our firm. As us about how this works. Make sure you understand the terms of our representation, and ensure that your questions are answered, so there aren’t any surprises at the end.

Simplifying Personal Injury

Now, I’d like to switch gears and talk about our firm’s tag line, of “simplifying personal injury.” We adopted this tag line because I think attorneys in general overcomplicate the practice of law. There really isn’t a reason to overcomplicate the practice of law.

At Negretti & Associates, we try to use terms and explanations that make sense to everyone, without having to sound smarter than we really are.

Here’s an example: You may have heard, or may be aware of, a term called a statute of limitations. This simply means the deadline by which you have to file your lawsuit. Otherwise, if you don’t file your lawsuit within a window of time — in most personal injury cases, it’s two years — you lose the right to bring your claim.

The statute of limitations depends on where you the injury occurs and the type of case that you have. The statute of limitations for a dog bite case may be one year, depending on the state where the bite occurred. It’s important that you understand this deadline. If you don’t file your lawsuit to preserve your right to bring that claim — meaning you’re not protecting yourself — then you could lose the ability to bring that claim, and then there would be no recovery.

To keep things simple, we just use the word deadline when we’re talking about a statute of limitations. We understand the legal term statute of limitations, and that’s what the law says we have to abide by, but ultimately, we’re talking about a deadline. You have to file a lawsuit within a certain amount of time.

In law, we often use terms like prelitigation and litigation. But what does litigation mean? It refers to when you file a lawsuit — when you start the process of bringing a claim and involving the courts or a third party, such as arbitration. There are cases where we file an arbitration case — and it’s very similar to a lawsuit, but the process is a little bit different.

When you file a claim, you file a lawsuit. You’re now formally making it known that this is the position of your case, and you’re changing the way that it’s structured. Most of the time, once you do that, you involve a law firm on the other side. By contrast, before you file a lawsuit, you are usually just working with an insurance company, trying to get the case resolved through their claims adjustment process.

So, when I say that we are simplifying personal injury law, what I mean is that we are trying to explain things in a way that makes sense. This is why we explain our fees and costs on our web site in a very basic form, so that we are not using numbers that people can’t comprehend, or that people don’t understand. We try to talk like human beings.

When you hire us, you’ll find that we are different than the old-school law firms with imposing mahogany bookshelves and over-the-top chandeliers in their lobbies. That’s not who we are, because I think that’s not what people care about. I think people really care about connecting with the person representing them. I think they care that the person representing them actually cares about them.

People want to understand what is being explained to them. I don’t pretend to be an expert at finance, but when I talk to financial advisors, I want them to explain things in a way that I understand. I don’t want to shake my head because they are using big terms. I don’t want to be afraid to raise my hand and ask questions, because I’m afraid they are going to think less of me. I want to be able to say, “Look, I don’t understand what you are saying right now. Explain this to me in a way I can understand.” We try to do that every step of the way at Negretti & Associates, and that’s what we mean by simplifying personal injury.

We try to make the process of working with us simple, so that you understand things, and that you are fully informed as we progress. We try not to make it a challenge for you to be represented. You have enough challenges in facing the situation that caused the injury and receiving treatment from doctors and medical professionals. The last thing you want is a complicated process in the legal representation that you chose to engage in, to get your case resolved. We try to make it simple for you, the client, so that your process is straightforward and makes sense. At the end of the day, you should receive what we call fair compensation for what happened to you.

Throughout this Getting to Know Negretti & Associates series of articles, I hope that we’ve done a decent job of opening the curtain and showing you a little bit more about our law firm, why we do the work that we do, how we do the work that we do, and the people who do the work that we do.

If you have any questions about this don’t hesitate to call us. For a free consultation with our legal team, contact us online, call us at 1-833-827-3535, or send us a text. We don’t shy away from picking up the phone and having conversations. There are no dumb questions, and we really mean that! You shouldn’t feel silly asking questions about the representation or about where your case is headed or about why is this happening versus this? Don’t be afraid to ask us questions when we are representing you.

As part of his Legal Beagle podcast, Jonathan Negretti talks about the culture of Negretti & Associates and highlights the contributions made by the great team of people who comprise Negretti & Associates.

