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Practice Areas
- Personal
Injury Law
Our firm handles all types of serious
personal injury and wrongful death cases caused by automobile
accidents, trucking accidents, job-related accidents,
construction accidents, bicycle accidents, aviation and
watercraft accidents, dog attacks, slip and falls, nursing
home negligence, premises liability, and products liability.
Personal injuries not only cause physical pain, but often
emotional and financial hardship through loss of work, medical
bills and stress placed upon families and loved ones. We often
take our physical and mental well being for granted until
something goes wrong. When an accident happens lives are
forever changed. Simple pleasures become chores. Daily
routines are disrupted. Economic losses are often devastating.
Whether caused by an automobile accident, a defective product,
medical malpractice, or other negligent, careless or reckless
conduct, injuries alter lives forever. Our firm takes
responsibility for effective, aggressive investigation and
representation, allowing the injured person to attend to
health, family and economic issues, while pursuing a variety
of legal means to obtain the highest possible financial
recovery.
Our team of lawyers, paralegals, and
investigators effectively works to level the playing field
with the vast resources of insurance companies by putting our
experience and proven techniques to work, including early
investigation, careful review of medical records, assisting
and directing clients to appropriate, supporting medical
providers, and thoroughly evaluating economic and emotional
losses. Insurance companies have clouded the opinion of the
public by distorting statistics and highlighting a few
outrageous verdicts among thousands and thousands of
legitimate claims. Our firm strives to satisfactorily meet
client objectives and goals by focusing on the catastrophic
personal toll caused by the negligence, careless, and
recklessness of others so that judges, juries and insurance
adjusters alike understand the need to fully and fairly
compensate personal injury victims for all aspects of their
losses.
- Motor
Vehicle Accidents
Many personal injuries result from
motor vehicle accidents. Auto accidents may involve negligence
on the part of drivers, including drunk driving and reckless
behavior. If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, our
firm can assist you in receiving compensation for your
injuries, lost wages, and other damages.
- Products
Liability
Injuries caused by defective products
happen every day. These injuries are frequently serious and
debilitating. Our firm has years of experience and an
excellent track record of representing individuals who have
been injured as a result of an unsafe product that was
designed, manufactured, sold, and/or furnished by a person or
company. This type of case is handled much like other personal
injury cases, but the proof is much different. In a product
liability case the product and its safety are on trial. We
have successfully handled products liability cases over the
years and assist injured individuals in bringing their claims
and being fairly compensated for their injuries.
- Medical
Malpractice Law
Though the majority of health care
providers do good work, mistakes are sometimes made which
could adversely affect a person, as well as their friends and
family, for the rest of their lives. We represent individuals
and their families whose medical provider has breached the
standard of care in diagnosing or treating medical conditions.
We have extensive experience in cases involving: birth-related
injuries, brain injuries, surgical errors, misdiagnosis or
late diagnosis, failure to diagnose cancer, obstetrical and
gynecological malpractice cases, patient neglect, incorrect
administration of medication, nursing malpractice, psychiatric
malpractice, emergency room errors, and cases involving elder
abuse.
- Family
Law
Few legal areas are as emotionally
charged as family law, primarily for the litigants, but also
for the lawyers and judges involved in the cases and even the
public at large. In divorce and child custody cases in
particular, the adversarial process has increased tensions
between the parties that do not abate even when the process is
complete. As a result, many states have begun to explore
other, non-adversarial alternatives, such as mandatory
mediation, which can save time and money and preserve
relationships to the extent possible. Mediation and other
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes provide an
option for those who prefer to stay out of court. ADR provides
many potential advantages for most cases, including reduced
cost, faster resolution, less emotional stress, the ability to
construct solutions that are outside of the authority of the
courts.
Our firm is well equipped to handle
all of your family law needs. We have extensive experience in
family law and represents clients in the following areas:
adoption, divorce, paternity, child custody, child support,
arrearages, criminal non-support cases, visitation, temporary
orders, legal separation, premarital agreements, domestic
abuse, mediation, arbitration, spousal support, maintenance,
modifications, terminations, judgment enforcement, grandparent
right cases, guardianships, and all other financial or marital
property-related disputes.
- Adoption
We take a unique and caring approach
to our work with adoption clients. If you are serious about
adoption if you are ready to proceed, please contact our firm
to pose any questions you may have.
- Child
Support
The custody of children is one of the
most hotly contested issues in family law. Under the laws of
West Virginia and many other states, joint custody is
increasingly preferred when both parents deemed acceptable and
when in the best interest of the child. Joint custody divides
parental rights and duties but does not necessarily provide
equal periods of possession. We understand the emotional
strain put on parents and children by a child custody action
and we can explain the pros and cons of such a move and help
my clients make the right decision.
- Criminal
Law
We represent clients in all types of
criminal cases, from minor infractions and misdemeanors to the
most serious felonies, including homicide, battery, assault
and other violent crimes, drug sales and possession, theft and
grand larceny, white collar fraud, embezzlement, sex offenses,
domestic violence cases, arson, and conspiracy. We also handle
probation revocation and parole proceedings.
- Probate
and Estate Administration
We represent fiduciaries and
beneficiaries in all West Virginia probate courts by filing
the necessary pleadings to admit a decedent's will to probate,
preparing all documents and filings required under West
Virginia laws and procedures, and preparing income tax returns
for the estate, as well as any required estate tax returns.
Probate and estate administration does not usually require
court pleadings or filings, but many of the same
administration, distribution or tax issues are present and
require attention. In this area, we counsel fiduciaries
regarding the rights and interests of beneficiaries, and
recommend steps or actions to help the fiduciary operate the
trust in compliance with the appropriate fiduciary laws and
avoid personal liability for their actions, or inaction. We
take special care during these difficult times to represent
families with caring and compassionate counsel, guidance and
direction. We are well aware of the stress that legal
proceedings often times add to a difficult situation, and
strive to complete the formal process as quickly as possible
while maintaining an eye towards your expressed goals. Our
experience enables me to counsel surviving spouses and
children during this transition and help them make sound legal
decisions for their future.
Richard C. Witt
Attorney At Law
Haning Building
181 Main Street
P.O. Box 868
Poca, West Virginia 25159
Telephone (304) 755-5922
Fax (304) 755-5949
E-mail: richard@richardcwittlaw.com
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