When I saw how much money Weitz & Luxenberg got for us, I almost fainted. It was a lot, believe me. But I didn’t need to see the money to know we were in good hands. From start to finish, Weitz & Luxenberg treated us right. In fact, they spoiled us; they were so good to Bill and me.
I talked to another law firm before I chose Weitz & Luxenberg. That other firm gave me the runaround. That other firm acted like our case was unimportant and not worth taking. Too difficult to prove, too tough a defendant, they told us. But with Weitz & Luxenberg, nothing like that.
The Weitz & Luxenberg attorney we worked with us was Allan Zelikovic. He was just so passionate about our case and he always made me feel like whatever I said was important. He was such a gentleman.
After all Bill and I had gone through, it was comforting to meet a kind, understanding person like Allan. He’s been my attorney for six years now — I look back and realize that without him and his team at Weitz & Luxenberg, I never would have come through this legal battle emotionally intact.
Why We Chose W&L
We needed to use Weitz & Luxenberg because of a botched surgery on Bill in 2009. We sued the doctor and the hospital because the procedure they tried on Bill left him permanently disabled.
The specialist we picked for this surgery was a doctor who had been on television talking about his experiences with it and all the patients he’d helped. He was very poised, very articulate, which made him seem knowledgeable and supremely skilled.
During the operation, they only got as far as opening his head and preparing to put some kind of a grid over his brain so they could monitor the seizures.
But then they had to stop because something bad happened — exactly what, no one would say. Not the doctor, not the nurses, not anyone. They all went silent and offered no explanations.
After the surgery, for the first time, Bill began to have violent seizures (before the surgery his seizures looked like he was daydreaming for a few seconds). The seizures were so violent that he was actually lifting up off the bed.
Bill has two masters’ degrees and had been the commander of an American Legion unit. On the day of the surgery, despite his susceptibility to seizures, he went into the operating room a vital and robust man. He came back out permanently disabled.
Today, Bill cannot speak and cannot walk. He cannot do many of the most basic things a person does.
This wasn’t right. This should never have happened to my husband. We were told that Bill’s life would improve after the surgery. Instead, our lives were ruined.
Bill was in intensive care for six months after the botched brain surgery. In the middle of that he had a heart attack and he developed severe infections. The complications and setbacks just went on and on.
And every time I asked for answers to what caused all this to happen to my Bill, they always responded that they didn’t have any explanations. I wanted them to rename their hospital the “Know-Nothing Medical Center.”
Then they kicked Bill out of the hospital before he was ready to be discharged. They sent him straight from the ICU to a rehab facility. I told them, no, he’s in no condition to leave the hospital.
They wouldn’t listen. So two days after they kicked him out, Bill was rushed back to the hospital with a fever of 104 and he was there for another month.
Since November 2010, I’ve been taking care of Bill at home all by myself. I couldn’t afford to do anything else.
A Friend Told Me to Talk to W&L
None of this was right. I decided something had to be done. This hospital and the doctor had to be held accountable. I was going to make sure they were.
I went looking for an attorney. I wanted a lawyer who knew how to fight fire with fire. A very close friend of mine told me I should talk to Weitz & Luxenberg.
I’m glad I did. I was so impressed by the concern and caring of Allan. He was just wonderful. His voice was so calming to me. Talking to him was like talking to my own brother.
He helped me stay focused on what was important to accomplish. And it wasn’t just that he was kind and considerate. He clearly knew the law. But that was because he had been handling cases like mine for 30 years.
Every good thing I have to say about Allan and the help he gave me I will also say it about the entire Weitz & Luxenberg team. Whenever I interacted with them, they were compassionate, they listened to me, and they treated me with the greatest of respect. They were nothing like the stereotype of attorneys. The people at Weitz & Luxenberg were there for me, really backing me up, wanting to help me.
I’ve found it’s a rare thing when people go the extra mile all the time. That’s what my Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys did for me — went the extra mile continuously. It was obvious that they were working with me, not for themselves. That made me very happy.
It was important to me that I could pick up the phone and call, and someone from my Weitz & Luxenberg team would be there to answer my questions or concerns. If they weren’t available to talk at that moment, I knew that I would hear back from them right away.
They took care of things immediately. Nothing was left hanging or up in the air. Every email I sent, I would always get back from Allan a prompt acknowledgement to let me know he’d received it. It’s little touches like those that mean so much.
My W&L Attorneys Were Terrific
My Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys were terrific at explaining things. I never once felt like I was in the dark about any aspect of my case — they made it a point to keep me informed all the time.
Now, I should add that, right up front, Allan warned me that the doctor and the hospital were going to be relying on heavy hitter attorneys and, because of that, they weren’t going to give an inch.
They fought hard against us, just as Allan said they would. But then Allan found the crack in their armor. That crack wasn’t easy to find. It took Allan and his team a lot of digging – and I mean a lot. But they were determined.
As soon as they found that crack, they punched right through. The defendants decided to settle a short time after.
Another thing that impressed me about Weitz & Luxenberg was how protective they were on my behalf. For example, after the check for the settlement came in the mail, Allan worked with me to make sure that the financial adviser I had chosen to handle all those funds was reputable, competent and going to do a good job for me.
Also, before the check came, Allan worked with all my and Bill’s creditors to persuade them to reduce the amount they were going to take out of the settlement to pay off what we owed them – Allan did this to make sure we received the largest possible amount of money.
Would I turn to Weitz & Luxenberg again if I need help on some other personal injury matter? One-hundred-percent yes.
