3 Important Things to Do When You Suffer a Personal Injury
Published on November 17th, 2021 by The Illinois Hammer Injury Law Firm
When it comes to dealing with a personal injury, the last thing you need is more worry on your shoulders. You’ll have doctor bills piling up, you might miss work, and you could very well have a long recovery ahead of you. With that in mind, there are some things that you should do right away when you’re injured.
Let’s look at three of the most important things you need to do.
1) Seek Medical Attention No Matter What
When you’re injured, your body’s natural response will be to flood you with adrenaline, blunting the pain that you feel. It might not be till hours later that you feel the pain, so the best thing you could do for yourself is get checked out right away.
Some people make the mistake of waiting until they contact an attorney to get their injuries looked at. Or worse, some won’t seek medical help at all. Your first priority needs to be your own wellbeing. In personal injury cases, medical costs will very often be reimbursed once a settlement is reached or a decision made in your case. You’re worth more than the medical bills you might be worried about.
In the meantime, you should seek medical attention and keep all receipts and documentation. That way, you’ll be looking out for your health while also strengthening your case down the line.
2) Don’t Sign Anything
There have been too many cases where businesses who were at fault in a personal injury either got the injured party to agree to a tiny settlement, or worse, got them to sign away their right to litigate entirely. According to the National Floor Safety Institute, falls alone account for over 8 million emergency room visits. The sad reality is that a personal injury can happen to anyone, so you need to make sure that you have all of your legal options open.
The right attorney will be able to go over all of your documentation as well as any paperwork you might have been given. On top of that, representation can help ensure that you actually receive money at all. In fact, the Insurance Research Council found that 85% of all money paid out by insurance companies for injury claims goes to clients with an attorney, and insurance payouts are 3.5 times higher for clients who hired an attorney versus those who didn’t hire an attorney. It literally pays to have the right attorney on your side. Which leads us right into our final point.
3) Find an Attorney Who Knows Personal Injury
One of the most common misconceptions when it comes to personal injury law is that a potential client might not be able to afford attorney fees. In reality, personal injury law is very different from other types of law, and most personal injury attorneys operate on a contingency basis.
Simply put, contingency means that if they don’t win, you don’t pay. This is how the Illinois Hammer Injury Law Firm operates, and it’s led to us recovering over $65 million for our clients in the last year alone. The most important thing to do when you suffer a personal injury, then, is to find an attorney who really knows personal injury law, someone who will advocate for you and fight hard to get you the results you deserve.
If you or someone you love has suffered a personal injury, it’s important to know that you’re not alone. If you need help with your case, reach out to the team at the Illinois Hammer Injury Law Firm for a free case assessment.
