Can I Call a Lawyer for Free? Yes, Start With a Free Consultation

Can You Call a Lawyer to Ask a Question for Free?

Yes. El Gringo Law offers a free first consultation that is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. It is a real conversation about your question, your injury or loss, and whether the firm’s practice areas fit your situation.

Many people ask the same few things on that first call. Do I have a claim? What deadline applies? What should I say to an insurance adjuster? The call gives you a place to ask those questions and hear how they apply to your facts.

The consultation is for people in Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, Bernalillo County, Sandoval County, Taos, and Farmington. It is for people who were hurt in a crash or incident, or who lost a family member. If you prefer Spanish, you can ask for the same consultation: consulta inicial gratuita, confidencial y sin compromiso.

Injury and Loss Questions the Firm Handles

The firm handles the matters listed below. Each covers a different kind of harm, so check which one sounds closest to your situation.

• Car accidents: a crash with another driver, and the injuries and damage that follow.
• Trucking accidents: a collision involving a commercial truck, which often involves more than one party.
• Premises liability: an injury on property that someone else owns or controls, such as a fall caused by a hazard.
• Negligent security: an assault or crime that happened where security was lacking.
• Wrongful death: a death caused by someone else’s negligence or wrongful act, and the losses the family faces.
• Sexual assault: an assault that caused physical or emotional harm.
• Catastrophic injuries: serious injuries with long-term effects on work, health, and daily life.
• Spinal cord injuries: injuries to the spinal cord that can affect movement and feeling.
• Amputations: the loss of a limb caused by another person’s negligence.
• Burn injuries: burns from a fire, a scald, a vehicle fire, or a hazard on someone else’s property.

If your question falls outside these areas, you can still raise it on the call. The team will tell you whether the firm can help with it.

What the Call Covers

The call focuses on the facts that shape your options. Expect questions about the event, your injuries, and the steps you have taken since.

• How it happened: the date, the place, and who was involved.
• Your injuries: the treatment you have received and questions about ongoing medical care.
• Insurance contact: calls or letters from insurance companies, and how to handle them.
• Time limits: the deadlines that may apply in New Mexico, explained for the facts you share.
• Next steps: the options that may fit your situation, with the decision left to you.

Deadlines matter, so here is the general framework. Under NMSA § 37-1-8, actions against sureties on official bonds and on bonds of guardians, conservators, personal representatives and persons acting in a fiduciary capacity must be brought within two years after the liability of the principal or the person for whom they are sureties is finally established or determined by a judgment or decree of the court, and actions for an injury to the person or reputation of any person must be brought within three years. Under NMSA § 41-2-2, every action under the wrongful-death statute must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues, and the cause of action accrues as of the date of death (NMSA 1978, § 41-2-2 — three years from the date of death).

Wrongful-death actions under NMSA § 41-2-2 must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues, and the cause of action accrues as of the date of death; claims against government entities or public employees are subject to a shorter two-year limit under NMSA § 41-4-15. Under NMSA § 41-4-15, actions against a governmental entity or a public employee for torts are forever barred unless commenced within two years after the date of occurrence resulting in loss, injury or death, except that a minor under the full age of seven years shall have until his ninth birthday in which to file. Under NMSA § 41-4-16, every person who claims damages from the state or any local public body under the Tort Claims Act must, within ninety days after an occurrence giving rise to a claim for which immunity has been waived under that Act, cause a written notice stating the time, place and circumstances of the loss or injury to be presented to the risk management division for claims against the state, the mayor of the municipality for claims against the municipality, the superintendent of the school district for claims against the school district, the county clerk of a county for claims against the county, or the administrative head of any other local public body for claims against that body. No such suit or action may be maintained, and no court has jurisdiction to consider it, unless that notice has been given or the governmental entity had actual notice of the occurrence. The time for giving notice does not include the time, not exceeding ninety days, during which the injured person is incapacitated from giving the notice by reason of injury. When the claim is one for wrongful death, the notice may be presented within six months after the date of the occurrence of the injury which resulted in the death, by or on behalf of the personal representative of the deceased person, any person claiming benefits of the proceeds of a wrongful death action, or the consular officer of a foreign country of which the deceased was a citizen. If the person for whose death the claim is made had presented a notice that would have been sufficient had he lived, the wrongful death action may be brought without any additional notice.

If you were partly at fault, your damages drop by your share, but the rule does not bar recovery. See Scott v. Rizzo.

Before you call, write down the date and place of the crash or incident. Note the injuries or losses involved and any medical visits. Those details help the call go further.

How the Free Consultation Works, Step by Step

The process runs in order and stays short. Each conversation depends on the facts involved, so the details can vary from call to call.

1. Reach out. Call the firm, submit the contact form, or start a chat on the website.
2. Brief intake. The team confirms the basic facts and checks whether the matter fits the firm’s practice areas.
3. Talk through the facts. The lawyer listens to your question and answers what can be answered from the facts you share.
4. You decide. You choose what comes next, and the decision stays with you.

Nothing in this process requires you to have documents ready, though notes help. If the matter needs more time, the team will say so during the call.

Why Ask El Gringo Law

Josh Wood is the responsible lawyer for this page. He is licensed in New Mexico and Arizona.

El Gringo Law is a New Mexico personal injury firm. The firm’s lawyers and support staff take calls, contact forms, and chats. Support staff are not lawyers, and only the lawyers give legal advice.

Confidentiality is part of the first conversation. Under Rule 16-118 NMRA, a person who consults a lawyer about a possible case is a prospective client. The lawyer’s duty to protect that information applies even if neither side decides to go forward.

You can reach the firm by phone, through the contact page, or by starting a chat on the website at elgringolaw.com. Each option leads to the same first conversation.

Questions People Ask Before Calling

Talk to Josh Wood About Your Question

If a crash, a truck collision, a fall on someone else’s property, or a death in your family has left you with questions, now is a good time to talk. Submit the contact form or call El Gringo Law to start your conversation with Josh Wood.

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