When clients want to avoid spending a lot of time and money in litigation, Early Neutral Evaluation provides a good option to resolve the case, fairly. In Early Neutral Evaluation, a neutral specially trained attorney evaluates the factual and legal issues in the civil case to arrive at a valuation. Early Neutral Evaluation may be employed in any civil case, including personal injury and small business matters.

What should you do after a car accident? Are you looking for an accident lawyer near you? Do you have questions about car accident injury settlement amounts? Are you worried because the insurance company refuses to pay your auto claim? Do you wonder, "should I get an attorney after a car accident?" These are complicated questions that can be difficult to answer.

Many of the attorney-mediators in civil legal cases trained in an evaluative style of mediation.  Bush and Folger in The Promise of Mediation sum it up as mediation that requires mediators to “steer them towards outcomes in substantive conformity with legal rights.” Kate Shonk, in Choose the Right Mediation for You observes, “Mediators are more likely to make recommendations and suggestions and to express opinions. Instead of focusing primarily on the underlying interests of the parties involved, evaluative mediators may be more likely to help parties assess the legal merits of their arguments and make fairness determinations. “

When property is damaged and when we are injured, we should expect that the insurance company will treat us fairly. However, insurance companies do not always treat claimants fairly, and you may want to talk with an attorney to be sure that the insurance company is following the law in responding to your claim. Waugh Law & Mediation works with people who have suffered losses and are seeking compensation from the insurance company.

Contempt of court occurs when a court issues an order requiring that a person (or company) do something, and that person disobeys the court order.  The injured or aggrieved party requests that the court find that person in contempt and take action to ensure compliance with the order. In other words, once the court issues a ruling, so long as that ruling is in effect, anyone who is ordered to do something in the order must do it, or the court may find them in contempt.

After you've injured your back or neck in a car wreck, you may be wondering what's wrong with me? Can you feel better? How long will it take? First of all, let me remind you: I am not a physician, and this is a blog post that does not include legal or medical advice. You should always talk to your doctor and design a treatment plan that is best for you. In this post, I’m going to list some of the kinds of treatment that clients in my legal practice have told me that they find helpful for their back and neck injuries.  

Recently I volunteered with the West Virginia State Bar to answer phones on Tuesday night when we offer free information by calling a toll free state-wide hotline.  I had a number of calls, but one of them was very disturbing. This caller lost her in-home services provided by Medicaid when her attorney settled her case without addressing this issue.  For a very small settlement, the caller lost her in-home service provider and risked being placed in a nursing home.  With proper planning, this did not have to happen!

Moving on after you have suffered an injury or loss can be difficult.  Mediation is often the best way to to resolve a civil case and be able to move on.  If selected early, mediation saves time and money for both parties in legal expenses.  Our office encourages clients to participate in mediation at the earliest possible date, often BEFORE filing suit, to be sure to gain the most benefit possible from early resolution.  In many states mediation is required in all civil cases before a trial is scheduled.  Even when you don’t reach an agreement during the first session mediation can be helpful.  About 98% of all civil cases settle before trial so it is likely that your case won’t go to trial.  Sometimes the progress made in mediation sets the matter up so that it will be more likely to settle quickly and fairly following the mediation.  Sometimes a further session is helpful.  If your case is resolved in mediation, you can expect a few steps to finalize the resolution.

After an accident, most of us just want to put the whole thing behind us! But how do we move on with so many bills?  A simple trip to the emergency room may result in five or six medical bills:  the ambulance, the hospital, the emergency room doctor, the radiologist and the prescriptions.  What can you do?  How can these bills be paid? 

Can you represent yourself in court? It depends! Some matters are simple and litigants can find the resources that they need to go to court without a lawyer. In other situations, you should never go to court without a lawyer to guide you through the process. Brenda Waugh provides legal and mediation services in Virginia and West Virginia and can help you decide when you need a lawyer and what process—litigation or mediation may be best suited for your legal problem.

We are experiencing a cold snap in the DC area.  Please be careful!  But if you are injured, be sure to take it easy, recover fully and follow these guidelines before your settle your personal injury matter involving the fall.