Fairbanks Alaska Personal Injury Lawyers
Merdes & Merdes

Law Office of Merdes & Merdes
455 3rd Avenue
#225, #226
Fairbanks, AK 99707

CALL NOW: 866) 452-3741

We help out-of-state attorneys better represent Alaskan clients. Born and raised in Alaska, we have been representing personal injury claimants throughout Alaska since 1952. We know Alaska and we know Alaskans. We are licensed to practice law in California, Washington State and Alaska. Ward has an MBA from Cornell University.

     We are experienced with Pro Hac Vice applications. Our office is two short blocks from the Fairbanks state courthouse. We are networked, fully-computerized, have extensive trial experience and pay reasonable referral fees. We are honest, hard-working, well-insured and have never been sued for malpractice.

     Merdes & Merdes, P.C. is BV rated and certified as Civil Litigation Specialists by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). In fact, Ward is the NBTA State Coordinator for all of Alaska. He also serves as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) State Representative.

Back Row Left-Right: Wendy, Kara Center Row Left-Right: Greg, Lori, Ward, Joan Front Row Left-Right: Audrey, Ann, Peg Attorney and Paralegal Introductions . . .

Injury & Death Claims     

Negligence: Alaska law allows claims for personal injury and wrongful death. These claims normally arise because of a person's negligence. A person is negligent when he/she failed to act reasonably, and as a result, is a "substantial factor" in causing another person's injury or death. A good example of typical "negligence" is driving too fast for road conditions, and running into another car. Negligence can also arise because of an airplane crash, a doctor ignoring symptoms, or a property owner leaving premises unsafe.

Note that negligence does not mean that a person intended to cause injury or death. It only means that he/she was a substantial factor in causing the injury or death. Being negligent does not make a person "bad." It does not result in a person going to jail. Rather, being negligent normally means that a person just wasn't paying close attention, and hurt or killed another person. Negligence arises by simply failing to avoid an accident that common sense says should have been avoided. A negligent person has to pay for all of the damages that he/she causes.

Negligence Is Not A Crime: Think about it: If a person intended to hurt or kill another person, the law would not seek to merely hold the personal responsible for the damages that he/she caused. Rather, the law would put that person in jail, where he/she belongs. The key difference between an "accident" (negligence) and "trying to hurt somebody" (a crime) is the state of mind. We don't need to put good-meaning, but negligent, people in jail because they are not a risk to society. When a person is "negligent" he/she can still be a good person, not a criminal. A negligent person just caused an accident, and must be held accountable for all damages that he/she caused.

Justice Equals Money: Alaska 's injury/death law is pragmatic. Alaskan justice requires a negligent person to help the victim (or his/her family). Money equals justice in Alaska. In fact, money is the only justice that Alaskan law allows when somebody negligently injures or kills another. An injury/death claim is either: (1) settled by agreement before a jury is involved; or (2) resolved by a jury verdict after a trial. Jury trials only take place when: (1) a negligent person denies that he/she was negligent; or (2) a negligent person refuses to be accountable for all losses that he/she caused. Realistically, the vast majority of injury/death claims are settled before a jury ever is involved. It is only when an insurance company refused to pay for all of the victim's losses that a lawsuit must be filed and a jury convened to render justice.

Social Utility: Alaska 's injury/death law serves public policy. It is only by ensuring that we are all 100% accountable for our actions that society can continue to progress. Think about it: If we were not held accountable for driving too fast, what incentive would we have to slow down? Most folks would just buy bigger cars, and hope for the best. Or, if a doctor was not held accountable for doing the job right, what incentive would he/she have to stay current, learning more medicine? The law only asks that a negligent person fix all resulting damage so that he/she will have an incentive to be more careful in the future.

Type of Damages: Alaska allows injury/death claimants to be compensated for three basic types of loss: (1) medical bills; (2) lost income; and (3) pain/suffering.

