If you’ve been in a car accident and you or your passengers haven’t suffered any injuries, then you probably don’t need to contact lawyer after your auto accident. However, if you have suffered injuries – especially injuries serious enough to then then asnwer to “Do I need a lawyer after an auto accident?” is a definite “Yes!”
You may have friends or family tell you that the insurance company will make a reasonable settlement. Sometimes well meaning people will tell you that all a lawyer will do is take “a cut” of the settlement. Unfortunately, it’s very common for the insurance companies to try to strike the best deal possible – often at the expense of an injured person. Often, your best chance of obtaining a full settlement is to retain an experienced auto accident lawyer.
Do do you need a lawyer after an auto accident?
If the accident was minor – damage to the auto was minimal and your injuries were minor, there’s a very good chance that hiring a lawyer will not increase your settlement but will increase the costs to you. Even if the lawyer is working on a contingency basis, you’ll still be charged for such fees as medical reports, filing court pleadings, paying expert fees, deposition costs, copying and other similar administrative costs.
However, if you suffered serious injuries, the you really need to hire a lawyer after an auto accident to be sure to get adequate representation.
Here’s the basics of hiring a lawyer. Your traffic accidents was caused by negligence. Someone made a mistake and “should have known better”. It could have been negligence on your part, on the part of the other driver or it’s possible the fault is split between the two (or more) parties. When negligence (a.k.a. fault) is clear, the person who is injured can make a claim against the insurance company and usually collect some money for their injuries.
In most states, the amount of the money you can collect will be based upon the amount of property damage the car, payment for medical bills, and payment for lost wages. You may also be entitled to reimbursement for a rental car for a limited time and you may be able to collect for pain and suffering. If you’ve been disfigured or permanently scarred, you may also be entitled to additional money.
If the amount of property damage and medical bills is minimal – then your recovery will be minimal. Again, there are certain expenses involved when you hire a lawyer that must be considered. If your expenses and injuries were minimal, you may want to wait and hear what the other insurance company is willing to offer you in terms of a settlement.
However, be warned that it’s common for insurance companies to want to settle a case before the you (or the injured person) has completely recovered from your injuries. Often this is because what may first appears to be a minor injury could turn out to require extensive physical therapy, treatment or even surgery.
Once a settlement has been accepted, you can’t go back and collect more if it turns out you need more treatment later.
If in doubt, call several lawyers who specialize in handling auto accident cases. An honest lawyer will give you an honest assessment of whether or not you should hire a lawyer. Of course, if you call ten lawyers and nine tell you that you don’t need a lawyer, and one tells you that you DO need a lawyer – trust the majority and not the minority!