How Do I Find the Right Lawyer for My Case?

Accidents caused by others’ negligence may lead to extremely serious and sometimes permanent injuries for accident victims.

Accident victims may also need to attend ongoing medical appointments and undergo risky and complicated medical procedures. In addition, their injuries may be so severe that they are unable to work for a significant amount of time after their accident. To maximize the monetary compensation you receive in your personal injury case, you must retain a skilled, qualified Alberta personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible.

But how do you find the right personal injury lawyer for your case?

Ideally, you want a lawyer who has experience handling similar cases to yours. Also, you want a lawyer with a strong track record of success in obtaining favourable monetary settlements and litigation results for clients.

Once you retain a skilled personal injury lawyer to represent you, your lawyer can enter an appearance and begin advocating for your legal rights and interests. 

Specifically, your lawyer can investigate your accident circumstances, gather documents to prove your claim, submit a settlement demand package to the at-fault party’s insurance company, negotiate with settlement adjusters, and pursue a settlement offer that fairly compensates you for your injuries. Moreover, your lawyer can pursue litigation in your case if the insurance company refuses to make you a fair settlement offer.

Every step of the way, your lawyer will aggressively advocate for your interests in pursuing the monetary recovery you deserve to become whole again after your accident.

What Injuries Do Accident Victims Normally Suffer?

The injuries that an individual might suffer in an accident depend on the type of accident, the amount of force involved in the accident, and the specific accident circumstances.

Generally speaking, accidents that involve a significant amount of force are likely to cause more serious injuries than less forceful accidents.

Some of the most common injuries that accident victims may suffer include soft tissue injuries, road rash, bruises, rib fractures, bone fractures, internal bleeding and organ damage, complete and incomplete paralysis injuries, full and partial spinal cord injuries, disfigurement injuries, traumatic head and brain injuries, and death.

If you suffered one or more of these injuries in a recent accident that a negligent party caused, your top priority should be attending medical appointments and receiving all the medical care that you need.

By following through with your medical treatment, you increase your chances of fully recovering and maximizing the monetary compensation you receive in your personal injury claim or lawsuit.

While you receive treatment for your accident-related injuries, a personal injury lawyer in your area can begin working on your case by gathering up your medical treatment records to date, police reports, injury photographs, and other important documentation.

Upon completing your medical treatment, your lawyer can submit these documents to the insurance company for review and pursue the compensation that you need for all of your accident-related losses.

What Are the Qualities of a Good Personal Injury Lawyer?

To increase your chances of obtaining favourable monetary damages for your injuries, always retain a qualified personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible. Several qualities make a good personal injury lawyer. The first of which is experience.

When seeking out a lawyer to represent you in your case, you want a lawyer who has significant experience handling personal injury claims and lawsuits and, in particular, your specific type of legal matter.

For example, if you recently suffered injuries in a car crash, you want a lawyer on your side who has specific experience handling car accident claims and lawsuits.

Additionally, you want a lawyer on your side who regularly takes legal matters to court, as opposed to settling all their cases out of court.

In general, insurance companies are more likely to respect trial lawyers who regularly litigate matters in a court system and take them to civil jury trials and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceedings, like binding arbitration and mediation.

Consequently, when you retain a personal injury lawyer who regularly litigates cases, you are more likely to recover favourable monetary compensation from the insurance company via settlement.

Next, you want a personal injury lawyer who regularly communicates with clients and keeps them abreast of all new developments in their cases.

Your lawyer should also answer questions promptly and help you decide important legal matters, including whether to accept a pending settlement offer from the insurance company in your case or litigate your case in court.

Finally, you want a lawyer who has a good track record and who does not have a history of professional ethics violations. To learn more about a lawyer’s record and to see if they have any ethics violations, you can check your local Bar Association’s website or look up reviews for a particular lawyer or law firm online.

A qualified, experienced personal injury lawyer can make all the difference in maximizing the compensation you deserve for your personal injuries.

What Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Do to Help?

A knowledgeable and result-oriented personal injury lawyer can be an invaluable help during every stage of your personal injury claim or lawsuit. Your priority after suffering injuries in an accident should be seeking the medical care and treatment that you need to make a full recovery.

Next, call a qualified personal injury lawyer who can support you throughout your entire case.

