When you need a personal injury attorney, your life is usually stressful and complicated already.  Finding the right attorney to represent you and your case is no easy affair, and nothing you want to have left to chance.

Choosing the right attorney for you should be more in depth than just an act of opening up the local phone book and picking the first listing you come to.  The lawyer you pick will be the lawyer you develop a relationship with, a relationship that needs to be built on trust and understanding and confidence.  Simply calling a toll free number flashed across the screen during a thirty second TV spot is not the right way to find the attorney.  You need more than just empty advertising promises to assure you that this is the right professional to handle such an important thing as your personal injury case.

There are a series of questions you should ask each attorney you interview.  Begin with questions about the attorney’s background and education.  Where did he or she go to school?  Ask about credentials or memberships in particular state or national attorney organizations.  Find out if the attorney regularly pursues education by attending Continuing Legal Education courses.

Ask the following as well:

1.  Do you represent only personal injury clients?
2. Do you have clients that are large corporations or insurance companies?
3. What is your case experience? Have you handled the type of case I have before?

Ask about case histories.  Are there paces you can go to read testimonials from other clients?  Has the attorney published articles, e-books, or other media?  If the attorney provides you with any of these materials, read over them carefully.  How do former clients describe the attorney’s bedside manner?

Find out what percentage of the attorney’s case load deals with personal injury law.  Does the attorney always represent accident injury victims?  Or is his or her time divided between representing individuals and large companies, or even insurance companies?

Next, specifically question the process used by the attorney’s office:

1.  Who will be working on my case?  Who might I have contact with on a regular basis?
2. How often will you keep me informed or updated on the case?
3. Who can I call with questions?
4. Who will be working with me directly?

Ask about taking copies of the fee agreement in writing.  Can you leave with one after the first consultation in order to give yourself some time to think about it?  Be sure to outline any questions you might have and ask them before you sign a contract.

There may not be a black or white right answer to any of these questions, but as a consumer, you owe t to yourself to go into the attorney/client relationship with both eyes opened.  If the attorney is reluctant to share information with you, it may be the clue you need to keep looking.  Above all, you need a lawyer who will represent your interests, and the first step to that end is open and honest communication.

There are 3 main factors that determine the value of your injury claim following a motor vehicle accident.

1) Your Medical Expenses

Generally, the more medical bills you have incurred as a result of an auto accident, the greater your injuries. That increases the value of your overall claim. This does not mean go out and incur as many medical bills as possible because a jury will know if you have over treated. One of the roles a jury plays is to determine whether the medical expenses you incurred were reasonable and necessary to treat your injuries. Juries also tend to give more credence to physicians and physical therapists than they do to chiropractors and other alternative treatment sources.

In Missouri, the law states that when determining the reasonable value of your medical bills, there is a rebuttable presumption that the amount paid is the reasonable value. In other words if you have health insurance that pays for your medical treatment following an accident, the insurance company is able to present the amount paid by your insurance, which is typically lower than the amount charged, to the jury. Health insurance companies contract with hospitals and doctors for certain rates and part of the bill is paid and part of the bill is adjusted. So if you incur $25,000 in medical charges but your health insurance only paid $17,000, the negligent party’s car insurance company will argue to the jury that your bills incurred were actually $17,000, not $25,000.

2) Your Wage Loss

The more wage loss you incur, the more likely you are to receive a higher jury award. You must be able to provide proof of lost wages with documentation by your employer. Income tax returns also help provide this information. Your inability to work must be supported by your injuries and your medical treatment. Work releases from the physician provide proof that your injury warrants time off of work.

3) Your Property Damage

Generally speaking, the more damage your vehicle sustains in a car accident, the more likely you are to receive a higher recovery. Although it is possible to sustain a significant injury in a low impact crash, juries tend to think of higher impact collisions as causing more injury. Therefore, it is important to take pictures of the damage to your vehicle. These will play a significant role in determining the value of your claim.

If you have been injured in an a car accident in Missouri, contact the experienced Missouri car crash lawyers at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys.

A question I hear often is “Do I really need a lawyer to handle my claim” or “Can’t I just do it myself?”

Here are some helpful thoughts to consider when deciding whether you need an attorney to handle your claim.

Lets first look at those do-it-yourself home improvements. How have those turned out? Did you get it right the first time? Did everything turn out the way you expected?

If you’re like me, you probably understand what you want to accomplish and even understand the steps you need to take to accomplish that but often times unless you have had the proper training and have actually completed such a task before, you may wind up, like me, having to redo the project or accept a lesser result than hoped for.

You should keep this in mind when you are deciding whether to contact a lawyer to handle your car accident claim. Without the education, training, and experience in handling these claims, you risk a bad result. You will also be going against the insurance company and their attorneys who have the education, training and experience in defending car accident claims, and their primary goal is to minimize and destroy claims.

However, I will be one of the first to advise you that not every case requires an attorney! The following situations are examples in which handling the claim yourself is possible:

Property damage only claims. There is a wealth of information out there to help determine your vehicle’s value, including Kelly Blue Book, current sale prices of similar vehicles, etc. that will provide guidance enabling you to reach an appropriate settlement for your property damage. If your car just needs to be repaired, you can take it to a number of auto body shops who will provide you with an estimate in addition to the insurance adjuster’s estimate. This can be done without a lawyer.

The  auto accident section of our website, KansasCityAccidentInjuryAttorneys.com has a lot of helpful information to guide you, and I encourage you to read it if you wish to handle your property damage claim.

Minor injury with no medical treatment. In situations like this you really don’t need attorney involvement. You should be able to explain the injuries you sustained and if you did not receive medical treatment for those injuries, there won’t be any complicated medical billing and reimbursement issues to address. Again our website site has useful information that can guide you with this type of minor claim.

However, if you have suffered more than a minor injury and have received medical treatment or need to receive treatment, it is in your best interest to contact an attorney. Please read “Do I Really Need a Lawyer (Part II)” for some insight into why it may not be in your best interest to handle your own auto accident claim against the insurance company.