Working With A Slips And Falls Lawyer To Make A Claim

Working With A Slips And Falls Lawyer To Make A Claim

Accident lawyers are attorneys who handle cases on behalf of accident victims. Some may be in the defense of those accused for causing the accidents while others on the side of those who have been affected by the accidents. There is a category of accident lawyers that not so many people are aware of and if they are then very few of them make use of these lawyers. These are the slip and fall lawyers.

These lawyers act on behalf of people who have specifically suffered slip and fall accidents. Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere, at home, on the way to work or shopping, in the office and even at work, for instance in a factories. Slip and fall accidents can be caused by a variety of items, some of which may have been placed on the walking areas by other people.

If one slips and falls and injures himself or herself, for instance in the factory or area of work due to reasons relating to the negligence of the management of the company then the victim ought to be paid for the damage. To be able to raise a claim against the responsible party, one needs to seek the help of an accident lawyer. The best one should be a slip and fall lawyer or personal injury lawyer since they are the ones who specialize in handling cases relating to slip and fall accidents. The personal injuries can help the accident victims in being able to file claims seeking compensation for damages, medical expenses and also lost wages as a result of the accident.

To be able to facilitate a claim in these type of accidents, the victim will need to give all the details and the reason why they think they need to be compensated for the accident. With this kind of information, the personal injury lawyer will be able to give advise depending on the facts of the matter whether the case is strong enough to warrant a court proceeding. However, it is not the personal injury lawyer who will preside over the case, though they have the expertise to determine whether the accident is able to undergo a court proceeding. In case the lawyer finds out that the case warrants a hearing, then he or she will go ahead and file a case against the alleged person(s) responsible.

Finding the best personal injury lawyer might seem to be a hard task for many people. However, it has become even easier today. The best place to get personal injury lawyer is the website. You can simply search for personal injury lawyers in your area online. From these sites, you are able to browse on personal injury lawyers by their rates, experience and area of jurisdiction. However, this does not mean that you cannot visit a personal injury lawyer whom you know in his or her office. You can still visit them but ensure that you settle on one who has the experience and also offers services at a rate that is manageable since you will need to pay them whether you lose or win the case.

Useful Tips From a Car Accident Attorney

Useful Tips From a Car Accident Attorney

There will always be car accidents as long as there are inattentive, reckless and intoxicated drivers on the road. These mishaps result to serious injuries or in grave cases, death. Victims who do not know their rights and the legal procedure that follows are helpless in such a situation. What they don't know is that they can actually avoid many legal and financial problems if they hire a car accident attorney.

People should not panic immediately when they are in a car accident. They should always keep their cool so that they can deal with the situation properly. Here are some tips you can share with friends and family should they get into an auto accident. Print it out and keep it in the glove compartment. It might come in handy when such an occasion arises.

Make sure you get medical help

Check if you and your passengers are okay. You should also see if there any passengers injured in the other car. Call 911 immediately if someone is wounded in the accident. You should still seek medical attention even if no one looks hurt. You might not know it but someone might actually be suffering from shock or an undetected internal injury.

Exchange information with involved parties

Approach other drivers involved and exchange information. Take note, however, that you should not discuss the accident with them. Get their personal information such as their name, phone number, address, insurance company as well as their policy number and agent. Check if there are bystanders who saw the accident. Their testimony can be valuable if you and the other party disagree about what happened.

Be observant and look around for important details about the accident

You can actually help your car accident attorney by providing details about the scene. Take note of the license plate of the other driver as there's a possibility that he might flee. Look around for witnesses and point them to the police. Show them skid marks, car parts, broken glass and more. These details are important evidence for investigating car accident lawyers and police.

Take photos of the scene

A disposable camera in your glove department is useful for occasions such as these. You can even use your camera on your cell phone. Take photos of the scene and the damage to all vehicles involved in the accident. Remember that photos can give an honest account of what really happened.

Talk with police officers!

This is one important rule for those involved in road accidents. Tell the police officer everything that happened. Wait for the results of the official investigation. You may be surprised to find out that you were not responsible for the accident after all.

Get yourself a copy of the accident report

IA report of the accident will be made after a thorough investigation. Check these documents for errors or omissions. Your car accident attorney can get this for you or you can request it yourself from the police department.

There are also lawyers who can help people involved in a motorcycle accident. Like car accident attorneys, a motorcycle accident lawyer directs victims to the best course of action for their situation. A motorcycle accident lawyer can help victims retrieve compensation from the responsible party as well as provide aggressive representation in court hearings.

