When you wake up in the morning, you certainly don’t expect to be injured later that day and that you will have to speak to a Los Angeles personal injury attorney to make sense of your predicament.
Sadly but true, either we stay at home or leave the house to go to work – there are a plethora of potential hazards confronted on a typical day that may injure us or even kill us, from drunk drivers on the streets of Los Angeles to wet floors, slippery surfaces, defective products, and aggressive dogs.
In fact, your wellbeing and life may be in danger even when you expect to harm the least: on your way back home while taking an Uber ride.
Thanks to California personal injury laws, you’re entitled to seek compensation for your injuries and damages, depending on the circumstances of your particular case. In 87% of all personal injury cases, being legally represented by a lawyer will help you recover more money, and, more importantly, protect your legal rights.
How to preserve your legal rights in a personal injury case
Today, we asked our best personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles at Compass Law Group, LLP to explain how a regular American in California can preserve his or her legal right to file a personal injury claim.
The first step you should take regardless of your circumstances – whether you get injured in a car accident, truck accident, dog attack, or due to a defective product – is to have a written report that documents that incident. In most cases, it will be a police report documenting the circumstances of your case: what happened, who was involved, who might be at-fault, all other relevant info that will help drive your claim in negotiations with insurance companies or in court.
The second step is to get a copy of the report documenting the incident or accident that cause you injuries, as well as write down the names and contact information of all witnesses who saw what happened.
When speaking to police officers, law enforcement officials, the at-fault party, witnesses or insurance companies, do NOT make any statements that may later be used against you. Never should ever admit fault at the scene of an accident or even make such comments as “I’m sorry” or other statements that may sound as if you’re admitting your fault and sound like the at-fault party.
Here’s the thing, however, a regular person who is in shock and under extreme stress cannot control his/her emotions and the words he/she says. That’s why it’s so vital to be legally represented by a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to not only protect your legal rights by avoiding comments that may be harmful to your case, but also to accurately determine fault and assess the full value of your personal injury claim.
‘Do I need a personal injury lawyer?’
The benefits of hiring a personal injury attorney cannot be overlooked or underestimated, as an injured person cannot properly assess his/her actions, or know exactly what to do to seek compensation for one’s injuries and damages, especially when the injured party has no law degree and is in pain, both physical and mental.
Physical pain and emotional distress, which usually accompany an individual after a traumatic event such as car accident, slip and fall accident, dog bite, premises liability accident, or any other incident, can cloud your thinking and negatively influence your decision-making abilities.
That’s why seeking legal advice from a skilled attorney is the best way to protect your rights when filing a personal injury claim and obtaining every dollar available in your case (and even more than you initially hoped for). Only an experienced personal injury lawyer can thoroughly and accurately evaluate your claim, find multiple parties liable for your injuries, and help you recover fast by seeking compensation through a settlement or verdict.
