| Protect
your rights.
You have been bitten by a dog and you are worried about who
is going to pay your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and
suffering. The last thing you want is to be taken advantage
of by an insurance company. If you don’t protect your rights,
you may not be able to make a claim. Insurance companies have
attorneys and adjusters whose goal is to pay you as little
as they can. You need an Oregon dog bite attorney to help
you with your claim.
Why
should you hire attorney Michael Colbach?
You need an attorney who will work hard to protect your rights,
maximize your insurance settlement and minimize the hassles
of dealing with the insurance companies. You need an experienced
and aggressive Oregon trial lawyer with PROVEN
RESULTS who will fight for you. Having an experienced
Oregon dog bite attorney can make the difference between getting
what you deserve and getting nothing.
Trial Attorney with over $12 million in verdict and settlements in just the last four years.
Without the threat of a lawyer who is willing to go to trial and seek a big jury verdict, why would an insurance company pay you what your claim is really worth? Lawsuits can be expensive, and many people do not have the money to pursue their claim. In every case, I advance all costs associated with pursuing your case and I do not ask you for a penny until we recover from the other side.
An Oregon Personal Injury attorneys who fights for all injured people, not just his clients.
I want to make sure that no injured person is taken advantage of. I have spoken before the Oregon State Legislature to try and get them to change Oregon Personal Injury laws to better help injured Oregonians and I will continue to do so until they quit siding with big insurance companies and start siding with the people who they are supposed to represent.
An Oregon Personal Injury attorney who teaches other lawyers how to better fight for their clients.
I believe that I have a duty to help young and inexperienced lawyers better serve their clients. I am the co-chairperson of the Oregon Trial Lawyers motor vehicle section. What this means is that I put on classes to teach other lawyers how to better serve injured Oregonians. I do not get paid for teaching and putting on these classes. I do it because it is the right thing to do and I want to try and help other lawyers do a better job in helping their clients. I also put on these classes as they help me stay on the cutting edge in new trial tactics and changing laws.
An
experienced trial lawyer can make the difference.
I am an experienced aggressive trial lawyer who has tried
over 100 cases. I am not afraid to take your case to trial
if that is what it takes to maximize your dog bite recovery.
I offer one-on-one service, and I wil not hand
your case off to an inexperienced lawyer or a paralegal.
Reduce
the stress of making a claim.
A dog bite injury can be very painful and upsetting. Making an insurance
claim can be difficult and time consuming. Once I take your
case, you can stop worrying about dealing with the insurance
companies and focus on recovering from your dog bite. I take
care of all of the paperwork, phone calls, and negotiations,
so you can get on with your life.
I
handle dog bite injury cases
on a contingency fee basis.
This means:
YOU
DON’T OWE ME A LEGAL FEE
UNLESS I RECOVER MONEY FOR YOU.
Oregon Dog Bite Injury Attorney
Frequently
Asked Questions
Q:
What should I do if I am bitten by a dog?
A:
Report it right away and seek medical attention as soon as
possible. It is very important that you find out who the owner
of the dog was as soon as possible so you can protect your
claim.
Q:
How soon after the dog bite should I call you?
A:
Call me immediately. Do not give the dog owner’s insurance
company a statement until after you have talked to a lawyer.
I make a point of returning all calls and e-mails promptly.
If you have been injured by a dog bite, you need to know right
away what insurance coverage is in place to cover your medical
expenses and lost wages.
Q:
What is my claim worth?
A:
The value of your dog bite injury claim depends on the severity
and permanency of your injuries. Every case is unique. Contact
me now for a free consultation so I can assess your claim
and tell you what I think it is worth.
Q:
Should I accept the offer that the insurance company has given
me?
A:
Not without talking to a lawyer. Insurance companies rarely offer you a fair amount for your injuries without a lawyer. Two extreme examples are one case where my client was offered $4,000 before he hired me. At trial a jury awarded us $550,000. In another case client was offered $1,500 and a jury awarded us $138,000. Insurance companies do not get to determine the value of your injury case, that is up to you or a jury. If you have already received an offer for your injuries, contact me and I will let you know if I think it is a fair offer. I will not charge you for this consultation. If I do not beat their original offer to you, I will not charge you an attorney fee.
Q: Do insurance companies treat lawyers who try cases differently than “trial cowards” that don’t try cases?
A: Yes. They pay their clients less. Below is a quote from Reptile, a book by David Ball and Don Keenan. David Ball is the best trial consultant in the country and Don Keenan is the best trial lawyer in the country. This is why I try cases. Most lawyers don’t. Who would you rather hire?
