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After the Crash: First see your doctor. Second, call us. The insurance company will begin working to limit your settlement as soon as it hears about your injury, so you need to have legal advice from the very beginning. As soon as we hear from you, we will schedule an appointment to meet with you to discuss your case. We will tell you right away if you have a good case. If so, we will begin gathering all of the information available to help us prove your case.
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Investigation. Most of the time it makes sense to try to obtain a fair settlement without suing, but insurance companies don’t simply do the right thing and offer fair settlements. They only offer a fair settlement if your lawyer forces them to be fair. This is done by presenting the insurance company with facts and witnesses and arguments that convince the company that if they do not settle, a jury would likely award even more money to you. We know how to gather and present this information which is why in most cases it is unnecessary to sue in order to get a fair settlement.
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Gathering Facts and Investigating. A lot of the work involves gathering information including the traffic accident report, weather information, medical records, medical bills, statements from witnesses, etc. It is important that this be done immediately since memories fade and witnesses can change addresses and can be difficult to find. Having all of this information gathered lets the insurance company know we are ready to move forward.
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The Healing Process. We will keep in touch with you while we are investigating the case. Your job during this time is to try to get well. You should obtain the medical care recommended by your doctor and follow it religiously. You should also keep us informed of any changes in your treatment or condition. Oftentimes, after an accident you focus on the symptoms that are the worst. Sometimes this can be deceiving in that you will feel additional symptoms the second or third day after the collision or become aware of them as they were masked by the ones initially treated.
It is not uncommon that the symptoms causing the most pain cover up other injuries. It is very important that the medical professionals are told about all the symptoms you have as soon as you notice them. Sometimes there are injuries that people do not recognize that are caused by an automobile collision, slip and fall, etc. For example, it is common in head injuries to lose your sense of smell or have ringing in your ears (called tinnitus). Many people do not even recognize that these injuries and accompanying symptoms were actually caused by the trauma. The loss of sense of smell can also foretell that there is a brain injury. All of these conditions should be properly diagnosed and treated.
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The Settlement Process. Muscle sprains and strains, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries and other injuries from an accident frequently take over a year to reach what is often referred to as maximum medical improvement (MMI). We stress the importance of waiting to evaluate the claim until the ramifications of the medical condition can be determined before discussing the value of the case or settlement. This is important so that an accurate estimate can be given as to how this injury will affect your life in the future.
After your body’s healing process has reached a plateau or MMI and medical opinions have been received, we will then be in a position to advise you of a fair settlement amount. Before we make a demand to the insurance company, we will have gathered all of the information as well as talked to you and come to an agreement before submitting a demand to the insurance company. Generally, thirty days after we provide the demand package which includes your medical records and expenses, the insurance company will provide a response and the negotiation process will commence. If we are unable to come to an agreement, we will then prepare paperwork to bring a lawsuit against the party who caused the accident.
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The Litigation Process. A lawsuit is started by having someone serve a Summons and Complaint on the person or persons who caused the accident. The at-fault person is called the defendant. Those claims that involve automobile accidents or occurred at a residence such as a dog injury will have insurance coverage to pay for the claim. Generally, once the person is served, they will then turn those papers over to their insurance company who will assign one of its lawyers to handle the case. That lawyer will then prepare and serve an Answer to the Complaint. After that happens, the matter proceeds into discovery which requires both parties to provide information to each other about the case. It usually includes sharing copies of documents, answering written questions and providing deposition testimony in front of a court reporter. In cases involving injuries, the insurance company will generally have the injured party examined by a doctor hired by them called an independent medical examination (IME).
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Mediation. The court now requires that mediation occur after the expiration of the discovery period. Mediation is a process intended to assist in having the injured party and the insurance company sit down well before trial to attempt to resolve the case and come to a settlement. However, the mediator cannot force anyone to settle. Many cases do settle either during or shortly after mediation, avoiding the unnecessary time and expense of a jury trial.
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Trial. Most cases are settled fairly without going to trial. That is because trials are expensive and their outcome is uncertain, even if we have a good case. When deciding whether to settle, there are many factors that need to be considered. These include the strength of our case and how much it will cost to go to trial. We will advise you whether, in our opinion, the settlement offer is good but it will always be your decision to accept it or not. If you decide to take your case to trial, you can rest assured knowing that you have a top lawyer who has over forty years of experience and is well prepared to fight for you every step of the way.