Anyone know a good lawyer (school, income, property taxes)

[wanttomoveeast]

Here's what I don't know about insurance. Doesn't the homeowner have to initiate that? I mean, how would a person possibly know whether the other homeowner has insurance and which company they are with? I suppose you could start with your own, but I in no way would want to do that as homeowner insurance is really for big things, I mean destruction.

[jkcoop]

Actually, I think filing against her homeowners isn't a bad idea. The dog owner may not even know she can do it, but she can. We've had to claim against ours many, many moons ago when we were at our in-laws house. Long story.
I don't know what your bills are, but if they are pretty significant, and the dog owner can't just pay them out of pocket but also wants to avoid going to court you can make the suggestion they claim on their home owner's insurance.
Just a thought.

[wanttomoveeast]

I'm not going to hijack this thread, but I am going through something very similar, although no personal injuries, but property damage. The homeowner in my case had a wife who left him, who claimed they had insurance. But people aren't so willing to make claims, mainly because of the deductible and probably because they are worried about it causing a hike in their fees. In fact, the lady left him and now we are stuck dealing with this guy, who just hides.

This homeowner in my case lives across the street. But there is no forcing him to make any claim. So in a good scenario, someone who wants to avoid court and can't pay, yeah, insurance is a good deal. Otherwise, you are screwed as we are.

[Biopace]

While I dislike the "sue first, ask questions later" mentality of this country, in this case if you get the run-around by the dog owner or the insurance company, you may want to find a trustworthy PI lawyer. Most dog bite cases are usually paid out by the homeowner's home insurance policy. However, some homeowner policies will not cover the homeowner for certain types of dogs (usually Pit Bulls, Dobermans, Rots and Germans) though it varies depending on the insurance company.

Also, if you do go the PI route, avoid the PI lawyers you see in the TV ads. Most are settlement farms and very few have associates that can stand on two feet in court (which is why they will always settle). I have a friend who is defense attorney and loves it when he gets a case to go up against the Frank Azar type firms. Those firms will always settle, usually for much less than the insurance company has authorized. Speaking of Frank Azar, his firm was recently sued by a former client for fraud and lost. I would avoid his firm at all costs.

[wanttomoveeast]

I have personal knowledge of Azar. He comes from a long line of judges, which is weird to me. And let me tell you, that suit you are talking about is just one of many.

I hate that mentality too, sue sue sue. But these days, it's the only way to make people do what's right. Instead of just filing a claim, my neighbor hides and then occasionally laughs at me --- how is that funny sir, your kids just ruined my property?

Maybe this dog owner isn't giving them the runaround. If not, then there is some hope for the human race afterall. Do I sound jaded? hahaha

OP?

[katysalsa]

I definately do not want to use the Azar type. My husband is meeting with someone tomorrow AM who specializes in dog bites & something else. So, we'll see. The only reason we havn't contacted her yet is because we have not yet recieved a copy of the police report with her info. Furthermore, her attitude toward the whole thing was so nonchalant that I doubt she would jump to help us out. I'll keep you posted!

[katysalsa]

wanttomoveeast. You sound a bit jaded, but then again so am I. Here's a whopper of a story... I'll paraphrase. We started a home remodel in AZ (where we just moved from) we found an all inclusive remodeling company that had been in business for over 20 years. The total for the full remodel was just over 100k. We paid 30% to make it a job. 30% when they started demo/construction and 30% when they started electrical on the addition. Then the company went bankrupt and went out of business. We were left with 90k LOST and none of that money can be recovered, and a completely torn up house with open trenches for plumbing etc... We lived in that for a year before we decided to completely drain all our savings, 401k's anything we had, to finish the home. It was either that, or live in debris forever. So we ended up hiring more people which ended up costing an additional 80-100k. We still have not seen a dime of the original 90k we lost and never will. Talk about broke and jaded! So, I understand. So that's why I'm all for recovering the money for the ER bills etc... from this accident. I think it's sort of long overdue in the 3 years of personal and financial hell we've been through. By the way, if you know anyone who wants a gorgeous house in Phx, I've got one Wow, I just hijacked my own post!

[wanttomoveeast]

haha, nice Katy. Since I work in law, I sometimes see the lowest behaviors of humanity. People in general have become very non-caring, and selfish. I am a strong believer though of starting out nice. Often, I can find a resolution by approaching things mildly. Good luck to you, I really hope it works out. That story about your house would have me in tears, I don't think I would have handled it as well as you.

[goldenplover]

well...if you absolutely need an attorney, go to cobar.org, select "find a lawyer" from the left side, then click the field you need, then the county you are in. This gives you all the attorneys that are registered with the bar association- a good thing among lawyers.

[wanttomoveeast]

geez, how can you not be a member of the bar association? I thought it was automatic. In fact, when you first pass the bar exam, they automaticlly give you one year free. Good thinking on pointing her to the website though, I didn't think of that!