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Car Accidents and Personal Injury Cases Vsam1040 Chicago LLC

Host:

Hello. Double mine. This is my mic.

Mike Bertucci:

Both mics, yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Double mic. It’s good to be back, how are you?

Host:

Yes, I’m all right, thank you. How are you doing today?

Mike Agruss:

Very good, thank you for having me.

Host:

Yes. Welcome to our general program. And today we’re going to talk a little bit more in depth of [inaudible 00:00:18] law firm. Would you please introduce yourself and say hello to your new client here, please?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. Hi, my name is Mike Agruss. I’m the managing partner of Mike Agruss Law. And today Mike Bertucci is joining us as well.

Mike Bertucci:

It’s great to be here.

Host:

Yes, I like Mike and Mike, in case, if I make a mistake, I know for sure I can just say Mike.

Mike Agruss:

It makes your job a lot easier.

Host:

Right, yeah. Based on getting information you two provide last week, and we got some general question and also we have some good feedback about Mike Agruss Law. So today, okay, we have some question about, okay, Mike Agruss Law handle. The first question for you, I believe, what type of cases do Mike Agruss Law handle in general?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. We handle personal injury cases. We primarily handle car accidents, nursing home abuse, dog bite cases, premises liability, which would be slip and falls, trip and falls. And we also handle medical malpractice cases. And when we’re talking about car accidents, we’re talking about a typical car accident, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, people who are injured in ride shares like Uber and Lyft. So, the car accident practice at the firm is a big umbrella, and there’s a lot of cases that fall under that.

Host:

Right, okay. [Vietnamese 00:01:44].

Yes, thank you for your answer. A lot of cases here, right?

Mike Agruss:

Yeah. Especially in Chicago, it’s such a congested area. And when you’re down in the Loop, you’re dealing with people on bikes and motorcycles and pedestrians and ride shares, taxis. So, yeah.

Host:

[Vietnamese 00:04:08].

The next question is for you, Mike, make sure! Okay, when I should hire a personal injury lawyer?

Mike Bertucci:

Sure, that’s a really good question. You want to make sure you hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. We can help make sure you get treatment right away, and see doctors who can help you recover. And we start to do our investigation that very same day. And that’s really important, because the insurance company is already going to be preparing its defenses and trying to minimize their claim, or your claim against them. So if you hire Mike Agruss Law right away, we can get started and maximize your recovery.

Host:

Yeah, okay. [Vietnames e 00:05:20] Mike Bertucci, right?

Mike Bertucci:

Yes.

Host:

Bertucci, yep. [Vietnamese 00:05:27].

Thank you for your answer here. The next question is how much does this cost to hire Mike Agruss Law?

Mike Agruss:

Good question. Yeah, that’s a good question. And it’s another reason why you should hire us as soon as possible, is because our services are free, unless we get a settlement for our clients, then we get paid. So there’s no risk, we work on a contingency fee. And what that means is we get a percentage of the settlement, or the recovery. And what’s important here as well is our contingency fee is one third and it never changes throughout the process.

And so there’s a lot of other attorneys in Chicago who will increase their contingency fee, once a lawsuit is filed, it’ll go to 40%. If you go to trial, it goes to 50%. Our contingency fee is always one third. It never changes. And we do not get paid unless we get a settlement for our client. So there’s no risk. As Mike Bertucci mentioned, high risk right away, so we can conduct an investigation and you’ve got nothing to worry about because we front all of our time, all of the cost, we pay for everything. And we don’t get paid unless there’s a settlement.

Host:

Right, okay. [Vietnamese 00:08:46].

Yes, thank you for your answer here. The next question is… This is a long question, okay!

Mike Agruss:

It’s an important one though.

Mike Bertucci:

It’s very important.

Mike Agruss:

Yeah, and I think that people maybe watching the show might be discouraged, or not want to hire an attorney because they think maybe they’re partially at fault. So this is a good one.

Host:

Yes, okay. This is a good one. [Vietnamese 00:11:13].

Yes, this is the next question. If I’m in a car accident or partially at fault, can I still recover damage?

