When you get into a car accident because another driver crashed into your vehicle or you slip and fall while shopping for your weekly groceries, you may sustain injuries. If you didn’t do anything to cause these injuries, then you can seek compensation under personal injury law.
This all starts with filing an insurance claim, which may sound simple enough to handle on your own. However, you may want to think twice about going it alone. While the law does not mandate that you hire an attorney to represent you, you should not proceed through the process without one.
Attorneys specialized in accidents like these provide many benefits to injured victims. Read on to discover 15 reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer.
1. Legal Expertise and Knowledge About Your Case
Personal injury law is a broad section of this field that covers many different types of scenarios. As such, it is incredibly complex, from the need to satisfy all elements of negligence to the statute of limitations imposed for filing lawsuits. There are many working parts to oversee, and if you try to represent yourself, you may miss a crucial detail that could potentially derail your case.
2. Objective and Unbiased View of the Events
Injured victims go through waves of emotions, which is completely understandable. You might be angry that this happened to you, sad that you can no longer do things you once enjoyed, and have other feelings swirling around. All of these feelings may make your judgment foggy, and by working with a personal injury attorney, you’ll have an unbiased point of view in your corner to help you make decisions that serve your best interests.
3. Protecting Your Rights
You may only be aware of some of your legal rights, while your personal injury lawyer will know all of them. They will safeguard those rights on your behalf, ensuring that you are properly protected throughout every step of your case.
4. Investigations and Evidence Gathering
If you were in a car accident, perhaps you took some photos and videos and spoke to witnesses, though maybe you missed some key angles or didn’t get the contact information of these witnesses. There is always a lot going on after any type of accident, and when you have injuries, it is hard to focus on the practical side of getting evidence.
This is especially true if you’ve endured serious injuries. If you broke an arm or leg, or you were knocked unconscious, you may not have had an opportunity to get any evidence at all. Insurers will want to see evidence when filing your injury claim, and when you hire a lawyer, you’ll have someone that can quickly step in and get that evidence before it’s gone.
5. Negotiating with Insurers
Insurance companies will always be looking out for their bottom line. Insurers love when injured victims represent themselves because it is much easier to get away with paying too little in a settlement. They know you might only be thinking of your immediate medical bills and the repairs needed for your car.
Your personal injury attorney will be thinking about those things as well as the lost income you’re experiencing since your injuries have kept you from working. They will think about how you are now fearful of even sitting in a car after your accident, and now have to spend your money to go to a therapist.
Most importantly, they will be ready when the insurer tries to blame you for your own injuries. Through thorough investigations and evidence gathering, a personal injury lawyer can leverage a fair settlement on your behalf instead of letting you settle for less than you deserve.
6. Filing Your Case by Deadline
When you have a personal injury claim to make, you’ll quickly see how much paperwork is involved. It is critical to make sure it is filled out correctly as well as on time. While you should file a claim with insurers as soon as possible after your injury, there is a separate timeline that you must follow if you need to file a lawsuit. Known as the statute of limitations, it imposes a time limit starting from the date of your accident.
Missing this deadline can cost you your compensation, and for many victims trying to sort out the aftermath of their accident, they are often left with very little time to escalate a claim into a lawsuit with the courts. Your lawyer will already be ready for this and have all the paperwork organized and filed before this deadline.
7. Courtroom Representation
Although personal injury cases will most frequently settle before they can ever be heard in court, there are still many that wind up in front of a judge or jury. If your accident was particularly complex, such as a trucking accident involving multiple liable parties, it may not be easy to settle through negotiations outside of court. Your attorney will prepare the evidence, arguments, and expert witnesses to have a strong case at trial.
8. Expertise in Specific State Laws
In Texas, which has a statute of limitations of just two years from the date of an accident, there are many state laws that can impact your case. This statute of limitations is just one of them, and with all the other laws, it is best to have an advocate on your side who knows how to navigate through the legal process.
9. Maximizing Your Compensation
As mentioned previously, you may only be thinking of the medical bills you’ve already had to pay for your injuries or repairing your car. What you’re not thinking about when seeking compensation could cost you dearly. Your attorney will look at your need for future medical treatments due to these injuries, whether your injuries will force you to take a lower-paying job, and dozens of other factors, including how your injuries impact your daily life.
They will use the economic damages you’ve incurred down to the exact dollar amount and base your non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, off these figures to determine what is fair.
10. Expediting the Injury Claim Process
Since time is critical in personal injury law, your lawyer can help speed up the claims process with the insurer. Starting with legal representation at this point protects you in many ways, and if the insurer isn’t forthcoming, takes too long to process the claim, or offers too little, your attorney will be able to step in and take action.
11. Peace of Mind
When you have someone who is actively working to make things better for you, it will give you great peace of mind. You won’t have to try to figure out all of the requirements or be left to deal with paperwork and other details on your own.
12. Reduce Stress to Allow You to Focus on Healing
Being involved in any type of accident, even if it was not your fault, is one of the most stressful events in life. When you have painful injuries from your accident, trying to find your way through the process afterwards adds more undue stress.
Your body needs time to heal and recover, and it can be next to impossible to allow that to happen when you’re on the phone with the insurance company or running from one doctor’s appointment to the next. With a personal injury attorney taking on the case, you can let someone who knows how to deal with these things take the reins and be more likely to get the best out of your recovery.
13. Avoiding Critical Mistakes
Simple mistakes can cost you when it comes to recovering compensation for your injuries. For example, you may post something on social media about what happened. The attorney for the insurance company or the other party will be digging for information to reduce your chances of recovering a settlement. A personal injury attorney will help you avoid making a mistake like this, as well as many other ones that could jeopardize your claim.
14. Greater Resources for Expert Testimony
Personal injury law firms tend to have more resources at their disposal to conduct investigations and hire expert witnesses. These experts play a crucial role in accident reconstruction and testifying about the impact of your injuries, more effectively leveraging a better settlement or verdict.
15. No Upfront Payments
You might think that you’re already strapped for cash after this accident occurred, and it is not possible to afford a personal injury lawyer. However, most of these types of lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means they work for you for free and do not collect a fee unless they are able to recover your compensation. You can use the free initial consultation to learn more about the fees that will come at the end of your case, and how the attorney can be instrumental in recovering a fair settlement.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
