If you’ve suffered a personal injury in San Antonio, knowing the right steps to take can make all the difference to getting the compensation you need to fully recover. San Antonio personal injury lawyers have the qualifications and experience to get you the best outcome for your personal injury claim, and several key elements will go into that making that claim as strong as possible.
12 Key Elements of a Strong Personal Injury Claim
Experienced Legal Expertise
The importance of having skilled legal professionals on your side cannot be overstated. By getting an experienced and proficient San Antonio personal injury attorney, you gain an advocate who understands the intricacies and practices of Texas law and local courts, who can effectively engage with insurance companies, and who will ensure that every aspect of your claim is dealt with correctly to maximize your compensation.
Establishing Liability Clearly
Liability is at the center of any personal injury claim: it’s essential to determine exactly who is at fault for the accident, and to what degree. Being able to definitively establish that another party’s negligence or deliberate wrongdoing caused your injury will significantly bolster your claim.
Evidence, such as photographs of the incident scene, videos, eyewitness testimonies, and police reports, is vital in this determination, and your personal injury attorney will be able to tell you exactly what evidence is needed and how to use it best in the context of your specific situation.
Comprehensive Documentation of Injuries
Medical records are some of the most important pieces of evidence you’ll need for a claim. They prove of the extent of your injuries, the pain and emotional losses you’ve suffered, and the financial losses of treating those injuries. Getting prompt and thorough medical attention after an accident serves a dual purpose: it ensures your health and safety, and it provides indisputable evidence of the harm you’ve suffered.
Keep exhaustive records of every medical visit, including diagnosis, treatment prescribed, and associated costs. The depth and breadth of this medical documentation are pivotal in demonstrating the severity and repercussions of your injuries.
Proving the Full Financial Toll
Medical expenses are only one of the financial losses you may have suffered after a personal injury. You may have lost valuable property, such as a vehicle or laptop, lost wages, and have lower potential future earnings due to the injury. By presenting a well-documented account of all the monetary damages you’ve suffered and are expected to lose in the future, you can maximize your claim.
Smart Evidence Collection
The more evidence you have, and the clearer it is, typically the stronger your claim. Securing video footage, for example, whether from surveillance cameras or personal devices, can offer a dynamic account of the events leading to the injury. Additionally, securing witness testimonies provides third-party perspectives that can validate your narrative. Your attorney will be able to tell you what evidence you need to collect and help you get it.
Consistency Across Statements
Another key element to a strong case is making consistent statements. As you recount the events leading to your injury, if your story is unchanged, your case will be stronger. Whether you’re speaking with insurance adjusters, medical professionals, or providing official depositions, a uniform narrative reinforces your credibility. A single discrepancy can be seized upon by opposing parties to undermine your claim.
Showing Efforts to Mitigate Injuries
While injuries can be debilitating, it’s imperative to show that you made every effort to mitigate the extent of the damage. This includes adhering to all medical guidance, avoiding activities that could make your injuries worse, and attending all your scheduled treatments. Demonstrating your commitment to recovery can counter any suggestions that you may be exaggerating your condition or damages.
Proving the Long-Term Impact of the Accident
An injury’s effects often extend far beyond the immediate aftermath. Many injuries result in long-term or even permanent changes to lifestyle, mental health, or physical abilities: including the ability to work. Documenting these prolonged impacts and the expenses your medical team foresees for you, such as ongoing therapies, future surgeries, or mental health treatments, paints a comprehensive picture of the life-altering consequences of the accident and gives you a stronger case.
Demonstrating Impact on Lifestyle and Relationships
Beyond the physical and financial strains that an injury can cause, getting hurt in an accident can drastically alter your lifestyle, relationships, and daily routines. Demonstrating how these changes have affected you and the way your life has been diminished since the accident shows demonstrates the true extent of the injury’s impact.
Whether it’s an inability to engage in previously enjoyed hobbies, a strain on your familial relations, or challenges in accomplishing daily activities that were once simple for you, like picking your kids up from school, showcasing these aspects of how the injury has impacted you adds another layer of depth to your claim.
Engaging Experts When Possible
In certain complex cases especially, the involvement of expert witnesses is key to a strong claim. These professionals, from fields such as medicine, accident reconstruction, or vocational training, can provide specialized insights into your case. Their testimonies may be able to clarify specific aspects of the claim, from the medical intricacies of an injury to the likelihood of your returning to a particular vocation.
Incorporating their knowledge and insights into your claim can be a game-changer, especially in disputes or when faced with challenging opposition. A qualified personal injury lawyer will have worked with these types of experts many times and will know who to call to strengthen your case.
Diminishing Comparative Fault
Texas personal injury law operates on the principle of modified comparative fault. Under this rule, if an injured party is partially at fault for the event leading to the injury, their potential compensation gets reduced by their determined fault percentage. Preparing a claim that solidly underscores the larger fault of another party and ensures the other side doesn’t saddle you with more responsibility than you should have is key to keeping the most compensation possible.
Anticipating Defense Strategies
Insurance companies, in their quest to protect their financial interests, might employ a number of different defense strategies, and it’s important that you anticipate each one and work out a strategy for countering it. Of course the lay person can hardly be expected to do this alone, but experienced personal injury lawyers will know exactly what tactics the insurance company might try.
They could, for example, challenge the severity of your injury, allege that you had pre-existing conditions, or even question the necessity of certain medical treatments. They may try to blame you for the accident, find loopholes in their policies, or try to calculate your injuries using typical Medicaid tables that don’t apply to those who aren’t eligible for Medicaid.
Get Qualified San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers on Your Side
Knowledge and evidence, when paired with the right representation, leads to the best possible outcome and the strongest case, securing you the compensation and justice you rightly deserve. You need the right legal team on your side, so reach out to Joe A. Gamez Law Firm, PLC now for a free consultation and case evaluation. We’ll help you build the strongest possible case for maximum compensation.