Personal Injury

If you’ve been in an accident, you may not want to give a statement to your insurance company without consulting an attorney first. If you’ve been in an accident, it is best to not give a statement to your insurance company without consulting your attorney first

Insurance companies, even your own, may not have your best interests in mind. It is important to be cautious when speaking with an insurance company, if you do choose to engage. Insurance adjusters are very savvy and may employ tactics to get people to provide more information than they should.

Again, our recommendation is to say nothing about the accident or incident. You can tell the insurance representative that you will be giving a statement either through your attorney or once you have retained legal counsel.

• After being injured, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. You need to be evaluated to ensure serious and/or life-threatening injuries are treated.
• If you are physically able to, you should obtain the other party’s contact and insurance information. However, this should only be done once you are safe and out of harm’s way.
• Once you have had a medical evaluation, get in touch with a lawyer. The sooner your attorney can become involved in the case, the better it is for you. Your rights will be protected, and we can act as your representative in interactions with any insurance companies.

In most cases, it is a very good idea to call the police after an accident. This can help your case a lot, since the officers are required to write a detailed report about the incident, gather witness statements and contact information, and more. Their reports may be important as a reliable source of information for us to use in your case. However, it is not always necessary to contact the police.

Though it is overwhelming, you have options for paying medical bills that come in before you receive a settlement. Your personal injury protection (PIP), health insurance, workers’ compensation or Medicaid will pay some of the bills. If you do not have insurance or you still have partial medical bills to pay, your lawyer might use an attorney’s lien. This is an agreement between you, your attorney and your medical provider stating that you will pay your medical bills as soon as you receive the payment from a settlement.

It is common for injured people to miss work due to their accident. This lost income may be recoverable in the process of pursuing your personal injury claim. Your attorney can help you determine how much income you have lost due to your injury. This amount will factor into the final settlement or award that you possibly receive.

Working with us, Hay & Knight, PLLC, you do not have to worry about how you will pay us. As personal injury attorneys, we do not charge you any fees upfront for our services. Instead, we work on a contingency fee basis. This is a common way to handle personal injury cases. “Contingency fee” means that you do not pay us any money unless we recover compensation for you. Any details regarding fees can be directly discussed with your lawyer.