Hiring an Attorney: The Need for Speed
You were just in an accident. You’re injured, have no car and can’t work. You are trying to get medical care, replace your car, and make ends meet. You don’t have time to find an attorney or figure out who to hire. But you need to. And NOW.
Why?
Get Accident Videos.
More and more often there are cameras at stores, gas stations, and even homes that have video of the accident. But many are only kept for a few days. You need to get those videos immediately if possible.
Save the Vehicle Data.
More and more insurance companies want to pay for the totaled car and scrap the vehicle to avoid storage fees. We need to download the Electronic Data Recorder (the “black box”) to get critical accident data before the cars are destroyed. We just had a case where the data proved the other driver was at fault and the police reversed the criminal charges!
See If There Was a Vehicle Defect.
As stated above, you need to get the vehicles immediately. That is particularly true with catastrophic injury or death cases, because there may be a defect in the car.
- Did the airbag deploy (and if so, properly?)
- Did the seatback fail?
- Did the roof crush?
- Was there a tread separation that caused the accident?
- Did the gas tank leak?
You cannot prove a product is defective without the product!
This could be a multi-million-dollar case that is lost if the car is not preserved. We have had cases recently with all of these defects.
Sue the Bar that Overserved the Drunk Driver.
Was the other driver drunk? Is there a case against the bar for overserving him? It happens more than you think.
Time is of the essence in getting bar video, receipts, and talking to other customers at the bar. Gallagher & Kennedy recently obtained a $1,000,000 recovery for a client based on bar tapes.
There are many more examples, but the point is: even with all that is on your plate, you, or a family member, need to act FAST after an accident to make sure you are fully protected. Our Phoenix accident attorneys are ready 24 hours a day, free of charge, to help answer any questions you have.