If you were injured in a car accident or other incident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be interested in finding an El Paso personal injury lawyer. However, with so many different attorneys to choose from, how do you know which one to hire?
You can interview a few El Paso injury attorneys before making your final selection. The following questions can help you narrow down whom you should hire.
What Percentage of Your Cases Come from Other Referrals
One of the best ways to find a good personal injury lawyer is to ask other lawyers for a referral.
A good personal injury lawyer will have a solid reputation in the local community and receive a portion of their cases from referrals from other attorneys. By asking an attorney you might hire about their percentage of referrals, you can learn how often others turn to them for their expertise.
The Law Offices of Michael Gopin, PLLC has been a staple of El Paso, Texas since 1987. Our lawyers call El Paso home and are committed to helping the members of our local community. Our reputation precedes us, as is evident from the many glowing reviews our firm has received.
What Is Your Fee Structure/What Is No Fee No Recovery?
“No fee, no recovery” means that you will not pay any attorney’s fees unless your lawyer secures financial recovery on your behalf. Most El Paso personal injury lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning that payment for their services is contingent on them winning the case. Their payment is a percentage of the sum they help recover.
However, not all lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis. Additionally, you might still be responsible for paying for legal “costs” associated with your case, such as filing fees, charges for medical records, litigation expenses, discovery costs, and expert witness fees. The percentage of the fee might change based on whether the case is settled through an insurance claim or is litigated. This information should be outlined in your retainer agreement. Don’t be afraid to ask about the attorney fee structure and what you will be expected to pay out of pocke
How Long Have You Worked on Personal Injury Cases?
Some lawyers work on a variety of cases while others focus on a specific area of the law. When you hire a lawyer on a contingency fee basis, they often charge the same percentage, regardless of how much experience they have. This can mean that you pay the same thing for an attorney with one year of experience as you do for an attorney with many years of experience. However, having more years of experience can help lawyers develop the necessary expertise, skills, and resources to effectively handle your case.
The El Paso personal injury lawyers at The Law Offices of Michael Gopin, PLLC have more than 30 years of combined legal experience we will put to use on your case if you hire us.
Have You Handled A Case Like Mine?
You will want to make sure that any lawyer you handle has tackled a case similar to yours. Personal injury lawyers handle personal injury claims on a daily basis. They’re used to negotiating with insurance companies, gathering evidence to establish liability, and accurately calculating damages that accident victims have sustained.
How Will You Keep Me Updated About My Case?
One of the most important things about working with an El Paso injury attorney is the relationship you have with them. A good lawyer will keep you informed about the status of your case, any proposed injury case settlements, and other developments in your case.
Contact The Law Offices of Michael Gopin, PLLC for Help with Your Personal Injury Claim
If you were injured in a personal injury accident, The Law Offices of Michael Gopin, PLLC can assist with every aspect of your case. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
Okay we’re back with Michael Gopin for “Ask A Lawyer.” Hello Mr. Gopin. Hi Mr. Gopin. Uh-oh.
Mike:
I got it. I got to…
Tricia:
You need to…
Mike:
I keep pressing…
Tricia:
Ai, Michael.
Michael Gopin:
I know.
Mike:
I keep pressing all of the wrong…
Tricia:
Michael loves to…he loves to play with the buttons. He’s like, “How about this one? Well, should we press this one?”
Mike:
And they’re clearly labeled. I’m an Idiot. I’m such an idiot. I really am.
Michael Gopin: Oh, man. You can’t…
Tricia: And you know, here’s what’s going to happen…
Michael Gopin: Yeah. Can you hear me now?
Tricia: Yes. So here’s what’s going to happen, our poor engineer’s going to come racing down the hallway wondering what you’re doing wrong. Poor guy.
Mike:
And I’m just an idiot. That’s all there is to it, you know. I think I’m cross-eyed.
Tricia:
Yeah, sure.
Mike:
I think that’s what I am.
Tricia: That’s what it is.
Mike:
I think I’m cross-eyed.
Mike:
Do I have a case, Mr. Gopin?
Michael Gopin:
You have a case for sure.
Mike:
Okay. So it’s “Ask A Lawyer,” it’s our monthly feature. Michael Gopin is our expert specialist, and you ask us to ask him these types of questions.
Tricia:
Okay. So Laura from West El Paso says her grandmother recently passed away, and they are having trouble obtaining her property because there’s no will set in place. She wants to know is there anything we can do? We’re not even sure what steps to take.
