There are TWO PARTS to every personal injury case: the FIRST PART requires establishing that the injury was the legal fault of someone other than you; the SECOND PART requires establishing the damages you sustained as a result of the injury.
Establishing the “fault” part of a case requires a time sensitive investigation concerning
what happened.
The complexity of the investigation varies from case to case, but all cases require at least some investigation about what happened. For example, you may think that if you are stopped at a red light and whacked from behind by another car, no investigation is required, but that is not so. There are appellate court cases that consistently say the trial judge is correct in refusing to allow a jury to consider the damages part of the case, because the injured person has not proven that the person who hit him from behind legally was at fault in doing so.
In an automobile collision case, the investigation of the fault part of the case may involve interviewing witnesses to the collision, interviewing the police officer who investigated the collision, taking pictures of the scene, and the damage to the vehicles involved, and hiring an accident reconstruction expert.
If you have been injured because you slipped or tripped and fell, the investigation almost always will include hiring an engineer to examine and report about the area where you were injured, and may also include hiring a meteorologist to report concerning weather and temperature conditions at the time you were injured and a relevant period of time prior to that.
If you have been injured by a product that failed to work as expected, the investigation almost always will require one or more engineers, physicists, chemists, or other scientists to examine and report concerning the product that caused your injury. In these cases, it is not unusual for the investigation to require input from several scientists in different fields of study.
If you have been injured while a resident in a long term care facility, the investigation will require a thorough review of the relevant medical records by a nurse with expertise in standards of care applicable to residents of long term care facilities, and, as well, by a physician or nursing home administrator with the same type of expertise.
However your injury occurred, an early, informed, and thorough investigation of what happened to cause your injury is essential.
Establishing the “damages” part of the case requires a time sensitive investigation concerning what happened to you!
The investigation always requires a detailed review and analysis of the medical records and bills concerning the treatment of the injuries you sustained. Obtaining and understanding medical records, bills, and billing codes require skill and experience. We have both. We have read, reviewed, and analyzed thousands of medical records and billing summaries. Our personal injury paralegal is a nurse.
The investigation almost always requires a detailed review and analysis of your medical records concerning treatment for prior injuries or similar conditions.
The investigation often requires a professional photographer to photograph visible injuries, bruises, or medical appliances used during convalescence.
The investigation always requires a detailed review of the time you have missed from work, of your prior work history, of your educational background, and of your earnings from your work during a relevant prior period of time.
The investigation requires a detailed review of the insurance you have that is available to pay for the treatment you are receiving for your injuries, the cost of that insurance, and the likely sources of payment for medical expenses that may continue for years into the future.
The investigation will require communicating with your treating physician(s) to determine if the injuries you sustained are likely to impair permanently your ability to function as you had before you were injured.
The investigation always requires that we get to know you, that we learn about your family, that we learn about your hobbies and interests, and that we learn about all of the little ways your life has been changed from the life you enjoyed before you were injured. An important part of what makes each of us special is the little routine things we like to do, are used to doing, and count on being able to do without thinking twice about it. No one else may do these things, but you do, and that is a part of why you are you. When one loses the ability to do some of those things or knows that they can be done only with pain, a part of the self has been taken away. The ability to communicate that loss to the other driver’s insurance company and its representatives, a judge, and a jury is a critically important part of establishing what happened to you.