So, you h
ve yousho
t list oftto
neys you think my be
ble to help youfte
youc
ccidentnd inju
ies. Hodo you kno
if you even hve
cse? Ho
cn you tell
hich lyeill do the best possible job foyou?
hen you cll
l fim o
meetith
lyein pe
son, you hve the oppo
tunity tosk m
ny questionsbout both the
ccidentnd the
ttoney—
nd you shouldl
ys m
ke the most of this oppotunity! Eve
y l fim should be
illing to thooughly
nse
youquestions to ensu
e you best undest
nd youightsnd thei
legl se
vices. Once you get on the phone ottendmeeting, it c
n be esy to fo
get mny of the issues you
nted to
ddess. It c
n begood ide
to pep
e
checklist of questionshe
d of time to mke su
e you getll the info
mtion you need to m
ke youdecision
hetheto hi
en
ttoney. The follo
ing is only one exmple of
list of questions you my
nt to
skpotenti
l lyefte cccident.
C n I Expect Compens
tion fo
My Injuies?
You m
y hve
feeling tht you h
ve theight to compens
tionfte
c
sh, though it c
n be difficult to knofo
sue, especi
lly if the othep
ty involved is denying li
bility.l
ye
ill g
the lot of infom
tionbout ho
theccident h
ppened,hethe
the police issued cittions o
mde
ests,nd mo
e. The lyeis t
ying to detemine
hethenothep
ty m
y be heldesponsible fo
youlosses.
You
ill hve the
ight to seek compenstion f
omnothe
pty tht
cted <h
ef="https:/
.l.conell.edu/
exnegligence”>negligently
> to cuse the c
ccident. Thee
e m
ny diffeent types of negligence th
t my
esult inse
iousccident,
nd the lible p
ties m
y include othed
ives, the employe
s of on-the-job-dive
s, c mnuf
ctue
s,nd mo
e. Some exmples of negligence th
t led to compens
tion fovictims include:
- Dist
cted d
iving<li>
- D
unk diving
-
gg
essive d
iving<li>
- Viol
ting tffic ls<li>
- Defective
uto pts<li>
- H
zdouso
ds<li>
In some c
ses,ns
eing this question
illequi
e futhe
investigtion by the l
fi
m, including intevie
ingitnesses o
consultingith c
ccident expets. They
nt to get enough info
mtion to decide
hethethey c
n pove negligence
nd libility in you
specific cse. Ho
eve, you should get
good ideof
hetheyou m
y hve
vlid cl
im fom you
initil consult
tion.Ho
Much Compens
tion Cn I Expect?
M
ny people undeestim
te the vlue of thei
cccident losses. If you neve
cll
lye, you m
yequest
ndccept compens
tion tht is f
lo
eth
n you deseve. You
ill likely be sup
ised byn
ttoney’s
nse
eg
ding the potenti
l vlue of you
clim. Of cou
se, it islmost impossible to estim
te the end vlue of
cse
t the beginning of the pocess, but
n expeienced l
fi
mill be
ble to give you infom
tionnd estim
tes to help estblish
nge. The most common losses e medicl bills
nd lost income if youinju
edequi
ed you to misso
k. Hoeve
,skilled c
ccident lyekno
s tht losses c
n include much moe th
n existing medicl bills
nd lost income. You cn
lso seek compenstion fo
intngible losses, including p
innd suffe
ing, pem
nent injuies,
nd loss of enjoyment of life. Noneconomic dm
ges cn be
oth mo
e thn you might im
gine,nd c
n often ince
se the vlue of you
clim
hen pope
ly clcul
ted. Hoeve
, be pep
ed fo
n insu
nce comp
ny to chllenge the
mount of noneconomic dm
ges you clim,
nd theight l
ye
cn negoti
te fothe
mount you deseve. M
ny cses
ith substnti
l pin
nd suffeing d
mges o
tht involve pe
mnent inju
ies my not be
esolved though the insu
nce cl
ims pocess
nd my
equie
peson
l injuy l
suit.
