Injured In An Accident? When And Why To Call A Personal Injury Attorney

Unless you are very lucky, you will be in an accident someday. When that day comes, it is important to know who to call for help and when. When you are injured through the wrong doing of another, one of these should be to a personal injury attorney because they can work with you to ensure you get fair compensation for the harm, damage, and injuries you suffered due to the wrong doing of another.

This article will explain:

• The right time to call a personal injury attorney (it is sooner than you think, and sooner is usually better than later).
• The two key ways an attorney will help increase the amount of compensation you receive.
• What other surprising advantages having an attorney on your side early on will bring.

When Is It Advisable To Consult Or Hire An Attorney For PI Claim?

If you are injured in an accident or have substantial damage to your vehicle, the best time to call a personal injury attorney is as soon as you know you have suffered an injury. It does not hurt to contact an attorney immediately after the accident has occurred. This will allow the attorney to help you understand what to do at the scene to document what happened and improve your chances of a successful personal injury claim later.

First, make sure yourself and all others involved are in a safe place. If anyone thinks they are injured, call 911 and have medics come out and check everyone to see if they need immediate treatment. If everyone is doing all right, exchange information with the other driver.

After you have exchanged information with the other driver (driver licenses, addresses, contact information, and insurance information) call the police department. They will send someone, especially if there are any injuries at the scene or advise you how to submit an accident report. The responding officer will fill out an accident report to get everything in the system and can even try to locate the other driver if a hit-and-run was involved. If you can and it is safe to do so, get pictures of the cars where they collided. If it is not safe, get the cars off the road and take pictures of the damage that occurred. If there are any witnesses, get their names, phone numbers and emails so that you can contact them later. Witnesses are invaluable in proving what happened in an accident if they are available.

How Can An Attorney Help Determine The Value Of The Personal Injury Claim And Negotiate A Fair Settlement?

Several factors combine to determine the value of a personal injury case. One of the prime advantages of hiring an attorney is their ability to calculate and navigate them all. These factors include:

1. The nature and severity of the physical and mental injuries, including records of past injuries insurance companies may use against you.
2. The damage done to the car, such as whether it is drivable or non-drivable, did the airbags deploy, the cost of repairs and whether or not it needs to be replaced are amongst the factors that impact the value of your case.
3. If you can no longer work for any amount of time, or your ability to work has been impaired or limited by the accident, an economist or a forensic economist can be hired to determine how your injuries have economically and monetarily impacted your life.
4. The advice of experts which your attorney can use to explain the impacts of the accident on your life. In addition to an economists, you might have medical experts to explain your injury and how they occurred and what will be necessary to make you better or, if that is not possible, to explain the continuing impact on your life. Other experts include accident reconstructionist to explain how the accident happened, and the impacts of the physical accident on your personally, and even the testimony of your regular medical doctor and other treatment providers to explain what was necessary for you to get better.

It is vital to have an attorney to help. Insurance companies are looking out for themselves and their insured, not you, and will be happy to point out anything that might work against your claim. They almost never go out of their way to inform you of anything that might be to your advantage. Insurance companies do this for a living, have experts and years of information to work with. By hiring an attorney, you level the playing field.

For example: whether or not you've had any prior accidents and were injured in those accidents might impact your claim. Imagine that five years ago, before this accident, you were in another car crash and had to replace parts of your knee. That information might harm your claim if your doctor has said you have not fully recovered. However, if the second accident aggravated that earlier injury which was otherwise stable, those factors could add to your claim's value.

How Can A Skilled Personal Injury Attorney Help You Deal With The Insurance Company?

Insurance companies will obviously be in touch quite quickly with you when you are involved in an accident. They know which accidents will cause them to have to admit liability (that their insured caused the accident) and those that they won't, it is vital to remember that the insurance companies are not on your side but are required to be on the side of their insured, the person who caused your damages.

Their job is to get the case dismissed, to ensure that their insured client is not at fault, and primarily to pay as little money in damages as they can. Given that that is their objective, you must have someone who will represent you fully and comprehensively and understand the nuances of negotiation with an insurance company.

How Else Will Hiring An Attorney Early Benefit My Personal Injury Case?

The role of your attorney representing you in a personal injury matter or car accident is paramount. Your attorney will be able to organize all of the damages in a comprehensive manner and know the relevant case law, which will benefit you as a client. They also are aware of various statute limitations and other statutes that will help determine whether or not you were at fault.

A skilled attorney can also benefit you immensely in ensuring that you get your medical bills paid. When you recover from the party that was at fault, you will need to pay back medical insurance and others that provided you services because that person hurt you. An attorney may be able to get your medical bills either waived or substantially reduced, increasing your own recovery. This means lower medical costs to you in the short run and more money coming directly to you as a result of that negotiation in the long run. For more information on Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney In Washington, an initial consultation is your next best step.