A person who has suffered an injury due to the actions of another party can take legal recourse and seek compensation from them. However, before you jump the gun and start preparing for filing the case blindly, there are five important facts you must know about personal injury cases.
Insurance Company Is Not Your Friend
When filing for a personal injury claim, you need to keep in mind a simple thing – the insurance company is not your friend. The representative to whom you are talking to will seem charming and friendly, but they are not. After all, they are going to lose money to you, so why should they be genuinely concerned about you? Let your lawyer deal with the insurance representative and never talk to them unless absolutely required. They will try every trick in the book to avoid paying your rightful compensation. As such, if you try to deal with them yourself, your inexperience and naivety can end up costing you a lot of money.
No Upfront Fees For Lawyers
And as far as hiring lawyers are concerned, you should be aware of a big difference between personal injury lawyers and other types of layers. Personal injury lawyers generally never take any upfront fees from their clients. Yep, consulting with companies such as Nehora Law Firm, a personal injury law firm in Orange County, California can help you know what steps you will need to take so that you can get full compensation for your injuries. And this can be done without spending a single dime on lawyer’s fees. They usually take a cut from the compensation they win for you. So, if the fee is 20% of the compensation amount, and you are awarded $100,000, then the lawyer will take $20,000 as their fee. And if you still don’t win the case? No worries, you still don’t need to pay any lawyer’s fees. However, do remember that you will still be required to meet the court expenses.
It Takes Time
Winning a personal injury case will take time. This is a truth that you must accept when hiring a lawyer so that you don’t get impatient as the case drags on for months. You may be financially distraught because of the mounting medical bills and loss of income. But no matter how tight your finances become, you need to remain patient and trust your lawyer. It usually takes a few months for lawyers to successfully prepare for the case by collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, preparing reports, and so on. Don’t push them since it can lead to an incomplete preparation. You should also be aware that the other party might seek to take advantage of your impatience by offering you quick settlement. The amount will usually be much lower than what you can get by going to court. Never yield to such offers and trust your lawyer to do their job. As a reward for your patience, you will definitely get a big compensation for the injuries you have suffered.
Unique Case
Every personal injury case is unique. Yes, you can put them in some vague category like car accidents, workplace accidents, injury due to defective products and so on, but eventually, the circumstances and the conditions surrounding a personal injury case will be different. Why this is important to understand is that you might see a case similar to yours being settled in just a month while your specific case might drag on for several months. And this can give you a false idea that the lawyer is kind of inefficient or something. Such a viewpoint is harmful since it can create mistrust between you and your lawyer, create stress between you two, and completely derail the case. So, understand the complexity of your case and set realistic expectations about the lawyer. Never look at a similar case and judge your lawyer unfairly, expecting too much from them.
Statute Of Limitations
You must be wary of the statute of limitations. In California, this is usually two years for personal injury cases. What this means is that you will have two years from the date of injury to file a case against the other party and seek compensation. If the injury is more than two years old, your case will have no legal standing. And if the claim is against any government agency, then the statute is applicable for only about six months. Many people who suffer minor injuries make the mistake of never filing a case immediately. They might wait for several months and years before some financial crunch might force them to see compensation for past injuries. This is never a good idea. When it comes to injuries to children, the statute of limitations might exceed beyond two years. But no matter who suffers the injury, it is recommended that you consult and hire a good lawyer as soon as possible.
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