Frequently Asked Questions

Over 50 Years of Experience - When you work with our firm, you get the experience of Robert B. Hart, Christopher R. Hart, and Jonathan D. Hart working on your behalf. We have handled all types of serious personal injury matters including car accidents, pedestrian accidents, dangerous products, construction accidents and wrongful death cases. Our experience can be the difference between getting a small settlement or getting a large settlement that you deserve when you have suffered a serious injury. 

Never a Fee Unless We Win Your Case - Our personal injury attorneys handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we successfully resolve your case and recover money on your behalf.

Millions of Dollars Recovered for Utah Injury Victims - Our attorneys have recovered millions for serious injury victims. If you have a serious personal injury case, you need a serious personal injury attorney. Our goal is to maximize your case and take the time to give you the personal attention you need when facing pain or loss due to someone else’s negligence.

When someone has been in an accident, or suffered an injury as a result of the fault of another, a common question is whether they have a case. If you were injured in an automobile accident, a slip-and-fall incident, or other type of incident,  a critical issue is whether or not you have a case that can be pursued. This question is not easily answered and must be decided on the specific facts pertaining to the accident or incident. There are many factual and legal issues that need to be considered in order to gauge the merits of a case. That is why, when you have suffered an injury, it is recommended that you seek the advice of an attorney who is experienced in the field of personal injury litigation. The attorneys and the experienced staff at Hart & Hart will meet with you to decide if you do indeed have a viable case. Essential information will be gathered and evaluated in order to determine what options are available to you. 

The evaluation of a personal injury case must take many factors into consideration. Every case is different. Typically, the question of what a case is worth cannot even be approximated until a thorough review of relevant documentation has been conducted. The factors considered to determine a case value are usually: the dollar amount of medical bills, the length and extent of disability, scarring, loss of function, residual symptoms, lost wages, physical and emotional pain and loss of enjoyment of life. 

To start, we do not get paid unless you receive a settlement or judgment. In an automobile accident as well as other personal injury cases, the attorney will be paid on a contingency fee agreement. This means that the attorney will take a percentage of the final settlement or judgment as his or her fee for services in prosecuting the injured person’s claim. If there is no recovery, then there are no attorney’s fees or costs under the contingency fee agreement that need to be paid. This entails a great risk for the attorney in that they are working for a fee which hinges on the outcome of the case or claim which may not be resolved for months or years. 

After any accident, whether job-related, auto accident, slip & fall, or other type of accident, it is important to know what steps to take to protect yourself. It is crucial that all aspects of the accident are documented. These are the basic most important steps that should be followed in an accident:

Car/Motorcycle/ATV Accident:

• Determine whether it is safe to exit your vehicle. 
• Check to see the condition of others and if they are hurt. 
• Call 911 and law enforcement for assistance. 
• Move to a safe location out of the way of other vehicles if possible. 
• Remain at the scene until law enforcement arrives. 
• Take photos of all vehicles and injuries. 
• Be co-operative with law enforcement and get the officer’s name and badge number. 
• Get the name, address, phone numbers and insurance company information of others in the accident. 
• Obtain contact information from all witnesses to the accident. 
• Do not discuss the accident with any insurance company personnel of the at-fault driver. 
• Call your own insurance company to report the accident. 
• Contact a personal injury attorney from Hart & Hart, P.C.

Slip and Fall/Premise Liability Accident:

• Take pictures of the dangerous condition at the accident location. 
• Obtain the name, address and phone number of all witnesses to the accident or dangerous condition. 
• Get medical attention. Keep all documentation in a safe place. 
• Contact a premises liability attorney from Hart & Hart.

Of course we can. We have helped many clients who have been in accidents or were hurt outside of Utah. We take on the task of dealing with insurance companies and advocate for the best solution for our clients. If your case requires filing of a lawsuit outside of Utah, then we will work with you up until filing a lawsuit and also help coordinate with an attorney in the state where the lawsuit is to be filed.  

Hart & Hart has helped thousands of families in Utah with estate planning. With the help of Hart & Hart, estate planning is made easy on you.  As experienced lawyers in estate planning, choosing Hart & Hart will allow you to  ensure that the assets you have worked so hard to accumulate during your lifetime are protected at death and are distributed as you choose. 

Often confused and used interchangeably, trusts and wills are actually very different from each other. Some of these key differences are important to know when deciding how you want to protect and distribute your assets. Both documents are used to distribute assets, but they do so in different ways.  Here are a few key differences:

Wills distribute whatever is in the name of the testator (the person who made the will), while trusts distribute whatever is in the name of the trust.  That is why it is important, when creating a trust, to put your assets in the name of your trust. 

Wills take effect on the death of the testator, while Trusts take effect when created. After a trust is created, the trustee or trustees manage the trust for the benefit of the trust's beneficiaries (see how a revocable living trust 

Wills are subject to the court's probate system to verify the wills and to ensure that the testators' assets are distributed as desired in their wills. By doing so, the distribution of assets under a will are public. On the other hand, Trusts are not subject to the probate system and the distribution of the grantor's assets are kept private. 

Revocable Living Trusts are the most common type of trust.  In a revocable living trust, the maker or makers of the trust (the grantors) typically act as the trustees (the trusts managers) during their lives.  As the makers of the trust, the grantors can change or cancel their trusts, manage their trusts assets, and even move assets in and out of their trusts however they want. It is only after the maker or makers of the trust die that the trust becomes irrevocable - meaning that the successor trustees cannot make changes to the trust. 

To start, a power of attorney is a legal document that allows a person, whom you have chosen, to act on  your behalf. A "durable" power of attorney is one that is used when you are incapacitated and unable to make medical and financial decisions for yourself - "durable" just means that the power of attorney is effective even though you, as the maker, are incapacitated. Creating a durable power of attorneys is a useful and important way for you to personally choose who you want making important medical and financial decisions when you are incapable of doing so for yourself.