Personal injury cases often involve complex laws and challenging procedural issues that can affect your ability to win your claim and collect the money you need. And although there are no specific rules or guidelines for hiring a personal injury attorney, it is often recommended that you contact one of these experienced legal professionals as soon as you can following your accident.
Unfortunately, even with these recommendations, many people still question the need for these lawyers or may not fully understand the benefits these attorneys can provide them regarding their legal issues or the help they can offer them following an accident. That is why we have prepared the following blog post. In it, we will try to clear up some of this confusion surrounding personal injury lawyers and go over situations when you should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer.
Situations When You Should Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
Following a personal injury accident, if you are unsure about whether you should hire a personal injury lawyer to handle your legal claim, you should consider the following questions:
Is There More Than One Party Involved in the Personal Injury Accident?
If you suffered injuries in a personal injury accident involving multiple parties, you might benefit from hiring an experienced personal injury attorney to take on your case.
Your attorney should have the resources and knowledge to deal with the issues that tend to arise when dealing with multiple defendants, including:
- A more complicated and prolonged fight,
- Arguments about who was at fault for the accident, and
- More significant compensation.
Yet, although construction accidents, multi-vehicle crashes, malpractice incidents, and product liability accidents are accidents that most frequently involve multiple liable parties, any accident can potentially have multiple defendants.
That is why following a personal injury accident, reach out to an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as you can. These attorneys can help you figure out who was at fault for your injuries, develop a case that goes after the damages you need, and protect you in the process.
Did the at-Fault Party Blame You for the Accident?
If you are being blamed for contributing to the accident, you should discuss your case with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Because Illinois has adopted modified comparative negligence as its standard for recovering damages, if you were injured in an accident, you may only recover compensation from the accident if you were less than 50 percent at fault for what happened. However, even in these instances, your recovery will often be reduced in proportion to the degree that you were responsible for the accident.
As a result, the insurance company will look for any reason to blame you for the accident so that they can pay you less. Fortunately, when you work with a skilled personal injury lawyer, they can take on this fight and these unfounded allegations and go after the maximum compensation you are entitled to.
Is Liability for the Personal Injury Accident in Dispute?
To be able to bring a successful legal claim following an accident, you need to prove that the other party’s wrongdoings, intentional actions, or negligence caused the accident and your injuries. If you cannot prove this liability or this liability is being disputed, you should immediately contact a personal injury lawyer.
These attorneys can promptly conduct a thorough investigation into your accident to determine what happened and who was responsible for your harm. They can also try to secure the evidence needed to prove this fault and then develop a solid legal case to go after all those parties responsible for your accident and your injuries.
Did You Suffer Significant Injuries Following a Personal Injury Accident?
After a personal injury accident, if you sustained a traumatic injury or a permanent disability that will require you to receive future, ongoing medical care, you should reach out to a personal injury accident lawyer promptly. These injuries can often prevent you from being able to work for the rest of your life and may also result in astronomical medical expenses that can not only impact your future but your family’s future as well.
Thankfully, when you work with an experienced personal injury accident lawyer, these legal professionals can fight for maximum damages that can range in the millions depending on the extent of your trauma, your age, and other factors surrounding the accident. These lawyers can also bring in experts to assist in placing a value on your future damages and help prepare a solid legal case that can maximize the value of your non-economic damages, such as your pain and suffering.
Is the Insurance Company Not Willing to Help You or is Acting in Bad Faith?
Although most people believe that the insurance company will want to help them get the money they need after an accident, this is not how insurance companies work. You need to remember that insurance companies are a business, and like other businesses, they want to make a profit. Consequently, when these insurance companies do not pay out on your claim or pay you less than you deserve, they will make more money.
For these reasons, some insurance companies will act in bad faith when dealing with those injured in an accident to optimize the amount of compensation they can get from them.
