personal injury attorney

Have you ever considered what a lawyer will do to help you with your personal injury case? For many people they think a lawyer is overly compensated for work that they could have done by themselves. That may be true in some instances, but in most cases, having a lawyer puts you in a far better position throughout the pendency of your personal injury case. Here is a sampling of what your lawyer might do for you and your case.

To start with, once you hire a lawyer, he takes the pressure off you when dealing with an experienced insurance adjuster. That adjuster will use his skills in getting you to say things you don't mean, compromise when you should not, wear you down with the endless request and get you to admit things you really don't mean to admit. Now that assessment is not applicable to every insurance adjuster, but it is applicable to enough to warrant concern.

But ask yourself this, "How do I know if I am dealing with someone that is honest and willing to work with me and not against me?" The answer is simple, you can't unless you have done this work for a number of years and worked against a number of adjusters to understand their traits and characteristics and to understand the true value of your particular injury case. Placing that responsibility on your lawyer is worth a lot of peace of mind and certainly a good part of the compensation paid to that lawyer. But placing that responsibility with an experienced lawyer gives you not only peace of mind, but a sense of confidence that you have someone standing as your sentinel against the inevitable attacks on the legitimacy of your claim.

12 Ways a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help Your Claim

So here is the short list of what a good personal injury lawyer can do for you and your personal injury claim:

  1. Take the case on a contingency basis. That means you have no upfront legal fees and costs during your time of need. He assumes all the risk that his work will not be paid for or will be paid at a lesser value than if he billed his services by the hour. On the flip side, if he does well and is successful in securing a good and/or prompt result, you mutually reap the benefit of the excellent work.
  2. Determine the key issues in your case that you will need to prove to secure the best result possible.
  3. Investigate the facts of your case to make sure the key issues are raised to prove all elements of your case.
  4. Secure all the necessary documents and records to support your case.
  5. Secure witness statements to eliminate defenses on the issue of liability and damages and to focus on the positives about your case.
  6. Evaluate conflicting evidence and how it affects your case or how to work around the bad facts in your case to minimize their impact while enhancing the strong points in your case.
  7. If necessary, he helps you find the right medical care to get you healthy as quick as possible.
  8. Plan how best to proceed with your claim with the insurance company, whether through early settlement, delayed settlement and continued negotiation, mediation, arbitration or trial.
  9. Evaluate the value of the case in relationship to insurance policy limits of the opposing party and other cases which have been settled or tried before your case was brought.
  10. Make recommendations to you, the client, and provides you with the options and economic benefits of settling or proceeding forward with the case and then leaves it in your hands to make the ultimate decision after knowing all the pros and cons and available options.
  11. When the case settles, he can negotiate reductions and modifications to the liens and creditors making claims for the medical services rendered and verify you have complied with all reporting requirements and/or indemnity and payment requirements. This service may result in an improved financial position for you following the settlement.
  12. In addition to performing the work on a contingency fee, that is waiting for payment based upon the outcome of the case, he will advance the majority or all the costs to process your case forward without contribution from you until the conclusion of the case. In other words, he puts his wealth, time and money on the line for you and the success of your case. If he loses, he suffers the loss too. This is quite an incentive to work hard for the client.

Now the list above is not exhaustive and only applies to early case matters and does not even address matters that occur following the decision to file a lawsuit and proceed with litigation. The list multiplies by about five times. In others words, there are more than fifty additional action items requiring a full and complete understanding of the law and legal procedure. Trying to handle a case on your own means that you are required to utilize the law and legal procedure to prove your case in front of a judge and/or jury. Unless you have spent years studying law and practicing the legal procedures, it is nearly impossible to be fully prepared to handle all these challenges. Question yourself as to whether you are ready to prosecute your position and prove all the elements of your case while defending your position and claim against an experienced defense trial lawyer.

Contact Our Experienced Attorneys Today for a Free Consultation

As a final note, your case may not need a lawyer and that is probably because you are not seriously injured. Be grateful. However, to determine whether you should hire a lawyer, you should at least take advantage of the free consultations given by nearly every personal injury lawyer in California. My firm, the Inland Empire Law Group offers free consultations, along with unbiased and relevant information to help you know if you have a case and whether you actually need a lawyer to help you with your personal injury claim.

If you have a personal injury case, contact the Inland Empire Law Group by completing the form on this page to see if they can bring added value to your injury claim. We have offices in Rancho Cucamonga and Victorville and proudly serve the entire Inland Empire and High Desert regions.

David Ricks
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Rancho Cucamonga Personal Injury Lawyer Serving the Inland Empire Community