Questions

Questions?

Q: What kinds of cases does the Angel Law firm accept?

A: Angel Law PC will consider any meritorious personal injury case where negligence has caused another person harm. That harm does not necessarily have to be physical harm, although it usually is. It can also be harm to a person's property, or harm to a person's career or even reputation.

Angel Law PC also represents employees who have been discriminated against in the workplace, lost their job due to illegal retaliation, including whistleblowing claims or been subjected to illegal harassment.

Patrick Angel is a Portland area personal injury lawyer and employment discrimination lawyer who will consider virtually any kind of meritorious injury case or discrimination case for a plaintiff, but typically represents clients who have cases in the following areas:

Q: Do I have a case?

A: With regard to personal injury lawsuits, the law requires every person in our society to use the best reasonable care in all their actions not to cause injury to another person or another's property. Negligence law today is the result of hundreds of years of societal development and is far and away the best mechanism by which our society addresses harmfully irresponsible or reckless behavior. If someone's unreasonable or careless actions have caused injury to you physically, or to your property you have a right to file a civil lawsuit seeking compensation. This right is protected by the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Contact a personal injury attorney at Angel Law PC to discuss your potential civil claim. As a plaintiff bringing a lawsuit you will have the burden of proving to the jury or to the judge that the defendant owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, that you suffered harm and that the defendant caused the harm. Those are the important legal elements to remember when thinking about a potential personal injury lawsuit.

With regard to employment discrimination, the law protects employees in the workplace from discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, cultural heritage, marital status, age or disability. An employer may not subject an employee to harassment or any other negative employment action due to an employee exercising his or her legal right to report discrimination. Contact an employment discrimination lawyer at Angel Law PC to discuss whether your employer's conduct has violated any of the employment laws enacted to protect you.

Q: Do I really need a lawyer?

A: It depends on the type of grievance you are interested in pursuing and the amount of monetary compensation you seek. Some cases, quite honestly, may not benefit from the involvement of a lawyer. In Oregon, as in many other states, countless individuals have successfully represented themselves in Small Claims Court and been awarded the fair monetary damages they sought. You can get more information about Oregon's Small Claims Court at http://www.osbar.org/public/pamphlets/smallclaims.html. However, in Oregon a claim filed in Small Claims Court, if successful, may only be awarded a maximum of $7,500. If your potential legal matter involves damages greater than $7,500, Small Claims Court may not be the best option for you. In truth, legal knowledge in today's world is a specialized area of knowledge such that an unrepresented plaintiff who goes it alone is really facing long odds in most situations. A Portland personal injury attorney at Angel Law PC can help you navigate the complex rules and legal requirements to get your case successfully resolved as smoothly as possible.

Q: Will I have to go to trial?

A: There have been numerous studies conducted in the last decade or so which reveal that in the United States only about 5% of civil cases filed actually get to the trial stage. This is because sometimes the plaintiff decides to drop his or her case some point after filing it, but more often the plaintiff and defendant agree to some kind of settlement which ends the dispute prior to trial, sometimes the week before trial. However, a good personal injury law firm must always be prepared to go the distance and present a client's case to the jury at trial. Important: Anyone with a personal injury claim or employment discrimination claim should make sure the law firm they select to handle their case is prepared to try the case to a jury if necessary. If a defendant or insurance company becomes convinced that a plaintiff is unwilling to take his case to trial, it's very unlikely a fair settlement offer will ever be made. As a personal injury lawyer and an employment discrimination lawyer at Angel Law PC, Patrick Angel is prepared to go to trial because Angel Law PC accepts only cases that we believe we can win.

Q: How long will my case take?

A: Unfortunately, there is no satisfying answer to this question that would be accurate because it depends on so many varying factors such as whether your case is litigated in State or Federal Court, what type of case it is, and how many parties are involved. Generally, a typical auto crash accident case, for example, filed in Multnomah County (State Court) is resolved within about a year from the date it was filed. It either settles within that time or is tried to a jury. However, if a person's injuries are serious, Angel Law may not file a case for a client for many months after the client has retained the firm in order to make sure the client's medical condition is completely understood. So, from the time a client first contacts Angel Law or another Portland area personal injury lawfirm his or her case may take one to two years to resolve or longer. And there are always exceptions.

Q: Is there a time limit to file my claim?

A: Yes, it's very important to consult an Oregon personal injury lawyer promptly, either at Angel Law PC or another lawfirm, to discuss your filing deadline! Different cases have different deadlines. Some kinds of cases for instance, have quite short deadlines and some cases require the plaintiff to notify the would-be defendant within 180 days of the occurrence of his or her intent to file a lawsuit. Other kinds of cases require a lawsuit to be filed within two years of the injury. Filing deadlines are strict and serious. Failure to file your claim or your notice within the time frame established by law could result in your right to file a lawsuit being lost. A personal injury attorney at Angel Law PC can help you determine the deadline related to your unique potential claim. But it's important to call as soon as possible.

Q: How much compensation will I get?

A: This is a common question, a difficult question, but one that's very understandable. Most clients who are contemplating pursuing a lawsuit want to make a determination about whether it's worth it, given the stress and potential disruption that litigation can often have on a person's life. An experienced Portland personal injury lawyer will be able to help come up with a good estimate of a case's value range. Angel Law PC can help estimate your case's value by considering numerous factors like lost wages, the cost of medical treatment, damage to property, the permanence of a physical impairment as well as other factors. Contact a personal injury accident lawyer at Angel Law PC today to discuss a value range for your potential lawsuit.

Q: What is a contingency fee?

A: A contingency fee is a payment arrangement where a client pays a fee for an attorney's services only if the outcome is successful, usually calculated as a percentage of either a jury award or a monetary settlement with the opposing party. Thus, at the end of litigation if Angel Law PC was successful in recovering money compensation for you, a percentage of that recovery will be paid for attorney services. This arrangement makes it easier for most people to pursue civil claims, especially injury or negligence claims which would otherwise be too expensive to pay for on a traditional hourly basis. When Angel Law PC accepts a case on a contingency fee basis, no legal fee is payable if Angel Law does not recover compensation for the client. In other words, no recovery for you, no legal fee for us.

Q: What should I do if I've been in a car accident?

A: CLICK here to read A HELPFUL GUIDE about What To Do if You've Been in a Car Accident.