Being injured is hard enough. Knowing when you should contact a lawyer can be even more difficult. Because some injuries are more serious than others and injuries can manifest in different ways, there are some things to consider to know whether or not you should contact a lawyer for help after an injury.
Whether or not you will need follow up care, if you need professional health care at all, and if you will suffer wage loss or more because of your injury are all important factors in determining how to proceed after an injury. To help figure out what to do next, read on.
How serious is your injury?
A personal injury attorney in Chicago or any other major city would be able to help you navigate a personal injury lawsuit in most cases. But before you make that call, you want to think about what your goals are. Consider the circumstances around your injury, who might be at fault, whether or not you have had or will need medical treatment, and what you are seeking overall.
Financial compensation, including for pain and suffering might be in order if you were in an accident or situation where someone else was clearly at fault. If you were hurt on the job, you will want to look at a worker’s compensation claim rather than a traditional personal injury suit. Before you give an attorney a call, write down the circumstances and key information like times, dates, and locations of your injury so you are ready with personal information and answers he or she might request.
Is someone else at fault for your injury?
If you believe someone else is liable for your injury, don’t hesitate to give that attorney a call. But be aware that courts, the legal system, and cases move slow. While you wait for compensation, consider finding productive ways to spend your time. Maybe take it easy and learn how to manage your money through eBooks or an online course. Consider spending time with friends and loved ones. Whatever you do, try not to focus too much on your injury recourse. It won’t speed things up and could actually slow your healing down.
What will the long term consequences of your injury be?
The overall severity of an injury is probably the most important thing to think about when considering calling a lawyer after a personal injury. Because some injuries don’t present blatantly, you might want to see a doctor, go to a clinic, or visit the emergency room as soon as possible. For example, some brain conditions caused by accidents or dramatic falls take time to show up. While you may have a headache now, you could find out weeks down the road that you had a concussion or worse a traumatic brain injury. Especially when injuries are to the head or vital organs, you want to get them checked out.
Other ways to know your injury may be serious enough where you will need legal help include broken bones, fractures, and any sort of hospital stay including the emergency room immediately following the injury. If you have a prescription to treat the injury, even if it’s for pain killers, it won’t hurt to give a lawyer a call. While you may decide not to move forward, the sooner you call for personal injury legal help, the better chance you and your legal team will have at recouping expenses paid out. An injury that doesn’t feel so serious now could ultimately turn into a bigger issue down the road. And while suing someone isn’t a comfortable experience for most of us, neither are the long term consequences of not handling things fairly and appropriate now.