The insurance companies know every negotiation move you’ve ever made. They know if your comfort level is limited to settling in order to avoid trying cases — or if you will do the best for your client even if “best” means walking out of mediation and into trial. If your trial threshold is too high, change it. If you are or remain a trial coward, especially once you’re armed with the methods in this book, you’re in the wrong job and you ought to tell that to your prospective clients. Your client deserves a lawyer the insurance companies respect. And that respect is independent of any particular case.
http://www.reptilekeenanball.com
Q:
Will I get to talk to a lawyer if I call?
A: Yes. Everyone who
calls for a free consultation gets to talk to a
lawyer. I do not have my staff screen cases. Usually you will
get to
talk to a lawyer right away or later the same day.
Q: Should I call you even if
I want to handle my claim myself?
A: Yes. In a few minutes
over the phone I can usually give you an
estimate of what your claim is worth so you don't get ripped
off by the
insurance company. If they give you an offer and you later
hire me, I
will not charge you a fee unless I can increase the amount
that goes
into your pocket.
Q:
Can
I recover if the dog has never bitten anyone before?
A:
Yes. Some people are under the impression that a dog has to
have bitten someone else before for you to recover from your
dog bite. This is not necessarily true. Your ability to recover
will be based on the specific facts of your case. I have succeeded
before where I had no evidence that the dog had bitten someone
before.
Q:
How do I know if I have a good dog bite case?
A:
You need to contact me right away and we can discuss your
case. My consultation on a personal injury case is always
free.
Q:
How long does it take to settle most Oregon dog bite
and personal injury cases?
A:
It depends on the nature of your dog bite or personal injury
claim. I have settled smaller claims for the full amount my
client wanted within 10 days and I have settled policy limits
cases in as little as a few months. Larger cases typically
take longer to settle. Oregon law has a provision that can
require insurance companies to pay my attorney fees for dog
bite cases under $5,500, so oftentimes these cases can be
resolved quickly, as the insurance companies don’t want to
get a big attorney fee bill from me.
Q:
Will pursuing my case take up a lot of my time?
A:
No. Oftentimes I only meet with clients for the initial interview
and then we can just talk over the phone. If we do have to
go to court, it will take more time. I realize your time is
important, so I don’t waste it.
Q:
Will I have to go to trial?
A:
The vast majority of dog bite and personal
injury cases don’t go to trial. However, I treat each case
as if it is going to be a trial, as you have to be willing
to go to trial to maximize your settlement.
Q:
Why is it so important to hire an Oregon attorney who goes to trial?
A:
Most personal injury cases settle before trial, but you want to maximize your settlement. If you hire an Oregon personal injury attorney who has little trial experience, oftentimes they will be afraid to go to trial. Insurance companies know who these lawyers are, and they usually offer them less than the case is worth. I have 15 years of courtroom experience and I have tried well over 100 cases. A good example of why you sometimes have to go to trial are the recent results I have had. I recently tried four separate cases where the offers totaled approximately $51,500. The juries awarded a total of over $1,100,000. If my clients had hired a lawyer who does not try cases, they would have lost a combined total of around $1,048,500. Verdicts like these do not come easy and it took me over 15 years of trying cases and over 100 jury trials before I had the skills to get big verdicts for my clients. Most Oregon personal injury attorneys rarely, if ever, try cases. I believe that these attorneys do a great disservice to their clients and cost their clients millions of dollars by settling cases that should go to trial. Before you hire a lawyer, make sure that they are actively trying cases and have had a number of six figure verdicts.
Q:
Do I need an Oregon dog bite attorney?
A:
In order to pursue your dog bite or personal injury case you
will likely have to deal with insurance companies. Their goal
is to pay you as little as you will take. It is tough for
someone who is not familiar with dog bite and personal injury
cases to know what a fair settlement amount is. An experienced
Oregon dog bite attorney can help you to determine that amount
and reach a fair settlement.
Q:
What types of Oregon injury cases do you handle?
A:
In addition to Oregon dog bite cases, I handle all types of
Oregon personal injury, wrongful death and products liability
cases, including: auto accidents, bicycle accidents, motorcycle
accidents, ATV accidents, boating accidents, dog bites and
all other types of injury cases.
Q:
How do I pay your legal fees?
A:
I handle auto accident, dog bites and all of my other personal
injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means YOU DO
NOT OWE ME A LEGAL FEE UNLESS I RECOVER MONEY FOR YOU. I do
not ask for any attorney fees upfront. If there is no recovery
there is no fee.
Q:
What do you charge for recovering my medical expenses?
