Case Criteria

Many personal injury attorneys provide only enough information to get you to call them. At Van Sant Law, we operate differently. We have compiled a list of criteria that we use when deciding whether or not to take a case so that you can avoid wasting time making a pointless phone call. When we do decide to represent someone who has been injured in an accident, our goal is to strategically litigate their case toward maximum value. If we do not believe the individual has a strong chance of a favorable outcome, we will not take the case. There are many lawyers that take on a high volume of small cases in hopes of making their fees through volume. While we do not operate that way, we would be happy to refer you to them if needed. Our firm generally only takes car accident cases that meet the following criteria:

• There is visible damage to your vehicle – Most juries will only believe that you are injured if your car is damaged to the point that it looks like it matches your injuries. While we know that this is not the case, it is likely that a defense attorney will argue that you are not hurt if your car does not display much damage.
• Fault must be on the part of the other driver – This is called “liability” and it is very important to the success of your case. There must be a good chance of proving this, otherwise the time and expense related to preparing your case will not be worth it.
• Medical treatment – When your injuries go beyond soft tissue damage, we need to be able to demonstrate proof of those injuries to a jury. That means putting up a large color photograph of your injuries in court, and having a doctor come in to tell the jury about your injury. If your injuries are such that you only sought treatment from a chiropractor, that may not be enough to bring about the desired result in your case.
• Your accident must have occurred less than two years ago – By taking a year between accepting your case and filing the lawsuit, we should have ample time to prepare your case. The opposition will only have 6 months to investigate after we file the lawsuit, which gives us the opportunity to stay on the offensive.

While our criteria for accepting cases are very specific, it simply means that we are focused, and managing our caseload in order to give your case the attention it deserves. It means we are working hard to achieve success in your case. Give us a call today!