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The main reason for hiring a personal injury lawyer is to negotiate the best settlement with
the minimum amount of hassle on your part. To negotiate effectively, you need to know about:
personal injury law Your legal rights are determined by provincial, federal, and even municipal laws, and by court decisions in cases similar to yours. Your lawyer will know which laws are applicable to your case, and what compensation you are legally entitled to. Top of Page court procedures To assert your legal rights, you need to start a lawsuit, and then follow many procedural rules. Your lawyer will guide you through pre-trial examinations for you and other witnesses, prepare documents, co-ordinate expert reports, review evidence, prepare court applications... all while negotiating with ICBC to settle your case. Top of Page limitation dates This is one of the most important reasons to see a lawyer as soon as possible. There are strict time limits to do certain things, such as filing your lawsuit, notifying a municipality that you will be making a claim against them, and so on. These are extremely important, because if you miss those deadlines, you may lose all your rights to sue... and may not get anything at all! Top of Page evidence Your lawyer will advise you about:
going to court Hiring a lawyer means you are serious about enforcing your rights. If you do not get a satisfactory settlement, then you will "see them in court"! If ICBC knows you will never go to court to enforce your rights, it will not have as much incentive to offer what you may otherwise be entitled to. Top of Page contingency fees You don't pay anything unless the you win your case. The lawyer does all the research, negotiation, evidence gathering, court preparation, and trial. And this doesn't cost you any money. In some cases, the lawyers will even pay for medical reports and other expenses prior to your case settling. Top of Page negotiating strategies ICBC has access to hundreds of lawyers, armies of expert witnesses, and information which they usually won't share with you. A good personal injury lawyer will even out the balance of power in the negotiations, by knowing the law, procedures, and information, and can usually get a much better settlement than you would on your own. |
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Legal disclaimer: The information provided on Lawyers-BC.Com is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues commonly encountered. Your access to and use of this Web site is subject to additional terms and conditions. This page last updated: August 31, 1999-August 31, 2006 © copyright 1999 Lawyers-BC.Com Services Ltd. |