6 Ways to Prepare for a Personal Injury Lawsuit

When you are injured and need to seek compensation to help cover the expenses associated with the damages, a personal injury lawsuit is often a necessity. You may be unable to afford the financial burdens, so you need to hold the person responsible for the injuries accountable.

However, personal injury lawsuits can be complicated, often presenting numerous complex obstacles that you need to overcome. In order to successfully do so, you can help give yourself the best chance of overcoming the obstacles by properly preparing for the case.

You can do certain things that can benefit you throughout the process and keep you aware of what’s coming next and what you can do moving forward. Here are six ways that you can prepare yourself and those around you for the personal injury lawsuit.

1 – Speak with Your Legal Team About the Proceedings

One of the most important things you can benefit from is knowing what to expect throughout the entire process. As such, you should speak with your legal team to receive a full breakdown of what is to come and what you will be experiencing.

Your legal team can detail the timeline you may expect such as when you need to file specific paperwork, what may be checked by the defendant and his or her insurance company, and what to do if you are offered a settlement by the defendant.

With the knowledge of the process, you can make important decisions so that you can feel confident in the situation. Making educated decisions gives you peace of mind that you are in a good position to successfully recover compensation.

2 – Speak with Your Doctor About Your Injuries

We always recommend that injury victims seek medical attention immediately following the injury to begin treatment immediately, as well as to receive medical records that would detail the damages sustain and serve as effective evidence.

Your doctor will most likely plan a long-term treatment option for you and following up is one of the most important things you can do to protect your injury claim. If you don’t follow the plan strictly, the defendant may try to use this as a way to devalue your claim.

To protect yourself from being taken advantage of by the defendant, follow all treatment plans decided by your doctor and speak with them prior to the lawsuit to ensure you have all paperwork detailing your injuries and your steps to try and recover.

3 – Gather All Evidence You Collected

Should negligence result in you sustaining an injury, you can gather specific information, documents, and more that can prove to be strong evidence. For instance, there are plenty of helpful items that you can use as evidence in a case involving a car accident.

The evidence you may receive can include contact information from the negligent driver, insurance information, and driver’s license information. Then, you can also receive a copy of the police report when injuries and large property damage exists. Medical records can also be used to benefit your personal injury lawsuit.

The paperwork you need is aided by the actual documents needed to file a lawsuit. These must be completed and filed in a timely manner as the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania is two years. This means you have two years from the date of the injury to take legal action.

4 – Avoid Doing Things that May Damage Your Potential Case

Even if you suffered injury and you know for a fact that the other person was responsible for your damages, there are certain things that you can do that would impact your ability to pursue compensation. Certain actions can limit your claim, or even have it dismissed completely.

For instance, when you claim you’re injured, certain images posted to social media can be used against you if the image shows you doing things that an injured person shouldn’t do. Also, statements that you make on social media can be monitored and used against you.

5 – Recognize When It Is Best to Accept a Settlement

Going through a trial can be very stressful, and it’s often in the best interest of an injured party to recognize all options available to them that could ease the situation. While many settlement offers can be considered less than adequate, there are times when it is acceptable.

Before the personal injury lawsuit, you should speak with your legal team and determine what you would deem an acceptable settlement offer. The minimum amount you would accept should be adequate enough to pay for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages you’ve endured—as well as the potential for non-economic damages.

In some situations, a settlement offer may be more impactful than going to trial because of the additional costs and building expenses you encounter. Should you know of your minimum required settlement and you and your legal team agree it is the best course of action to accept the offer, that could help save you time on the case.

6 – Keep the Lines of Communication with Your Attorney Open

In any attorney-client relationship, the most important thing is the communication between both parties. With the time leading up to a personal injury lawsuit being so crucial, the communication must be consistent, transparent, and open.

This provides multiple benefits, including the opportunity to inform your attorney of any new developments that may arise. For instance, if your injury has worsened and it impacts your ability to work, this may be something that needs to be factored into the lawsuit.

It also gives you the chance to get any and all questions and concerns addressed by your attorney. Your legal team wants to be able to provide you with information that gives you peace of mind and confidence moving forward—so they’re always there to communicate with you.

A personal injury lawsuit is not something to be taken lightly. Doing so can result in you failing to recover the compensation needed and you may be left to pay the exorbitant medical bills on your own. This makes it critical to hire a personal injury attorney who can help you through the entire process.

Preparation is Key—Let Our Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers Help

When you face a personal injury lawsuit and there is so much on the line, preparation is imperative to your success. Preparation helps to keep you ahead of the defendant and gives you confidence in how your case will be handled. You will know you have the evidence, documentation, and witnesses necessary for the discovery phase.

At The Beasley Firm, we work hard to help you through the entire process—from the free initial consultation all the way to settlement or trial. We prepare as if we’re going to trial so we’re never playing catch up on any bit of information we have.

When you hire our Philadelphia personal injury attorneys, you can have the utmost confidence in our team’s ability to navigate the legal process. You and your best interests are our top priority. You focus on your own recovery and we’ll handle the legal complexities for you.

Before you try to navigate a personal injury legal matter on your own, call our team and discuss your potential case in a free consultation. We’re here to fight for you.