Personal injury is a multifaceted issue that covers different types of situations. You may have gotten injured by slipping and falling at work, on your neighbor’s property, bitten by a dog, or injured in a car accident. All these are considered personal injuries. However, the severity of your injury can make a huge difference when processing your claim.
If a situation is small, you can handle the personal injury claim through a small claims court on your own. However, some scenarios call for an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you navigate the legal procedures. It all depends on your injuries and the legal elements involved in your accident.
5 Scenarios When Hiring a Personal Lawyer Will Benefit You
You’ve Sustained Severe Injuries
Cases involving serious injuries are usually more complicated than others for several reasons. For starters, the financial damages are significantly higher. Medical bills, lost wages, and property damage need to be considered.
Secondly, the injuries can result in temporary or permanent disability. Issues such as spinal cord injuries may affect a person for life. If the person is lucky enough, they may escape paralysis, but in extreme cases, car accidents result in paralysis, amputations, and even worse brain damage.
Having a personal injury lawyer helps you carefully document the damages to ensure you get compensated for any financial hardships you may have experienced following the accident and any future damages caused by it. They will also help you calculate the value of future damages so that you aren’t uncompensated.
Dealing with Insurance Companies
In a utopian world, insurance companies for at-fault parties would act in good faith and resolve personal injury claims fairly. However, the truth is that some insurers usually engage in bad insurance practices to avoid liability.
Such insurers may at first come off as friendly and cooperative during the initial stages of a claim. They may even try to get you to engage in a conversation with them. However, when talking, they will try to get you to admit fault so that they avoid paying what you’re due. They may also try to pay you less than what you deserve.
Such insurers may resort to not investigating claims or doing a mediocre job. They may also cause unnecessary delays to frustrate you to drop the charges. The insurance companies may provide misleading information or ask you for unnecessary documentation. Likewise, they may change the terms of their policy to align with their intention or take aggressive actions to make you accept an unfair settlement offer.
Having a lawyer helps you deal with insurers who act like this. It’s always advisable to talk to an attorney before going over the accident details with an insurance company.
Lack of Understanding of the Value of Your Claim
When you get injured by an at-fault party, you are entitled to receiving compensation. You could sue the other party for financial loss, suffering, and pain. However, sometimes it can be tricky calculating the value of your injury claim, especially if you’re not familiar with personal injury laws.
Additionally, calculating the value of your mental and emotional distress is almost impossible. The at-fault party’s insurance company may argue that such demands are unreasonable or unnecessary and try to deny some expenses or invalidate them.
An experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to use the facts to maximize the value of damages to help you recover what you’ve lost.
You Need To Recover Fully
It’s almost impossible to recover fully while also battling in court with an at-fault party and their insurance experts. Doing it on your own can result in a strain that may affect your recovery ability.
Hiring a lawyer to handle the case for you takes the weight off your shoulders. A reputable personal injury lawyer has staff members who can evaluate your claim closely and in detail and tell you the type of personal injury claim you have.
They are also better prepared and knowledgeable to interpret the medical records and details of the case serving as a buffer between you and the court. A good lawyer will keep you updated on any case developments and handle the matter diligently and efficiently so you can make recovery a priority.
Cost-Effectiveness
It’s easy to see why you may have some reservations about retaining a lawyer to handle the legal aspects of your claim, especially since you have so much on your plate already with medical fees.
For this reason, many personal injury lawyers usually handle claims on a no-win-no-fee basis, meaning you won’t have to pay anything until they’ve won some compensation for you. Most attorneys will arrange for a small percentage of your settlement as a fee, and it’s in their best interest to help you get higher compensation for your claim.
Let Us Help
The at-fault insurer has a huge team of experts working on getting them off the hook. So why shouldn’t you? Even the playing field by hiring a reputable attorney who has your best interest at heart.
After an injury, life can be difficult. Don’t deal with the insurance company on your own. Speak to an accident lawyer for free.
