How Long Should I Wait Before Contacting an Attorney?

An accident of any kind, whether it involves a motor vehicle, or a slip-and-fall at the workplace can impact your life in ways you never expected, especially if you suffered serious injuries. And after this type of event occurs, the question often arises:

How long should you wait before you contact a legal advisor?

Most personal injury lawyers would answer with one word: immediately.

And that’s true, but what’s more important is for you to understand why contacting an attorney as quickly as possible can positively affect your legal claim.

If you contact an attorney right after your accident, you don’t have to worry about speaking to the people representing the other side’s interest.

For example, the other side’s insurance adjuster and investigator often try to interview you in the immediate aftermath of an accident. Be aware that this is the time when you’re most vulnerable and likely to say something that they can use against you during proceedings about your legal claim.

If you call an attorney and hire them, that firm will do all the talking for you. Experienced legal advisors know exactly what to say, and more importantly, what not to say to protect your rights in a legal claim.

Waiting too long to contact an attorney can also have a negative impact on evidence gathering. In many accidents or personal injury events, the side that is at fault will do everything it can to make sure that any evidence that could damage its defense is either not made available, or in some instances, destroyed.

But if you contact a lawyer immediately, the firm can send out its investigator to the scene and ensure that all evidence pertinent to the case is preserved for future analysis.

After an accident, you shouldn’t make the mistake of relying on a police report for all the details that led to the event.

Police reports often miss critical information that can help bolster your claim, including detailed interviews with eyewitnesses.

If you contact an attorney, the firm will send an experienced representative to speak with all the witnesses involved in the accident. That person can also take photos and videos of the accident scene, which can be very helpful for accident reconstruction.

An accident has a way of compromising your reason and decision-making. That’s why you should never do or say anything after an accident until you’ve spoken to an attorney.

Remember that the actions you take in the aftermath of an accident can damage your future claim.

Your attorney’s mind will not be clouded with emotion, and the thing you need most after an accident is clear-eyed judgment and reasoning.

At Fitch & Stahle, we encourage you to contact us immediately after an accident at (402) 494-3012 so that we can get to work building your case and protecting your rights.