Mike Bertucci:

Yeah, that’s a really good question, and the answer is yes. In Illinois, if you are 50% or less at fault, you can still recover money damages from the other side, and that’s called comparative negligence. So your recovery will be reduced based on your percentage of the fault. So if you’re, for example, 25% at fault in a car accident, then the other side’s insurance company will pay you 25% less in a settlement, than if you weren’t at fault at all. That’s why it’s important to call Mike Agruss Law right away, so we can start our investigation, and paint that case in the light most favorable to you, so that we can avoid any of that comparative negligence. And defendants’ insurance companies always do try to blame the plaintiff. And we do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen, but that’s why it’s important to call us right away, so we can do that investigation, and make sure we can reduce that comparative negligence.

Host:

Okay. Yes, thank you. [Vietnamese 00:12:37].

Yes, thank you, Mike. The next question is, talking about the insurance and then the people at fault and not at fault, okay. Coming up with the other question is, what happen if one of the insurance policy, they canceled before the accident. So what happen?

Mike Agruss:

If the at-fault driver who caused the accident, if their insurance was canceled or it wasn’t in place at the time of the accident? Good question. So in Illinois, you are, one, required to have insurance. And part of that requirement in Illinois requires you to have what’s called uninsured motorist coverage. And what that means is if the at-fault driver does not have insurance, you go after your own insurance company under an uninsured motorist claim. So you’re seeking damages from your own insurance company. And in Illinois, that’s required to have, and that’s another reason why it’s so important to have car insurance, and to have good car insurance, because other people out on the road don’t have insurance, or maybe they let their policy lapse, or maybe they have a bad insurance policy. And so if the other driver doesn’t have insurance and you have your own policy, you’re also covered under uninsured motorist coverage.

Host:

And what if your policies were canceled before?

Mike Agruss:

If no one has insurance?

Host:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

You’re out of luck. We see this all the time, people are driving around where their policies lapse, or they expire. And look, there’s nothing you can do. You need to have car insurance. And once again, a lot of people think that you’re getting car insurance to protect yourself if you hit someone else. Like if you’re at fault, you want to make sure you can cover their damages. And that is true, however, you also want to make sure you have insurance because if someone else hits you, which is often the case, and they don’t have insurance, you want to make sure you’re protected.

So I always tell people all the time, and I’m lucky I’ve got a USA insurance. But I have a million-dollar policy, on my car. So if I get an accident, I don’t have to worry if the other driver doesn’t have insurance, I don’t have to worry if they don’t have enough, because I know I have enough coverage. But even if your carrier doesn’t offer you a million dollars, or you just need to have smaller policy, whatever the case is? Have insurance. If you don’t, you’re out of luck. And look, we see this all the time and that’s what leads to bankruptcy and other issues because of medical debt.

Host:

Right, okay. Thank you. [Vietnamese 00:17:00].

All right, thank you. Thanks, Mike. The next question is, should I ever speak to an insurance company, if I’m injured in an accident?

Mike Agruss:

No, the answer is no. And people make this mistake all the time because they think that the insurance companies are there to help them, and they’re not. What the insurance company is trying to do is minimize your claim, minimize your damages. So all these commercials you see on TV, where we’re on your side, like a good neighbor. Unfortunately, it’s not true. So, what people need to do when they get involved in an accident and they’re injured, contact us, we will deal with the insurance companies. It’s literally one of the worst things you can do is talk to an insurance company after an accident, because you may say something you think is innocent, they’re recording the statement, and then it comes back to haunt you. Well, they use it against you to minimize the damages, even your own insurance company.

Let’s say, for example, you’re involved in an accident. You’re not at fault. And it turns out the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, and all of a sudden you’re going after your own insurance company, like we were just talking about for uninsured motors. If you told your insurance company a week ago, “Oh, I felt okay. Things aren’t that bad.” They’re going to use that against you when you try to settle your case against your own insurance company.

So, the short answer is hire us right away. And don’t talk to the insurance company. We’ll deal with all of that. The first thing we do when we’re hired is we send out a letter of representation to the other side, all the insurance companies saying, “Look, we represent this person. All the communication should come through us.” And then we can filter everything, and we can provide the information when we want to and how we want to, to the insurance companies. They may seem super nice on the phone, but they… It’s literally they… Yeah, I mean their business model is bringing in more money and premiums, and paying out as little as possible in claims.

Host:

Okay. That’s how they make money, right?

Mike Agruss:

Absolutely. So they’re not on your side, and they’re not a good neighbor.

Host:

Right, okay. Thank you. [Vietnamese 00:20:45].

We coming back in a few minutes. [inaudible 00:23:23], thank you.

