Today I am starting a new series of blogs called “Choosing a personal injury lawyer”.
I’m going to start with the most basic question for someone who is an injury victim in an accident: “Why do you need a personal injury lawyer?”
Consider the advantages of having a personal injury lawyer on your side
For victims of injury accidents, there are many reasons to choose a personal injury lawyer to act on your behalf. Here are 5 of the best reasons.
1. You need a personal injury lawyer because, unlike the insurance company, your best interests and the best interests of your personal injury lawyer are aligned.
You want the maximum compensation possible for your injury. Your personal injury lawyer also wants to maximize the amount of recovery you can expect to receive for your injuries, because he works on a contingency fee.
2. You need a personal injury lawyer to level the playing field with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Take the example of being injured in an auto accident. The at-fault driver’s insurance company will have an insurance adjuster handling the claim. In a serious motor vehicle accident—for instance, where a person has been severely injured and hospitalized, the insurance adjuster will be:
- obtaining witness statements (Witness memories are fresher closer to the accident than they are later on. Memories fade.)
- hiring accident engineers
- downloading “black box” data from the vehicles
- taking photos
- contacting the police.
You can’t do this from your hospital bed. You need an experienced, knowledgeable personal injury lawyer on your side to do all of those things for you. You need a personal injury lawyer to level the playing field with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
3. You need a personal injury lawyer to answer your questions and provide advice you can trust.
Personal injury law is a well-established field of practice. Even a good general practice lawyer who occasionally handles personal injury cases won’t have the knowledge and experience that comes from dealing with hundreds or thousands of personal injury cases. As your case progresses, you will need answers to your questions and informed advice on:
- how your medical treatment will be paid for
- what benefits are available through your own insurance company
- documenting your injuries
- what to communicate to the at-fault party’s insurance company
- how to navigate the legal process
- what to expect as compensation
- how to achieve that compensation
- and many other matters.
A personal injury lawyer will be able to answer your questions, explain your options, and provide the informed advice you need.
You may require access to scientific, medical, and other personal injury experts to prove fault or damages from your personal injury. The other party’s insurance company won’t retain these experts for you. Your insurance company won’t retain these experts for you. Your personal injury lawyer will, and he or she will pay the cost of these expensive expert reports up front. Your personal injury lawyer will have the finances to spend tens of thousands of dollars on your case if it is required. You can’t do this alone.
5. You need a personal injury lawyer to help you maximize your claim
Your personal injury lawyer will know what payments have been made in other similar cases. As your personal injury lawyer learns more about your case, he or she will also be able to determine the best possible strategy to maximize your claim.
As an injury victim, you need to protect yourself—you need a personal injury lawyer
When you are an injury victim, choosing a personal injury lawyer gives you informed professional advice and experience, support throughout the claim’s process, access to any required specialists, peace of mind, and confidence that you are acting in your best interests—as well as the best interests of your loved ones.
If you are an injury victim and are concerned about the impact of your injury on your future well-being, I urge you to contact a personal injury lawyer to arrange a free consultation.
I will deal more fully with how you can benefit from hiring a personal injury lawyer in later blogs.
My next blog in this series will be “5 Tips to Help You Find Your Personal Injury Lawyer”.
Do you have other ideas about why an injury victim needs a personal injury lawyer? I hope you will share your comments and feedback below!