This is the second in a series of articles designed to help new and prospective clients become acquainted with Negretti & Associates. We offer this “peek behind the curtain” to showcase the inner workings of our firm — who we are, how we work, and what we believe in. Last week, we covered the three core values that are the foundation of what we do. Other articles in this series explore the types of cases that we handle and the states in which we practice law; and how we charge for representation and what our tagline “Simplifying Personal Injury” means.

By Jonathan Negretti

The people of Negretti & Associates are the reason why we’re successful in the practice of law. I have surrounded myself with terrific human beings. Not only are they very smart and capable at what they do, but they’re people who I can call friends beyond the boundaries of the law firm.

It’s unique to have a work environment where the people that you work with are fun to be around, and that feeling goes beyond the work that we do together. That is the common bond that brings us together, and we share a care and concern for one another.

To illustrate, I’d like to tell you a quick story.

In the early part of 2020, when everything started to shut down due to COVID-19, and the business that we were used to seeing was starting to contract, our staff rallied together. Rather than furloughing people temporarily, or possibly lay people off, we decided as a team that we would all take pay cuts, so that everyone could remain on staff. This was the consensus among all of our employees. There wasn’t one person who didn’t agree with that idea. This was such a great example of the way that our staff members view one another.

Our culture is a key reason why our staff turnover has been minimal over the past seven-and-a-half-years. In fact, we currently don’t have anyone on staff who has been with us for fewer than two years. To me, this reflects that we not only really enjoy our work, but we enjoy who we work with.

With that said, I’d like to profile each employee on our staff: how they became involved with Negretti & Associates, and the talents and skills that they bring to the firm.

Dylan McGurk

Dylan McGurk is our lead litigation attorney. Dylan joined our firm about two years ago. He is beyond talented. He is smart. He is compassionate. And he is a really good attorney.

I had the pleasure of going to law school with Dylan. We met early in law school, and we’ve remained friends ever since. Although he went on his own journey after school and I went on mine, we eventually linked up and began to work together.

It’s just such a joy to spend time with Dylan — to watch him with clients and opposing attorneys alike, and see the way he works to try to get cases resolved. It’s really fun to witness.

Kaivan Mangouri

Kaivan Mangouri probably has had the longest active role as an attorney with our firm. He joined us about five years ago, and he didn’t come to us with personal injury experience. Rather, he worked in different areas of estate planning and provided document review.

I remember I first meeting Kaivan. He was very inquisitive, asking lots of questions about what we were going to be doing if he joined us. He has never lost this inquisitive quality. He can dig and find information that the rest of the world just isn’t capable of finding. Yet, at the same time, Kaivan is incredible for seeing the big picture. Kaivan is an great attorney in the sense that he cares about the clients that he gets to work with, but he also cares about the other attorneys at the firm. He’s really always willing to help them.

In his role, Kaivan does things like mock depositions with clients to prepare them for their actual depositions. He understands the medical side of cases, and he has become so proficient at personal injury that he might know more about this area of law than I even do! That’s pretty impressive from someone who didn’t start in this area of practice right out of law school.

Carissa Dixon

Carissa Dixon joined Negretti & Associates more than five years ago — but not as an attorney. Actually, she started out with us as a law clerk. She was in California, where we have an office, so it made sense to have her join us there. Carissa worked part-time with us for quite a while, and later became a case manager. She had been an attorney in Maryland, but she wasn’t licensed in one of the three states that we practice in: California, Arizona, and Colorado.

Eventually, Carissa approached me and said, “Look, I’d like to get licensed in Arizona. That’s where our corporate office is. I’ll even sit for the bar exam if I need to.” At first, she applied to be licensed in Arizona thinking that her number of years of practice would allow her to be admitted through a paper application. Unfortunately, the State Bar of Arizona said no, that if she wanted to practice in Arizona, she would need to sit and take the bar exam in Arizona. During her pregnancy, she studied for the bar exam. When exam time came, she flew out to Arizona with her newborn, and passed the bar exam. So, she’s our newly minted attorney at Negretti & Associates!

