If you have recently been in an accident and have experienced some kind of injury, you are probably thinking about whether you will need to hire a personal injury lawyer. It is very important that you work with such an attorney if you have received serious damage to your body.
Sure, you could go through all the paperwork of filing a lawsuit by yourself, but without the right knowledge and skill you might end up complicating the process. Submitting the wrong information may result in a denied personal injury lawsuit and you will not be compensated for your injuries which is not something you want. This is why you require someone who has both the experience and the knowledge to go through the legal system and all the documents that are required for filing such a lawsuit.
Keep in mind, some minor injuries might not require hiring an attorney because the compensation at the end might be less than the fee for the lawyer’s help. However, if you have been in a serious accident, then it is probably worth to pay those fees if you want a positive outcome after the lawsuit. Without the right help, there is a good chance that you either do not get any compensation or not enough to cover all of your medical expenses.
How to know if you should hire a personal injury lawyer
So, you have been in some kind of an accident that has caused you an accident. How do you know whether you should hire a lawyer to help you or whether you need to file a personal injury lawsuit at all?
Permanent damage
The number one reason or sign that you should hire such an attorney is if you had injuries that have caused you permanent damage to your body. This includes disabilities, long-term care, or even issues such as PTSD or other trauma-related problems.
You need to be properly compensated for these kinds of medical problems, but if you want to get enough money back you will need to work with a lawyer. An experienced user of the legal system will be able to calculate the “value of your injuries”. So, if you are in such a situation, make sure that you hire a lawyer to help you go through all the forms and documents to get the most out of your medical problems.
Bad Faith Tactics
Unfortunately, some insurance companies do not care about your well-being and will try to save on as much money as possible. They may even refuse to pay for your medical costs, even though it is very clear that you are the victim of the accident. This kind of thing is actually quite common in Pert Western Australia which is why you should learn more about how to convince the at-fault party to pay for the required expenses.
A personal injury lawyer who has experience with such companies will assist you in making a deal that will be good enough for you.
The severity of the injuries
The final compensation you receive is heavily dependent on the severity of the injuries you have received during the accident. After such an accident, and after you exchange all the required information with the at-fault party, usually, you would be contacted by their insurance company. Naturally, the insurance company will go through all of your medical statements, will calculate the costs of your injury, will check how much time you have spent recovering and other important information that may influence the final compensation price.
The bigger the medical bills, the higher the amount the insurance company will have to pay you. However, sometimes the bills can rack up such a price that these insurance companies will try to avoid paying back the full amount and settling with only a fraction. They will do everything in their knowledge and power to confuse you or lead you to believe that is how much you deserve. If you do not want to be lead astray by such a company, you will definitely need to work with a personal injury lawyer to help you get the most out of the settlement deal.
You are unsure who is at fault
Most of the time, it is very clear who is the victim and who is the victim after an accident. However, sometimes, multiple parties may have been a part of the accident which makes it harder to find out who was at fault. Naturally, even the at-fault parties will claim they are the victims, and you know that is simply not true.
After the insurance companies of all parties start to interfere with the case, a lot of things can get very complicated. For this kind of situation, you will need help from a professional. A personal injury attorney will be crucial to determine who was at fault and whether you will be able to receive compensation from multiple parties. Their insurance will work together to reduce the compensation amount as much as possible, but with the right lawyer, they will not be able to do such a thing. An experienced professional cannot be misled with false information and bad faith tactics.
Benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer
IF you are still not convinced whether you need to hire such an attorney, here are some of the things they can offer you which you can benefit from.
Free consultation
This can be very helpful, especially if you are in a situation where you don’t know whether you should or should not hire professional help. Many attorneys will provide you with a free consultation to help you understand the severity of your situation and whether you are the victim or the person at fault. If you do not feel like the attorney fulfills all of your needs and requirements, you can just tell them that you will be looking for a second opinion.
Make sure that you ask all the right questions to find out how they will handle your lawsuit in the future.