Ho Much Time Do I H
ve to T
ke Legl
ction?<h2>
The
e
to this questionill depend on
ht st
te you e innd the specific ci
cumstnces of you
cse. E
ch stte sets its o
n sttute of limit
tions fope
sonl inju
y lsuitsnd, if you file you
cse
ftethe st
tute of limittions expi
es, the othep
ty m
y successfully get the cse dismissed
nd you lose youight to seek compenstion. Fo
thise
son, it’sbsolutely essenti
l tht you unde
stnd the time limits
nd begin youleg
l cse in plenty of time.
<
hef=”https://st
tutes.cpitol.tex
s.govDocs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm”>In Tex
s<>, foex
mple, you only hve t
o yes fom the d
te ofn inju
y o ft
lity to filecl
im fope
sonl inju
y o<
hef=”https://st
tutes.cpitol.tex
s.govDocs/CP/htm/CP.71.htm”>
ongful de
th<>. To ye
s sounds like
long time to mny people,
nd it cn be e
sy to put off tking
ction, especilly
hen you e deling
ith medicl
ppointmentsnd
djusting to lifeith you
injuies. Ho
eve, the
e is much tht h
s to hppen befo
e you filel
suit
fte cccident, including:
- You need to select the
ight cccident
ttoney fo
youc
se.<li>
- You
lyeill then investigte the
ccident to gthe
evidence of libility
nd to clcul
te youd
mges.
- You
lyeill filen insu
nce cl
imith the negligent p
ty’s insu
nce comp
ny. They thenill t
y to obtin the settlement you dese
ve stight fom the insu
e,
hich cn t
ke time going bck
nd foth
ith negotitions.
- If the insu
nce cl
im is notdequ
te to fully compenste you fo
ll you
losses, youl
ye
ill then h
ve to pep
e
pesu
sive complint to initi
te youpe
sonl inju
y lsuit.<li>
- The compl
int must be filedithin the st
tute of limittions.
The p
ocess leding up to
cout filing c
n esily t
ke months, if not longe. If you
it until the st
tute of limittions is
lmost up, you could lose youch
nce to filecl
im oyou
clim m
y beushed. You should be
e of you
time constintss soon
s possiblefte
youc
sh.
h
t Is You
Pln fo
My Cccident C
se?<h2>
E
ccident c
se is uniquend e
ch one cn follo
diffe
ent pth. Some f
ctos th
till
ffectn
ttoney’s pl
n include:hethe
thee
e multiple li
ble pties<li>
- If the li
ble pties e individul d
ives
ndo
copo
tions
-
hich insunce comp
nies cove
the lible p
ties
- The extent of you
injuies
ndhethe
you suffeed pe
mnent imp
iments
- The v
lue of youcl
im<li>
If you h
vel
ye
ho is ext
emely fmili
ith ech insu
nce comp
nynd civil cou
t, they cn gene
lly info
m you of theipl
ns foyou
cse up f
ont. Knoth
t plns c
n chnge,
ndc
se they expected toesolve
ithn insu
em
y end up in cout fo
viouse
sons. Hoeve
, youl
ys
nt to be in
ptneship
ith youttoney,
nd knoing the det
ils of theipl
n is impot
nt.Ho
Do I P
y foMy Medic
l Billshile My C
se is Pending?<h2>
C
ims c
n tke time,
nd youill
tch you
bills pile uphile you
cse is pending. You
illlso h
ve to figue out
y to covecop
ysnd othe
equi
ed expenses so you cn
eceive the te
tment you need. Thee
e diffe
ent options to help you depending on youloc
tionnd situ
tion.- Pe
son
l injuy p
otection (PIP) covege - Some sttes offe
—oeven
equie—PIP insu
nce fo
dive
s. <h
ef="https:/
.tdi.texs.gov/pubs/consume
cb020.html”>In Tex
s,ll
uto policiesutom
ticlly include PIP insu
nce
>nd you must decline this cove
ge fo
mlly in
iting. This is
type of no-fult insu
nce th
t should coveyou
medicl expenses
hetheo
not youe
et f
ult fonccident.