Carissa is fantastic at what she does. She brings a completely different perspective on client interaction. Because she has had experience working on the defense side, she understands some of those dynamics, and how that might interplay with the work that we do. She is just a terrific human being, overall.

Now, I’d like to pivot and introduce you to our support staff: the people that help us to get cases focused, positioned, and ultimately resolved.

Aaray McKeen

When I discuss our support staff, the person I have to start out with is Aaray McKeen, our firm manager. She is who we call “Mama Bear” at the firm. We’re all her cubs! She is very protective, caring, and nurturing for everyone at the firm.

Aaray’s story is pretty incredible. She started out as a part-time administrative assistant with us years ago. As her role evolved, she continued to get promotions year after year, until eventually everyone recognized her importance to the firm. The work that she does is so much more than just focused in one area of our practice. Eventually, she was promoted to firm manager. Essentially, she runs the firm today.

Aaray does everything behind the scenes that people normally wouldn’t see on the client-facing side of things. She’s very involved with our clients. In fact, I don’t think there is one client at the firm that doesn’t know who Aaray is. That’s done by design. At one point, she was solely working with clients as a client coordinator, and just really making sure clients were well taken care of. She has never lost that passion and ability.

Now, she manages not only all the employees, but really everything under the umbrella of Negretti & Associates. She is a key part of what we do, and it’s been amazing to watch her progression of the last few years.

Stephanie Kilner

As our firm paralegal, Stephanie Kilner is my “Day One.” When I graduated law school, I started our firm right away — right out of law school — with a dear friend, Brian Holmes. Brian and I practiced in all different areas of law, and I naturally gravitated to personal injury. That’s all I wanted to do. We realized we were getting busier and busier, and we needed to bring on a paralegal. We were fortunate to find Stephanie and bring her on. We had a normal office environment. We all worked in an office together.

When Brian and I split — because there was another opportunity that Brian couldn’t pass up and, frankly, all I wanted to do was personal injury, so it worked out well for both of us — I went to a remote environment. It was the only way to make the firm survive, so I asked Stephanie to join me. It was my Jerry Maguire moment. (I didn’t have a goldfish, so I didn’t pick up a goldfish!) I was worried that Stephanie would say no, because she would have to work from home. Some people just like going to an office. But she responded, “Absolutely, I’ll come with you.” So, from our first day as Negretti & Associates, she’s been by my side every step of the way.

Stephanie has been a key component of what we’ve done and the growth that we’ve seen over the last seven-and-a-half years. Considering how it was just the two of us originally, it’s been fun to watch Stephanie’s family grow, watching her grow personally, and becoming her a friend and a colleague alongside all the people who have joined Negretti & Associates.

CJ Johnson

Carissa Johnson has got a really great story, which we have featured in a blog post and podcast before. She’s been featured internationally because of her work in the fitness community. Yet, she also suffered a really horrifying accident, and fought her way back. I would urge you to kind of read a little bit more about her story, just because it is so unique.

There’s actually two people on our staff named Carissa — which is very odd, since Carissa is not a very common name! Thankfully, Carissa Johnson agreed to allow us to call her by her initials: CJ.

Carissa works in Colorado, and is a really smart part of our staff. She originally started as an administrative assistant. Over time, she promoted to a law clerk. Today, she has a lot more interaction with clients, providing a lot of tangible case work — writing drafts and getting cases where they need to go. She really smart and amazing human being. And she’s got a terrific husband and beautiful kids.

Rosalva Loza

This takes us to Rosalva Loza — or “Rolo,” as we call her. Rolo has been with us for a few years, and she’s probably the funniest person on our staff. She is always willing to crack a joke. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, and certainly doesn’t take anything we do too seriously, with the caveat that we understand we’re dealing with really serious things at times. She always is willing to keep things light when people are extremely stressed out. She is really, really engaging, and easy to talk to. Because she is bilingual, Rolo is the go-to contact for our Spanish-speaking clients.

Wendi Bravman

Last, but certainly not least important, Wendi Bravman is our client coordinator. Wendy started with us just doing intake work — handling new cases, getting information from potential clients and talking with them about their cases, and then bringing that information to one of the attorneys to talk about, whether it was a case that we could help with.

