Any car accident is a life changing experience which should be taken extremely seriously. Your attorney’s offices handle everything from filing the insurance claim, investigating the claim, disputing liability and ultimately making sure you are financially and medically compensated for all the pain and suffering as a result of this accident, in an attempt to bring closure and an end to what unfortunately is a difficult, tedious, and time consuming process. Negotiating and disputing alone with insurance companies can be burdensome, difficult, and more often than not, unrepresented individuals who have suffered from a car accident are taken advantage of by insurance companies when they do not have an attorney fighting on their side. Navigating an insurance claim can be especially difficult if the fault of the accident is disputed. Additionally, insurance companies may try to settle your claim for significantly less that it is worth.
Choosing the Right Attorney
Many law firms look to settle disputes as fast as possible and move on to the next case. You should do your due diligence in hiring attorneys who have the exact opposite mentality by treating and preparing every case that they handle to go to trial, and maximize the payout that the clients deserve.
Gathering Records from the Accident
The first step the law firm has is to begin to gather all records regarding your car accident, including but not limited to medical records, medical bills, and insurance policy information. This enables the attorney to evaluate your claim and allows them to work the case up for maximum compensation.
Investigate the Claim
The next step is investigate the claim in order to build up the claim with all necessary evidence, which includes but is not limited to police records, eyewitness statements as well as retaining expert medical witnesses in order to strengthen your claim.
Negotiating with the Defense
The attorneys will then begin to negotiate with the defense in hopes to get the necessary compensation for your claim. This, however, is not always successful, as many insurance companies assume that a plaintiff’s law firm will do whatever they can to avoid trial. A good plaintiff’s attorney, on the other hand, thrives in the courtroom, and is always willing to go above and beyond for their clients, which means putting in the extra time and effort in preparing to go to trial. If settlement negotiations with the insurance companies are unsuccessful, a suit is filed in order to go to trial and make sure your accident is properly represented and handled in the most professional manner.
What to Look for in an Attorney
When hiring an accident attorney, see that they take pride in ensuring their clients receive more than a fair award when arguing for their long-term medical costs, lost wages from work due to the car accident as well as their employment and earning capacity as a result of the car accident, which is often a highly-contested aspect in many forms of litigation.
An established attorney will fight extensively in proving economic damages which can occur over the remainder of someone’s work life when they are displaced from employment as a result of a tragic and unfortunate car accident. This is done through working closely with vocational experts who are able to evaluate the true scope of economic damages as it relates to employment capacity, wage loss, and loss of earning capacity. Contact a lawyer, like a car accident lawyer in Towson, MD from Seigel & Rouhana, for more information today.