Matt, Edmonton
Red Deer Injury Lawyers
Welcome to the law firm of Martin G. Schulz & Associates, where our goal is to give you help, hope, and peace of mind after a devastating accident or injury.
When you or a loved one are suddenly injured, through no fault of your own, it takes a toll physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially on both you and your immediate family. You may be facing:
- Lifelong health issues
- Loss of income
- Substantial medical expenses
- Reduced quality of life
- The loss of a loved one
- And more
Our award-winning team of Red Deer injury lawyers wants you to understand that the law is on your side. When someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or carelessness turns your world upside down, you have every right to seek justice and compensation for your suffering.
In order to get the best results possible, you need help. That’s exactly what we’re here for. We offer:
From the moment we first speak with you, we want to meet you where we are. Filing a claim isn’t about us – it’s about you and what you’ve been through. We realize that you’ve truly suffered and will strive to understand your struggles, your needs, and your future goals. You’ll be treated with the utmost respect throughout the entire process and we’ll always honor your goals and wishes.
Helping accident victims and their families has been our focus since 1990. It’s all we do and we’re deeply passionate about it. Every accident victim we represent is given advice and legal support that’s tailored to their unique needs and is based on years of experience and expertise. We will never treat you like ‘just’ another client. Your accident, your injuries, and their impact on your life is anything but cookie-cutter. Your case will be treated like a one-of-a-kind, because it is, and our representation will be comprehensive, compassionate, and customized.
Money can’t undo what you’ve been through, and it can’t bring someone back. But it can help you move forward by eliminating worry over finances. Our goal is to help you get a fair settlement amount that’s enough to recoup your losses, cover current and future medical expenses, replace lost income, and provide financial security so that you and your family can focus on recovery and reclaiming your life.
Why Do You Need an Attorney?
It’s really no secret that insurance companies are not in the business of paying claims. If they make a settlement offer, it’s usually immediately following the accident, with little knowledge of the victim’s injuries or losses. This means that the offers are low and won’t even come close to covering all the victim’s needs. Sometimes their offers are downright insulting. Other times, they don’t make an offer at all, arguing that the victims claim is invalid.
Unfortunately, the scared and hurting victim often takes these initial offers, not realizing that they are entitled to so much more. Of course, this is what the insurance companies are hoping for. They want you to take their low offer so they can be done with your claim as quickly as possible. Once you accept their payment, you cannot go back and file a new claim, or sue for more money.
Hiring a personal injury lawyer to represent you and your family is the only way to ensure that your rights are protected and that your settlement is fair.
According to a study performed by the Insurance Research Council, personal injury claimants who had legal representation received settlements that were 3 ½ times larger than victims who filed their own claim! This could mean thousands more dollars in your pocket for recovery, if not more.
Injury
- Auto Accident
- Brain Injury (TBI)
- Spinal Cord Injury, Severe
Avg. Settlement With An Attorney
- $21,000
- $500,000
- $1,000,000
Avg. Settlement Without An Attorney
- $7,000
- $165,000
- $375,000
Why are our personal injury attorneys able to help victims get so much more money?
Personal injury claims and lawsuits are incredibly complex. It takes specialized training, skills, and knowledge to successfully navigate the process without missing critical steps. We know the laws inside-and-out, but we also make it our business to constantly educate ourselves, so we stay on top of current trends and changes in the law so that nothing gets missed.
Insurance companies will take advantage of a victim who doesn’t know their rights and it’s not uncommon for them to strongarm or intimidate. But they know they can’t do that with us. We’re resilient and will put pressure on the insurance companies with sound evidence, research, and legal analyses.
It takes more than knowledge of the law and tough talk to win a personal injury case. If the insurance company is putting up a fight and refuses to pay a fair settlement for your claim, we’ll be prepared to go to court. We know how to build a rock-solid case, undeniably prove fault, and thoroughly convince a jury that the insurance company is in the wrong.
The bottom line is that insurance companies often play hardball with injury victims. Our Red Deer personal injury lawyers have the skills and dedication to protect you from their unfair strategies and get you the compensation you truly deserve.
Who We Help
Personal injury is all we do because it’s what we do best. We help victims of:
Automotive Accidents
Aviation & Marine Accidents
Motorcycle Accidents
Brain Injuries
Wrongful Death
Spinal Cord Injuries
Every accident injury is different, but every victim deserves something. We’ll carefully review the facts and circumstances surrounding your accident, perform a detailed investigation, seek expert medical care and advice, and clearly identify who was at fault for your injuries so that we can file a claim on your behalf.
No matter what you’ve been through, please know that we’re here to help.
