Were you injured in a car accident, and wonder if you need a lawyer? A Champaign personal injury attorney details the work a lawyer needs to do to help your case.
Evidence and Exhibits
The first thing a Champaign personal injury attorney will do in your case is to gather evidence from the scene. This evidence comes in the form of photos of the scene, including vehicular damage and your injuries. This evidence is then secured for exhibits for your case.
Your attorney will then collect from you any relevant data, photos or documents. If your case involves a vehicle, your attorney will also get data from your car’s electronic data recorder. Without damaging metadata, your attorney will then get the following basic information from you:
- Relevant e-mails; and
- Electronic documents
Once this is secure, a Champaign personal injury lawyer will contact the other side in your case. First, an evidence preservation letter will be sent to your opponent’s attorney. Then, your attorney will meet with the adversarial attorney for the following reasons:
- Exchange information; and
- Agree to electronically preserve stored data and exchanges.
Then, your Champaign personal injury attorney needs to sign a non-waiver of privilege agreement. This document is in regards to unintentional production of privileged materials.
Next, your opponent should send an Electronically Stored Evidence, or ESI, preservation demand. Your attorney will respond to it, and then send to you a list of items that your opponent wants to preserve. Five days later, a Champaign personal injury attorney will personally check in with you to monitor compliance.
The ESI is then reviewed, processed, produced, organized and analyzed for the case.
Damages
Regarding damages, your Champaign personal injury lawyer prepares an itemized list of your medical expenses and will obtain the following:
- Your medical records;
- Your hospital records;
- Your bills; and
- A list of any special damages.
If there was any property damage, your attorney will secure any documentation.
If you have lost income, your Champaign personal injury attorney obtains the following:
- The amount of time you have lost; this info can come from you, your boss or your accountant;
- Your pertinent income tax returns;
- Any documentation regarding loss of income;
- Any documentation regarding loss of business or profits; and
- Determine if liens or subrogation interests exist.
Then, your attorney will request for admissions of your damage from the opposition. Your attorney will then figure out what is needed to prove damages at a trial and secure those documents.
Finally, your attorney will subpoena any witnesses needed for the trial.
For more information on what a Champaign personal injury attorney will do for you in your case, contact McCarthy Rowden & Baker at 800-373-6050.