What made you decide to pursue a career in law? Did you always know that you wanted to be a lawyer?
For me, choosing law was a very early decision. I was on the debate team in high school and found that I had a knack for building strong arguments to support a case. I knew then that I wanted to be a lawyer, so I had that in mind when I went to college and then to law school. At that point I wasn’t sure exactly what type of law I wanted to practice and ended up getting my first legal job in the insurance defense industry.
While I was happy to be working as a lawyer, I didn’t care for my job and always felt that I was fighting the wrong battle. I began representing injured individuals in my free time and quickly developed a satisfying and successful business with that. When my longtime friend from law school, Rick Hull, offered me the opportunity to take over a personal injury firm with him, I decided that fit well with what I wanted to do. It was then that we started Hull & Zimmerman.
Can you tell us a little bit about your approach to new clients and cases?
We are different from many firms in the way that we help our clients and handle our cases. Many firms put their clients through a structured “assembly- line” process and push cases through on a set schedule, even if it means sacrificing the amount of money the client receives. They don’t give much thought to the client’s unique needs and case-specifics.
Here at our firm, the first thing we do is focus on the client, not the legal case. We help you manage your medical care as you recover. We make sure that you are seeing the right types of doctors, that you are not being taken advantage of, and that you are getting the treatment that you need. We want to wait until we know the full extent of your injuries so that we have as complete a picture to work with as possible. Once you reach that point in your recovery, we can begin to move forward with the legal process and go to work for you.
How do you proceed with a personal injury case?
When it is time to proceed with your case, we package up all of the supporting materials that we have in a very specific way and send it to your insurance company. We include everything that can help to support your claim, including medical records, medical bills associated with the case, accident reports, witness statements, and photographs.
There is an art to the way all of this information is presented to make sure your claim is processed properly. Most insurance companies use a specialized software program to tally your qualifying injury costs, so if the information is not presented correctly you may not be paid the full amount that you are owed. For example, if you have a medical bill that does not have the proper codes to be recognized by the program, the insurance company will not accept that bill. To avoid problems, we craft your demand letter and packet in a very specific, simple format in hopes that the insurance adjuster will process it quickly and completely.
What do you think sets Hull & Zimmerman apart from competing firms?
I think one of the biggest advantages of working with our firm over others in the area is that when we take a case, the client is going to work with either me or Rick. We have paralegals that help us out with cases, but when you call our office or make an appointment to visit, you will be talking with us. When you hire us, we are the ones who sit down and meet with you to go over your case. We are very hands-on in all of our cases and take the time to talk with clients personally.
Many clients come to us from other firms because they are not getting that kind of personal attention elsewhere. Sometimes clients who hire another firm never even get the chance to meet with the senior attorney at the firm because the lead attorneys are working on larger, more profitable cases. Here at Hull & Zimmerman, we pay special attention to each client and handle every case ourselves. We have the patience to wait until we understand the full scope of your case so that we can push for a complete settlement.
At Hull & Zimmerman, P.C., we are honored to help accident victims in their time of need, and take our responsibility as personal injury lawyers incredibly seriously. We know how important it is for victims to secure the full and fair compensation they need following a serious accident, and that is why we take a hands-on, personalized approach to every case we handle.
awarded to a woman who was a victim of a car crash. The woman was driving the highway when the other driver approaching from the opposite direction lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line and hit her head on. She suffered multiple broken bones, including her hip, pelvis, leg, and right arm. She missed several years of work as a result of her injuries. Read More
awarded to a woman who was the victim of a t-bone car crash. The client suffered multiple injuries. The most significant of which was a head injury. While she was ultimately able to return to work on a part-time basis, Plaintiff was never able to return to work on a full-time basis. Read More
settlement awarded to a lady who suffered a head injury. She slipped and fell in a slanted parking lot at her place of employment. Evidence demonstrated that the owner of the building had constructed a fence shading the parking lot such that ice was allowed to continuously accumulate during the winter months. Multiple people had fallen on the ice prior to the client’s fall. As a result of her injuries, Plaintiff was forced to take early retirement. Read More
awarded to a man whose vehicle was hit from behind by a semi. The injured party suffered back pain and rotator cuff tears in each shoulder and was forced to retire from his job doing road repair four years earlier. Read More
settlement (policy limits) awarded to a young man who lost his eye when another child shot an arrow into the air. Read More
settlement obtained for a man who was injured in a rear end automobile accident. He suffered a herniated disc in his low back which was not well resolved by surgery forcing him to leave his employment as an apartment maintenance manager. Read More
awarded to a gentleman in association with a workman’s compensation case. He initially sustained a head injury at work when attacked by a patient. Several years later, his condition worsened resulting in his inability to return to work in his usual job. Read More
settlement achieved in a legal malpractice case. The client initially suffered a herniated disc in her neck in association with an automobile accident. The attorney failed to file the lawsuit in a timely manner and the Plaintiff was initially denied her ability to achieve any monies from the original lawsuit. Read More
settlement awarded to a man who was a victim of an automobile accident. Plaintiff was a passenger who was rear-ended by another driver. Following the accident, he suffered a long term back injury. Read More
settlement awarded to a lady who aggravated a pre-existing back condition when she slipped and fell at the entrance to a casino. Read More
awarded to a woman who suffered a rotator cuff tear from an automobile accident. Read More