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What To Do in the Case of a Personal Injury

Lance Sharp • Dec 01, 2008

If you have been hurt by the carelessness of another person, take prompt action.  This will ensure your injury claim has the right information to get it settled.

No one wants to think about getting injured, but life happens and the potential for an accident happens in the blink of an eye. The injuries caused by accidents are called personal injuries because they have happened to your body and not your property. e.g. a broken arm or a severely injured leg

When bad things happen, take matters into your own hands to make sure your lawsuit gets the award it deserves. You want to make certain your claim is settled fairly and that it is done as quickly as possible.

Here are a few things you should make every effort to do; they will make an enormous difference in the outcome of your case. Don’t forget, personal injury accidents should be handled by a competent, highly trained lawyer with experience in this area. This is not something in which you should try to defend yourself in court.

Take a moment to write down everything you remember about your injuries – things like how it happened; where; the names of all the people involved and their personal information; names of potential witnesses; insurance company reps; and the police who handled your case.

While this may seem like a lot of work, you would be amazed at how often this information is needed. You would also be amazed at how often other accounts of the same accident don’t sound the same as yours from your first-hand recall.

Just remember that while this may also sound like plain old common sense as you are reading this, it doesn’t mean you will have plain old common sense just after you have been injured.

You’re in a high stress situation and trying to remember things will be difficult, so just take your time and do not make any statements to anyone such as insurance company adjusters or reps.

The reason for this is that they are not on your side and want to have their case settled fast. This means they may make you a settlement offer that is far lower than is fair. Talk to a personal injury lawyer before you talk to anyone else. You will thank yourself later.

Not talking to anyone doesn’t include the people who caused your accident; let them know you’re going to file a claim against them. Tell them immediately of your intentions so there are no misunderstandings later.

If you’re not in any shape to preserve evidence for later, try to have a relative or close friend to do this for you. Things you may need later are pictures of your totaled vehicle, the scene of the accident itself, etc. Make sure the car is preserved for evidence, since accident reconstruction experts will be able to piece together what happened to cause the crash.

Last, but not least, and we cannot say this enough, speak to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. You will need a good lawyer to handle your case.

Lance Sharp of The Sharp Firm is an Austin personal injury lawyer specializing in personal injury and accident law in Austin Texas. The lawyers at The Sharp Firm have a collective 40 years experience in being Austin injury lawyers. To learn more visit http://www.sharpfirm.com.

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