Every case is different. The value depends on your injuries, your medical bills, lost wages, and how the accident has affected your life. Call us. There is no charge to talk to us, and we will discuss the details of your case. See Case Results and Testimonials.

There is no charge to talk to us. We do not charge by the hour. We only get paid if you get paid. Our attorney fee is a contingency fee, which is a percentage of the total amount we recover for you, plus reimbursement of our out-of-pocket costs, such as the cost of ordering your medical records. Usually, our attorney fee is 1/3 of the total recovery. Since our fee is a percentage of what we get for you, we are both on the same team trying to get as much as we reasonably can. If we do not get anything for you, then our attorney fee is zero.

Most cases settle before trial. When the insurance company knows you hired an experienced attorney, they are more likely to settle because it will cost them money to go to court. The decision to settle or go to trial is yours. We are always prepared to go to trial to get you the money you deserve.

Sometimes a work injury is caused by someone other than your employer. For example, if you are driving a truck for work and another driver runs a red light and hits you, you were hurt on the job — but your employer did not cause the accident. In that situation, you would file a workers’ compensation claim for your immediate medical bills and lost wages. (Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering). At the same time, we can also pursue the at-fault driver for additional compensation, including your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost income, and other damages that workers’ compensation alone does not fully cover. If we recover money from the at-fault driver, Alaska law requires that workers’ compensation be reimbursed for benefits they already paid you. However, workers’ compensation cannot get a free ride on the back of your case — they have to share in the cost of recovery.

In general, if you are hurt at work and it was solely your employer’s fault, or that of a co-employee who was on the job at the time, then generally you are limited to a workers’ compensation claim. However, there are some limited exceptions. In one case, for example, an employer failed to follow OSHA standards by not providing adequate support for a retaining wall. The wall collapsed and resulted in the young man being killed. The employer did not have workers’ compensation insurance. Under Alaska law, if an employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance, an injured worker is allowed to bring a direct claim against the employer. Our firm fought this all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court. After we won the appeal, the case resulted in a verdict in excess of one million dollars against the employer. Another exception applies when a minor is illegally employed and injured while working with dangerous machinery in violation of child labor and workplace safety laws.

Alaska law has changed in ways that make it harder for some injured workers to sue a general contractor. Generally, under current law, if you are employed by a subcontractor and you are injured on a project, the general contractor — and even the project owner — is generally protected from a lawsuit and treated the same as your own employer, as long as workers’ compensation coverage was in place somewhere for you on the project. This issue comes up frequently on large construction projects, including work on Alaska’s North Slope. Every situation is different, and there are still important exceptions. Call us and we will discuss the details of your case.

In Alaska, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in court against the responsible parties. Do not wait. Call us right away.