How an Attorney Helps With Your Car Accident Claim
Car accidents can range from minor incidents to serious accidents involving multiple vehicles. In determining whether or not to hire a car accident attorney, several factors must be considered beyond the extent of the accident and the resulting injuries.
Updated: February 6, 2024 // Injury
So, you’ve been in a car accident and you’re not sure if you need a lawyer? Well, a car accident lawyer can be a real lifesaver!
Car accidents cause physical, emotional, and financial stress and happen all the time. If you’ve been in a car accident, you may be wondering whether you should handle the claim yourself or hire a car accident lawyer. While it’s generally advisable to hire a lawyer, there are some situations where you may be able to handle the claim yourself. We will talk about the situations in which you might be able to handle your own car accident claim, as well as the pros and cons of doing so.
A good injury attorney can bring a lot to the table, including:
- Organizing and analyzing key evidence and records
- A network of investigators and experts who can help strengthen your case
- Negotiation skills that will get the best outcome for your car accident claim
What Will My Car Accident Lawyer Do?
Car accidents are common, and so are auto accident attorneys. You will need a lawyer after a car accident. But what exactly will your car accident lawyer do? In this essay, we will discuss in detail the various tasks that a car accident lawyer will perform on your behalf.
1. Communication with the Other Driver’s Insurer
The first thing that a car accident lawyer will do is open up a line of communication with the auto insurance adjuster for the other party involved. The adjuster is the person who has the purse strings, and so a plaintiff’s lawyer must have good communication and a good relationship with the adjuster.
2. Obtaining Necessary Evidence of Liability
A good car accident lawyer can help obtain all the evidence that you will need to prove liability in your case. While you may have already taken photographs of the accident scene, your lawyer will probably go back to the scene to see what it looks like. Be sure to give any evidence for your attorney to use including your dash cam recording.
While a picture may be worth a thousand words, actually seeing the scene can be worth a thousand pictures.
Your lawyer will make sure to get all of the accident or police reports in the case and will often speak with the investigating police officers and witnesses. A good lawyer will leave no stone unturned when it comes to obtaining evidence of liability.
3. Obtaining Necessary Evidence of Damages
This is where a good car accident lawyer can be essential to your case, especially when you’ve suffered significant car accident injuries. It is critical to obtain all documentation related to your injuries, but it isn’t always easy to get your hands on those records and bills from health care providers. Although the records are technically yours, and you have an absolute right to them, sending medical records to patients and lawyers is not always a health care provider’s top priority.
Small doctors’ offices may not have the staffing or the time to respond to medical record requests on a timely basis. Large hospitals may have specific procedures that must be followed in order to respond to medical record requests. If you don’t follow their procedures (which they often don’t publicize very well), they simply won’t respond to your request.
When the health care provider does respond to the request, the records may be incomplete. Any lawyer’s secretary or paralegal will tell you that they often have to request the same records more than once and that they have to follow up endlessly with the provider’s office. This is where a good car accident lawyer comes in handy because they have the experience and knowledge to navigate the process of obtaining medical records and bills.
3. Organizing Medical Records and Bills
A car accident lawyer will also organize your medical records and bills. All of your records and bills need to be in order for this important part of your case. Your lawyer should take the time to do this. Your lawyer will contact your doctors and other health care providers to get any missing records and help you put together the medical records you need to back up your damages claim.
4. Organize & Present the Evidence
Once your lawyer has obtained all the necessary evidence, they will organize and present the evidence in order to prove liability and damages. This is a critical phase in your case, a good lawyer must take the time to ensure that everything is presented appropriately. Your lawyer’s presentation of evidence will help the judge or jury make an informed conclusion.
This is where having a good lawyer can really help your case, especially if you were hurt badly in the accident. Health care providers can make it hard to get records and bills, but a lawyer knows how to do it. And they’ll make sure that the doctor’s notes mention causation and extent of the injury or disability in their medical records.
5. Negotiating With Lien Holders
When you receive benefits from a health, disability, or workers’ compensation insurer due to a car accident, the insurer will place a lien on your claim, meaning that the lien holder will receive payment before you from any settlement or judgment you receive. It is crucial to have a skilled car accident lawyer who will negotiate with the lien holder to try to reduce its lien. There is a lot at stake in this negotiation because every dollar the lien holder takes is one less dollar that you get. To make sure you get the money you deserve for your injury, you need to learn more about healthcare provider liens on personal injury settlements.
