In the aftermath of an accident, you need all the help you can get. While your doctors can provide you with medical care, our lawyers can help you with the rest.
It can be hard to know how to get your injuries compensated, how to get your medical bills paid, and how to get compensation for lost wages. Our lawyers can file insurance claims, negotiate with them, and work to get you damages. If they refuse to pay, we can also go to court to get your case paid in a lawsuit or even at trial.
For a free review of your case, call our personal injury attorneys at Cap City Injury Attorneys today at (512) 612-3110.
What Do I Do After an Injury?
Dealing with a serious injury is usually a new experience, and it can be hard to know what you need to do to protect your rights and advocate for yourself. Much of our job as your personal injury lawyers is to advocate for you, but there are a few steps you can take to regain some control and start moving forward:
Getting Medical Care
Your main job in the aftermath of an injury is to focus on your recovery. Being the victim of a car accident, a slip and fall, or another serious accident often takes over your life, and you should focus on getting all of the medical care you need.
Keep all appointments, follow up with physical therapy, and follow your doctor’s care plan to work on your path to recovery. If you were just injured, get medical care right away to help put you on the road to recovery – and to document your injuries with medical records.
Collecting Evidence
There may be evidence you can collect at the scene of the accident, such as photos, the contact info of anyone involved, witness contact info, and more. With car accidents, you should also exchange insurance info with the other driver.
Always take note of things like weather, lighting, and conditions of the area, especially in a car accident or a slip and fall or other property injury case. If there were any defective or dangerous products involved, save them or take pictures.
From there, our lawyers can worry about finding security camera footage, obtaining police reports, and getting copies of your medical records. Just do your best to keep notes of what happened and keep your memory of the events sharp because your testimony will be key.
Calling a Lawyer
From there, put your case in our hands. We can help guide you in talking with the insurance company, filing claims, collecting medical bills, getting medical records, and building a strong case. Do not accept any money from the insurance company before talking to us, as doing so could settle your case and end it.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
While you may be able to file an insurance claim on your own, it is hard to get full damages – or to even know what your injury case is worth – without bringing it to an experienced injury attorney.
Our lawyers have ample experience helping other injury victims, and we can put that to use in your case. We know when insurance companies are undervaluing your claim, and we can go to them directly to negotiate for a fair value.
Insurance companies love to pay low settlements that end cases quickly. They also love to give unrepresented victims the runaround, and they will refuse payment if they have any grounds to do so. We can fight to overturn their denials or even take the case to court if needed.
What Happens in an Injury Lawsuit?
When our attorneys take your case to court, it begins with a complaint. This tells the court what happened, why the defendant is responsible, and what damages you suffered. We also serve the defendant with the lawsuit.
From there, the defense will try to argue that the case should be dismissed. If it continues on, it will move to the discovery stage.
There, we exchange evidence, get records in the defendant’s possession, and take depositions. This uncovers all of the facts we may need, and cases are usually settled after this. Insurance companies know at this point whether they will win or lose and often stop trying to fight losing cases.
If they still refuse to settle, we can go to trial. Like in TV shows and movies, we present your case to the jury to decide who wins. We can present evidence and witnesses, and we can make statements to the jury in opening statements and closing arguments.
What Do I Need to Prove to Win My Personal Injury Case in Austin?
Most injury cases are “negligence” claims. This means you have to prove to the court that the defendant caused your injuries by breaching a legal duty. Usually, this involves carelessness or inattention, but we can also sue for intentional injuries instead.
Common injury cases involve things like a drunk driver causing your crash, a negligent store leaving slippery aisles that cause you to fall, or a manufacturer putting a defective product on the shelves.
Each case is different, and the evidence you need will vary. However, your testimony, your medical records, and your medical bills will always be important.
Should I Talk to the Insurance Company?
Never talk to the insurance company without your lawyer. Insurance companies will try to get information out of you that they do not need, or they will try to use anything you say as an admission of fault. Because of this, you should avoid giving any recorded statements or making any recorded calls without checking with your attorney first.
An even greater risk is that they will try to push you into a settlement by having you sign away your rights. Even accepting money could be a settlement that ends your case on the spot.
Never talk to insurance companies, accept anything from them, or sign anything from them without having your lawyer review it first.
Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Austin Today
Call (512) 612-3110 for a free case assessment with the personal injury attorneys at Cap City Injury Attorneys.