Nobody wants the services of a personal injury attorney (as that means you've been injured), and while Mike does litigate other types of cases, I needed his help after my car was totaled by a distracted driver here in Davis.
After the accident I was honestly lost. My long term injuries were mental, in addition to some physical, and there are attorneys that are callous towards mental injuries. In fact I was mocked by an attorney in Sacramento. On the other hand Mike was extremely compassionate and understanding.
I retained Mike after our first in person meeting (this was in the pre-covid era). He walked me through the process, let me know what to expect, and told me of the pros and cons of each path. He ultimately let's the client choose the path best for them, and he will support either decision.
Insurance companies do not respect mental injuries unfortunately. Their final, best, offer was well below what we were asking. This meant that we had to file a lawsuit, extending the process. Then the pandemic hit. Things were chaotic, but Mike was persistent, and discussed what was happening even though things were now at a snails pace.
Along the way Mike hired an additional attorney into his firm named Rachel. She is wonderful and helps with the legal filings and is also there to help with questions. They are both there during depositions and mediations.
After a long period of back and forth, extended by the pandemic, we finally reached a settlement without going into court. Mentally it would not have been good for me to go to court, especially with the pandemic drawing out cases months to maybe even a year or more. I had to relive the accident during the deposition and would have had to relive it again in court. Mike (caring about my well being mentally) recommended against it, even though he was willing to proceed to court if I wanted.
In the end Mike and Rachel helped me secure a settlement about three times higher than what the insurance company wanted give, and while lower than what I wanted initially, mentally it was great to move on with less than having to drag this longer. Please note that Mike and Rachel were willing to move on to court if I wanted, but I decided it was best to settle.
Finally, Mike's office is hard to find initially. The office is on the second floor, and the door to the stairs is in between Temple Coffee and Zuma Poke (on the third street side of the building). Mike had to run out and find me the first time.
Thank you for all the help and support Mike and Rachel! read more
