While much depends on the specifics and the complexity of your car accident case, in general a lawyer can:
When to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
When should you hire a lawyer for a car accident?
Your lawyer will agree to a fixed percentage of the total award they win for you, typically one-third of the recovery of the final amount paid to the client. This also means that your attorney gets paid more if you get paid more, giving them more incentive to fight harder to achieve a successful outcome in your case.
This can include the following:
If the accident involved more than three parties, there is no doubt that you will need a car accident lawyer. This is mainly because it will complicate your insurance claim.
Sometimes, compensation can be done at the point of the accident- if both parties agree who is at fault. However, in case there is a disagreement, then you will have to find a lawyer. He or she will help you settle the dispute and help you earn a decent amount as compensation.
Perhaps the most important way an attorney can help you with your car accident case is by being your advocate. This means that your attorney acts on your behalf and for your benefit throughout the entire claims process (negotiating with the automobile insurance company) and even in court if a lawsuit becomes necessary. He or she will be your champion before the judge, jury and other attorneys, making sure that your side of the story is heard and that you are compensated for all of your losses.
Hiring a personal injury attorney to represent you after a car accident means you will have a professional working for you -- one who is extremely knowledgeable about the relevant laws and procedural rules that may affect your case.
Whereas this may be your first time dealing with the ins and outs of an accident claim, injury attorneys have dealt with all manner of claims and have faced the gamut of insurance company tactics. They have experience obtaining the necessary evidence to support your claim, including gathering police reports, witness statements, medical records and bills, and employment and lost wage information.
If you are unable to settle your accident case, your attorney can take care of filing the necessary paperwork to start a court case and can deal with the defense attorneys on your behalf. Having a seasoned professional navigate the day to day work of your case eases the burden on you so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries.
An experienced injury attorney can be extremely helpful in navigating the often chaotic and confusing world of insurance claims and injury settlements after a car accident. Here's what you need to know:
For instance, in many states you must file your lawsuit within two years of your car accident or be forever prohibited from filing your lawsuit. An attorney will also be able to inform you about any special exceptions to the statute of limitations -- for minors, for example.
Most injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning your lawyer only gets paid if there is a successful resolution to your claim.
This is also known as the statutes of limitations. Generally, the statutes of limitations for personal injury cases vary from one state to another. Hence, you should check out your state’s statutes of limitations for personal injury cases so you’ll know when the lawsuit should be filed.
Hence, they’ll not make the settlement process easy for you. Since you’ve been through a lot after the accident, they expect you to accept a lower offer than what you should recover based on the extent of your injuries.
While most cases can be settled through settlement, some lawsuits proceed to trial litigation. When this happens, you should hire a lawyer to navigate the trial correctly. Typically, facing trial litigation comes with specific paperwork and legal procedures.
But, no matter how careful you are in driving, accidents can still happen. Thankfully, even if you’re injured, you can get your life back by fighting for your rights against the at-fault party. You can do this by working closely with a lawyer to get the help that you need.
If a lawyer takes one-third of your recovery, then they'll need to improve your expectedresults by more than 50% to justify hiring them.
If the insurance company is not playing nice or refusing to acknowledge the full extent of your claim, you would definitely want to talk to an attorney.
Don't doubt there are attorneys who'll take on smaller claims in exchange for a higher percentage of the recovery.
Most injury and accident law firms offer free initial consultations, so feel free to ask around and get some advice before going forward with your claim .
Generally, if no people were hurt, or there was no damage ( no broken bones or potentially lingering injuries that cause you to miss more than a couple days of work), then it may not be worthwhile pursuing a personal injury claim. Just be careful making this judgment of “no injuries” yourself.
You're certainly entitled to have counsel present to protect your rights in small claims court . The law firm, however, is likely going to expect a fee for their services rather than working on contingency, since the expected recovery would be very small. It depends on the situation.
In a lot of instances, insurance companies do in fact do their jobs as expected. There are definitely situations where you'd want an attorney to be involved, but there are also times when obtaining counsel is simply overkill. Let's take a look at some of the cases where you may NOT need to hire an attorney after an accident.
Most car accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. (Learn more about how much a car accident lawyer costs .) If you decide to hire an attorney, you will need to sign a fee agreement, representation agreement, or some other document formally establishing the attorney as your legal representative.
Have you spoken to anyone else about the accident? This can include friends, family members, first responders, and anyone else involved in the accident.
You'll also need to provide any documents you have relating to the accident, such as medical bills, car repair estimates/invoices, photographs, police reports, e-mails and letters from insurance companies (and copies of any insurance claims you've filed related to the accident).
Make the most out of your first meeting with a car accident attorney, and make sure this person is the best fit for you and your case. After a car accident, once you've made the decision to hire an attorney, you're probably wondering what the first visit will entail. There are two main reasons for this meeting.
The first step will involve you explaining the facts of the accident, and the damages you've sustained. This conversation will probably be with the attorney, and/or one of the attorney's representatives, such as a legal secretary or paralegal.
Attorneys turn down cases for a variety of reasons, including: the attorney's workload. potential conflicts of interest. the scope of the lawsuit goes beyond the attorney's skills and experience, and. the attorney's firm may not have the financial resources to try your case, even though it has potential.
Even if an initial consultation has taken place online or over the telephone, the attorney will not have a full picture of the facts and circumstances surrounding your car accident case until the two of you can sit down and talk.