(Newswire.net — May 19, 2017) — Accidents are sometimes unpreventable. However, according to San Diego personal injury lawyer Curtis Quay, “getting injured from someone else’s act, whether intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, can be more devastating, especially financially and emotionally. Hence, the essence of Personal Injury Law.”
The deed is done, and it’s time to move forward. More so, it’s time to decide whether you want to get compensated for your injury or not.
If you want to institute a personal injury claim and get compensation for all you’ve suffered, there are steps you must follow to ensure you succeed. Skipping any of these steps might translate to you not getting adequate compensation, or not getting compensated at all.
The most important step however is to get well. Whether it is right after the accident or later after you’ve recovered, here are 7 steps you should take to ensure success in your personal injury claim:
1. Collect evidence
Before leaving the accident scene, if you are able to, try to collect as many evidence as possible – before the scene gets tampered with. The best way to go about this is to take pictures of the accident scene and any other important evidences around the scene.
2. Document everything
You want to document everything that happened, right from before the accident to the period of pursuing your personal injury claim. As soon as your head is clear and while the memory is still fresh, you want to write down everything that happened leading to the accident and afterwards.
You also want to talk to other people involved in the accident and other people around, and jot down their words. And finally, you want to take note of the damages done and the bills you incurred following the accident – medical bills, property damage, repairs, lost work and wages, etc.
3. Identify and gather witnesses
You want to talk to as many who witnessed the accident and get down their names and contacts. You also want to contact them later to confirm you got the right details. They might be needed later to backup your evidence.
4. Retain a personal injury attorney
At this point you should get an attorney to help you in getting compensated for your injury. Contact several lawyers and interview them to know who’d represent your interest the best. Don’t worry about consultation fees as most initial personal injury consultations are free.
5. Demand letter
Next, your lawyer should help you contact the opposing party with a letter showing your intention to file a claim for your injuries and/or property damage, and also demand for a settlement fee, failure of which would make you file a lawsuit against them.
6. Try resolution
Most times, the defendants and their insurance companies would want to settle out of court. If you and your attorney can negotiate a fair rate, take it and settle the case right there.
7. File a lawsuit
Where you can’t reach a resolution, especially where the compensation they’re offering is a far cry from what you want, simply refuse and go ahead to filing the lawsuit. Don’t worry about your attorney’s fee; most attorneys institute personal injury cases on contingency fees. That is, they get paid from whatever compensation they get for you.
Following these 7 steps, you’ll be giving a significant boost to the chances of your personal injury claim succeeding.