Every attorney wants to focus on areas where they feel they can be the most successful. I choose to limit the number of cases I handle so I can put a great deal of effort into every case. That is why I limit my practice to catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. I also enjoy the complicated and complex cases that are challenging, like medical malpractice cases.
When the stakes are high, that’s when we are likely to get calls from referring attorneys and clients who have heard about our results.
Having a lot of cases and a lot of lawyers is good for the law firm. Having one or two lawyers dedicated to their case is good for the client. Early in my career I handled a hundred cases at a time, and it was not as satisfying for me, and not as good for the client. One of the things clients most appreciate is access to me on a 1-to-1 basis.
To get the best result you must work closely with clients and have a personal commitment to the case - their case is one of the most important events in the client's life; they should not be just another file.
If your case is one where more legal resources are needed we will associate at no cost to you with the best lawyers for that specific need.
Where size does help is having the financial ability to properly fund a case. Fortunately, I have had a lot of success over the years and can fully fund all our cases without difficulty. Not all small firms can do that, but we can. We have a unique combination of personal service and financial capacity to pursue complicated catastrophic claims.
We didn’t build our reputation with slick marketing or public relations campaigns. Clients are referred to us because of our reputation for success in more serious and complex medical malpractice, and other catastrophic injury and death cases. Referring attorneys know the integrity we bring to the profession and the ability to help clients get the full compensation to which they are entitled.
Advertising gets firms one-time clients but we believe only skill, passion for the law and achieving verdicts and settlements can get clients to recommend you to friends, coworkers and loved ones. It’s the only reason a referring attorney will send you a client when his or her reputation is on the line.
All injury lawyers work the same. There is no cost to you unless we make a recovery, the fees are a percentage of the recovery. We advance all the expenses of the case, which are only repaid if there is a recovery. There is no financial risk to find out if you have a case.
Since I started practicing law, my greatest source of pride has been the heartfelt gratitude received from clients. I am also proud that some of the legal community’s most respected organizations have rated us so highly, as well.
The largest and most comprehensive rating of lawyers in the world, Martindale – Hubble awarded Donald Hinkle the highest possible mark, an “AV” rating. The “AV” rating indicates that we offer the highest level of legal skill with faithfully adhering to ethical standards, professional reliability more. The ratings are based on confidential recommendations to the publisher from lawyers and judges.
Donald M Hinkle has been listed by Best Lawyers for decades and was Lawyer of the Year 2010, Personal Injury Litigation. Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For more than 25 years, Best Lawyers® lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) is an elite organization comprised of half plaintiffs’ attorneys and half defense attorneys. A founding member of the Tallahassee Chapter, Don Hinkle has twice served as local President of this “by invitation only” association. In addition to serving as President, Don Hinkle was awarded the 2002 Civility Award for professionalism and was 2021 Lawyer of the Year.
Not every attorney can achieve this distinction. As board certified members of the NBTA, you can be confident that our goal is to offer nothing less than experienced representation with the highest level of commitment to clients and the legal profession, itself.
Attorneys certified by The Florida Bar in Civil Trial Advocacy possess special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in their areas of practice. Certification is the highest level of recognition by the Florida Bar concerning the competency of attorneys. In addition to written examination and experience requirements, judges and other lawyers must favorably evaluate a lawyer for board certification to be awarded.
This certification is of attorneys specializing in Medical and Legal Malpractice cases. It required passing a written examination and meeting experience requirements.
The Million Dollar Advocates Forum was formed to give recognition to those trial lawyers, throughout the United States, who have achieved a verdict, award, or settlement in the amount of One Million Dollars or more. Don Hinkle has verdicts of more than a million dollars in medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability, automobile crash, premises liability, dram shop (liquor liability) and civil rights cases. He has handled dozens of cases that have settled for more than a million dollars.
This publisher surveys attorneys who are asked to whom they would refer a close friend or family member in need of specialized legal advice. We are humbled that our firm has been repeatedly named in the area of personal injury law.
Florida Trend Magazine has identified Tallahassee personal injury lawyer Donald Hinkle as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite”.
Hiring Hinkle Law to handle your catastrophic injury or death case involves signing several documents, including authorizations that allow us to gather your medical records and other key documents. Depending on the type of case, we will start gathering your medical records, have investigators interview key witnesses, gather the results of other investigations and often search medical literature and for other similar cases around the country.
If the case involves a catastrophic injury, we often have our clients evaluated by rehabilitation doctors, life care planners and others to prepare the claim. We want to gather the evidence needed to maximize their recovery.
It may take several weeks for others to provide us records or complete their review and analysis, but eventually we are ready to retain experts and if there is a claim notify the potential defendants of our representation and present your claim.
Sometimes the circumstances are such that an early settlement is appropriate, and we will make a demand. Sometimes there is additional information we need, or your injuries have not matured, and we push forward without making a settlement effort. These are decisions that have to be made case by case.
Eventually, if the case does not settle early, we are at the point of filing a lawsuit. Once we file, there will be a period of “discovery” during which the parties must exchange information. Most cases settle at mediation. If your case does not, we will move forward towards trial.
If at some point we settle, there will be an accounting of all our costs and expenses and any outstanding liens or promises to pay others. We will draft a closing statement with all the financial details of the case. You will review the closing statement, and if all is right, we will distribute the settlement proceeds as directed.
If you do not settle and want to go to trial, we are prepared and able to provide expert representation.
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