LOS ANGELES PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY

Many people assume that filing a personal injury claim is pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, this is far from true. A dispute can arise at any moment of the proceedings and derail your entire case. Even if you have strong evidence to prove fault, there’s no guarantee that the insurance company will cooperate and pay a fair settlement.

It’s wise to prepare for all eventualities by taking steps to strengthen your claim, such as:

• Undergoing an Immediate Medical Evaluation: Your first step is to seek medical attention. No matter how minor your injury seems, getting an evaluation right away is essential if you intend to file a personal injury claim. Without official documentation of your injury and symptoms, it will be difficult to tie your injury to the accident and prove its severity.

• Preserving Evidence: It’s not uncommon for a seemingly insignificant piece of evidence to play a critical role in proving liability or damages. For example, if you crashed your vehicle due to an auto part defect, you must preserve the vehicle, so your attorney and relevant experts can evaluate the damage. If you get the car repaired, it might be challenging to prove that the part was defective or that the defect was the actual or proximate cause of the accident. To avoid disposing of substantial evidence, it’s good to speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

• Calling a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer: The guidance of a skilled personal injury attorney can help you avoid critical mistakes that would lead to unnecessary disputes, delays, and complications. The sooner your lawyer can investigate your case, the better. Essential evidence might be altered or otherwise become unavailable. The best time to contact an attorney is after you undergo a medical evaluation, which should occur on the same day of the injury but certainly no later than 48 hours afterward.

• Not Speaking to the Insurance Company: Do you remember what you were doing in the moments leading up to the accident? Which parts of your body are in pain? Have you been able to return to work? These questions might seem straightforward, but your answers may get taken out of context to dispute your claim. Insurance companies are businesses like any other, so one of their primary goals is to pay claimants as little as possible. In pursuit of that goal, insurance adjusters often ask leading questions to elicit responses that can get used to denying or undervaluing claims. The bottom line: Your lawyer should handle all correspondence with anyone affiliated with the insurance company.

• Limiting Your Social Media Activity: Insurance companies often use social media posts to dispute liability or damages. To protect your claim, it’s a good idea to disable your social media profiles until the conclusion of the proceedings.

• Following Your Doctor’s Orders: If you do anything that might cause your injuries to worsen, the insurance company may refuse to pay 100 percent of your damages. You’ll be less likely to face a dispute regarding a failure to mitigate your damages by following your doctor’s orders.