Filing a personal injury lawsuit can be a really stressful thing, that comes with a lot of fear and anxiety. After your injury, you need to focus on getting better and making sure that things are handled in the right way. Hiring a lawyer is recommended, as they can help you ease the whole process. Here we are going to tell you more about the things you should pay attention to before you file your claim.
1. Go to a hospital
The first thing you need to do after a personal injury is to go to the hospital. In some cases, you cannot file a lawsuit if you don’t have any documents that you sought medical attention.
You have to do this for several reasons and the first one is to make sure that you are okay. Next, you will have a document that proves that you’ve been injured and that will boost your credibility in court.
2. Get a law expert as soon as you can
After you are done with the medical part, you need to act fast and get an attorney as soon as you can. This is important because they will guide you through the next steps, and what you need to pay attention to, to win your lawsuit.
In some states, the deadline for filing your case is no more than 10 days, and not many people are aware of this fact. To make sure you get all the insurance money that belongs to you, you need to lawyer up and present your case.
3. Don’t sign anything without your attorney
This is something we hope is not true, but the reality is, people and companies will try to scam you.
The insurance places will always look for a way to pay less money than they have to and they will do and say a lot of things to convince you to sign documents that will not help your case.
If someone tells you that they need your signature, no matter how innocent the document looks, always tell them that you are not signing anything before your attorney reviews it.
4. This is not a short process
One thing you need to be prepared for is that these cases will take a lot of your time. Chances are, everything will not be over in a week or a month. They are extremely complex cases, and sometimes it may take years for everything to conclude.
To make sure you don’t waste your time, and at the same time, to have someone that will be on top of everything, you need to hire a good personal injury lawyer.
5. You will get more money if you get a lawyer
Some people believe that they can get more from the insurance company, and they can save up some money on an attorney if they handle their case on their own. The reality is, this is a long process, you have to have a lot of knowledge, and there are a lot of things you will not know unless you are a licensed professional.
As suggested by thelawcenter.com, the right lawyer can share their legal expertise and help you file a claim, as well as get the maximum compensation that you can.
6. Deadlines
Many people think that they have a lot of time to file the lawsuit. The reality is, there is a specific time-frame after your accident where you can file your case. Depending on your location, that time varies between one week and about one month, but again, that all depends on the place where you live. Because of that, you need to be proactive and hire an attorney as soon as you possibly can.
7. There’s more than one way to approach the case
There are several ways to win the case, and they include going or not going to trial. Most attorneys tell their clients when it is better to do or avoid that. You need to listen to your attorney and if they say that you should settle, then you should do it.
In case you think that you can win the case when going in front of a judge, then you may seek another lawyer that will follow your wishes.
8. Which option is better?
One thing you should always remember is that not going to trial is better in most cases. That way you won’t have to pay any extra attorney fees and you will be able to get some money. Even though you may win more if you decide to go to trial, this process will take way longer and you will lose money in the process.
And when your case goes in front of a judge, if you don’t win, you will not get anything. So, it is better to get something, than lose everything.
9. Mediation
Your attorney will talk to the attorney for the other person, and they will try and reach an agreement. This is done so that a trial can be avoided and you can settle. In case they cannot agree on everything, the mediation process starts. In this process, a third party will be involved that will help you reach an agreement and settle.
10. Follow the advice of the law expert
Your lawyer will be there every step of the way, starting from investigating the circumstances of your case, the extent of your injury, and everything up to the trial and the settlement.
They are more experienced than you and they know what they are doing, so you need to take their advice, and listen to everything they have to say. This will save you a lot of time, trouble, and money, and you will be able to get the things you want.
