When Should You Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?

According to the CDC, there are close to 40 million personal injury cases that occur in an average year.

While it’s something we’d rather not think about, personal injury cases can happen to us. There might come a time when you’ll need legal services to receive justice.

But what are the benefits of a personal injury attorney and when do you need one?

This detailed guide will show you how to go about hiring a lawyer and why it might help you.

Here’s what you need to know:

What Are the Types of Personal Injury Cases?

First, let’s look at some of the types of personal injury cases you might get involved in.

A personal injury lawyer can help you fight any of these cases and will help you receive compensation.

Car Accidents

Car accidents are one of the most common types of personal injury cases. This means that someone else’s negligence led to your car accident. It can mean that you were hit by another driver.

It can also mean that the infrastructure was poor and this led to your car accident.

For example, if potholes weren’t fixed then you can sue for personal injury if you get into a car accident.

This is also something that many truck drivers have to consider. Truck accidents are a special type of personal injury case and there are lawyers to help fight such cases.

You can click here for more details to learn about it.

General Negligence

This is when someone else’s negligence leads to your injury. This can be something as simple as the janitor not mopping the floor of the pub. You enter the pub, slip and injure yourself, and can bring up a personal injury lawsuit.

This is another common type of personal injury case. Someone else’s negligence can cause serious injury to you. 

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice refers to negligence during a medical procedure that can cause harm to a patient.

For example, this can include a doctor prescribing harmful medication. It can include a surgeon not sanitizing tools during an operation. These are very serious and can cause lifelong issues.

Once again, a personal injury lawyer will help fight such a case. This is something you don’t want to fight on your own.

The medical industry is powerful and only a strong lawyer can assist you.

How a Personal Injury Attorney Assists You

Now let’s look at how a personal injury attorney can assist you with fighting your case.

While you can always fight a case on your own, this is usually not suggested. Your personal injury attorney will always present a stronger case. You have to remember that you’ll be fighting against powerful people and institutions.

Even your insurance provider won’t want to provide you with compensation due to personal injury. You might end up with a serious injury and not be able to take care of your medical bills.

This is why you need a personal injury attorney to fight your case. Only they’ll present the strongest case of why you’re owed compensation. They’ll also make sure that your compensation is sufficient to cover medical costs.

Personal injury attorneys understand how the law works and how to prepare a defense.

They’ll have years of experience fighting cases similar to yours. If you want to increase your chances of winning, you’ll need them by your side.

They’ll have years of experience fighting cases similar to yours. If you want to increase your chances of winning, you’ll need them by your side.] As one well-known personal injury lawyer in Kansas points out, “if you want to maximize your chances of success and make sure your rights are protected, having a personal injury lawyer on your side is essential. We are here to advocate for you, provide guidance and fight tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve.” 

Now let’s look at the different scenarios and stages when you’ll need a personal injury attorney to assist you.

Fighting for Insurance Coverage

As we alluded to earlier, receiving compensation from your insurance provider is a challenge. Even if you’re entitled to it, your insurance provider will demand proof.

Without the backing of a personal injury attorney, it’ll be tough to prove your case. In many scenarios, you might not even get taken seriously. 

Your personal injury attorney will advise you on paying your medical bills on time. They’ll also advise you on paying any associated costs related to your injury. These might be necessary to receive compensation from insurance providers.

Statute of Limitations

One of the most confusing aspects of filing a lawsuit is ensuring that it doesn’t fall out of the statute of limitations.

After you receive your injury, a personal injury lawsuit will not be the first thing on your mind. You’ll have to first take care of yourself. This might include spending several days or weeks in the hospital.

By the time you recover, you might not know if it’s too late to file a case. A personal injury attorney knows the statute of limitations in your jurisdiction. 

They’ll make sure to file the case before the statute of limitations expires. They’ll present your case while you recover. Once you recover, you’ll be able to fight your case.

Depending on the severity of your injuries, you won’t have to fight your case at all.

You’ll only have to provide information to your personal injury attorney. They’ll fight your case while you focus on recovery and improving your well-being.

Support Team

Another advantage of hiring a personal injury lawyer is that they’ll have a support team. Personal injury cases are more complex than they seem and it’s seldom a one-person show.

The support team will help with many tasks needed to help you win your case. For example, one support team member might collect your medical records to provide to the court.

Another support team member might contact witnesses to testify in court. Another member might research expert witnesses who can convince a jury in your favor.

You’ll feel a lot more relaxed knowing that there’s an entire team working with you.

Even if you have to spend a few days in the hospital, there’s a team working around the clock on your case.

