Frequently Asked Questions

1. Call the police and ask that they fill out an accident report.
2. Get names, addresses, and phone numbers for all witnesses.
3. Take photographs of all vehicles and all the property damage if possible (it is good to keep a disposable camera in the car at all times.  It can come in handy)
4. Write down statements made by the other driver(s) involved in the collision.
5. Do not admit guilt.
6. Don’t deny that you are injured.
7. Complain of pain if you legitimately feel hurt.
8. If an ambulance is offered, take it.
9. Get checked out in the ER.
10. Get the name and location of where your car will be towed to, if your vehicle is drivable, take it to a body shop that is a member of the Auto Body Owners
11. Association of Utah.  Seek medical treatment before dealing with your car.
12. Call insurance to report accident, do not give a recorded statement until after you retain legal counsel.
13. Seek proper medical care from your Chiropractor as soon as possible after the Emergency Room.
14. Begin aggressive Chiropractic medical treatment.
15. Contact an attorney, as soon after you see your chiropractor as possible.

Insurance companies, agencies and others will assure you that you can handle the matter yourself and that hiring an attorney will just result in lost income or an increase in expense. The legal world is a complex one, with many traps for the unwary or inexperienced. Keep in mind the person or company making that assurance will usually have far more experience or training in the matter than you will. The other side’s interest is in their well-being, not yours. An experienced attorney represents your interests and protects you from those traps. Protection from judgments or other legal actions is worth far more than the upfront costs of an experienced attorney. A person handling a claim himself and obtaining $1,000 may be disappointed to learn later on that his claim was actually worth much more and his recovery would have been many times what he obtained by “doing it himself.” 

We primarily focus on personal injuries and related injuries described in "Practice Areas." If we can't help, we might be able to refer you to someone who can. Please give us a call. 

The attorneys at Larson Law are responsible for assisting their clients. You will always meet with an attorney at your initial visit. Larson Law has a staff of very experienced paralegals who can help you. If you need to speak directly with an attorney, you can leave your name and number and one of the attorneys will return your call. Remember our number is (801) 601-8323.

Keeping you informed will help you feel comfortable about what we are doing on your behalf.  At Larson Law, we believe that you have entrusted us with representing your case and, even though we are involved, the case will always remain yours. We will do everything we can to keep you informed about what is going on.  Please feel free to call us anytime. 

Every case is different.  However, typically this is a long process.  There are many factors which determine how long it will take to settle your case. We need to know that there are no additional injuries or complications likely to develop.  Once that point is reached and your doctor can, with reasonable accuracy, predict your course of recovery, we can approach the insurance company with a settlement proposal.

If we are unsuccessful in reaching an informal settlement, it may be necessary to file a lawsuit. The litigation process often takes months and sometimes years.  However, let us worry about the legal matters.  The most important thing for you to concentrate on is simply getting better!  We don’t get paid until you do. Consequently, we will work as fast as we can to produce the best result in the shortest amount of time. 

Your insurance policy may have rental car coverage.  If your policy does not have rental car coverage, it can become one of the components of damage for the insurance company who insured the person who caused the accident. You are entitled to a rental car only for that reasonable period of time that it takes to repair your own vehicle; or, if your car was a total loss, until such time as a reasonable and fair offer has been made on your totaled vehicle.  Once again, this is an area where we will help you receive fairness without a charge for our services.  Please talk to us for details.  

Your property damage is very important to us.  We will assist you in obtaining a fair value either for your car, if totaled, or for the damage to your car, if your car is repairable.  The true extent of your property damage is often very important to your bodily injury claim as well.  Often insurance companies will calibrate the value of your personal injury case by the extent of the property damage to your vehicle.  This is because Utah juries are not awarding sums of money when it does not appear to have been a very big accident.

You may have already resolved the property damage issue before coming to us, if that is the case, great.  However, if that is not the case, we are willing to assist you in resolving that portion of your claim and will not charge you for this service. We will need to obtain a copy of photographs of the physical damage to your vehicle and, if possible, photographs of the physical damage to the other vehicle(s) involved in the accident.  Please let us know where your vehicle is located and/or whether you have photos.  We will take photographs ourselves, if you do not have them available. 

We will do everything we can to work with your doctors and healthcare providers to assure them that the bills will be paid. It is against the Rules of Professional Responsibility for an attorney to pay those bills directly. Personal Injury Protection or No-Fault coverage is available to pay some of the initial bills. Likewise, once Personal Injury Protection or No-Fault is gone, your health insurance can step in to help pay the bills initially until the settlement occurs. If health insurance isn’t available, then we have many doctors who will work with us on a lien basis whereby they will wait to get paid until the settlement occurs because you will have signed an agreement to pay them out of the settlement. Some healthcare providers will not wait for payment. In those instances, it may be necessary for you to make monthly payments to them in order to keep them from turning your account over to collections. They are entitled to get paid, and there is nothing in the law that stops their right from trying to collect the money that is owed. However, we are successful in most instances in getting the creditors to wait to receive their money. Unfortunately, the entire process usually takes several months before everything is sorted out and resolved and the money paid. Because we work on a percentage basis, we don’t get paid until the case is closed, and so we try to work as fast as we can. However, in some instances there is simply nothing we can do to speed the process up any faster. The time period between the accident and the time the settlement comes is often stressful and frustrating. Still, we can make it much better and give the doctors and hospitals and ambulance companies a great deal of confidence in knowing that they will be paid and everything will work out. The insurance company that insures the party who caused the accident will generally not make payments in advance of the entire case settling. Such interim payments are extremely rare within the industry. Still, stick with us and be patient and things will probably work out just fine. 

