Who are the key staff in a Tampa injury law firm?

When you hire a Tampa law firm that specializes in car accidents or other types of personal injury matters, law, you will be working with the injury lawyer and also various staff members.   So it’s important that you know who these various staff members are so you know who can best serve your needs as you focus on recovering from the injuries caused by your auto accident injuries.
The first person you're likely to have contact with is the receptionist. This person is not usually thought of as a key staff member of a car accident injury law firm.  But the receptionist is a key staff member for several reasons.  First, the receptionist will know who at the Tampa law firm is most likely to be able to solve your problem or answer your specific questions.  Also, they’ll know who is immediately available in case your question or issue needs to be addressed immediately.  Finally, if you are a first-time caller to the injury law firm, the manner in which the receptionist takes your call and responds to your questions may give you significant insight into whether this Tampa injury law firm is likely to be able to satisfy your expectations with regard to providing you with exceptional service.  This is important because we often hear from injured clients who hire us after firing their previous law firm that the lack of good service is the primary reason they felt they needed to fire the firm.  One of the issues most upsetting to these clients is that the Tampa law firm doesn’t return their calls.  At our injury law firm, we take pride in having our receptionist answer the phone asking, “How can we make your day better?” because we want to do just that.

Another key staff member at a Tampa injury law firm is the paralegal.  A paralegal is a person that has significant training and/or experience handling the day to day aspects of a personal injury claim.  The paralegal is very important to you because they will often be the person you have the most interaction with unless your claim goes to trial.  Most likely, your Tampa car accident lawyer will assign you to a particular injury paralegal that has a significant amount of experience in handling car accident claims.  Note that paralegals are not attorneys and so they cannot provide you with legal advice.  Only a lawyer licensed in the State of Florida can do that. But what they can do is make sure that your questions are all answered and that your legal claim for reimbursement for damages resulting from a car accident tampa moves forward toward conclusion in a reasonable amount of time and in a manner that you find  satisfactory.  The paralegal will communicate with you about your injuries and make sure that you are seen by the appropriate health care professionals given the particular injuries you suffered as a result of the Tampa car accident.  The paralegal will also help to make sure that your medical treatment is paid for, whether through Personal Injury Protection (PIP), health insurance or a letter of protection, which is more fully discussed in another article.

After a Tampa auto accident, many people find that they are unable to immediately return to work. The paralegal will gather the information from both you and your employer necessary to submit a claim to your PIP carrier for wage losses resulting from a Tampa auto accident so that you can receive immediate reimbursement for your lost wages.  In addition, many people involved in a Tampa car accident have a need for immediate access to a replacement vehicle in order to get to work or to the doctor.  The paralegal is in a position to be able to help with the process of having your car adjusted and getting you a rental car until the vehicle that was damaged in the Tampa auto accident has either been replaced or repaired.

Under the guidance and supervision of a car accident injury lawyer, the paralegal will also be responsible for monitoring your progress while you receive medical treatment.  It's important that somebody with a significant amount of experience be engaged in the monitoring of your recovery so that your recovery time can be as speedy and your treatment as effective as possible. Sometimes, it's easy for a person injured in a car accident whether in Tampa or St. Petersburg to get lost in the maze of various medical providers and diagnostic facilities.  A paralegal with significant experience in helping Tampa car accident injury victims will have insight into what is an appropriate length of time for treatment.  The paralegal can also help to explain medical diagnosis or direct the client to the appropriate medical person.  It is important that injured patients understand the diagnosis so that they can make the best choices for themselves with regard to treatment.   The paralegal can also discuss what types of treatments have been most effect for other clients and give you significant insight so that you can make the best choices with regard to your medical care.

The work of the paralegal can be overwhelming if not supported by an excellent legal assistant.  You are not likely to have that much interaction with a legal assistant.  Their job is to do all the things necessary to make sure that everything is done behind the scenes so that both the Tampa car accident injury lawyer and the paralegal can address your needs and effectively and efficiently process your claim.  Their job duty includes such things as making sure that your file is kept up to date and complete. 

