How Do You Determine The Viability Of A Personal Injury Claim?

Liability, injury, and insurance must be present in a case. If one of the three components (liability, injury, and insurance) is missing, then the case isn’t going far. Part of the client’s intake and the evaluation process is to figure out if the client likes my style as an attorney and my ability to present their case. As a personal injury attorney, I have to present my client’s situation, weave the facts of their case, and intertwine their treatments and life events into a story for the insurance adjuster, mediator, judge, and jury.

Often, the key to a viable claim is the presentation. When I hear a client’s facts, I’m already composing a closing argument to the jury. I tell them that the judge or the jury will be hearing their story for the first time the same way that I’m hearing it at that moment. How you present your account in the present is going to be the way it’s delivered in the courtroom in the future years from now if it goes to litigation, or to an insurance adjuster during the settlement process.

The client’s condition, behavior and mannerisms are all critical factors in the case. Can the client articulate the facts? Is the client likeable by the adjuster and the jury? If a client has head trauma that resulted in loss of consciousness and has no memory of the accident, it becomes part of the argument that demonstrates how this type of damage stemmed from a personal injury accident. Having memory loss due to the incident or age, such as Alzheimer’s, can also be explained to the judge and jury. Who the person is and what they do for a living and how they are involved in their community are all factors in assessing the client’s case.

All personal injury cases are different. Sometimes I may need to involve another attorney or partner with another law firm if the case leads to federal court for reasons such as multi-state jurisdictions, product liability cases or inter-state commerce. At times, I’ve told clients their case is too small. Sometimes, I tell clients their case is too big for me to handle alone. I’ve also told clients that they don’t have a claim because they’re missing one or more of the critical components: liability, injury, insurance.

In the past, I’ve referred cases to other attorneys, and I’ve also accepted client cases that other attorneys have turned down. If something is compelling with the client’s story and if there is a problem that I can solve, then I will take the case.

What Evidence Is Your Firm Able To Assist In Gathering For A Client In A Personal Injury Case?

Evidence is vital throughout the entire case. The attorney is trained to think of the endpoint, and how they’re going to present the case to a judge and jury. The attorney has to reverse engineer the case to tell their client’s story and get from point A to Point B, and the evidence is going to help tell that story. Photographs are significant. Testimony from experts and production of records are all crucial as well. Often, this type of evidence can help settle the case without ever going to court.

The compelling use of evidence, from a lawyer’s perspective, is that you want to get the photographs and the accident report. Sometimes the need for an investigator or an accident reconstructionist may be necessary. Employing a licensed private investigator through the state of New Hampshire will take pictures, interview witnesses, and gather information. They can assist the attorney with the case by undertaking these tasks.

The use of accident reconstructionists, CPAs, economists, and actuaries are all specialists who can assist and value a personal injury case. Gathering reports from professionals and bringing in experts helps validate the claim.

Employers can also assist with evidence. For instance, an employer can testify that their employee missed a promotion because they were unable to fulfill their job-related duties. The employee may have missed a certain number of weeks or months because of an injury, which caused them to lose out on a promotion. The employer could demonstrate that the promotion would have led to a beneficial future. This type of evidence would be difficult for an individual to argue without the assistance of an attorney.

For more information on Viability Of A Personal Injury Claim, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (603) 880-1300 today.