After you are injured in a car accident, you will have a lot on your plate over the coming weeks and months as you try to make sense of your injuries, seek proper treatment, manage your finances and work responsibilities, and attempt to navigate the complexities of an insurance claim. Oftentimes, people believe that they do not need to worry about fighting for a fair settlement in cases where it is clear that the other driver was at fault, but this could not be further from the truth. The reality is that no matter how abundantly clear the issue of fault is in an accident, insurance companies will do everything possible to limit the amount that a victim ultimately received for a settlement.
Insurance Companies Don’t Exist to Pay You What You Deserve
Remember that an insurance company is a business, and like any business, the goal is to properly manage the financials in order to run a successful operation. If an insurance company paid victims every dollar that they were rightfully entitled to, then the business would not remain open for long. Instead, insurance companies retain many expert employees who are continuously focused on identifying ways to save money and reduce damage awards.
Before wondering whether or not you need a lawyer, it is absolutely necessary for you to understand that you will need to fight to get the money you deserve. As you can imagine, hiring an experienced attorney is the best way to handle this process. Luckily, there are services like 1800-injured care who can quickly connect you to an available attorney so that you can save yourself time and hassle in the early days after your accident.
The Simple Answer? Yes, You Need a Lawyer
The better question is when to hire an attorney, not if. And the answer to when you should hire a lawyer is equally simple: as soon as possible. Insurance companies design their claims process to be fairly low-stress so that a victim can go through the process on their own. Thoughtful, right? In actuality, insurance companies benefit from settling cases without personal injury lawyers getting involved, so this simplicity is partially meant to keep a victim from feeling like they need help.
Hire a Lawyer Before Filing a Claim
From the moment you first file a claim with an insurance company, they go into action so that they can identify every possible way to limit your settlement amount. This includes things like capitalizing on innocent statements that you might make and using them as proof that you are partially at fault (and therefore entitled to less money), or that your injuries are not as severe as you claim.
When you have a lawyer representing your case from the start, they will be able to handle every communication with the insurance company, and carefully consider each statement before it is submitted to ensure that there is no “tricky” language that could come back to haunt you.
Prioritize Your Personal health
Another important benefit to early legal representation is the fact that you can take back your time and focus on self-care and recovery. Your lawyer will need information from you throughout the process, but they will only need to bother you with the most important details. Think of your attorney as a filter from the stressors of this process. Visit 1800-Injured.com for more information.
Why It is Necessary to Hire a Lawyer?
While there are some cases like minor collisions where you could deal with the situation without the need for a lawyer and going to court, we advise you to at least consult with him, even if the accident is not serious. Also, in cases where there are people injured or dead, or there are more than two people involved, you should contact the attorney as fast as you can. Also, if you have serious injuries or one of the parties drove a vehicle without insurance, you will probably need to go to the court.
If there were people seriously injured or dead in the accident that you were part of, you should contact the lawyer at the same time as police and ambulance. The main reason for that is that someone might accuse you even if it was not your fault, and the police might suspect that you are responsible, which means that you should remain quiet and wait for the attorney.
Also, if you were injured during an accident, the lawyer is a person who will make sure that you can get full compensation for both health issues, mental state, and car damage. A good attorney knows how to properly create a calculation and ask for the right amount of compensation for your case.
Furthermore, one of the most complicated situations is when there are more than two vehicles involved in the accident, and everyone is claiming their innocence. In this case, a lawyer will use the police report, and possible witnesses to prove that you are not responsible for the collision, or to lower your penalty as low as it can be in the case that you were guilty of the accident.
Nonetheless, the lawyer is a person that will help you to collect evidence and find witnesses that will prove your innocence. Many ways can prove who was responsible for the crash, and the attorney is experienced in those cases, which means that you should avoid trying to collect evidence by yourself. Also, he will use them much better than you on the court.
In many cases, the other side might offer you some sort of negotiations before going to court. Before you agree on any sort of settlement, you should consult with your lawyer and ask him what should the proper offer be. The main reason why people are offering this kind of deal is that they can avoid additional expenses of the court trial. However, you should know how much to ask for and avoid being deceived.
In case you did not press charges on time, and a lot of time has passed since then, you can hire a lawyer to help you and give you the ability to get the case on the court. Also, in many cases, people are aware that there is a deadline on the court for car accidents, and they might try to lure you into thinking how they will pay you in time, or how they are waiting for an insurance company to cover their expenses. That is another reason why you should always ask your lawyer for opinion and help.
