by winburnlawDo People Really Get Millions Of Dollars Because They Spill McDonald’s Coffee On Themselves?
In Vermont, the answer is no. Yet, most people have heard about McDonald’s hot coffee case and believe this to be universally true because “everybody knows its true” regardless of which new paper or new show they watch. The facts and details of what actually happened are found in a movie called “Hot Coffee” that Variety described as an “eye‑opening indictment of the way big business spins the media”. You can go to www.hotcoffeethemovie.com for more information. In the HBO documentary film, Susan Saladoff interviews the actual people involved and the facts of the case rather than the fiction than what is promoted by insurance companies and other big businesses to be true. The public is predisposed to believe the fiction, presumably because it is in line with the perception people have about the system and accept a conclusion without actually knowing the facts of the case. Insurance companies promote this fiction because it is good for their bottom line to disparage claimants and the Court system.
The reality is that cases are decided by skeptical jurors who do not want to be fooled. Most are predisposed to believe that the “hot coffee case” is the way things usually turn out in court and don’t want to be a part of anything like that. However, when was the last time you ever heard of this kind of result in Vermont? Yet, nearly two decades have passed and most people think the “hot coffee case” is a common example of frivolous lawsuits that “clog” the courts and take advantage of the system. This is completely untrue, but you would have to practice personal injury law for 40 years to know the “real truth”.
This is why you need a personal injury attorney to help you through the process. Wherever you live – in Bennington, Burlington, Brattleboro, Rutland, Woodstock, St. Albans, Montpelier, Manchester, Springfield, the Northeast Kingdom or out‑of‑state, if you have had an accident in Vermont, Winburn Law Office can help. If you have a personal injury problem feel free to contact us at (802) 447-0100 or www.winburnlaw.com.
©Winburn
Law Offices
by winburnlawWhy Would A Case Be A “Federal” Case?
There are two court systems in Vermont – the State system and the Federal system. In personal injury cases, jurisdiction depends on the amount in controversy and the connection of the parties to Vermont. Sometimes there can be an advantage to file in Federal Court, other times State Court is more appropriate, but more frequently a case does not qualify to be filed in Federal Court. These are complicated issues that require legal advice to protect your rights.
If you believe you have an accident claim contact us for a fee evaluation – if we take your case, we don’t get paid unless we get money for you. Our law office reviews cases throughout the State of Vermont – in Manchester, Bennington, Rutland, Burlington, Woodstock, St. Albans, Brattleboro, Montpelier, Woodford, Springfield, Wilmington, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawWhat Is The “National Board of Trial Advocacy”?
The NBTA “board certifies” lawyers in “civil trial advocacy” in a process sanctioned by the United States Supreme Court. It is probably the most significant way a lawyer can show their professional credentials. Doctors have used Board Certification for many years to denote their specialty in different areas of medicine.
The concept behind this process is that certification will assist the public in identifying attorneys who have experience and background to represent them. To be board certified, a lawyer has to take a test that is somewhat similar to a bar examination, show proof that they have actually tried cases, prove meaningful participation in court and have exhibited good conduct throughout their practice. There are very few lawyers in the State of Vermont who are board certified and they are listed at Nblsc.us. This organization requires payment of an annual fee and also requires re-certification every five years so that continuing proof of standards is maintained.
Patrick Winburn of Winburn Law Offices has been board certified in civil trial advocacy for over 20 years – longer than any other attorney in the State of Vermont.
Winburn Law Offices limits its practice to personal injury matters. It is one of the few offices in Vermont to restrict its practice in this way.
We represent people throughout the State of Vermont – in Springfield, Brattleboro, Woodstock, St. Albans, Rutland, Montpelier, Newfane, Manchester, Wilmington, the Northeast Kingdom, Burlington, Bennington and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont. If you have a personal injury problem contact us for a free consultation.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawLegal Organizations That Rate Lawyers – What Does It Actually Mean?
There are a number of legal organizations that rate lawyers. Some employ meaningful ways of rating lawyers. For other groups, lawyers simply belong the legal “organizations” and are members simply by paying dues.
