Lincoln once said, “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” While you may wonder if it is worthwhile to hire a personal injury lawyer, having one on your side can ensure you don’t miss out on compensation and may award you quite a bit more than expected.
Personal Injury compensation occurs when it’s proven that a person has injuries. You can have a minor accident with a big injury. You can have a big crash with no injuries. This all depends on the person sitting in the car—if they had their seat belt on, or if they have a pre-existing condition that is exacerbated because of the accident, etc.
For example, let’s say a man with a bad heart gets rear-ended. It may be a minor collision, but he gets so anxious over it that he has a heart attack and dies. Compare this to a guy that has no pre-existing health issues at all. He exchanges information and leaves. Same collision, same property damage, different results.
When to hire a Personal Injury lawyer
As far as we are concerned, if someone has an accident, they should get a hold of a lawyer right after they go see their doctor. A Personal Injury lawyer is going to consider all of your needs, both in the moment and in the future, in your compensation plan. On the other hand, insurance company representatives will often provide settlements that seem large but are insufficient in the long-term.
For example, we recently had a client that has a 5% disability in his neck. He’s 38 years old, and the neck injury causes him to have these bad headaches. The judge assigned $34,000 for the case, which seemed like a lot of money for the client, and he wanted to settle. The insurance company started off at $6,000 before increasing to $37,500. We felt the case was worth more than the judge and insurance companies did, so we went to court. We just got a jury verdict for $120,000.
I don’t have money for a doctor. What do I do?
This is another reason why you should see a lawyer relatively soon. If you don’t have insurance, we know certain doctors that will see our clients on what we call “letter protection.”
We issue a letter protection so that clients can see a doctor and get the help they need. These doctors know that when the case gets settled, they’re going to get paid for their time. It is important that you see a doctor immediately. If you can’t prove an injury, you can’t collect on a Personal Injury claim.
I have been working with a lawyer already. Can I change representation?
A lot of people come see us when they already have a lawyer that they’re not happy with, so they switch over. When that happens, the client only pays one legal fee that the former lawyer and the current lawyer end up dividing between themselves.