Personal injury trial lawyers, before Sedgwick County juries since 1985
Hollis & Crane is a Wichita firm of trial lawyers acting for people badly hurt in truck crashes, by medical mistakes and on job sites in Sedgwick and Butler counties. The first meeting is free. No fee is payable unless money is recovered. Where a case is weak, the Firm says so within the first hour.
FeesContingency only, agreed in writing
“Recovery” means the total of any settlement or verdict, before anything is deducted. “Case Costs” means the money the Firm advances to run the case. The exception comes first: if there is no Recovery, nothing is owed.
For the avoidance of doubt, medical bills and liens paid from your share are reviewed with you, line by line, before you accept any offer, and the Firm often negotiates them down.
Enter a settlement figure to see where each dollar goes under these terms.
PracticeInjury and wrongful death cases only
Six situations brought to the Firm every week. The Firm does not act in any matter other than injury and wrongful death, does not ask for money up front, and does not charge for the first meeting.
Trucking and commercial vehicle crashes, where the carrier often has an investigator at the scene before the tow truck leaves.
FirstWe send a preservation letter within 24 hours so the truck’s electronic log and dash camera footage are kept.
Medical negligence and wrongful death, including missed cancers, strokes and infections caught too late.
FirstWe request the complete chart and imaging. A partner who was a nurse reads it before anyone asks you to retell it.
Comp may not be the only claim. A subcontractor, equipment maker or property owner can be responsible too.
FirstWe identify every company on the site that day and work alongside your comp lawyer, so the claims do not collide.
Impaired and hit-and-run crashes, including uninsured driver claims under your own auto policy.
FirstWe get the crash report and the criminal case number, and keep the civil claim out of the prosecutor’s way.
Defective products: child seats, space heaters, ladders and farm equipment that fail the way they were built.
FirstKeep the product and its box as they are. We collect it, photograph it and store it under a chain-of-custody record.
Early offers usually arrive before anyone knows what your treatment will cost. A signed release ends the claim for good.
FirstDo not sign. Bring the offer and the release. We read both and tell you what they leave out, at no charge.
ProcedureFour steps, most within the first week
Renee Whitfield or a lawyer answers. There is no menu and no answering service in another state. What you say is written down.
Right awayThe other side is first checked against the client list. A lawyer then calls to ask what you have and what you are up against.
The same dayHere, at your kitchen table or in your hospital room. It ends with a decision on the case and its cost, in plain terms.
Within a weekPreservation letters are sent the day you sign. Dash video is routinely overwritten, so the letters go before it can be.
Within 48 hours of signingRecordSelected results since 1985
Past results do not predict the outcome of any future matter. Every case turns on its own facts, and the amounts below are gross figures before fees and costs.
About one person in nine who contacts the Firm becomes a client. A case prepared for trial takes a year of the client’s life, so the Firm accepts only what it can carry. Most cases still settle, and settle higher, once the other side has seen the Firm try one.
The three most recent Google reviews shall appear here in full, with each reviewer’s first name and the date. The Firm does not select or edit them.
The most recent Google review appears here, quoted in full.
First name, date, star ratingThe second most recent Google review appears here, quoted in full.
First name, date, star ratingThe third most recent Google review appears here, quoted in full.
First name, date, star ratingPeopleFour lawyers and an intake director
The lawyer at the first meeting is the lawyer who tries the case.
Founding partner
Board certified in civil trial advocacy. Has tried more than 140 injury cases to verdict.
Partner
Defended two regional motor carriers for twelve years before 2008, and so knows which records carriers keep back.
Partner
Intensive care nurse for nine years before law school, licence still current. Reads a chart for notes written late.
Associate
First chair in six jury trials. Meets Spanish-speaking clients and families in Spanish, start to finish.
Intake director and senior paralegal
Answers most first calls herself and sends every client’s weekly update.
First meetingAbout an hour, free
A missing document is no reason to postpone. Gathering records is the Firm’s job.
Exceptions exist for children and for injuries found later, and the rules change. Call us about your own dates rather than relying on this list.
Give your name, contact details and your own insurer’s name. Decline a recorded statement and do not guess about speed, distance or your injuries. You are not required to talk to them at all.
Adjusters are paid to close claims cheaply. Anything you say early, before a diagnosis is complete, can be used to value your claim low later.
Your health insurer, Medicare or KanCare usually pays first and then asks to be repaid from any settlement. That claim is called a lien.
We confirm every lien in writing before a case settles and ask for reductions. Many lienholders accept less, and the difference goes to you.
A deposition is a recorded interview under oath, held in a conference room, usually ours. The other side’s lawyer asks questions and a court reporter types every word.
We spend a full session preparing you beforehand, and your lawyer sits next to you the whole time. Most last two to four hours.
Client portalCase review, documents and updates
A review may be requested here in under a minute. Clients use the same portal to send documents and to follow each step of the case.
Renee Whitfield will call you by 5:30 pm today.
She will ask what happened, what injuries you have and what paperwork you already hold. If it is urgent, call (316) 555-0170 now.
How your request reads to us
Your name
Our clientv.
The other side
Checked against our client listWhat happens next: an automatic check against every current and former client, then a call from our intake director, usually within two business hours.
Confidential from the first word. What you tell us stays private even if we do not take your case.
Rather talk it through? Call (316) 555-0170. Renee answers most first calls herself.
Encrypted in transit and at rest. Only your legal team can open these files, and every view is logged.
Next: the insurer’s answer is dueDaniel Crane will call you that week, whatever they say.
Fee agreement signedCopy in your documents
Preservation letter sent to the carrierTruck log and dash video secured
Medical records complete612 pages from four providers
Demand sent to the insurerWhere your case is now
From Renee, Sep 26: your physical therapy bills through September are in. Nothing is needed from you this week.
QuestionsThe five we are asked most
No. The first meeting is free and carries no obligation. If we take your case, you pay nothing up front, and we are paid only from money we recover for you.
Nobody can say honestly on the first call. Value depends on your medical treatment, lost income, how clear fault is and the insurance available. We give you a range once your treatment has settled down and the records are in, usually a few months after the injury.
Give them your contact details and nothing else. Decline a recorded statement and do not sign a medical authorization or release. Once we represent you, adjusters talk to us instead.
Most cases settle within 9 to 18 months, after treatment ends and a demand is sent. Cases that are filed take one to three years. Fewer than one in ten goes to a jury, and we prepare every case as though it will.
Your health insurance, Medicare, KanCare or your own auto policy’s medical coverage pays first. We can ask providers to wait for payment until the case resolves, and we sort out repayment from the settlement.
ContactDowntown Wichita, ninth floor
Get directions
North Market Street, between 1st and 2nd© OpenStreetMap contributors
| Monday | 8:00 am to 5:30 pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 8:00 am to 5:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 8:00 am to 5:30 pm |
| Thursday | 8:00 am to 5:30 pm |
| Friday | 8:00 am to 5:30 pm |
| Saturday | Phones, 9:00 am to noon |
| Sunday | Closed |