Three Consequences Of Not Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney After An Accident
Posted on: 6 January 2019
If you have been injured in an accident, such as a car accident, you will be seeking compensation for your injuries. This will be true whether you were hit by another car or you were a passenger. You may decide to file a claim with an insurance company and not bother consulting with an attorney. This is a mistake. There are usually consequences when you have no legal representation. The following are among the most significant.
You will not be able to negotiate effectively
Specifically, you will not be able to negotiate in a meaningful way. Claims adjusters and attorneys for insurance companies have enormous experience negotiating the best deal they can get for the insurance company. You are simply over matched. These people are so good that you are likely to believe you got a great settlement offer, but nothing could be further from the truth. They will be focused on keeping you from contacting an attorney with arguments that you will only be sharing your settlement money with an attorney. But it doesn't always get to this point. Insurance representatives are sympathetic to your medical condition. You may think they are there to help you, but only an attorney is your advocate.
You may sign away your rights
All an insurance company wants you to do is sign a settlement offer. Often you may get a check thinking that if you have future expenses, you can always file a new claim, but this is seldom true. Buried in the paperwork will be a clause that states you forfeit any future claims against the insurance company. The check you receive will be the only check that you get, and this may not be sufficient. You may find out later, you didn't heal quite right, and now you need physical rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it is going to come out of your own pocket.
You will seldom get what you are entitled to
You have to first understand what you are entitled to before you can seek the full amount. Unless you have gone to law school and have experience with personal injury cases, you will not get all of the money you have coming to you. It is not just a matter of being reimbursed for medical expenses, but all future medical expenses that need to be estimated. You are also entitled to money for missed time at work. In most jurisdictions, you are entitled to monetary compensation for pain and suffering.
It is best to have an attorney from the beginning. Let a lawyer be your advocate and provide you with legal counsel. And don't worry about the cost. Personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, so they don't get paid unless you get compensation. Contact a firm, like Borbi Clancy Patrizi, LLC, to get started.
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