Hiring the Wrong Injury Lawyer Can Ruin Your Case Forever!

Hiring the wrong injury lawyer can ruin your case forever! This is a harsh statement but, one that I find to be true time and time again as a California personal injury attorney. The State of California has one of the highest number of attorneys of any state. It is estimated that, especially in high populated urban areas like Los Angeles, there can be as many as one lawyer for every 150 people! Many of these attorneys claim to “do” personal injury cases or “handle” accident claims but, hiring the wrong one can mean complete and permanent disaster for your claim. Why do I say this?

You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure.
- Gordon B. Hinckley

I am reminded of the biblical parable here about building a house upon the sand versus upon the rock. When the rains come, the house built upon the sand crumbles and falls and the one built upon the rock stands firm.

Building a personal injury case that will stand the winds and storms of insurance companies who want to pay little, or nothing on each and every claim no matter how legally liable their insured is or how legitimate the injury may be requires the same type of solid foundation. This begins with proper advise from an experienced California personal injury law firm with a track record of success, the knowledge on how to build a great case, and the willingness and fortitude to construct the claim solidly all the way through trial, if necessary.

Too many lawyers who claim to “do personal injury”, do not have the knowledge, will or resources to lay this type of foundation. What do I mean? If any of this sounds familiar, you’ve probably hired one of these types of law firms:

• The lines of communication are limited between the injured party and the attorney. Sometimes the client never speaks with an actual lawyer but, just a staff person.
• The firm seems to have hundreds or even thousands of clients and you seem to be a “number” rather than a client in need of full and complete legal representation. This leads to a lack of any empathy for your particular situation and a lack of attention to your legal claim.
• The client is referred to medical providers who lack proper credentials such as chiropractors, massage therapists or other persons not qualified to fully diagnose or treat serious injury such as fractures, disc herniation, nerve damage or other serious medical conditions.
• The client is advised to take a “low-ball” prelitigation offer because, “this is the best it’s going to get”! Sometimes this is true, many more times, however, this offer is not even close to “top value”!
• The law firm doesn’t bother to conduct extensive investigation or hire experts to examine the accident scene or provide other types of analysis. This may mean crucial evidence that can prove liability and the extent of injury is lost FOREVER!
• If a lawsuit is filed, the proper litigation work up is not done such as taking depositions of the defendant or lay witnesses, designating the proper experts for deposition or trial testimony, or requesting the right documentation and information from the other side and compelling them to produce it if they refuse. This can leave serious gaps in evidence that may make putting on a proper trial impossible.

These and more are all indications that the personal injury law firm that you hired is building a weak foundation! When the storms come in the form of aggressive defense tactics on the part of the insurance company with billions of dollars in resources to fight your claim and a desire to see your “house crumble”, the case will fall and you will be stuck with taking whatever settlement offer is being given rather than what your claim is truly worth!

Steven M. Sweat, APC has real lawyers with real world experience in obtaining spectacular results on personal injury claims for Californians. Why? Because we build a firm foundation on each and every case we take. The lines of communication are always open between lawyer and client so that we know exactly what your physical complaints and medical conditions are and exactly what the incident has done to disrupt your life so that we can place a value on your claim that is based upon real evidence. Our firm has established relationships with quality medical doctors and facilities qualified to diagnose and treat any type of serious bodily harm caused by trauma from an auto accident, slip and fall, assault, or other calamity. We have retained investigators and experts at our disposal who can gather and analyze evidence necessary to prove legal fault. We never advise our clients to take a pre-lawsuit offer if we feel that it is not reasonable. While most lawsuits filed end in a settlement at some stage, we treat every case we litigate as if it will go to trial and we try cases if we feel that this is in the best interest of our client.

In an ideal world, all personal injury and accident victims in California would hire competent and zealous legal advocates like Steven M. Sweat, APC at the start of their case. This is really the best way to maximize the value of the claim and If you feel like you have hired the type of law firm that is not fully committed to your case, California law provides that you can switch lawyers (more information in my blog post here). However, the sooner you do so, the better! The longer you stay building a poor foundation, the harder it becomes to “re-build” the case! Oftentimes, we see cases that are beyond “repair” and there is nothing that can be done. Blown deadlines and lack of proper work up can forever ruin your claim! Don’t let this happen to you! For free advice directly from an attorney on any personal injury claim in California, call our toll free hotline: 866-966-5240