Accidents can leave you out of work with a stack of medical bills and a million unanswered questions. What can you do about it? How can you move forward? A personal injury attorney can provide answers to those questions.
A personal injury lawyer will work closely with you to examine your potential case and determine what options you may have. They’ll review each aspect, including evidence, reports, and witness interviews, to estimate the amount of compensation you are entitled to. If you’re unsure what to do after an incident that’s left you injured, stressed, and frustrated, contact Montlick. We’ll determine the best way to move your case forward in order to help you move forward with your life.
What Is a Personal Injury Lawyer?
So, what is a personal injury lawyer? This type of attorney helps individuals injured due to someone else’s negligence/misconduct earn the compensation they deserve in a lawsuit. If the accident has resulted in the death of a loved one, an attorney can assist families with obtaining justice. Essentially, a personal injury attorney works to protect the rights of victims according to relevant tort laws by recognizing and anticipating potential issues in your case before they have the chance to materialize.
A personal injury attorney will work to determine who is liable for your injuries and will help you with your claim by investigating the accident, gathering evidence, determining the value of the case, communicating with the other party, preparing and filing complaints, and entering discovery– the formal process of exchanging information between the parties about what they’ll present at trial.
What Personal Injury Lawyers Do to Maximize a Claim
After an accident, you can expect to be bombarded with communications from the at-fault party’s insurance company and attorney. They’re probably going to want you to settle and insist things don’t need to go to court. They won’t tell you that the amount they want you to accept is probably nowhere near what your case is actually worth. They’ll position themselves as holding all the power in an attempt to intimidate you. By hiring an experienced personal accident lawyer, you’ll stop them short in their tracks.
Investigating
During your initial meeting with your potential attorney, they’ll start by assessing the case with what you’ve provided them and your recollection of events. During this time, they will determine whether or not you have a valid claim. If they determine you have a winnable case, they’ll take things to the next level and begin a more thorough investigation.
Gathering evidence
Throughout the investigation, they’ll gather evidence of liability to support your claim. Other evidence may include copies of any police or accident reports, medical records, witness statements, and visual evidence, such as photos of the accident scene or surveillance camera footage that captured the incident. If no pictures or videos can be located, your attorney may send someone to the scene to document evidence left on the ground, such as skid marks, vehicle parts, and other evidence that cannot be removed. They’ll move quickly to preserve evidence that could be lost, destroyed, or contaminated to prove you weren’t responsible for the accident.
Determining the value
Next, the personal injury lawyer will work to determine the value of your claim using known factors like the extent of your injuries and losses. Losses are categorized as economic – medical expenses and lost income – and noneconomic – pain and suffering. If pursuing a wrongful death case, compensation may include funeral and burial expenses, medical bills incurred before death, loss of services, and loss of companionship.
Communicating and negotiating
All communications with the other party and their representation, including negotiations, will go through your attorney. Personal injury lawyers thoroughly understand the methods insurance companies will use to reduce the amount of compensation they offer. Securing representation will provide a better chance to receive a settlement that isn’t insultingly low and will minimize the potential of you oversharing in a conversation, which could jeopardize your claim.
Filing legal documents
If the insurance company isn’t willing to compromise, your attorney is prepared to take action by preparing and filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party. This type of documentation will include the compensation you seek to cover the damages incurred.
Entering discovery
Discovery is the pre-trial time used to present evidence to the defense and request evidence that they may have gathered. During this part of the process, your attorney may conduct depositions with experts and witnesses to strengthen your case’s standing. Although it may not come to it and your case may settle outside of a courtroom, your attorney will stand by your side in court, challenging the opposition to bring forward a stronger case.
As your legal representation, a personal injury attorney will use their unique skill set in negotiation and professional resources to ensure you receive fair compensation. What’s a personal injury attorney? An investigator, legal document whiz, and defender all in one.
Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?
If you’ve found yourself in a situation where you’re questioning whether or not you need an attorney in the first place, the answer is probably yes. While technically, you’re not required to have one, obtaining representation from an experienced personal injury lawyer is the most assured way to receive the full compensation you deserve.
Studies published by Cornell University, Consumer Shield, and the Bureau of Justice determined that 75% of all personal injury cases reached a settlement thanks to an attorney’s assistance, and less than 5% saw a courtroom. In the settled cases, the average settlement was $44,600, which is significantly more than what the individuals might have been offered at first.
The answer to the question “What does a personal injury lawyer do, and do I need one?” is about much more than winning compensation.
Personal injury lawyers offer support to those who need all the help they can get after experiencing something horrific. They defend victims from those who would try to cheat them out of what they deserve, and most importantly, they show injured parties that someone cares and that they are not alone in their fight.
