Why are personal injury attorneys in such high demand? Each year, there are around 2.35 million car accidents that result in 37,000 deaths.
Beyond these numbers are motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, rideshare accidents, and bicycle accidents. In fact, 45,000 bicycle accidents happen annually.
Have you been injured in a personal injury accident? Are you wondering if you should seek help from a personal injury attorney?
Read on to learn more about what a personal injury attorney can do to help you following your injury.
What Is a Personal Injury?
You might be surprised to learn that a personal injury is actually a legal term. It means a person is injured either by body, mind, or emotions.
When there’s a personal injury case, it involves all of the costs, both physical and emotional, that result because of the injury. If you’re injured, you’re facing medical bills, physical therapy bills, medications, and rehabilitative care.
The emotional toll is immense when you consider not only the injury but also the recovery. The cost of a personal injury accident can be wide-ranging. It can include:
- Wage and productivity losses
- Medical expenses
- Administrative expenses
- Motor-vehicle damage
- Employers’ uninsured costs
This is why you should get a personal injury attorney involved with your case.
What Is a Personal Injury Attorney?
A personal injury lawyer is a legal professional who works specifically on cases where there’s been a personal injury. Typically, personal injury will come in the form of a physical or psychological injury.
These injuries often occur following some type of negligence. Negligence may happen as a result of another person’s actions. It can also occur with a company, government agency, or other entity.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do?
A personal injury lawyer is responsible for representing the victim of a personal injury. They will investigate the circumstances related to the injury, calculate damages and file a claim as needed.
The attorney is responsible for working with all the involved parties, including insurance companies, to reach a settlement or take the case to court.
Very few personal injury cases actually go to court. More often, the personal injury attorney works on behalf of their client to reach an acceptable settlement for compensation.
If your case needs to go to trial, you want to hire a personal injury lawyer who has trial experience and is ready to fight on your behalf in the courtroom.
Why Is Hiring an Attorney Important Following Your Personal Injury?
When you suffer a personal injury, many things can happen. You get saddled with many medical bills. You may miss work and need extensive care, depending on your injury.
You may also have physical property that was impacted by your injury too. In addition, you may also suffer significant pain and suffering because of another person’s negligence.
A personal injury attorney knows how to approach your case, negotiate with all the parties involved, and work toward compensation for you.
The Benefits of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal injury suits without a lawyer can result in smaller outcomes. To get the best result for your case, there are a number of things your personal injury lawyer will do for you.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer.
Understand the Legal Process
One thing a personal injury lawyer does is help you understand the legal process. The attorney knows the laws related to personal injury cases and can make sure you get all the advantages available to you.
For instance, your lawyer will know the specific laws related to liability. They will also know the many ways to get you compensation and how to calculate what compensation you deserve.
They also make sure that those who are liable for the personal injuries are held accountable through the law.
Investigate on Your Behalf
Another important thing that your personal injury attorney will do on your behalf is investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. While the police may provide an accident report, often there’s much more to an accident. This includes details such as:
- What was the person who caused the accident doing prior to the accident?
- Were there witnesses who may provide more insight into how the accident unfolded?
- Does the driver at fault have a history of reckless driving?
- Were there other factors that may have contributed to the accident?
These are just a few of the questions your personal injury attorney will dig into as they start to investigate.
If you have any questions about liability, your personal injury attorney will work to protect your interests. The more information your attorney has about the circumstances related to your accident, the more negotiating power they may have as they work through your case.
Calculate Your Claim
Many people who seek help with a personal injury case hope to get their medical expenses covered. Often, they don’t realize the many expenses that can be included in their claim.
A personal injury attorney will know how to calculate your personal injury claim to fully understand the expenses that it involves. This might include your medical bills and lost wages from work. Your attorney will also work to calculate those less tangible parts of your claim that include pain and suffering related to the personal injury.
Communicate With Insurance Companies
One of the most difficult parts of a personal injury case is dealing with the insurance companies involved.
They can often use tactics to get the victim to quickly settle so they won’t have to pay a higher claim. It can also be a challenge when there are multiple insurance companies involved.
Making sure the insurance companies are fair and pay what they should is an important part of their personal injury attorney’s job.
Insurance companies are notorious for attempting to get accident victims to take a quick settlement offer. Some will act to intimidate the accident victim so they take a lowball offer.
Negotiate for You
Because many personal injury claims typically don’t go to trial, the negotiations that happen before that are extremely important.
Your personal injury attorney can calculate what the claim should be worth. Then it’s their job to negotiate with the parties involved to get as much as possible.
Guide You Throughout Your Case
Experiencing a personal injury at the fault of someone else is traumatic. It can feel overwhelming and scary as you navigate your recovery and face all the bills that come with the injury.
An important role your personal injury attorney can play is to guide you through the process. They understand how personal injury cases progress and will offer expert advice every step of the way.
Hire a Lawyer to Handle Your Personal Injury Case
Once you’ve hired an experienced personal injury attorney and they start working on your behalf, you’ll fully understand the many benefits of allowing them to handle your case.
If you’ve experienced a personal injury and need legal representation, we can help. Get in touch to set up your free consultation so we can help you get the compensation you deserve.
