Pablo Luna
When it comes to reporting an accident and filing a personal injury claim, time is everything. What wastes the most time for people in deciding whether their injury can get compensation or not. By hiring a personal attorney or consulting a legal expert, you will get the help needed to decide whether to file your claim or not. A personal injury lawyer will be able to help you with anything related to your claim and the easiest way to get advice from an injury lawyer is through a free consultation. This is a service offered by most personal injury attorneys and law firms that allows victims of personal injuries to connect with a legal representative that can guide them on whether to file a claim or not.
In this article, we give you some tips on how to deal with free consultations and what to ask your lawyer in order to make the best decision for your injury claim.
Prepare Your Evidence
Preparing for the consultation is the most important part of having a successful claim. This will save you and the attorney you are dealing with a lot of time. Preparing in this context means gathering the right information about the accident that can benefit your case and describe it as much as possible to your attorney. You shouldn’t be changing any of the events when speaking to your lawyer, this might cause you to lose credibility in your claim or even lose the whole case. Try to gather as much evidence from the accident as possible to support your case, this can include pictures taken at the accident site, names of witnesses who were there, or medical records and invoices proving your injuries. Police reports and similar documents from the incident might as well be handy when attending your consultation. Even if you are not so sure whether to keep certain evidence from the accident or not, you can simply ask your lawyer in the consultation and they will let you know if it’s going to support your case.
Remember The Statute of Limitations
When reporting an accident or filing a claim, you have to remember that there are certain time limitations to when you can report the incident. The time given to you to report an injury or accident ranges between one to six years, depending on the state you live in, which means anything reported after that time limit is not going to be valid. When consulting an injury attorney for an accident that occurred a long time ago, the first thing they are going to ask you is whether the statute of limitation has expired for that accident or not. This is why you need to have enough knowledge about it and know what are the time limits to bringing a legal damage claim before you speak to a personal injury lawyer. Each state will have its specific statute of limitations so you will need to look it up or ask about it before going to your free consultation.
Research Your Lawyer and The Law Firm You Are Dealing With
You need to know everything about the lawyer that you are going to consult or hire for your case. Personal injury lawyers out there are not the same, and each law firm specializes in a certain type of accident. Some states will have different laws for different types of accidents and this is why you need an attorney that knows the field of your case and can help you settle your claim. In Tulsa for example, you can find law firms that can handle more than one type of personal injury accident. Legal experts over at www.edwardspattersonlaw.com/tulsa-oklahoma/ say that Tulsa has some of the best law firms specializing in road accidents, slip and fall accidents, and traumatic brain injuries. But specializing in a certain type of accident is not enough to tell you about the lawyer you are dealing with. Make sure you ask them if they are going to be handling your case or giving it to someone else, and what are the results they are going to be getting you for your claim.
Get The Needed Documents
When you attend your free consultation, you want to make sure you have all the needed papers with you. All of the evidence you collected from the incident need to be documented and reported. Look for police reports relating to the accident, collect pictures, and create a list of all the witnesses’ contact information to present to your lawyer. This will help you prove your injuries and will serve your case in court.
You need to know that anything you discuss or share with the consultation attorney will not be shared with anyone else and will remain confidential even if you don’t retain the attorney for your case. Feel free to ask your attorney for similar cases to your incident to get their advice on how to deal with the claim and what results did similar cases get. Knowing what to say and ask during a free consultation is the best way to decide on your injury claim even if you don’t end up hiring the attorney.
