When someone else's actions lead to your injuries, that person is considered to be negligent. If those injuries led to costs such as medical bills and lost wages, then you might want to consider filing a personal injury case. After all, most personal injury cases hinge on proving negligence. Your first step will be to contact a personal injury attorney, but before you do that, you might want to browse this website and learn a little more about personal injury law and personal injury attorneys, in general. We've provided plenty of helpful articles to ensure you are well-informed, so start reading.
Timing Issues To Consider When Trying To Settle A Car Accident
Trying to pick up the pieces of life after a major car accident is not always easy, and one of the things you will likely need to work on is settling your case. If you are not sure whether to hire a personal injury lawyer or not, you should know that hiring one is almost always the best route. The second thing to realize is that you should hire a lawyer relatively quickly after the accident, and here are a few timing issues to understand to help you learn why you should hire a lawyer soon afterwards.
The Facts of the Case Are Fresh in Your Mind
Imagine trying to retell a story months after the event took place. While you might think you can remember all the details, you probably would not be able to. Now, imagine telling the story of an event a week after it happened. You would probably remember a lot more about it, and this is one of the reasons to visit a lawyer soon after an accident. All the details will be fresh in your mind, and this will help you give more details and facts about the incident, which in turn will help your case.
You Can Avoid Having to Negotiate with the Insurance Company
Secondly, if you do not do anything after the accident, you should expect to hear from the insurance company who is responsible for settling the claim. They will call you soon afterwards as an attempt to settle the incident quickly. The downside to this is that you have just one opportunity to settle your case. If you are not aware of this, you might agree to accept the offer the insurance company gives you, which might be for a lot less than the amount you are really entitled to.
Waiting too Long Jeopardizes Your Ability to File
Waiting too long also jeopardizes your ability to file due to something called statutes of limitations. Statutes of limitations are basically laws that tell you how much time you have to initiate a case against someone. In your state, you might have just one year to do this. In other states, you might have several years. In any case, though, waiting too long could pose the risk of losing your ability to file a case.
Do you understand why hiring an attorney right away is important? If so, you can find an attorney to hire by contacting a local personal injury law firm.