Hiring an attorney is a challenging decision. Retaining an attorney ready to work on your case immediately is essential; he has significant experience and prioritizes consistent communication with their clients. Below is a rough timeline of what to expect from your attorney and why each step is essential to building a case.
Explain the Process
An attorney should explain how your case will be handled from the pre-litigation state to when or if a lawsuit is filed. The detailed process can vary quite a bit depending on the nature of your case. At a minimum, your attorney should provide the primary timing expectations of pre-litigation settlement and litigation.
Gather Evidence of Liability
An attorney should immediately ask what will be needed to win the liability portion of the case. If it is a simple rear-end case, there may not be any objective evidence required, as the event may speak for itself. However, if liability issues are more complex, an attorney should try to preserve video or computer-based evidence that may exist on cameras or recording devices.
Your personal injury attorney should order the police report or traffic collision report to see if any witnesses were identified, photographs taken, or measurements made by the responding officers. Getting statements early in the process would be essential if the reports identify potential witnesses in a disputed liability case.
It is also essential to ensure all photographs of property damage or personal injuries are taken and preserved.
Communicating with Insurance Companies
Attorneys should check for insurance policies that might benefit the victims. This includes liability policies for the Defendant, uninsured/underinsured policies for the Plaintiff, and policy provisions that may pay for medical treatment.
Nearly all personal injury attorneys will only provide client statements to insurance companies in some personal injury cases. Insurance company adjusters are seasoned professionals who can find ways to get victims to make statements and minimize their injuries. If possible, deny adjusters these statements. There are some exceptions to this rule. You may need to provide a statement if you’re dealing with your insurance carrier, particularly regarding questions of liability.
Assist Clients in Understanding Their Medical Options
Attorneys are not doctors and should never pretend to be. They should not manage clients’ care or treatment; instead, they should make clients aware of their treatment options and be ready with alternatives if one treatment isn’t working.
A qualified personal injury attorney has many years of experience dealing with injured victims and has had prior clients with similar injuries. An attorney should serve as a sounding board and explain why specific treatments are delayed or denied, why injuries tend to get unexpectedly worse over time, or why they are not healing as fast as expected.
For example, many clients are disappointed leaving their emergency room visit with only muscle relaxers and painkillers for their back injury. They were hoping for an MRI and CT scan. However, a knowledgeable personal injury attorney understands this is standard practice from a managed care conservative treatment approach. They can clearly explain that unless there are concerns of internal bleeding or similar problems, an MRO and other central diagnostic testing are given 10-12 weeks after an injury.
Ensure Clients Do Not Settle Too Soon
Many clients try to settle their cases too soon. They have mild back or neck pain and want to accept a resolution. They’re ready to “get it behind them” and think their injuries will resolve shortly. Unfortunately, they don’t realize that a nagging pain can last a lifetime, and it’s often a long-term problem. Sometimes, that nagging pain gets worse, or a different body part starts to hurt because it overcompensates for the injury. Let your injury attorney determine if your injuries are fully resolved or have reached a plateau before settling.
Our Sacramento Personal Injury Attorneys have handled cases in and around Sacramento for over twenty years. They will take you through these steps as soon as possible, ensuring you are up-to-date throughout your case.
To speak directly to a Personal Injury Attorney with significant experience in Northern California, you can contact Eason & Tambornini, A Law Corporation today.
