Will I Get More Settlement Money with a Personal Injury Lawyer?

The chances that you may be involved in an accident are higher today than some years ago. Many factors can go wrong leading to an accident and causing injuries that can be fatal or non-fatal.

Whatever the class of injury you or your loved ones have suffered due to the negligence of another person, you need to know that hiring an attorney is one of the best decisions you can make for yourself and towards recovering the deserved amount in compensation.

One of the biggest questions that accident victims ask is whether they will get more money in settlement from insurance companies when they hire a personal injury lawyer.

A Top Motorcycle Accident Attorney noted that a recent study conducted by the Insurance Research Council points to it that people who have suffered injuries as a result of auto accidents caused by drivers, manufacturers, and/or government negligence stand a chance to enjoy about 3.5 times more in compensation when they are represented by an attorney.

The study further points that insurance companies are more likely to present a settlement offer in 85 percent of cases where the personal injury victim hired an attorney.

With the current data, personal injury victims need to know what they stand to gain by hiring personal injury attorneys to represent them in such cases as this.

- Personal injury lawyers are familiar with the antics and tactics used by insurance companies

Insurance companies are often unhappy when a personal injury victim decides to hire an attorney to represent them. This is because, with an attorney in the picture, it becomes harder to cheat the personal injury victim and force or coerce them into taking settlement offers that are below the cost of the damages suffered.

In the cases where the personal injury victim fails to hire an attorney to represent them, insurance companies may try to get out of paying out compensation to the injured party by accusing the victim of causing the accident which resulted in their injuries; denying accident injury victim’s request for compensation on account that they lack credible evidence to prove in court that they were impacted negatively by the effect of the accident; or by questioning the doctor’s assessment of the health condition of the victim in the aftermath of the accident.

All of these tactics and more are common weapons used by insurance companies against accident victims to get them to back off from seeking compensation for their injuries. In the absence of a personal injury attorney, chances are high that these tactics may work and may scare the accident victim into accepting a lower amount in compensation or nothing at all.

Hiring a personal injury lawyer ensures that accident victims are free from all of these tactics while also guaranteeing that their compensation will not be tied up by the insurance company even after it has been awarded.

- Your personal injury lawyer can calculate your pain and suffering

As part of the damages that you can recover, you may be able to seek compensation for the pain and suffering experienced due to the accident and injury. Your personal injury lawyer is in a good position to calculate this cost for you and this increases the overall amount demanded from the insurance company.

Usually, your personal injury lawyer will calculate your pain and suffering by calculating the total amount of the actual damages that you have suffered including medical bills, property damages, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, and others, and then multiply the amount by a number between 1 and 5, depending on the severity of the injuries suffered.

This means that if your total actual damages were about $20,000 including your lost wages, medical bills, property damages, and others, and the severity was classed as a 2, then your attorney may seek $40,000 in pain and suffering damages.

- Your personal injury attorney can assess the long-term effects of the injuries suffered

Certain injuries are permanent and this will affect the way you live your life. For some other injuries, treatment is ongoing and may likely last for a lifetime. In such cases as this, your personal injury lawyer has the experience needed to assess the long-term effects of the injury that you have suffered and this can be factored into the overall amount requested in compensation.

Your personal injury lawyer will strive hard to make sure that you are not left stranded later in the future and to ensure this, they will assess your future medical cost and ensure that those are also covered as part of the compensation demanded from the insurance company.

On the other hand, when you represent yourself, the chances of understanding and accurately calculating your future medical costs are low and this may leave you at a disadvantage later in the future when you have spent all of your money on medical treatments.

- Your personal injury attorney can identify and hold at-fault parties responsible for your injuries

One of the advantages that you stand to enjoy when you hire a personal injury attorney is that they can help you to better understand who is at fault and hold them responsible for your injuries.

Identifying the at-fault party is one of the foundational steps towards demanding compensation for the injuries you have suffered. Your personal injury lawyer can identify whether the fault is shared between you and the other driver or whether the fault is shared among a number of liable parties.

For multiple liable parties, your attorney is also experienced in how best to handle the issue to ensure that you get adequate compensation that is commensurate to the damages you suffered.

- Your personal injury lawyer is versed in local laws and can represent you when your case goes to trial

As part of the advantages that you stand to enjoy from your personal injury lawyer, they will offer their experience and expertise when it comes to defending your rights and interest in court should the case proceed to trial. Rest assured that personal injury lawyers are familiar with local laws as well as the ins and outs of the state’s personal injury law thus arming them with everything that is needed to steer the case in the right direction.