Anyone who has been injured in an accident probably wonders whether or not he/she should hire a personal injury attorney to file a legal case against the responsible party. If you’ve suffered grave injuries, it is imperative that you work with a personal injury lawyer. This is because filing a personal injury lawsuit requires expert skills and vast experience, as well as an in-depth understanding of the judicial system.
Certain types of accident injuries necessitate the involvement of a lawyer. When choosing one for yourself, ensure he/she is aware of all the laws of the state you reside in. If you reside in Chicago, Illinois for instance, you will have to pick a skilled Illinois personal injury lawyer. Only a local lawyer will know the ins and outs of the laws applicable to your case in your state. He/she will work accordingly to obtain the evidence and the compensation you deserve for your injuries and treatment.
Here are a few factors that will help you determine when you should hire a personal injury lawyer for your case:
● Severity of Your Injury
If your injury is minor, and you have the time as well as the resources to work on filing a compensation claim and working through the insurance process, you probably won’t need a lawyer. However, you should waste no time in hiring a lawyer in case of a major injury that has caused you to pain for over a few days and requires a great deal of medical attention.
This is particularly true if you were hospitalized or needed surgery, therapy, rehabilitation, and more during the course of your treatment. Medical claims also cover the costs of past and future treatment. An experienced personal injury attorney will thoroughly evaluate your case and represent your cause in a compelling manner in court.
● Responsibility of the Injury
In some cases, accident victims suffer injuries or face situations involving the death of a loved one due to someone else’s negligence or careless actions. In such scenarios, it is imperative to consult a personal injury lawyer. By law, proving fault involves applying certain standards to the evidence gathered. An attorney will help you strengthen your claim and guide you in gathering and preserving the evidence.
● Involvement of Insurance Company
Insurance companies work with claims adjusters and representatives to cut their losses by minimizing the compensation amounts to be paid to injury victims. If an insurance company representative asks you for your recorded statements, medical history, and any other information, you should only inform him/her that you’ll be contacting an attorney.
More often than not, claims adjusters try to elicit statements from the victim to undermine his/her claim, which is why you should never sign any documents until your attorney has studied them. You may also end up signing blanket authorizations that permit adjusters to access your medical history so they can blame your injury on a previous incident. This, in turn, will weaken your claim to a great extent.
Insurance adjusters may also call you to get other kinds of information that helps them reduce or even deny your payout. This can also happen when you’re dealing with your own insurance company if an uninsured motorist is involved. It is always best to consult a personal injury attorney than getting entrapped by insurance agencies.
● Co-Operation Extended by Insurance Company
Insurance companies will typically use every trick in the book to try and avoid paying victims of personal injury. This may include unreasonable and unexplained delays in the claims process, denial to pay you, and making extremely low offers even if your injuries are severe.
The fact is that insurance companies that partake in bad-faith negotiations may probably be liable to you for doing so. Fortunately, personal injury lawyers know of these dirty tactics and the ways to maneuver them to get you the compensation you rightfully deserve.
Even in cases where the accident occurred due to the other party’s recklessness, an insurance company may try to dispute liability. This is done to trick people into thinking that your claim is bogus or worth much less. You should certainly speak to a personal injury lawyer if the liability is being disputed. He/she will help you gather the evidence needed to prove liability and suggest the next steps.
● Your Understanding of the Legal and Settlement Procedures
In order to handle your own personal injury case successfully, you will need to have a thorough understanding of the legal intricacies involved in your claim and the settlement process. Receiving a fair amount in the settlement requires expert negotiation skills along with exhaustive legal knowledge, especially when dealing with cases are highly complex. Further, you will need to know how to decipher your medical records accurately to determine the value of your claim.
If you’re not sure you can manage these things, you should make it a point to talk to a personal injury attorney. Only a skilled and experienced lawyer will be to determine the actual value of your claim. Also, most insurance companies do not offer compensation for intangible losses such as pain, suffering, loss of companionship, and more. An attorney may be able to get you compensated for this kind of non-monetary losses as well.
Conclusion
Engaging the services of an experienced personal injury lawyer will prove to be a smart and a morale-boosting move on your part. Your attorney will be able to ensure that you’re fairly compensated in accordance with the law. He/she will also take the burden of dealing with insurance companies off of your shoulders. If any of the above pointers are applicable to you, do not hesitate to get in touch with an able personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
I’m thankful that you brought to light the act that hiring a personal injury lawyer can ensure that one has a thorough understanding of the webwork of the legal system. My younger sister was recently injured because of circumstances at dinner last night. I’ll assist her by finding the best personal lawyer that I can.
Thanks for mentioning not wasting any time for hiring an attorney if you’ve experienced a major injury. My brother is thinking about paying an injury lawyer because he was involved in a major car accident and has been experiencing bad back pain. I think it’s a good investment for him to hire a reputable professional that can help him file all the necessary paperwork for his accident and be able to make a claim to his insurance agency.
It’s good to know that you should hire a personal injury attorney for moderate to severe injuries that required some type of rehabilitation or therapy. My sister was hit by a car while walking on a crosswalk yesterday afternoon. She will need physical therapy for her ankle due to the injury. I will advise her to start looking for a personal injury lawyer in the area.
My son got involved in an accident at the beach last week, which resulted in an arm injury. He had to stay at the hospital for a couple of weeks for his fast recovery. Now, I am looking for a personal injury lawyer to manage the case. It’s great that you elaborated on the reasons why I should hire one, I like it when you said that having a thorough understanding of the legal intricacies in your claim is important to win the case. With that, I’ll look for a lawyer whom we can entrust our case.