Why Hire a Lawyer in DC Wrongful Death Cases?
It’s really important to get an attorney involved early in the case no matter whether it’s wrongful death or some other type of personal injury action in order to do the investigation and to look for those issues immediately that are going to be important to the outcome of the case such as preserve evidence and obtain witness statements. Many times for example in an auto case, perhaps accident reconstruction is not done by the police. If they have some witness statements and they can come to a conclusion themselves, they don’t bring in their trained accident reconstructionists, and that can be problematic down the road if there are conflicting accounts of what occurred or if there isn’t physical evidence on the scene that leads to a clear conclusion. The same thing is true for a medical malpractice case. For example, medical issues aren’t always straightforward, particularly on the issue of causation. Just because there was a bad outcome doesn’t mean there ultimately was negligence. So the earlier it can be investigated, the earlier the actions of the party who is being accused of the negligence can be looked at again. So for all of these reasons, and because there is no obligation financially to the hiring party, there is absolutely no reason not to get an attorney involved as early as possible.
Why do Clients Choose to Work with You in Wrongful Death Cases?
Likely because of my years of experience and my results. Obviously, in any attorney-client relationship, you have to have a good working relationship with the client and that has to be established early on. I personally evaluate my cases and let people know the good, the bad, and the ugly right up front in terms of what to expect. I don’t want clients getting involved thinking, “this is straightforward and simple, and it’s not going to take very long, and things are going to be wrapped up very succinctly and easily.” Unfortunately, the legal process is not always efficient and tidy. In this day and age, insurance companies demand proof of everything in order to get something resolved, and that’s why, once again, the earlier the better to get an attorney involved. It’s also extremely important to get attorneys involved because the at-fault parties have their insurance company lawyers, who are involved from the get-go protecting their interests. Any party that is a survivor of wrongful death of a loved one needs to have the same experienced representation on their side because, under the law, it’s their obligation and their responsibility to prove the case. The defense doesn’t have to do anything except sit back and poke holes in the claim. But we as plaintiffs’ lawyers have to, on behalf of the client, prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence. So for all those reasons, it’s very important to get an attorney involved who is experienced in handling these types of cases, who is experienced in dealing with insurance companies, and who has a track record of trying these cases, which lets the insurance companies know that any case that the attorney is handling will be prepared to go to trial. However, if matters can be settled or taken to mediation, that that can be done as well.