After a serious accident and injury, you may be overwhelmed with pain and shock. You may be out of work and have huge medical bills. You may think you can save money by making a personal injury claim. However, you can spend more time and money on the claim than you think and get less money in the settlement than you expected.

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What Is A Personal Injury Claim?

Personal injury laws in each state give you recourse and compensation if you suffered harm because of someone’s misconduct or negligence. Personal injury claims are filed after many accidents and incidents, including:

Personal injury laws are written to ensure that the victim can file a personal injury claim to receive compensation, usually for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.

Obtaining compensation in a personal injury claim requires proving negligence. This means you have to show that another party had a duty of care to you, they violated the duty of care, and you have injuries and damages.

Usually, a personal injury claim involves negotiating a settlement with the liable insurance company. Or, if a fair settlement is impossible, you may file a personal injury lawsuit.

You aren’t legally required to retain a personal injury attorney to represent your interests. However, hiring a skilled personal injury attorney to represent you for the most compensation is usually best.

What Are The Risks Of Handling Your Own Personal Injury Claim?

It might be tempting to make a personal injury claim yourself. You might think you can save on legal fees. However, making a personal injury claim yourself can be highly risky, challenging, and adversely affect your future for many reasons:

Lack Of Legal Knowledge

Personal injury laws can be complicated. Getting through the legal system effectively requires understanding the procedures and laws involved.

For example, suppose a truck driver injured you in a rear-end crash after he fell asleep. You may have hundreds of thousands in medical bills and lost earnings. Complex hours-of-service (HOS) rules govern how long a truck driver can work before resting. A truck accident attorney understands these complex regulations and how to obtain evidence and create a case that maximizes your compensation.

Without knowledge of the laws that govern the trucking industry, you are at a major disadvantage in negotiating the best personal injury settlement. You also don’t understand your legal rights and the compensation you can be entitled to in the claim.

Insurance Company Strategies

Insurance companies are skilled at reducing the value of a personal injury claim when the injury victim doesn’t have an attorney. Without insurance negotiation experience, you can get much less than you should. For example, you might not know that you should receive compensation for lost earning capacity for a catastrophic injury that prevents you from working.

Insurance adjusters may use aggressive negotiation tactics against you to increase pressure to settle for less than you deserve. A personal injury attorney won’t be intimidated by insurance adjusters and will negotiate as long as it takes for a fair settlement.

Valuing A Personal Injury Claim

Properly valuing an accident claim means understanding the full amount of your medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and mental anguish. An experienced personal injury attorney can assess your claims’ value fairly and document the factors for the insurance company.

A personal injury attorney can retain experts to testify about your medical bills, lost earnings, how the accident happened, your mental state after the accident, and more. Your attorney’s law firm has access to medical experts, psychologists, accident reconstruction professionals, and more. You probably don’t know all the experts who can help increase your claim value.

Procedural Errors

Many critical legal rules and deadlines govern personal injury claims and lawsuits. For example, every state has a statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. If you miss the deadline, you are ineligible to receive compensation. For example, Georgia has a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the injury, like many other states.

You may not know about the time limit without an attorney. You also can miss important court filing deadlines that affect your case. The judge and legal system won’t take it easy on you if you insist on handling your own case.

Court Experience

An experienced personal injury attorney has extensive courtroom experience presenting evidence, questioning witnesses, and making strong legal arguments. Personal injury attorneys are trained and experienced in these vital legal skills for years.

Also, developing a sound legal strategy for a personal injury claim requires plenty of experience. A skilled litigator will anticipate the other side’s arguments and prepare the case properly.

Financial Considerations

Many injury victims handle their own claims because they think they will save money. However, studies show that injury victims represented by personal injury attorneys usually get higher settlements than those who represent themselves.

Your personal injury attorney receives a contingency agreement for their work and experience. This means they are paid a percentage of your settlement or case award. They are only paid if they win your case, so you can access legal experience without upfront legal expenses.

Recovery And Stress Relief

Handling your own serious injury case is stressful and time-consuming. Dealing with difficult insurance and legal representatives can be difficult when you should focus on your recovery.

Your personal injury attorney can deal with the complexities of your legal case while you worry about getting better.

Overall, the legal complexities of personal injury cases, the aggressive methods of insurance companies, and the need to value your claim properly make it advisable to retain a personal injury attorney. A skilled personal injury lawyer will protect your legal rights, and you will get the most money for your losses.

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When Should You Always Contact A Personal Injury Attorney?

Talking to a personal injury attorney for free after an accident is always wise. The attorney can review the case and determine if another person’s negligence caused the accident. The attorney can tell you if there is a case or not that will lead to compensation.

