There’s quite a bit that our attorneys at the LA Injury Group can do for you. We can connect you to medical professionals that won’t take a fee until you settle or win your case. We can negotiate on your behalf, to get you all of the compensation that you deserve for your case. Through an initial investigation, we can find out the truth of what happened, so that you can get everything that you should. One question we’re often asked is: “how can I help my own case?” This isn’t asked in the spirit of “I want to represent myself,” but rather “is there anything I can do as I recover from my injury to help my Los Angeles accident attorney and make sure that I get as much compensation as possible?”
When we say “quickly,” we don’t mean “before the EMT or authorities get to the scene of your accident” or something like that. But, we do strongly recommend that you bring our attorneys in as quickly as possible. The sooner you reach out to us for an initial consultation, the sooner we can get to work on your case. This can have a number of positive benefits that can help throughout the duration of your case, no matter what kind of injury you have.
First off, it allows us to start the investigation as quickly as possible. This can be vital for getting all of the pertinent evidence, or even eyewitnesses. To use an example, say that you were injured in a car accident. This accident occurred on a road a bit outside of town. If you were to call us quickly, we could have an investigator out there pronto. That way, they could get all of the evidence before it weakens or even disappears. After all, tree branches can blow away or otherwise move from where they were at the end of the accident. Tracks can wash away, as can other environmental factors that can show exactly what happened. Once those are gone, they’re gone. If we can’t get our investigators to them in time, then they can’t be used to help your case.
The same goes for any eyewitness accounts that may have seen the accident. People move all the time. They can even forget things. The sooner we can get our investigators to any potential eyewitnesses, the more we’ll be able to use their testimony to strengthen your case. Not doing so before they move could potentially harm your case.
Another important reason to contact us as quickly as possible: cutting down on the other side’s head start. The longer you wait to contact our attorneys to work on your behalf, the more of a lead that you’re giving the other side. Obviously, a personal injury case of any kind isn’t a “race,” and we can help you to get the compensation that you deserve even if you do take some time to make the decision to call us. But, it can be easier when you call us faster. Otherwise, the other side can take advantage of all of the factors that we’ve already mentioned in this section. Worse, they can twist the information to make it look more like it was your fault and less like it was their client’s.
If you’ve been reading these blogs for any length of time, then you know that the insurance company is not your friend. Sure, the adjuster they send to talk to you may seem like the friendliest, kindest person, but they aren’t talking to you to be your pal. They’re talking to you because it’s in the best interests of the insurance company. Their job is to get you to do or say something could cause you to get less money for your claim. That’s a harsh truth, but it’s one that potential clients need to know. We, on the other hand, operate on the exact opposite business model: we want to make sure that you get as much money as possible. That’s how we get paid, and it’s how we keep our law firm going.
So, when someone from the insurance company reaches out to you, contact us. That way, we can take over any dealings with the insurance company. See, the adjuster wants you to say something on the record that can make your case weaker. They’ll try to get you to say all sorts of things, all under the heading of “just asking questions,” “worried about you,” “want to know about the case,” etc. All of that is a ruse and a front: they want you to weaken your own case. When you contact us, we make it so that they can’t.
Another favorite tactic of theirs is the initial, low-ball offer. This is the deal where they try to get you to take less money than you deserve for your injury. Of course, that’s not how they present it. Instead, it will be presented to you as the answer to your prayers, the money you’ve been looking for, and so forth. It will, of course, be the opposite. When they offer that deal to you, instead reach out to us. Even if we’ve never spoken before, we can use our years of experience to let you know what your claim is actually worth. We’ll give you an honest appraisal of the deal from the insurance company. Perhaps you are the one person who they gave an excellent offer to upfront. You almost invariably won’t be, but instead, we can show you all of the ways that we can get you the money that you deserve.
Some of the most powerful, compelling evidence for your case doesn’t come from our investigators, it comes from our clients. Specifically, it comes from our clients and their smartphones, or however, they use a camera. You’ve heard the cliché “a picture tells a thousand words.” That’s absolutely true when it comes to your personal injury. We always encourage clients to take as many pictures as possible of their bodies, and what they’re going through, throughout the duration of their recovery process.
At the beginning, in the wake of the accident, pictures, hard as they may be to look at, can show just how devastating the accident or injury was. Later on in the process, the other side might try to argue: “look, they couldn’t have been hurt that badly. See how healthy they look today??” Pictures taken right after the accident can counteract those arguments quite quickly. These pictures serve as a powerful reminder of everything that you’ve had to go through, and why you deserve compensation for all of your injuries.
Taking pictures even as you start to recover can have the same effect. Some people think that pictures showing them getting better might be used against them, but really, they serve the same purpose as pictures taken right after the accident: they show how hard the recovery was. A person that still has scars or other visual problems months later is going through a difficult process, and pictures can communicate that quite well. Additionally, you may want to keep a journal or otherwise make a note of all of the life changes that you’ve had to go through on account of the accident. Those can help as well.
Those are just a few of the ways that you can help your case; we can discuss many others with you. To start the process, give us a call at (818) 240-1800 to schedule an initial consultation. These are informal, casual affairs. We just want to hear your story, in your words. From there, we’ll go about determining the best way that we can help.