Do You Have a Personal Injury Case You Can File?
From slips and falls to car wrecks, a personal injury can happen anywhere at any time. Your main concern after an accident is to look after your or your family member's health.
However, if you or a family member has an injury because of someone else's neglectfulness or carelessness, you are no doubt wondering if you have a personal injury claim. Do I have a personal injury case? Read on for more information.
Do I Have a Personal Injury Case?
In order to be eligible for monetary compensation, you must be able to verify three things:
1. The Carelessness Caused the Injury
You must be able to prove the negligence caused the injury.
For example, if you experienced a car wreck that was not your fault and obtained severe head trauma/a broken arm, the guilty party would be liable.
2. The Responsible Party Was Careless/Neglectful
It must be proven that the responsible party was negligent.
For example, if a driver caused a crash because they ignored a traffic sign, then they are considered at fault for the injury.
3. The Injury Resulted in Harm
If your injury has resulted in medical fees, pain/suffering, and/or lost wages, then the damages would be considered compensatory.
What Can I Do to Secure My Personal Injury Settlement?
These steps will help secure your claim for most personal injury cases; however, there are other steps that should be taken if you are filing a claim against a government agency.
Obtain Evidence
In addition to attaining proof of damage, get any evidence (especially photos) that can verify who caused the accident.
Keep Records
Keep records/notes of medical expenses and lost wages/work caused by the accident.
Get Contact Information
Make certain to collect the names and contact information of any witnesses of the incident, contacting them afterward to verify.
In addition, makes notes of any conversations you may have had with them during the incident.
Contact the Responsible Party
Contact the person/s that you are planning to file against the impending personal injury/property claim.
How to Find Injury Attorneys to Help You
When you ask yourself “do I have a personal injury case”, the one person that can always correct answer is the personal injury attorney. This is because of the experience of the specialist.
Simply put, the personal injury attorney instantly figures out if you have a case or not. Also, the lawyer helps you to build the strongest possible case.
Get Referrals
One of the best ways to find any great service provider is word of mouth. Specifically, this is one of the best ways to find a great injury attorney.
For example, do you know someone that was represented by a personal injury attorney in the past? Talk to that person and see what the experience was like.
There are countless attorneys that advertise online and on TV. Unfortunately, regulations are limited. Thus, never blindly trust advertising.
Recommendations help you find people that are really good at the job they do. You can get recommendations from people you trust and know or look online.
Talk Fees
After you found an injury attorney you know is good, you want to discuss fees. You have to know them upfront. In any financial transaction, transparency is vital. This is also true for the lawyer.
Normally, these attorneys work based on a contingency basis. They receive around one-third of the settlement they obtain for you. Even so, these deals can vary so you have to discuss them upfront.
Research Injury Attorneys Online
Only hire those attorneys with proper licensing and of good reputation. There is a local bar association in every single state. All attorneys register in their databases. This helps you find information about the attorneys, together with sanctions that might have been issued in the past.
Also, make sure you do not choose your personal injury attorney solely based on how many cases were won in the past. Try to learn all you can about the cases so you can make a better-informed choice.
Always Listen to Your Gut
Always hire a personal injury attorney that cares about you. This needs to be genuine. Unfortunately, there are attorneys that care much more about case value. They make bad choices simply to get more money.
Only work with the attorneys that you fully trust. Listen to your gut. Hire someone else is the lawyer seems uninterested in your well-being.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, if you think you have a personal injury case, always talk with an attorney. Simply put, hire highly specialized attorneys. Hiring one that is experienced helps you to improve the possibility that you are going to be successful.