First, while you continue treating for your injuries, your lawyer can begin gathering important documentation to use as evidence later in your case.

That documentation may include copies of related medical records, police reports, witness contact information, written witness statements, camera footage of the accident, photographs of the accident scene, injury photographs, and property damage photographs.

Your lawyer can submit all these documents to the insurance company, along with a settlement demand letter, once you complete most of your medical treatment.

After submitting a settlement demand package on your behalf, your lawyer can start negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurance company for a favourable monetary settlement. 

If the insurance company accepts liability for the accident, they may place an initial settlement offer on the table. However, you should know that insurance companies are never really interested in compensating accident victims for their injuries.

Instead, they will do everything possible to undermine the value of an accident victim’s claim and settle the claim as quickly and cheaply as possible. Insurance companies take this approach to try to save themselves money.

A qualified personal injury lawyer can aggressively negotiate on your behalf, retain experts in your case, gather important evidence (including favourable medical records), and, if necessary, threaten the insurance company with litigation if they refuse to compensate you fairly. If the adjuster will not increase their offer, your lawyer may file a lawsuit in the court system on your behalf.

The litigation phase of a personal injury case starts when a lawyer files suit on behalf of the injured accident victim. Even after filing a lawsuit, the case may still resolve at any point.

In fact, most personal injury claims do settle at some point during the proceedings since litigating a case to trial can be extremely costly and time-consuming for everyone involved.

During litigation, your lawyer may answer discovery questions, called interrogatories, on your behalf and prepare you for a discovery deposition. Your lawyer can also attend court proceedings with you, such as settlement conferences, and aggressively advocate for your legal interests.

If the case does not resolve at some point in the litigation process, your lawyer may take your case to a civil jury trial for a jury to resolve all disputed issues, including the issue of monetary damages. Alternatively, your lawyer may pursue alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in your case, such as binding arbitration or mediation.

Who Has the Legal Burden of Proof in a Personal Injury Case?

In every personal injury claim or lawsuit, the injured accident victim must satisfy their legal burden of proof to recover monetary damages. A personal injury lawyer in your area can often satisfy these legal elements by retaining one or more experts to testify in your case, such as an accident reconstructionist or medical expert, and by introducing appropriate evidence.

First, to recover monetary damages, the accident victim must show that the other party owed them a legal duty of care under the circumstances.

For example, in a premises accident case that involves a slip and fall, the property owner likely had a duty to reasonably maintain their premises and warn about or correct known dangerous hazards in existence on the premises.

Next, the accident victim must show that the other party violated their duty of care somehow. For example, in a slip and fall case, the property owner or manager may not have cleaned up a spill or repaired a defect within a reasonable time.

In addition, the accident victim must establish that both the accident and their injuries were a direct and foreseeable result of the at-fault party’s negligent acts.

A skilled personal injury lawyer in your area can satisfy your legal burden so that you can recover the full monetary compensation you need for your accident-related injuries and other losses.

What Types of Monetary Damages Will I Receive for My Injuries?

A personal injury lawyer can pursue the monetary award you need to recover for your accident-related injuries. Since every personal injury case is different, not everyone can recover the same types and amounts of monetary damages.

The monetary compensation that an accident victim receives will usually depend on the nature and extent of their injuries, the extent of their physical pain and suffering, and other accident-related factors.

Accident victims may receive monetary recovery for their:

• Loss of earnings
• Loss of earning capacity
• Mental distress
• Loss of spousal companionship and consortium
• Past and future pain and suffering
• Inconvenience
• Lost quality of life
• Loss of the ability to use an injured body part (for example, paralysis)
• Permanent disfigurement or disability

Your lawyer can highlight all the strengths of your case, downplay any weaknesses, and work to secure a favourable settlement offer or litigation result on your behalf.

Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Right Away

If you suffered injuries in an accident because of another person or entity’s negligence, you want the best possible lawyer on your side who will aggressively fight for your legal rights and interests.

A qualified personal injury lawyer can handle every aspect of your case while you focus your attention on getting better and recovering from your injuries.

An injury can cause serious stress from physical pain and limitations, mental suffering, and financial concerns. The last thing you need is to worry about seeking compensation from liable parties.

Allow a lawyer near you to take over every step of your personal injury claim. Seek a free case evaluation and learn more about potential legal help today.