SERIOUS INJURY AND WRONGFUL DEATH CASES
By Gary Bryce Holder
Serious injury and wrongful death cases require immediate attention. When the stakes are high, you can be sure that the defendants and their insurance companies will be working fast and hard to find any way to avoid or limit their liability. Thus, it is very important that you contact an attorney as soon as possible after the injury or wrongful death in order to protect your rights, gather evidence and preserve the evidence.
Gathering and preserving the evidence immediately in a serious injury or wrongful death case is critical to obtaining a fair settlement or verdict. A defendant is much more likely to contest their liability and/or damages in a serious injury and/or wrongful death case, than in a smaller case. Thus, every piece of evidence should be carefully gathered in order to curtail any arguments that the defendants may later make in an attempt to avoid liability. This evidence must also be preserved in a way that it becomes admissible in any future trial.
Obviously, the type of evidence to be gathered and preserved differs depending on the particular case and the theory of liability to be pursued. Some of this evidence may deteriorate soon after the injury or death. In order to preserve this evidence in a form that will later be admissible, an expert may need to be retained to look at this evidence immediately. Other evidence may only be admissible if it is preserved in accordance with certain rules of court.
Consulting with an attorney immediately after a serious injury or wrongful death case will allow the attorney a better opportunity to obtain and preserve the necessary evidence to build your case and give you a better chance of obtaining a fair settlement or verdict.
HOME
NEXT
