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• OHIO TO JOIN 38 OTHER STATES THAT BAN TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
• APPLYING THE COMMON FUND DOCTRINE TO REDUCE MEDPAY LIENS HELD BY INSURERS
• INSURANCE BAD FAITH CLAIMS IN OHIO
• OHIO WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS REQUIRE SWIFT ACTION

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• The Importance of Witnesses in an Ohio Personal Injury Case

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What To Look For in Choosing an Ohio Personal Injury Attorney

Choosing an Ohio personal injury lawyer can be a stressful decision. Choosing a lawyer to represent you in order to protect your legal rights and of those you love is important and over time you will find that having the right lawyer on your side fighting for you against the insurance companies will pay off. While no one can guarantee results, over the years I have found that clients who follow the advice summarized in this article do better and are happier on average than those who do not.

First, what is a personal injury case? Lawyers say that they do personal injury cases or car/motorcycle accident cases, or wrongful death cases and not everyone understands exactly what this means. Some people who know me as a personal injury lawyer will come up to me and ask me if I am an automobile accident attorney or car accident attorney. A personal injury automobile accident, or wrongful death case, is any type of claim where a person has been injured or killed due to someone else's negligence. If you were involved in an accident and only suffered damage to your car, or property damage, then you do not have a personal injury claim (but you may have a property damage case). In property damage cases, usually either your insurance company or the other insurance company will take care of the property damage claim. Its only when someone's negligence causes injury to another person or death that a personal injury claim arises. When this occurs, the law of each state or jurisdiction differs significantly as to what can be recovered. In such a case, you need an attorney who understands the specialized laws of your jurisdiction.

We here at Chester Law Group use the team approach in handling personal injury cases. This means that several lawyers and paralegals work on any given case throughout its time with us. Each team member works to help injury victims get well, get back to their life, and get the most money possible for their claim.

A non-fatality personal injury case can be broken down into 4 distinct phases:

1. Treatment Phase
2. Record Gathering Phase
3. Settlement Phase
4. Litigation Phase (if necessary)

Each of these four phases of a personal injury claim are discussed in more detail in other articles at www.chesterlaw.com. Here at Chester Law Group, as a case progresses through the stages of the personal injury process, specially trained paralegals as well as myself and other lawyers work with the client to accomplish each of the four phases of a claim. It is beneficial to have many different well trained eyes looking at a case under the direction of an experienced personal injury lawyer. By having specifically trained paralegals help the lawyers handle each part of a claim, their expertise can be used to a client's advantage. For example, don't you want a nurse paralegal working on your medical records gathering? Their medical expertise comes in handy making sure that every single injury is properly documented, nothing is missed or overlooked, and you receive money for each one. When a settlement is being negotiated, don't you want a lawyer and paralegal combination who spends all day negotiating settlements and are very familiar with the insurance company, individual adjuster, etc.? It is kind of like asking yourself if you want a general surgeon who does all types of surgery or an expert brain surgeon who does nothing but brain surgeries to perform your brain surgery. You want someone who has done exactly what you need at that time so often that it is an old hat for them. After handling thousands of successful cases, it is this experience that leads to the best results. The rave reviews I receive from my clients on a regular basis would seem to confirm this. See the testimonial section of my website at www.chesterlaw.com.

Finally, people need to understand that the personal process takes time. There is a saying in the personal injury field; you can get paid quickly or fairly, but not both. The process is more like a marathon than a sprint. From getting medical records from your doctors required by auto insurance companies before they pay your bills with medpay, to collecting all your records to submit with a demand package, to getting an offer from the insurance company, to litigating a case when the offer is not fair. We cannot control these things to a large degree, and the only other alternative is to file suit and take years in court to resolve your claim. One should be wary of anyone who promises a quick settlement.

In his new consumer handbook, The Insider's Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims, author and Ohio personal injury lawyer David M. Chester gives consumers a rare look at the injury claim process in Ohio. From his position as an experienced "insider,” Attorney Chester explains in simple, easy to understand language, what consumers must know to protect themselves while walking in the mine field of dealing with insurance companies.

Contact us today for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION consultation about your personal injury legal needs.

Videos

General:

• What Does a Personal Injury Attorney Do For You?
• Do You Really Need a Lawyer? - Ohio Personal Injury Attorney Answers
• Ohio Personal Injury Attorney Discusses How a Lawyer Protects You
• Legal Fees Explained by Ohio Personal Injury Attorney
• Can You File a Personal Injury Claim if You Caused the Accident? Ohio Attorney Says No

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