Steve Morris Law is a top Alabama lawyer for personal accident cases
Personal injury attorneys handle a lot of things and wear several hats at any given time. Unfortunately, they are very busy people because injuries common in Alabama and across the country. Many accidents are preventable, and it’s generally these cases where someone else’s negligence was significant enough to hire professional assistance to recover damages due to no fault of your own.
Most people understand the basics of how personal injury attorneys help the victims they represent, but they also do a lot of things behind the scenes that a lot of people aren’t aware of. Some of it seems fairly straight-forward, but most people don’t know about how they carry out their duties for their clients.
Personal injury attorneys actually conduct investigations. They’ll have specific investigators go and document the scene of an accident, have them conduct interviews with any relevant parties and persons of interest, and they’ll also develop their own ideas and theories on what actually happened. If there’s not a general consensus on what happened, then experts in accident reconstruction might be brought in to help recreate the scene of the accident.
What about injuries on the job? Personal injury attorneys will make sure that if OSHA rules and regulations apply (any business with 10 or more employees) that all of the required documentation is intact.
Let’s say you are climbing a ladder at work and you’ve identified issues with the ladder. Your supervisor has said that there’s not a replacement and that you just need to make it work but to “be careful.” Then, the ladder breaks and you fall, causing injury and loss of work and wages. If there wasn’t adequate training and records in place, the company could be facing a massive fine for not protecting the employee as required by law. Also, the supervisor that has been trained and allowed the employee to get hurt on a piece of equipment that was identified as faulty could actually have criminal charges brought against him. If you are not EXTREMELY well-versed in OSHA regulations then you absolutely cannot afford to not hire an attorney to see you through all of the paperwork and investigative work. Even if your end goal isn’t to get a lot of money out of your negligent employer, it’s important to make sure these violations are handled so that others do not get hurt going forward. Repeat offenses get extremely costly and most employers will make sure violations do not continue (especially the same ones).
Another thing personal injury lawyers do is connecting with medical providers for a share of the awarded damages in exchange for medical services and/or recommendations of specialists depending on the nature of the injury/injuries.
Attorneys also assess your situation with both their experiences and with other expert economists to establish the actual short and long-term impact of an incident. In most cases, the victim only sees the immediate consequences of injuries when in reality they could be dealing with issues permanently going forward. This could have a significant mental issue that the victim may not realize and could not otherwise assess on their own.
Lastly, they are negotiators on your behalf. It’s almost a haggling game in some cases. They can recommend settling or going for more money if an insurance company is trying to settle for significantly less than what your case is worth. If you don’t know, you might agree if it’s a good enough number that satisfies the bill collectors at the moment.
If you feel like you have a case, seek the advice of a qualified professional before making any significant decisions about your legal endeavors. Our Law offices at Steven R Morris Attorneys at Law are qualified to answer and questions you may have about your specific case, and to represent you as your Alabama personal injury law firm of record.
Contact us today by calling 256-357-9211 or fill out the Free Consultation form on this page.
