If you’ve been injured in a car accident caused by the negligence of another, then you’ve probably got a lot on your plate right now. As you struggle to find a way to cope with the physical, emotional, and financial losses that you’re facing, you might be wondering what you can do to find accountability and recover the compensation that you need and deserve.
While pursuing a personal injury lawsuit is probably your best option, you can’t walk blindly into your case and expect to obtain a favorable outcome. That’s why you need to diligently prepare your case to maximize your chances of success. How do you do that? Here are a few starting points for building a strong personal injury claim:
- Talk to witnesses: Many personal injury lawsuits end up with the plaintiff and the defendant providing conflicting stories. That’s why third-party witnesses are so crucial. Their testimony can tip the scale one way or the other, which is why you need to know what those witnesses are going to say and how to utilize their testimony to your advantage. With that in mind, you should speak with these witnesses early on and take notes about what they saw. Make sure you obtain their contact information, too, since you might need to get ahold of them for litigation purposes.
- Obtain documentation: To succeed on your personal injury claim, you’re going to have to prove liability and damages. Documentary evidence may be able to help you demonstrate both. Police and medical records, for example, can help you assign fault and illustrate the full extent of your damages.
- Consider expert witnesses: If your accident was complicated, then you may need expert testimony to help you show how the accident was caused and who is to blame. An accident reconstruction expert may be able to help you here. You might also want a medical expert on your side if you need assistance showing your anticipated damages moving forward, including expected medical expenses and rehabilitation costs.
- Assess comparative negligence: In Mississippi, your recovery in a personal injury lawsuit will be reduced by the portion of fault that is allocated to you. This is known as comparative negligence. Therefore, as you prepare your claim you need to carefully analyze whether any of your actions can be construed as having contributed to the accident and, if so, how best to defend against those arguments or minimize them. In other words, you have to be prepared to play a little bit of defense if you hope to maximize your chances of obtaining a full recovery.
- Educate yourself on the law: Basic negligence law may seem pretty straightforward once you read up on it, but this area of the law is fraught with nuances and evidentiary issues that can play a key role in your case. That’s why it’s important to have a firm understanding of the applicable statutes, the rules of evidence, and the trial rules. Even knowing relevant case law can assist you in building persuasive legal arguments that better position your claim for success.
Build the holistic personal injury claim that you need and deserve
There’s a lot on the line in your personal injury case. If you lose, you could be left without the resources that you need to secure financial stability and needed medical treatment. If you win, on the other hand, you can hopefully turn your focus toward recovering some sort of normality and stability while moving past this chapter of your life. To get there, though, you need to build a robust and thorough case. If you think that you could benefit from some assistance in that regard, then we encourage you to research your representation options and make a decision for moving forward that is right for you.
