Are you scratching your head and asking “Do I need a personal injury lawyer?” It’s the kind of thing you didn’t know you needed to know until you needed to know it.
You only have reason to ask, “Do I need a personal injury lawyer?” when you’re in the most uncertain predicament you’ve probably ever been in. You’ve been injured because of someone else’s negligence, and that injury has not only cost you an arm and a leg in medical bills, it is impairing you from doing your job, which costs you more money.
Many people shy away from the question “Do I need a personal injury lawyer?” when they really shouldn’t, because they assume the cost of a personal injury lawyer will make their already desperate financial situation even worse. However, when we are asked “Do I need a personal injury lawyer?” in these types of situations, our answer is often yes. But you can decide for yourself:
FAQs About When You Need a Lawyer for Your Personal Injury Settlements
- Can I process my personal injury claim without a lawyer?
Yes, you absolutely are allowed to file a personal injury claim with an insurance company without any lawyers. If your injury is mild and you are not seeking much in damages, this might not be a problem. If you personally enjoy researching the case law associated with your situation, this might be a welcomed challenge. If you have a background in the legal field (then we aren’t sure why you’re reading this), you might not need a lawyer to file your personal injury claim.
However, if you are not in one of the categories that we outlined above, you could stand to lose a substantial amount of money if you attempt to go head to head with an insurance company over your personal injury claim yourself. While this is your first personal injury claim, the insurance companies you work with have had decades and thousands (if not millions) of personally injury claims to figure out how to walk away with writing you as little of a check as possible. Having a personal injury attorney on your team levels the playing field. Your personal injury attorney already knows the applicable laws that are relevant to your situation. They will have a good idea of what kind of settlement you stand to get, and will not let you settle for less than you deserve. Your attorney will not let you be bullied or intimidated into a settlement that doesn’t adequately cover the pain and suffering you’ve experienced. You might not even realize that you’re being offered a reduced settlement without an attorney on your team to prevent that from happening. - If I can barely keep a roof over my head, how in the world can I afford a personal injury attorney?
If personal injury attorneys only worked with clients who had the means to pay their legal fees, they’d quickly go out of business. The very type of legal work they do means that they are used to working with clientele who are in very difficult financial positions. For this reason most personal injury attorneys charge their legal fees by a percentage of your settlement. This means that you don’t pay for their services until you’re handed a check, and you don’t pay a penny if the attorney doesn’t help you win a settlement. - What situations would hiring a personal injury attorney be most beneficial?
Every personal injury settlement is unique, so we cannot address every single situation, but in general, you would probably benefit from hiring a personal injury attorney if any of the following applies to you:- The injury that you sustained was severe. If you’ve sustained an injury that required a substantial length of time to recover, or you’ve incurred significant medical bill (or anticipate bills for therapy in the future), your settlement has a significant amount of money on the line and you should probably use a personal injury lawyer to work out your claim.
- Your injuries leave you disabled. If your injuries resulted in one year or longer of downtime, your personal injury lawyer can help insure you are compensated for your lost wages.
Disputed liability or refusal to pay. If the insurance company is not working with you, you need a lawyer.