Wendi has since been promoted to client coordinator, and she works in a role that Aaray once had years ago. Wendi remains very focused on intakes to this day, but does so much more than that. She’s one of those people who is always willing to raise her hand and say: “How can I help? How can I help with different aspects of the firm, whether it’s obtaining medical records, managing social media, or being more involved in the work that we do?” Wendi is always willing to support others and give others her admiration. It’s unique to have someone like that on the staff who really does care about everyone else, and really does want to see them do well.

At Negretti & Associates, we’ve been handling car accident claims for many years. As prospective clients have approached us regarding legal representation, we have encountered a wide variety of misconceptions, myths, and bad advice about how to resolve car accident cases.

Let’s dispel those myths!

Myth #1: A traffic citation equals fault.

This is a common misconception. Traffic citations do not equate to fault.

In fact, the police officers who respond to a crash do not determine fault. They simply issue citations for committing a traffic offense, such as speeding. After evaluating the whole situation, the insurance companies involved will decide on fault. However, the insurance company’s decision is not final. Fault is really decided by a jury of your peers. Learn how fault is determined in car accidents.

You shouldn’t assume that you are in the clear just because the other party was issued a citation. Conversely, don’t think you are out of luck because you were issued a citation.

Myth #2: You don’t need to call the police at the crash site. You can just exchange information with the other driver.

This simply isn’t true. You should always call the police if you are involved in a crash. The police can be instrumental in helping to acquire information that will be necessary to pursue your car accident claim. Officers may also take photographs and document other evidence that could be utilized later on.

Parties involved in a crash may provide old, invalid insurance cards or licenses that don’t have up-to-date home addresses. People are less likely to do this with the police.

Myth #3: I need to give a statement to both insurance companies: mine and the other party’s.

Do not give a statement to the opposing party’s insurance company without the assistance of an attorney. This could be fatal to your case.

Here’s an example to illustrate this point. Negretti & Associates once had a client who called the other party’s insurance company and gave them a recorded statement. When asked how our client was feeling, he said of his party, “We’re fine.” His response wasn’t meant to indicate that members of his party weren’t injured. He was simply responding politely. The insurance company later refused to pay for our client’s medical treatment claiming that our client was “fine” right after the crash.

Further reading: How to talk to insurance claims adjusters after an accident.

Myth #4: If I just get a chance to tell my story, the insurance company will do the right thing.

Don’t ever give an insurance company the benefit of the doubt. If an insurance company can find a way to pay you very little — or not pay you at all — it will do exactly that.

Insurance companies increase their profits be denying, rejecting, and failing to pay fair value on car accident claims. Thinking you can convince an insurance company to do the right thing is like thinking you can trust a thief with your wallet!

Myth #5: Initial offers made by the insurance company following an accident need to be accepted — or else, they will disappear.

The initial offer from the insurance company is going to be the lowest offer that they will ever make to you. Accepting it would be a mistake. Notwithstanding, the insurance company documents the file with the offer that they have made and places a range of value on your case. The initial offer will never disappear. It would simply be foolish to take it.

Myth #6: I get to keep everything the insurance company is offering as a settlement.

If the insurance company makes a full and final settlement for your car accident claim, that settlement includes your attorney fees, costs, medical bills, health insurance reimbursements, and any other outstanding balances or loans related to your case. If the insurance company makes an offer to settle your claim, the real question that you should be asking is, “What is the net amount to me?” This will tell you what get to keep.

Myth #7: Insurance companies will make a fair offer to settle immediately after the accident.

The word “fair” is subjective. What is fair to one person is not fair to another person. At Negretti & Associates, our experience tells us that most insurance companies will offer roughly $500 to settle your car accident claim sight unseen. That may seem fair at the time, but let’s play that out. A day or two after you settle your claim for $500, you start to experience terrible back pain. That back pain wasn’t there before the accident. You go to the doctor to get checked out and after trying conservative treatment option, you are recommended for surgery. After your surgery, your medical bills total over $100,000. You owe most of those medical bills out-of-pocket. At this point, would $500 still sound fair to you?

Myth #8: You should definitely go to the ER — even if you are not injured.

