After a serious accident, you may wonder whether you really need to hire a personal injury attorney. After all, the insurance company has offered to work with you directly, and hiring an attorney means paying legal fees. It is a reasonable question. But the research is clear: accident victims who are represented by attorneys recover significantly more compensation than those who handle their claims on their own, even after attorney fees are deducted.
The Insurance Company Is Not on Your Side
This point cannot be emphasized enough. The insurance company's job is to pay you as little as possible. They have teams of adjusters, investigators, and defense attorneys working to protect the company's profits. When you handle your claim without an attorney, you are negotiating against professionals who do this every day and who have every advantage.
Why Attorney Representation Leads to Better Outcomes
Knowledge of the Law
Personal injury law is complex, and the rules vary significantly from state to state. An experienced attorney understands the applicable laws, procedural requirements, and legal strategies that can make or break your case. In North Carolina, for example, the contributory negligence rule requires careful handling to avoid losing your entire claim.
Accurate Case Valuation
Insurance companies know the true value of claims, but they will never tell you what your case is actually worth. An experienced attorney can accurately value your claim by accounting for all current and future medical expenses, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other damages that you might not even realize you are entitled to.
Investigation and Evidence
Building a strong personal injury case requires thorough investigation and preservation of evidence. An attorney has the resources to obtain police reports, medical records, and surveillance footage, hire accident reconstruction experts, identify and interview witnesses, and engage medical experts to document the full extent of your injuries.
Negotiation Skills
Negotiating with insurance companies is a skill that comes from years of experience. An experienced attorney knows how to counter the insurance company's tactics, when to push for a higher settlement, and when to walk away from the negotiating table and take the case to trial.
Trial Readiness
Insurance companies know which attorneys are willing to go to trial and which are not. When you are represented by a firm with a strong trial record, the insurance company is more likely to make a fair settlement offer because they know the alternative could be an even larger jury verdict.
The Contingency Fee Advantage
Most personal injury attorneys, including Dr. Ted Injury Law, work on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no attorney fees upfront. The attorney's fee is a percentage of the recovery, and you only pay if you win. This arrangement means that there is no financial risk to hiring an attorney, and it aligns the attorney's interests with yours, since the attorney only gets paid if they obtain a recovery on your behalf.
Contact Dr. Ted Injury Law
If you have been seriously injured in an accident, do not try to handle your claim alone. Contact Dr. Ted Injury Law at (800) 555-HURT for a free consultation. We will evaluate your case, explain your legal options, and fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.