What Does a Personal Accident Lawyer Cost?
Generally, personal injury attorneys work on contingency fees, meaning you only pay them if they win or settle your case. Contingency fees are fantastic because you do not have to pay your attorney an hourly rate and they allow representation to occur without any type of retainer fee. Thus, you don’t have to pay any money upfront to hire a Montlick attorney making our services accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial means.
How Can I Find a Personal Injury Lawyer?
When you’re looking for legal representation, there are a few general tips to follow to find the right attorney. Depending on where you live, countless lawyers might be nearby who all claim to have the ability to help you. How do you know which one actually can? Which is the right choice? When choosing a personal injury lawyer, keep this advice handy.
1. Ask for Recommendations and Review Ratings
It’s always a good idea to ask for recommendations from people that you trust. If they don’t personally have any, they may know someone who underwent an experience similar to yours who does. Also, be sure to check online ratings to learn what others have to say about working with them. Likewise, consider their track record. If they haven’t worked on cases similar to yours, it may be best to keep looking.
2. Schedule a Consultation
Once you know which attorneys you’d like to speak with, schedule a consultation. Use this time to ask specific questions about their experience and who they are as a person to get a feel for if they’d be a good fit for you. You will ideally walk out feeling confident in their responses and as though they’d give your case the time it deserves. Ask questions about similar cases they’ve handled, how many other cases they’re currently working on, and the best way to reach them with other questions.
3. Ask About Payment
You should also walk out of the consultation knowing how their fees work. Most attorneys work on contingency fees, but some may use hourly rates, flat fees, or retainers. A good lawyer will be upfront about costs and make sure you understand how the pricing works.
4. Get Specific Feedback About Your Claim
The personal injury attorney should willingly answer all of your questions during the consultation. They shouldn’t rush you off the phone. And most importantly, you should be speaking directly with the attorney, not a “legal assistant” “paralegal” or other legal staffer.
Other than what we’ve already discussed, ask about your case’s strengths and weaknesses, and how long a settlement might take. This is important to build trust and set the groundwork for your relationship.
5. Evaluate Your Meeting Experiences
Once you’ve spoken with each potential attorney, compare the information they have provided you.
What Cases Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Handle?
The CDC has reported that there are 39.5 million personal injury cases each year requiring medical treatment. Of those cases, the five most common types of cases were motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, workplace accidents, and premises liability.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents refer to car, truck, and motorcycle accidents. Reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that there are about 5.5 million car accidents each year in the U.S., resulting in 3 million injuries and 40,000 fatalities. The same study placed the number of truck accidents resulting in injuries at 60,000, with around 5,000 deaths occurring.
Product Liability
Product liability cases happen when a manufacturer has a defective product that goes to market without providing the public warning about its potential dangers or if the product has malfunctions that were not disclosed. The manufacturer can be held responsible for any injuries it causes, whether it be a cancer-causing sunscreen or an exploding battery.
Workplace Accidents
If you’ve been injured in a workplace accident you may be able to recover worker’s compensation. This sort of personal injury case applies if your work is directly linked to your falling ill, such as working with dangerous chemicals for a long time or falling while on the job. Compensation for this claim could include medical expenses and lost income.
Premises Liability
The owner of a business or property may be held accountable when you’ve been injured on someone else’s property due to unsafe conditions. Your attorney will work to prove they were negligent with the property’s upkeep. Premises liability cases include slip and falls, swimming pool accidents, fires, inadequate maintenance, dog bites and more..
Medical Malpractice
The British Medical Journal recently conducted a study that revealed 251,000 Americans are killed due to medical errors each year. Even with their years of training and education, some healthcare professionals cause harm to those they are sworn to help by not complying with medical standards and the standard of care patients are entitled to. This could include failure to warn of risks, failure to diagnose correctly, delayed treatment, and more.
Additional types of personal injury cases include:
- Pedestrian accidents
- Construction accidents
- Nursing home abuse
- Child injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Catastrophic injuries
- Defective product injuries
- Wrongful death
Montlick Law. Giving Clients Back Their Peace of Mind.
When you’ve gone through the trauma of an accident caused by someone else’s reckless, negligent actions, you may be entitled to compensation. Pursuing a personal injury case can be complex and may take time, depending on various factors of what occurred. You deserve an attorney who won’t back down if the case escalates to court. Consider hiring a seasoned attorney from Montlick.
Our team’s educated personal accident lawyers work tirelessly to build your case from the ground up, collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and filing all necessary paperwork. When you choose us as your representation, you can be sure we’ll do everything in our power to fight for fair compensation.
Contact us today for more information on how to talk to a personal injury lawyer. Our attorneys are waiting to help. Your initial consultation is free of charge.
