Why You Should Not Delay Speaking With A Personal Injury Attorney If You Have Been Injured
There are many reasons why discussing your potential claim with an attorney as soon as you can after the incident will increase your chances of maximizing any financial compensation you receive. The knowledgeable and aggressive Georgia personal injury attorneys at Montlick & Associates, Attorneys at Law can examine the facts and circumstances of what happened to you and advise you on your legal rights as well as what steps are necessary to protect your rights.
Each case is different, and their values depend on many factors. However, delaying for some time after your injury to contact an attorney can prejudice your case. Many insurance companies like to have their claims adjusters contact accident victims and offer a quick and easy settlement. The settlement figure they offer you might sound attractive to you. If you agree to the initial offer without negotiating, then you could easily be settling for much less than your claim is potentially worth.
The insurance company will ask you to sign a release before you get your money. A release is a binding contract that obligates the insurance company to pay you compensation for your injuries and, in exchange, you agree that you will not seek additional compensation from the insurance company. The dangerous part of executing a release early in the claims process is that you are no longer eligible to file a claim for additional injuries, should they surface.
The scenario is not too difficult to imagine. After an accident in which you may have injured your back, the insurance adjuster could contact you a week after and offer you $5,000 as a quick settlement. If you accept that offer and sign a release, you are bound by its terms. You cannot sue the person who caused the accident after you have released them from further liability if you find out two months down the road that the reason your back pain did not completely heal was due to a larger problem. Now you are stuck with an insufficient settlement.
Retaining counsel shortly after an accident or another incident that caused personal injuries has another benefit many people fail to consider. An attorney who becomes involved in the claims process soon after the incident that caused the injury can take steps to preserve valuable evidence that could be beneficial to a client's case. In Georgia, a party may become liable for "spoliation" of evidence. Spoliation of evidence means that the party who had control over a piece of evidence it knows to be helpful to the other party either loses or destroys it. Georgia law requires parties to be on notice of impending litigation before the party can be held responsible for losing or destroying it. Therefore, an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney comprehends the significance of this rule and understands how to use it to benefit their clients.
Your Georgia personal injury lawyer has the capacity to put others on notice that they need to preserve evidence if they are involved in the case early enough. Consequently, items like surveillance videos, tape recorded phone calls, documents, photographs, and other evidence might be lost if you fail to act quickly.
Put Our Law Firm's Over 39 Years Of Legal Experience To Work For Your Case!
If you have been injured because of someone else's negligence, call Montlick & Associates, Attorneys at Law for your free consultation today. Montlick & Associates, Attorneys at Law has been representing those who suffer serious injuries throughout all of Georgia and in the Southeast for over 39 years, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state.
No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour live chat.
Montlick & Associates, Attorneys at Law
17 Executive Park Dr NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
Telephone: 1 (800) LAW-NEED
Telephone: 1 (404) 529-6333
Open: 24 hours, 7 Days a Week