If you have been injured -- physically and/or mentally -- as a result of another…
Is it worth hiring a personal injury attorney? When you find yourself in a complex conflict, you can save yourself plenty of time and avoid stress by getting one.
Let’s look at some of the responsibilities a personal injury lawyer takes to ensure you get decent compensation.
1. Represent you in complex cases
Let’s assume you sustained injuries due to an angry truck driver that attacked you after tailgating you for a while. In this situation, it’s not easy to sue the driver directly because there are several parties involved. For instance, the trucking company and the organization that’s outsourced its transportation needs to the trucking company.
Truck laws are complex and differ from state to state. In addition, most cities have their own set of local truck laws. Truth is, you just can’t absorb all of this information by spending a night on Google. You need a personal injury attorney because he or she has spent several years in law school learning about truck laws.
2. Protects you from experienced defendant attorneys
In most cases, the defendant’s team will reach out to the plaintiff and try to get them to admit blame. In a truck accident, the trucking company might send a team of attorneys who might intimidate the defendant into providing a statement. However, this is illegal.
When you have an attorney by your side, he tells off anyone trying to trick you into giving sensitive information. In other words, the truck’s insurance attorneys cannot speak to you directly when you have a lawyer.
3. Helps you gather the right evidence
Evidence enables your attorney to recreate events that happened before, during, and after the incident. It’s also necessary for proving liability. How does one know what to collect or pay attention to when building a personal injury lawsuit? By following the advice of an attorney.
In our example involving an angry truck driver assaulting another motorist, you can provide dashcam footage to prove that he was tailgating your car. The footage can also show the altercation taking place and this helps in determining who’s guilty.
4. Prevents you from falling for bad compensation deals
When the defendant’s team senses that they’re fighting a losing battle, they’ll look for a quick exit. At this point, the other team might request for an out-of-court settlement. This involves sitting across a boardroom table and discuss a compensation package.
During the negotiation, the defendant’s team seems to adopt a laid-back approach. You might get offered a sum of money that appears considerable on paper. However, your attorney knows better because sticking to the courtroom might earn you even five times the settlement amount.
5. Helps you to get expert witnesses
An expert witness is a professional who’s hired by an attorney in a personal injury lawsuit to prove certain facts. For instance, when you have multiple fractures, you’ll need an orthopedic to prove how the attack contributed to each fracture on your body.
Personal injury attorneys have established networks with various professionals who can serve as expert witnesses. Another advantage of having an expert witness is that your case takes less time. The less time it takes, the faster you can move on with your life.
6. Guides you on the do’s and don’ts during trials
During the ongoing trial, the defense team will have eyes watching you in order to find a reason that can terminate the case. In most cases, they want to catch you doing something that contradicts your health situation. For instance, posting pictures of yourself out on a morning run, when you should be resting in bed due to an injured knee.
Hiring an attorney is important because he or she makes sure your actions during the trial don’t compromise your position. You’ll learn what to avoid when posting updates on Instagram and Facebook. If it’s a publicized trial, your attorney will address the media because the defendant’s team might be waiting to use your recorded speech against you.
7. Helps you to understand the paperwork involved
Once you get a good attorney and begin filing the lawsuit, you’ll receive plenty of forms. Some of them will come from the defendant’s insurance company. You’ll notice how thick they are since they contain several pages filled with complex questions.
Should you fill all the forms by yourself? No, you don’t. Your lawyer will go through each form to make sure that they’re legal. You don’t want to sign a form that grants the defendant’s team full access to your credit reports or bank statements.
8. Protects your medical records from unauthorized scrutiny
The defendant’s lawyer might try to question the validity of your medical report by linking previous injuries or illnesses to your current condition. How do they do this? By using underhand tactics to access your full medical history. It’s wrong because your medical report is confidential information that requires your consent.
An attorney will block any attempts to access your medical report. Doing this protects the credibility of your medical report presented in court. Your attorney also safeguards your dignity by preventing unauthorized people from reading and divulging information recorded in your medical history.
9. Accurately determines the compensation owed for your pain and suffering
During an accident or assault, victims suffer two types of injuries. There’s the physical which you can see or feel and gets recorded in medical reports. The second type of injury usually occurs in the mind and some of its symptoms are invisible. This is known as pain and suffering.
Some people experience nightmares and cold sweats after experiencing a traumatic event such as an assault. The continuous disruption affects the victim’s ability to focus at work and this affects their income because their employer will send them home for recovery. However, one still needs money to pay bills and live.
A personal injury attorney will work with experienced doctors to determine how much you should receive for pain and suffering.
Hire a personal injury lawyer today!
In order to enjoy the nine benefits we’ve just covered in this article, you need to trust a personal injury lawyer with your case. Hire one today and build a solid case that will earn you a decent compensation check.