Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Do all cases go to trial?

No. In fact, 95% of all cases settle before they reach the courthouse. For an insurance company to offer the highest settlement value on your case, however, it must be persuaded your case has merit and your attorney is willing and able to present a compelling case in the courtroom. The experienced trial attorneys at Sampson & Slechter, PLLC know how to competently and aggressively litigate personal injury cases to maximize their settlement value.

Q. Why should I choose your firm, instead of other firms I’ve seen on TV?

Most of television’s prominent personal injury firms are set up to do one thing—sign up as many clients as possible and settle their claims as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the typical client of one of these “churn and burn” operations never speaks to the lawyer he saw on television. Instead, he communicates with a paralegal or administrative assistant who handles his claim from start to finish. If you retain Sampson & Slechter, PLLC to assist you with your personal injury claim, you will be dealing directly with a seasoned trial attorney.

Q. How do you get paid?

We work on what’s known as a “contingency contract.” Essentially, we don’t get paid unless you get paid. On personal injury cases, our fee is one third (33.33%) of the gross amount we recover on cases settled prior to litigation, and forty percent (40%) on cases we resolve after suit has been filed. On workers’ compensation cases, the fee we can charge is regulated by statute and is equal to 20% of the first $25,000 we recover, 15% of the next $10,000 we recover, and 5% of the remainder, with the fee capped at $12,000.

Q. Who pays all the expenses on my case?

Litigating a personal injury case can be a very expensive proposition. One can quickly spend tens of thousands of dollars on a single case obtaining records, hiring experts, filing suit, taking depositions and creating exhibits. At Sampson & Slechter, PLLC, we advance all the costs of litigation on your case, and reimburse ourselves those expenses out of any settlement or verdict we obtain on your behalf. Again, if for some reason we don’t recover money on your behalf, you are not required to reimburse us for those expenses.

Q. How much is my case worth?

Unfortunately, no two cases are alike. The value of a particular case depends on a number of factors. At Sampson & Slechter, PLLC, we evaluate cases based on “liability,” or whether we are able to establish that a defendant violated some legal duty, and “damages,” or the severity of the harm our client suffered. The most valuable cases are those in which the defendant clearly violated a legal duty and the resulting damages to the client were severe.