Speaker 4:

[Vietnamese 00:23:34].

Speaker 5:

[Vietnamese 00:25:03].

Host:

[Vietnamese 00:25:51].

Yes, welcome back to the show. The next question is, what damage can I recover in a personal injury lawsuit?

Mike Bertucci:

Yeah, that’s a really good question, I think it’s important for people to know what they can recover. So first you can recover economic damages, which are easy to calculate, those are black and white, those are things like your medical bills and your lost wages, if you are unable to work for a period of time. And then you can also recover non-economic damages, which are not as clear-cut. They include things like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of a normal life, or any permanency or scarring or disfigurement as a result of your injuries.

And when you hire Aris law firm, we can maximize your damages and maximize your settlement from those damages. And it’s important to keep in mind that lawyers get their clients three times or more money in a settlement, than if people were trying to handle a claim on their own. So call us right away.

Host:

Yes, okay. Thank you. [Vietnamese 00:29:44].

Thank you. The next question is for Mike. Do I have to file a lawsuit, or litigate my case for years if I hire Mike Agruss Law.

Mike Agruss:

No, so we understand that people don’t like litigation. They don’t like being in court. They don’t like answering discovery, turning over documents, depositions. When you file a lawsuit, there’s a lot of involvement that our clients have to participate in. We understand that. And sometimes it’s necessary to file a lawsuit. We do our best to make sure that things are organized, our clients are getting treatment, we order records and bills right away, and we try to settle all of our cases without filing a lawsuit. And we have a lot of success doing this, because we have a super organized system, and we understand that people don’t want to be involved in litigation.

So we do our best to settle what’s called pre-suit, meaning, before filing a lawsuit. And like I said, we’ve got a really good success rate doing this, and we know what cases are worth, and we know what insurance company should pay. And look, if an insurance company doesn’t agree with us and they’re not paying what’s reasonable and what’s fair? By all means, we’ll file a lawsuit, and we’ll fight tooth and nail. But we understand that people like to resolve things outside of court, so we do our best to make sure that that happens, and I can say that we do that more often than not with our personal injury cases.

Host:

Okay. Wow. That’s very interesting. I mean, saying, okay, why do I need to get an attorney? To protect, [crosstalk 00:32:44]. Yes. [Vietnamese 00:32:47].

Yes, thank you for your answer here. Next question [inaudible 00:34:35], will you handle my property damage claim too?

Mike Bertucci:

Yes, we do handle the property damage claims, and we do those for free. We can help you get your car out of storage. We can help you get your car repaired, and you don’t have to pay us at all for doing that for you. And most firms don’t do that, so that’s really unique about our firm. We do do that for every client, and we do it for free.

Host:

Okay, all right, thanks. [Vietnamese 00:34:59].

Yes, the time, I believe, the time is almost up. I’ve got a last question. When someone hires your law firm, do you handle the case from the start to finish?

Mike Agruss:

Really good question. And the answer is yes. We always handle our cases start to finish. And so, just driving here today to get to the office, let me give you a quick example. I passed a couple of billboards of personal injury attorneys on the highway. And I know for sure one of the billboards I saw is, it’s just a referral firm. They do advertising and marketing, you call them up and then they refer you out to another law firm. So when you hire Mike Agruss Law, I’m working on your case, Mike Bertucci’s working on your case. We’re accessible, and we’re going to handle things start to finish. We’re not just on the TV show to get the case and then refer it out to another firm. We handle things start to finish.

You can always talk to your lawyer over phone, email, text. It’s always us. We’re not going to refer your case out. And this is important because attorneys do tons of advertising and marketing. They spend a lot of money to be out in front of people. And there are some firms out there that’s what they do, they’re advertising and marketing firms. You think you’re hiring a law firm, and then all of a sudden they refer you out to someone else. So we always handle our cases start to finish.

Host:

Okay, all right. Thanks. [Vietnamese 00:37:16].

Before we say goodbye, again, thanks so much for joining our program and hopefully people, they like it. And don’t forget, like it and subscribe, and hopefully we’ll see you next week for more information about the car accident and personal property damages.

Mike Agruss:

Yeah. Mike and I’ll both be back next Tuesday for the show. So, thanks for having us on.

Host:

Sure.

Mike Bertucci:

Thank you.

Host:

All right, thanks. Before we say goodbye. Best wishes to all of you. Thank you, goodbye.

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