If you have received a serious injury because of a mistake made by a person or a company, the steps that you take immediately following the accident will determine if you are able to receive monetary damages in court. Many injury victims do not know what to do after they have been injured. They receive bad advice and do not follow the correct procedures. In many of these cases, these people miss out on their chance at a large financial settlement. Here is what to do if you are injured.
1. Talk to witnesses
Witnesses will be very valuable to you if you are unable to reach a settlement with the responsible party and your injury case goes to court. Witnesses will help to corroborate your version of the events that led to your injury. This will help to convince the jury that you are entitled to monetary damages to pay for your medical bills and the time that you are unable to work. Talk to every person who was in the area and might have witnessed your accident when it happened. Make sure you get their full name, address and phone number. You will need this information in case they need to be called as a witness to testify on your behalf in court.
2. Document everything
It is important that you take pictures of the entire scene of your accident. Keep detailed notes regarding the time that it happened and every interaction you had immediately before and after the accident. You never know what information is going to eventually prove to be valuable. Hopefully, you will be able to work out a settlement with the responsible party to avoid going to court. However, you must always think in terms of the worst case scenario. Always assume you will be going to court. Collect all evidence to support your case.
3. Call an attorney
You will now need to contact a New York personal injury attorney to handle your case for you. The quality of your legal representation will often determine whether you win or lose your case. Therefore, you must put a lot of thought into the attorney that you hire. The Law Offices of David J. Hernandez & Associates have handled many personal injury cases in the past. They are extremely experienced and they will work to get you the biggest possible settlement. Visit http://djhernandez.com/personal-injury/ to schedule a consultation.