Medical bills are normally easy for juries to calculate. Often, the parties will agree. Sometimes, the negligent person's insurance attorney will dispute chiropractic medical bills, suggesting that they are too high. Think about it, who actually goes to the doctor, just to run up medical bills? It might happen in a movie, but would an Alaskan ever do that? Would you?

Lost income arises from missing work, and for missing future opportunities to advance in a job. Juries normally calculate a fair amount of lost wages, past and future. Permanent injuries normally give rises to lost income for the rest of the victim's working life. Justice can require a very large verdict for lost wages.

Disability/lost enjoyment/pain/suffering are "human losses." Think about it: How much would you pay to avoid the injured person's pain for the rest of your life? In a smaller injury case, involving an automobile accident and a sprained neck or back, the "pain/suffering" component of justice may be small, as little as $10,000. At the same time, it may be larger if the suffering will last for years. It may even be hundreds of thousands of dollars if the injured person has more than 20 years of life expectancy, and significant pain. Of course, the problem is determining whether the injured person is genuinely hurting, or exaggerating. It is very important that jurors examine the injured person's medical records (usually chiropractic, showing an effort to get better) and testimony from the injured person's doctors and friends, explaining how the injury affects the injured person's life. By far and away, the largest part of any injury/death verdict is for "disability/lost enjoyment/pain/suffering." This part of justice can be many times the amount of justice required to compensate for medical bills and lost wages.

Insurance Protects: Insurance normally ensures that a victim (or his/her family) will receive justice. And, insurance is mandatory for all automobiles on Alaskan roads. However, some judges stop juries from hearing about a negligent person's insurance. These judges normally worked for insurance companies before becoming judges. They were trained to believe that if juries know about insurance, they may give the injured person a full cup of justice. A full cup of justice will cost the insurance companies money. For some reason, it is very important to some judges that they protect insurance companies. We think this is wrong. We think the focus should be on helping theinjured person instead.

Deep pockets: Some people accuse lawyers of "only suing deep pockets." This means that only people with insurance get sued. This is normally 100% correct. Think about it, what kind of lawyer would advise his/her client, the victim of negligence, to sue somebody who has no money or insurance? Lawsuits are lengthy, expensive and difficult in Alaska. What kind of lawyer would tell his/her client to file a lawsuit that had no chance of rendering justice because the negligent party has no money and no insurance? Be assured, only deep pockets get sued in Alaska. More importantly, because Alaskan law requires insurance, nobody will get hurt by a lawsuit that results in a victim receiving full justice. The insurance company will simply have to pay the bill.

If you are ever asked to be a juror, be assured that the negligent party has insurance, you'll just never hear about it in court.

Medical Malpractice Claims  

Like professional athletes, doctors sometimes make mistakes. They are sometimes inattentive. They are sometimes careless. They are sometimes drunk. Alaskan law allows for claims against inattentive, careless and drunk doctors who hurt or kill people. At the same time, if a doctor does his/her best, and the situation just doesn't turn out well, there is no claim against the doctor. Alaskan law does not require doctors to be right 100% of the time. Rather, Alaskan law requires doctors to act reasonably, be trained reasonably, and care for their patients appropriately.

The nature of medical care is that doctors are paid very well to make important decisions about their patients. They decide on appropriate medication, surgeries and treatments. As a result, if a doctor is inattentive, careless or drunk, he/she can badly hurt a patient. This gives rise to a medical malpractice claim. Doctors who hurt their patients because the doctor didn't do his or her job right should be held accountable - just like the rest of us. This is why "tort reform" - protecting negligent doctors - is so very wrong.

Compensation: Like any other claim for injury/death, the negligent doctor is required to compensate his/her victim of medical malpractice for: (1) medical bills; (2) lost income; and (3) disability/lost enjoyment/pain/suffering. Fortunately, just about all doctors are insured. As a result, most medical malpractice claims can be settled to help the victim. If a medical malpractice claim ever makes it to a jury, it is almost always because the doctor refuses to be accountable for hurting someone.