Tens of thousands of Americans suffer injuries in auto accidents annually. If another driver hits and injures you, you have the legal right to obtain compensation for your losses.
No law says you must hire a car accident attorney after a car accident to obtain compensation for you. However, many auto accident victims decide to train an auto accident lawyer to maximize their compensation while the injured recover from their injuries. Hiring a car accident attorney doesn’t guarantee a case result but increases the chances of a favorable outcome. Car accident lawyers regularly obtain better settlements than non-attorneys can get by negotiating on their own with the insurance company.
Not every car accident claim benefits from hiring a car accident lawyer, but many do. How do you know? Keep reading to know when you should hire an attorney. If you have questions about your case, a car accident attorney in your can answer them.
Who Will Pay For Your Damages After A Car Accident?
You are probably confused and stressed after a major auto accident. Many injured parties don’t know where to seek legal advice after a crash. They also want to know who will pay for their medical bills and other expenses. This depends on who caused the accident. Assuming that another driver hit you, they will generally need to pay for your damages, one way or another. Options for compensation after an accident caused by another driver are:
- Your auto insurance: You should always report any auto accident to your insurance company, regardless of who is to blame. Your auto insurance policy may cover your initial medical bills and property damage. Then, if another driver is at fault, the insurance company will seek reimbursement from the other insurance provider.
- The other driver’s insurance company: You can also contact the other driver’s insurance company and file a claim. If the other driver caused the crash, their insurance company may accept liability and pay a settlement for your medical bills and other losses. However, if you have a serious injury, having a car accident attorney handle negotiations with the other insurance company is best. Insurance companies are known to lowball injury parties who don’t have an auto accident lawyer.
- Your health insurance: One of the common issues with auto accidents is getting one’s immediate medical needs paid for. After all, even if another driver is at fault, it may take weeks or months to get an insurance settlement. You have medical bills now. So, you may initially turn to your own health insurance to pay for your medical needs. However, you may have co-pays and deductibles to meet. If the other driver hit you, your health insurance company will eventually seek reimbursement from their auto insurance company.
Navigating the insurance maze after a serious car accident can be difficult. It’s especially tricky when you have a severe injury. In many cases, the better choice is to retain a car accident attorney to represent you. An attorney knows how insurance companies work and the tricks they employ to reduce what they pay. But not every case requires an attorney’s help. How do you know if you need a car accident lawyer?
5 Signs That You Need A Car Accident Lawyer Now
There are several situations where you should have a car accident attorney right for your rights:
You Have A Serious Injury
The more serious a car accident injury is, the more money is at stake. The other driver’s insurance company doesn’t care about your recovery; they want to pay you as little as possible. With a serious injury, such as broken bones, the insurer will try to get you to accept less than you deserve. This is a serious injury that will require extensive recovery and lost earnings, and you will suffer significant pain. A car accident attorney should negotiate your settlement.
If you have a severe, life-changing injury, such as a major head injury, an attorney is a must. You may need treatment and care for months, years, or life. No non-attorney can begin to accurately estimate or negotiate a fair settlement for such a severe injury.
You Don’t Know If Your Injury Is Serious
Some accident injuries may not be as serious as a head injury, but you still may feel like you are not getting better. After a few weeks or months, maybe you still have a nagging injury in your back or leg, and you can’t do what you used to. If this describes you, it’s important to have an attorney represent you in settlement negotiations. An experienced lawyer will hold the insurance provider to account for the full long-term costs of your injuries and not simply what you need today.
You Aren’t Sure You Can Pay For Treatments
Car accidents often lead to financial problems and stress. If you are unsure how to cover your necessary medical treatments, the insurance company probably isn’t offering a large enough settlement. A car accident attorney can help you obtain the treatment you need today, but you won’t have to pay for it until the case is settled. Auto accident attorneys often have agreements with local medical providers who will provide care now and accept payment after a case settles.
The attorney may also negotiate a larger settlement with the insurance company. It may help if the attorney threatens a lawsuit. Many insurance companies want to avoid a serious auto accident case going to a jury. Juries are unpredictable and can award you more money than you will receive in a settlement.
You Are Out Of Work
If you cannot work after the car accident, there’s a good chance the insurance company won’t fairly compensate you for your lost work time. A car crash lawyer will pursue fair compensation for your missed work time.
