When a person is injured because of the negligence of another party, personal injury lawyers may be retained by the victim. Many personal injury lawyers take accident cases on a contingency basis, which does not require a payment of legal services unless the case settles or the jury awards a verdict. Consider the following ways that personal injury lawyers may be able to help your case.
Ability to Assess Claims
Personal injury lawyers handle accident claims on a daily basis. They can assess a claim and inform the potential client whether or not the situation presents a viable claim. Additionally, they can recommend a course of legal action to pursue.
Ability to Handle Communications with Car Insurance Companies
When you pay your bill, you have little interaction or issues with insurance companies. However, once you have been involved in an accident, your interests and the car insurance company’s interests may not align. If you have to make an uninsured motorist claim or otherwise seek recourse against your own insurance company, you may be confused about your rights.
Likewise, you likely have little experience dealing with other people’s insurance companies. Personal injury lawyers are usually experienced with handling communications and negotiations with insurance companies.
Personal injury lawyers may handle communications with the insurance company and act as the liaison between you and the insurance company. This can help alleviate such stressful communications and remove you from the precarious position of potentially saying something that can harm your claim.
Recommendations for Medical Needs
After an accident, you may have been physically injured. You may have never had an injury of that nature before. Personal injury lawyers have seen a number of injuries and may be able to recommend medical tests and procedures that may provide you with more information or that may help your treatment.
Additionally, personal injury lawyers may be able to discuss the potential long-term effects that your injury may have on you and your family. This information is important to know when assessing a settlement offer.
Legal Advice
Having a personal injury lawyer means that you will have access to someone who is familiar with the law and who can advise you in ways that can prevent you from adversely affecting your claim. Handling a case on your own may result in you causing irreparable damage to your case. For example, you could miss a filing deadline that can permanently bar your case.
Ability to Estimate Settlement Value
Because personal injury lawyers routinely deal with cases like yours, they will have a better idea about what a good settlement figure would be in your case. They can tell you if your idea is unrealistic or if you are failing to take certain expenses into account if you have received a settlement that does not represent the true value of your claim.
Negotiations with Insurance Companies
Once a personal injury lawyer estimates the potential value of a claim, he or she can negotiate with the insurance adjuster. Most laypeople are not seasoned negotiators. They may not know the techniques to get the insurance company to pay the maximum amount on a claim.
Legal Knowledge
Not all cases are cut and dry. Some may involve multiple tortfeasors or raise questions of liability. Personal injury lawyers understand the laws in the jurisdictions where they practice and can use this knowledge to consider strategies in settling the case.
This knowledge may also assist the personal injury lawyer in knowing when a more extensive investigation is necessary. For example, personal injury lawyers may retain investigators or accident reconstruction experts to uncover the reason for a slip and fall, automotive accident or other injury.
Legal Representation
The vast majority of personal injury cases settle outside court. However, some insurance companies will proceed to trial in order to prevent claims of that nature from arising in the future or to avoid getting a reputation as a company that will resolve every claim through settlement. Therefore, it is important that you retain a personal injury lawyer you can provide you with competent legal representation in court.
Compete on Level Ground
The insurance company that represents the defendant most definitely has a lawyer on retainer to act in the company’s interest. By trying to handle your claim yourself, you will likely be at a disadvantage. Having a personal injury lawyer ensures that you have an advocate who is vested in protecting your legal interests.