How a Personal Injury Claim Works
Overview
When you file a ‘claim’ it means that you’re telling the insurance company that you are enforcing your legal right to be compensated (or paid) for your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, pain, and suffering. The claim is usually submitted to the insurance company that represents the person or persons who caused your injuries. At first, your claim will be a formal legal demand made with the help of your personal injury lawyer. No courts or judges will be involved. However, if the insurance company refuses to negotiate a fair settlement based on the formal demand, then your attorney will file a lawsuit. At that point, your claim will be considered a ‘case’ and will follow the court systems rules and timeline.
Notify the Insurance Companies
As soon as possible following the accident, you should notify your insurance company, as well as the insurance company representing the negligent party who caused your injuries. You will give them basic information about the accident, such as the date and approximate time, and that is all. Do not answer any questions, do not admit any fault, and do not accept any settlement offers. You are simply putting it on record that an accident occurred and that you were injured. Your attorney will handle all other communications with them from that point on.
Medical Treatment and Investigation
Before your attorney can submit your claim, it’s important that we know the full extent of your injuries, their relation to the accident, how long it will take you to recover, and how much medical care you’ll require in the future as a result. We want to understand exactly how much damage the accident caused and how much it’s going to cost you now and in the future. The goal is to get you to maximum medical improvement (MMI) which means that you’ve recovered from your injuries as much as physically possible.
While you are completing your medical care and focusing on your health, our team will be performing a thorough investigation of your accident. This may include reviewing the accident or police report, hiring expert witnesses, speaking to eyewitnesses, and more.
Submit Demand Package
Once you’ve reached MMI, and the investigation is complete, your attorney will submit the demand package to the insurance company. The demand package may include:
- Your medical records
- Proof of lost wages
- Copies of all medical bills relating to accident
- Documentation of all financial hardships caused by your medical expenses, loss of income, or reduced ability to work
- Police report
- Eyewitness statements
- Expert witness reports
- And more
Essentially, the demand package will include everything that would be shown to a jury at trial in order to convince the insurance company that you are legally owed money for your injuries. A specific dollar amount will be demanded based on the unique circumstances of your accident, injuries, and family needs.
Settlement
A strong, well-written demand package is often enough to result in a settlement. This means that the insurance company agrees to pay your demands without going to court. They don’t always agree to pay the amount initially demanded, and there are often a few rounds of negotiations before all parties are satisfied. During these negotiations, you should have a limit to how low you will settle for. Our goal is to get you as much as possible, and everything that’s fair. At the end of the day, however, the choice is yours. We want you to feel in control of the settlement because it’s all about your needs, not ours.
Lawsuit
If the insurance company refuses to cooperate, or we cannot come to a settlement agreement with them, the final step is to file a lawsuit. This will make your claim an official legal case.
The steps to the case may include:
- Filing the lawsuit
- PrDiscovery (where both parties swap their claims and investigation materials in order to determine the strength of the other’s arguments)
- Mandatory arbitration or mediation (this is sometimes ordered by a judge)
- Trial
This process is what’s known as ‘litigation’. At any point during litigation, we may finally reach a settlement with the insurance company and the litigation process will come to an end. If your case does go to trial, a judge and jury will make a final decision about your claim and their decision will be final.
Our goal is to reach a fair settlement with the insurance company and avoid litigation, if at all possible. However, we will never encourage you to accept a low or unfair settlement simply to avoid trial. If a trial is what we must do to get you justice, then we’ll be ready.
Personal Injury Success
Martin was there right away from the beginning. He was really open, kind, thoughtful, and knowledgeable about the law and for the things I was eligible for.
Personal Injury Success
A real benefit to retaining Martin G. Schulz and associates was where we didn't have expertise and were unable to advocate for ourselves, Martin and his team were able advocate for us with the insurance company to recover our losses on the financial side of things.
Summer, Edmonton
Contact
Time is of the essence when it comes to personal injury claims. Evidence, witnesses, and memories can get lost or fade, so the sooner you start the process, the better. From the moment you contact our firm, we’ll work to understand your situation, answer all your questions, and develop a plan to get you the justice and compensation you deserve.
Contact us today for your free, no-obligation, private consultation.
No Fee Policy
It’s simple. You don’t pay until we collect. We know the last thing an injured person needs is another bill. With Martin G. Schulz and Associates you don’t pay any legal fees until we secure the settlement satisfying your needs.
No Fee Policy
It’s simple. You don’t pay until we collect. We know the last thing an injured person needs is another bill. With Martin G. Schulz and Associates you don’t pay any legal fees until we secure the settlement satisfying your needs.