New York Lawyers 5 Reasons It Might Be Time To Look For A New Lawyer

New York Lawyers - 5 Reasons It Might Be Time To Look For A New Lawyer

TIPS TO HELP YOU DECIDE WHETHER YOUR CURRENT LAWYER IS RIGHT FOR YOU

These educational nuggets are designed to help you understand the process of how law firms in New York work. Law firms range is their size from small to large. The point is, if you have a case with a lawyer, you expect and hope that the lawyer will be familiar with you and the details of your case. In a large firm, it's understandable if more than one attorney works on your case. However, you should certainly expect that whoever is working on your case knows the details of your case, and the status of your matter any time you call.

1. You call your lawyer's office and the secretary asks you to spell your name.

While this is not a significant problem if you are a client in a large law firm, it is a problem if your attorney is a solo practitioner and his only secretary doesn't know who you are.

2. Your lawyer gets on the phone and doesn't remember you or the details of your case.

If this happens to you, you should be worried. Ask the lawyer why he doesn't remember you or your case. Is he so overwhelmed by his caseload that your matter simply isn't on his radar? If so, then maybe he is not the right lawyer for your case. It's always nice to be remembered, and even nicer to know that your lawyer has all the facts of your case at his fingertips. However, it's unrealistic to expect every attorney to be like that. Each lawyer and each firm have different caseloads and different abilities. Just beware the attorney who has overextended himself.

3. Your lawyer or his assistant doesn't know the last thing that happened on your case.

When was the last time you heard from your lawyer, without you having to call and inquire about the status of your case? Was it days? Weeks? Months? Why do you have to keep calling to find out what's going on in your case? While it's understandable that everyone gets busy, you, as a client, should expect some form of communication from your lawyer on some regular basis. Whether that means every few months, every few weeks or every few days- this will vary with each attorney.

If you need more attention and more frequent updates on your case, do not hesitate to tell your lawyer that. And, when you call the office to find out what happened on your case last, you don't want to hear in the background, with someone putting a hand over the telephone, "Hey Joe...what happened on the Jones case? Did you go on that conference or was it someone else?" You want to feel confident that your lawyer is on top of your case and that it's proceeding smoothly through the Court system.

4. You get the sense that your lawyer is 'winging it' without really knowing the facts of your case.

Have you ever been in a meeting where you could tell that the person talking didn't know what they were talking about? If that's the sense you get after meeting with your attorney, then you should think hard about whether this lawyer is the right one for you. Are they giving you answers 'off the cuff' without really knowing the facts, or is the lawyer distracted with other matters?

5. Your lawyer gives you false hope that your case is going great, and then lands a bomb telling you your case is terrible.

Beware of the lawyer who tells you that you've got a great case, and then all of a sudden tells you that your case is in the tank. Why? What happened to change his opinion? Were some facts or records missing initially? Was the initial legal opinion incomplete? How far into the litigation did your case go before your lawyer realized you don't have a good case?

Conclusion:

With these tips, you should be a better, more informed consumer of legal services in the State of New York. As always, if you have follow-up questions, please call an experienced medical malpractice or personal injury lawyer immediately.

Injury Lawyer Winning Your Personal Injury Case

Injury Lawyer - Winning Your Personal Injury Case

They say that it is important to have an injury lawyer when it comes to personal injury cases. Indeed, it's important but it's not enough. A successful case will only be possible if you have the right information. After all, the evidence will tell it all.

Reporting the Incident

The first thing you will have to do when you just had an accident is to report it. Usually, we call the emergency hotline number which is 911. An officer or a rescuer will surely respond and will ask you to file a report. It's vital that the information given has to be truthful and accurate. It would be best if there's another person or a witness who can also help in filling in the right information.

Gathering Important Records

When accidents and injuries happen, it's impossible to avoid medical treatments. Indeed, not all injuries can be grave but it's necessary to get medical treatment because it can be used as evidence. The report will provide detailed information about the injury as well as the costs. With this at hand, it will be easier for the injury lawyer to win the case for his or her client. Aside from medical records, you can also gather other important records depending on your accident. If you were in a car wreck then you must have all important records about the car's original cost as well as its repair costs. Moreover, it's also important that the lawyer will have a copy on the police's report about the accident.

Keeping All the Records

After gathering all the necessary files or records, the next thing would be storing them. It has to be kept in a safe and secure place. It would also be better if there is more than one copy of each record and the lawyer has to have at least one of each document.

Other Important Records

Aside from legal records from the hospital, police or from insurance companies, it would be better if you keep a personal journal about the accident. The journal must contain all the necessary information about the incident. It must have the names and contact numbers of the doctors or rescuers as well as the witnesses. Aside from the names of people, the journal must also contain the time and date of medical appointments and interviews. You see, an organized witness is a credible witness.

