What Your Personal Injury Attorney Wishes You Knew

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Hiring a skilled personal injury attorney to handle your case is one of the best first steps you can take. However, just because your attorney is equipped with the knowledge and experience to handle your case does not mean you can take your hands off the wheel. Clients should always play an active role in their own case and avoid making any mistakes that will be difficult for an attorney to rectify later on.

Here are some helpful tips your personal injury attorney would like you to know:

  1. Never Admit Fault: It is almost second nature to want to apologize after an accident, even if you are not at fault, but this is a massive mistake that can negatively impact your case. The fact is that there are varying degrees of fault and making yourself appear more at fault by apologizing or admitting fault after an accident might reduce or eliminate your chance at compensation. For example, if a jury determines you are 50% or more at fault, you could walk away with nothing. Make sure everyone is safe, ask if they are okay, but do not say you are at fault.
  2. Take Pictures or Videos: Just about everyone has access to a smartphone these days, so properly documenting an incident is easier now than it ever was. Nothing is more powerful than photographs or videos, so be sure to take pictures of your injuries, what caused them, the surroundings, and anything else pertaining to the incident. A personal injury case can take time, and your injuries will heal, so having photograph proof of how serious they were at the time is important. This evidence can help prove liability and might even lessen the time it takes to resolve your case.
  3. Tell Your Attorney Everything: Your attorney is here to help you, so you are not doing any favors for case by withholding information. Tell your lawyer everything you can about the incident, down to the smallest detail. For example, if you were involved in a car accident, tell your lawyer what the street conditions were like, or if you were driving carelessly. The more your attorney knows, the better he or she will be prepared.
  4. Preserve Evidence: Photographic evidence is crucial, but so are the documents related to the incident. Be sure to save the following:
    1. Emails
    2. Texts
    3. Insurance documents
    4. Medical documents
    5. Pictures and videos
    6. Anything else that might pertain to the incident

Your lawyer might be able to track some of these down for you, but that time would be better spent building a stronger case for you.

  1. Be Patient: Personal injury cases can become quite complicated and take time, given the sheer amount of details and variables involved, from legal teams to insurance adjusters. If there the case is lacking sufficient evidence, this might also prolong the process, which is why it is so vital to keep track of and save important documents.
  2. Do Not Wait: After you have been involved in an accident, you must seek medical attention. This both for the benefit of your health and your personal injury claim since it will serve as proof that your injuries were serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital or your personal physician.

Taking these steps can help set the foundation for a strong case, which will only help your personal injury attorney achieve the best possible outcome for you. Suffering an injury is already stressful enough, so make sure you do what you can on your end to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Dedicated Personal Injury Attorneys in Milwaukee

Accidents can have severe consequences, causing injuries that incur pricey medical bills, therapy, property damage, lost wages, or even the loss of a job. These expenses can add up quickly and seem insurmountable. You should not have to pay for someone else’s negligence. At Samster, Konkel & Safran, you will find a team of Milwaukee personal injury attorneys who have more than a century’s worth of experience combined when it comes to helping victims of negligent parties obtain just compensation for their injuries. With our extensive knowledge, determination, and skill, we have successfully settled over 15,000 cases.

Our legal team handles a wide range of cases, including bus accidentscar accidentsdefective productsdog bitesworkplace accidentsspine and back injuries, and more.

If you have sustained an injury and believe someone else was at fault, call us today at (414) 404-5818 for a free consultation.

Get in touch with us today to get started with your FREE case review. We’re only a call, click, or short drive away.