Life quickly becomes complicated after a major car crash. Your day gets disrupted while you wait for the police to arrive, seek medical care, and arrange for the transportation of your damaged vehicle to a repair shop or junkyard.
Many people want nothing more than to put the incident behind them as quickly as possible. A speedy resolution might involve submitting an insurance claim online and then waiting to hear back.
However, this hands-off approach won’t necessarily secure the best outcome. Having someone advocating for and supporting you during your claim could help you connect with the compensation you deserve without continuing to detract from daily life.
The bigger the claim, the more paperwork you will have
Insurance claims that involve totaled vehicles or severe personal injury and lost wages can take weeks or even months to resolve. You may have to submit various types of documentation, undergo special medical evaluations and submit paperwork from your employer and the physician overseeing your treatments.
It can be hard enough to focus on your recovery when you still have a job to do and a household to manage. Trying to juggle all of that and an insurance claim can be nearly impossible. An attorney can handle the filings and communications on your behalf. Additionally, they can reduce the chances of you making a mistake that would cause delays, require additional paperwork or reduce the compensation you receive.
A lawyer knows how to put a price tag on a personal experience
One of the hardest things about pursuing a personal injury claim is determining what rights you have under the law and how much compensation you can request. You need to interpret your existing medical bills and likely future costs, quantify the impact on your earning potential and explain the consequences for other parts of your life, like the maintenance of your home.
All of those estimates can be difficult for the average person. An attorney familiar with how personal injury scenarios affect someone’s life will be able to quickly explore these impacts and help someone determine an appropriate value for the injury they suffered.
When someone represents you, you don’t have to handle the negotiations
Insurance negotiators and claims specialists are notorious for employing aggressive negotiating tactics, ranging from refusing to communicate to using a smile and suggestive questions to get someone to implicate themselves.
Attorneys familiar with insurance negotiations will be able to handle the pressure of pushing for more compensation. They will also understand what an insurance company can and cannot require you to do.
Having a lawyer represent you after a collision lets people know that you mean business. It frees up your time and mental energy to focus on your family and your recovery. Representation can also increase your chances of getting the compensation you deserve when a crash leaves you with serious costs.