If you’ve had the misfortune of being injured in an accident, you not only have the direct health consequences to deal with but also the daunting task of working with an insurance company in order to receive compensation for your injury and medical bills. It’s difficult enough to cope with recovery and lost time at work or lost opportunities elsewhere in life. But when you also need to figure out how to handle the complicated world of insurance claims and negotiations, the burden may simply be too much. This is especially true if you have any reason to believe that you may not receive a fair settlement or are just not sure about your rights under the law.
This is where an experienced personal injury lawyer can help. It is the attorney’s job to understand the law and to know how to work with insurance companies, either in good faith negotiations or in litigation when necessary. While you may not be sure if your case requires the advice of personal injury lawyer, it can be helpful to talk with one early on, rather than waiting until later in the process of negotiating with an insurance company. It’s also essential to go beyond contacting an attorney’s office; you should have a one-on-one connection with your lawyer.
During a stressful time such as coping with an injury or the fallout of an accident, the last thing you need is a distant or uncomfortable relationship with the person who will be serving as your advocate. Speaking directly with the lawyers you’re considering to handle your case will give you the chance to ask plenty of questions, get a feel for each lawyer’s communication style and discover how they pursue cases such as yours. Experience and knowledge of the law are both essential, but if you hire a very experienced lawyer who has a communication style that you find difficult to connect with or who is more or less aggressive in pursuing your case than you’re comfortable with, it will make the whole process more stressful for you.
When you first start looking for a legal firm to handle your case, make sure that your initial consultation with the firm is with an actual attorney, not a paralegal or other staff member who is not a lawyer. Again, you need to connect directly with the lawyer handling your case in order to feel confident and comfortable with your arrangement. If the firm is unwilling to let you speak directly to an attorney first, that should be a red flag because it creates doubt that you will be able to get the direct connection with an attorney that you need, when you need it. If every question you ask ends up being filtered through intermediaries because you don’t have direct access to your lawyer, it will slow the whole process down and create a greater risk of miscommunication. Plus, if you don’t have the chance to meet your lawyer directly, you will have very few answers about how they plan to represent you.
It’s important to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible after your accident in order to get the best advice regarding how to set up your case for the best possible success. A personal injury lawyer will be able to advise you about areas such as preserving evidence and appropriate documentation of what happened, as well as how to handle forms from an insurance company to make sure you don’t agree to anything or sign any documents that are not in your best interests.
Most lawyers will provide a free initial consultation; if you’re unsure whether you will need to pursue legal action, it won’t cost you anything to speak with an attorney to find out. In order to find a qualified injury lawyer in Denver, you can get recommendations from friends, family or other attorneys you have worked with. When you contact firms, make sure you ask whether the initial consultation is free, and whether the consultation will be with a lawyer rather than a paralegal or other staff member. This will get you started on finding an attorney you can trust.
