Are Personal Injury Lawyers Worth It?

Personal injury lawyers play a critical role representing injury victims. If you or a loved one were recently injured, you may be wondering if personal injury lawyers are worth it or if you should handle your personal injury case yourself. We cannot stress enough that you should always at least schedule a free consultation before you make your decision. In our opinion, a personal injury lawyer is always worth hiring to best represent you and allow you to focus on recovering from your injuries. Remember – insurance companies have their own lawyers and experienced adjusters whose job it is to pay as little as possible if there are any legal methods they can take advantage of to do so. Without your own injury lawyer, you can’t be sure if you are being taken advantage of by the insurance company.

What Do Personal Injury Lawyers Do?

A personal injury attorney represents injured clients that were hurt by another person’s negligence. They initially represent their clients presuit and if not able to settle, will fight for them in a civil trial. The attorney must prove that the other party was negligent and caused their client to suffer physical, psychological or economic harm. Their goal is to make their client whole again. They will use their expertise to get fair compensation and return the client to pre accident status. To accomplish this, they will discuss the facts of the case, gather witness statements, take photos, collect all related medical records and bills, confirm the wage loss, and negotiate with the insurance adjuster.

Are Personal Injury Lawyers Worth It?

One of the benefits of hiring an injury lawyer is their ability to thoroughly evaluate your case. There are a number of ways your injury lawyer will help assess the strength of your claim. They can also be instrumental in advising you of potential legal strategies that you might use to maximize the compensation you ultimately obtain. You should be sure to hire an injury lawyer with experience negotiating settlements and knowledge of State or Federal laws that apply to your case so they can pursue full compensation for all of your damages. Without a knowledgeable and experienced advocate, negotiating your claim and ensuring you take advantage of any State or Federal laws will be much more difficult if not impossible.

In most states you as the victim of a car accident must prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence. That requires you to gather all documentation that relates to your accident. This includes the crash report, photographs, statements, medical records and bills, wage loss confirmation and damaged personal items. The insurance company will demand all of this as part of their process. Once you have all this information, you will submit it to the insurance company for review. Without all of this, they will not provide you with compensation.

With the complexity of personal injury cases, there is just no substitute for a lawyer with knowledge of the laws and regulations that are relevant to your case. This might include State statutes, federal regulations or laws and unique cases that hold precedential value when it comes to your legal claim. Laws also change and a knowledgeable injury lawyer will keep up with any legislation that impacts your damages or rights to recover for injuries. Even resolving liens is a complex enough reason to hire a lawyer for just about every single case – so a personal injury lawyer is definitely worth it if you hire the right one. Another example is making sure you file any lawsuit within the statute of limitations so your claim is not time-barred. The list of potential nuances goes on and on and you are only putting yourself at a disadvantage and potentially jeopardizing your legal claim by trying to handle the case yourself.

Lawyers Can Help Significantly With Negotiated Settlements or Preparing for Litigation

Perhaps the most important role of an injury lawyer is negotiating on your behalf to resolve your case short of protracted litigation. While settling may not always be the best option, litigation is time consuming, stressful, and can delay receiving compensation for a significant amount of time. Your lawyers ability to skillfully resolve your case and maximize any potential settlement offers can save you from having to go through a full trial. Settling your case out of court is not always guaranteed and it may not be the best option but having an experienced negotiator to maximize the potential for settlement makes it worth hiring a personal injury lawyer.

If unable to settle, then you will have to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. That will entail some of the following steps:

File a complaint and summons
Obtain discovery
File motions
Enter into pretrial negotiations
Have a jury trial
Collect on the judgment
File an appeal

An experienced personal injury attorney will handle all of the paperwork, watch all legal deadlines, and help you to understand both the complicated process and procedures.

Should You Handle a Personal Injury Case Yourself?

You can represent yourself in your own personal injury case. You need to understand, however, that personal injury cases can be complex and the legal process can be tough to navigate. Mistakes made can be detrimental to your case. An experienced personal injury attorney can assist you throughout your case and make sure that each area of concern is taken care of. They can advise you through all the legalities and get you the compensation you deserve. Without legal representation, important deadlines can be missed and inadequate compensation can occur. The insurance company may not fairly evaluate the case or take advantage of legal nuances that you may be unaware of. In our view, you should never represent yourself for an injury claim.

About the Authors: Sawan & Sawan is a multi-generational, family owned law firm practicing law in the areas of car accidents, truck accidents, and other personal injury. Our firm practices law in Ohio, Georgia, and Michigan.