AUTO ACCIDENTS
 
YOUR RIGHTS WHEN YOU ARE INJURED:

• FACT #1: When you are injured and miss time from work, you can collect money for the time you missed from work, even if your employer paid you while you were off. The law does not allow the person who caused your injury to be able to take advantage of the fact that your employer paid you while you missed work, and so you are entitled to the full value of the time you miss from work, whether you were actually paid for the time off or not.

• FACT #2: When you are injured in an accident, the insurance company for the party that injured you is not likely to be looking out for your best interests. Insurance companies, like all businesses, are interested in making a profit. Many insurance companies are publicly traded corporations, and so they actually have a duty to their shareholders to make as much profit as possible. Their interest in talking to you after an accident is usually to want to settle with you for as little money as possible. Your case may be worth many thousands of dollars more than an insurance company offers you before you get a lawyer. Only a lawyer experienced with personal injury claims can properly evaluate the money value of your injury. You will almost always wind up with a better settlement for yourself, even after your lawyer is paid a fee. That, after all, is part of what you are paying your lawyer for.

• FACT #3: When you are injured in an accident, there are many expenses you are entitled to be compensated for, not just your medical bills and your time off of work. For example, you may be compensated for the cost of hiring extra household help, whether for cooking, cleaning, or child care. You may be compensated for extra transportation expenses you have for traveling to and from your doctor, your physical therapist, or your other care givers. You may even be compensated for the cost of job retraining and rehabilitation if you cannot go back to the kind of work you used to do before the accident. And, of course, you may be reimbursed for the pain and suffering you go through because of your injuries. These additional items can often be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pain and suffering alone can be worth millions of dollars for very serious injuries.

• FACT #4: Auto accident cases can often be complicated, and many times important legal work and investigation need to be started right away. Finding an experienced personal injury lawyer is important. At The Bach Law Firm, we have the experience you need and we treat every case with the importance and attention it deserves. We know what your case needs, and we know what has to be done to fight hard against the insurance companies.

HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR LAWYER GET YOU THE SETTLEMENT MONEY YOU DESERVE:

After an accident of any kind, your main job is to get better by getting all of the medical attention you need. If you are not seeing the doctor and telling the doctor about all of your complaints so that the doctor can record your problems in your medical chart, then the insurance company will assume you must be completely better, even if that is not true. More than anything else, your main job after an accident is to work closely with your doctors and therapists and rehabilitation experts to get back on your feet. Let your attorney worry about getting everything else done to get you the money settlement or award you deserve. Here are some tips for you that will assist your lawyer in getting you that settlement:

• TIP # 1: Starting with the day of your accident, keep a written diary of everything that happens after your accident. You should write down all of your medical complaints, and all of your visits to the doctor. You should write down the date and time you have any important conversations with witnesses or doctors, or anyone else who might be a part of your case. It may be months before you are better, or the insurance company may try to stall your settlement, and unless you keep a diary that includes everything about your medical condition and your personal contacts, you might forget some of them.

• TIP #2: Give your attorney all of the information he needs about your accident. Even if you think some of the information could possibly hurt your case, your lawyer must know everything. An experienced accident attorney knows how to deal with all of the facts, whether they are good or bad - but, your lawyer must have all of the facts! Your lawyer will keep everything you tell him in confidence, and he will always treat you and your case with respect and dignity.

• TIP #3: Don't talk to anyone but your attorney about your accident or your injury. You and your lawyer are the only ones truly interested in your success and welfare. The party that caused your accident, and his insurance company or legal representative will be doing everything they can to keep your final settlement down ---- or even from getting any settlement at all. That is why you must be very careful about who you talk to. Simple comments you make may be taken out of context and used against you. Even if someone asks you how you are doing, and you say, "Fine," an insurance company could try to use that simple remark to mean that you weren't really hurt in the accident. There also may be differences of opinion about how an accident happened, and an innocent discrepancy in your story could be used against you. You simply should not speak to anyone at all about your case without your lawyer's permission.

• TIP #4: Never sign your name to anything that your lawyer has not seen and approved. A representative of the insurance company for the person that caused your accident might try to have you sign your rights away, or agree to a smaller settlement than you deserve. They might even call you while you are in the hospital, or at home. You must tell such a person right away that you are represented by a lawyer, and give him your lawyer's name and phone number.