For Best Results Following Your Car Accident, Hire an Attorney
There are millions of car crashes in the United States every single year. Unfortunately, that means you will probably be involved in one at some point if you haven’t already. Fortunately, most are minor bumps. However, some can be far more serious. Regardless of how you feel after your car accident, there’s one thing you must always do after you’ve received medical attention. Hire an attorney.
If your accident was more than a little fender bender and you’d like to make a full recovery, you need a car accident lawyer. Several questions must be answered after an accident. Will you incur future medical bills? Are there losses you don’t know how to prove? Is your insurance company offering you a fair settlement? What is the statute of limitations in your state?
If your case isn’t clear-cut, and you want to avoid damaging your claim, you need to consult an attorney before doing anything else. This includes speaking to your insurance company.
If you still think you can do it on your own, let’s look at 5 reasons to hire a car accident lawyer in the article below.
1. Knowledge of All Potential Damages
Knowing how to handle the aftermath of your car accident is not enough. You also need to know your rights, the full extent of your damages, and what constitutes fair compensation when you file a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim. You will likely be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, property damage, disability, disfigurement, and pain and suffering. And if you’ve been incapacitated, you may be owed lost income from your job as well as your family’s loss of companionship. This is one of many excellent reasons to hire a lawyer.
An experienced car accident lawyer will know what your injuries and mental distress are worth and stop at nothing to get you your due compensation. When estimating an amount yourself, especially for pain and suffering, you could be aiming far too low and accept a settlement much less than your damages are worth.
2. Damage and Injuries Aren’t Always Apparent
You should get in touch with a lawyer right away. They will immediately start investigating and piecing together your case. Just because you feel OK after your accident or your car looks fine does not mean you don’t need to speak to an attorney. Some car accident injuries like whiplash aren’t always apparent right after an auto accident. It could take days, hours, or even weeks for the painful symptoms to be felt. And just like your injuries won’t always be immediately apparent, damage to your car isn’t always easy to spot either. What looks like a minor ding on your fender, that the at-fault driver assures you will just ‘buff out’, might be masking severe structural damage to your vehicle. Why should you pay for that damage when someone else is at fault?
Unsure about the types of injuries you can sustain? Read our blog post, “What are the Most Common Causes of Car Accidents?”
3. In-depth Knowledge of the Law
It’s almost a guarantee that you don’t know all the laws about your situation. Experienced car accident lawyers can establish which laws and factors are relevant to your case and provide a thorough understanding of those laws and how the local court system will interpret them. This keeps you from wasting time on research when you should be focused on your recovery. And if it comes down to suing, you should be prepared for a lot of paperwork and confusing rules that will eat up much of your time. You’ll have to figure out what to file, how to format, cite legal precedent, what evidence is admissible, and more. It’s rigorous, and you have a limited amount of time. You should take advantage of a good lawyer with an in-depth knowledge of the law to guide you through a complicated lawsuit.
4. Insurance Negotiation and Representation in Court
Car insurance companies will try to deny your claim or pay you less than your claim is worth. Attorneys understand what information is going to increase your chances of winning your claim. If your claim gets denied, a lawyer is ready to appeal and fight for you until the bitter end. Insurance companies will offer you a monetary settlement to do away with your claim as quickly as possible. They need to pay out as little as possible and avoid any personal injury lawsuits.
More often than not, they will not offer you a fair amount.
An auto accident lawyer has the experience to know when offers are too low and can negotiate for a better amount. Filing your case can be tricky, but proving your case is much more challenging. Some rules and formalities can significantly limit the questions you can ask and the kinds of evidence you can present. Convincing the court and jury to side with you will require extensive legal research. Proving personal injury liability is extremely difficult to do on your own. Most car crash cases require the competence and aggressive representation of a skilled auto accident lawyer, especially if your case goes to court.
5. Avoid Financial Loss
Can you lose money by trying to go it alone?
What happens if you try to file your suit late?
Or, what happens if you don’t address the right defendant for damages?
Could you also lose your case due to presenting information the wrong way?
If any of these things happen, you lose your shot at recovery. You can’t sue again; there are no do-overs. You’ll end up without compensation for your damages. And even worse, you’ll have to pay for the costs and fees for a crash you didn’t cause. An auto accident lawyer will help you avoid all of this.