Top 9 Tips to Win Your Personal Injury Civil Case

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How to Win Your Personal Injury Civil Case (Car Accident, Dog Bite, Slip and Fall, etc.)

Aug 2, 2022

Personal injury law encompasses a range of case types, including car accidents, dog bites, premises liability incidents, product liability claims, wrongful death claims, medical malpractice, and more. When you suffer an injury through no fault of your own and as a result of another’s negligence, justice can be obtained through a civil claim that secures financial compensation for any losses – such as hospital or medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, or pain and suffering.

A personal injury cash settlement can help a victim make a complete recovery which accounts for one’s overall well-being – including physical, emotional, and financial health. But ensuring that you recover the maximum financial compensation you truly deserve after an injury or accident can be a challenging endeavor – particularly if you don’t have the assistance of a skilled, trusted, and proven attorney.

In the sections below, we’ll provide important information to help guide you through the personal injury claims process.

Let’s take a look at Dordulian Law Group’s Top 9 Tips to Win Your Personal Injury Civil Claim:

Tip #1: Seek Immediate Medical Care – A personal injury from a car accident or dog bite can be cause for concern on a number of levels. But the most urgent of those is absolutely your health and well-being. Receiving immediate medical care from a licensed physician is the first and most important step to take after any type of personal injury accident. Undergoing a medical exam can help ensure that your health is attended to, and that any injuries are addressed promptly. Additionally, by getting the medical care you need – whether an MRI, CT scan, X-ray, etc. – that documentation can then prove to be extremely helpful when pursuing damages in a personal injury civil claim.

Failing to get the medical care you need after a car accident, slip and fall, dog bite, or other type of incident can have a number of adverse effects. Even if you feel fine, it’s recommended that you at least undergo a routine exam to ensure that nothing is amiss in terms of a lingering or latent injury. If you do not undergo a medical exam and end up experiencing symptoms later, your long-term health may be impacted.

But in addition to this, your personal injury civil claim settlement may be reduced dramatically if you did not receive immediate medical care, as the at-fault party will almost certainly attempt to argue that your injuries were either not as severe when the incident occurred or non-existent (and you therefore experienced the injury as a result of something else). Accordingly, your damages award – the cash settlement you ultimately recover for your personal injury case – can be diminished if you do not have proper medical documentation corroborating the severity of your injuries.

Tip #2: Hire the Best Attorney for Your Case – Los Angeles personal injury lawyers can be found on virtually every block (literally, if you just look up, you’ll likely see yet another billboard or advertisement for a personal injury attorney claiming to be the “best”). But before you go assuming that just because an attorney is on TV or a billboard, that automatically makes him or her competent, keep in mind that there are a number of factors which can help indicate whether or not a personal injury lawyer is the right fit for you.

For example, an attorney’s years of experience, past results (win/loss record), past titles (e.g. Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County), fee structure, and number of trial victories are all important considerations when screening for the best personal injury lawyer. Make sure to do your due diligence and thoroughly research a lawyer’s qualifications before sitting down for a consultation.

Tip #3: Be 100% Open, Honest, and Transparent with Your Personal Injury Lawyer – When you sit down for what will likely be a free consultation, be sure to disclose all the facts related to your case. During the personal injury lawyer consultation phase, it’s important to not hold back any details – even if you might deem them potentially damaging to your case.

For an attorney to be able to do his or her job well, you need to provide every detail of information related to your car accident, dog bite, or slip and fall injury.

Tip #4: Stay Off Social Media – Do not post about your injury on social media. This may seem impossible given how often most of us use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter every day. But posting about your accident on social media can come back to haunt you (and your pocket).

If you are actually injured but post pictures of yourself out and about having fun with friends, the opposing lawyer representing the at-fault party will almost certainly use those posts against you in an effort to argue that you aren’t as seriously injured as you claim (and therefore do not deserve a large cash settlement). Accordingly, it’s strongly recommended that you remain completely off of social media from the moment you are injured until your case has concluded and you have received your settlement check.

Tip #5: Do Not Speak to the Insurance Company – Whether it’s your insurance company or the at-fault party’s provider, it’s always a good idea to give “no comment” and let your personal injury lawyer handle all communication. When you do need to give a statement, do so in the presence of your attorney, allowing him or her to guide you through the process.

Tip #6: Document Every Piece of Evidence Possible – This can include everything from photos and videos of your injuries to photos and videos of the accident scene to witness statements to gathering the contact information of the at-fault party. After a personal injury that was through no fault of your own, the more information you can accumulate to support your claim, the better. If warranted, be sure to file a police report after your accident (but again, do not admit fault or make an official statement). You may also want to take photos and videos of whatever caused your injury – whether it’s the other car involved in a crash, the dog that bit you, the floor where you slipped, the electrical cord you tripped over, etc.

Tip #7: Trust the Process – Once you’ve secured the representation of a skilled, qualified, and proven personal injury lawyer, let him or her do what they do best (e.g. obtain justice and recover maximum financial compensation for clients). Depending on the severity of your injuries and the complexity of your case, the lawyer (or lawyers) involved will likely need to go through a number of steps in order to secure you the financial compensation you deserve.

