10 Little-Known Factors That Could Affect Your Personal Injury Case

As if recovering from an accident or personal injury wasn’t hard enough, there are a number of things you may not have even remotely considered that could make or break your entire case in court. For that reason, we’re here to help.

Here are ten often overlooked factors that could completely change not only how your case is handled in court, but also the amount of necessary compensation you receive in the end.

1.) Getting Representation Could Lead Your Case to Success

While you’d think this factor would be fairly obvious, many personal injury victims completely forego seeking professional representation to handle and fight for their case. They may feel a personal injury attorney will be too expensive, or handle their case without their best interests in mind.

Many people face contacting a legal attorney with great hesitance, and avoid getting help altogether; this is a common, yet devastating mistake that so many people make unnecessarily. Simply stated, injury attorneys know what they’re doing; they know the legal process, how to maneuver your needs through it, and how to get you the benefits you so desperately need following an injury.

2.) Attorneys Don’t Have to be Hard to Find

Another reason injury victims are hesitant to hire an effective legal attorney is that they’re simply skeptical of how difficult it is to find one at all; which often, and inevitably, leads victims to steer clear of getting representation altogether.

However, by knowing the right strategies for selecting attorneys, and what characteristics to look for when selecting a representative, you can better choose the assistance you need, and generate greater results when finally taking your case to court.

3.) Your Attorney Can Help You Find the Right Doctor

One major factor injury victims with professional attorneys often miss out on when handling their case is the relationships between attorneys and your local doctors. Injury attorneys in your area know the best local doctors suited for specific types of injuries, and unique situations.

Even if you have a family or regular doctor, consult your attorney and hear their suggestions for medical attention in the area. As they are exposed to cases like yours on a regular basis (it is their career, after all), they will be able to tell you which doctors have the best and most applicable experience for your exact needs.

4.) How Quickly You Act Can Change Everything

Most importantly, in the immediate wake of an accident, is to act quickly. If you can, contact a personal injury attorney at the location of your injury or accident, or at least as soon as possible following. The sooner you act and reach out for representation, the clearer you can provide event details when making any official statements.

If you can, contact your personal injury attorney before police even arrive on scene. These professionals will help you make sure you give all the right information to the authorities, and guide you on what to say when making an official statement about an injury incident.

5.) Take Notes On Everything About Your Injury

If at all possible, your case can benefit significantly if you are able to take thorough notes at the incident site, and particularly at an automobile accident site. One hard fact that many injury victims do not realize is that an official police report does not contain all of the crucial information regarding your accident, which can harm your case later on. Take thorough notes, and present them to your personal injury attorneys as soon as possible.

When taking notes on everything regarding your accident, we mean just that: take notes on everything. This includes:

• Road conditions
• Weather conditions
• Damage to any vehicles, private or public property
• Any injuries, regardless of how small
• Traffic conditions or surroundings at the time

6.) Always Contact the Police

One of the most obvious things you should do in the event of an accident or injury, and one many victims avoid when they let their wariness get the best of them, is contacting the police, paramedics or other suitable authorities. No matter how severe or small your injuries, you should always contact the police.

Even though their official records won’t cover everything involved in your injury case, their reports are typically the most reliable and sturdy pieces of evidence in court. This is because, plainly, insurance companies are virtually bound to adhere to the information within these statements.

7.) Local Attorneys Will Deliver Better Case Results

Another helpful factor that many injury victims forget to consider is the effectiveness of local attorneys when compared to larger, corporate firms.

The thing about your local attorneys is that they understand “where you’re coming from;” they know the area, the road and traffic conditions, amongst other factors unique to your city or county that may play an inevitable role in your case proceeding.

8.) Know What and What Not to Say

One of the greatest benefits personal injury attorneys can bring to a case, and one countless injury victims sacrifice when declining professional representation, is the guidance these professionals can give regarding official statements and reports.

By contacting a professional attorney quickly, before speaking with your insurance agency or those of any other involved parties, you’ll be much better prepared to provide the most suitable statements possible; by avoiding this, you put yourself at risk for making incorrect or case-harming statements when tensions are running high after an accident, or becoming confused with the terms and conditions of the legal process.

9.) Pick the Best Attorney Using Free Consultations

One of the biggest reasons accident and injury victims are hesitant toward seeking professional aid is that they believe, by merely engaging in conversation with attorneys, that they will be involved in some sort of contractual agreement with their attorney.

This is not true; not only do the best attorneys offer preliminary consultations to gauge their compatibility with personal injury cases, but they also typically offer these informative meetings for free. By making the most of free consultations, you can find the best representation possible with little cost to you.

10.) Contingency-Based Fees Won’t Cost You Unless You Win

And finally, there’s often some confusion amongst accident and injury victims how legal payment options work. One great fear of hiring a professional representative is that these professionals will take an overly large sum of their compensation after a successful case, or charge them up front and deliver unsatisfactory case results.

Fortunately, most personal injury attorneys today will have their payment set up on a contingency basis; that is, they only see their payment if your receive the compensation you need in the event of an injury. These payment plans facilitate the most powerful and successful case representation, as attorneys, literally, will not be paid unless you win.

To learn more about the many factors, large and small, that can affect your personal injury case, or for more information about how a passionate, experienced personal injury attorney can help you see the results you need, contact us today!