A catastrophic injury case in DC will begin when the injured party retains a qualified and trained personal injury attorney to assist them in processing their claim. Once the injured individual has retained an attorney, the attorney will take over the handling of the claim, as well as all communications related thereto.
The initial consultation is an opportunity for the injured person or their family members to meet with an experienced catastrophic injury attorney in order to discuss the claim and to get a better understanding as to what services the attorney will be able to offer to the injured party.
An initial consultation in a catastrophic injury case in DC is mostly a fact-finding matter, whereby an experienced DC attorney will attempt to obtain as much information as possible regarding how the incident occurred, the parties involved, the nature and extent of the injuries and any other extenuating circumstances that gave rise to the incident.
The attorney will advise their potential client regarding their available options, based on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. Generally speaking, the case will remain with the attorney until they have a clear understanding as to the nature and extent of the injury sustained by the injured person.
Such an understanding is reached either through achieving maximum medical improvement through treatment or consulting with the treating physician as to the likely prognosis and diagnosis for the injured person. At that point, the claim process will move forward when the injured person asserts a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance carrier, in order to determine if the claim can be resolved voluntarily. If such resolution is not possible, the next step would be to initiate a lawsuit.
While the initial consultation is generally the first thorough review of the potential claim, it is not necessarily the injured person’s first meeting with the attorney, as prior communication generally takes place by telephone or email, or in person. Still, the initial consultation provides the injured person with an opportunity to meet with the attorney and to get an idea of their personality. This allows the injured person to understand and establish a working relationship with the attorney moving forward.
The most useful aspect of the initial consultation is that it allows the injured person to get a better understanding as to the services the attorney will be able to offer, as well as the likely manner in which the claim will move forward based on the known facts of the claim.
If the catastrophically injured person has any documents in their possession regarding the incident or any of the parties involved, they should bring those documents to the initial consultation. If the injured person retains the services of the attorney, that attorney will then file all relevant documents that the injured person provides, or which are generated by the attorney, and use them to process the claim moving forward.
The manner in which an investigation is conducted will depend on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. If there are claim-related legal issues that require the attorney’s attention, then they will certainly address those issues or employ the services of an investigator to collect pertinent information to those issues.
The attorney will then thoroughly review all collected information, research its implications, and explain to the injured person how that information may affect their claim.