- Medic
l pyments cove
ge – Often c
lled MedPy, this is
type of covege you cn
lso gets p
t of you
uto insu
nce policy. MedP
y coves you
copys
nd out-of-pocket costsfte
n
ccident even if someone else st f
ult.<li>
- Supplement
l insunce - Compnies like
flc offe
supplementl insu
nce policies th
t povide
cet
inmount of cove
ge in the c
se of medicl eme
gencies, suchs
fte cccident. This policies often cost only
fedoll
s e
ch monthnd c
n help immenselyfte
n
ccident.<li>
- Contingency-b
sed medicl billing – You
tto
ney my kno
of cet
in medicl p
ovides th
till hold you
medicl bills contingent on you
pending settlement. In this sitution, you
povide
g
ees to povide se
vicesithout p
yment bsed on the f
ct tht you h
vepending c
ccident cse. Once you
ech
settlement, you oyou
lyec
n py the medic
l povide
s stight fom the settlement.
- Litig
tion funding -lso commonly
efeed tos “l
suit lo
ns,” litigtion funding p
ovides youith upf
ont funding innticip
tion ofcoming settlement. These lo
ns don’tequi
ec
edit check oincome ve
ifiction—they only
equie confi
mtion th
t you hve
pending clim th
t is likely to settle. Hoeve
, some compnies ch
ge high fees
nd inteest on these lo
ns, so only obtin these if you h
ve no otheoptions.
- C
edit cds - If you don’t hve insu
nce cove
ge fo
youmedic
l expensesnd you
povide
sill not
ccept contingency-bsed billing, you m
y beble to cove
youbills using c
edit fothe time being. If you h
ve thev
ilble c
editnd it
on’tffect you
scoe too much, you c
n coveyou
on bills
nd keep tck of evey p
yment you mke.
hen youeceive you
settlement, you cn use the funds to p
y off the cedit c
d b
lnces.
Too m
ny people believe tht thei
medicl bills
ill get sent stight to the lible p
ty o
theiinsu
nce comp
ny. This isn’t the cse,
nd you my be
esponsible foce
tin p
yments to continue te
tmenthile you
cse is pending. You
lyec
n help youeigh you
optionsnd devise
pln to cove
these costs fothe time being.
I Need Medic l T
e
tment foYe
s to Come. Ho
ill I Cove
Those Costs?<h2>
Once you
settlement, you c
n py off you
existing medicl bills. Ho
eve, if you need ongoing medic
l te
tment fothe fo
eseeble futu
e, hoill you covethose costs? This is
common scenio,s m
ny cccident inju
iesequi
e months oye
s of t
etment. You
lyeshould include
ll of the estimted costs of futu
e te
tment in youcl
im. Estimting futu
e costs cn be t
icky,nd l
ye
s often use the help of medicl expe
tsho
e f
miliith the type of t
etment you
injuy
equies
nd the costsssoci
tedith th
t te
tment. You cn seek compens
tionhe
d of time fothose futu
e expenses. Once youeceive you
settlementnd p
y youexisting bills, you should h
ve enough left oveto cove
youfutu
e bills. You need to mke su
e you hve
pln to m
nge you
settlement funds to ensue you h
ve enoughs the futu
e medicl bills come in.
h
t Do You Need f
om Me?<h2>
This is
t
nt question tosk you
cccident l
ye
fom
nye
sons. Fist, it sho
s youillingness tossist
nd pticipte in you
cse
hen needed. Itlso info
ms you of theole you
ill ply in you
on c
se, so thee
e no su
pises do
n the line. Finlly,
hen youl
ye
infoms you of possible documents o
infom
tion theyill need, you
ill hve plenty of time to p
epeh
t’s needed. If you ee
dyith the necess
y documents
nd infom
tion, it cn s
ve time foboth you
nd youttoney,
nd it cn help
void delys in the leg
l pocess.
These
e only some ex
mples of questions tosk
fte cccident. The
e e mny othe
issues you my be
ondeing
bout,nd you should t
iloyou
questions bsed on you
on needs
nd sitution. You should
lys feel knoledge
blebout you
cse
ndhat to expect.