This bad advice probably originated from personal injury attorneys that really don’t understand injury law. If you are hurt, you should go to the ER. If the first responders recommend that you go to the ER, you should probably go to the ER. What you shouldn’t do is take an ambulance to the ER for the sake of doing so. It’s a waste of time, money, and resources. However, the adrenaline of an accident can mask the way that you are feeling right after an accident. If you get home and start to experience issues, don’t be afraid to go to the ER to get checked out.

Myth #9: If you’re not that hurt, you shouldn’t hire a lawyer.

Imagine that you were going to go play kickball against a really good team. Would you show up by yourself? Of course not! You would put together the best possible team so that you can beat the other guys. The same logic applies here. The insurance company is an entire team of people looking for ways to avoid taking responsibility and paying you for your losses. Don’t go into that game without help.

Myth #10: You can’t resolve your property claim until you resolve your bodily injury claim.

We often get called with this question. You can resolve your property claim before your bodily injury claim. In fact, you not only want to, but the law may require this. When you are involved in a crash, you have a duty to mitigate your damages. This means that you have to take responsible steps to avoid running up bills. You can’t go rent a car for a year and expect the insurance company to pay for it — absent a really unusual circumstance.

Myth #11: I can determine the value of my case by “Googling it.”

Sure, the Internet is a terrific resource. However, the Internet can also provide you with some bad information. Some personal injury attorneys have created what they call settlement calculators for you to use. These let you plug in your medical bills and lost wages, and the calculator will spit out a case value.

Unfortunately, these calculators are wrong. They try to use a one-size fits all approach for personal injury claims, which are entirely unique.

Do you know who else uses a one-size-fits-all approach? Insurance companies!

Don’t trust these calculators and don’t rely on generic articles that may be published by the insurance industry telling you what your case value is. Instead, hire an attorney and talk to her or him about how case value is determined.

Myth #12: You only have 30 days to make a car accident claim.

You typically have two years to resolve your claim or file a lawsuit to protect your rights to bring a claim. There is no legal requirement that you have to make a claim within a certain number of days. It’s probably important to put insurance companies involved on notice of your intent to bring a claim, but this is a fairly easy thing to do.

Insurance companies like to tell you what you have to do and how much time you have to do it. Don’t let them bully you around. Have a conversation with an attorney to get proper advice on how to put people on notice of your claim.

Myth #13: You shouldn’t make a claim with your insurance company if you are not at fault.

Oh, unlucky Myth #13 … This myth reflects the biggest disinformation campaign we have ever seen! It makes politics seem like child’s play! This myth was started by insurance companies to stop people from making claims, which obviously cost them money.

Why would you purchase coverage to use in the event of a crash, but then not use it if you have a crash? This makes no sense! Your insurance coverages are there to help you in the event that you have a crash.

Your insurance company might make it tough for you to use your coverages, but this doesn’t mean that they aren’t available to you. In fact, there are laws in most states that prevent your insurance company from raising your insurance premium if you make a claim and you are not at fault for the accident.

Myth #14: The insurance company will pay all of my medical bills.

As stated above, insurance companies are only interested in one thing: keeping their money. An insurance company will not pay all of your medical bills. It is more likely to argue that the treatment that you received was unnecessary and that the billing for your treatment was unreasonable. In other words, it will contend that your medical provider charged too much.

At Negretti & Associates, we have experienced situations where insurance adjusters have told people that they will pay all of their medical bills, only to turn around later and refuse to make payments.

Don’t get trapped by an insurance company! Rely on an attorney to help ensure your medical bills are paid.

Myth #15: Personal injury claims resolve quickly.

Injury claims take as long as they need to. This ensures that the injury claimant is fairly compensated for what has happened to him or her.

Of course, the insurance company will be happy to pay you fast — as long as you are willing to take a huge discount on what you are owed.

But, ultimately, the claims process should not be rushed. You only get one bite at the apple, so to speak, so resolving a claim too quickly could result in leaving compensation on the table.

When you hire an injury attorney, he or she will be as interested as you in resolving things expeditiously. Your attorney won’t get paid until you get paid.

Any good injury attorney will tell you to be patient, allow your medical treatment to play out, and don’t hurry to the finish line.

