If you've suffered an injury in an accident that wasn't your fault, one of the most important decisions you'll need to make is whether to hire a personal injury lawyer. Handling a claim on your own can be stressful and confusing and may result in less compensation than you deserve.
Let's discuss some of the key situations when it's in your best interest to call a personal injury attorney right away.
You Suffered Serious Injuries
One of the clearest signs that you should hire a personal injury lawyer is if you suffered serious injuries in the accident. "Serious injuries" can include things like broken bones, head trauma, spinal cord damage, severe burns, or any injury requiring extensive medical treatment or a long recovery period.
With serious injuries often come major disruptions to your life - extended time off work, expensive medical bills, ongoing pain and suffering, and more. A personal injury attorney can pursue fair compensation for these losses and damages. Your attorney will gather evidence of the severity of your injuries and their full impact on your life to build the strongest case possible on your behalf.
Multiple Parties Were Involved
A personal injury lawyer can be extremely valuable if your accident involved multiple parties - for example, a multi-car pileup or an incident on someone else's property. They'll help determine who the potentially liable parties are and what insurance coverage is available.
In cases with multiple defendants, things can get contentious quickly as everyone tries to shift blame. An experienced personal injury attorney can cut through the finger-pointing and advocate forcefully for your interests.
The Insurance Company is Giving You Trouble
Ideally, if someone else caused your accident, their insurance would simply pay out your claim fairly and promptly. Unfortunately, it's rarely that easy in practice. Insurance companies are ultimately for-profit businesses, and paying out the full value of claims hurts their bottom line.
Some common tactics insurers use to limit their financial liability include making lowball settlement offers, delaying claims, requesting unnecessary documentation, and even sometimes denying valid claims outright. If you're encountering these difficulties with an insurance company after your accident, it's time to call a personal injury lawyer.
A skilled attorney will be deeply familiar with insurance company tactics and how to effectively combat them. An attorney can take over the frustrating back-and-forth with insurers, firmly advocating for the compensation you deserve. With legal representation, you'll show the insurance company you mean business and won't be taken advantage of.
You're Not Sure What Your Claim Is Worth
It's common after an accident to have only a general sense that you deserve compensation but not be sure of the specifics. You may not know exactly what losses and damages you can include in your claim or what dollar amounts are reasonable to demand for them. This uncertainty puts you at risk of accidentally accepting an unfairly low settlement.
A personal injury lawyer can sit down with you and provide a detailed analysis of the full value of your claim. Your attorney will factor in oft-overlooked damages like:
Current and Future Medical Expenses
When you suffer an injury in an accident caused by someone else's negligence, the medical bills can pile up fast. Even if you have health insurance, you may be facing steep co-pays, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs. A personal injury lawyer can seek to recover compensation for all your accident-related medical expenses, both now and in the future. This includes reimbursement for emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, doctor's appointments, physical therapy, prescription medications, medical equipment, and more. Your attorney will gather all your medical records and bills to document the full extent of your treatment costs.
But it's not just your current medical expenses that matter. A severe injury may require ongoing care long after the initial accident. You may need follow-up surgeries, extensive rehabilitation, pain management, mental health support, home health assistance, or other costly medical services down the road.
A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer will work with your doctors and other expert witnesses to understand your prognosis and anticipated future needs. They'll fight for a compensation award that accounts for these projected expenses, ensuring you're not left footing the bill for future care.
It's important to have an attorney who can stand up to the insurance companies and advocate for your long-term interests. They won't let the other side downplay or ignore the full medical impact of the accident. With a skilled legal pro in your corner, you can focus on your physical recovery, knowing your financial recovery is in good hands.
Lost Income from Missed Work
Serious injuries often lead to missed work and lost income, compounding the financial strain of an accident. You may have had to take time off for doctor's appointments, surgery, hospitalization, or simply to rest and recover at home. Even once you return to work, lingering pain and limitations may force you to work reduced hours.
All of this lost income can be included in your personal injury claim. A knowledgeable attorney will gather evidence like past pay stubs, timesheets, and statements from your employer to document the full extent of your lost income. If you're self-employed or have an irregular income, they can work with financial experts to calculate your losses.
Your lawyer will also consider any used vacation days, sick leave, or other paid time off in their calculations. If the accident forced you to exhaust these hard-earned benefits, you also deserve to be compensated for that loss.
It's important to have an attorney who understands the nuances of proving lost income claims. They'll ensure all your documentation is in order and fight back against any attempts by the insurance company to lowball your losses. With a strong legal advocate, you can recover the income you've missed and protect your family's financial stability.
Reduced Future Earning Potential
In addition to the income lost immediately after an accident, a severe injury can also impact your long-term earning potential. You may be left with chronic pain, reduced mobility, cognitive impairments, or other lasting disabilities that affect your ability to work. Even if you can return to your job, you may have to work fewer hours or take on lighter duties at a lower pay rate.
In some cases, accident victims have to change careers entirely, significantly impacting their earning power. A construction worker with a serious back injury, for example, may be permanently unable to return to their physically demanding trade. They may have to take a more sedentary, lower-paid position, reshaping their financial future.