A:
I do not charge my clients a fee recovering their past medical
expenses. Many lawyers charge a percentage of the total recovery,
including your medical expenses. I base my fee on what is
recovered in
addition to your medical expenses. If your lawyer charges
you for
recovering your medical expenses it can significantly reduce
how much
goes in your pocket. For example, if you had $50,000 in medical expenses and a $100,000 settlement, your lawyer would get $33,000, $50,000 would go to repay your medical expenses, and you would
be left
with around $17,000. In a case like that, I would base my
fee off of
the $50,000, putting $33,000 in your pocket instead of approximately
$17,000. The only time I charge a fee for recovering your
past medical
expenses is when someone other than the client, usually my
client's
insurance company or healthcare provider, pays me to recover
the medical
expenses.
Q: I don’t want to bankrupt somebody. What happens to the person I sue?
A: Although the lawsuit will have the other driver's name on it, we are actually going after the insurance company’s money. In virtually every case, the person we sue does not have to pay a penny, as their insurance company pays the settlement or verdict amount, as well as all of the legal fees. In the three cases where I have received verdicts bigger than the policy limits, the insurance companies still paid, as it was there fault for not settling for the policy limits.
Q: Do you charge more for filing a lawsuit or going to court?
A: No. Unlike most lawyers, my fees do not increase for filing a lawsuit, going to court, litigating motions, or going to mediation. The only time my fees increase is if we go to trial or arbitration, which usually happens in less than 10% of my cases. Before you hire a lawyer, make sure they don't increase their fees just for filing a lawsuit or spending a few hours in mediation.
Q: Are there any hidden fees?
A:
No. I do not charge you fees for consultations, opening your
file,
copies, long distance, etc. Before you hire a lawyer, make
sure you
find out what they will be charging you, as these hidden fees
can add
up.
Q:
Lawsuits can be expensive, will it cost me any money up front
for filing fees, court costs, expert witness fees, and any
other costs?
A:
Filing a lawsuit, paying court costs and expert witness fees
can be very expensive. Every year I spend thousand of dollars
in litigation costs. I know that most people cannot afford
these costs up front, so I forward these costs up front in
every case I take. Spending a few thousand dollars on a good
expert witness can make the difference between getting thousands
of dollars and getting nothing for your personal injury claim.
Before you hire a lawyer, make sure that they are willing
to forward the money to adequately pursue your personal injury
case. Otherwise, you may be forced into taking a minimal settlement
if you cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars to pursue
your personal injury claim.
Q:
What parts of Oregon do you handle cases in?
A:
Although I am located in Portland, Oregon, I will handle take
cases throughout the state of Oregon including the following
counties and cities:
Counties:
Multnomah County, Washington County, Clackamas
County, Marion County, Polk County, Columbia County, Hood
River County, Yamhill County, Clatsop County, Wasco County,
Linn County, Benton County, Lane County, Clatsop County, Tillamook
County, Sherman County, Jefferson County, Linn County, Benton
County.
Cities:
Portland, Salem, Gresham, Hillsboro, Beaverton,
Tigard, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, McMinnville, West Linn, Tualatin,
Troutdale, Sherwood, Molalla, Aloha, Albany, Corvallis, Cascade
Locks, Astoria, Wilsonville,Woodburn, The Dalles, Fairview,
Oregon City, Silverton, Sandy, Rainier, Monmouth, Newberg,
Keizer, Gladstone, Forest Grove, Estacada, Canby, Philomath,
Newberg, Parkdale, Seaside.
Attorney Referrals
If
you are looking for an experienced attorney
in any other state, please email me as I may be able to refer you to an experienced
motorcycle accident attorney at no charge to you.
Oregon State Bar
Legal Resources
Free Oregon State Bar Attorney Referral Services and Oregon State Bar Member Research tool can help you find and retain a qualified and ethical Oregon attorney for any type of Oregon Law matter.
Before you retain an Oregon attorney research the attorney for Oregon State Bar disciplinary history. An attorney may have been previously disciplined or supspended for ripping off a client or other ethical issues you should know about before you retain an Oregon attorney.
The Oregon State Bar Member research tool:
- To research an attorney you are considering hiring all you need is the attorney's name.
- Using the free online Member Research Tool, once you've located the attorney by name, then click: "Show Disciplinary History" (underneeth Bar Member's Information) which will show the particular attorney's disciplinary history with Oregon State Bar disciplinary actions.
If you have questions, contact the Oregon State Bar disciplineonweb@osbar.org
503.431.6394, toll-free in Oregon 800.452.8260 x 394.
Legal
Links
If
you have been charged with an Oregon
DUI or other Oregon criminal charge, I recommend
you contact David
Lesh through his web site. Mr. Lesh is an experienced
Oregon lawyer.
Cycling
Links
Chiropractic
Links
I
highly reccomend Dr. Bassinger and Dr. May at Clearwater
Chiropractic. Dr. Bassinger is a personal friend
and an excellent doctor.
Note:
Clearwater
Chiropractic is located at the following web site address:
•
http://www.meta-ehealth.com/site/office/index.jsp
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