Do You Need a Legal Investigator for Your Personal Injury Case?
If you’ve been injured through someone else’s negligence or misconduct, filing a personal injury lawsuit is the first step to getting the compensation you deserve. But filing a claim doesn’t guarantee that you’ll win. To help do that, your attorney will need to examine the details of your injury and build a strong case.
No matter how skilled your personal injury attorneys are, it helps if they have some backup. That’s why the most reliable law firms employ a full staff to support their attorneys–including legal investigators.
But what exactly are legal investigators, and do you need them for your personal injury case? Here’s what you need to know.
What Is a Legal Investigator?
Legal investigators operate similarly to a detective, gathering information and analyzing evidence related to a legal case. They then give attorneys, paralegals, and other staff members the data they need to create a compelling case on behalf of the client.
And while legal investigators aren’t attorneys themselves, their job requires them to understand the rules surrounding what evidence can be used in court and how it must be gathered. Otherwise, anything they learn might be inadmissible in court, making it useless to the attorney and client.
Some investigators work as freelancers and are hired on a case-by-case basis. But investigators who consistently work with a single firm almost always provide better results. After all, when there’s an established relationship between the attorney and investigator, you can expect a more efficient, effective investigation. SiebenCarey has always had at least two full time investigators on staff to track down evidence in their cases and provide expert advice.
How Do Investigators Help in a Personal Injury Case?
Legal investigators help personal injury firms more than almost any other area of law. Proving responsibility in an injury claim can be difficult, and attorneys need all the clarity they can get. An experienced legal investigator will make all the difference.
The investigator will collect and examine all relevant evidence, such as:
Police reports
Witness statements
Photos of the scene where the injury happened
Surveillance camera footage
They may also go to the area where the victim was injured to inspect it themselves. If necessary, they’ll track down eyewitnesses and interview them to get an even better idea of exactly what happened. And they’ll do their work as soon as possible after the accident and before memories start to fade as all of this could be crucial to winning fair compensation for your personal injury claim.
In short, legal investigators establish a comprehensive picture of exactly what caused an accident. Your attorney can then use this information to value your claim, strengthen your case, and fight for the compensation you’re entitled to .
Do You Need a Legal Investigator for Your Personal Injury Case?
You might still be wondering whether investigators are really all that important to a personal injury lawsuit. After all, is there any reason your attorney can’t investigate themselves?
First off, while the legal expertise of a lawyer is essential to managing a personal injury case, the unique perspective of an investigator can provide priceless insights that your attorney might have otherwise overlooked.
By letting someone else handle the investigation process, your attorney will be able to focus on what they do best—creating a clear path to victory through a settlement or trial .
At SiebenCarey, we’ve seen firsthand how indispensable investigators are to a successful personal injury case. Here are just a couple of examples:
1. The Dump Truck Disaster
Once, a dump truck drove under a cement overpass with its box raised. The box hit the overpass, causing the truck to swerve across the median and collide with several other vehicles. The driver denied responsibility by claiming that a mechanical failure had pushed the box up just as he went under the overpass.
However, one of our on-staff investigators learned about an eyewitness to the crash that the police had never contacted. The witness was on vacation in Switzerland at the time, but that didn’t stop our intrepid investigator. He found the witness, who testified that the truck had been driving with its box up for miles before striking the overpass.
This testimony was all it took for the truck owner to agree to settle out of court before going to trial. The client was thrilled—and it was all thanks to our investigators.
2. The Mysterious Witness
For another case, we were working with a client who had been involved in a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence. The defendant was telling a very different story from our client, and unfortunately, we had no witnesses to support our side. At least, not yet.
One of our investigators discovered that an anonymous man had been standing at a nearby bus stop during the accident. So, the investigator went to that bus stop at the same time every day and interviewed the people waiting for the bus. Eventually, the mystery witness showed up and gave our investigator the testimony we needed to win the case.
Once again, without the help of our team of investigators, we would have had a hard time proving our client’s story. Needless to say, the client couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.
And that’s just a glimpse at the many times our investigators have been the deciding factor in winning a case for a client.
Give Yourself the Best Possible Shot at a Successful Lawsuit
The specialized expertise that a talented investigator brings to the table is essential to building a strong personal injury case. Hiring a personal injury firm with a team of investigators could greatly increase your chances of getting the maximum compensation available .
And while many attorneys contract with independent legal investigators, SiebenCarey is one of the few law firms to employ a team of full-time, on-staff investigators. Our team has decades of experience investigating every type of personal injury case , including:
Auto accidents
Premises liability
Workplace accidents
Medical malpractice
Assault
Product liability
Animal attacks
Wrongful death
…and more.
If you’ve been injured, we’d love to help. Just let us know what happened, and we’ll explain your rights to you, investigate the details, and pursue the compensation you deserve.
Click here for a free, no-obligation case evaluation .
