- Personal injury accidents can cause physical, emotional, and financial harm to victims.
- Victims can file a personal injury claim to recover compensation for damages such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Hiring a personal injury lawyer is the best way to maximize your chances of recovering fair compensation.
- Personal injury lawyers have experience handling these claims and can help you through the legal process.
- They can also negotiate with insurance companies to get you the best possible settlement.
If you have been injured in a personal injury accident, you should contact an attorney for a free consultation.
Victims of personal injury incidents, such as car, truck, and slip and fall accidents, can file personal injury claims to hold the at-fault party accountable for the damages caused by their negligence. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is the best way to put yourself in a position to recover fair compensation, as they have the experience handling these claims you may lack.
Before hiring a personal injury lawyer, you should take advantage of free consultations offered by personal injury lawyers. These are free meetings where you can get to know the personal injury lawyer, learn how they can help you, and ask questions regarding your case. The best way to tell if a personal injury lawyer is the right fit for your personal injury case is by gathering information about them during a free consultation.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim to Pursue Compensation for Damages
A personal injury claim is a type of litigation that attempts to hold a negligent party liable for their actions that caused severe injuries and damages. A personal injury accident can cause severe physical and emotional harm to a victim, with financial losses that will be hard for them to pay out-of-pocket. Victims can file personal injury claims to recover compensation for damages not covered by their insurance.
The following are some of the personal injury accidents that can lead to a personal injury claim:
- Car accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Trucking accidents
- Bus accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Boating accidents
- Lyft accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Product liability
- Defective medical devices
- Defective drugs
- Nursing home abuse
- Social media harm
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer After a Free Consultation
Personal injury victims can suffer economic and non-economic damages that reflect how the personal injury accident affected their financial situation and quality of life. Some common damages pursued in a personal injury claim include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is an important step in the claims process, as they have experience that can inform your legal counsel plan.
The following are some of the ways a personal injury lawyer can help with the claims process:
- Calculate the total value of your claim
- Determine the liable party
- Send the demand letter to the liable party and their insurer
- Explain the laws that can affect your claim
- Speak to eyewitness and expert witnesses
- Gather evidence to prove your case
- Negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company
- Represent you in court
Hiring a personal injury lawyer is a vital step in the process, so you need to make sure you are putting your trust in the right person. The best way to do that is to take advantage of the free consultation offered by most personal injury law firms. This is a free meeting where you can speak to a personal injury lawyer about your case to learn about your case’s chances for success, and how the personal injury lawyer would handle your case.
What Information and Documentation Should You Bring to a Free Consultation?
At your initial free consultation, your personal injury lawyer will want to learn as much as possible about your case. This way, they can make a fair evaluation of your prospects for recovering fair compensation for your damages. It would help if you had detailed notes about what happened during the personal injury accident backed up by documentation, so they can verify the information you present.
The following is some of what you should bring to your free consultation:
- Photos or videos of the personal injury accident scene
- Medical records
- Police reports
- Witness statements
- Doctor’s notes
- X-ray or MRI results
Some of the information your personal injury lawyer will want to know is what happened, who was involved, what injuries and damages you suffered, your medical treatment, and what you feel happened. Based on this information, they can evaluate your chances of recovering compensation for damages.
Prepare Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer at the Free Consultation
Your free consultation should be just as much about you learning about your personal injury lawyer as it is about them learning about your case. This is a person that you have to have a tremendous amount of trust in, as they have control over your personal injury claim. They will define the claims process, so you need to know you can trust them. To learn about your personal injury lawyer, you should prepare questions that can give you a clue about their process, how they can help you, and how they view your case.
The following are some of the topics you should prepare questions about:
- What can you expect from their legal counsel?
- How will they help you recover damages?
- What strategies will they employ to help you?
- How long will the personal injury claim process take?
- What is the statute of limitations for your personal injury claim?
- How can they help negotiate with an insurance company?
- What evidence can help prove your case?
- How will you pay for medical treatment?
Find Out Your Potential for Recovering Compensatory Damages
Once the personal injury lawyer has the full picture of what happened and what damages you suffered, they should be able to give you an assessment of whether your claim is worth pursuing. Not all personal injury claims are viable because there was not a clear at-fault party or the victim did not suffer significant damages. The personal injury lawyer can tell you whether your claim is worth pursuing. If they do, you can discuss the next steps and payment. If not, you can seek a second opinion from another personal injury lawyer.
Discuss Fees for the Personal Injury Lawyer and Your Next Steps
Once you agree upon a plan for your personal injury claims process, you can discuss a payment plan for your personal injury lawyer. In most cases, they will work on a contingency basis. This means they will only get paid a percentage of a settlement or award you receive with their help. You can negotiate a fair percentage they can receive if their work ends up netting you compensation.
You can also discuss your next steps. This will likely involve filing the personal injury claim by sending a demand letter to the at-fault party’s insurance company. They can advise you on handling the claims process and how to maximize your potential for recovering fair compensation.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Personal Injury Claim
The personal injury lawyers at The Russo Firm offer free consultations to allow potential clients to see how we can help with their claims. When you speak to us for a free case evaluation, we will fairly assess the information presented and determine your best path forward for recovering compensation. Our personal injury lawyers can offer their experience and expertise to shape a personalized legal counsel plan that can put you in the best position to recover compensatory damages. Contact us for a free consultation at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.