10 Tips for a Successful Personal Injury Case: When it comes to winning a personal injury case, your attorney should be both your advocate and your voice in court. It’s important to make sure that you’re working with an attorney who has the experience and knowledge to help you win the maximum compensation possible from your accident claim. Here are 10 tips that can help you choose the right personal injury attorney when you’ve been injured in an accident or other incident that wasn’t your fault.
1) Not all personal injury cases are created equal
When it comes to getting money in exchange for medical bills and pain and suffering, there’s a spectrum of results, from some cases where injured people get nothing to more typical cases that net $20,000 or $30,000. An attorney with experience as a personal injury lawyer will know how best to manage your case so you can get as much money as possible. Here are some tips to make sure your attorney has your best interests at heart: 1. Ask around: When looking for an attorney, don’t just call up a random name from the phone book or search online; ask friends and family if they have someone they recommend.
2) An experienced lawyer can make all the difference
Without an experienced personal injury attorney at your side, you may be taking on your insurance company alone. It’s important to find someone who knows how to negotiate with insurance companies and has experience dealing with other lawyers. It’s also important to hire someone with excellent communication skills and someone approachable – you want your lawyer to be honest and straightforward, willing to answer all of your questions in plain English. And lastly, you must trust your attorney completely – if there’s anything fishy going on (like discrepancies between what they say and what you hear from another lawyer), run away as fast as possible.
3) Document everything from day one
When you get hurt, you want to get back to normal as soon as possible. So it can be tempting to push yourself when you’re in physical therapy, but doing so is likely to slow down your recovery. Be patient with your body—it’s doing what it needs to do. When you start feeling frustrated by a lack of progress, think about how much has already happened and how far along you are compared with where most people would be after an injury like yours. Set small, achievable goals and celebrate them every step of the way! And above all else: listen to your doctors!
4) Have patience with your body’s healing process
A lot of personal injury attorneys push their clients to begin moving around as soon as possible following an accident. While that might make sense from a financial perspective, rushing your recovery could do more harm than good in certain cases. If you’ve been injured and feel any persistent pain—even if it doesn’t seem like anything major—be sure to have it checked out by your doctor before you engage in any strenuous activity. Your body might need more time to heal and avoid long-term damage or injuries. You could be delaying other injuries if you push yourself too hard, too soon. And healing properly from one accident doesn’t mean you should rush into another one that could lead to further injury.
5) It’s normal to have questions
As you begin working with your personal injury attorney, it’s normal to have questions about your case. Your Memphis personal injury attorney is available at all times to answer those questions—if he or she can’t do so immediately, they should tell you when you can expect an answer and keep in touch throughout every step of your case. It’s also important that they explain everything as thoroughly as possible so there are no surprises down the road. Be sure to get all of your questions answered before signing any contracts or making any decisions about your case; if you aren’t comfortable, don’t be afraid to move on to another lawyer.
6) Deal with your doctor
Often, medical professionals can be careless and cause injuries without meaning to. In these cases, you’ll have to contact your doctor (or whoever was responsible) immediately after you realize that an injury has been caused. Ideally, your doctor will apologize and offer to pay for the damages. But if not, contact a personal injury attorney at once—and let them handle any negotiations on your behalf. Take note: If there are extenuating circumstances involved in your cases, such as neglect or malpractice by several doctors over an extended period or one major incident that lasted more than 12 hours (in which case you’d most likely be advised to seek immediate medical attention), it is best to contact a personal injury attorney instead of dealing with medical personnel directly.
7) Start thinking about the compensation you need and deserve early on
By starting to research your potential case right away, you can have a better understanding of how to win your lawsuit. However, be sure not to put all of your eggs in one basket by putting more emphasis on one kind of compensation over another; while money may seem like what you need most from your accident, other considerations like reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages should be taken into account as well. But to get compensated for any damages that occurred as a result of someone else’s negligence or misconduct, it’s important to know how much they are worth so you can make sure you don’t let them slip through your fingers.
8) The sooner you get an attorney, the better
It’s critical to get an attorney involved as soon as possible. The average time it takes to settle a personal injury case is 15 months—but that’s because most people don’t have an attorney on their side and they wait until they’re back to 100 percent before filing. You need your attorney working on your case, not waiting for you to get better. Once you are feeling up to it, contact a personal injury lawyer near you and start putting together your team of experts.
9) Insurance companies will try to intimidate you
No insurance company wants to pay out more money than it has to. The more you know about your case and what it will take to settle, the better equipped you’ll be when dealing with insurance companies claims adjusters, and attorneys. Insurance companies will do everything in their power to avoid paying out benefits; it’s your job as an injured party or plaintiff to make sure they do. To prepare yourself for battle, educate yourself on these 10 tips
10) If your case is serious enough, consider hiring a private investigator
Private investigators are used in cases where there is little physical evidence or multiple parties have conflicting stories. If you feel like your case needs an investigator, try to find someone who has been recommended by others with similar cases. This is particularly important because personal injury attorneys tend to receive contingency payments—meaning they don’t get paid unless they win your case. So if your attorney doesn’t want to spend money on an investigator, he may not be as invested in helping you as much as he would be if he was getting paid even just a small retainer fee.