This can include issuing a demand letter, negotiating a possible settlement, mediation, hiring and interviewing expert witnesses, and more. Which phases of the personal injury litigation process your specific claim will require typically depends on the circumstances related to your unique case, such as the extent of liability on the part of the defendant. Nevertheless, once you’ve located and hired the best available personal injury attorney, it’s always in your best interest to trust that he or she is working diligently on your behalf to secure the largest possible settlement in the shortest amount of time.

Tip #8: Keep Your Expectations Realistic – During the consultation phase, your lawyer should provide an estimate for not only how long the settlement process may take, but also an estimate for how much your claim may be worth (in terms of overall value). At that time, if you do not feel that the estimate provided is commensurate with your injuries, you should express any concerns. However, it’s important to keep in mind that if the attorney is experienced in personal injury law cases like yours, he or she probably has a good understanding of how much your claim is potentially worth.

On that note, it’s important to realize that if you have minor scratches and bruises from a car accident, you’re likely not going to receive a million dollar settlement. On the other hand, if you have a catastrophic or severe injury (TBI, concussion, etc.) and your lawyer doesn’t feel the correlating claim is worth a substantial amount of money, you may want to get a second opinion.

Overall, it’s a good idea to ask for past examples of settlements for cases with injuries similar to yours. That will allow you to assess whether or not a prospective attorney has the experience and qualifications you deserve (not to mention need in order to get maximum compensation). But it will also allow you an opportunity to discern how much your case is likely worth (and whether you and the prospective lawyer are on the same page).

Tip #9: Hope for a Quick Settlement, But Be Prepared for a Trial – Personal injury claims can be fickle. At one point in the litigation process, it may seem as if a large cash settlement is just around the corner. But that can all change in the blink of an eye for any number of reasons.

Accordingly, while a quick and maximized cash settlement is usually the preferred outcome, keep in mind that if your attorney advises that the case should be taken to trial, he or she is likely telling you the truth (and the potential benefit of doing so is likely significant).

What Damages are Usually Included in a Personal Injury Settlement?

What Damages are Usually Included in a Personal Injury Settlement?
Your personal injury lawyer will pursue all available damages based on the circumstances of your unique case. Some of the damages that you may be able to recover as part of a cash settlement for your personal injury claim include:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Hospital and medical expenses
  • Physical therapy or rehabilitation costs
  • Loss of consortium
  • Lost wagers
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Loss of consortium
  • Emotional trauma or phycological harm

Do I Really Need to Hire a Lawyer to Win My Personal Injury Case?

In short – almost definitely. In rare and uncomplicated cases where a defendant is 100% openly and obviously at fault (and is admitting as much), you might be able to get away with sending your own demand letter. But keep in mind, insurance providers and defendants (whether right or wrong) tend to take such letters that come directly from personal injury lawyers much more seriously. Accordingly, having a trusted personal injury lawyer from Dordulian Law Group (DLG) handle your car accident, dog bite, or slip and fall case can be the best way to ensure that you recover a maximized cash settlement which includes all applicable damages.

Moreover, not having a DLG Los Angeles personal injury lawyer handle your claim can mean that you have to prove difficult to quantify damages like pain and suffering or emotional trauma on your own. Proving those types of intangible damages can require years of experience and actual skill in litigating. Hiring a proven and qualified DLG personal injury lawyer can help ensure that your case is handled properly and that the maximum allowable compensation is pursued for all applicable damages – including those that are often difficult to prove.

DLG’s personal injury lawyers have helped victims secure more than $200 million in settlements and verdicts while maintaining a 98% success record. If you’ve been injured in any type of accident through no fault of your own, we’ll fight aggressively to help you recover the maximum financial compensation you deserve.

Why Should I Choose DLG’s California Personal Injury Lawyers?

DLG’s Personal Injury Division lawyers are led by Sam Dordulian, a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County who has secured more than 100 jury trial victories throughout his esteemed 25-year career.

When you’re injured in a California accident, you owe it to yourself to find the absolute best legal representation available to ensure that your claim reaches a successful conclusion and you recover maximum financial compensation for all damages.

Don’t settle for anything less than the DLG Advantage after a Los Angeles-area car accident, dog bite, premises liability, slip and fall, trip and fall, bicycle, motorcycle, or Uber/Lyft injury. Our No Win/No Fee Guarantee means that we never charge a penny until after we’ve successfully recovered a maximum damages award for your claim.

If we don’t win, you don’t pay – with DLG, it’s just that simple.

Ready to file a claim and pursue justice through a financial damages award? Our expert attorneys are available online or by phone now.

At Dordulian Law Group, we believe all injured victims should have access to the best personal injury lawyers, regardless of financial means. That’s why all of the cases we accept are on a contingency fee agreement – meaning there is never any bill to you, the client, until after we’ve recovered financial compensation for your claim. We always work tirelessly on behalf of clients to secure justice through maximum financial compensation, and we’ll do the same for your personal injury claim.

Contact a DLG California personal injury lawyer today at 866-GO-SEE-SAM to learn more about how we can help ensure your rights are protected, you recover a maximized cash settlement, and you make a complete recovery after a car accident, dog bite, slip and fall, or other type if tort claim.

Author

Samuel Dordulian

Samuel Dordulian, founder

Sam Dordulian is an award-winning sexual abuse lawyer with over 25 years' experience helping survivors secure justice. As a former sex crimes prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney for L.A. County, he secured life sentences against countless sexual predators. Mr. Dordulian currently serves on the National Leadership Council for RAINN.




Go See Sam