Myth #16: I don’t have health insurance, so I can’t get medical treatment.

Whether or not you have health insurance, there are always treatment options available to you, regardless of your ability to pay. If you find yourself in a crash and don’t have health insurance, you can still go to the ER and you won’t be turned away. If you need follow-up treatment, give Negretti & Associates a call, and we’ll give you some recommendations. Don’t suffer through your injuries thinking that you can’t see a doctor because you don’t have health insurance.

Myth #17: When I sue, I’m suing the insurance company.

Wrong! Incorrect! When you file a lawsuit related to your crash, you are suing the person who caused the crash. The insurance company of the person who caused the crash will hire and pay for an attorney to represent that person. The insurance company is still very much involved, but you are not suing it directly.

No one wants to sue or be sued. A lawsuit is borne out of necessity. It’s important to remember that the insurance company is forcing everyone into court — not the injury claimant (the plaintiff) or the person who caused the crash (the defendants).

Myth #18: You are “being greedy” when you ask for money to pay for your injuries.

You are not being greedy when you ask for money to pay for your injuries. Rather, you are asking to be made whole for what happened to you. This is your legal right.

Our judicial system is not an eye or an eye. We provide monetary justice. You get paid for what happened to you. You are allowed to recover, in the form of money, what you lost. It’s not supposed to be a windfall. You don’t win the lottery. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

You are not being greedy if you hire an attorney and pursue a claim. To the contrary, you are being smart.

Potential Myth #19: My past medical history has nothing to do with my current claim.

We would love to say this is a myth, but it remains a possibly true, on a case-by-case basis.

Your past medical history may not have anything with your current claim. However, if your injuries stem from prior issues, there may be a need to disclose parts of your past medical history. This can be a tricky situation. Having an experience injury attorney on your side is extremely important here.

What you don’t want to do is sign blanket authorizations for the insurance company and let it dig into your medical history. Not only are there privacy issues at play, but the insurance company is likely to point the finger at things that they find and say that your current injuries were not caused by the crash.

Potential Myth #20: I was a passenger in my friend’s car. Do I have to sue my friend?

This, too, remains a possibility — and not necessary a myth. Yet, this attitude reflects a misunderstanding of how things work. If you friend was at fault for the crash, then yes, there is a possibility that you will have to sue your friend to resolve your claim. But remember, as stated above, the insurance company for your friend would be the culprit here. If they would be fair and compensate you accordingly, there isn’t a reason to sue anybody.

If you have any questions regarding your car accident claim in Arizona, California, and Colorado, Negretti & Associates will be happy to help you find answers. For a free consultation with our legal team, call us at 602-531-3911 in Arizona, 619-777-3370 in California, or 720-636-3444 in Colorado. You can also contact us online or send us a text.

A Guide for Attorneys

In this series on electric scooter accident claims, previous articles explored how fault is determined in scooter accidents, as well as themes commonly found in scooter companies’ user agreements. Here, we’ll conclude by sharing insights regarding collecting evidence related to a case, what you might be asked to provide after initiating a claim, and what you can expect to encounter during the claims process.

As we discuss evidence collection in this article, we should be mindful that scooter accidents can spiral into many directions. Scooter claims can be incredibly complex. Scooters can fail, riders can run into cars, and cars can run into riders.

For the sake of simplicity, we will confine this discussion to product liability — scooters that have malfunctions, resulting in rider injuries. This is the territory of product liability claims, where the scooter company is the defendant in a case. We will focus on what happens when a scooter company is responsible, and what remedies attorneys and their clients have available to them.

Evidence Collection

When working on an electric scooter accident claim, attorneys frequently encounter the problem of evidence collection. In a scooter accident case, the critical piece of evidence is the scooter that was involved in the client’s accident.

Locating and obtaining the client’s scooter can be extremely challenging for two reasons.

