You may need a lawyer if your injuries are serious and medical bills will be high. You should also speak to a lawyer if you are being blamed for an accident you didn’t cause.
Your First Move After a Car Accident
If you are forced into a car collision with an at-fault driver, you may have to put safety first. You may have a painful injury that requires your complete attention.
But once you are safely in a hospital bed or at home recuperating, you may have a minute to consider who was responsible for causing the accident and who should be paying for your hospital bills. Maybe you already know who was to blame. It may have been clear to anyone who witnessed the wreck, but that doesn’t mean the at-fault party will gladly accept fault and support you as you heal.
It’s when the fault in an accident and the liability for the hospital bills is in doubt that a lawyer may prove to be a major asset for your case. The best way to find out for sure is to take advantage of a free consultation with a real car accident lawyer. It’s a no-risk way to determine if you stand to earn more by filing an accident claim yourself or by allowing a skilled legal representative to handle your case.
When Should I Call a Car Accident Lawyer?
The level of your injuries will be a big determining factor in whether you should proceed with a lawyer representing your insurance claim. When you suffer a serious injury, such as a fracture in any bone, or head trauma, your medical bills may quickly multiply.
This is when car insurance companies for at-fault drivers get nervous about what they’ll have to pay out. They start to focus on limiting the support you receive instead of actually trying to help you. They can also try to ignore what it says on an accident report. They’ll look to shift blame to you as an underhanded way of getting out of accepting financial responsibility.
When wondering if you should seek a lawyer’s help, ask yourself a few questions…
- Do my injuries go beyond a few minor bumps and bruises?
- Are my injuries serious?
- Will recovery take weeks or months?
- Am I being blamed for an accident I didn’t cause?
- Is the at-fault driver refusing to accept blame?
If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to discuss your case with a skilled car accident attorney. If you are still not sure if you need a lawyer, just seek to talk to a lawyer you feel you can trust. A reputable lawyer will have strong ratings online and will happily provide testimonials from past clients.
Successful lawyers will tell you upfront if they can boost the outcome of your case. If they can’t, they’ll tell you that too. They won’t want to spend a lot of time on a case they can’t improve. But your free consultation won’t be wasted time. If your lawyer can’t help you secure more for your injury, a skilled lawyer can at least hopefully show you how to file on your own and hold a car insurance company fully accountable.
What Does Having a Lawyer Do For My Case?
If your lawyer does feel they can help you with your case, that representation will provide important security for your case and your family’s protection.
Your lawyer will be handling the frustrating negotiations with car insurance companies while giving you the peace and quiet to focus on healing.
These are a few other safeguards you’ll enjoy:
- Fully investigates what happened to you.
- Looks into the record of the other driver.
- Collects all evidence available.
- Secures witness testimony.
- Requests all security footage.
- Fights back when insurance companies try to shift the blame in the accident.
- Examines any settlement offer an auto insurance company extends and rejects “lowball” offers.
- Demands action when insurance adjusters purposely delay a response in order to make you more desperate to accept any settlement offer.
- Demands the most in compensation available for you and your family.
What If I Can’t Afford to Pay a Car Insurance Lawyer?
For recent car accident victims, the concern should be on getting better and not on paying emergency room bills and finding money to hire a lawyer.
Most car accident lawyers will work on a contingency basis. It means that you don’t pay a dime to the lawyer unless your case is won. Then the attorney fee would be paid out of the settlement check the car insurance provider was forced to send.
A trustworthy lawyer wants to make sure a car accident victim can count on the support needed to recover physically, emotionally, and financially. Only then would an attorney be paid for the services provided.
Securing Legal Help After a Car Accident
You may want to put a car accident behind you as soon as possible. But don’t let your haste end up costing you thousands of dollars. Accepting a quickly presented, inadequate offer from an insurance company can leave you and your family paying half or more of your recovery bills out of pocket.
If you suffer a serious injury due to another driver’s actions, seek a free consultation with a skilled, local lawyer. If your innocence in a crash you didn’t cause is being questioned, it’s also a good indicator that you should speak to a lawyer about your options befor