6. Represent You in Court
When you hire a car accident lawyer, they will take a variety of actions on your behalf to help you get the compensation you deserve. One of the most important things your lawyer can do for you is to represent you in court. If negotiations with the insurance company fail, your lawyer will take your case to court and fight for your rights. This includes presenting your case before a judge and jury, arguing your case, cross-examining witnesses, and doing everything possible to secure a favorable verdict.
7. File a Lawsuit
Getting the money you deserve may sometimes require filing a lawsuit. If so, they will file the lawsuit on your behalf. This will start the legal process, which could include exchanging documents and information with the other side, going to court dates and hearings, and even going to trial.
8. Negotiate a Settlement
However, going to court is not always necessary. Your lawyer will also work to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company on your behalf. Even if a lawsuit has been filed, your lawyer may be able to secure a settlement that covers all of your damages and losses. so what you are able to buy another reliable car and get on with your life.
9. Advise You on Legal Strategy
Throughout your case, your car accident lawyer will also provide you with legal advice and guidance. They will explain the potential outcomes and risks of each approach and help you make an informed decision.
Their advice will include whether to settle or go to trial.
In general, a good car crash lawyer will do everything they can to get you the money you deserve. They will take care of all the legal parts of your case and give you expert legal help and direction the whole time.
When Can I Handle a Car Accident Claim Myself?
Getting into a car accident can be very stressful and upsetting. It’s normal for people to wonder if they can handle their car accident claim without an agent. There are some situations in which you might be able to handle a car accident claim without a lawyer, but you should think about a lot of things first.
The first thing to think about is how bad the accident was and how many people were hurt. You might be able to handle the claim on your own if the accident was small and no one or very few people were hurt. If this happens, you might only be responsible for property loss, like damage to your car, and it might be easy to reach a settlement with the other driver’s insurance company. To the contrary, if the accident caused major injuries, you might want to talk to a car accident lawyer. Injuries that are very bad can cost a lot of money in medical bills, lost wages, and other problems that can really change your life. An skilled lawyer can help you get the money you deserve for these damages.
You may be able to handle a car accident claim on your own in the following situations:
- Small accident with minimal or no injuries
- Clear liability and straightforward settlement process
- Comfortable with handling insurance claims
- Limited time and stress available for handling the claim
- Limited financial resources to hire a lawyer
- Willingness to invest time and effort into the claim process
- Willing to research and educate oneself on relevant laws and procedures
The difficulty of the case is another important thing to think about. If there are a lot of people involved, like in a multi-car accident, or if there are disagreements about who is at fault, it might be hard to handle the claim by yourself. An attorney can help you deal with the complicated insurance and legal problems that come up in these situations and protect your rights.
If you don’t know how to file an insurance claim, you might also find it helpful to talk to a lawyer. The job of insurance companies’ teams of lawyers and adjusters is to keep their payouts as low as possible. An skilled lawyer can help level the playing field and make sure you get appropriate compensation.
Last but not least, you should think about how much time and work it will take to handle a car accident claim. Dealing with insurance companies and the court system can take a lot of time and stress. You might benefit from getting help from a lawyer if you don’t have much time or are stressed out from healing from injuries.
Finally, there are times when you might be able to handle a car accident claim on your own. But it’s important to think about how bad the crash and injuries were, how complicated the case is, how much time and work it will take to put together the claim. A skilled car accident lawyer can help you get fair compensation for your injuries and other losses, and they can also make the legal system less stressful.
In the end, it may be possible to handle a car accident claim without a lawyer in some situations. While making your decision, you should carefully think about how bad the accident and injuries were, how complicated the case is, how much time and work it will take to handle the claim. An skilled car accident lawyer can help you get fair compensation for your injuries and other damages, and they can also make the legal system less stressful.
WhichCar.org are not lawyers and our articles are not legal advice, but we do want you to take care and drive safe!
Disclaimer: The writers of this article may have used artificial intelligence to help them with some of the material. It should not be a replacement for professional help.