• First, rental scooters are in a state of constant turnover. They’re routinely put into, and taken out of, circulation by companies and individuals who work on behalf of scooter companies as contractors. Scooters are used, collected, recharged, and put back on the street.
• Second, because they’re constantly in use, scooters do not last long. A review of scooter usage in Louisville, Kentucky in late 2018 showed that the average lifespan of a shared scooter was just 28 days.
• Third, it’s common for injured scooter riders to contact attorneys about their accidents well after their accidents have occurred. By the time you’re contacted, the defective scooter may have been serviced and put back into circulation multiple times.

With this said, when you’re working on a scooter accident claim, your evidence can disappear very quickly. If a scooter is damaged or involved in an accident, a scooter company might try to find that scooter through the GPS, remove the scooter from circulation, repair it, and redeploy it.

Finding the Scooter

As an attorney, knowing that you are working against the clock, how can you gain access to the scooter?

For starters, you should send a preservation letter to the scooter company, just as you would in any other personal injury claim. Send the letter by certified mail, FedEx, or UPS, so that you can track your letter and ensure it was received.

From there, be sure to identify the date and time of the ride. Ask your client to give you that information. Ask to see their app. Sometimes, ride information can be downloaded. Scooter company apps are generally good about saving all of this information. You can certainly take screenshots of the rides’ dates and times, and try to memorialize that information, so you have documentation of when the ride occurred, where the scooter was picked up, where the client rode it, and where it was eventually dropped off.

Photographs of the scooter after the accident also can be helpful. Especially useful are the identification numbers on the front of the scooter — right above the front wheel — or the scooter’s QR code. That information can help track the scooter’s current location.

Maintenance Records

Keep in mind that many, if not all, of the large scooter companies now collect robust data on their inventories. Therefore, it’s not impossible to determine whether a repair was performed on the scooter involved in your case.

Scooter companies most likely will have maintenance records on the scooter your client used. However, they will not turn these records over to you until you arbitrate and have subpoena power through the arbitration process. If you ask them to preserve their records, they may be available to you when you need it.

Witness Statements

Witness statements are critical to pursuing electric scooter accident claims. We’ve had a lot of claims come to us in which people were riding with their friends, but no one remembers exactly what happened, and no one actually saw the accident. Sometimes, the injured rider is behind the group when he or she falls, or encounters a dangerous condition. In these instances, there’s no viable statement that can be provided by any witness.

With this in mind, it’s critical to know who was with the rider at the time of the accident. Did anyone see the accident? Sometimes, the accident can be captured on video. Surveillance video is almost everywhere now. Do what you can to locate sources of surveillance video, which will be extremely helpful in explaining what happened and how injuries occurred.

Most of the time, when people are injured by some sort of accident that occurs on a scooter — unless it involves an automobile or maybe another person or something to that effect — people do not call the police.

Many of the potential claims we receive are single-rider accidents. People are injured because of a faulty brake or wheels; sometimes, they hit a pothole and go end-over-end. These types of accidents do not warrant police reports. For this reason, you cannot rely on police reports to be the saving grace that gets you the information you need as an attorney to pursue these claims.

In sum, the client will have to do much of the hard work regarding documenting the accident, so that you can assemble a clear narrative and make an adequate claim for the injured rider.

A Guide for Attorneys

This article is part of a three-part series that has been designed for the legal community, to outline the complexities of pursuing electric scooter accident cases. Additional articles discuss themes commonly found in scooter companies’ user agreements and evidence collection following a scooter accident. That said, we hope that the general public finds this helpful, as well — especially if you are in a situation where you’ve been injured on an electric scooter.

Electric scooters are everywhere. You see them for rent on city sidewalks — near parks, bars, and restaurants. Depending on where you are, you may see scooter brands like Bird, Lime, Wheels, or Jump. Scooters are typically rented for short rides, as an easy and fun way of getting around.

The growing popularity of scooters is undeniable. Their advocates — along with city officials and urban planners, alike — have hailed electric scooters as a key piece of the so-called “micromobility revolution.” They argue that scooters are helping to alleviate traffic congestion by taking lane-clogging, air-polluting cars off urban streets. This translates into reduced need for parking spaces and more opportunities for pedestrian-friendly areas.

All of this is well and good. But, as more riders have switched to scooters to get around downtowns and suburban neighborhoods, the number of scooter-related accidents has increased in lockstep. We’re seeing a lot of broken arms, clavicles, and legs — as well as facial injuries — related to these accidents, as riders jump or are thrown from their scooters and brace themselves for impact.

