Frequently Asked Questions
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Our Philosophy: Whether you are an individual or a business, we take your case as seriously as if it were our own. Every case is on a contingent-fee basis, which means we invest in your case, we share the risk in bringing your case and we fight hard to win your case.
General
Our experience over many years has allowed us to work with many fine and talented experts in a variety of medical and scientific fields. We look for experts who are knowledgeable and experienced in their fields but also experts who know how to communicate well with judges and juries.
You can email us at info@freiwaldlaw.com, call us at 855-937-9529, send a letter or even a carrier pigeon to 1500 Walnut St. Philadelphia PA, 19102, or find us at a coffee shop in center city!
Our office hours are 8:30am – 5:30pm Monday through Friday. But we work around the clock for our clients.
An average settlement is hard to say, because we focus on serious injury cases, the type of complex and challenging cases that most lawyers shy away from. Our typical case settles for six or seven figures.
We have handled hundreds of cases over the years. Though some settle at some point before trial, we have seen many, many cases all the way through trial and to a jury verdict.
We handle a variety of cases involving significant loss to individuals and companies. That means cases involving defective products and drugs, medical, hospital and surgical mistakes, motor vehicle crashes, victims of crime such as sexual assault and many other cases involving very serious injuries and losses.
Together we have decades of experience. Of course, having the right experience is the key. Our lawyers know what it takes to give your case the best chance of success. Importantly, we know how to take cases to trial and we have substantial experience in the courtroom.
Lawyer Questions
We concentrate in complex civil cases with an emphasis on trial preparation and trial practice. Our focus is commercial disputes, medical malpractice, product liability, motor vehicle cases, chemical and toxic exposure, crime victims’ rights, whistleblower cases and other litigation involving science and medicine.
One thing young lawyers should definitely do: Get to know some experienced lawyers. Be bold and ask the attorney to lunch or coffee. And feel free to consider one of us for that role. We really do value mentoring younger attorneys.
We do. We like to develop good working relationships with referral counsel so that we feel confident in trusting our clients to other lawyers with cases we don’t handle and so they feel comfortable with us doing what we do so well.
Our usual arrangement with referring attorneys is one-third of the fee earned. We also consider other arrangements with referring attorneys, especially with counsel we work with often.
Brain Injuries
The most important thing a person can do after suffering a brain injury is to make sure to get the best medical care possible. Don’t wait, and make sure to tell your physician all of the symptoms and problems you are experiencing. Second, get a lawyer involved who has experience handling cases involving brain injuries. You wouldn’t want a foot doctor (no offense!) doing brain surgery, right?
This depends on the kind of claim involved. The law defines the amount of time a person has to file a legal claim in court. If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury and you think you might have a case, it is very important to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible to make sure your rights are protected.
This depends entirely on the cause of the brain injury. It might be the driver of a car who causes a rear-ender and a traumatic brain injury. It might be the coach of a soccer or football team who sends a player back onto the field when that student clearly needs a concussion evaluation. It could be the chemical company that dumped toxic cancer-causing waste and caused contamination to drinking water supplies.
We have handled a variety of cases involving brain injuries including: traumatic brain injuries from car crashes; brain injuries from concussion on the sports field; and delayed or missed diagnosis of brain cancer. We have also handled cases of chemical exposure that caused brain cancer.
Cancer Misdiagnosis
The medicine and science of cancer detection has advanced greatly in the last couple of decades and yet, still, there are many, many cases where health care providers, even at the very best hospitals, just get it wrong. We have handled cases where the xray wasn’t read correctly; where the signs were not appreciated in time; where the medication was not administered properly; even cases where a person was diagnosed with cancer and received treatment only to learn later that there never was any cancer there. What should you do? Make sure you speak with a lawyer who has experience with these very complex, very sensitive cases.
Catastrophic Injuries to Children
Anywhere there are children. We have handled cases involving devastating injuries to children that occurred in school, on the playground, at home, in the street and in the hospital.
Anyone can be found responsible for an injury to a child. Could be a physician or nurse who fails to provide appropriate care. Could be a company that makes a dangerous or defective car seat or other product. Could be the driver of a car who is texting or is distracted in some other way while driving.
Construction or Workplace Injuries
Generally, we do not handle this specialized kind of case, but we work with many fine lawyers who do. We can help you find an excellent lawyer to help with your workers’ compensation claim while we work on other claims you might have involving your work injury. Oftentimes, a workers’ comp lawyer sends their clients to us for claims involving defective products or injuries from medical treatment that was necessary because of a workplace injury.
Many lawyers promise a quick settlement. We think it is more important to have a lawyer who can obtain the best settlement. A lawyer who understands how to prepare a case for trial and knows how to be successful in the courtroom is a lawyer who can fight the insurance company or the equipment manufacturer for the best settlement possible.
There are two important kinds of claims a worker can bring for an injury. First, you can bring a workers’ compensation claim to cover medical expenses and time lost from work. Second, you can bring a claim against a “third party,” someone other than your actual employer, such as another contractor on a job site or the manufacturer of a defective or malfunctioning piece of equipment. The law protects workers from being fired for bringing legal claims like these.
