Crow Law Offices - Sacramento Personal Injuiry Attorneys - Established 1954
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Should I Contact an Attorney?

Why You May Want To Contact An Attorney If Injured

Who Me? Why Should I Contact an Attorney?

When personal injury victims get injured, very few immediately consult with an attorney. Instead, they keep quiet or, even worse, talk to the insurance company for the wrongdoer. Why?

In our years of personal injury experience, this has always been the hardest question to answer. The best guess is that it is probably fear. There are two types of fear: fear of the known and fear of the unknown. Because personal injury victims may not have experienced the legal process before, fear of the unknown is most likely the culprit. While this type of fear is certainly justified and quite normal, allowing fear to influence good judgment can have very detrimental long-term effects.

When injured on the job, the personal injury victim will be forced into an adversarial position with the wrongdoer's insurance company. The first action typically taken by the insurance company is to get an insurance adjuster in front of the injured. Remember:

INSURANCE ADJUSTERS WORK FOR THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ARE NOT ON THE SIDE OF THE INJURED. UNLESS VICTIMS CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY THEY WILL HAVE NO ONE TO PROTECT THEIR RIGHTS.

One of the best and most timely decisions an injury victim can make, regardless of the extent of the injury, is to immediately contact legal counsel. Not all injuries will require legal action, but all should be evaluated by legal counsel to protect an injury victim's rights.

Time is of the Essence

Many clients wait too long to seek legal advice. While it is not impossible for a qualified personal injury attorney to acquire a fair and proper financial settlement for someone who waits, the late start makes it tougher for reasons outside the attorney's control. Specifically, there are two areas of concern. The first is the statute of limitations. This is the portion of the law that restricts the time period that the injured party has to make a claim. Under most circumstances the statute is two years for personal injury accidents; however, the statute could be shorter if other entities or persons are involved. The statute can be as short as six months. If a client hasn't settled their case or filed a lawsuit before the statute runs out, that client will not be able to recover anything.

The second area of concern is evidence. Time has a way of erasing or eliminating crucial evidence. For example, witnesses may have left the area or do not remember the facts concerning the accident. Or, the accident area may have changed due to weather or clean-up. Or, the railroad may have "misplaced" an item crucial to the case. Time delay plays well into the hands of the insurance company as typically the insurance adjusters either did not take photographs of the accident site following an accident, or only took pictures favorable to the insurance company’s position. In addition, the insurance company may have already talked to witnesses who may later forget important facts that would help prove liability.

Most of these problems can be eliminated by contacting the personal injury experts with the Crow Law Offices immediately after an accident. Witnesses can be contacted, statements obtained and photographs of the scene taken by law firm investigators trained to focus on the actual conditions that caused the accident.

Overcome The Fear!

Personal injury victims need to overcome the fear that keeps them from talking to an attorney. The process is actually quite simple. For example, The Crow Law Offices has been representing personal injury victims for over years. When an injury victim first consults with us, we provide a variety of services including doing a thorough case evaluation by closely examining the facts surrounding the accident, the extent of the injury and the effects on income. When a client elects firm representation, our investigators gather evidence that is needed to prove liability. We monitor the client's medical treatment to make sure the injured person gets the best medical treatment available. We advance legal costs so the case can go forward without putting a financial burden on the client.

Our firm will attempt to negotiate a fair and equitable settlement for you. If the insurance company is unreasonable and it is not possible to settle the case out of court, we are then prepared to go to trial and present your case to a jury.

 

Published by The Crow Law Offices.

Copyright © 2010, all rights reserved.

No part of this article may be copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form without prior written consent of The Crow Law Offices. The information in this article is based on sources we believe to be reliable but there is no guarantee that it is complete or accurate. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors at the date of the article and are subject to change.

This report is not meant to be legal advice. It is recommended that questions of a legal nature be directed to an attorney in the firm.

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