How Soon After a Car Accident Do I Need an Injury Lawyer?
During my 20 years as an attorney, I have handled several thousand personal injury law claims arising out of car, truck and motorcycle accidents. Many of my clients retained me immediately or shortly after the accident occurred; others hired me several months into the process; and a few more consulted me right before the statute of limitations, or deadline to bring formal legal action, was set to expire (the latter is highly inadvisable). Each and every injury claim is different, but they all have several things in common. One of those things is that the insurance company with potential exposure for the claim—that is, the carrier whose insured is ostensibly negligent—will act swiftly and decisively in attempting to mitigate, eliminate or avoid liability (where fault lies) and damages (the monetary value of the losses suffered).
Georgelis, Larsen & Sabatino Injury Law Firm, P.C. does not charge a penny in fees unless and until we have made a financial recovery on behalf of our client. Therefore, the meetings we hold and attend, the letters we write, the telephone calls we make, the depositions we conduct and any and all other time we spend on a case are not subject to billable hours. As a result, our clients never receive bills from us detailing our time or asking for payment. This is called working on a contingency basis.
In light of this arrangement, the answer to the question posed in the title of this article is immediately. The sooner we get involved in a case, the better it is for the client. The moment we are retained, we notify the insurance companies that we represent the injured party, so that no one is permitted to contact our client from that point forward, and we can field any and all communications, giving our client some much-needed calm. We also straighten out any billing issues, make sure all of the appropriate paperwork is properly completed and serve as a constant source of information for the litany of questions that inevitably arise—with no accounting of time and no bill to follow.
The first hours, days and weeks that follow a car, truck or motorcycle accident are often the most critical, in terms of setting up and maintaining a successful bodily injury claim. The effectiveness with which these tasks are completed usually dictates how the claim will proceed from there on out (i.e., whether it will be in a smooth or rocky fashion). The nuances and subtleties that accompany a motor vehicle accident case can be, and usually are, overwhelming. Since we work exclusively on a contingency basis, having a savvy, experienced, hard-working and trustworthy law firm at your disposal from the very beginning of the process costs a client no more than it would to bring us in two years after the accident occurred.
I have always enjoyed becoming involved in the cases we handle for our clients as early as possible. It allows us to spend every necessary minute preparing the claim and building and advocating its value. Our firm is meticulous, in the way that we handle things, so that our clients can relax and know that all of the bases are covered. At Georgelis, Larsen & Sabatino Injury Law Firm, P.C., this is the unique promise we make to our clients—the Peace-of-Mind Guarantee.
