Hertel Law, S.C.

07/13/2024

A recent case, the details of which i can’t discuss, reminded me of why i don’t do family law. Couples, especially ones who have children, can have disputes, inequitable income, allegations of domestic violence, emotional distancing, affairs suspected or real, incredible stress. Decades ago, I represented a parent in a divorce with a knock down, drag-out custody fight. By the time the trial ended, I was convinced the other side had the better parent, but I was the better lawyer. My client won custody and I felt guilty my side had won. Children’s future is too precious to be solved by legal combat.

With personal injury cases, the harm is already done. With criminal cases, the victim has already been harmed, so the issues are is the defendant guilty or innocent? If he/she broke the law, is there a valid defense (self-defense, mental illness, coercion)? If no valid defense, what is the just resolution (deferred sentence, probation, jail, prison)?

I can sleep well, handling these cases. I couldn’t when my skill affected young children’s fate.

03/20/2024

Lately, I’ve heard many lawyers are charging for initial conferences with clients, just to meet with them. I never understood that. If you need help because of criminal allegations or being in an accident, that’s more than enough bad news already. Since the first firm I ever worked in, not once did a client have to pay to meet with me or any member of my firm. All we want to do is make sure, if you need help, this is a law firm where you will be listened to, have an attorney summarize what’s happened and what needs to be done, and let you know the likely expense in taking action on your behalf.

If you’ve been accused of breaking the law or been injured when someone else was careless, don’t hesitate to get help. That’s been our goal from the start of this practice—giving freely of our time to help clients who probably hoped they’d never need a lawyer.

01/07/2023

Obviously quite a while since last posting. Some people have approached me about advertising, something I used to do on the radio. Because I love the Chippewa Valley community, I wanted to support local area teams, both Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. Mike Sullivan of Sports Radio 1400 was a best friend. As a result, we promoted 5 high schools in the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area, the UW-Eau Claire Blugold men and women, and the Packers, Brewers, Minnesota Wild, and an occasional Bucks game.

As my partners and associates changed and left over time (becoming judges, starting their own practices, or moving) and my firm’s reputation grew, I decided the best advertising was word of mouth. Most clients received recommendations from family and friends, and my policy of not charging for initial conferences made possible clients feel comfortable and welcome.

As time has passed, I continue to see advertising on TV and billboards becoming the norm. There is nothing wrong with that per se, but the attorney’s experience, getting recommendations from trusted friends, and looking at a lawyer’s credentials are methods to consider when choosing someone handling one of the most important issues in a person’s life. And your meeting a lawyer with no financial obligation is not a financial loss for me, but just a chance to offer advice and give help if I can. And sometimes I may have a conflict where I can gladly recommend another attorney whom I would trust to help the client. That’s been my policy for several decades and I would never change it.

07/24/2021

It’s been a long time since I last posted. Sorry, but I’ve been busy with various things, including one of my daughters in a custody fight in Minnesota. I could not represent her if I wanted to (family member, not admitted in Minnesota), but I truly hate family law. Many years ago I represented a Dad in a custody fight over 3 children. By the end of the trial I was convinced Mom would be the better parent—but I was the better lawyer and Dad won full custody. In helping people who are injured or charged with a crime, the harm has occurred. With custody fights, the harm to children is yet to be written. In the last 25+ years I was involved in only 2 family law cases which l took because it was clear that the child’s future was at risk from the other parent. They lasted years but had the right final outcome.

There are many good family attorneys who have skill and compassion. But I never want to be the reason a child’s future could be imperiled by my skill.

06/12/2020

Feel free to share my posts or comment if you wish. If you have been injured through someone’s carelessness or are facing criminal allegations, it costs you nothing to meet with me.

06/07/2020

The DOT has announced that on-the-road tests are no longer required for teenagers to get their driver’s licenses. Although most teens will drive safely, some may not. I remember the night of the very day I passed my road test, I dropped my Mom off at the local A&P (boy, that shows my age), turned on the ignition and started to drive. I hadn’t driven two blocks, when an oncoming driver began blinking his brights at me. I’d forgotten to turn on my headlights.

This raises an important issue: parental liability for our children. Wisconsin law provides 3 areas where the actions of children can affect parents, as long as the child’s conduct occurs before his or her 18th birthday.

First, the parent who sponsors a child’s license is fully responsible for all personal injuries and property damage caused by the child. If, God forbid, your child hits a car by crossing the centerline, with passengers in each vehicle, your sponsoring signature means you are on the hook for all harm from that accident—from minor bruises to traumatic brain damage, from a crumpled bumper to a totaled Cadillac Escalade. You may wish to check your auto insurance and consider increasing it or an umbrella policy, the cost of which is usually not that great. If you get an umbrella, make sure to include uninsured and underinsured coverage to provide for your damages where a negligent driver has little to no coverage.

Secondly, parents are liable for intentional acts of their children. A child’s act meant to cause injury or property damage creates a claim against both parents for up to $5000 per act. The law is interpreted to indicate acts which differ as to time, place or circumstances, so a child purposely hitting someone 3 times creates one claim. But a child vandalizing 3 different buildings can create 3 claims. The parents are not each liable for the $5000, but jointly instead. Such juvenile conduct can also lead to criminal results in the juvenile or adult criminal courts, as in Wisconsin, 17 year-olds are charged as adults.

