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Most people wouldn’t let a proctologist handle their brain surgery. Instead, they would probably want a brain surgeon with lots of experience doing … well … doing their brain surgery. So why do people who have been injured in an accident let a lawyer handle their injury case whose practice and experience doesn’t focus on personal injury?
At Gautreaux Law we talk with people all the time who were injured in an accident and are unsatisfied after hiring an attorney that did a little of everything – tax law, business law, environmental law, and on and on, and, oh yeah, they also happen to handle personal injury cases. Our Firm is dedicated and focused on handling personal injury cases only, which is evident with our experience and results.
It seems like some people might have the misconception that personal injury cases are so simple that any lawyer could do them, even if the lawyer has never handled an injury case, never tried a personal injury case to a jury, or even if they only “dabble” in personal injury cases. It’s sort of like a medical professional saying “sure, we specialize in heart surgeries, but we went to medical school so we can handle your brain surgery as well. ”
This notion is not only wrong, but it can be sort of dangerous. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve been called by clients and lawyers about law firms that did not have much experience with injury cases but were trying to “handle” a personal injury case only to find themselves in serious difficulties that prompted them to call me to help.
Difficulties to Consider in Injury Cases
Personal injury cases can present a huge variety of difficulties that a less experienced injury lawyer may overlook or get wrong.
TIME LIMITS: What time limits apply? An experienced personal injury lawyer who is paying attention will know that we have to be alert to not just the Statute of Limitations, but also many other deadlines such as ante litem notice deadlines (for governmental entities), insurance notice deadlines, and statutes of repose. And these don’t even start to address the deadlines that can come up in litigation in federal or state court.
INSURANCE COVERAGE: Beyond the issue of deadlines there are many other difficulties that can arise, such as the issue of insurance coverage. Has the lawyer investigated and developed a plan for evaluating the insurance coverages – liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, umbrella coverage, health insurance coverage, and Medicare and Medicaid.
PARTIES INVOLVED: And what about the very important issue of identifying the parties who may be responsible. Even in an apparently simple car wreck, the lawyer needs to find out who might be responsible – the driver, the owner(s) of the vehicle, maybe someone who was serving alcohol to an impaired driver, an employer of the driver, maybe the vehicle manufacturer if there is a defect with the car that contributed to the injury (such as poorly designed seatbelts, as one example), and what about the road design or maintainer, such as a county or State Department of Transportation.
Real-Life Example of Why Experience Pays
I’ll never forget the family that came to talk with me because an insurance company wasn’t paying hospital bills for their child who was badly injured in a wreck. They really had not even considered any other legal avenues but asked me about them. Based on my experience, I thought it warranted further review. After a long investigation, we found that there was a valid product defect claim against the vehicle manufacturer. While we were not able to undo the tragedy and heartbreak this family had endured, we were able to pursue a claim successfully. The company was forced to pay money and take responsibility for their faulty product that injured this family’s child.
Personal Injury Lawyer, Macon, GA
Personal injury cases can be extraordinarily complicated and difficult both before trial and of course during trial. At Gautreaux Law, personal injury is all we do. For over two decades we have been helping people injured due to someone else’s negligent actions. Our Firm doesn’t try to settle for a quick dollar. We thoroughly investigate all possible avenues that could lead to recovering top dollar for our clients.
If you’ve been injured call Jarome Gautreaux, an experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Macon, GA, at 478-238-9758 or 888-876-6935 (toll-free). It costs you nothing to talk to him to see what your case is worth.