A personal injury claim is both complex and frustrating for the common man. People file a claim when they are injured because of someone else’s negligence. Accident victims are not familiar with the claim process because they don’t deal with it every day.
This is exactly why victims should seek the help of lawyers. Personal injury lawyers deal with accident claims every day. They know how to assess a claim and obtain fair compensation for their clients. Visit www.varnerfaddis.com to learn more about why hiring a personal injury lawyer is important.
Why a personal injury claim is complex
The victim bears the burden of proof in personal injury cases. It means the victim has a duty to prove their claim. They should prove the four elements of personal injury law, which are:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty of care
- Causation
- Damages
In addition to all this, insurance companies try their best to make personal injury claims difficult for the victim. Insurance companies will be constantly trying new ways to cheat the victims.
Why should you hire a lawyer?
If you are insured, the insurance company will reach out to you and offer fair compensation for your losses. Or at least, that is what insurance companies claim to do.
In reality, they will do the exact opposite of their claim. Their goal will be to reject your claim or, in the worst case scenario, to reduce your compensation.
You need to understand that insurance companies are for-profit organizations that will do anything to make a profit. They make a profit by reducing or rejecting your claim.
Insurance companies use the following strategies to lowball accident victims:
- Deny your claim: Insurance companies will outright reject your claim. They do this because most victims don’t know how to handle a claim rejection.
- Delay your claim: They will use minor reasons like paperwork errors to delay your claim. The goal is to infuriate you and make you give up.
- Defend: If everything else fails, they will prepare to defend themselves. They will hire the best legal team to do that.
With the above strategies, insurance agencies can easily cheat an average person. But not lawyers. Experienced personal injury lawyers are well aware of these cheap tricks and will be prepared to counter them effectively.
This is the primary reason why you should hire a lawyer. They can protect you from the insurance companies. Read on to learn more about the benefits of hiring a lawyer.
Benefits of hiring a lawyer
It is evident that not everyone is equipped to deal with personal injury cases. Attorneys are well-experienced in handling personal injury cases. If that is not a convincing reason, here are the significant benefits of hiring a lawyer:
- Proper investigation
- Protection from insurance companies
- Accurate calculation of losses
- Negotiating with insurance companies
- Taking your case to court
- Peace of mind
Proper investigation
An investigation is the first step in any case. The first step in obtaining fair compensation is determining liability. Without a liability, there is no case.
Through investigation, you can find out who is liable. Lawyers will have connections with skilled private investigators who can conduct proper investigations.
During this investigation, the investigator will also collect relevant evidence to prove your claim.Evidence is necessary to win a case. Without substantial evidence, the case is just your words against theirs. So gathering evidence is crucial to winning a case. They will collect the following pieces of evidence:
- Photos of the accident scene and your injuries
- Medical bills
- Witness statements
Protection from insurance companies
As said, insurance companies will try their best to cheat victims. Experienced lawyers can protect you from them. Insurance companies are scared of lawyers because they know they can’t cheat lawyers.
Insurance companies will try to manipulate you into signing a lowball offer. They will also try to make you accept fault for the accident. An experienced personal injury lawyer can protect you from these cheap strategies.
Accurate calculation of losses
To obtain fair compensation, you need to know the full extent of your losses. It is impossible to obtain fair compensation without knowing what is fair.
A lawyer can help you understand the full extent of your losses. They will consider both economic and non-economic damages when calculating losses. Insurance companies tend to ignore non-economic losses. So do not trust their assessment of your claim.
Additionally, in some cases, it is possible to claim punitive damages. It is next to impossible to obtain punitive damages without the help of a lawyer. Punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant and not to compensate the victim. An experienced lawyer can secure punitive damages for you.
Negotiation with insurance companies
Insurance companies are experts at negotiating. They are trained to negotiate and reduce your compensation. No victim can deal with them. Only experienced lawyers can negotiate and reason with insurance adjusters.
Experienced personal injury lawyers know the cheap tricks insurance adjusters follow to reduce compensation and can counter them effectively.
Taking your case to court
Sometimes, a case cannot be solved outside of court. Personal injury cases rarely go to court. In fact, only 4% of personal injury cases go to court.
A personal injury case goes to court only when the insurance company is too greedy and does not agree to a fair settlement. Legal representation in court is very important since the court process is much more complex, frustrating, and tiring.
Peace of mind
Personal injury claims can be stressful. You should not be stressed when recovering. A lawyer can take that stress away from you and give you peace of mind.
When you know an experienced lawyer is handling your case, you can relax and focus on recovering.
Final thoughts
You cannot miss out on the great benefits you get from hiring a lawyer. If you are injured in an accident, consult a lawyer immediately after seeing a doctor. An experienced lawyer can get you much more than what the insurance companies offer.
