When to Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer

• You Were Injured During a Slip and Fall

If you were injured during a slip and fall, it’s a good idea to contact a personal injury lawyer. Slip and falls happen more often than you would probably imagine, and unfortunately, people sometimes end up suffering pretty severe injuries. If you or a loved one has fallen and gotten injured as a result, you deserve compensation and should contact a lawyer right away. It’s not as simple as speaking to the property owner and telling them you fell and you’re requesting compensation. There’s a lot more to it than that, and an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you do things the right way.

• Why You Need a Lawyer for a Slip and Fall Case

Many people think that if they were injured when they slipped and fell on someone else’s property, they can just talk to the property owner and see if they can work it out on their own. While this might occasionally be true, more often than not, you’re just wasting time. An attorney will help you figure out what should be done, if you have a valid slip and fall case, and whether or not you might be entitled to compensation.

Additionally, they will help you figure out what the deadlines are for filing your case. If you try to handle all the legal complexities on your own and don’t speak with an attorney, you might end up missing the timeline for filing your lawsuit. In that case, you’d miss out on any compensation that you are entitled to.

• You Were in a Car Accident 

Anytime you’re in a car accident, you should consider contacting a personal injury attorney. This is true even if you believe that you were partially at fault. The first two things you should do are call the police to file a police report, and then seek medical attention if necessary. It’s a good idea to go to the hospital anytime you’re involved in a car accident because you can end up with injuries that aren’t always visible right away. 

When most people get into a car accident, they take the other person’s insurance information, and that’s it. But you might be entitled to far more than what their auto insurance company says you’re entitled to. It’s smart to contact a lawyer before you speak to anyone’s insurance company. When you have a lawyer representing you, the insurance companies and all parties involved will know that you’re serious. 

Car accident cases can be complicated because there must be a determination made about whose fault the accident was. When you contact a personal injury attorney, they should have the resources necessary to do some investigating and figure out what happened. This might involve contacting expert witnesses who can reconstruct the scene of the accident. There are many intricacies in car crash cases that you simply can’t handle on your own without an experienced attorney. 

• You Had an Accident at an Amusement Park

You might not be aware of this, but if you’ve suffered an injury while you are at an amusement park, you could be entitled to compensation. Whether it’s a slip and fall or you were injured on a ride, an experienced lawyer can help you determine if you have a claim or not. Many people also wrongly assume that they can’t file a lawsuit against an amusement park or the property owner because of the legal disclaimer that is on the back of all of the tickets they sell. This is usually not true. Most judges understand that people don’t read the disclaimers. They are also often so vague that they don’t hold up in court. Additionally, it’s unclear whether minors who enter the parks are able to enter into a legally binding contract based on the language on the back of a ticket.

• You Suffered a Dog Bite

Dog bites are very common, and you may be entitled to compensation if you were bitten by a dog and suffered an injury. If a dog bites you, you want to make sure you get the owner’s information immediately. You also want to make sure that the owner has information on whether the dog has had their vaccines, especially rabies. If the dog wasn’t vaccinated, this is even more problematic. Dog bites can get infected, you could get rabies, or you could suffer from another type of serious injury. As soon as you exchange information and receive medical treatment, you should contact an attorney for a free consultation so they can help you figure out what your next steps should be.

• You Were in a Train Accident

We all hear about serious and deadly train accidents where there are often many dead and injured. Unfortunately, these accidents are often due to sheer negligence. The driver was going too fast, was too tired, was under the influence of drugs, or the train wasn’t serviced properly. The possibilities are endless, but there’s usually an explanation for these crashes, and it’s often one that will result in you receiving compensation. If you’ve suffered injuries as a result of a train crash, you should absolutely reach out to an experienced personal injury firm to discuss your case. These accidents can cause injuries that can severely alter a person’s life forever.

• You Want to File a Lawsuit Because of Another Type of Injury You Suffered 

Anytime you suffer any kind of injury, you may want to consider contacting a personal injury attorney. Of course, if you’re at home and you stub your toe, this isn’t what we’re referring to. But if you suffer an injury and it is someone else’s fault because they were reckless or negligent, you should definitely speak with an attorney. They can help you determine what the statute of limitations is and then can help you figure out what kind of compensation you might be entitled to.

• If You’re Asking This Question, You Should Probably Call

If you have to ask if you need a personal injury attorney, chances are, you do. Your best bet is to set up a free consultation with an experienced lawyer who can tell you if you have a viable claim or not. It won’t cost you anything, so the only thing you’ll have to spend is a little bit of your time. At worst, you waste a few minutes and find out that you don’t have a claim. At best, you find out that you do have a claim, and you now have an attorney that you can hire who is capable of helping you through this complicated process.

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, they can help you in many ways, including the following: 
 

1. Case Evaluation. One of the first things a personal injury lawyer will do is sit down with you and evaluate this case. They will ask you to share as many facts as possible so they can give you a good idea of whether you have a claim or not and what to expect if you do.
2. Research. Your attorney will conduct all the necessary research. This might include researching traffic laws or getting legal information about how often a theme park is required to inspect its rides. Anything that needs to be figured out before an attempted settlement or trial, your lawyer will find out. Additionally, your lawyer will make sure they’ve correctly researched the statute of limitations for your particular case so you can make sure you don’t miss out on anything you’re entitled to by missing the filing deadlines.
3. File. Once you and the attorney determine that there is a case and you decide to hire them and their firm, they will go ahead and file a lawsuit. This involves filing a complaint. The complaint briefly describes what happened: what the defendant did, what injuries you suffered, etc. After the complaint is filed, your attorney will locate and serve the defendant so that they are aware of the lawsuit. 
4. Discovery. Before trial, both the defendant and the plaintiff will ask each other for evidence. For an injury that occurs in a theme park, this might include equipment and ride inspection records, company policies regarding inspections, insurance policies, and more. This can take months or even up to a year in some cases. 
5. Negotiations. Before going to trial, your lawyer will attempt to negotiate with the defendant. The majority of personal injury cases settle before a trial takes place.  It’s much more cost-effective for both sides. Additionally, it’s much less stressful and time-consuming for you. 
6. Trial. If the defendant is unwilling to settle or is reluctant to offer you an amount that seems reasonable, your attorney will take the case to trial and fight for you in court. They will present evidence and witnesses, and be responsible for cross-examining the defendant’s witnesses too. 

Almost all reputable personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means you never pay them upfront or out of your own pocket. Once your case is settled or won at trial, your attorney gets paid from that amount. Depending on which state you reside in, there might be laws regarding how large the percentage of the settlement a personal injury lawyer is allowed to receive. Most personal injury attorneys charge anywhere between 33 and 45 percent of the total compensation. This is information your attorney should share in advance of you hiring them. In a personal injury lawsuit, you never pay your lawyer in advance, and you do not have to pay them at all unless you win. If you ever contact a firm that wants to be paid money before your case is settled or before you go to trial, you should look for another law firm.

If you’re wondering when to contact a personal injury attorney, Morgan & Morgan can help. We offer free case evaluations, and if you decide to hire us, you will never pay us anything until we successfully settle or win your case. You’ll never have to pay us a dime out of your own pocket. We have been practicing law throughout the United States for decades, and we have recovered more than $20 billion dollars for our clients. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We are here for you.