Friends and potential clients often ask me, “do I need a lawyer after a car accident?” The answer is not simple. Whether you’ve been hurt in the accident determines whether to hire a lawyer.
People that have been involved in a car crash often avoid hiring an attorney. This is not a problem for potential property damage claims. Property damage claims are relatively straightforward and there is minimal gray area to negotiate over.
However, when someone is injured as the result of a car accident, even if the injuries are not catastrophic, they should absolutely hire a personal injury attorney. Filing a personal injury claim is far more complicated and insurance companies tend to low ball injury claimants far more.
What does a Car Accident Attorney do?
The simple answer is “file a claim on your behalf.” But the reality is, personal injury attorneys do far more than that.
From the moment after an auto accident, a good accident lawyer will give quality advice. Potential clients will often call from the scene where the accident occurred if they are in pain. Someone hurt them. The insurance company wants to minimize the value of their insurance claim.
An experienced personal injury law firm will protect their clients from devious insurance adjusters. Often, insurance adjusters will attempt to speak to injury victims before they’ve hired an attorney. Adjusters take these statements in an attempt to get the victim to say something to hurt their potential claim. I’ve even heard recordings of insurance adjusters asking the victim to waive their potential injury claim hours after the crash.
An Experienced Florida Car Accident Attorney Will Investigate Your Claim
When contemplating the question of “do I need a lawyer after a car accident” I often find that the initial investigation of the at-fault driver is one of the most important aspects of a car accident claim. Previously, I discussed the importance of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Many drivers are inadequately insured. Aside from the numerous drivers that are uninsured, many don’t carry enough bodily injury coverage.
Nothing can be done in many situations where the other driver has inadequate overage. However, in certain select situations, drivers are underinsured but have assets which a personal injury attorney can attempt to go after. But without a thorough investigation of the driver that caused the accident, many injury attorneys will miss these opportunities.
Further, the liability investigation is quite often the key to your personal injury case. Insurance adjusters that have any hint of a justification to deny your claim will do just that. Even if the police report inaccurately reflects what took place in the crash, adjusters will use it as an excuse to deny your claim.
Without an experienced personal injury attorney, many victims would be left with their injuries, an adjuster’s denial, and no hope of receiving fair compensation. Instead, when you hire a high-quality personal injury attorney, you are getting someone who knows how to defeat the insurance company’s tricks.
An Attorney can Help you Find Medical Treatment
Most people do not know many doctors. Often, a person knows their primary care physician, their dentist, and one or two other specialists. But many of these doctors don’t handle personal injury cases. As a result, when someone gets in an accident, they often don’t have anyone that can treat them.
Personal injury attorneys often know many doctors that handle personal injury cases. This doesn’t mean an attorney will tell you what treatment to have. Instead, a good personal injury attorney will help you find the doctor that best suits your medical needs.
Attorneys Recover More for their Clients
Whenever I am asked “Do I need a Lawyer After a Car Accident in Florida?”I’m reminded of a study that showed that claimants with attorneys received, on average, settlements that were 3 ½ times larger than unrepresented claimants. This is because insurance companies are not afraid to make low ball offers to regular people.
When a person pursues their own claim, the insurance company has a distinct advantage in the negotiations. People without lawyers are far less likely to file lawsuits. As a result, insurance companies know that if negotiations reach an impasse, there is not much an unrepresented person can do to hold the insurance company’s feet to the fire.
Unrepresented people often don’t even know all the things they can recover. While many people will understand that an insurance company should pay their medical bills, some will forget to claim their lost wages or their future loss of earning capacity. An experienced personal injury attorney can make sure you receive all of the compensation you are owed.
Hire Knapp Accident & Injury Law
Knapp Accident & Injury Law knows the ins and outs of insurance companies’ plans to not pay your claim fairly. I represented insurance companies for years. Now, I represent injured people in their pursuit of justice against those same insurance companies (and have for over seven years). I have represented thousands of clients and know how to get your fair compensation.
Call Knapp Accident & Injury Law at (813) 568-3724 if you or a loved one has been injured as a result of the negligence of another person.