Michael Gopin:
I’m really sorry to hear about your grandmother but, yes, there are steps that you can take to take care of this. What you need to do is probate her estate. And most people think of probate as only when you have a will but it also is necessary when you do not have a will. So, in this case, she needs to go to a probate attorney who can set up a probate of her estate so all the assets in the estate can pass and tested is what they call it without a will. There’s a certain order of beneficiaries in this case and so depending on who is alive that is related to your grandmother, her spouse, her kids, and so forth, that’s how it will transfer. So set it up. It’s not that hard. It will take, you know, three months or so and you’ll be all set.
Tricia:
Okay. Matt wants to know… Ooh, this is a tough one. I think this is a very common problem here in El Paso, will get a family member to do some work for us, and then the other family member doesn’t want to pay up. In this case, Matt’s father owes him thousands of dollars for doing work around his dad’s house. And he said, “What can I do to get paid for it even though we didn’t have a written contract?”
Michael Gopin:
Well, that’s a simple question, technically. There’s more…you know, other issues going around, but technically you can file a lawsuit against anyone if you believe that they owe you money for services that you provided. So the simple answer is, yes, you can go to court, you can file a claim against your dad, and sue him and hopefully get it all worked out. But you know, on a more personal level I wouldn’t really recommend that. I would, you know, talk to your father. I don’t know how old you are, if you’re, you know, a 4-year-old guy or an 18-year-old kid living in the house. So I would just talk to your dad, work it out. I wouldn’t cause permanent problems with your father, you know, over money. I have seen too many relationships in the past ruined over dollars. And hopefully you and your dad can work it out and have a great relationship.
Tricia:
Yeah, that’s a tough one. See, it’s always better to pay somebody with a 12-pack of beer. It’s always better.
Michael Gopin:
Exactly.
Tricia:
Way less expensive and you can just run to the store and go pick that up.
Mike:
Definitely El Paso currency.
Tricia:
Totally, totally. Okay, this one comes from…
Mike:
It’s better than bitcoin around here. Budweiser is better than bitcoin in El Paso.
Tricia:
It totally is.
Michael Gopin:
Unless you can pay with bitcoin, you know.
Mike:
Well, yeah.
Tricia:
Okay. This one is from Monica in Clint. She says her landlord is threatening to kick her out because they haven’t paid rent due to damages around the property that hasn’t been fixed. She said, “We’re trying to get them fixed before we pay anything but the landlord refuses.” I guess he refuses to fix what they need fixed. She said, “We love the property but we don’t want to leave but it’s becoming unbearable. Do we have to leave or should we file a lawsuit?”
Michael Gopin:
Well, that really depends on what type of damages around the property that you’re talking about. In most leases, you cannot stop paying rent because of issues with regards to repairs. So you have a duty to pay rent regardless of that. However, if this place is uninhabitable and it’s just not livable, then you really have no choice but to leave. So what I would do to protect yourself is to send a letter in writing to the landlord, telling him exactly what you need fixed and why it’s causing, you know, serious issues with your family and yourself in this house. And give them a time limit. Give them a reasonable time limit, maybe 10 days or so to cure and fix everything. If they don’t do it and your family is at risk, then your only choice is to leave. You can file a suit for monetary damages in leaving but, you know, the best way, in that case, would probably be just to leave it alone and just leave because the landlord could also sue you for failure to pay rent so you’ll get into a big mess. So my recommendation would be to send him a letter and see if you can work it out. And put him on legal written notice that he has to fix these things.
Mike:
Would you also recommend lots of photos and/or video?
Michael Gopin:
I would definitely do that, document, document, document, so yeah. Send photos, keep photos. You know, you have your phone right there so show him what’s going on, show him why you need these thins fixed, and make your case because that’s what you’ll need to do, preserve the evidence.
Tricia:
Okay. And then the last one is from Isella on the Westside. Okay. So, a couple of weeks ago there was a that horrible story about that poor woman who had blood dripping down into her apartment, through the fan because somebody had passed away above her and she didn’t have any renters insurance, so she was out, you know, all the stuff that she had lost because of the damage. Well, Isella says, “I’m renting a home from a friend and recently someone broke in and took a lot of her stuff.” She said, “At that time, my friend said they had renters insurance for the house but now the friend is claiming it’s not valid.” She said, “We are not sure what to do as a lot of things have been taken and we are hoping the insurance would have covered it.”