Normally, injury cases would take a long time to settle and there are some who wouldn't wish to resolve the case. If you are patient enough and organized then the result you want would be easier to achieve. After all, what you are wanting is justice and it is possible with the help of your injury lawyer.

Injured in a Car Crash Some Do's and Don'ts When Pursuing Your Personal Injury Claim

Injured in a Car Crash Some Do's and Don'ts When Pursuing Your Personal Injury Claim

If you have been injured in a car crash because of the negligence of another, you should be compensated. There are, however, ways to help your case - or hurt it. Below are some suggestions to help you maximize the value of your injury as well as pitfalls to avoid.

Don't Go it on Your Own. A potential client came into my office to meet with me one day for my standard, free initial consultation. At the end of the meeting, she wasn't ready to hire me as her lawyer. That was fine. Potential personal injury clients often see multiple lawyers before they finally choose one.

But when she asked me for the third time what I thought her case was worth, I realized what was happening. She wanted to try to settle the case herself but needed to know its value.

Don't do this.

First, it's probably too soon for an attorney to know what your case is worth. Second, even if the attorney does know, the insurance adjuster probably won't offer you its value if you don't have an attorney. They know you are not represented and that you probably can't litigate the case yourself. As such, they probably won't offer you the same value for your case had you hired an attorney. If your case has serious issues, they might not offer you anything at all.

Do Lawyer Shop. While you shouldn't try to get an attorney you haven't hired to tell you the value of your case, you also shouldn't be afraid to shop around for lawyers before you hire one.

Don't worry. The egos of most of us personal injury lawyers are too big for us to be too upset if you choose another attorney. We know that we can competently represent you and want your business. But, just like when you buy anything, it's only fair for you to check out your different options.

Factors you should consider include whether the attorney handles a large number of personal injury cases and how long he or she has been litigating them.

But why you choose a specific attorney may be personal as well. In larger firms, you'll probably get very competent representation but you'll probably get significantly less individualized attention. In smaller firms, you will probably be able to more easily speak with your attorney.

Don't have Unrealistic Expectations.You're not going make millions off a car crash when you only have whiplash.

You're also not going to make millions from a car crash even if you were seriously injured if the defendant's liability limits are only $20,000 and your Under Insured Motorist Coverage is the same.

Your expectations about the value of your case should also be affected by other factors. What are the doctors saying about your injuries? Is the person who hit you Mrs. Evelyn Smith, the mother of five and grandmother of 20, who has been a Sunday School teacher at United Methodist for the past 20 years? Or Jack, who just got convicted of armed robbery last year?

If your treating doctors say that injuries you think are related to the crash are not related, guess who the jury believes? If Mrs. Smith hits you, not Jack, guess who they might feel sympathy for?

Do Take Careful Notes of Your Injuries. Document, document, document! On the day of the crash, write down how you were feeling. On the day after the crash, do the same. The week after. The month after.

Write down what you could do that you can't do now. Write down what is more difficult to do now than before the car crash.

Why? Well, these writings are probably not going to be admissible at trial but they'll help you remember things that you're bound to forget by the time your case ever gets to trial - 2, 3, 4, 5 years down the road.

Don't Exaggerate. Or perhaps, a more direct way of putting it is, don't lie. If you have whiplash, you have whiplash. And it's not fun. Your body aches for a month. Maybe 3 or 4 months.

But don't blame the back surgery you need 3 years down the road on a car crash where a guy rear-ended you only going about 5 mph and the MRI doesn't show anything.

Not just because in all likelihood the doctors aren't going to back you up (and when it comes to this kind of stuff, only what the doctors say matter to a jury). But because if it appears to a jury that you are exaggerating about some things, then they're not going to believe you about your other injuries as well.

That is, they might not believe you even have whiplash, thinking you're just a complainer, or worse, lying.

Do Follow-Up with your Doctor. If you want to be compensated, you have to go to the doctor. It's the only way that juries can get believable information about your injuries. If you don't, it's going to appear as if you weren't really injured. Or if you were injured, very minimally.

If you don't have health insurance or don't have the money to go to the doctor, talk to your lawyer about medical payment coverage through your own insurance carrier or getting on Public Aid.

Both pay your medical bills upfront while you are waiting to be compensated by the negligent driver's insurance company. Then, you don't have to worry about your medical bills being turned over to a collection company while you're waiting for your case to settle.