By paying dues any lawyer can belong to a local or state bar association including the Vermont Bar Association, the Bennington County Bar Association, as well as the American Bar Association. Although there may be standards associated with good conduct, any lawyer can belong by paying their dues. They provide good organizational benefits for lawyers such as continuing legal education programs, meetings, sharing information and lists of members so lawyers can contact each other.
However, lawyers who belong to the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association (a non-profit corporation) have to have tried at least one case and is a useful measure of the attorney you are considering to hire. Pat Winburn is a founding member of the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association and is currently of Trustee on the board of trustees.
Other groups rate lawyers. Most of these rate lawyers in return for a fee. It is not especially meaningful to legal consumers since all they are finding out is that a lawyer has paid money to list themselves on what is supposed to be a “service”.
However, there are a few other organizations that are actually meaningful and have more rigorous membership requirements. Upcoming posts will discuss these – the “National Board of Trial Advocates”, “Martindale-Hubbard”, “Best Lawyers”, “Super Lawyers”, and the “Million Dollar Advocates Forum” are some of these in addition to the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association previously mentioned.
We accept cases throughout the State of Vermont – in Bennington, Burlington, Brattleboro, Rutland, Woodstock, St. Albans, Montpelier, Manchester, Wilmington, Springfield, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont. If you have a personal injury problem contact us for a free consultation.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawIs It Better If I Try to Negotiate with an Insurance Company Myself If I Have Been Involved in an Accident In Vermont?
Most people are contacted by an insurance company after an accident. People often wonder whether they should try to negotiate their own claim or hire an attorney.
The insurance company knows the rules and most people do not. It is like playing football where one side knows the rules and the other side does not. What are the chances that you will win? Hiring an attorney equalizes the playing field and gives you the information and advice you need to make an informed decision.
Wherever you live - in Bennington, Burlington, Brattleboro, Rutland, Woodstock, St. Albans, Montpelier, Manchester, Springfield, the Northeast Kingdom or out-of-state, if you have had an accident in Vermont, let us know if we can help. The consultation is free, and if we take your case you don’t pay anything unless we get money for you. ©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawWhen Will My Case Settle If I Hire An Attorney?
Cases can settle at any time. Most cases are settled – but sometimes later rather than sooner because of insurance company tactics. It is in the insurance companies’ interest, especially in large cases, to withhold payment for as long as possible. For example, if an insurance company owes $1,000,000.00 to someone and can pay them three years later it does not cost them $1,000,000.00 to pay them in three years – because of the savings by investing that same money over the course of time. If the insurance company has made a 10% investment return on your money, in 3 years they are really paying you $700,000.00. If this scenario is repeated multiple times involving huge amounts of money then the insurance company has made a good business decision for themselves.
That is why it is important to not let the insurance company drag out the resolution of a case. Of course, certain information has to be known before a case can be evaluated and sometimes does take time. And not all cases are worth $1,000.000.00.
However, there are other times when the case is not “ripe” for settlement and needs to be determined with the help of a lawyer had whether you wait or not, it will still cost you one third – so don’t wait. You need legal counsel to make the best informed decisions you can.
We handle cases all over the State of Vermont – in Bennington, Burlington, Brattleboro, Rutland, Woodstock, St. Albans, Montpelier, Manchester, Springfield, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont. If you think we can help you, contact us for a free consultation – no fee until we receive money for you.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawWho Is The Top Judge In Vermont?
The highest State court in Vermont is the Vermont Supreme Court and the Chief Justice is Rutland attorney Paul Rieber, at least as of December, 2019. (Some day he will retire). There are five members of the Vermont Supreme Court and a majority vote is needed to make a decision. There is usually a written opinion by the Court at the conclusion and their written opinions are published in a bound volume called Vermont Reports. They are also available online.
These cases go back to 1824 and can be considered precedent that lawyers and courts are supposed to follow. These opinions can change over time but it is rare that there is an outright complete reversal of a previous case, because of a legal concept called “stare decisis”.
