What You Need to Know if You’ve Been Injured In An Accident, Part I: When Should You Hire A Personal Injury Attorney?

February 7, 2011 in Articles | MARTIN WREN, P.C. | LEAVE A COMMENT

Virginia Personal Injury Lawyers

If you’ve been hurt because of the fault of someone or some business, you should contact a lawyer as soon as you can.  Getting better should be your first priority, but finding a good lawyer should run a close second.  A lawyer can help you figure out whether you may have a case, and if you do, a lawyer can help protect and fight for your rights.

Just because you have been injured doesn’t mean you are entitled to compensation under the law.  But if someone or some business did something that they shouldn’t have, or didn’t do something that they should have, i.e., they were negligent or did something intentionally, and you were hurt as a result of their action or inaction, you may have a claim for the harm and pain that you have suffered, are suffering, and will suffer in the future.  The law awards money damages in the event that you are entitled to compensation.

Generally speaking, compensable injuries most commonly occur in automobile accidents, premises liability (such as slip and fall, trip and fall, etc.), when a dangerous and defective product causes harm, and intentional torts like assault and battery.  Compensable injuries may range from soft tissue injuries like whiplash to serious and catastrophic injuries like broken bones, brain injuries, burn injuries, and spine and disc injuries.

A personal injury attorney can help you determine if you have grounds for a civil action or not.  And if you do, a capable lawyer can help you best if he/she can get to work soon after you suffer your loss.  There is a ton of work that goes into a successful representation and a good lawyer wants to get started as soon as possible.

Your accident lawyer needs to: identify the person or business responsible for your injuries; conduct legal research; identify claims; put the responsible person or business on notice of your claim; identify witnesses; collect and preserve important documents and physical evidence; coordinate and negotiate with insurance company adjusters; identify and negotiate medical provider liens; etc.  The lawyer’s job gets harder, and therefore getting you the recovery you deserve gets harder, the longer the time between your injury and when you hire him/her.

So don’t delay.  If you’ve been hurt, take action to know your rights and help protect and fight for them by contacting a trial lawyer with experience representing clients with personal injuries.

Jonathan T. Wren, the author of this article, is an experienced personal injury attorney in the Charlottesville, Virginia office of MartinWren, P.C., where he handles personal injury actions of all shapes and sizes and is a member of the Virginia Personal Injury Lawyers group and the Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyers group.  Jonathan is an active member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and he has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyer’s Magazine in personal injury litigation.  If you have been injured in an accident, Jonathan offers free consultations and he would be happy to discuss your case with you.  Feel free to call him at 434-817-3100.

Contact Our Virginia Lawyers

We serve clients throughout Virginia — from Charlottesville and Central Virginia to metropolitan Richmond; Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley to Roanoke; and the cities of Hampton Roads to the Northern Virginia cities of  Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington.

To speak with one of our attorneys, please call us at (434) 817-3100.

Our Virginia personal injury lawyers at MartinWren, P.C. have a statewide practice and offer free consultations at a time and location that is convenient for you.  We will gladly meet with you at your home or at the hospital, even on nights and weekends.

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