Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney For Your Claim

When you have been injured through no fault of your own, it can be hard to know the best course of action to take. Injuries can have many sources, including automobile accidents, workplace accidents, animal attacks, slipping and falling due to improper safety, and many others. You have a lot on your mind and a lot of things demanding your attention, such as your recovery, your job, personal responsibilities, and receiving compensation for your losses. Injuries can result in many types of loss, some based on exact figures, such as the loss of an automobile, and other more abstract losses, such as a reduced quality of life. This is why one of the first steps you should take when you have been hurt is hiring professional legal representation such as Killian, Davis, Richter, & Fredenburg, PC. 

Reasons To Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

When you have been hurt, hiring legal representation is often not your first concern. When injured, of course, your first concern is your recovery. Also, you may think that the insurance companies will handle the issue. Hiring a personal injury attorney offers you many advantages. On a base level, it’s important to have assistance from someone who understands the law. The legal system is complex, and when you have been injured, there are a lot of factors in receiving proper compensation. Injuries can be life-changing, and in the broader sense, the more serious your injury is, the more complex your case can become. Here are some of the key reasons to hire an attorney.

Why You Should Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

• You Are Injured: accidents can lead to a variety of injuries requiring medical care and further treatment. If you are dealing with injuries, having an attorney is a key part of getting the compensation you are due. Your attorney can ensure that you get precisely what you are owed. In addition, if you have severe injuries that lead to a temporary disability, a permanent disability, a severe injury, or pain and suffering, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible. When you’re hurt, you can trust your lawyer to handle your case and compensation while you focus on your recovery.
• Evaluation of Your Case: an attorney, when they first meet with you, will review the details and facts of your case. Reviewing data and the circumstances of your case is important as it defines what needs to be done to process your claim. Every case is different, and the types of evidence needed and the settlement amount to ask for varies from case to case. Viability also has to be seriously discussed as not every claim is actionable.
• Setting Expectations: an attorney will inform you of the basic facts and what to expect from your case. When you’re injured you may not know how much your settlement could be worth and what the overall process will look like. Some cases are straight forward and others are far more complex. By setting expectations, your attorney keeps the process grounded and easier to understand. Also, injuries are a stressful and emotional thing. It’s valuable to have a calm outside voice to provide information and help you make decisions based on merit and material facts rather than emotions.
• Navigation of The Legal Process: the legal system is intricate and complex. Without proper education and training, you will be easily overwhelmed. Your attorney knows the system and how to confidently guide you through the process along with keeping you informed of the status of your case.  
• Proving Liability: in cases where negligence may be unclear, you should contact a lawyer for representation. In such cases, you need support to prove your case and present your side of the story. When liability is unclear, evidence is of the utmost importance. Evidence can include professional records, police reports, medical records, expert recreation, witness statements, and expert testimony. With proper evidence, your case can be fairly present and your side of the story properly told.
• Dealing With Insurance Companies:communicating with insurance providers after an accident can be a challenge and this includes your insurance provider. When you hire an attorney, they manage all communication with the involved insurance providers. Importantly, your attorney also discusses proper compensation. Insurance companies often pay as little as possible for damages such as medical bills and property damage. You should never immediately agree with any settlements from an insurance company and instead direct them to your attorney. Your attorney will fight for you and negotiate compensation with your insurance providers. This ensures you receive exactly what you are fairly owed. This also prevents insurance companies from drawing out the overall process or denying the claim outright.
• Proper Settlement Calculations: when filing a court case for a personal injury, those with legal representation tend to receive larger settlements. This is because an attorney knows all the proper methods to successfully argue your case and, importantly, properly, calculate what you are owed. The proper amount to request in a settlement case involves several different calculations and types of damages to keep in mind. Your attorney will carefully review your situation and see what applies to your claim and what type of compensation should be requested from the court system. 
• Arguing Before the Court: Your attorney will work hard to reach a fair settlement agreement with the involved insurance companies and related associated parties. However, sometimes a settlement is not possible. While the majority of injury claims are settled before they go to court, some do end up before a judge. An attorney can effectively represent you before the court system and argue your side of the story. Your attorney will also collect and present the evidence supporting your case.

Personal Injury Case Types

There are numerous types of personal injuries, each with its complexities and challenges. Here are some of the most common types and the challenges each has.

• Car Accidents: Injuries caused by automobile accidents are sadly common and are one of the most well-known types of personal injury cases. In these cases, the fault must be properly determined, damages assessed, and insurance companies negotiated with.
• Slip and Fall: Slip and fall cases occur in the workplace or on outside property such as a rental location. Proving negligence and liability is a key challenge in such a case. Often, the location where the injury occurred has to be carefully examined, and evidence must be collected. Also, in cases of accidents in businesses, establishing liability can involve several parties, such as the business owner and landlord who owns the physical property.
• Product Liability: these are cases involving personal injuries caused by a faulty product. The key difficulty with defective products is establishing proper liability for the specific product defect that led to an injury and establishing causation. Proving that the defect was known, reasonable to be expected, or ignored is a key part of establishing liability.
• Medical Malpractice: another well-known type of personal injury case is harm caused by the negligence of those who work in the medical profession, such as doctors and nurses. The medical field is a complex place and understanding these intricacies is important as the standard of care has to be considered and causation proved.

Steps In The Legal Process

Personal injury cases can take time and involve several steps. Here are some of the most important ones to expect.

• Consultation: the first step in hiring an attorney is to meet with them and review your case. During this first meeting, information will be shared about the background of your case, and the attorney will review its merits and help you understand the legal process.
• Filing The Case: once your case is deemed actionable, your attorney will next file the proper legal documents to officially begin proceedings and move the case forward.
• Discovery: one of the most important steps in the legal process is discovery. This is when evidence is collected to help support your case and properly build your argument. Various pieces of evidence will be collected during discovery and, depending on the complexity of your case and how many parties are involved, this can be time-consuming.
• Negotiation: your attorney will negotiate with the insurance company or the opposing party to reach a settlement and avoid a court case. Negotiations can be finalized and agreed upon up until the last minute before a case goes to court.
• A Trial: if negotiations cannot be reached, a trial before a judge and/or jury will be made to reach final judgment, assess damages, and provide compensation.

Final Considerations and Compensation

An attorney can help you receive the compensation you are rightly due. This can include economic and non-economic damage. Types of damage can include lost wages, medical expenses, damage to your property, loss of long-term earnings, loss of consortium, and more. Under the law, you have a right to be made whole if you are injured by the negligence of another party. No matter if it’s a car accident or a workers’ compensation claim, you deserve to be represented by an attorney and have your case heard.