Many people are mystified about what a personal injury lawyer can do for them and their car accident injury case. Most people think that you only need to hire a personal injury lawyer when you are seriously injured or when the insurance company is offering you nothing for your case. While those are certainly good times to hire a personal injury lawyer, many people forego hiring a personal injury lawyer for “smaller cases” with clear liability. As a result, these people are not getting fully healed nor fully compensated for their injuries.
When should you hire a personal injury lawyer?
You should hire a personal injury lawyer for all car accidents that are caused by other people where you suffer pain that requires some form of medical attention. An example of a good case is if you need to go to your family doctor to be evaluated for injuries that you sustained in a car accident and then your doctor prescribes physical therapy or massage.
Why people don’t hire a lawyer?
People will not hire a lawyer because they believe they can successfully negotiate with the insurance company and the insurance company is treating them fair. Insurance companies will often say that their insured is responsible for your injuries and they will compensate you for your car expenses and medical bills. However, soon after they say this, they say that they will not pay for more treatment after such and such date and that they will give you $1,000 in your pocket. Many people will falsely believe this is fair and will stop treatment even though they are not back to normal because they believe the insurance company and most importantly, they insurance company holds the money.
What are the benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer for a car accident injury case?
If you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you in your car accident case, you will receive peace of mind that you can just focus on making your chiropractor or physical therapy appointments rather than worrying about dealing with the insurance company. You will have peace of mind that you can get as much treatment as your physical therapist or chiropractor says you need to get better. Finally, you will get compensated for all your medical bills and put a lot of money in your pocket even after your personal injury lawyer is paid.
What happens to those insurance companies phone calls threatening that they will pull the $1,000 they are offering you off the table after a certain amount of time and only pay for your first month of physical therapy or chiropractor treatment?
Funny enough, they will ultimately pay for much more treatment that your doctor prescribes later even though they threatened to stop payment at this time. They will also pay you much more than $1,000 in pain in suffering that you will receive directly in your pocket, depending on your case, even after your attorney has been paid.
Doesn’t a lawyer cost a lot of money though? Can I afford one?
Ultimately, everyone who is injured in a car accident should hire a lawyer and everyone can afford one. Personal injury lawyers are paid on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we are paid out of the settlement only if you get a settlement. If there is no settlement, personal injury lawyers are not paid anything. Most personal injury lawyers will charge 1/3 of the settlement, which seems like a lot but ultimately pays for itself in the money and treatment that you receive in the end. Clients never end up paying out of pocket as the lawyer is paid out of the settlement.