If you have been injured in an accident, you are probably wondering whether you can recover money through a personal injury claim pursued by an attorney. Can you collect damages, i.e., money? Maybe you would have a “small” claim, worth thousands of dollars, or a “large” claim, worth a million dollars or more. Newspapers are rife with stories of people collecting huge sums after suffering some devastating injury, and most people know someone who has collected $10,000 or a bit more after an auto accident. Damages can be recovered after you suffer injury in an accident, but a first question, both for your attorney and for you, will be: do you have a case?
Do You Have a Case?
Before you even see a personal injury attorney, there are things you can do to determine whether you have a case. Once you are sure that you do have a case, discussions with an attorney will be all the more productive. To make this determination, you should ask questions and develop answers. In many cases, these will be questions an attorney will ask and try to answer about your case.
Who is at Fault?
You can recover damages only if the other party in the accident was negligent or at fault. In an auto accident, the other driver might be cited by police, and this can be a strong indication of the other driver’s responsibility. This may establish your case from the beginning. Even where no citation was issued, the other driver’s fault may still be completely clear. In other types of accidents, fault may be less clear, but still must be proven. Ask yourself, who was at fault? If you answer clearly that it was the other party and you can explain that fault, then you have begun to develop your case.
Compile Documents
Important documents about the accident that your attorney will want to collect include police or incident reports, photographs of damages and injuries, medical records of treatment received, receipts for any repairs already completed, and information on wages lost as a result of the accident.
Hire a Legal Expert
If you are going to hire an attorney to represent you in your injury claim, make sure you hire a personal injury lawyer. Wherever you are, speak to an attorney who knows the law well and will represent you aggressively.
Author Bio: Emma Sturgis is a freelance writer based out of Boston, MA. She writes most often on health and education. When not writing, she enjoys reading and watching film noir. Say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2