Michael Gopin:
Well, in that case, what you want to do is to see exactly what type of insurance your friend had. Most likely your friend is telling you the truth now that they didn’t buy renters insurance, they bought homeowners insurance, which is a completely different thing, which would protect the home in case, you know, there’s, you know, a fire or something like that. So renters insurance just covers the contents of what the renter brings to the house or apartment. So, it’s two different types of coverages. So I would ask your friend to give you the insurance information so you can find out for yourself if what they are telling you is true. If they don’t have coverage that would protect you, there’s nothing you can do because you don’t have renters insurance.
Tricia:
It’s probably always best to buy your own renter insurance, right?
Mike:
Yes.
Michael Gopin:
It depends on what you’re insuring. I mean if you want to protect your furniture and assets that you have in your home, yes, that’s the only way to protect them. So, it’s definitely important to do. And you know, if you are not worried about it being stolen or if you want to ensure that loss by yourself and don’t want to protect yourself, maybe they are not worth that much and it’s just a pain to get insurance, then don’t do it. A lot of people don’t have renters insurance, but if there’s a lot of property to protect, then definitely go ahead and get it.
Mike:
Yeah. It sounds like she is going to be looking for a new friend.
Tricia:
Yeah, and a new place to live.
Mike:
And it sounds like Matt’s going to be looking for a new father, from earlier.
Michael Gopin:
Oh no [inaudible 00:08:29].
Tricia:
I know, from earlier because, you know, his dad owes him thousands of dollars.
Michael Gopin:
It sounds like they’ll work it out.
Mike:
Yeah, same but, you know…
Tricia:
It’s…yeah. That’s why it’s always best to have a contract no matter what.
Mike:
Yeah. But mijo…
Tricia:
I know.
Michael Gopin:
Well, you are not going to have a contract with your dad. I mean, you know?
Tricia:
I know, but, ugh, but then you get into this situation where, you know…I mean, how about just say, “You know what, dad, I don’t have the time to do that.”
Mike:
Yeah, right.
Tricia:
You should probably tell somebody else to do it.
Mike:
All right, Michael, I thank you so much for your time and your expertise.
Michael Gopin:
Well, thanks for having me guys.
Mike:
And then we’ll do this again next month. Thanks a lot, man. Have a happy Memorial Day weekend.
Michael Gopin:
Okay, you too, guys. Thanks.
Mike:
“Ask A Lawyer” with Michael Gopin on Mike and Tricia Mornings.
“You said forever, now I drive alone past your street.”
Mike:
You know, I could be wrong and maybe we’ll ask Michael Gopin about this but, I think, she’s got a case. I mean, if you said forever, and now she has to drive alone down the street, it sounds like she could have a case.
Tricia:
Sounds like a verbal contract to me.
Mike:
Sounds like one, definitely. Mike and Tricia Mornings on 93.1 KISS FM.
Tricia:
We have Michael Gopin with us. Hello, Mr. Gopin.
Michael Gopin:
Oh, I bet it’s gonna work a lot better if I press this button right here instead of one that I pressed before.
Tricia:
Yeah, there you go. Okay.
Mike:
Say that again. Take two.
Tricia:
Okay. We have Michael Gopin with us. Hello, Mr. Gopin.
Michael Gopin:
Good morning. How are you all doing?
Mike:
There we all go. Yay. Better now that we’ve learned which button to push.
Tricia:
Right, exactly. Okay, so we have a lot of questions, and they’re actually really, really good ones.
Michael Gopin:
Much better that way.
Tricia:
Oh, good. Okay. So we’ve got some really, really good ones. So the first one comes from Jacob, and he said, “He recently fell at a local grocery store because of water on the produce aisle.” And he said, “There were no signs or staff present that witnessed the incident.” He had to call an ambulance, was taken to the hospital. And then he contacted the store, but they’re denying the claim because they say their video cameras weren’t working at the time so there’s no video footage. So he wants to know, “What can I do, Mr. Gopin?”
Michael Gopin:
Well, you certainly have a potential case in this particular incident. What you need to prove and we need to show is that the store knew or should have known about the substance or water on the floor before you fell. That’s what’s really important here. So the question would be, if we can show how long the substance had been on the floor, you know, if an employee happened to pass by there or should have passed by there before you fell.
So this is something that we can definitely try to help you on. It doesn’t really matter about the video cameras. They usually aren’t very cooperative, at this point, in releasing those even if they had them. In litigation, they would have to provide them if they did have them. But not having video footage is not a defense for them to say, “Well, that’s not our fault.”
