Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice?
A. I am a trial attorney and have been in practice since 1973. I graduated Emory Law in 1973. My undergraduate degree is a BA from Rutgers in 1964.. My full bio is on my web site. www.robertswindholz.com
Q. If a mom asked you to tell us what does personal injury mean what would you say?
A. Personal Injury is essentially at its core, redress for injury or harm caused by the negligence of others. Personal relates to the body as opposed to Property damage cases.
Q. People have accidents every day what separates a simple accident from one where a person should seek your firm’s assistance?
A. There is no thing as a simple accident. Injury can result from simple uncomplicated situations, such as an auto being hit in the rear while stopped, but which results in great harm to the occupant of the car. Or it can be a very complicated event, such as carelessness by a health care practitioner, but where the damage or harm is minimal.
Attorneys who represent injured persons in negligence cases do so [usually] on a contingent fee, usually from 25% to 50% of the amount successfully obtained for the client\'s injury. The more complicated and costly a case is to handle, the higher the fee percentage. Medical Negligence cases are usually 40-50%, because of the difficulty in prevailing on these cases.
Q. Many people have never called a lawyer before. What should they expect when they call your office? Put people at ease…
A. We are here to help anyone who calls or wants to have an appointment to discuss any case issue. Our usual practice is to ascertain during a phone interview, if the case has merit and if we will consider appearing based on the prospects for helping the client in the matter.
There are many variables that go into the decision to take a case. Unfortunately, the extent of injury is usually the driving force. However . this does not mean we won t help people with modest or moderate injury cases.
Q. Do you offer free initial consultations?
A. Yes. The phone call is free and if we want to meet with the person, we do not charge for the visit. Only, if the client hires us are we going to be paid.
Q. How long after an incident does one have to hire an Attorney?
A. Most injury cases have a two year statute of limitations from the date of the injury. An injured person should contact an attorney shortly after they have been medically treated and will need to have someone helping them, who is familiar with the tactics of the insurance industry.
Q. How is a claim processed?
A. This is done by the attorney with the insurance company. It can be a long process. Some insurance companies do not operate in full good faith with injured persons. In some situations, it can be appropriate to initiate a lawsuit, rather than deal with the company. This is not usually the case but.............
Q. What damages can one recover?
A. Special and general damages. In some cases punitive damages for aggravated circumstances and sometimes attorney\'s fees. Special damages are out of pocket losses e.g.. medical costs, drug costs, lost wages and items in this general class. General damages are commonly referred to as pain and suffering.
Q. What sorts of damages are covered under Atlanta Personal Injury Law?
A. All injury cases in Georgia are covered under the law of the State of Georgia. Atlanta does not have any law governing these cases. The city has traffic laws, which can be violated, but nothing that relates to damages. The complete law in the injury area is found in the Official Code of Georgia. Annotations and the legal interpretations of that law are given by the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
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