When you’ve been in an accident – whether it is a car wreck, a fall, or an animal attack – it is critical that you take it upon yourself to secure and preserve the evidence that you can as soon as possible. Sometimes that includes what you can secure within the minutes immediately following the incident. Oftentimes, an insurance carrier will try to limit the value of your car wreck claim by taking the position that your vehicle didn’t sustain an extraordinary amount of property damage. It is important to not only take photos of your own vehicle, but to also capture photographs of the other vehicles involved in the collision if possible. Many times, the damage is worse to the car of the person who caused the wreck. Document this at the scene while you have the opportunity to do so. If you don’t take the photos while you can, that evidence may disappear or become unavailable at a later date.
With an animal attack, it is important to take photographs of the wounds at as many different phases of the healing process as possible. Make sure that you send photos to your lawyer as soon as possible so that if anything happens to your camera or cell phone, your lawyer has the photos. If you’ve sustained injuries that require you to wear a cast or a brace that you can save, make sure that you preserve that evidence. All of these things could be helpful to show to a jury later down the road if your case ends up at trial.
Remember that at-fault parties can lose or destroy evidence and oftentimes they are incentivized or motivated to lose evidence that may be favorable to your case. It is important to do what you can to secure the evidence that you can secure on your own and to supply your lawyer with that evidence.
Immediately after you’ve sustained an injury. Sometimes within days or even hours after an accident occurs, you may start receiving telephone calls, letters or emails from insurance companies or defense lawyers. They can question you and solicit information and statements from you if you are not represented. You’ll be told that these questions are attempts to aid you in getting your property damage and injury claims resolved quickly. Once you hire your own attorney to advocate on your behalf and that attorney sends out a notice of representation, insurance companies and defense lawyers cannot contact you. Their goal in contacting you is to secure information or statements from you with the hopes that what you provide will help them minimize, deny or defend against your claims later on. Their job is not to help you get your medical bills paid or to help you collect for pain and suffering. Anything you say to an at-fault party, their insurance carrier, or their lawyers can and will be used against you. Even your own insurance company can use information collected against you to deny benefits. Do not assume that your own insurance company will be on your side. Hire a lawyer – it won’t cost you anything out-of-pocket – personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means the lawyer only earns attorney’s fees on what is recovered for you. Do not delay. Getting a lawyer involved from the start of your claim gives your lawyer maximum ability to control what information is relayed to the other side in order to protect your rights.
Victoria understands first-hand the frustration and anxiety that comes with being involved in a motor vehicle collision. She relates to her clients and aims to address all of their concerns and make the process of recovering after an accident as smooth as possible. Settling cases outside of a courtroom often provides injured parties with the most expedient resolution. However, Victoria is not afraid to go to court on behalf of a client when an insurance carrier is being unreasonable. She has developed a reputation for litigating cases and achieving successful results, sometimes very shortly after filing a lawsuit. Victoria will advise clients of the variables of their individual cases and consequences associated with going to court so that clients can make an informed decision on how to best resolve their claims and cases. Victoria does not decide case outcomes for clients. She provides solid legal advice so that the clients are empowered with the information necessary to make the best decisions on their individual claims or case.