Personal Injury

The personal injury attorneys at Axley understand it’s common for injury victims to feel frustrated and overwhelmed as you try to pay bills, keep up with medical appointments, and deal with everything else in your life.  At Axley, our personal injury lawyers and staff will take care of all aspects of your case so you can focus on your recovery.

Fees

After being injured, everyone experiences financial difficulties, and most people who are recovering from injuries or emotional trauma do not have extra money to pay an attorney upfront. At Axley, we do not collect money initially, and our team does not charge you unless we are able to get compensation for you.

Personal Injury Attorneys

Commonly Asked Questions

When should I call a personal injury lawyer?

If you have been injured, you should call a personal injury lawyer right away.  You may not need to hire a lawyer, but the sooner you talk to one the better off you will be. If you have been injured in a car accident, insurance companies will start calling you on the day of the accident.  Once you have hired a personal injury attorney, the insurance company will talk to your lawyer and you will not have to deal with them.

If you have been injured in a fall or some other way, you still should call a personal injury lawyer right away.  The sooner you talk to a personal injury attorney, the sooner you will be taken care of.  If you call the personal injury attorneys at Axley, you will actually speak to and be helped by one of our personal injury lawyers.  We also have a team of other lawyers who practice in nearly every other area of the law.  So, if your case is unusually complex or you need help with other things, we have the resources to help you.  We will take care of you from the beginning until the end.

 

When do I pay a personal injury lawyer?

If you have been injured in a car accident, you should be able to talk to a personal injury lawyer for free right away.  In most cases, you do not pay any legal fee unless you receive compensation; and, you do not pay for you lawyer’s time until after the case is over.  That’s the Axley promise.

Once you decide to hire an Axley personal injury lawyer, then you and the lawyer will enter into a contract to pay for the lawyer’s time and expenses.  The Axley personal injury lawyers do not charge a retainer, and do almost all of their cases on what is called a contingency fee agreement.  With a contingency fee agreement, you do not pay for our lawyers’ time spent on the case unless the personal injury lawyers at Axley are able to get you compensation for your injuries.  At Axley, in the very rare cases when our personal injury lawyers are not able to get you compensation, there is no fee for their time.  In the majority of the cases that the Axley personal injury lawyers do, the contingency fee is a percentage of the total compensation that we get for you.  In addition to fees for the time spent on your case, there are also costs and expenses.  At Axley, we pay upfront for and track all of the expenses on your case.  When we resolve your case and get you compensation, the expenses are reimbursed to Axley.  In Wisconsin, a law firm and a client must agree in writing as to the fees for time that will be charged and how the costs and expenses will be dealt with.  At Axley, we try to make it as easy as possible for you.

 

What should I bring with me to my meeting with a personal injury lawyer?

When you meet your lawyer for the first time, you should try to bring everything you have about the accident.  You may bring pictures, medical bills, police or accident reports, medical records and any letters you received from an insurance company.  The more information you can provide your lawyer, the better prepared your lawyer can be from the beginning.

 

I was in a car accident. Does that mean I have to go to court?

No. Most cases can be settled without having to file a lawsuit in court.  And, even if a lawsuit does have to be filed, the vast majority of cases are settled without having to go to trial.  At Axley, we work hard to settle your case without the uncertainty of a jury trial. However, our team of litigators has handled jury trials all over Wisconsin, and are well-equipped to take your case the distance if needed.

 

The other driver’s adjuster is asking me to release my medical records. Should I?

No.  Your health information is personal to you, so you want to protect it as much as possible. By hiring a personal injury attorney, you can better protect your personal information. Insurance companies will want you to sign a very general release, entitling them your personal information. At Axley, we’ll provide what is necessary to prove your claim, but also work to ensure your privacy is respected as much as possible.

 

How much is my case worth?

When you are injured, you should receive compensation that is fair and reasonable for the harms and losses that you suffered. Your medical bills that are caused by the accident should be paid. Your lost wages should be covered, even if you had paid time off. And, you should receive money damages for your past and future pain, suffering, disability and loss of enjoyment of life.  When you add all of those things together, you can determine the reasonable value of your claim.

 

How much will it cost me to hire a lawyer for my case?

At Axley, there are no upfront costs to hire one of our personal injury attorneys. There is no retainer required. There is no hourly fee. In fact, we only charge a fee if we obtain compensation for you.  Our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you.

 

Do I have to notify my insurance company of the accident?

Yes. You should contact your own insurance company as soon as possible after being in an accident.  You do not have to contact the other driver’s insurance company. In fact, if the other driver’s insurance company tries to contact you, you should first talk to a personal injury attorney to understand your rights.

 

Do I have to notify the other driver’s insurance company of the accident?

No. You have no obligation to contact the other driver’s insurance company. In fact, you should first contact your own insurance company to report the accident.  And, before you talk to any other insurance company, first you should consult with a personal injury lawyer.

 

How long do I have to bring a car accident claim?

In Wisconsin, you generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit.  If you wait more than three years, you will be forever barred from pursuing your claim, regardless of your injuries and regardless if the accident was your fault.

 

Client Successes

Drunk Driving Accident – $750,000
$750,000 to a woman severely injured in a car accident caused by a drunk driver
Straka, Heath P.
Car Accidents, Personal Injury
Head-on Collision – $2.2 Million
$2.2 million to the surviving spouse of a man killed in a head-on collision car crash
Straka, Heath P.
Car Accidents, Personal Injury
Van vs. Semi Accident – $3.75 Million
$3.75 million to a developmentally disabled man who was rendered a paraplegic in a van / semi accident

Featured Insights

Article

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

The month of May marks National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. In Wisconsin, there are 545,587 drivers with Class M motorcycle...
Article

Provisions Related to Civil Tort Liability

Included in the recently enacted CARES Act are provisions that limit civil liability.  Those provisions relate to certain issues involving...
Article

Discretionary Immunity Dodges a Bullet

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent decision in Engelhardt v. City of New Berlin (2019 WI 2) sends mixed signals on...

Contact Axley

  • Disclaimer

    DISCLAIMER: The use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. Please DO NOT send any information to us regarding a specific legal matter until you have spoken with one of our attorneys and obtained authorization to do so. Any communication with us through this site or by e-mail will not be considered privileged or confidential.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.