When & Why You Should Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal injury lawyers specialize in personal injury claims. Most personal injury lawyers will have had years of experience handling a variety of personal injury claims and will be able to provide legal help at any stage of a claim. 

Many, but not all, personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means that their legal fees will normally be deferred until a claim is won on behalf of a plaintiff. It is important to know in advance which personal injury lawyers provide this sort of service and whether they provide a free initial consultation during which your injury and claim can be discussed. 

Understanding Personal Injury Cases 

A personal injury may be described as any injury to a person which may have been caused by the negligent actions of someone else. That someone else may be an individual, a government agency, a business, or another sort of organization. The two most common types of personal injury claims in the U.S. are injuries caused by vehicle accidents and slip and fall or trip and fall accidents. 

Personal injury claims depend on proving that negligence occurred, and that this negligence caused the injury for which compensation is being claimed. 

Negligence may be established if it can be proven that another party’s careless actions were responsible for the accident that caused an injury for which you are claiming compensation. Personal injury claims are typically made after an avoidable accident has occurred. The party that could have avoided the accident must be established to have been negligent in their actions. 

In many, but not all cases, parties who have been alleged to have been responsible for personal injuries have liability insurance which may be used to pay compensation if it can be proven that their negligent actions caused an injury. For example, car drivers should have compulsory insurance in the event of an accident that they have caused. Store and supermarket owners should have premises liability insurance to cover them in the event of a claim against them. Personal injury lawyers can help negotiate with insurers when a claim has been made. 

When to Consider Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer 

Not all accidents that are not your fault need you to find a personal injury lawyer. Some accidents are quite clear-cut, and the car driver or property owner admits that the accident is their fault. If this is the case, the important factor is whether the at-fault party’s insurer will release the compensation you need to recover from any injuries and property damage you may have sustained. 

Unfortunately, quite often, it isn’t as easy as that. There may be a dispute about who was to blame. The insurance company involved may challenge the claim. In the case of an auto accident, the driver responsible for the accident may be uninsured or underinsured or may disappear from the scene without stopping (hit and run or phantom driver). A supermarket owner may allege that you weren’t taking enough care when you slipped over on the floor of their supermarket. 

If you have had severe injuries that incur very costly medical treatment or the injuries are likely to reduce your ability to earn a living long-term, then you must be very careful about demanding sufficient compensation to cover all your expenses into the future. 

In these more complex or challenging situations, it is advisable to hire a personal injury attorney who has experience with personal injury claims and negotiating with insurance companies. If you decide to go it alone and not use a lawyer, you may find that you cannot obtain sufficient compensation to cover all your necessary expenses. Insurance adjusters can be adept at finding ways of minimizing compensation payments. They are less likely to get away with this when forced to deal with an experienced attorney. 

Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer 

There are many advantages to hiring a suitably experienced personal injury lawyer to help you with a personal injury claim. Some of the key advantages are given below: 

• PI lawyers will have developed experience in personal injury law;
• legal help can help maximize the amount of compensation you obtain;
• lawyers can help investigate accident situations and gather useful evidence that can support your claim;
• personal injury lawyers will have gained experience dealing with and negotiating with insurers;
• if a claim cannot be resolved with an insurer, then the lawyer may advise going to court and handling the litigation process on your behalf. 

How to Choose the Right Personal Injury Lawyer  

It is important to carefully select a suitable personal injury lawyer who can best help you with your claim. Lawyers tend to specialize in a particular field of law, so there is no sense in asking for help from a lawyer who tends to specialize in criminal defense or business litigation cases! A lawyer who has had a proven track record in taking on and winning personal injury lawsuits makes a good choice. 

As most lawyers will provide a free consultation, you will get a feel for whether a particular lawyer will be suitable when you discuss your case. A good lawyer will be able to communicate with you easily, explain the law as it applies to personal injury cases simply, and be empathetic. 

You will need to ask the lawyer how their fees are paid. Most personal lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, also called a no-win-no fee system, but not all do, so you need to confirm the fee schedule before hiring the lawyer. 

How Are Personal Injury Lawyers Paid? 

As has been already mentioned, most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. You will need to find out whether a lawyer does offer this method of payment or whether they charge upfront. Most often, a lawyer will discuss your case during an initial consultation. This is usually free and allows the lawyer to decide whether the claim has a good chance of winning. Personal injury lawyers tend to be careful to only take on cases that have a reasonable chance of succeeding, especially if they are providing a contingency fee service. 

When lawyers are hired on a contingency fee service, legal fees are typically deferred until after a claim has succeeded and compensation is paid by the defendant’s insurer. The lawyer will make a suggestion for the amount of compensation to be demanded which includes legal fees and court costs, if any. If the case does not succeed, then the lawyer will not charge a fee, making it easier for the plaintiff to opt to file a claim, knowing that there is no need to pay fees upfront.

Conclusion 

You have the right to seek compensation after being injured through no fault of your own due to the negligent actions of another party. You must be careful to obtain sufficient evidence to support any claim for compensation. In many situations, you will find that an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you obtain the compensation you need to recover from injuries incurred. 

It is important to choose the best personal injury attorney to help you with your claim. Use this Free Case Evaluation to find a personal injury attorney near you.