There are many factors that influence the value of a case. You cannot make a determination of value based on a friend’s recovery, a relative’s experience or an article that you read in a newspaper. Each case is unique, with different facts, judges and juries. Your attorney will advise you of the estimated worth based on your special circumstances. 

Only one settlement or judgment is possible. If surgery is likely, it will be necessary for us to obtain the appropriate medical opinions that will support that conclusion. If surgery in the future is merely a possibility, the law will not allow compensation for possibilities. The jury is told that they are not to speculate or guess concerning the future.  Before something is considered to be proven in a court of law, it must, at a minimum, be more likely than not. Usually, surgery will have an impact on the value of a case. If you need surgery, you ought to obtain the surgery as soon as possible. Insurance companies will not pay for surgery that only might occur in the future.  If your doctor has discussed the possibility of surgery with you, please let us know so that we can obtain the proper documentation from your doctor. 

You can do several things.  First, concentrate on getting better. Keep your doctor appointments and follow your physician’s recommendations. Second, be patient.  This is a long process and you are in good hands, both medically and legally.  Third, send us copies of every medical bill or record you receive that relates in any way to your case.  Fourth, complete the questionnaire given to you in our office and return it to us.  Fifth, start and keep a diary or journal describing your experiences from the date of the accident through your care and treatment to the present time.  Often this journal, describing things related to the accident, will help your case in many ways.  Describe your pain, all of your suffering, your care and treatment, and the inconvenience of this event in your life.  This journal will help you remember what you’ve been through and will help prepare you for answering questions in depositions and interrogatories in the ligation process, if necessary.  Although you may remember many details now, a year from now you may have forgotten many important things.  If you have questions about keeping your journal, let us know. 

The contingency fee percentage is taken out before any outstanding bills are paid. Many times when a traumatic injury occurs, there are thousands of dollars in medical bills. This indebtedness can become a great burden to any family.  By obtaining a settlement that pays your bills, we are providing for you a great service.  Because of some of the factors outlined above, the amount that you end up with, after all of your bills are paid, may be less than the amount of the combined medical bills and attorney’s fees.  It is not our intention for this to occur, but it is a real possibility, given the financial dynamics of smaller cases. 

The person that caused the accident (and hence their insurance company) is only obligated to pay you for the fair market value or sometimes called the “actual cash value” of your damaged car. Frequently, especially in long-term loan situations where little money was paid down when the car was purchased, the first couple of years in a purchase agreement will actually have the value of the car depreciating faster than the balance will be paid off. Most of the first two years of payments for a car involve the paying first of the interest on the loan. Usually when a car is driven off of the sales lot, it immediately depreciates a thousand dollars or more. Even if you owe more money on your car than it was worth at the time of the accident, the insurance company is only obligated to pay you what the car is worth, nothing more. 

A variation on this question is also “Will I be harming the person I’m bringing a claim against if I make a personal injury claim?” In either situation, whether there is or is not litigation involved, the person who caused the accident has already had their record tarnished by the occurrence of the accident for which they are at fault. It does not matter whether or not any person injured in that event brings a claim or files a lawsuit. Whatever negative things come, if any, which may happen to the person who caused the accident has already happened as soon as the insurance company involved realizes that its insured caused an accident. Many insurance companies do not have anything negative happen to the person unless the accident is one too many. Some insurance companies allow “one free accident” without any adverse effects on the person’s insurance rating. If there is anything negative that happens to an individual who causes an accident, it will either be that his insurance rates or premiums increase somewhat or the insurance company may actually drop him as an insured. If the person who caused the accident also received a ticket from any law enforcement entity, he may also have to pay a fine for receiving the ticket. This is the way it should be. When someone causes an accident that causes injury or damage or harm to another individual, he needs to be accountable and responsible for whatever harm or injury he caused. Because of the existence of insurance, the person generally will not have to pay anything out of his own pocket for the damages caused to the party who was injured. However, if he has to pay a ticket, that will be out of his own pocket. Still, that is a fairly light responsibility for injuring another individual in our society. Nevertheless that is the way our system works. 

Our attorneys make every reasonable effort to reach a resolution of the case prior to going to court. At times, a trial or court hearing is necessary to arrive at a desired resolution or to protect your rights. Your attorney will advise you of your options at every stage of your case.