Tallahassee Personal Injury Attorney - An Interview with Dean R. LeBoeuf
Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice
A. I have been practicing law for almost 28 years. I grew up in Miami, Florida and moved to Tallahassee, Florida for college at FloridaStateUniversity in 1974. I graduated from FSU with honors in 1978 and stayed at FSU for law school. After graduating from law school in 1981, I went to work for the firm of Brooks and Callahan in Tallahassee Fl. In 1987 I became the managing partner of Brooks and LeBoeuf and the firm has been together ever since. During the past 22 years we have added 7 more lawyers to our practice. We are currently known as Brooks LeBoeuf Bennett Foster & Gwartney P.A. and we handle serious Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home neglect or abuse cases in Florida, Georgia,Mississippi and Alabama. We have been recognized as a Pre eminent Law Firm by Martindale- Hubbell the most respected law firm rating service in the world. I have also served as president of our local Bar Association. In 2006, I was selected by the Tallahassee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates as their Trial Lawyer of the Year. For more information about our lawyers or our areas of practice I invite you to our website, which can be found at www.toomuchatstake.com
Q. Do you offer free initial consultations?
A. Yes, we offer free initial consultations in all of our cases.
Q. Do you accept any of the pre-paid “ legal plans” that are offered to help with legal fees?
A. Yes, we are a member of several pre-paid legal plans.
Q. If a mom asked you to tell us what does personal injury mean what would you say?
A. This is a very good question. Lawyers have a tendency to throw around legal terms all the time assuming people understand their meaning. In the legal context Personal Injury cases involve those cases where an individual is injured by the negligence of “ someone else” . A Wrongful Death case is one where a person is killed by the negligence of “ someone else” . A Medical or Dental Malpractice case involves a person being injured or killed by the negligence of “ someone else” usually a health care provider. The “someone else” can be an individual or a corporation. The “ someone else” is usually represented by lawyers, who are usually paid by an insurance company.
Q. People have accidents every day. What separates a simple accident from one where a person should seek your firm’ s assistance?
A. Bad things happen to good people all the time. So, just because something bad happens to a good person it does not mean they have a Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice or Dental Malpractice claim. You should seek the advise of a lawyer with a concentrated practice in Personal Injury claims, if you feel that you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of someone else’ s negligence. A simple way to look at this is to ask the question, Did “ someone else” do something that a reasonable person would not do, that resulted in injury or death? If the answer is yes, you should consult with a lawyer who concentrates his or her practice in this area of the law. An example might be “ Someone else” drove his company car while drunk and ran a red light causing a collision that injured your father. In that case the “ someone else” is the driver of the car and the company that he owned. They did something they should not do and their actions resulted in injury to your father. Sometimes these issues can be very complicated, so when in doubt most lawyers offer free consultations. Therefore, it is always better to be safe than sorry and consult with an attorney.
Q. What is the process to file a personal injury lawsuit?
A. Before filing a Personal Injury lawsuit a lawyer should conduct a thorough investigation. That is why a lawyer should be contacted as soon as possible, so that essential information is not destroyed before it can be evaluated. With a thorough investigation we are able to settle over 95% of our cases to our client’ s satisfaction, without ever having to file a lawsuit.
Q. What type of personal injury claims are there?
A. There are many different types of Personal Injury cases, the most common ones deal with all types of motor vehicle collisions, including pedestrian collisions, bicycle and motorcycle collisions, tractor, trailer and train accidents, airplane and boating accidents, as well as injuries or death due to defects in any of those vehicles or products. Then we have cases against health care providers that include doctors, nurses and aides as well as hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well a, group homes for the elderly or persons with disabilities. We also have claims against drug manufacturers or medical device or artificial joint manufacturers for negligence associated with their products. The list goes on and on. That is why you should always go back to the question I posed in a previous question. Did “ someone else” do something or even fail to do something they should have done, that resulted in injury or death to someone else? If the answer is yes, you should consult with a lawyer.
Q. From a legal standpoint what is the meaning of pain and suffering?
A. Pain and Suffering is a legal term that is also oftentimes thrown around freely and not always understood. In a legal context Pain and Suffering refers to a person's damages, other than lost wages or medical bills. If for example you are severely burned and disfigured as a result of the burn, in addition to your medical bills and lost wages as a result of your injury you would be entitled to money damages for the pain you endure as a result of that burn, as well as the emotional pain and humiliation you endure as a result of the disfigurement from that injury. Pain and Suffering can include monetary damages for loss of enjoyment of life as well.
Q. What are the legal steps and costs involved with accident cases or any other type of personal injury case, such as car accidents slips and falls, assaults, work injuries and defective products, medical or dental malpractice claims?
A. As previously stated the first step in any potential case is a thorough investigation. Sometimes, that involves hiring private investigators, doing legal research or hiring and consulting with experts. The extent of the investigation and related cost will depend on the type of case. Once the investigation is completed most of our cases settle with the clients’ approval. Since we handle almost all of our Personal Injury cases on a Contingent Fee, the client is not responsible for any attorney fees or cost unless we are successful in making a financial recovery for them.