Finally, and in addition to the second basis above, a parent can be liable if he or she is negligent in supervising the child’s conduct. A lack of supervision or permissiveness where parental responsibility or control is lacking could create a significant claim against Mom and/or Dad. And home-owner’s insurance may provide no protection.

Please be aware of how your child’s conduct may not only tug at your heartstrings, but also rip open your purse strings. Please feel free to contact us at Hertel Law, if you need help on either side of these issues.

04/28/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the legal system just like most everyone's life. In-court proceedings have been delayed or handled by phone or videoconferencing. Nonetheless, the Courts are still considered "essential" businesses, resulting in our continuing to provide help where needed. Our office hours are temporarily 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, including over the lunch hour, except Friday when we are available from 8:00 am to noon. Other times can be made available on evenings and weekends as may be necessary.

:Nonetheless, certain circumstances may well require prompt action. If you are injured through the negligence of a truck or auto driver, you likely will hear quickly from an insurance company. If it is the other driver's company, DO NOT speak with their representative; their interest is primarily to have you minimize your injuries or have you acknowledge some negligence on your part. If it is your own company, you have an obligation to cooperate, but it might be safest to have an attorney participate in the call to make sure the details are complete and accurate, and confirming that your injuries may not have resolved completely. If it is law enforcement wishing to speak with you, you must be careful; if you may have been accused of a crime by someone, they are not required to tell you, and anything you say can be used against you. It is far better to seek legal counsel, rather than regret it later when what you say may be misunderstood, taken out of context, or actually cause you to implicate yourself without knowing what you did was illegal. We don't charge for initial consultations, and acting positively to take time to best understand your rights is far better than saying something that may affect your future negatively. Please call, and we will be glad to help.

03/11/2020

Attorney Harry Hertel aggressively protects the rights and long-term goals of clients facing drunk driving charges.

Defense backed by over four decades of experience.

01/21/2020

Young drivers sometimes don't make the best decisions. I'm here to help those who are now facing a DUI and tough penalties.

Compassionate with clients and aggressive in court.

01/08/2020

As some of you may have noticed, our FB page has been inactive for awhile. We switched our website provider, which led to needing to redo this page. Hopefully, I will return weekly to provide updated advice and information. Your continued contact is appreciated.

Today I would like to emphasize the importance of underinsured motorist insurance. In Wisconsin, every auto policy automatically includes uninsured motorist coverage by law. That insurance provides a payment when you were struck and injured by an uninsured motorist. It does not cover your property damage, but it does cover your personal injury impact, such as medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is a different type of insurance.

If you are involved in an accident with another driver who does have auto insurance, that insurance may be insufficient to cover your damages. In such circumstances, if you have elected to include UIM coverage in your insurance policy, you can pursue from your own company any amounts in excess of the maximum insurance coverage of the negligent driver (subject to certain deductions). For example, if the other driver had $25,000 worth of coverage, but your medical bills alone were $70,000, having UIM coverage up to the highest possible limit will potentially help provide you protection those bills may be paid, as well as lost income and pain and suffering. Between 2009 and 2011, underinsured motorist coverage basically prohibited anything to be subtracted from the UIM coverage and allowed the coverage to be “stacked,” if you had up to three cars on the same policy. As a result, each car’s premium you paid gave you multiple coverage if you were injured by another driver while you were operating one of the cars on the policy. In the above situation, if a 2010 driver had $100,000 UIM coverage for 3 cars, he or she could collect the $25,000 from the negligent driver’s insurer, and could seek up to $300,000 from her or his own policy.

That changed as of November 1, 2011. The legislature, responding to the insurance lobby, removed “stacking” as a requirement, so that having paid premiums for multiple cars on the same policy no longer meant you could add each car’s coverage, instead limiting you to only the one auto’s benefits. In addition, it allowed insurers to reduce what they paid out by amounts received from health insurance, worker’s compensation, and even the other driver’s insurance. In that same situation described above, if you received the $25,000 from the other driver and your health insurance covered $55,000 of the medical bills, your company would subtract that $80,000 from the $100,000, so the most you could get from your own policy to compensate you for all your damages would be $20,000. You can see how that change benefitted the insurers and not the consumers.

As a result, I recommend you get the maximum available UIM coverage on your cars, and even have it on your umbrella policy if you have one. The premiums are not that huge, and one serious accident can impose huge medical bills, an inability to work, and debilitating disability and pain for a lifetime. Several of my personal injury clients have had the foresight to protect themselves by making sure they had maximum possible UIM coverage, allowing them to receive the compensation they needed when seriously injured.

As always, you should have your legal concerns addressed by an individual lawyer, as advice here is not meant to provide actual legal advice as to any specific fact situation. In matters of personal injury or criminal defense, we provide a free initial consultation at Hertel Law, S.C., and would be glad to meet with you to review individual case situations.

11/14/2019

Many college parties end with an underage drinking charge.

People should always be aware of their rights.

09/25/2019

How did an employee allegedly bilk patients?

A patient helped with the investigation.