People often ask me whether they need a personal injury attorney to help them with a car or truck accident. In some cases it looks like the other insurance company is going to play fair and pay you what you are due. In some cases they actually do pay fair. But in most cases they need a little nudging. That is where having a personal injury attorney to help you with your car accident claim is very helpful.
There are a number of reasons why you should have an attorney help you with your personal injury claim:
1. You are Likely To Get More Money For Your Injuries
Now I obviously cannot guarantee that you will get more money if you have an attorney. There are some bad attorneys out there, and there are a lot of really good attorneys you just may not work well with. But the vast majority of them are entirely competent and will do a great job for you. Those attorneys will get you more money in your pocket.
2. You Will Not Have To Deal With The Stress Of Presenting Your Claim and Negotiations
You already have a job, right? (Or at least something to keep you busy during the day). So why would you want to act as your own attorney and do the work of two people? There is a reason attorneys are so stressed out - it can be a stressful job. So don't take your already busy, stressful life and add even more stress to it. Let someone else do that for you.
3. If You Are Not Able to Get The Claim Resolved, You May Have Trouble Finding An Attorney To Take Your Case
Attorneys like to get involved in cases early on. There are a number of reasons for this. First, they like to develop a relationship with the client early on. Second, they want to get involved and be able to control the flow of information. This means controlling what documents are presented to the other side and what documents are not presented to the other side. If you have been handling the case by yourself and decide - right before the statute of limitations runs - to hire an attorney, many attorneys will not want to get involved in the case. There is always the risk that the potential client has revealed too much or too little information, or the wrong information, to the insurance company. This may lead to the insurance company having unrealistically low expectations for settlement. This leaves people in the position of having to either represent themselves or work with an attorney they would not have chosen under normal circumstances.
4. If You Have An Attorney, You May Be Able To Get Medical Treatment Even If You Do Not Have Health Insurance
Many attorneys have doctors they refer people to on a regular basis (a good attorney will go out of his or her way to make sure you get the treatment you need, even if they do not have the name and number of a doctor on the tip of their tongues). This usually means that the doctor will treat on a lien (get paid only if you win the case). This allows you to get treatment for your injuries even if you do not have health insurance. See my earlier post for more on this topic.
Pete Clancy is a personal injury attorney in Oakland, California. He can be reached via his website.
