Every year, nearly 170,000 unintentional injury deaths occur in the U.S.
For the first time in U.S. history, accidental injury is the third most common cause of death.
Some preventable events, such as a drug overdose, aren’t necessarily the fault of another party. For some, though, an injury or a death wouldn’t have occured if it weren’t for another individual’s or company’s negligence.
When such incidients occur, you’ll want to contact a personal injury attorney. Here’s how to know if when you should hire one.
You’ve Been Injured and It’s the Fault of Another Person or Business
It’s important to talk to a personal injury lawyer if you’ve been hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence or the negligence of a business owner. When you talk to a personal injury lawyer, they’ll be able to evaluate your situation and determine whether or not they’ll be able to take your case.
If you need help with your injury claim, many personal injury attorneys will offer a free consultation so you can know if it’s the right course for you.
It’s Unclear Who Was At Fault
Were you involved in an incident where it isn’t obvious which party was at fault? If so, it’s most likely time to hire a personal injury attorney. When there’s an accident and the cause isn’t clear, that means that the other person’s insurance company is going to blame you for damages.
You might know that you’re not at fault. If there is some uncertainty about the nature of the accident, though, you’re going to want to think about hiring a personal injury lawyer.
You Suffered a Permanent Disability or Serious Injury
With something as serious as a life-changing injury or permanent disability, you’re going to want a personal injury attorney on your side. In a circumstance like this, your life will likely be changed forever and there will also be significant medical bills to pay. You might find that it’s impossible for you to make the income you made prior to the accident.
There is no harm in consulting with a personal injury attorney when you’ve been injured. If an injury is going to require long-term care, a personal injury attorney can help you recover the compensation you deserve so that you avoid a lifetime of financial stress.
There Are Multiple Parties Involved
Sometimes accidents are more complicated and involve more than two parties. In this type of incident, it’s important that you protect yourself from being stuck with the bill.
Dealing with insurance companies is frustrating, time-consuming, and confusing. When there are multiple parties involved, this can mean dealing with several different insurance companies at once. Attorneys have experience dealing with insurance companies and know the ins-and-outs of navigating the legal jargon of policies.
An Insurer Is Contacting You
If you’ve been involved in an accident, it’s likely that the other party’s insurance company will try and contact you. This is particularly true if there is a case to be made for you being at fault rather than the other party.
Insurance companies are businesses, which means that they are trying to reduce their losses just like any other business. This means they are always trying to reduce the amount of money they pay out for injury claims.
An insurance adjuster or claims representative might ask you for your story, recorded statements, medical records, releases, and any other information. When this happens, you shouldn’t give them any information without contacting an attorney.
An insurance adjuster will be looking for you to make statements that are harmful to your own case, so you should always have an attorney review releases before signing them. It is common for insurers to try to get you to sign releases that give them the right to dig through the entirety of your medical history. The reason they are insentivized to do this is that they want to find a pre-existing condition or incident that they can blame your injury on.
The other thing to realize is that when an insurance adjuster contacts you it’s because they think your claim is likely valid. They are trying to collect as much information as possible to deny or minimize your payout. This is true even in regards to your own insurance company in instances such as dealing with an accident with an uninsured motorist.
The Insurance Company Is Delaying or Denying Your Claim
Insurance companies are banking on the fact that most people don’t understand the complexity of personal injury cases. They can deny your claim and will assume that you won’t know what you can do about it if anything.
Similarly, another tactic insurance companies use is to delay claims for long periods of time. They do this to put you in a submissive position.
They are well aware that an injury can cause financial stress. This means that they know the longer they stretch it out, the smaller of a payout you might accept.
A Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Receive the Compensation You Deserve
There are a number of different kinds of incidents where hiring a personal injury lawyer is the right course of action. You may want to contact a lawyer after a motor vehicle accident, medical malpractice incident, wrongful death, or a workplace accident. You also might want to call an attorney if you’ve been injured on someone else’s property due to their negligence, by defective or dangerous products, or by a dog or other animal bite.
Did you find this article about when to hire a personal injury attorney helpful? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more informative articles!
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