How an Oklahoma City Broken Bones Lawyer Can Help
Even though you need to be aware of deadlines, you don’t need to hire the first attorney you see in a commercial. Feel free to ask plenty of questions to make sure you find the best Oklahoma City broken bones lawyer for your case.
Initial Consultation
The initial consult is a good chance for a lawyer to evaluate your case, but it’s also a chance to assess if you want to work with this person.
Feel free to ask questions and interview more than one lawyer.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions during your first meeting with a potential injury lawyer. Find out their experience, especially with broken bones injury cases. Ask about how much they charge and how long your case might take. Also, make sure you understand how often they plan to update you. Don’t be afraid to ask about their track record in similar cases. You don’t have to hire the first lawyer you talk to.
Sign a contract and HIPAA agreement.
Once you’ve picked a lawyer, the next step is to sign a contract and a HIPAA agreement. The contract is important because it lists your legal duties and explains what your lawyer will do for you. It also includes details like how much it will cost. At the same time, you will likely sign a HIPAA agreement. HIPAA rules protect your medical information from people who shouldn’t see it. By signing this agreement, your lawyer can now request and get copies of the medical records related to your case.
Your lawyer begins working on your case.
After you hire your Oklahoma City injury lawyer for your broken bones case, they’ll start working on it immediately.
Gathering evidence until you are through treating
Your lawyer will start gathering evidence right away when they start your case. They won’t stop until your treatment is done. This work includes a few steps: keeping proof safe, finding witnesses, collecting medical information, making a timeline, and figuring out how the accident happened.
They will ensure all evidence from your accident is kept safe and untouched. They’ll find and talk to any people who saw the accident to make your case stronger. They’ll collect all your medical papers to show how badly you were hurt. They’ll make a timeline of what happened before and after your accident. Lastly, they may try to recreate the accident to understand precisely how it happened.
Doing all these things makes sure your case is as strong as possible.
Your lawyer will get your medical records liability evidence and send a letter of representation to the defendant’s insurance company.
Your lawyer will do a few essential things as your case moves forward. They’ll collect your medical records and any evidence that shows who’s to blame for your injury. They’ll also send a letter to the insurance company of the person who caused your damage.
Here’s why these steps matter:
- Talking to the insurance company: The letter your lawyer sends is the first step in talking to the insurance company about your case.
- Figuring out who’s at fault: Your lawyer can gather evidence to show who caused your injury.
- Proving your injury is serious: Your medical records show how bad it is and how much it has cost you in medical bills.
- Collecting more evidence: Your lawyer won’t just look at your medical records. They might also look at police reports, what witnesses saw, or footage from security cameras.
Types of Bone Fractures
In your situation, your lawyer needs to know about different types of bone breaks. This knowledge can make a difference in your case. They must determine whether your bone break was simple, compound, or complex. This is important because it affects how your bone heals and how long it takes.
Your lawyer will also look into any problems that might’ve come up because of your injury. This could be an infection or your bone not healing right or in the wrong position. These issues can change how you recover and how much money you might get. They’ll check how to keep your bone from moving, like casts or braces, to ensure you get the proper care.
Understanding all these things helps your lawyer make your case stronger. It makes the tricky legal process a bit easier.
Diagnostic Procedures for Detecting Fractures
Radiographic techniques: X-rays are the most common diagnostic tool for fractures. They provide a clear image of the bone and allow the doctor to see the exact location and severity of the break.
Ultrasound usage: This is a safe, non-invasive method often used to detect fractures in small bones that may not show up on an X-ray. It can also help in assessing soft tissue damage around the fracture site.
CT scans importance: If the fracture is complex or involves multiple bones, a CT scan can provide a 3D image to give a complete view of the damage.
MRI effectiveness: MRI is highly sensitive and can detect even minor fractures that mightn’t be visible in X-rays or CT scans. It’s particularly useful for detecting stress fractures or injuries to ligaments and tendons around the bone.
How Bones Heal and Treatment Options
While your lawyer starts working on your case, you need to know how bones heal and what treatments are available for broken bones.
- How bones heal: Your body naturally makes new bone cells to replace damaged ones.
- How to keep the bone still: Using casts or splints can help keep the broken bone from moving, which allows it to heal.
- Physical therapy is necessary: After your bone has been kept to heal, physical therapy can help you regain strength and movement.