These actions include:
- Dragging out a claim so that a person harmed in an accident runs out of time to file a personal injury lawsuit
- Refusing to pay a valid claim
- Raising false allegations for contributory negligence
- Requiring an individual to fill out unnecessary and tedious paperwork to process their claim
- Failing to investigate an injury claim
- Misrepresenting the terms of the insurance policy
- Misleading an injured individual about their legal rights
However, when you work with a personal injury attorney following your accident, these insurance companies are often less likely to act in bad faith—since they know that these types of lawyers are often familiar with their deceitful tactics and understand the laws surrounding a personal injury claim.
That is why, if you have been injured in a workplace accident, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. These attorneys not only have the necessary experience to handle these types of cases, but they can help you understand your rights and guide you as to what actions you should take next.
Is a Government Entity Involved?
If your accident involves a governmental entity, the case will often be more complicated than an average insurance claim. This is because governments and their officials are usually protected from liability, or the deadline to file a lawsuit against these agencies is much shorter than the deadline for filing other claims.
As a result, in these types of accidents, numerous factors can impact your ability to obtain the money you need. For these reasons, if you believe you have a claim against a government entity, you should reach out to a skilled personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to handle your claim.
Were You Harmed in a Medical Malpractice Incident?
If you were injured in a medical malpractice accident, time is of the essence, especially since there are often strict deadlines for putting the at-fault doctor on notice of the incident. If you miss these deadlines, you may not be able to pursue legal action against those responsible for your injuries.
Consequently, if you believe that you are a victim of medical malpractice, you should reach out to a skilled medical malpractice injury attorney as soon as you can.
How Do You Find the Right Personal Injury Lawyer For Your Case?
Unfortunately, even if an individual harmed in an accident decides that they need to retain legal counsel to take on their personal injury case, they may still have a problem figuring out which attorney they should hire to represent them, especially with all the choices they have when it comes to personal injury lawyers.
However, if this is a problem you are experiencing and are thinking about settling for the first name that pops up in your search history, you should consider the following factors before retaining a lawyer:
Does the Lawyer Exclusively Practice Personal Injury Law?
When looking for a law firm to take on your case, you need someone with experience handling personal injury claims and related matters instead of one that practices numerous areas of law. This is because it is often challenging to competently handle various areas of law with the skills and high level of competence needed to take on these cases.
As a result, it is important to choose a lawyer who exclusively focuses on representing those harmed in an accident.
Does the Lawyer Have Experience Taking Personal Injury Cases to Trial?
When you choose a personal injury lawyer, find one with experience handling personal injury cases who can take your case to court if needed.
When you speak with a potential personal injury attorney, you will want to find out:
- How long the attorney has been practicing personal injury law
- Whether they have gone up against the insurance company before
- Whether they have a history of high settlements and verdicts
- Their success rates when it comes to settling cases and litigating cases
- Whether they have access to experts that can help with your legal claim
These factors can help you figure out whether the lawyer can handle your personal injury case and provide you with the legal support you need.
Does the Lawyer Showcase One of the Following Red Flags?
Choosing the right personal injury lawyer for your case is not always as straightforward as many people may assume it will be. Not only do you have to pay attention to the attorney’s skills, record, and experience, but you also should stay aware of certain red flags that can indicate the attorney may not be the best lawyer for your case.
For instance:
- Does the attorney have poor client reviews or is not willing to provide you with referrals to contact?
- Does the lawyer lack the reputation for trying cases?
- Does the lawyer appear to be guessing how they should handle your case?
That is why when you meet with these potential lawyers, you should not be afraid to ask all of your questions, go over all of your concerns, and get the answers you need. This is the best way to determine if an attorney is ready and able to take on your legal battle and fight for the justice that you deserve.
Get The Legal Help You Need, Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If a personal injury accident injured you or a loved one and you are trying to figure out whether you should retain a lawyer, do not wait any longer to get the answers and clarification you need. Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney today for a free case evaluation and find out how these skilled legal professionals can help you.
Contact the Chicago Personal Injury Law Firm of Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for Help Today
For more information, please contact the experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today. We offer free consultations.
We proudly serve Cook County, Will County, Kendall County, and its surrounding areas:
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Chicago Office
10 S La Salle St STE 1230, Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 726-1616
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Joliet Office
195 Springfield Ave, Joliet, IL 60435
(815) 726-1616
