When a person gets in a car accident, there are million things that go on in a persons head. A person will wonder what happened, if they are injured, if someone else is injured, who is at fault, should they call the police, what will insurance cover, should they go to the hospital and the list goes on. When a serious injury is involved, it is complicated even further, because now the accident potentially caused expensive medical bills and time off from work.
This is all understandably very stressful, and sometimes the last thing a person will think of is hiring a personal injury lawyer that specializes in car accidents. However, hiring an accident lawyer can alleviate a lot of the worries and complications involved with a serious accident. Yet, many people wait, and wait a long time before consulting with a lawyer.
Firstly, people don’t think to hire a lawyer because they are already overwhelmed with everything else resulting from the accident. What a person might not realize however, is that hiring a car accident lawyer can actually make life easier for a person, as well as reduce a measure of stress. The reason being, is that a personal injury law firm will often take care of all the paperwork involved and communicate with the insurance companies on your behalf. And ultimately, their goal is to earn you maximum financial compensation for the total cost of your injuries as well as your lost wages.
Another reason a person may not hire a lawyer right away is they didn’t at first realize how bad their injuries were. Oftentimes after an accident, a person doesn’t feel a lot of pain even if they are seriously injured. This is due to the adrenaline your body will give you that is a natural pain reliever. Additionally, some whiplash and brain related injuries take time to develop. The problem is, the closer a person seeks medical attention, the easier it is to tie the injury to be a result of the accident. This is why it is so important to seek medical attention right away if you have any pain following an accident. This way you can meet with a lawyer who can litigate on your behalf and easily pinpoint the severity of your injury to the accident.
The final reason a person waits to meet with a lawyer is they don’t know what it will cost and whether or not they have a case. The comforting part of this is that most personal injury law firms offer no financial burden to their clients. If you don’t know if you have a case, give the firm a call, and they will schedule a free consultation with you if they think they can help. Even at the initial consultation, you will be given all the information you need to decide whether or not you want to pursue a personal injury claim. If you do pursue a claim, it is at no cost to you if the firm works on a contingency basis. This means that you only pay the firm if you win the case. The firm would get a portion of the total earnings from the case as payment. Therefore, there is no reason to wait with a lawyer to see if pursuing a personal injury case is an option.
As you can see, the reasons people wait really offer no benefit to them or their eventual case. There are many reasons however, a person should not wait to see a lawyer after being injured in a car accident. First and foremost, when a person gets injured in an accident and it is someone else’s fault, the insurance company of the person who was at start to work immediately. They do not want to pay for their client’s negligence, so they start to investigate right away to begin building their defense.
Seeing a car accident attorney will counteract the insurance companies defense by equipping the person injured with the tools needed to earn the compensation they are owed by the insurance companies. This should be done as soon as possible because the attorney needs to know the circumstances surrounding the case and be able to gather evidence before it is lost. They can also gather witness statements while those lines of communication are still available and the accident is still in the witness’ memory.
As mentioned earlier, an attorney will handle all the paper work required to pursue and personal injury claim. Some of this paperwork, like no-fault applications, need to be filed within a certain timeframe. A personal injury law firm will make sure that paperwork is handled in the right time. They will also protect you from doing anything to harm your case, including the risk of allowing insurance companies to speak with you. All of these will ultimately ensure your ability to receive compensation for all the damage caused by the accident. If you know of someone injured in an accident, it is in their best interest to call a personal injury law firm for a free consultation right away.
Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.
His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.