When a Personal Injury Attorney Is Needed

Now let’s look at when’s the appropriate moment to hire a personal injury attorney for your case.

The short answer is that you need to go about hiring a lawyer as soon as possible. If you put it off, you might get put on a waitlist. By the time your turn comes up, the statute of limitations might come up.

Now let’s look at the different steps you’ll have to take if you’re the victim of a personal injury.

What to Do After Your Injury

Much as you’d like to go after the guilty party right away, you must first look after yourself. 

Your first step should be to call 911. First, you should call an ambulance to attend to your needs. Next, if you’re not in serious pain you should call 911 again to call the police.

The police will analyze the issue and prepare a report. Later, this report will become crucial evidence for your case.

Make sure you also obtain a medical report from the hospital. This is another crucial piece of evidence for your case.

The medical report will emphasize the seriousness of your injury. This will prove that you deserve some sort of compensation.

If you can’t contact legal services then you must ask someone to do it for you.

They’ll reach out to a potential lawyer who’ll help you fight the case. The sooner you do this the better as it might take some time for the lawyer to decide to take your case.

Hiring a Lawyer

When you’re hiring a lawyer, you’ll have to assess if they’re right for you. Likewise, the lawyer will also decide if they can work with you and win your case.

Let’s look at the different steps when hiring a lawyer. First, you have to ask them about their fee. 

Paying Your Lawyer

In most cases, a personal injury attorney will work on a contingency basis. This means that they won’t charge a fee for their services.

If they win your case, they’ll take a small percentage of your compensation. In most cases, you won’t have to pay anything if you lose the case.

Seeking a Great Lawyer

So, how do you find a great personal injury attorney?

You’ll soon find that this is one of the most common types of law practiced in the country. You’ll likely see advertisements for personal injury attorneys everywhere!

The best way is to reach out to your network. Chances are, there’s someone in your network who has had experience with a personal injury attorney. They’ll be able to advise you on the best lawyer.

They’ll discuss their experiences and this can help you make your decision. Another great way is to visit the attorney’s website and research them online.

Make sure you read online reviews and testimonials about any personal injury attorney.

Make sure the attorney has at least 20 reviews. Over 90% of them should be positive and preferably no older than 1 year.

What Makes a Great Personal Injury Attorney?

Now let’s look at some of the factors that make a great personal injury attorney. 

One is that you have to assess your relationship with your personal injury attorney. You have to feel comfortable when they speak to you. You have to feel that there won’t be any issues working with the attorney.

You want to feel that there won’t be any conflicts between you and your lawyer. You have to remember that your case might take several weeks or even several months.

You’ll have to speak to your personal injury attorney often. You want to ensure that you’ll have no problem spending hours with them until the case gets resolved.

Next, the personal injury attorney has to explain how they’ll fight your case. You want to choose a lawyer who has a clear idea of how they will fight against the defense. Only if they present a clear blueprint should you hire them.

You don’t want to hire a lawyer who will just present a case without a game plan. 

Finally, you want to speak to the lawyer about their previous cases. While they won’t give names due to client confidentiality, they’ll tell you about their wins. You should hear actual testimony of how they helped other clients win a personal injury case.

Final Thoughts

Now let’s end with a few final thoughts on how you can have the best experience with a personal injury attorney.

Make sure you first research the maximum compensation you can receive from your insurance provider. For example, let’s say you got into a car accident and require $100K for your medical bills.

Let’s presume your insurance provider will only provide a maximum of $50K. In this scenario, you want to file a case so you can win at least another $50K.

But what happens if your insurance provider gives you $100K? In this case, you might not want to file a lawsuit.

It’ll be harder to make a case on why you need the money. However, you can still file a case not for compensation but to punish the negligent party.

You have to remember that you’re not just fighting your case to earn money. You also want to prevent more issues regarding personal injury in the future.

As mentioned in the introduction, there’s an insanely large number of personal injury cases each year. The cases range from negligence to medical malpractice to car accidents and much more.

We want to prevent such cases in the future. Personal injury can be a minor inconvenience at times. But it can also cause lifelong injuries that can permanently change your life.

It’s a very serious case and it happens due to the irresponsible behavior of others. You need to play your part in stamping out this menace from society!

File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Now you know when you should hire a personal injury attorney to help you fight your case.

There are different types of personal injury cases that your lawyer can fight. These can cause serious issues for you and for society at large. 

Make sure you follow our advice on how to find a great lawyer. Reach out to your network and schedule a consultation with them. Follow our best practices and you’ll have no problem winning your case.

If you want to bring about even more justice, check out the other legal articles on our website.