When you have been in an accident, it may not always be possible to know who was in the right and who was at fault. However, if you are sure you suffered through no fault of your own, you will want to find a good personal injury lawyer to help you with your compensation claim. If this is something you want to do, here are some tips to help you get the process right and make it much easier on yourself. Read on to find out more.
You May Not Get Compensation
It’s absolutely crucial for anyone who wants to retain a lawyer for car accident and look for compensation that, even with the very best personal injury attorneys, you may not get the compensation you are looking for.
Knowing this makes it easier to decide whether or not to make a claim in the first place. To begin with, if the accident was your fault, it’s unlikely you’ll get any compensation. Even if the accident was someone else’s fault, if there is no proof or there are mitigating circumstances, you may find that you don’t get as much money as you had hoped.
A good lawyer will talk you through all the possibilities so that you are entirely aware of exactly what to expect. This will help you make a decision and it will help you to have the right expectations in general.
Find A Lawyer
Of course, before you can speak to a lawyer about whether or not your claim will be successful, you need to find one who can potentially help you. In many cases, the first contact and discussion will be free of charge, and you may only have to pay once the compensation is awarded. If there is a no win, no fee policy, you won’t have to pay anything if you don’t win any money.
To find a good personal injury lawyer, ask friends and family for recommendations. This will be very helpful, but if no one has had to use a lawyer before, it’s worth checking out reviews and testimonials. You should also speak to at least three different lawyers to gauge how much help they will be and if you can work with them.
Be Aware Of Time Limits
Perhaps you were involved in an accident and felt fine at the time, only for a mental or physical health issue to come up afterward that is linked to the accident. Or maybe you thought your insurance would cover the compensation only to discover that this was not the case. What then?
Then you would need to go through the steps of finding a good personal injury lawyer to put a compensation claim forward. However, you must be aware that there is a time limit, known as a statute of limitations, on any personal injury claim. In most cases, this is three years. If more than three years have passed since your accident, you cannot make a claim no matter what injuries you might have suffered or how much money you have lost.
Record Details Of Losses
Regarding those losses, it’s a good idea to keep a detailed account of the money you have lost after your accident. This could be through having to hire a car for a while, having to pay for medication or procedures or therapy, or because you couldn’t workand perhaps still can’t. There are many reasons why you might lose money after a car accident, and these are just a few to consider.
Make a note of everything you have had to pay or the money you would have received but have not. This will be useful for your lawyer when it comes to determining how much compensation you are due.