How Long Should You Wait After an Accident Before Calling an Attorney?

Every effective personal injury lawyer knows that when you’ve been hurt in an accident, taking care of your health should be your top priority. You need to get a complete medical exam regardless of whether the EMTs on the scene decided you should be put in an ambulance. You need to follow the doctor’s orders for treatment and limiting activities. Your health is fragile and precious, and it is essential to do all you can to protect it.

But injury attorneys also know that the critical time when an accident victim is focused on recovering health is also the time when it is necessary to protect the legal right to financial recovery. The timelines overlap. Steps taken in the moments and days after an accident are often the most crucial in determining whether an accident victim will be able to receive compensation for the harm they have suffered and will continue to suffer in the future.

A dedicated injury lawyer can start working right away to build your strongest case for financial recovery. So, how long should you wait after an accident before contacting an attorney? You shouldn’t wait at all. Here, we explain a few reasons why.

Regardless of the Type of Accident, You Have Limited Time to Protect Your Legal Rights

Whether you were injured in a car crash, fall, truck accident, animal attack, or any other type of accident, there will be forces at work right away trying to prevent you from gaining compensation for your losses. Most injury claims are handled by insurance companies, and they have staff members who devote their careers to denying accident victims recovery. They use a wide variety of tactics, and they often catch victims by surprise. The sooner you start working with a knowledgeable attorney, the more protection you receive.

If you were hurt in an accident at work, you will probably need to seek recovery through a workers’ compensation claim. If injuries occurred in other situations, then your recovery would most likely be based on a personal injury claim. Seeking compensation through these different processes requires you to follow different steps, but in either type of case, you need to follow specific procedures to obtain full recovery, and a personal injury attorney can guide you through that process in either type of situation.   

The Statute of Limitations is a Misleading Deadline

People who understand the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim often feel a false sense of security after an accident. The statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a claim for compensation in court. These deadlines vary by type of legal claim. 

If you want to sue someone for failing to live up to their obligation in a contract, California law gives you four years to do it. However, if you were injured in an accident or a loved one was killed due to someone’s negligence, then your deadline to file a claim is two years. If you are bringing a claim against a government entity, such as if you were hit by a city bus when crossing the street, then you may need to file documentation within a few months to secure your right to seek compensation through a lawsuit.

But if you wait until the statutory deadline to start working on your legal claim, you’re going to have a very difficult time recovering. The lawyers working against you will start their legal efforts right away, and you need to do the same. In a personal injury claim, you need evidence to show that someone’s irresponsible conduct caused your injuries. That evidence should be secured right after the accident because it is harder to locate and less useful the longer you wait. It is hard to start taking photos and measurements of the accident scene and contacting the owners of security cameras while you’re severely injured, but an experienced attorney can take care of these tasks for you.

In a workers’ compensation case, you need to take steps to secure your rights soon after the injury, or you lose your ability to obtain workers’ comp benefits. While it is vital to follow regulatory deadlines, insurers can have an even harder time justifying denials if you act well before those deadlines.

Early Advice and Representation Can Prevent Costly Mistakes

Investigators and other insurance company representatives often begin working on cases right away, particularly when injuries are severe, and damages have the potential to be quite high. They will try a variety of approaches to limit the amount their company will have to pay out after an accident. 

They frequently contact accident victims, acting as if they are caring and sympathetic. In reality, they are gathering evidence they can use to deny responsibility. If they ask how you’re doing and you reply with the automatic polite response, “I’m fine,” then they will use that to argue that you’re not actually suffering due to your injuries. Or they will ask questions hoping to get statements they can use to “prove” that you are admitting responsibility for causing the accident.

If you have an attorney representing you soon after the accident, instead of talking to the insurance companies yourself, you can let your attorney do it for you. Then you do not need to worry about saying the wrong thing. In fact, you don’t even have to worry about answering the phone. You can focus on your own recovery.

Contact the Law Offices of Benjamin Arsenian Today

A personal injury lawyer cannot help after every single accident. But at the Law Offices of Benjamin Arsenian, we offer free consultations so that you can speak with us and get an evaluation of your case without worry. If we are unable to assist with your situation, we may be able to refer you to resources that can aid your recovery. So there’s no reason to wait. To schedule your free consultation, just call us at 714-400-2000 or contact us online now.