Message from the President

My name is James Ballidis, a 25 year attorney, and veteran of personal injury law.  My entire career, I have seen people like you struggle to receive fair compensation for your injuries and damages.  I have also seen the devastation caused by incompetent attorneys handling personal injury cases.

Our clients are obtaining successful settlements and trial results, even as I write this message.  Please feel free to review our 2009 summary of cases, recently updated.

I thought I would take this time to provide you with some helpful thoughts when you are considering selection of an attorney for a personal injury case, and some recommendations to make sure you do not hurt your case while looking for an attorney.  I know this will help you!

How do I find and select a qualified attorney?  Before you select an attorney, I recommend that you request my FREE book, "Avoid Lawyer Advertising Hype, A Lawyer's Method of Finding an Attorney."  I wrote this book for people like you, who do not personally know a competent personal injury attorney.  Maybe you are concerned about getting the right attorney for your case.  It is easy for you to get a FREE copy of this book.  If you are a California resident and injured in an accident, call 1 866-981-5596  and simply provide your name and address.  I will rush a copy of the book to you immediately.  It discusses the following subjects:

• Lawyer advertising hype that is misleading you and how to avoid it.
• Where you should look to obtain names and information on qualified attorneys.
• What personality type do you want in an attorney, and what attorney will work well with you.
• How to evaluate the attorney's qualifications before you call them, from reliable independent sources.
• What to look for in the interview and in your discussions with the staff.

I wrote this book because our office cannot take all injury accident cases.  Our practice is reserved for more seriously injured people.  However, that may not help you!  You may still need to find an attorney for your case, and so this book tells you how I would find an attorney for you.  The great thing about this book is that you can find an attorney in about 30 minutes, and you will know what to ask and how to ask it at the meeting with the attorney.  So please call and order a free copy of the book.  If you are not injured, or you are not a California resident, this book is also available at Amazon.com for $19.95.

What do I tell the insurance company while I try to find an attorney?  I have seen many clients sabotage their cases when they call adjusters.  I recommend that you immediately seek out an attorney to advise you before you call and give any recorded statements or documents.  See this "Do's and Don'ts" report for specific recommendations and also what you do and do not have to give insurance companies.  Remember they hire and reward adjusters to save them money, no matter what they tell you.

What are the keys to success in a case?  This is a complex question to answer without knowing the type of case you have.  Here are a couple of things you will want to think about doing.  

• See a doctor immediately if you have not already done so. Failing to go to the doctor and document your complaints and injury early will prejudice your case, no matter what the excuse.  Also make sure you are honest about your prior history of injury, and if it is significant, you may want to select and talk an attorney immediately.
• Make sure that you see and discuss your case with an attorney even if the police report is not yet available. The attorney is use to handling these matters, you are not.  Research and make an appointment quickly.
• Do not make any early demands for settlement.  Time and again, I have had prospective clients tell me they settled their case and then realized they faced a surgery, or other medical problem not foreseen.  You can settle you case after you are done treating and when you know more about the future holds. 
• If your case has any significant injury, a qualified attorney will get you much more than you could even hope to obtain in settlement.  Do not try to settle your case, unless you have already consulted an attorney.  Typically, you will have done damage to the case and many times it is irreversible.  Therefore we regularly turn down cases if the Plaintiff tried to settle it themselves and sent the wrong reports, records, and evidence.
  

Also I recommend that you research your type of case.  Start in this web site.  We have articles on truck accidents, pedestrian rights, dog bites and auto accidents.  If you were injured on a bicycle or motorcycle we have articles on those subjects as well.  You will make a much better decision when you are informed, which is why I included all this information on our web site for you.  Please feel free to use the information to help you.

Lastly, if you would like us to consider representing you, please call 1 866-981-5596.  We will be happy to help you in any way that we can.

We hope you Soar Above and not just survive your personal injury experience.

James Ballidis