- Eating right helps: Foods high in calcium and vitamin D can help your bone heal faster.
Having a broken bone can be challenging, not just physically but also mentally. If you understand the process, you can recover better and help your lawyer with your case.
Once you are through treatment, your attorney will send a demand letter
Once your treatment is done, your lawyer will create and send a demand letter to you. This letter is a vital part of your injury claim process.
- Why the Demand Letter Matters: A well-crafted demand letter explains your case, your injuries, your medical bills, and how much money you want for your troubles. It sets the stage for your case and can affect the result.
- How to Write it: Your lawyer will use specific tactics to write the demand letter. They’ll include all the needed details in a simple, straight-to-the-point, and convincing way. They’ll also make sure the letter meets legal standards.
- What the Insurance Company Does: The demand letter is sent to the insurance company of the person who hurt you. It makes them look at your case and give a response. This response can lead to talks about a fair amount of money to settle the case.
- What Happens if They Don’t Respond Well: If the insurance company doesn’t respond well or fights your claim, the demand letter can be used as proof in court. It can significantly affect the amount of settlement or court decision.
Negotiations Begin
Now that your lawyer has sent the demand letter, it’s time to start the negotiations. This is when you’ll determine how much your injury claim might be worth and for you to make sure that you and your attorney have the same expectations for the claim.
What a Personal Injury Claim is Worth
Figuring out how much your personal injury claim is worth depends on a few critical things:
- Claim value: This is the total amount of money you’re asking for because of your injury. Your lawyer will help you figure this out. It depends on how bad your injury is and how much it’s changed your life.
- Things that affect compensation include medical bills, money you’ve lost because you can’t work, and how much pain and suffering you’ve gone through. The worse these things are, the more money you might be able to get. DO NOT EXAGGERATE YOUR CLAIM. Insurance defense lawyers are trained to attack a plaintiff’s credibility if any exaggerations are made.
- Insurance policies: The amount of money you can ask for might be limited by the insurance policy of the person who caused your injury.
If negotiations fail, it is time to file a lawsuit.
If the insurance company isn’t willing to be reasonable, the next step is to hold them accountable and file a lawsuit.
Discovery Phase
During the discovery phase of your personal injury lawsuit, you’ll need to collect all vital information. This phase is crucial for planning your case and will involve:
- Legal deadlines: Knowing and sticking to these deadlines is critical. If you miss one, it could mess up your lawsuit.
- Looking at documents: This means you’ll need to review things like medical records and police reports or any other information that might be important.
- Talking to witnesses can help you get more information and proof for your case.
- Meeting with experts: People who are experts in areas related to your case can help make your argument stronger.
- Interrogatories and Depositions.
Mediation or Settlement Conference
The mediation process has many benefits. It’s less formal than a lawsuit, which often is the best chance to get a lawsuit resolved. The mediator plays an important role here. They help both sides find common ground. They guide the discussion, ensure everyone is heard, and help find a solution. Mediation is often chosen over going to trial because it’s more cooperative and gives you more control over the result. It’s an opportunity to voice your views without the stress of being in a courtroom.
If the case doesn’t settle at mediation, the trial date will be quickly approaching.
Trial
- Voir Dire or Picking the Jury: Your lawyer helps choose people to be on the jury. These people need to be able to make a fair decision.
- Opening Statements:
- Plaintiff’s Case in Chief:
- Witnesses such as your friends, family, coworkers, and yourself.
- Expert Opinion or Your Doctor’s Testimony: Sometimes, experts are asked to share their thoughts about the case. Their opinions can impact what happens in the end.
- Defense’s Case
- Expect a doctor hired by liability insurance companies to testify that you’re not that hurt.
- Testimony from the defendant.
- Closing Arguments
- Jury Deliberations
- Verdict
Let’s get started on your case.
Even if you’re feeling stressed by your broken bone injury, we must start working on your case now. The first thing we’ve to do is check out your claim. We’ll look at how your accident happened, how badly you’re hurt, and how this injury has changed your life. Starting your case quickly helps us keep evidence safe, talk to experts, and do other things to strengthen your case. So, let’s start working on this. We’ll work together to handle the legal stuff and try to get you the money you deserve for your injury. Contact our Oklahoma City broken bones lawyer today to schedule your free consultation.