Years ago, scooters were initially deployed without any sort of real regulation or oversight from the governments. Prior their arrival, laws and city ordinances simply didn’t address their use. Local governments were blindsided by how they proliferated along sidewalks.

Today, cities and states are slowly starting to catch up to the potential negative consequences that scooters can cause on city sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and streets. City councils are putting laws and regulations into place to protect their citizens from injuries that may be sustained on these scooters.

At the same time, we’re learning of discussions about whether scooter companies should be required to carry a certain level of insurance for each and every scooter rider. Conversations are happening about whether insurance can be provided by third-party carriers, so that riders can opt into purchasing coverage prior to their rides.

How Fault Is Determined in Scooter Accidents

There are many misconceptions about how fault is determined in electric scooter accidents. No matter what, fault is not determined exclusively by scooter companies or these firms’ insurance companies. Nor is fault determined solely by scooter riders — or city governments, or the police.

Let’s dispel some myths:

• Companies such as Bird, Lime, Wheels, and Jump have insurance carriers that may say that they are the party that determines fault. Insurers can produce reports about the likelihood of a case’s outcome if it were put before a third party — such as an arbitrator or jury. However, insurance companies do not have final say regarding fault. It is not their decision.
• Cities are typically indemnified by scooter companies if someone is injured on a scooter while riding on a sidewalk, bicycle lane, or a city street.
• While police officers can issue citations for wrongdoing based on laws, they cannot determine fault.

Most commonly, the final say over who is at fault is a third-party arbitrator or potentially a jury of peers, who will render a verdict in a case regarding fault. It is possible that comparative allocation — or percentage of fault — can be a part of the verdict. In other words, the arbitrator or jury can rule that a scooter company may be 80 percent at fault, and the rider may be 20 percent at fault.

To understand how disputes of fault between parties can be resolved in electric scooter accident claims, it’s important to carefully review scooter companies’ user agreements, which commonly have arbitration provisions.

The Role of Arbitration in Electric Scooter Accident Cases

The most well-known electric scooter companies use arbitration provisions in their user agreements. These state that, in the event that a rider wishes to bring claim against the scooter company, the predetermined way is through a third-party arbitrator, rather than a court.

Arbitration is a little different than going into a courtroom. Instead of presenting your case before a jury, you usually deal with one arbitrator. Sometimes there may be a panel of up to three arbitrators. It’s really an informal courtroom procedure. You present your case in the office of an arbitrator office, who acts as a judge, in some regard.

After presenting your best case as a plaintiff, and the defendant presents its best case, the arbitrator makes a final decision. He or she will make a determination on how laws are applied, how contractual terms are applied, and then, ultimately, whether the rider or plaintiff is entitled to any sort of damages.

Rules of evidence and procedure still apply in arbitration. Depending on where a case is being arbitrated, these rules may be a little bit different.

Arbitration is binding. In other words, after a decision is rendered, you cannot appeal to a trial court. The decision is final; parties have to live with the decision. Scooter companies’ insurers are bound to arbitration decisions, as well. If an arbitrator were to award a plaintiff damages, the insurance company would have to pay for those.

Arbitration is something we’re seeing more frequently in agreements in which people enter into some sort of contractual relationship. In fact, there was a pretty tremendous injury claim in Texas — Phillips v. Neutron Holdings, Inc. — that was litigated against Lime’s parent company, Neutron Holdings. Although the case was litigated in the Texas courts, Lime moved to have the case dismissed and wanted to compel the plaintiff, the rider, to arbitrate the case.

Up Next

The next article in this series will discuss scooter companies’ user agreements in depth. We’ll explore what attorneys should look for in these user agreements, and how versions of agreements can offer clues that shed light on companies’ awareness of product liability.

If your law firm is working through a scooter accident case and has specific questions about scooter law, give Negretti & Associates a call. We’ll be happy to talk with you about what we’ve dealt with in the past and give you our playbook to help you. At the same time, if you want to get us involved to try to help you and your client, we’re happy to do that as well. Call us at 602-531-3911.