Articles by Scott Segal

One of the very first questions you should ask a lawyer for a catastrophic injury or wrongful death case is ‘how will I pay for this?’ If your lawyer can’t give you a clear answer, get up and walk out.   At the Segal Law Firm, we use what’s called a ‘contingency fee contract.’ It’s a written document that tells our clients we only get paid if we win them money, whether by settlement or verdict. That’s how we get paid our attorney fee.   We are also allowed to advance all court costs; that includes the money it costs to file the lawsuit to and send the client to expert doctors. It includes deposition fees, expert witnesses, and costs for gathering life care plan information. All of these things are extremely expensive and your average person wouldn’t be able to afford them on their own.   Essentially, this evens the playing field. I think many folks are afraid they won’t be able to afford to fight the big coal companies or the insurance companies. But that’s where we come in. We can upfront those costs for you. And we only get paid back for those expenses if we win […]

When considering whether or not an injury is catastrophic, we’ve got to ask ‘how much will the victim’s life be altered and for how long?’   The most catastrophic injury is obviously one that kills you. Your family losses your source of income, and there is a major loss of emotional support and guidance. But lesser injuries can also be devastating and catastrophic to your future.   Severe Burns If you’ve suffered an accident that led to severe burns, that’s going to affect you for the rest of your life. It will most likely inhibit your ability to earn wages, and you’re going to need ongoing medical care. You’ll need a number of expensive adaptive devices just to live your life normally. This is all a part of your forecasted ‘life care plan.’   Paralysis and Amputation If you’re paralyzed anywhere on your body, you’re going to need a life care plan that protects you for all the mechanical devices you’ll need. Wheelchairs don’t last forever. The same thing applies with amputations. If a hunter loses his leg, he’s going to need more than one type of fake leg. On top of that, those legs will need to be replaced

I’ve mentioned in many previous posts that one of the best ways to get to know us here at the Segal Law Firm is by visiting our website and meeting some of our past clients. These folks aren’t actors or actresses; they’re real people, with real stories to tell about how we’ve helped them return back to a quality of life they enjoyed previous to their accidents and injuries.   One of the people you’ll find there is a young man who was injured in a hunting accident. His case is one of the most fascinating we’ve had the honor of working on. He was working as a hunting guide in a very remote part of Utah. He took a shot at an elk, but didn’t down him on the first shot. He took several more shots and missed. During a reload, he turned and rammed the bolt into the newly loaded shell, which passed through his lower leg.   The young man was bleeding out from the injury and there was no way to get immediate help. He eventually alerted someone via cell phone and was picked up by a helicopter. Unfortunately, he was not able to save his

Many of our clients are completely incapacitated for weeks or even months after an accident, so there’s no way they themselves can call us at The Segal Law Firm. And you know from reading previous posts that my recommendation is to call an experienced law firm right away. That’s why we make it easy on the families by allowing any friend or loved one of the victims to call on his or her behalf.   Sometimes people in really serious accidents are in a coma and simply cannot communicate at all with us. But the family knows what happened to them and can get us involved sooner than later. We can answer their questions, explain to them what legal rights the person has, and, in many instances, the wife or husband can hire us to begin the legal proceedings and investigation immediately. We’ve got to make sure that evidence doesn’t disappear, as that tends to happen in accident cases.   When the accident victim does recover, they’ll be able to see what we’ve done and hire us to continue on with their case. If the injury leads to death, we can then explain to the family who can go to