However, there are specific personal injury claims where you should always hire a personal injury attorney:

Immediately After The Accident

You should contact a personal injury attorney immediately if there is an accident with severe injuries or death. For example, if you’re in a car crash with broken bones, head injuries, burns, or spine injuries, you should call a lawyer after you call for medical attention. A personal injury attorney should always represent you if someone’s negligence caused the death of your loved one.

Unclear Liability

Is there a dispute about who is at fault in a serious accident case? Your personal injury attorney will collect vital evidence, talk to eyewitnesses, and build the best case to prove who caused it.

For example, suppose you are in a multi-car accident on the highway in Atlanta. There can be several drivers at fault, and it’s possible that you can be wrongfully blamed. Always have a car accident attorney representing your interests and legal rights.

Problems With The Insurance Company

You should have a personal injury attorney involved if you received a very low settlement offer from the liable insurance company. Insurance companies are notorious for making low offers to people who don’t have an attorney.

You should talk to a personal injury attorney if your claim was denied. Your attorney can file an appeal and may take the case to court in a personal injury lawsuit.

Complex Claims

If your accident involved many victims and at-fault parties, having an attorney is critical. For example, suppose you suffered an injury in a bus accident, and there are 30 other accident victims and several liable parties, including the best driver, another driver, and the bus company. This is a complex case; you should have a skilled bus accident attorney to ensure fair compensation and justice.

Catastrophic Injuries

Some accidents involve catastrophic, life-changing injuries that prevent you from working. Common examples are serious brain injuries, spine injuries, burns, amputations, etc. These are high-value claims; getting the money you are entitled to is vital for your recovery and future.

Medical Malpractice

Did a doctor’s or hospital’s negligence cause your injuries? Medical malpractice claims are complex and challenging to prove. Always retain an experienced medical malpractice attorney to represent you.

Pain And Suffering

Do you have a serious injury that has intense pain and suffering? Negotiating your own settlement with the insurance company will probably underpay you for pain and suffering, and mental anguish. Your personal injury attorney is adept at negotiating a fair settlement for your physical and emotional pain related to your injuries.

Personal Injury Attorneys Take Cases on Contingency Agreements

It especially doesn’t make sense to handle your own serious personal injury claim because your attorney isn’t paid by the hour or a huge retainer upfront. Personal injury lawyers receive a contingency fee at the end of your case if they obtain compensation for you. If you receive a settlement or award, their fee is a certain predetermined percentage of your financial recovery. If you do not receive compensation, the attorney receives no legal fees.

The contingency fee structure means you can access legal experience without paying out of pocket, and the attorney is motivated to obtain more money for you. While paying a percentage of your recovery in legal fees might seem stressful, most people walk away with more due to strong representation, even after paying these fees.

The contingency fee model is why personal injury attorneys carefully review every case before they accept one. They want to ensure a high probability of a favorable case outcome before agreeing to represent someone. You can assume that your attorney thinks your case will likely lead to compensation if they sign you as a client. After all, they receive no payment if your case doesn’t end successfully.

How Much Will Your Personal Injury Attorney Get For You?

The size of your settlement always depends on the case details. Your case can be similar to another person’s, but they may receive more or less than you do. Injuries affect different people differently. You should call a personal injury attorney after your accident for a free case review, and they’ll tell you roughly what your claim can be worth.

Your case value will depend on many variables, including:

  • How injured you are: A severe head injury has a higher case value than a broken wrist or ankle. Long-term consequences for severe injuries are high, so more money is involved.
  • Medical expenses: If you need surgery and a month in the hospital for burns, your case value will be higher than if you were treated and released for soft tissue injuries.
  • Lost earnings: A spine injury may leave you permanently disabled and unable to work. Your case value will be higher than a minor injury because you will probably receive compensation for lost earning capacity for years.
  • Pain and suffering: You should receive more money for a severely painful injury, such as multiple broken bones that require surgery.
  • Insurance coverage: You may have a high case value, but the insurance company only pays a fraction of your damages. You can file a personal injury lawsuit to receive more, but the liable party must have substantial assets for a lawsuit to be worth it.
  • Settle or go to trial: Your claim can be worth less in a settlement, but taking a settlement means you get a guaranteed amount in your pocket. Going to trial is uncertain, but you can get more money if the jury finds in your favor.

Contact A Personal Injury Attorney Today

Handling your own personal injury claim is usually unwise. Retaining a skilled personal injury attorney to handle your case is always better. Your attorney can value your claim and negotiate effectively for the best settlement. They can also represent you in court if a lawsuit is necessary. Contact a skilled personal injury attorney today in your city for more information.

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