In addition, in Illinois Public Aid pays off the bills for dimes on the dollar and your own insurance carrier is only entitled to a percentage of what they paid out on your behalf when the case finally settles.

Figuring Out When You Need A Personal Injury Lawyer

Figuring Out When You Need A Personal Injury Lawyer

Before proceeding to hire a Personal Injury Lawyer, you need to examine the injuries done to you. Therefore, in order to examine your injuries you need to ask yourself, "What is an injury?" Basically, an injury is being harmed physically. In other words, a truly worthy case for a Personal Injury Lawyer would mean that someone or something else, not you, harmed you physically. Furthermore, your physical injuries don't always have to be visible. In fact, you can be physically harmed on the inside, such as a body system. Thus, you would need to go to a doctor in order to figure out the extent of the injury.

Once you figure out the extent of the injuries, you then ask yourself, "Who do you prosecute?" Ultimately, you are prosecuting the owner. Therefore, it then turns into a question of, "Who is an owner?" Mainly an owner is someone who has the legal rights to a property. For example, if you are bitten by a dog, you prosecute the owner of the dog because the dog is the property. If you are in an automobile accident, you prosecute the owner of the automobile because the automobile is the property. Furthermore, if you are physically harmed while working in a building, you prosecute the owner of the building because the building is the property. In other words, what caused you physical harm has to lead to an owner.

The next question becomes, "Why do you want to hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?" Essentially, the answer usually is money. However, it's crucial to remember the word hire means to compensate someone for an occupation. Yet some lawyers are waged on contingent fees, which mean that an attorney won't get rewarded unless they win the case. For that reason, it's imperative that you discuss the contingent and filing fees before you agree to hire an attorney. Furthermore, it's also vital to know that Personal Injuries claims do have a deadline. Therefore, if your purpose is to try to win money, you need to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit before the deadline.

Nonetheless, hiring also means that you choose who you want to compensate. Therefore, you have the option of browsing through the yellow pages or online until you find the right attorney for you. Moreover, you can also ask the doctor that examined you if they know of any Personal Injury Lawyers. Furthermore, be 100% sure when it comes to choosing an attorney because if you don't approve of the way the case is handled and you terminate the attorney, you will still have to pay a certain amount. Hence, once you are 100% sure of the appropriate attorney for you, you hire them, and start the court case.

Car Accidents, Experiences You Want To Forget Quickly

Car Accidents, Experiences You Want To Forget Quickly

The mixture of speed, gas and negligent driving have always caused the authorities lots of problems, but recent numbers reflect even more alarming results. More and more people are involved in car accidents every year. There are numerous causes for the growth in car accidents numbers. The general term for most of these causes is represented by driver negligence. Whether it's speeding, driving under the influence, not paying attention to traffic or simply not obeying basic traffic rules, the driving experience can turn into a nightmare not only for the other drivers in traffic but also for you and your passengers. A car accident can change the lives of those involved dramatically. No matter if you get seriously injured or not, are the one to blame or not, a car accident can leave marks not only on your body, but also on your mind, which may follow you for quite some time.

Statistics show alarming numbers that can be translated into devastating facts. Analyzing these, we can say that almost all drivers are involved sooner or later in a car accident. Getting involved in a car accident is, no doubt, an unpleasant experience, no matter on which side you are. No matter how bad the responsible one is feeling for what he did, the victim is feeling the accident even more. If you get injured in a car accident caused by another driver's negligence, it is mandatory you take legal actions against the one responsible. The presence of a competent legal defender specialized in this area of law is also needed. Victims of such car accidents can receive a considerable amount of money as compensation, which will have to cover all medical care, living expenses as well as lost wages. Being involved in a serious car accident means you will need a long physical recovery time. This will keep you away from your daily routine and work. Not working means you will not be paid and this can cause an impact on the financial status of the family, especially if the victim is the main provider of income.

An experienced lawyer understands the situation the victim is going through and will try to make the legal process as short as possible. An investigation is needed to clearly determine all the details of the accident. The lawyer will gather photo evidence as well as witness statements to draw the correct picture. After the investigation is over he will know exactly what kind of compensation you can receive. Compensation is also determined by the gravity of the victim's injuries, medical care expenses as well as any wages you may have lost. The most difficult part of cases of this type is to properly compensate pain and suffering. While expenses and property damages can be evaluated very quickly, placing an amount of money for pain and suffering is quite challenging.

Most car accidents cases settle out of court. The lawyers of the two sides will try to reach a common agreement in an out of court settlement. If they reach an agreement which is positive for the victim, the court proceedings must be stop. This way the legal process will be shorter and less stressful for the victim.