To Understand Insurance
Although almost everyone has insurance, not everyone has a lawyer. If you need to file a claim for a personal injury arising from someone else’s negligence, hiring an accident attorney will make it easy for you to understand insurance policies and receive complete high-level guidance about the insurance claim process.
Some personal injury cases that might arise include accidents involving moving vehicles such as a car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, rideshare vehicle or drunk driver injuries. Others could include wrongful death, dog bites and animal attacks, premises liability, spinal cord injury, and nursing home abuse.
However, your actions after an accident are critical. You do not want to do anything that may hurt your claim. If you talk to the insurance company before talking to an accident attorney, you could say things that devalue your claim or give the insurance company a basis for denying your claim.
Here are some tips for you to consider before you file an insurance claim for a personal injury accident:
- Review your policy.
- Know your rights.
- Be prepared.
- Be honest.
- Call a lawyer.
When To Hire a Lawyer
The most effective way to intimidate an insurance adjuster is to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer. Your accident attorney is a professional who spends years and countless hours studying the particulars of the laws and gathers knowledge to represent their clients to the best of their abilities.
You might be reluctant to hire a lawyer for minor injuries such as a dog bite or a bicycle accident caused by someone else. If you get into an accident and have a few scrapes and minor bruises, you might feel that it is not worth hiring a personal injury lawyer.
It might happen that the injuries you thought as minor turn out to be much worse. If you have already accepted a settlement offer from an insurance company, there is nothing you can do to further protect yourself.
By calling a lawyer first, you can get an objective opinion about whether you have a valid case. Attorneys are unlikely to recommend filing a claim unless they think there is a case, and they are likely to obtain compensation.
Are Insurance Companies Your Friend?
Insurance companies that are multi-billion-dollar businesses try to settle these types of claims for less than they are worth. And they will want to settle any potential claims as quickly as possible so that they will not be responsible for any future medical and personal expenses.
An insurance company may tell you that you do not have the right to talk to a lawyer and that if you do you might be hurting your case. This is not true and instead of talking to the insurance company about your claim, you can refer them to your lawyer.
Even if the other person’s insurance company offers to pay your medical bills and gives you a few hundred dollars for compensation, there are still important reasons for you to consider consulting an accident attorney. Your personal injury lawyer will advocate for your rights and guarantee you access to insurance coverage.
Your lawyer will represent your needs to the insurance company. This will help ensure that your interests are protected and that you obtain fair compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any property damage resulting from your personal injury accident.
Lawyers are Familiar with the Court System
If you are at all familiar with the courtroom, you probably know that courtroom proceedings are confusing and formal. So, if you have hired an experienced personal injury lawyer, your entire litigation process will be managed for you by them.
When a case goes to court, the settlement will include pain and suffering and emotional distress damages by the jury.
There is no need to worry about paying legal fees. Due to the fees, many people are reluctant to hire a lawyer. However, personal injury lawyers will only be paid their legal fees when they win or settle your case.
The Law Office of Matthew Shrum
The personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Matthew Shrum are highly experienced. They are expert in aggressively pursuing the compensation that our clients deserve. Our accident attorneys have access to former nurses on their staff to represent accident victims, with an in-house medical library for their team. Contact us today to see how we can work for you
See a complete list of personal injury cases listed on our website in the Personal Injury section.