All lawyers are honor-bound to put in the best efforts towards their clients’ cases, but few show this dedication more than your personal injury attorney. Why? They typically receive pay only after the at-fault party compensates you.
Therefore, you may rest assured of being in safe hands whenever you hire a personal injury barrister. These professionals work tirelessly to help you recover the maximum benefits possible, whether the case settles out of court or eventually proceeds to trial.
Let’s consider a few typical roles of a personal injury attorney during a case.
Fact-finding and Initial Negotiation
Gathering all relevant information to your case kickstarts your defense. The lawyer collects vital details, such as the type and degree of your wounds and fault definition for the accident in focus. Other details include:
- medical bills and treatment history
- witness statements
- surveillance footage
- police reports
- government reports.
Your lawyer proceeds to contact the defendant’s insurer to ask for damages. Suppose the insurance company makes an excellent offer covering all expenses already incurred and the expenses you may yet incur in the treatment or repair process. Your lawyer accepts the offer and receives pay.
On the other hand, if the negotiation doesn’t yield reasonable compensation for the injury, your lawyer files a lawsuit. It’s noteworthy that most culpable parties prefer out-of-court settlements, so few cases make it to trial.
The Litigation Process
The litigation process begins with complaint filing, which involves a legal shortlist of your concerns, the evidence supporting your concerns, and what you’re demanding as compensation. When you’re done filing your complaint, you serve it to the at-fault party (the defendant), who then has to legally respond (also known as the “answer”).
Discovery – where you and the other side share details that may pass as evidence in court – follows. Typically, the discovery stage involves depositions, interrogatories, and document requests. You may spend months at this phase, but you need not worry about a capable lawyer.
An excellent personal injury lawyer will handle every litigation stage and update you regularly. Let’s mention that settlement is still possible at this stage and even after the trial starts.
What Should I Know When I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
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Your Barrister Will Update You Regularly
Good lawyers have a handful on their plates, including depositions to manage, new clients to investigate, and other court sessions to attend. Therefore, don’t expect an immediate response to your routine calls and emails.
However, note that your attorney will always keep you abreast of relevant developments, such as a new settlement offer (except if you’ve authorized them to review and decide on offers independently).
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Don’t Discuss the Case With Others
It’s essential to be wary of who you discuss the case with after legal proceedings are in order. The only persons to do so with should be your attorney or a verified rep from their office.
Should an insurance negotiator or other unfamiliar third parties request to speak with you, remit them to your lawyer immediately.
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Update Your Lawyer
Update your attorney on all information relevant to the case. Inform them when you’re done with your medical rounds. Notify them too as soon as the litigant or their representative contacts you.
In some cases, you may receive additional expenses due to the injury. Inform your lawyer and provide them with the necessary docs.
What Next After Recovering Your Compensation?
Typically, you get your settlement in a personal injury accident, as long as the other party is guilty. Therefore, you’ll receive your settlement whether the liable person agrees to compensate you or not.
The next step after your recovery is to append your signature to settlement and release forms. These documents show that you admit to withdrawing your complaint against the other party and won’t sue in the future for the same case.
How Can I Hire a Competent Personal Injury Lawyer?
Finding a personal injury attorney has never been a problem. A simple Google search provides over ten links to follow on the first page. However, it’s rarely about quantity and much more about quality.
Hiring an excellent personal injury barrister may be challenging. Interesting, considering that you need a proficient lawyer if you’re coming up against a large insurance firm. Remember that these firms have the finest hands in the industry.
Fortunately, Valiant Advocates recognizes and solves this challenge. We offer a free matching service for people to find capable attorneys. Contact us now to get a free quote and find your ideal representative.