Intake: What You Should Know Before Contacting Us
Cases We Handle
At Berman & Simmons, our specialty is Personal Injury Law and our goal is to seek justice and compensation for people who have suffered catastrophic and life-altering injuries or have died prematurely due to the negligence of others. Our trial attorneys specialize exclusively in Plaintiff lawsuits involving medical errors, motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death, dangerous or unsafe property, defective products, and sex abuse.
Cases We Don’t Handle
Unfortunately, we get many inquiries about cases we don’t handle and areas of law in which we don’t practice. To save you time when seeking legal help, please review the list of the cases we DO NOT handle before calling us or submitting your inquiry.
What to Expect
Before contacting Berman & Simmons, there are several things you should know to ensure the process is as productive as possible. Below are some basic Intake steps and information needed to help you prepare for the conversation.
Step 1: Free Preliminary Intake Screening by an Intake Specialist
If you’ve been seriously injured and have questions about a potential case, don’t hesitate to contact us as soon as possible after the incident either by submitting an online form or calling.
Online forms will be processed by our Intake team. If you call, you will first speak to our receptionist who will transfer you to one of our Intake Specialists. If they are busy, please leave a message and they will return your call promptly. You will not be speaking with a lawyer directly at this time.
Information Needed From You
During the preliminary Intake screening, everything discussed is confidential. This conversation takes about 10-15 minutes. Our Intake Specialists cannot provide legal advice and are only gathering initial details about your potential case (or the potential case of the person you’re calling about), which includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Contact information (full legal name, address, phone number, date of birth, etc.).
- How you heard about Berman & Simmons (online search, referral, etc.).
- Type of personal injury case. If it’s a case we don’t handle, we may be able to offer a referral.
- Brief timeline of what occurred, including the date of the incident.
- Summary of injuries.
- Name(s) and location(s) of the healthcare center(s) where medical care was received.
- Name(s) and location(s) of the healthcare provider(s) who provided treatment.
- Name(s) of the insurance provider(s).
- Name(s) of other parties involved.
Step 2: Free Legal Review of Your Case by a Lawyer
Once our Intake Specialist has gathered information from you, your Intake summary is submitted to one of our lawyers who will carefully review it and determine if you have a valid case within one of our practice areas. If more information is needed, the lawyer or a member of their legal staff will contact you for additional details.
Berman & Simmons receives a high number of inquiries each day and our legal teams are very busy, so the initial review process can take up to 3-5 business days. We appreciate your patience during this time and discourage follow-up phone calls for status updates.
Step 3: Case Decision: Decline or Accept
If Your Case is Declined
There are several reasons why our lawyers may not be able to move forward with your case and, in fact, many cases we review are declined. If your case is declined, you will be contacted by mail, email or phone call and the matter will be archived.
If Your Case is Accepted
If your case is accepted, a member of the lawyer’s legal staff will be in touch to schedule a client meeting. During this meeting, the lawyer will learn more about your accident, your injuries and medical treatment, and how your life has been affected. He/she will answer all your questions and explain what will happen next. You will sign a written agreement to establish an attorney-client relationship with Berman & Simmons.
Depending on the type of case and severity of the injuries, the next phases of the legal process will include some or any of the following actions leading up to a final resolution: request for medical records and imaging and/or accident report, in-depth case work-up, research, pre-suit settlement, pre-panel hearing for medical malpractice cases, depositions, filing a lawsuit, pre-trial and discovery, trial, and outcome (win by settlement or trial verdict, loss, appeal).
A personal injury case can take months or years to resolve, and we will be with you every step of the way. As our client, we work with you on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not owe a fee unless we recover compensation for you.