A skilled personal injury lawyer will consider all these potential long-term impacts when valuing your claim. They'll work with vocational experts to understand your unique situation and estimate your lifetime earning losses after the accident. By fighting for compensation for your reduced earning capacity, they'll help safeguard your financial security for years to come.
Proving reduced earning potential can be difficult, often requiring a detailed analysis of your work history, education, skills, and local job market. It's not a DIY task - you need an experienced attorney to gather the right evidence and make a compelling case to the insurance company or jury. With a legal team in your corner, you can be confident you're not leaving money on the table.
Pain and Suffering
While economic losses like medical bills and lost income are fairly straightforward to calculate, putting a price on your physical pain is much more complicated. But this "pain and suffering" is a very real consequence of an accident, and you deserve compensation for it.
Injuries can saddle victims with chronic pain that may never fully disappear. Even with treatment, you may face daily aches, sharp pains, stiffness, and other physical discomforts. More severe injuries can cause relentless agony that drastically diminishes your quality of life.
There's no perfect formula for putting a dollar value on pain and suffering. These non-economic damages are inherently subjective - everyone experiences pain differently. However, an experienced personal injury attorney can help estimate what's reasonable to demand in your case.
Generally, more severe, long-lasting injuries will lead to higher pain and suffering awards. Your lawyer will document the full extent of your physical injuries and consult with medical experts on your prognosis. Your lawyer may also have you keep a "pain journal" detailing your daily symptoms and challenges.
If the insurance company tries to minimize your pain and suffering, your attorney will push back hard. They'll make sure the other side understands the immense physical impact of the accident on your life. You need a tenacious advocate who will fight for every dollar you deserve for the pain you've unfairly endured.
Emotional Distress
The mental and emotional impact of a severe injury can be just as devastating as the physical effects. Accident victims often experience intense anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other psychological challenges in the aftermath of a traumatic event.
This emotional distress can manifest in many ways. You may have nightmares or flashbacks of the accident. You may struggle with mood swings, irritability, or difficulty concentrating. You may feel overwhelmed by guilt, anger, or despair. Some victims become afraid to drive or even leave the house.
A compassionate personal injury attorney understands how profoundly an accident can impact your mental health. They'll fight to get you compensation for the emotional distress you've suffered. This may include money for therapy, psychiatric medications, and other professional support to help you work through the trauma.
Even if you haven't been diagnosed with a specific psychiatric condition like depression or PTSD, you can still recover damages for your general emotional distress related to the accident. Your lawyer will gather evidence of your mental state, including medical records, journal entries, and testimony from loved ones.
Don't try to tough it out alone if you're struggling emotionally after an accident. You deserve support and recovery for these deep personal wounds, just as you do for your physical injuries. Let an experienced injury attorney handle the legal battle while you focus on healing mentally and emotionally.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Some accident injuries are so severe that they permanently alter the course of your life. You may be unable to participate in sports, hobbies, and other activities you once loved. You may have to give up travel, socializing, or keeping up with your kids. Ongoing pain and disabilities can rob you of the ability to live life on your own terms.
This profound "loss of enjoyment of life" can factor into your personal injury compensation. While putting a price tag on these personal losses may feel odd, you deserve acknowledgement and restitution for them. No amount of money can turn back time, but it can help you adapt to your new reality.
An accomplished personal injury lawyer will listen closely to understand how your life has changed since the accident. Your attorney will dig deep to learn about your previous lifestyle and the rich tapestry of activities and passions that brought you joy. Then, they'll paint a vivid picture of how your injuries have forced you to relinquish these cherished parts of your identity.
With this detailed evidence, your attorney will fight for compensation that reflects the true value of what you've lost. They'll make sure the insurance company or court sees the full scope of how your injuries have diminished your engagement with the world. While the other side may try to brush off these non-economic damages, your lawyer won't let them ignore the profound void the accident has left in your life.
Take Action Today
If any of the situations described in this post resonate with you, don't wait to seek legal guidance. The sooner you involve a personal injury lawyer, the better your chances of recovering maximum compensation for your injuries and losses. Evidence can disappear, witnesses' memories can fade, and there are deadlines to file personal injury claims.
Most reputable personal injury attorneys offer free, no-obligation case evaluations where you can get specific advice on your unique situation. Even if you ultimately decide to handle the claim on your own, you can make a much more informed decision after speaking with an experienced lawyer.
Standing up to demand the compensation you deserve after an accident can feel difficult, but you don't have to do it alone. Call a personal injury lawyer today and let their knowledge and advocacy work for you.
With a skilled attorney in your corner, you can focus on getting your life back on track while they fight for every dollar you're owed. Don't let someone else's negligence derail your future - get the legal help you need now.
Robert Bohn, Jr.
Attorney
For more than 40 years, the lawyers at Robert Bohn, Jr. has dedicated their practices to personal injury law, representing people who have been injured or damaged due to the negligence or carelessness of others. For most people, handling a personal injury claim can be complicated and stressful.
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