Being injured in a car accident is an experience that can stick with you for a lifetime. If your injuries were severe, you could suffer aches, pains, and disabilities for the rest of your life. Furthermore, traumatic car accidents can also lead to the development of PTSD and other mental and emotional issues.
Your experience will be even worse if you don’t receive the financial compensation you deserve from the insurance company or the guilty party. But do you really need to hire a car accident attorney?
We believe the answer is yes, and we’re going to tell you why. Keep reading for the top six reasons you should hire a personal injury lawyer and how they can help you with your case.
Table of Contents
1. You Experienced Severe, Life-Altering Injuries
As noted above, if you’re hurt in a car wreck, it can have lifelong consequences. Severe injuries can take months, if not years to recover from. Additionally, some injuries leave lasting pain, limited mobility, and weakened muscles and joints.
If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident, you must think about your long-term physical, mental, and financial well-being. For example, your injuries may prohibit you from engaging in your favorite hobbies, hold you back at work, or make the activities of daily life more challenging. If this is the case, you must seek fair compensation for the ways in which you are affected by the car wreck.
2. The Insurance Company Isn’t Working With You
One of the main reasons people reach out to a personal injury attorney is because their insurance company (or the other driver’s insurance company) is being difficult. They might be trying to settle low or denying your claim entirely. You must seek the help of a car accident attorney if you are being denied the restitution you feel you’re entitled to if you need more information you can read more about them.
Insurance companies are no different than any other business, – they exist to make money. Sadly, this means that they will often play hard-ball and try to give you the bare minimum settlement in a car accident case. In some cases, when fault cannot be proven, they might even deny your case completely.
An attorney can assist you in filing a personal injury lawsuit against the insurance agency. These cases rarely go to trial. However, they generally result in the insurance company settling for a much higher amount.
3. You Aren’t Sure If You Have Grounds for a Lawsuit
In some cases, it can be difficult to figure out what happened after being hurt in a car wreck. You may have suffered a head injury, blacked out, or been so hyped up with adrenaline that the details remain fuzzy to you.
In this scenario, you might not be sure if you have grounds for a lawsuit against the insurance company. A personal injury attorney will conduct an in-depth investigation of the car accident, calling upon official documents from police, witness testimonies, photos from the scene, and more.
Using this evidence, the attorney can help you establish a stronger case to prove fault or partial fault against the other driver. Then, based on the outcome of their investigation, they will work with your to figure out how much money you’re entitled to receive from the insurance company.
If you’re at all fuzzy about the details of your accident or don’t know who was at fault, take time to learn from a car accident attorney. They can guide you on what to do to substantiate your case.
4. You Don’t Know How Much Your Case is Worth
After being injured in a car accident, it’s important not to settle with the insurance company until after you’ve spoken with a personal injury attorney. As noted above, car accidents can have life-long consequences, some of which you might not be aware of until later.
By working with an attorney, you can uncover the true value of your case. A car accident attorney can point out all factors for which you can be compensated. For example:
- Emergency hospital bills
- Medication
- Physical therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages due to time off of work
- Mental and emotional suffering
- Loss of job and potential earnings
- Resulting physical disabilities
- Lower quality of life
- Damages to property
- And more
If you don’t consider all of these factors and settle early, you could have major regrets down the road.
5. The Accident Resulted in a Wrongful Death
Another reason you should hire a car accident attorney is if the accident resulted in the wrongful death of a loved one. Losing someone you care about to an accident can be a heavy burden to carry. It often comes with mental and emotional trauma, pain, and suffering.
However, if that weren’t reason enough for filing a personal injury lawsuit, you must also consider the long-term consequence of losing that person from your life. This is especially important if they were a provider in your family.
For example, by working with a personal injury attorney, you can seek compensation for:
- Lost month wages and potential earnings
- The loss of their potential retirement
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial costs
- Childcare
- And more
Losing a loved one is hard enough. If you don’t receive adequate restitution for your loss, it can be even more difficult to grieve and get your life back together.
6. You Need Help Preparing and Presenting Your Case
Even if you know you have a strong case and are fully aware of your damages and what they mean for your future, you probably don’t have the legal experience and expertise to prepare and present your case. A car accident attorney is trained in law and knows how to prepare a case for court.
As noted earlier, these cases rarely go to court, but you must still present a strong case to the insurance company to persuade them to settle for (or closer to) your requested amount. Without the professional assistance of a personal injury attorney, the insurance company won’t take your case seriously.
Do You Need a Car Accident Attorney?
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you might be entitled to financial compensation. Don’t settle with your insurance company until you seek the advice of a car accident attorney. They can help you look to the future, prepare your case, and get fair restitution for your physical, mental, and financial damages.
And if you’re looking for more personal or professional advice, check out some of our other articles while you’re here. Our blog is full of valuable and insightful information for people just like you.