Catastrophic Injuries to Children
Defective drug cases are very challenging to investigate and require the involvement of an experienced attorney. Often, you know a terrible injury has taken place, such as a stroke, but the cause is not readily known. Is there a track record of bad outcomes with the drug in question? Is there evidence in the scientific literature to support the claim that the drug is defective? What if the drug company tries to hide or falsify records relating to the testing or development of the drug? These are questions an experienced lawyer can help you explore so that your rights can be fully protected.
Usually, a defective drug case involves claims against the maker of the drug, a pharmaceutical company or a pharmacy that is mixing and “formulating” the drug. These cases usually involve a failure to warn of serious side effects, complications or adverse interactions involving the drug.
Defective Products
The amount of any settlement depends on two crucial factors. First, how strong is the liability, meaning, just how wrongful is the conduct of the wrongdoer. And second, how serious are the injuries and losses. Product defect cases can involve the most serious bodily injuries. Settlements in these cases can be in the millions of dollars. We have represented companies where the losses are in the tens of millions of dollars. To explore this further, you really need to speak with an experienced attorney about the specifics of your own case.
Anyone who has been harmed by a defective product can bring a claim for compensation for losses and injuries. This could be the worker who is injured because of a defective industrial machine. It could be a patient who is injured in the hospital because of a defective surgical instrument. We represent companies, too, who have suffered substantial business losses because of defective products they relied on for their operations.
Defective products can involve almost any kind of product we use, such as a car, a drug (a vaccine, for example), a piece of industrial equipment, or a any other kind of consumer product. Defects can occur in the design or the making of a product. Defects can occur after manufacture and while the product is being stored or shipped. When these problems occur and cause a serious injury to someone, the manufacturer can be responsible for the harm caused.
False Claims and Fraud
Every case is different, of course. This is especially true in fraud cases where the specific facts are crucial to determining whether there might be a case. The best approach is to speak with an experienced lawyer to see whether you might have a claim.
We have handled many cases involving fraud over the years. These cases have involved diverse issues, such as securities fraud (such as a Ponzi scheme); false advertising by health care providers; government contractor fraud; seafood fraud (by a fish wholesaler falsely labeling its products); and insurance fraud (falsely denying claims by knowingly misleading insureds.)
Fraud is a false statement or claim that is intended to get someone else to do something or rely on that false statement. There are many, many kinds of fraud. For example, a contractor may make false statements to the government in order to secure lucrative construction jobs. A broker may make false statements about the virtues of an investment to induce you to part with large sums of money. Fraud can be false advertising or making false business promises. When the fraud results in serious injury, usually the loss of substantial sums of money, there may be a way to cover those damages in court.
Food Safety
Not everyone who gets an upset stomach after a spicy restaurant meal has a claim for damages. But, yes, food poisoning or contamination can result from carelessness at a food processing or packaging plant or poor infection control and hygiene standards in the kitchen. Food poisoning can result in serious injuries, including hospitalization and even death.
More and more we are paying attention to the safety of our food. Food safety means the integrity of the food we eat and feed to our children. When food processing companies fail to take consumer safety into account, for example, by using pesticides not approved by the FDA or by failing to follow industrial hygiene regulations, food can become contaminated and can cause very serious health effects.
Hazing
Yes, we have handled hazing cases. We represent the whistleblower in the Penn State fraternity hazing case, for example. We also have a resource website, www.endhazingnow.com, that offers vital information about the Penn State case and other cases around the country involving hazing and sexual assault on campus.
If you have been the victim of hazing, it is absolutely essential that you speak with the proper authorities about what happened. This might be your parents or school administrators or law enforcement. It is also important that you speak with an experienced attorney to make sure that your rights are well protected.
Hazing is against the law in most states. We might think of innocent college or fraternity pranks, but hazing often involves forcing someone to consume excessive amounts of alcohol or illicit drugs and often involves sexual assault as well. Extreme hazing can result in serious physical and emotional injuries and even, in some cases, death to the victim.
Insurance Company Bad Faith
Plain and simple, if you think are the victim of an insurance company’s bad faith, you need to speak with an experienced lawyer. Insurance companies make money when they deny claims and when the insured — that’s you — doesn’t fight back. You need to work with a lawyer who is not afraid to stand up to these gigantic companies and fight for your rights.
Insurance companies do deny claims and it’s not bad faith every time they do. Often, determining whether there is bad faith requires a close analysis of the insurance policy and technical terms regarding what claims are covered and what the insurance company’s obligations are to you, the insured.
Bad faith is any action an insurance company takes that violates its duty of acting in good faith. That can mean an insurance company failing to settle a claim in a timely manner. Or hiring an unqualified contractor to investigate and remediate property damage. Or denying a claim for fraudulent or improper reasons.
Medical Malpractice
Malpractice is really another word for negligence, the legal term for carelessness. So, medical malpractice is the failure to follow accepted standards of care. For a surgeon, this might mean committing an error during an operation that causes a devastating complication. For a nurse, it might mean administering the wrong dose of a medication.
