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This is the second part of our series on the steps to take in a personal injury case. If you missed part one of this series, you can read it here.
In the first part of this series, we discussed how seeking medical care and recovery should be your top priority – both for the sake of your well-being and your future personal injury claim. Once the initial stages of your treatment are finished, the next important step in the personal injury process is to have your claimed reviewed by a competent attorney.
Step 2: Consult an Attorney
It’s no secret that laws and legal procedures can be complex and difficult to navigate. Personal injury law is by no means an exception to this rule. In order to successfully present a personal injury claim, a person must be able to comprehend highly specialized terminology, correctly fill out stacks of paperwork, and precisely respond to counterclaims of the at-fault party and their representatives. Trying to do all that while still recovering from both the physical and emotional impact of the accident is a true feat most victims may not feel capable of.
Fortunately, a personal injury attorney can take care of a vast majority of formal work related to your claim or lawsuit. A competent attorney will do all they can to make sure you don’t feel unnecessarily burdened by the technical and legal complexities of your case. This will allow you to focus all your time and energy on recovery.
The decision and the responsibility to choose the right attorney, however, are yours and yours only. It is important that you realize how crucial this choice is when it comes to the ultimate success or failure of your case. Some accident victims may feel that they can work with the very first attorney they encounter – regardless of the attorney’s professional background. However, if you’d like your case to prevail in the courtroom, you need a competent, experienced lawyer who is accustomed to representing victims in circumstances similar to yours. Therefore, take your time when choosing an attorney. Do your research, ask around, review their record of previous cases they’ve handled. Only when you’re convinced that you’ve found a lawyer who will best represent you and your case should you hire one.
Step 3: Claim Review & Investigation
Once you have settled on an attorney, his or her first objective will be to gather all the necessary information about the accident, your injuries, and the resulting financial losses you have sustained. The information will help your attorney to prepare a strong case that will give him or her a good basis to present the at-fault party’s insurer with reasonable and just financial demands.
This stage of the personal injury process is called claim review or investigation. It usually starts with your attorney asking you questions about the circumstances of your case. Your attorney will also help you retrieve your medical records and analyze them in order to assess the seriousness and scope of your injuries. He or she may even put you in touch with other health care providers and doctors to make sure you have reached the point of maximum medical improvement.
Another important part of your attorney’s job will be to review the testimonies of the witnesses – or try to obtain such testimonies. Your attorney will also closely analyze any other available evidence. Depending on the type of accident, this may include police reports, photographs from the accident scene as well as photographs of any property damage that may have occurred.
Claim review and investigation will allow your attorney to gather evidence of fault and design the best strategy for your claim. Once he or she has gathered all the necessary information, your claim will be ready for the next stages of the personal injury process – settlement negotiations and a potential lawsuit. We will take a closer look at both in the third installment of this series of articles.