The Insurance Company Blames You
The insurance company may blame you in several ways. They can say that you didn’t get medical treatment fast enough. Or, it can say you were partially at fault and will not receive full compensation. Another tactic is to question the type of medical treatments you receive. An attorney will ensure you are not unfairly blamed and questioned after the accident.
The insurance company also may not take you seriously when you don’t have an attorney. It knows that injury victims aren’t lawyers and usually don’t know how to negotiate or what their claim is worth. A car accident attorney is a professional negotiator and knows roughly what you should receive for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Get A Free Consultation If You Aren’t Sure
Maybe you aren’t sure if you need a car accident attorney for your car accident claim. The good news is that you can usually have an experienced car accident lawyer review your case for no charge. Car accident attorneys are paid by contingency agreement, so you don’t pay upfront legal fees.
A car accident lawyer can go over your case today to see if there is a case. You can have a valid claim for compensation if:
- Another driver, entity, or company was liable for the accident.
- You have accident injuries, such as broken bones, cuts, scrapes, or head trauma.
- You can prove that another party caused the accident.
- Your damages can be covered through monetary compensation.
When Do You Not Need A Car Accident Attorney?
You should understand by now when you should seek a car accident attorney. However, there are limited cases where you may not need legal help. Some of the accidents that you can probably handle on your own have these characteristics:
- No one suffered an injury in the car accident.
- You don’t have any property damage.
- You have an older vehicle with high mileage.
There still can be times in the situations above when you do need an attorney. However, minor accidents with few damages and injuries usually are not worth enough to pay an attorney. You can almost always benefit from a car crash attorney if you have suffered any injuries in a car accident.
How Can You Increase Your Car Accident Settlement?
Whether you hire an auto accident attorney or not, you want to obtain the most money for your damages. You can get the medical care you need with plenty of compensation and recover as much as possible. How do you get more money from your settlement? Here are some critical tips:
- Preserve accident evidence: Try to obtain videos and photos of the accident scene. If you are too injured, ask a friend or family member to do so. Visual evidence from the accident scene can be crucial to proving fault. Also, take pictures of vehicle damages and positions, injuries, and up close photos of vehicle damages.
- Obtain medical attention immediately: See a doctor immediately if there is any chance of injury. You may feel ‘fine’ after the accident and wake up the next day with back pain and a splitting headache. It’s always best to be safe rather than sorry, so see a medical professional after the crash. This action ensures your health is protected and also preserves your legal options.
- Do what your doctor says: Seeing the doctor after the accident is good. If you don’t follow their instructions, however, you’ll have problems. The insurance company will discover you are not attending your appointments and following through. Expect the adjuster to question your injuries and losses if you fail to follow your treatment plan.
- Get a copy of the police report: The police should have shown up at the accident scene and filed a police report. The report can contain important information about who caused the crash. Get a copy of the report for your records and give it to your attorney.
- Carry underinsured and uninsured auto insurance: It’s common for drivers not to have auto insurance, even though it’s required. It’s possible that an uninsured driver can injure you. This is when having uninsured and underinsured coverage on your policy can save the day. It also costs a few dollars more per month to have this coverage. It also can be critical if you are the victim of a hit-and-run.
- Consider future expenses: One of people’s biggest blunders when negotiating a settlement is needing to consider future medical expenses fully. If you have a major back injury, you probably don’t only need your current medical bills covered. You also need medical compensation for future care and rehabilitation. This is another reason hiring a car accident attorney is often best. Your lawyer will know how to negotiate for your current and future medical needs.
- Don’t talk about your case: Whether it is after the crash or hanging out with family and friends the next week, you shouldn’t discuss the case. This includes posting anything on social media about your claim or lawsuit. Anything you state about your case can be used against you. Insurance companies are known to hire private investigators to monitor injury victims. If they say or do anything that makes your injuries appear less serious than they are, you can get less in your claim.
- Hire an auto accident lawyer: Auto accident attorneys have years of experience and training in personal injury law. They know how to correctly value a claim, negotiate a settlement, and go to court in a lawsuit, if necessary. Most injury victims don’t get as much as they can in their case because they try to settle their own claims. The sooner you have an attorney review your case, the better!
Do You Need A Car Accident Lawyer?
If you have piles of medical bills on your table and are out of work after a car accident, don’t think about taking on the insurance company without a car accident attorney. You can bet that the insurance company will have several lawyers attempting to reduce what the insurance company pays. Level the playing field by having a car accident attorney negotiate on your behalf. Speak to a personal injury lawyer in Mississippi today for a free consultation.
