After an injury causing accident, you’ll want to recover the highest possible financial value for your case. The amount you receive must fully compensate you for all your losses—and if you suffered a debilitating injury, the funds you get now might have to last for the rest of your life. In many instances, circumstances prevent full compensation, in other instances, utilizing the right lawyer for your Fontana accident can maximize your financial recovery to help offset from the physical, mental and emotional losses caused by the negligence of another.
How An Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Builds an Injury Claim That Will Properly Compensate You
If you need a personal injury attorney because you were hurt in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you should know that certain aspects of your injury case will directly impact the amount you can receive at the end of your case. David H. Ricks, a premier personal injury attorney in the Inland Empire, wants you to know some of the items that can impact your recovery following your injury accident.
Available Insurance Coverage Is a Critical Component to Your Recovery
The amount of insurance available from the negligent person, or the available uninsured motorist coverage, are two aspects that greatly impact your potential recovery. When there is ample insurance coverage to provide for fair and full compensation, then you are more likely to recieve all the compensation you deserve. When there is a small insurance policy and your injuries are substantial, there may not be a way to get you all that you deserve from your injuries. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney helps you maximize the recovery because they know how to locate all the available insurance coverage applicable to your claim.
Gathering the Evidence Early Protects Your Rights
Maximizing your recovery is a process of establishing liability, causation and damages. To do that, your attorney needs to gain early access to all the relevant evidence to hold the negligent party and the liable insurance comapny responsible for your damages. Evidence includes, photographs from the accident scene, the vehicles, or the location of a fall and photographs of your injuries are important. Since your lawyer will not be at the accident scene, and he or she may be retained at a later date, you need to take the initiative to get the photographs that will be needed later. Other items of evidence inlcude, witness information or statements, incident reports, vehicle damage, hospital and medical records, loss of earnings information, the need for future medical care, etc. There is a lot involved in this part of the case and while there is some overlap between cases, each case has its unique aspects that must be properly explored and documented. The burden is on the injured party and his or her attorney to make a strong and compelling case which supports the version of events that favors financial recovery and refutes any claims or defenses made by the other party (or their insurance company). Preserving and gathering as much evidence as available is a key component to a successful claim.
Proper Medical Care Is Critical
Following the injury causing event, the injuries need to be treated to help speed the healing process and to properly document the injuries. One of the biggest mistakes made by an injured person is the failure to actively treat their injuries, failing to follow medical advice of merely giving up on treatment because of the time it takes or the interference in one's daily life. Ultimately, the insurers and their attorneys will scrutinize your medical records looking for any reason to attack your credibility and the veracity of your injuries. If your injuries are documented when you are in the emergency room, or documented by your medical provider, it’s much more difficult for insurers to claim that your injuries are unrelated to the accident. If you stop going to your doctors’ appointments when you claim you still need medical care, insurers will argue that your injuries weren’t that serious so you don't deserve as much for your claim. Get the medical care you need, it helps you physically and mentally and it helps your ultimate financial recovery.
Determining Past and Future Damages
Calculating medical expenss and loss of earnings is fairly easy, just add up the numbers. Those damages merely reimburse you for some of your losses. What about those losses that will occur in the future for loss of earnings or medical expenses, or those intangible losses for pain and suffering? How are those losses calculated? This is where an experienced and skilled personal injury attorney makes all the difference. An experienced attorney located in the areaa where the case is handled, will understand the rights to recover for pain and suffering, for future losses, etc. They know what other cases have settled for and why your case is worth more than what the insurance company wants to pay. The personal injury attorney with an excellent reputation and one who is not afraid to go to trial has a better chance of convincing the insurance company to pay you what you deserve, not some lesser amount. Sometimes, these calculations require the use of expert witnesses and persons that are not otherwise available to a personal injury victim working on their own without an attorney.
Deadlines Must Be Met to Avoid Lossing Out
All personal injury cases must be filed by a state-imposed deadline called the statute of limitations. California's statute of limitations on most injury or wrongful death cases is two years. However, the deadlines are significantly different for claims involving the government, or medical negligence. Victims have just six months after the date of injury to pursue a claim against a government entity or employee. Medical malpractice statutes of limitation can be as short as one year from the date of the injury. If a statute of limitations is missed and the claim is not filed with a court or settled timely, it does not matter how good your case is, you cannot recover. Since it takes considerable time to investigate and document your case, it’s best to consult an attorney as soon as possible to protect your right to recovery and to avoid missing any statute of limitations.
Giving a Statement to the Other Side Without Consulting a Personal Injury Attorney
Insurance companies prey on injury victims overwhelmed by pain and medical debt. They will want to take a statement about the collision or the injury early on before you hire an attorney. They are not taking the statement to help you, they are doing it to help themselves. Beware that they will ask questions that will invoke answers that may later be used against you. Always, always, always, review your case with an attorney before you decide to provide a statement to an insurance company. Don't let the insurance company get the upper hand on you before you are ready, physically and mentally, to give a proper well thought out statement.
Speak With The Right Attorney
No matter how helpful an insurance company may seem, it’s only concerned about its own bottom line. You should seek out the assistance of an attorney right away following the injury. Maybe your case does not need an attorney or maybe an attorney can bring significant value to your case. You will not know this unless you speak to an attorney. However, speaking to the right attorney is just as important. Find an attorney that is right for you and your case. Is the attorney experienced in cases like yours? Will the attorney handle the case in his or her office instead of referring you out? Does the attorney have the resources and experience to take your case to trial if necessary? See questions you should ask a lawyer.
The Inland Empire Law Group can meet your needs and provide you with all the benefits of having the right law firm working for you and for your interest. As we say, "Every Personal Injury is Personal To Us." We will fight for you to secure the best outcome for you and your claim.
Learn Your Next Steps in Your Free Consultation
At Inland Empire Law Group, we do everything we can to ease the burden on you after an injury. While you rest and recover, we can gather the evidence to make the most compelling case—and we don’t charge anything to explain your options and legal rights. All injury cases are handled on a contingency basis so no money is due from you upfront. Our recovery comes only after we secure a recovery for you.
Call (909) 481-0100 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation and find out how we can assist you with your case.
