When you’ve been injured in an accident, it’s important to speak with a lawyer – a very qualified, experienced Massachusetts injury attorney. It’s important for anyone who’s been injured in an accident to know that the legal process doesn’t simply involve walking in to a courthouse and asking for damages. Before then, There’s vital information about the accident that your attorney will need before he or she can begin representing you. Having this information ready before you first meet with your attorney, will assure that the entire process moves as fast – and legally productive – as possible.
Here are some basic categories of information that you should be prepared to tell your Massachusetts injury attorney:
1) How, exactly, did the accident occur? As hard as it may be, try your best to keep emotions out of the answer. There will be plenty of time to tell your feelings about the incident, later. For now, what your attorney will need is a factual, objective description of what happened. That’s it.
2) What are the names and contact information of every party involved in the incident? – This includes, importantly:
- Any witnesses
- If a motor vehicle accident, any passengers in your vehicle.
- The other party to the accident (the person(s) who hit or injured you.) If you have the name of the insurance company that insured that person, this will be especially helpful
- Names of any police department or police officers that may have responded to the scene
3) What, precisely, were you doing when the accident happened?
- If driving, what direction were you headed in? ]
- Where were you going?
- What was your approximate speed?
- The date and time of day? Little things can change the nature of your claim, such as whether you were working at the time of the accident.
- What was going on around you at the time?
4) What damages, being very specific, have you suffered as the result of this accident? Answers to some important questions will be:
- What are your physical injuries as medically diagnosed by your doctor, and what is your doctor’s name and contact information?
- Aside from a specific injury to a specific area of your body, the accident’s impact on your overall “quality of life will be important. What previous recreational, leisure, family or social activities are you no longer able to engage? in that you once were?
- Have you missed work because of the accident, and if so, your attorney will need to know the amount of your lost wages? The more documentation that you can provide your injury attorney with, the better he or she can estimate the value of your case.
5) Last, while the answer to this question may seem obvious (i.e., financial compensation,) what is it that you seek to accomplish by bringing this case? For example, are you seeking to only get your medical bills covered? Do you seek damages for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced? Do you seek damages for the lessening of your quality of life? Are you seeking reimbursement for damage to your property? The clearer idea you have of what you would like the ideal outcome of your case to look like, the more clear your attorney can be with you about your odds of success.
If you’ve been injured in a Massachusetts accident, whether in a motor vehicle accident, a pedestrian accident, a slip and fall accident, or any other kind of accident, an experienced Massachusetts accident lawyer can guide you through what is a legally complicated process of getting you the compensation you deserve. Whhatever you do, don’t try to do this without experienced legal counsel. If either you or someone you know needs to speak with a Massachusetts accident lawyer, please either call us or fill out the Contact form on this page (the “Tell Us About Your Case” box,) and we’d be glad to provide you with a free consultation.