Have you suffered a serious injury in a car accident in Florida? Read our 4 car accident tips that may help your case, then contact us today!
1) Choosing the Right Attorney
We were having a conversation the other day with one of our clients. We were doing her closing, and she mentioned that she was very glad that she retained us as her attorney. How can someone can select the best attorney for an auto accident in Orlando? We think one of the most important things is experience. You need an attorney that’s been doing this for long enough to know who the players are, to know what the car insurance is going to do, to prepare and document your case appropriately, to get the best recovery possible on your case.
The other thing is who is going to be handling your case. It’s very important when you hire an attorney that the attorney handles your case. Many of these other law firms have paralegals that handle the case, basically, from beginning to end. It’s important that you meet with them, ask the attorney questions, and make sure the attorney is the one that’s handling your case so you can get the best results possible for your motor vehicle accident in Orlando, Florida.
For this or any other type of questions, feel free to give us a call. We’re here to help.
2) Common Mistakes To Avoid
We were meeting with a client last week about a car accident case that he had in Orlando. He was informing us that he spoke to the insurance company already, before he had called our office, and that got us thinking, “What mistakes do people usually make?” and that’s one of the big ones, to contact the insurance company before you hire or speak to an attorney. The reason is the insurance company is not really there to help you with your claim; they’re there to limit their exposure, which means they’re there to try to resolve the case making as low a payment as possible.
The insurance company is going to ask you questions that really might not benefit you and your case but will benefit them in case they need any coverage defenses or if they need to defend the case in any way. It’s very important that you speak to an attorney first, before you do anything else, so they can properly prepare and properly communicate with the insurance company so you don’t answer a question that maybe you shouldn’t answer or give information that’s not going to help you in your case.
The other mistake is not documenting the accident. What we mean by that is not calling the police. Many times, when people get into an accident, the damage doesn’t seem that severe and they opt not to call the police. That’s a very big mistake because, without that documentation from the police officer, the other person can say anything they want when they’re called by the insurance company and say that you were at fault when you clearly weren’t. It’s very important that it’s documented and the police are called. It’s required by law. Those are the two big ones.
Obviously, you should take photos of the scene and take photos of the damage to both vehicles. That’s also important and can be a mistake if you don’t do that. The main mistakes are not recording the accident and, obviously, speaking to the insurance company without an attorney. For this or any other questions, feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to help.
3) Case Value
Our clients always seem to ask, “How much is my case worth? How much am I going to get?” They search on the internet, they ask, and they try to find a way to determine what that is. There’s really no simple way to really gauge the value of the case. The reason is because every case is different. Every individual is different. Every injury is different. All the facts of the case are different, so it’s very difficult for any attorney to say your case is worth X amount. We really don’t know what the case is going to be worth until after all of the person’s treatment is done. Until we know exactly the type of injuries that were sustained, they type of treatment, the amount of lost wages, that’s when we can get a better idea of what it’s worth.
As a generality, the value of the case is determined by the amount of outstanding medical bills or the medical bills that you’ve accumulated in your treatment, the type of injuries and how those injuries are going to affect you in the future, the cost of future medical care and lost wages, and your pain and suffering. Those are the elements that go into determining the value of a case.
As you can see, until we have a better understanding of that individual’s actual injuries, what they’ve suffered and the type of treatment they’ve done, it’s very difficult to say. What is important is to hire an attorney that’s familiar with car accident cases in Orlando that can actually evaluate the case properly and help you get the most out of your case.
4) Case Timeline
Many clients tend to ask how long the process is going to take, specifically, “How long will it take for me to resolve the case? How long am I in for?” and it depends on every case, of course. Typical cases are going to require you to, first and foremost, get better. That is the treatment phase, which is when you’re going to the doctor, making sure that your injuries are tended to, making sure that you’re back to your old self or as close to that as you can be. That usually will take anywhere from three to six months. Obviously the more injured someone is, the longer it’s going to take, so that question is difficult to give a direct answer to.
Most cases resolve without the need of going to court. Usually it’ll be a few months after you’re done with your treatment, but it depends. It’s a long process. What we always tell our clients is, “Look, don’t worry about the legal side. Let us worry about that.” Their job is only to get better, and that’s what we would tell you or any of our clients, is to focus on getting better.
For this or any other questions, feel free to give us a call.
Have you suffered a serious injury in a car accident in Florida and have questions? After reading our 4 car accident tips that may help your case, contact our experienced Orlando car accident lawyers today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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