No one leaves the house thinking that they are going to be in a car accident but it happens every day, many times over. Every year, there are six million accidents with motor vehicles in the United States. These accidents injure at least three million people. There are a number of reasons for these accidents. It has been estimated that one person is injured every two minutes by people driving under the influence. Distracted driving is another big problem. During every minute during daylight hours, there are about 660,000 people driving while distracted. If you have been in an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you may have a cause to talk to a personal injury attorney. Here are some things you can do to augment your case.
- Go to the hospital. You may not think you need to do this but there are several reasons you should do it anyway. The first of them is that many serious injuries may not be noticeable right away. The second is that the earlier you seek medical treatment, the more effective it will be. You would never wait to get a broken set so you should not wait to be checked out after an accident. Lastly, if you do not go, you may hurt your legal case. It may look like your injuries are not as bad as they are.
- Take the advice from the doctors. When you go to the doctor or the physical therapist, you need to take their advice to the bank. You will be doing your case no good if you decide to go to work when you have been told not to. Your personal injury attorney will try to get you the best settlement but the insurance company will try to find any reason to not give you what you need and deserve. They will try to prove that you are not as injured as you say you are.
- Get documentation. Tell the medical professionals who are treating you that you are talking to personal injury lawyers, they may take more detailed records to help your case. Keep careful records of all of your appointments. If you need to take a Lyft or Uber to the appointment, keep a record. Record, too, all of the copays you pay (if any), the bills that you pay every month and all of the wages you are missing due to your injuries. Personal injury lawyers can use all of that on your behalf.
- Keep a journal. As you are going through the process of recovering from your accident, you may think that the pain is so great that you would never forget it. The body is great about making that not be the case. Ask any woman who has had children if they remember the pain and the answer is usually “no.” You can make your case stronger by having a journal.
- Find evidence of your accident. If you can get photos or video of the accident, that is great. Most people are photographed a lot by security cameras. The same goes true for video. If you can get to talk to witnesses, they can help your case. At the very least, you should try to get photos of the car you were in. Any report from the police is also a big bonus for your legal team.If the driver who caused the accident was arrested, that can also help your personal injury claim.
- Get a good personal injury attorney. When you have been in a bad accident, you will be best served by having a qualified personal injury attorney by your side. Talking to a few law firms and hiring one to help you can make sure you get the settlement that you need to pay for your care and to get you the money you need to get through your recovery. Make sure the person you hire is experienced with the kind of law. If you have been in one of the big rig collisions that happen on the road, you need a good truck accident lawyer, for instance.
If you have been in an accident, a good personal injury lawyer can really help.