Learn When to Hire a Car Accident Attorney
Car accidents do not always require hiring a car accident lawyer. However, it can still be challenging to handle a claim on your own when you are trying to recover from your injuries.
If you were injured in a car accident, you should consult a lawyer immediately. It’s essential that you and your family get better, especially if you lost a loved one or got injured severely. Plus, it’s extremely important to understand how comparative negligence works and how your chances of obtaining compensation can significantly decrease if the insurance adjuster is successful in convincing you to confess fault.
Allowing a car accident lawyer to speak on your behalf can help you avoid saying or doing something that does not serve you well. Additionally, your lawyer will gather and analyze evidence to prove that the other driver is to blame. You can count on lawyer investigate not just the actions of the other driver, but any other parties involved.
In this guide, we’ll explain why hiring a car accident lawyer is important and when it’s necessary.
How Serious are Your Injuries?
There may be no injuries at all or only minor injuries in some car accidents. Hiring a car accident lawyer is probably not necessary to help you get the compensation you are entitled to if you merely get a few cuts and bruises. However, after getting in a car accident, it is important to visit the emergency room. Even a slight car accident can cause traumatic brain, neck, and back injuries, and make damages to internal organs.
To prevent potentially fatal injury, prompt diagnosis is essential. The complexity of the injury’s treatment increases with its severity. As therapy becomes more complex, costs will probably rise. You should have legal counsel on your side if you get significant injuries in a car accident that was someone else’s fault. Those who attempt to handle these claims on their own are unlikely to account for the entire scope of their losses.
A car accident lawyer can properly account for the severity of your injuries and the damage involved, as well as negotiate for full compensation on your behalf.
Economic Vs. Non-economic Damages
The losses you suffer as a result of a defendant’s negligence are known as damages in personal injury law. Damages can be economic or non-economic.
Economic damages represent financial losses and include such things as:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages and income
- Property damage
These losses are typically easy to prove and calculate because they come with a pre-attached value. For example, the cost of a medical expense is determined by the amount you were billed.
In contrast, non-economic damages are more abstract and subjective and do not have an inherent or easily identifiable value. Possible non-economic damages include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Physical impairment, such as the loss of a limb, body function, or paralysis
- Mental anguish, including anxiety and embarrassment
- Decreased quality of life
- Loss of consortium
What Damage Came as a Result of the Accident?
First of all, you face medical expenses and lost income from missed days of work. Also, you risk not being able to return to your workplace and don’t forget about property damage.
Every car accident victim suffers from emotional anguish, including anxiety, fear, and insomnia. Some of them lose enjoyment of life for some time.
When a loved one dies in a car accident, family members may be entitled to wrongful death settlement. Without hiring a car accident lawyer, it’s possible that you won’t know the full extent of the compensation you and your family may be entitled to.
You can determine your current losses as well as your potential future losses by consulting a competent auto accident attorney.
What is the Lawyer’s Role?
You have a limited amount of time to submit a claim following a car accident, which is another reason to contact an attorney immediately. Typically, you have two years following a car accident to file a claim for injuries or wrongful death.
This is a legal requirement that is separate from the time limit for telling your insurance company about the accident. Usually, you have no more than 30 days to tell your insurance company about an accident.
Hiring a car accident lawyer will ensure that all insurance and legal deadlines are met. In addition, your attorney can negotiate with insurance companies in an effort to get a fair settlement.
In the event that no settlement can be reached, your attorney can file a lawsuit with the court, prepare for trial, and fight in court for the maximum compensation you deserve.
A car accident attorney handles your case so you and your family can focus on recovery.
In reality, everyone involved in a car accident, no matter how minor, can suffer significant psychological distress. In the majority of cases, it is in your best interest to consult with an attorney immediately.
Attorneys at HURT-511 have extensive experience representing clients in car accident lawsuits. We have won major settlements for victims and their families all over NYC, and we’ll use all of our skills, resources, and expertise to help you get a fair settlement. Contact us now at 1-800-HURT-511 to receive a free case evaluation from one of our NYC car accident lawyers. We work on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win your case.