People who sustained injuries because of an accident that can be attributed to the negligence of another individual or even an organization are entitled to compensation. The compensation is typically commensurate with the amount of medical and healthcare expenses directly attributed to the care of the accident-related injuries as well as the financial burden of lost wages, emotional suffering, and psychological pain. It is always in the best interest of the accident victim to seek the professional expertise of an accident attorney. Here are 8 ways how an accident attorney can help you:
1. Verify Your Claims
Filing for a personal injury lawsuit typically requires certain elements to be present. Only an accident attorney will have in-depth knowledge of what these requirements are so that he can verify if you have the right to a claim or not. This is often based on the evidence that the attorney has at hand so that he can give you the correct advice whether to pursue the case or you’ll do better by strengthening your case some more.
2. Collect Medical Records
A critical component of any personal injury case is the collection of medical records. Since part of your compensation are the expenses incurred for your medical care including laboratory and diagnostic examinations as well as therapies, the comprehensiveness and completeness of your medical records should be ascertained. An accident lawyer helps by making sure your medical records are pertinent and relevant only to the case at hand, otherwise you run the risk of forfeiting your claim.
3. Gather Police Reports
A police report can help you establish culpability for the accident. This can provide a legal basis for the filing of the personal injury claim. It is not always easy to secure such reports as you’ll have to go through bureaucratic red tape. Accident attorneys, on the other hand, can easily secure such reports because they already have an in-depth knowledge of how the judicial system works.
4. Conduct Interviews with Accident Witnesses
The building and strengthening of your claim can be bolstered by the accounts of witnesses to the accident. There may also be certain individuals who can provide your case with sufficient information on the circumstances that may be present right before the accident. An accident attorney has a team of investigators and interviewers who can dig deeper into what witnesses or knowledgeable persons think about the accident.
5. Bridge Communication between Parties
In any legal dispute, both parties talk or communicate through their lawyers. This is basically to avoid jeopardizing the case since being directly involved in one can be emotionally draining and psychologically burdensome that you lose objectivity. Lawyers can keep tabs of their emotions so that they can ensure objectivity in their communication. While they understand the emotional turmoil you’re going through, they don’t point this out when communicating with the lawyer of the other party.
6. Allow Your Accident Attorney to Handle Negotiations
The insurer of the defendant will most likely want to settle the case outside court. This is to help limit their culpability and to reduce the economic implications of the case. As such, they are usually the ones who will be forwarding a compensation amount. Unfortunately, if you are not fully cognizant of the tactics of insurers, you may be tempted to bite the offer. An accident attorney can negotiate the best possible deal on your behalf. This is because he has an in-depth knowledge of the true value of your claim.
7. In-depth Knowledge of True Value of Claim
Accident attorneys have worked on similar cases before. This is nothing new to them. And with their extensive gathering of evidence, they can make a more accurate estimate of the true value of your claim. This can be used during the negotiations.
8. Ensure Proper Compensation for Injuries
Establishing the true value of your claim is never easy. However, since accident attorneys already have extensive experience working on such cases, they already know the appropriate values for the non-physical injuries inherent in accidents such as emotional anguish, loss of productivity, and the like. They will then consolidate all the evidences that they have in order to ensure you get the correct compensation for your injuries.
Accident attorneys always work in your best interest. As such, it is best to hire only the services of a trustworthy and well-respected accident lawyer such as Aronberg, Aronberg and Green.