You and Your Personal Injury Claim
At Bakke Norman, S.C., we have attorneys experienced in handling personal injury matters. We employ skilled legal assistants and paralegals to help you and your attorney with your file and to assure you of the best professional representation. You are encouraged to contact the legal assistant or paralegal regarding any questions about your case if the attorney is unavailable. A legal assistant or paralegal is not an attorney and is not permitted to give legal advice. However, the legal assistant or paralegal can answer many questions regarding your case. The legal assistant or paralegal will refer questions calling for legal advice to your attorney.
Initial Information
When you are first interviewed, general information is obtained regarding the incident. A questionnaire that collects and organizes necessary information is provided for you to complete and return to the office as soon as possible. We ask you to sign authorization forms. Those forms allow us to gather additional necessary information. For example, we use authorizations to obtain school, work, financial and medical information.
You will receive a Fee Agreement regarding the terms and conditions of payment of attorneys’ fees and costs advanced by Bakke Norman, S.C. The Fee Agreement is to be signed by you and the representative attorney from Bakke Norman, S.C. You will also receive information regarding our billing and collection policies. Costs will be incurred and advances paid during our representation, including such things as the cost for obtaining medical records, doctors’ reports and accident and police reports; investigation, expert witness, filing and process service fees; deposition transcript and court reporter fees; and any other costs incurred during the investigation of the claim and possible lawsuit. We will usually advance these fees and costs and recover them at the case’s conclusion. We will discuss the costs and potential benefits of investigators and experts with you.
You will receive copies of all correspondence received or mailed by Bakke Norman, S.C. relating to your case. Please review these materials. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the attorney, legal assistant or paralegal handling your case. We welcome your telephone calls and e-mail with questions about your case or with new information we need. The telephone is an important tool for the ongoing communication between attorney and client. When your attorney is in court or meeting with another client, your call might be referred to the legal assistant or paralegal assisting on your file. Please be prepared to discuss the matter completely with the legal assistant or paralegal. If you must talk personally to your attorney, leave a detailed message, and your attorney will return the call as soon as possible. We will make every effort to respond to your inquiries promptly.
Please begin a journal or diary (tape recording if you don’t like to write) in which you regularly record how the incident has affected you. In it, you should tell how or where you hurt, the things you used to do that you can’t do anymore, the ways in which you used to relax or enjoy yourself that you can’t anymore, the names of people who have talked with you about your injury and their comments, the expenses you have to pay because of your injuries, and anything else you feel is important for us to know and/or for you to remember. Be complete and thorough! If you have any questions, call the attorney, legal assistant or paralegal assigned to your case.