Fort Worth Injury Lawyer

420 Throckmorton St #200

Forth Worth, TX 76102

Call (817) 935-0000

Although over half of America’s paper money is printed at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, personal injury accident victims will not see the money that they deserve for their pain and suffering unless they take the appropriate steps to file their claims properly. Most people who are injured in accidents do not have the necessary legal knowledge of personal injury law to adequately tackle these tasks alone, and many are too impaired to do the required leg work themselves. This is where the Doan Law Firm can help. The firm provides residents of Fort Worth with a 24 hour a day, seven day a week hotline for real time, initial case evaluations. Here are some of the questions that are normally asked during initial consultative sessions as well as examples of items that one can expect to present to lawyers soon after the free consultation.

Preliminary Disclosure

Prospective personal injury clients must be prepared to release some of their private information in order for lawyers to conduct thorough investigations about the facts of their cases. One of the first pieces of information that lawyers require is the disclosure of all insurance policies that the accident victim possesses. This includes medical, dental, rental car, short term disability and long term disability insurance policies. An injured person who must utilize the services relating to those listed insurance policies because of their accident has started a paper trail of evidence that supports the claim of their injuries. Lawyers will also generally require a release of medical and employment records, and clients must sign medical and wage release authorization forms to make this happen. These records allow lawyers to gather evidence concerning the type and extent of their clients’ injuries which affect personal injury award amounts. When clients miss work due to the treatment or rehabilitation of case related injuries, lawyers must calculate loss of wages for their clients to determine estimated award amounts that support settlement negotiations with insurance companies or law suits in civil court rooms.

Questions and Initial Advice

Prospective personal injury clients will be asked a series of questions relating to their accident. The most obvious one which is “what exactly happened before, during and after the accident?” is likely the most important as well. These statements become the basis of accident victims’ claims, and prospective clients should provide as detailed accounts as possible. After listening to their clients’ chronological description of events, lawyers are likely to ask about police reports filed, official or unofficial interviews that have been given about the accidents and statements signed. Police reports help lawyers to gain different perspectives about the events surrounding accidents. Clients will also be asked about the statements that they have publicly made about their accidents. For example, a news crew interviews a client who survives a bad car accident, and the client states that they are okay except for some minor cuts and bruises. Although the client was able to walk away from the accident scene with few visible injuries, that person could still require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation later. However, they have given the impression publicly that they are in fair physical condition. Lawyers need to know about these admissions early so that they can prepare statements that minimize their clients’ risks of losing cases even after real injuries are discovered by qualified medical professionals. Lawyers are also interested in conversations between their clients and insurance company representatives that relate to revealed insurance policy limits; this type of disclosure to the plaintiff is helpful for establishing requested award amounts. A key piece of advice that lawyers offer their prospective clients during initial consultations is to not sign any authorization forms requested by defendants’ insurance companies prior to legal review. Insurance companies can use full disclosure of medical and wage records to justify lower settlement award amounts.

Administrative Legal Paperwork

Personal injury attorneys also introduce their pay rates and contract terms during initial consultation sessions. Reputable lawyers like those at Doan Law Firm allow clients to thoroughly review retainer terms and conditions as well as pay scale information before contract signatures are required.

Contact a Fort Worth, TX Injury Lawyer to Fight for You

Initial consultation with injury attorneys are designed to be brief meetings that communicate the essence of what happened during an accident to legal professionals and give prospective clients valuable advice in preparation of settlement negotiations or trials. However, each case is unique, and reputable lawyers will take all the time that is necessary to gain needed information about the accident and answer client questions.