Personal injury lawyers are legal professionals who represent accident victims in their personal injury claims. A Fort Smith personal injury attorney understands the elements of a personal injury case and can assess clients’ cases to determine the presence of those elements and the victim’s eligibility to file a claim.
In most instances, accident victims often question whether or not they need a personal injury lawyer to file a claim. Some go on to ask what a personal injury lawyer does and how hiring one can benefit them and their case. All of these are valid questions, especially for someone that’s hurting and looking for ways to recover their damages.
This article goes over the important role of a personal injury lawyer and how their training, experience, and resources can help accident victims recover damages.
Protects The Client’s Right To Recover Damages
One of the biggest concerns after an accident and accident injury is who bears the financial responsibility for the losses. In most cases, the victim bears the cost of damages at first until they can establish their case and demand damages from the at-fault party.
The process of demanding damages isn’t quite as simple, especially for a non-professional. Adding the stress of the process to the injury sustained, it may be harder for victims to pursue their claim and see it to a logical conclusion.
Personal injury lawyers leverage their experience, expertise, and resources to protect victims’ rights and interests, ensuring they do not jeopardize their chances of reclaiming damages for the losses incurred.
In fact, personal injury lawyers can serve as a spokesperson for accident victims, ensuring that they do not offer statements that could be used against them in the future during the claims process.
Your personal injury lawyer can also;
Negotiate with hospital administrators as your medical bills begin to pile. This can reduce your financial stress pending the outcome of your claims.
Represent you before investigating officers if involved in a car accident.
Guide you in providing a critically curated statement to your insurance company in the aftermath of the accident.
Interface with the other driver’s insurance company to understand your version of the incident and how their client may be at fault.
Act as your spokesperson to address questions and concerns from the HR department (if you were injured at work), liability insurance (if you were injured on someone else’s property), or other active players in the case.
It is important to note that the help of your personal injury lawyer in these areas can significantly eliminate your stress, allowing you to heal and recover from the injuries sustained from your accident. Failing to hire an attorney brings all the weight down on your shoulder even as you manage your health and aim for a speedy recovery.
Establishes Your Claim
Personal injury cases can be complex. They rely on evidence to prove wrongdoing from one party, causing another party’s injury. If you have been injured in an accident, your attorney understands the importance of gathering credible evidence to prove your case and to stand against the at-fault party’s insurer.
As part of their role, your personal injury lawyer is responsible for hiring expert witnesses, accident reconstructionists, finding eyewitnesses, arranging available evidence, and ensuring that your claim is airtight.
Further to that, your injury lawyer is in charge of documenting your losses, calculating the monetary value of the losses, and contacting the at-fault party’s insurance with a demand letter. The demand letter will contain the damages suffered and the financial worth of those damages demanded to be repaid.
If rejected, your lawyer is also in charge of handling the discovery process to ensure there are no blind spots in the case as it proceeds to trial. Your lawyer can further improve your chances by collating evidence, logically presenting them, and establishing the elements of a personal injury case.
Handle The Complications Of Injury Cases
Personal injury lawyers understand their client’s rights and try to protect them. While this may sound simple, in practice, it is a lot of work. Your injury lawyer understands that insurance companies may try to wiggle out of claiming liability which may leave you stranded with huge medical bills and other losses.
To avoid this, your injury lawyer will carefully analyze your case, injuries, evidence, and condition. Your attorney will also go the extra mile to understand your side of the story and advise you of your rights and how you wish to proceed.
Based on the legal advice, you now have a better understanding of where you are and the options available.
Protecting your rights also means representing you at every point during the personal injury claims process. You can rely on your attorney’s experience and knowledge when the at-fault party’s insurer requests a negotiation meeting. As a skilled negotiator, your attorney will go into the meeting with an understanding of your losses and its extent, as well as the financial worth of those losses. The information will form the basis of their negotiation.
Based on the final offer presented, your attorney can advise on whether to accept or decline the settlement offer. Declining the settlement offer means your attorney is confident of winning a bigger sum in court.
Discuss And Interface With Insurance Companies
Representing yourself in an injury case may be cheap but has its downsides. Insurance companies will often come to the table with experienced lawyers ready to throw your case in the bin as quickly as possible. They may leverage their experience and expertise to strong-arm you into making hurried and bad decisions.
However, presenting an equally versatile, experienced, and professional lawyer levels the playing field. Your lawyer understands the law, and what you are allowed to demand and will take advantage of the situation to request the most for your damages.
The level playing field can increase your chances of getting the right amount for your losses while also protecting you from future financial problems arising from the long-term effects of the accident injury sustained.
Hiring a personal injury lawyer for your accident case has its advantages. More often than not, your personal injury lawyer will not charge a dime upfront until your claim has been won. This payment agreement ensures that the lawyer works hard to secure a favorable verdict in your case while you recuperate from the injuries sustained.