Legal assistants are also responsible for making sure that all appropriate paperwork is filed so that there are minimum delays in getting your lost wages reimbursed and getting your vehicle repaired or replaced.  They’ll also be involved in making sure that the medical treatment that you need is getting paid when monies or insurance are available for that purpose.  They’ll also help to prepare and ultimately send the demand to the insurance company in which all your injuries that result from the car accident Tampa are listed and explained so that the insurance company can make a settlement offer.  It is important that the legal assistant help both the paralegal and the car accident injury attorney with the demand so that your settlement can be negotiated in a manner which results in offers that are fair and given within a reasonable timeframe.
Of course, we like to think that your Tampa auto accident attorneys are the most important staff members in a Tampa law firm.  At our law firm, the other staff members will differ on that point and claim they are the most important and every one of them is probably right.  You can’t be an effective tampa injury law firm without each of the staff members performing their duties effectively and with integrity.

But only a Tampa auto accident lawyer will be able to answer your legal questions and explain to you what you can expect after you are injured in a car accident Tampa.  An injury attorney will also closely monitor your case through conversations with the paralegal but also by reviewing the extensive file notes that are prepared by both the paralegal and the legal assistant.   The Tampa car injury lawyer knows he is ultimately responsible for what happens with his client's case.  So while it is necessary to delegate certain responsibilities to other staff members capable of handling certain aspects of your case, injury lawyers are well aware that the ultimate responsibility for taking care of their clients rests with them.

Personal injury attorneys in Tampa or Clearwater are also responsible for helping you make a decision whether the settlement amount offered by an insurance company or large corporation is appropriate given the facts of your case and the injuries that were caused by the vehicle accident. That determination must be based upon all the available facts and requires a significant amount of experience handling auto accident cases in pre suit and in trial. If you ultimately decide that trial for your injuries from the Tampa car accident is appropriate, you may be assigned a new paralegal, one who is capable of handling the myriad of new issues unique to the litigation process.  At our Tampa car accident law firm, we have our clients stay with the same paralegal from the beginning to the end of their case.  We believe that that continuity is important for the client and also gives the paralegal significant insight useful as the Tampa law firm prepares for trial.  If a lawsuit is filed, one of the tampa injury attorneys that work at our firm will attend depositions and hearings on your behalf in preparation of your case for trial.

At trial, your tampa accident attorney will present your case to the jury.  Along with the attorney will be the paralegal that assisted both you and the Tampa auto accident lawyer in preparing for your trial. A trial, the paralegal assists in making sure that the injury trial lawyer has the evidence necessary to present to the jury the facts regarding your Tampa accident case.  The paralegal also provides invaluable insight into the direction the case is going at trial and ways that the presentation of evidence may be adjusted in order that the jury is ultimately persuaded to return a verdict that speaks to fairness and justice for the client.

Some Tampa law firms will have an appellate attorney work with them throughout the litigation of a car accident case.  An appellate attorney has the responsibility of filing briefs with the appellate court in order to protect a jury verdict or have it overturned if the appellate attorney can persuade the appellate judges that the laws have been violated during the trial process.  The appellate lawyer can also help prepare the attorneys for trial by weighing in on the appropriate instructions to give the jury known as jury instructions and by creating an appropriate verdict form.

Finally, one of the key personnel at a Tampa car accident law firm may be the firm administrator.  Not every firm has a firm administrator. It depends sometimes on size of the firm or whether it is felt one of the other staff members can handle the duties of the firm administrator while also being responsible for their regular duties. The firm administrator's responsibilities are broad and include human resources, finances, marketing and general administration.

As you can see, a Tampa injury law firm is made up of much more than just the car accident attorneys. In order to successfully pursue a claim for personal injuries, it is necessary that your law firm assemble a powerful and effective team.  It is important also that each person understands their roles and has the tools and experience in fulfill their responsibilities. At our personal injury law firm we handle car accidents and medical malpractice cases whether they take place in Tampa, Brooksville, Brandon and other cities throughout the Tampa Bay area.  We have assembled a very capable team of paralegals, legal assistants and attorneys all dedicated to helping you.  If you would like to talk with one of the  attorneys at our Tampa law firm or if you want to speak to the personnel that you will be working with should you become a client, then please feel free to contact us.