When Should you Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer

Although there is no particular deadline or guideline as to when to hire a personal injury lawyer, you must hire the lawyer’s services shortly after the accident. Going without counsel during any part of the process will you a disadvantage. After being injured in an accident like a car crash, slip and fall, motorcycle or bike wreck, and other kinds of mishaps, you want to ensure you get favorable results in the end.

If you are wondering when to hire a personal injury attorney, keep reading to know the answer:

Consider the Severity of your Injury

If you have a minor injury and the time to work on the legal and insurance claim by yourself, you may be able to settle your own claim. But, you must think about seeking help from a lawyer for any injury that requires medical care and is accompanied by pain that lasts for longer than a few days. Injuries that require hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, physical therapy, cosmetic surgery, chiropractic work, or orthopedics need to be assessed by an injury lawyer.

Take Into Account who is At Fault

If you think that your injury resulted in somebody else’s negligence, you must consult with a personal injury lawyer. It is not easy to prove legal fault and your lawyer is an expert at it. It includes applying some standards to the evidence. To ensure important evidence is collected and preserved, contact a lawyer immediately.

Discussing your Claims with Insurance Providers

Insurance companies have adjusters and claims representatives who work to reduce their losses by reducing the amounts of payout in injury claims. When a representative of the other party’s insurance company has contacted you and asked for your recorded statements, story, medical records, releases and other information, don’t give in right away. Instead, tell them that they should talk to your lawyer. Keep in mind that insurance adjusters are looking to get you to make statements which could harm your claim. Also, do not sign releases without the review of your lawyer. Insurance companies will ask for releases which are blanket authorizations which let them dig through your entire medical history. They will do this to try to blame you for your injury on a pre-existing condition. The reasons the company contacts you is that they find your claim valid. Thus, they want to collect information that can help in reducing your payout or denying it altogether.