Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

Helping You Back on the Road to Recovery

We represent people. We don't represent corporations or insurance companies. Our clients have suffered extraordinary damages. Many are left permanently disabled. None of them can do the one thing they desire most: to simply return to the life they lived before the injury. We are here to help what can be helped and to fix what can be fixed. We also understand the lifetime Human Losses that you are suffering. We will help you and your family transition toward the road to recovery by seeking to maximize the compensation necessary to protect your future.

Client Oriented-Results Driven Caring Lawyers

At Jouard & Pickering, P.C. we treat every client's case as our most important. We are not a volume law practice. We don't advertise on television. We don't let our cases me managed by non-lawyers or even low-level attorneys. When you select Jouard & Pickering, P.C., either Steve Jouard or Bob Pickering will personally handle your case. The attorneys will take your calls. You will be provided updates on all important developments by telephone call, email or letter. We limit the number of cases we take to a few select clients so that we have the time to dedicate our representation to you. We do not sell cases. If we cannot maximize your result through settlement, we try to your case to a jury. We care for our clients and our result reflect our dedication to your and your family.

Dealing With the Other Insurance Company or Corporation.

Insurance companies are corporations. They have one goal i.e, to settle your case for as little as possible so that the bottom line for the stockholders make as much profit as possible. When a claims adjuster calls you, its often simply to obtain information that the insurance companies lawyers can later use to defeat your claim or limit the insurance companies losses. While there are instances where people are treated fairly by insurance companies from the outset, we encourage you to seek counsel immediately so that your rights are preserved. At Jouard & Pickering, P.C., we will protect your interests, not the stockholders' interest.

Dealing With Your Insurance Company.

Sometimes one of the most frustrating and confusing barriers to recovery is dealing with your own insurance company. Many times those injured by others don't realized that they have a right to recover against their own insurance. For example, when you pay premiums to your own insurance company for medical payments insurance and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you are buying peace of mind in the event the other driver doesn't have insurance or doesn't have enough insurance. When you are catastrophically injured, sometimes there just isn't enough insurance for the other driver to make you whole. In that case, your own insurance company should step up the plate by providing the uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits that you paid premiums for over the years.

Regardless of whether or not you decide to retain us as your attorneys, we encourage you to call for a free initial consultation. The insurance issues involved in preserving you and your family's right to insurance proceeds under your own insurance policies are complicated and require immediate attention. Settling with the driver of the car causing injury without taking the appropriate steps with your own automobile insurance company may jeopardize your rights to underinsured motorists coverage and personal umbrella insurance coverage. In addition, settling with the driver may impair your clams against other persons or companies.

What is Subrogation?

Health insurance companies and employee benefits plan pay your for your health care when you are injured, but may or may not be entitled to be paid back some or all of the amounts they have paid toward your health care. When these corporations come to you and say they want to be paid back first out of any money you receive in settlement, they are seeking was is called "subrogation". Colorado recently enacted new laws protecting those injured from health insurance companies and corporation seeking subrogation. In many cases, the health insurance company or the employee benefit fund must take the "second seat" in you are not made whole by the settlement. In such cases, you get paid first for your injuries, not the insurance company. The law also now requires the insurance companies to share the cost of attorneys fees and expenses in recovering any amount they are repaid. Prior to this new law, insurance companies got a free ride at your expense. The issues involved in reducing the amount of any claim of subrogation are complex and will require specialized knowledge of both Federal and State law. The lawyers at Jouard & Pickering, P.C. will help your navigate these issues as part of our representation in your personal injury or wrongful death case to maximize your net recovery.

Helping With the Costs of Litigation.

The cost of a lawsuit is a major concern for the catastrophically injured people we represent and their families. Jouard & Pickering, P.C. is a contingency-fee firm. Our clients do not pay a fee unless there is a successful conclusion to their case. Our fee is tied to a client's monetary recovery in the case. We advance all up-front costs and expenses needed to successfully prosecute our clients' cases to successful conclusion.

Our Expertise

We are trial lawyers. We represent people, not insurance companies and not corporations. Each of the lawyers at Jouard & Pickering, P.C. are peer review rated at Preeminent Lawyers by Martindale Hubble Law Directory. There are no associate attorneys. Your case will be handled by either Steve Jouard or Bob Pickering. Except for a very small portion of commercial litigation, our practice is limited to serious personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Contact the law firm of Jouard & Pickering to help you and your family. We will arrange a free initial consultation, during which we will evaluate your case and advise you of your legal options.

Jouard & Pickering, P.C.
2038 Caribou Drive
Suite 100
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Phone: 970-482-1977
Toll-free: 888-482-1977
Fax: 970-225-6649
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