Whenever you or a loved one have been injured in any type of accident which was caused by the intention or negligence of another person, it is important to know what your options are in terms of receiving the compensation that you deserve and need to help you face the difficult road ahead to recovery.
This is because there are many uncertainties involved with becoming injured. Some injuries can lead to job loss and or the inability to work and consequently earn an income. They can also lead to physical, emotional and psychological pain and trauma, huge medical bills, strains on the family unit and more. It is exactly for these reasons, otherwise referred to as “personal injury,” that you need as much help and resources as possible to see you through the trying times.
The one resource you will need to help you manage all these difficulties is money. This is exactly why the law of tort, under which personal injury falls under, allows for the awarding of “damages,” which is usually in the form of money, to victims of negligent, intentional or strict liability torts or injuries.
To this end, the one resource that can increase your chances of being able to receive adequate damages for your personal injuries, is a personal injury lawyer. The reason for this is because more often than not, anyone who is seeking to receive compensation for suffered injuries will likely be dealing with big insurance corporations who often have limitless resources like a team of corporate lawyers, claims adjusters, private investigators and more at their disposal. You can therefore be sure that more than anything else, the one objective to which they will deploy these resources, is in ensuring that they pay out as little as possible, or even nothing, to victims of personal injuries to whom they have liability to, by way of holders of their insurance policies who have caused these personal injuries.
This is exactly where your own personal injury lawyer comes in, as this is the person who will also have the know-how and other resources to help you deal with these corporations. From handling the claims filing process, to any negotiations that occur after that in a bid to find a fair and common ground with regards a settlement payout. All the way to litigating the case in court, in the off-chance that a settlement cannot be reached. Even though research seems to indicate that the vast majority of personal injury cases settle before they get to trial.
Besides representing your interest in negotiating a fair settlement amount with the insurance company, some of the other advantages to be had in retaining the services of an injury lawyer are:
- Emotional Support: While chances are that you hopefully are getting some emotional support from your family and friends after the accident you might have been involved in, you will likely need a different kind of support system when actual process of seeking compensation begins. Having to possibly speak about and relive the experience, answering tough questions from the representatives of the insurance company are just some of the difficult things you might need emotional support for.
- More Experience: If you are thinking of going through the claims process by yourself, it is very possible that this might be your very first time that you are doing so. An injury lawyer on the other hand is very likely to be much more experienced in handling such cases, and has possibly handled several dozens or hundreds of similar cases. At such, he or she is obviously better placed to handle your case and obtain a better outcome.
- More Likely to Know the Value of Your Claim: While you will probably be able to determine the monetary value of tangible damages, such as loss of income, property damage and medical bills, there will very probably be other types of intangible damages, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment and consortium and more, for which you will have no idea what monetary value to attach to them. Because of the previously mentioned experience that the personal injury attorney will have with many similar cases, he likely will have a better grasp on what value you can attach to these intangible damages.
- No Upfront Expense: It is generally accepted that lawyers are expensive. You can therefore ordinarily have expected to pay a very hefty fee to hire an attorney to represent you in a claims process. A fee which the vast majority of people would have been unable to afford, which would have otherwise denied them the opportunity to receive their deserved compensation. However, because practically all personal injury solicitors work on a contingency fee or no-win-no-fee basis. In other words, you only get to pay the lawyer’s fees, only if they win the lawsuit, or otherwise favorably settle out of court.
- Saves You Time: The last thing you want to be doing shortly after you have been injured in any type of automobile accident, is to be reading up about the process of filing an accident claim, a process which will or should include preparing for the possibility of not being on the same page as the insurance company, in terms of them offering you much less than you believe you deserve.
There are many more advantages to be had from hiring a personal injury to represent your interests in a claims process, but we hope that the above five points are sufficient to convince you of the efficacy of doing so.
Residents of Ventura County in California who have been injured in any type of injury, ranging from a car accident, to medical malpractice, to dog bite, to any type of personal injury that is covered under our practice area, should call to speak to one of our Ventura personal Injury Lawyers.