Tricia:
Oh, okay. Well, that’s good to know.
Michael Gopin:
So you have a potential case, and…yeah.
Mike:
No. Tell them, “I’m not here,” please.
Tricia:
Oh, Is that Tinker Bell?
Mike:
Yeah. Tell them, “I’m not here,” whoever that was.
Tricia:
Okay. So our second question comes from Mondo on the East Side. He said, “He was in a car accident last week, and at the time, he didn’t have insurance for his vehicle. Now, he was issued a ticket for that, but the other party was at fault in the accident. So he says, “Can I still file a claim with the other driver’s insurance?”
Michael Gopin:
Yes, of course, you can. So the fact that you did not have insurance does not, in any way, impact whether or not you have a case here. So, yes, you can file a case against the person who is at fault. You’re probably not gonna win your ticket though, and you’re gonna have to pay a fine for not having insurance, but you can still file a full claim against the party at fault. So you’re good to go that way.
Mike:
Yeah, because you’re like you’re using their insurance. Correct?
Michael Gopin:
Correct. So, yeah, of course, you’re gonna have to prove it was their fault just like you would in a normal case but insurance isn’t mentioned in court at all. So the fact that you have no insurance will not have any negative impact at all in your case. I think it’s a good idea if you get insurance…
Tricia:
Yeah, probably.
Michael Gopin:
…but in terms of you filing a personal injury case, there’s no worries there.
Mike:
It’s our monthly feature, it’s “Ask A Lawyer” with special guest Michael Gopin. This is question number three now.
Tricia:
Okay. This is Theresa also from the East Side. This is another car accident thing. She said, “A friend of hers was involved in a hit-and-run, but they can’t identify the license plate or the driver.” And she said, “Their insurance is refusing to cover the damage, because again, no evidence. So what should their next steps be?”
Michael Gopin:
We’d be happy to help her with this, Theresa. I don’t know why they’re not covering this because if there’s damage to your vehicle, I would file a police report. Tell them what happened, the cops, so you can present it to the insurance company. But you don’t have to have the license plate of the driver who hit you to file an uninsured or collision type case. So, depending on what coverage Theresa has, we can try to help.
There’s two coverages that, you know, are gonna apply here. One is, if she has collision coverage that covers the vehicle, in the case of collision, coverage will pay for any damage to the vehicle, regardless of who’s at fault. In this case, the best coverage to use if she has it is the uninsured motorist property damage coverage. And I’m not sure if Theresa was injured in this accident or not, but if she was, uninsured injury, bodily injury, would also apply.
So, in those cases, you’ll just have to testify basically that you’re involved in a hit-and-run accident, you show pictures of the damage to the vehicles, and explain what happened, and the insurance will cover. So they’re playing games at this point.
Mike:
Yeah. That recently happened with my son, and, yeah, we used the uninsured/underinsured. Actually, they told us to use the uninsured/underinsured, and they repaired the car. But, maybe…
Michael Gopin:
Yeah, that’s the best coverage to you, right.
Mike:
Maybe, this is a case of, you know, a sketchy insurance company. There are so many out there.
Michael Gopin:
I’ve never heard of a sketchy insurance company.
Tricia:
And see, the other thing though, I think, that people don’t understand is that their…like when they say comprehensive coverage as opposed to just liability, there’s a lot of different levels of coverage. So, yeah, by law, I think, you only have to carry liability. But if you, you know, really wanna have full coverage for yourself and, in case, you’re in an accident, then, you know, you do get the comprehensive. It’s a little bit more expensive, but it does cover a lot of other things.
Mike:
Okay. So that’s a good question then, Mr. Gopin.
Michael Gopin:
Yeah, comprehensive and collision are both different.
Mike:
If you only had liability, you know, would you be outside of luck?
Michael Gopin:
Yes, you’d be SOL on this one. So, if you only had liability, there’s nobody to pay. And if you don’t have the information or any indication of who caused the accident, you’re gonna be responsible for the damages.
Mike:
“Ask A Lawyer” with Michael Gopin. It’s our monthly feature. If you’ve got a question you’d like us to ask him the next time we speak to Michael, you can go to kisselpaso.com. The Must Read bar at the top of the page, click on ask a lawyer, and ask away. We’ll be right back with more questions. “Ask A Lawyer,” Mike and Tricia Mornings on 93.1 KISS FM.
