It Is Imperative To Retain the Services of a Lawyer as Soon as Possible In Motorcycle Accidents

Interviewer: At what point should I contact a lawyer?

Stephen Boutros: It sometimes sounds unsavory that someone went out and hired a lawyer right away, but the truth of the matter is that when a serious accident occurs insurance companies have their lawyers working on it immediately right? They send their investigators out to the scene immediately. They have legal people working on the case immediately. So while you’re suffering in the hospital, you have severe injuries, or the immediate after effects of an accident, and insurance company or a trucking company, or whoever is financially responsible for the harm that happened to you is dispatching people to commence legal work.

The truth of the matter is the faster you hire the lawyer the better, so that your lawyer can start doing the same things to prosecute your case that the insurance company or the trucking company are doing to defend the case. The answer to your question is when should hire a lawyer, immediately. As soon as practically possible let’s put it that way.

When You Hire a Lawyer, He or She Deals with All of Your Legal and Medical Issues

Interviewer: What do you say when you meet with a client that’s been hurt in a motorcycle accident? What typically what have you observed about their needs? What are some of the things that they want to know? What are some of things that their immediate concerns are?

Stephen Boutros: The injuries in a motorcycle accident are usually much more severe, and people first and foremost are worried about their health care. Beyond that if they’re missing work, losing wages. They’re worried about how am I going to get my bills paid? How am I going to take care of my family? What am I going to do with all these mounting medical expenses? It’s an incredibly frightening time for a person after a motorcycle accident because their understanding of the weight of what’s coming their way, and they have anxiety about how to deal with it. So you hire a lawyer, and let the lawyer deal with all the legal and medical issues.

Sequence of Events Leading to Litigation

Interviewer: Can an attorney just help me deal with all the stress involved? What’s the level of participation that I’m going to have to be involved with?

Stephen Boutros: I handle securing all the medical care and all the legal issues. My clients participation in a case really begins as far as communicating to us information pertaining to damages, health care providers, their lost wages. Once we get into litigation then they have to answer written discovery. That’s interrogatories that are sent to them, questions that are sent to them that they have to answer under oath in writing, and then of course the deposition. Where the insurance defense lawyers get to interrogate them under oath, which I prepare clients for, and again in a motorcycle case that’s extremely important that  clients are well prepared.

The Intermediate Stage Preceding Trial is That of Mediation

Then the next formal legal proceeding that usually occurs in cases is mediation. Where you go and sit down with an independent mediator, and attempt to negotiate a settlement. After that if that’s unsuccessful then there’s trial preparation. I have to prepare clients on how to conduct themselves in trial, how to handle themselves. What’s appropriate, the procedures and rules for the courtroom. How to handle themselves with the judge, and the jury as well. Again, similar to the deposition preparing them how to accurately and truthfully answer the questions under oath, but in a way that you don’t allow the defense lawyer, insurance defense lawyer to manipulate you or your testimony.