If you believe you have an accident claim contact us for a fee evaluation – if we take your case, we don’t get paid unless we get money for you. Our law office reviews cases throughout the State of Vermont – in Manchester, Bennington, Rutland, Burlington, Woodstock, St. Albans, Brattleboro, Montpelier, Woodford, Springfield, Wilmington, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawWhy Is Insurance Not Disclosed To Juries During Trials?
With few exceptions, Vermont juries are never told that the personal injury claim they are deciding has insurance. That is because there is a rule of evidence that excludes this information because it is thought that it may affect the juries’ determinations and cause higher verdicts.
However, others believe that if the jury thinks that payment of their verdict will come out of the pockets of the individual defendants, this will potentially reduce the amount of verdict. Juries are left to wonder where the money to pay the verdict will come from even if they ask the judge during deliberations. The allowance of this information to the jury requires the court system to engage in a “legal fiction” to the advantage of insurance companies and to the disadvantage of consumers.
We offer free consultations to help you make a more informed choice. Our background and experience (see the “In The News” page of this website) can help in making a good decision about who should be hired to handle your case. We have offices in Bennington and Manchester, Vermont and handle cases throughout the entire State.
If you believe you have an accident claim contact us for a fee evaluation – if we take your case, we don’t get paid unless we get money for you. Our law office reviews cases throughout the State of Vermont – in Manchester, Bennington, Rutland, Burlington, Woodstock, St. Albans, Brattleboro, Montpelier, Woodford, Springfield, Wilmington, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawHow Long Does It Take To Get “To Court” In Vermont?
In most Superior Courts in Vermont, a civil suit will take between one and two years after filing before your case is in front of a Judge and Jury after a lawsuit is filed. This is what is commonly viewed as being “in Court”. In rare circumstances, it is possible that it will take longer. Cases tried before judges without a jury can sometimes be quicker. Each county has a separate Superior Court staff and the wait time varies depending on the efficiency of the Court staff and the volume of cases in the county. Usually, cases are dealt with on a “first come, first served” basis and claimants essentially wait their turn.
Civil cases that are filed in Federal Court can sometimes be even quicker but there are certain standards that first have to be met for Federal Court jurisdiction to apply and most civil cases are not eligible to be in Federal Court. Federal Court requires what is called “Early Neutral Evaluation” which encourages litigants to attempt settlement sooner than State Court.
There are urban legends about how cases take five to ten years to actually reach a conclusion and this may be true in other states. However, in Vermont, it would be extremely unusual for a case to take that long after filing to reach a conclusion.
We handle tort law (personal injury) cases from Bennington to St. Albans, Vermont, the Northeast Kingdom to Brattleboro and all points in between. If we can be of service please feel free to click on our “Contact Us’ page at winburnlaw.com or call toll free at 800-640-5100.
If you believe you have an accident claim contact us for a fee evaluation – if we take your case, we don’t get paid unless we get money for you. Our law office reviews cases throughout the State of Vermont – in Manchester, Bennington, Rutland, Burlington, Woodstock, St. Albans, Brattleboro, Montpelier, Woodford, Springfield, Wilmington, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont.
©Winburn Law Offices
by winburnlawIf I Am Hit By An Out-of-State Driver In Vermont Does That Mean I Have To Go Out-of-State To Make My Claim?
Generally, no. Definitely not in for accidents that occur in Vermont. Vermont has a statute that causes out-of-state drivers to submit to the jurisdiction of Vermont by the fact that they have used Vermont’s roads during their travels. In other words, if they are driving on the roads resulting in an accident they have, by law, agreed to be sued in Vermont.
If you believe you have an accident claim contact us for a fee evaluation – if we take your case, we don’t get paid unless we get money for you. Our law office reviews cases throughout the State of Vermont – in Manchester, Bennington, Rutland, Burlington, Woodstock, St. Albans, Brattleboro, Montpelier, Woodford, Springfield, Wilmington, the Northeast Kingdom and anywhere else where there is jurisdiction in the State of Vermont.
©Winburn Law Offices