Any healthcare provider who takes responsibility for the care of a patient can be responsible for a medical error. This includes physicians, yes, but also nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and even administrators.
Nursing Home Injuries
The best outcome, in our experience, is one where the victim and family receive financial compensation sufficient to pay for the losses suffered but also to help pay for a higher level of care than might have been available before. We have been gratified to be able to help families afford to place their loved one in facilities that are more comfortable, with more competent and attentive staff.
People in nursing homes, long-term care facilities or residential rehabilitation centers are often in need of the most diligent and thorough attention because of their already fragile state. Unfortunately, these patients are often the victim of neglect. Examples of nursing home injuries include bed sores from inadequate turning of the patient in bed; medication errors; or failing to take proper fall precautions.
Prescription Drug Errors
The most important thing a person can do is speak with a trusted healthcare provider. You might need to stop taking the medication in question. Or seek emergency medical attention for a complication. Or discuss what steps are needed to diagnose and treat the complications you are experiencing. It is also important to speak with an attorney who has substantial experience handling cases involving prescription drug error cases.
If you have been given the wrong drug, that could be the fault of the physician who ordered the medication, the pharmacist who dispensed the drug or the nurse who administered the drug. The same is true when the wrong dose of a drug is given and when a drug is given without appreciating the potential for an adverse reaction to another drug already being taken.
A prescription drug error usually involves prescribing or administering the wrong drug; or the wrong dose; or a drug that interacts with another drug to cause some harm. Drug errors are among the most common medical mistakes that occur in our healthcare system and cause tens of thousands of injuries every year.
Sexual Abuse and Assault
A crime victim may be able to get financial compensation from the perpetrator himself, but often these individuals have limited ability to pay for the injuries and harm inflicted. An experienced lawyer will understand how to investigate the prospect for others being held accountable for the crime, too. For example, the owner of a shopping center or an apartment building or college campus or school may be responsible for providing security and supervision on its property.
State and federal prosecutors use the criminal laws to hold criminal wrongdoers accountable for their actions. But the civil laws provide financial compensation to the actual victims of crimes. That’s where we come in. A victim of carjacking, for example, might have a claim for damages against a shopping center for inadequate security measures. A sexual assault victim may have a claim against a school for inadequate supervision and monitoring in the building where the assault took place.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Who can be held responsible depends entirely on the cause of the spinal cord injury. It might be the general contractor at a work site if the injury is because of a fall from a piece of construction equipment. It might be a surgeon who fails to recognize post-operative signs of a fluid collection or an infection; or it might be a truck driver who rear ends a car parked at a red light.
Injuries to the spinal cord can be among the most devastating because damage to the central nervous system can affect any — and sometimes every — aspect of our daily life. Injuries to the spinal cord can happen in the workplace because of a fall from a piece of equipment; or in a car crash while stopped at a red light; or in the operating room when a surgeon fails to take proper precautions; even from the spread of cancer that should have been diagnosed and treated sooner.
The most important thing a person can do after suffering a spinal cord injury is to make sure to get the best medical care possible. Don’t wait and make sure to tell your physician all of the symptoms and problems you are experiencing. Second, get a lawyer involved who has experience handling cases involving spinal cord injuries. You wouldn’t want a foot doctor (no offense!) doing neck or back surgery, right?
Toxic and Chemical Exposure
Chemical exposure cases are very challenging to investigate and require the involvement of an experienced attorney. Often, you know a terrible injury has taken place, especially the development of a rare cancer, but the cause is not readily known. Has there been contamination of the water or air around your home? Have you been exposed to asbestos or some other chemical contaminant at work? Is there a chemical exposure through a toxic consumer product in your home? These are questions an experienced lawyer can help you explore so that your rights can be fully protected.
Chemical exposure cases are challenging and expensive. The defendants in these cases, often drug and chemical companies, are some of the biggest, baddest corporations around. We have handled many of these cases, including what is likely the largest brain cluster case on record and the largest workplace brain cancer cluster litigation.
Trucking and Auto Accidents
We have handled many, many motor vehicle cases, including cases involving trucking accidents and cases involving the most serious injuries that can be suffered, especially brain and spinal cord injuries.
Many lawyers promise a quick settlement. We think it is more important to have a lawyer who can obtain the best settlement. A lawyer who understands how to prepare a case for trial and knows how to be successful in the courtroom is a lawyer who can fight the insurance company for the best settlement possible.
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is someone who raises concern about practices or policies by an employer. Often this wrongful conduct involves fraud or false claims to the government. When an employee raises concerns about this sort of conduct and then suffers some adverse action at work — such as a demotion or firing — then that person may be a whistleblower with a claim for damages.
There are many state and federal laws that protect the rights of workers who “blow the whistle” on workplace fraud. Often, a whistleblower is already being retaliated against by an employer or has already been fired for raising concerns about wrongful or fraudulent dealings at work. This type of retaliation is the kind of employer conduct that the law protects. You should consult a lawyer experienced in handling whistleblower cases because every situation is different and the claims available depend a lot on the facts of your situation.
