Attorneys Locke Meredith and Sean Fagan discuss the process of finding and evaluating an attorney, especially for a personal injury claim. Fagan and Meredith are partners in their law practice.
People that are seeking personal injury assistance generally are in an uncomfortable position, and Meredith and Fagan try to make them feel comfortable while getting the facts, using a form. The most important factor at this point is timing. If the accident has been within the past year, the case is still open for dispute, but if a year has passed, nothing can be done.
As far as getting your vehicle repaired, you can either use your own car insurance, if you have collision coverage, or use the insurer of the person who hit you. This is more complex and takes more time, so it is often better to use your insurer to go ahead and get the car taken care of. Once your car is fixed, however, it is usually not worth what it was worth before the accident due to depreciated value. A car suffering serious damage, even if fully repaired, is less valuable to resell.
Meredith and Fagan next discuss the process of hiring an attorney to represent you. Things to ask yourself when hiring one: Are they taking care of my Needs? Do they know what they are doing? Are they interested in my or just my case? The attorney will be representing you in court, thus you must be confident they will represent you well.
The conversation now turns to the personal injury aspect of the accident. Generally, your attorney will recommend you to a certain doctor. If you are healed, then the settlement package begins to be put together. All medical expenses, lost wages, general damages, and the suffering aspect are all taken into consideration. It is important to not begin the settlement process until the client is totally medically healed. If in the settlement process, an agreement cannot be reached between your attorney and the insurance company, it is time for the litigation phase. This involves filing the lawsuit, suing the people at fault, suing their insurance company, and getting all the information. This process also includes taking depositions, recording statements, and going to court. From here, the verdict is up to the judge and the jury.
