There are many reasons to hire a good, personal injury lawyer if you or a loved one is hurt due to someone else’s negligence. The biggest reason to hire an attorney for this work is because of experience – there are a lot of moving parts and having the right lawyer on your side may determine whether you win or lose.
In general you want to hire a personal injury attorney within a couple days of an incident. If you choose to do it yourself though, here are 4 scenarios where you’ll want to reconsider and hire a personal injury attorney.
#1. The insurance company offers you a low settlement amount (or even refuses to pay!)
Insurance companies can be very difficult to move along, and sometimes seemingly impossible to reach an agreement with.
You may be experiencing an endless stream of meaningless forms and interviews that continue to have you circling the “airport of a settlement,” but never landing. Some companies offer you a fraction of the amount you would be receiving had you hired a personal injury lawyer.
Others may out-right reject your claim. You see insurance companies keep interviewers, investigators, negotiators, accountants, actuaries, and lawyers on staff with the primary focus of paying out minimal settlements to retain their company’s funds. You have only you, until you employ a personal injury attorney, bolstered by their staff and a consortium of outside professional people and services.
#2. One or more parties are unreasonable
The old axiom about leading a horse to water…happens.
Certain people in our world are just flat out unreasonable or crazy and they won’t drink from the river of fairness no matter what. Other people become obstructionists for no apparent reason. When you have tried to push through those walls or work around them, you can only do so much.
Let a good personal injury lawyer like Paul Powell help you get the compensation you deserve. a personal injury lawyer to do it for you.
#3. You suffered severe or life-long injuries
When you experience or sustain traumatic injuries due to an accident, figuring out if and how your injuries will impact your future ability to earn a living and what value should be place on that can be a daunting task best handled by your experienced attorney.
- How will your on-going quality of life, or lack thereof, be affected?
- Will your injuries most likely be temporary or permanent?
- And how do you best go about finding out and documenting this information?
A good personal injury attorney has contacts with reliable medical professionals and can help you navigate the forms and interviews required by the insurance companies.
#4. Multiple parties are involved or it’s very hard to determine who is liable
You might be in a situation where lots of people besides yourself were injured. Or perhaps there are a lot of different entities involved, for example the owners of a location and the facility within it, certain equipment involved, 3rd party contracted personnel, maintenance or product failure. Naturally, the more parties involved the more complex agendas become and the more insurance companies and/or attorneys weigh in, either immediately or eventually. Complexity makes liability unclear. It can have multiple layers of people and companies all contributing liability and to varying degrees.
Sometimes your fellow claimants can become bigger issues than your known adversaries. As congenial as things may appear to be proceeding, when discussions about the settlement and who-gets-how-much starts between multiple claimants, things can get messy.
Be prepared and be proactive by securing a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Hire a good personal injury lawyer at the start
No matter your initial perception of the severity of your injuries or if you are partially at fault, securing a personal injury attorney will often be your best course of action. Experience attorneys can make the process go much faster and smoother – they’ve probably handled many cases like yours and will offer valuable advice at every stage.
If you’ve been injured don’t hesitate to contact The Paul Powell Law Firm today for your free consultation and evaluation. More Lawyer. Less Fee.