Why Experience Matters in Personal Injury Cases

Consult with an experienced personal injury attorney if you have been injured by the negligent acts of another person.  There are many personal injury lawyers in every town but they probably don’t regularly handle personal injury cases. You need an attorney whose practice is devoted mostly to personal injury cases. A personal injury lawyer deals exclusively in personal injury cases.

Insurance companies keep track of personal injury attorneys they regularly deal with, and will evaluate a claim higher because they are dealing with an experienced personal injury attorney.

An experienced personal injury attorney can tip the scale on whether the insurance company decides to settle or push a case to trial. Even though most personal injury cases settle, an insurance company has no motivation to offer a decent settlement if he or she  thinks that the case will do well at trial because the plaintiff’s attorney doesn’t know what he or she is doing or will settle low to avoid going to trial.

An experienced personal injury attorney will know the local defense counsel and how he or she generally handles cases and conducts trials. If an attorney has never been to trial or folds immediately before trial, the insurance company will note this and evaluate the claim lower. Insurance companies frequently change their tactics and strategies and combating them requires constant vigilance. An experienced personal injury attorney will keep abreast of these policies and procedures and know how to combat them.

The law is constantly changing. An attorney must stay constantly on top of all of the changes to know how the law could affect your case.  Experienced personal injury attorneys, such as car accident lawyers stay updated and are aware of changes in the personal injury law that can affect your case.

An experienced personal injury attorney will know the medicine behind your injuries. Soft tissue injuries can produce a number of varying diagnoses and prognoses. An insurance company might use their own “independent” doctor who has a different professional opinion from the treating providers. An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to explain to a jury why the rent-a-doc’s opinion shouldn’t be given any weight. If a personal injury case cannot be settled through negotiations, generally a lawsuit needs to be started. The first step in starting the lawsuit is to file a summons and complaint with the court and then to have the defendant(s) served with the documents.

Experienced personal injury lawyers will make sure that your accident or injury lawsuit is filed with the appropriate court within the statute of limitation. The failure to your lawsuit with the statute of limitations may have very serious consequences with respect with ever bringing your case again. Once you have filed suit and received an answer form the defendant, your personal injury attorney should review the defendant’s answer with you,  and develop a strategy to get you the most compensation.