1. Don’t Wait. Too many claims for compensation for injury are lost because injured people don’t know their rights and the Statute of Limitations passes. In Utah, the statute of limitations for many injury cases is 4 years from the date of the personal accident and injury. However, medical malpractice cases are 2 years and some are only one year. It’s better to be on the safe side and make sure you don’t lose your rights for compensation for injury. The Advocates have personal injury attorneys available 24/7. You can call or drop by during business hours (9AM – 5PM) and talk directly to an injury accident attorney. If you call after hours or on the weekend, your call will be forwarded directly to an injury accident attorney by cell phone, and consultations concerning compensation for injury are always free, no strings attached. You can also chat online with an injury accident attorney at The Advocates at any time about your case for free. Don’t wait; contact us now in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Provo.

2. Get Pictures. Make sure you document your personal accident and injury by taking photos at each stage of recovery. In addition, get photos of damage to your car or photos of the place you were injured as soon as possible. Don’t let your car be repaired or a cast taken off until you have visual documentation. Having the photographic evidence of a dangerous tripping condition, a badly wrecked car or your medical condition after your personal accident and injury can make all the difference in getting fair compensation for your accident or injury.

3. Get Medical Treatment. If your injuries are severe enough to need medical treatment, make sure you get it and follow through with your doctor’s recommendations. Insurance companies capitalize on instances where injured people wait before getting treatment or don’t go back to the doctor until much later. Gaps in medical treatment can harm your case because the insurance company can argue that your injuries were caused by other events unrelated to your accident, and can deny responsibility for damages.

4. Get Witnesses. Get the names, phone numbers and even email addresses of any witnesses to your accident or injury. Not only are they necessary further down the road if your case goes to trial, but talking to witnesses shortly after the accident will help them have a better recollection of what happened. This is especially important if a police officer or EMT could be a witness. They see many accidents, and you want them to remember you and the circumstances of your accident.

5. Get Bills & Wages Paid Now. Personal injury cases can take months or years to resolve, but you don’t have to wait to get your bills paid from your car accident. In Utah, every car insurance policy is required to have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. Your own insurance pays for your medical bills and some of your lost wages (usually up to $3,000). PIP usually pays immediately, hassle-free, so you don’t have to have collectors hounding you until your case is resolved. If you have bills from your car accident, let The Advocates help you get them taken care of right now.

6. Be Reasonable. You may have heard a personal injury attorney claiming he or she can get you big money for your personal injury, and they may be right. But as the old saying goes “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The same goes for personal injury claims. If you were in a car accident, and you weren’t badly injured, you won’t be getting a six-figure settlement. By the same token, if a car accident was your fault or if you tripped and fell over your own feet, you probably don’t have a good case. But if you’ve been injured in the last 4 years due to someone else’s fault, we can probably help you. In the last 18 years, the personal injury attorneys at The Advocates have recovered over one hundred million dollars for our clients. We won’t promise you a big check if you don’t have a good case, but we will promise to do our best to get you fairly compensated for your injuries, pain, and suffering; and to make sure your future expenses are taken care of.

“The staff was very quick to assist us, seemed very knowledgeable, and they made sure I understood what was going on and my options…they were very confident in talking with me and very direct and down to earth. I felt like I was talking with someone I had known awhile, not just met.” – Robert R., Taylorsville, UT