There are many different types of a personal injury cases. Most People will think that its only car crashes that will need a personal injury lawyer. However, there are many situations that would require a good lawyer after you have been injured. A slip and fall at a grocery store, an accident at work, or even medical malpractice all falls under that personal injury school of law.

            We know, as a law group, that most folks don’t really like lawyers. In fact, us lawyers most likely know even more lawyer jokes than most people. While there are some lawyers that tend to take themselves too seriously, fortunately they are a rare breed.

            Jokes aside, when a normal person ends up needing a lawyer, there isn’t anything funny about it. While family law and criminal defense can make for some emotional clients, non are more vulnerable and in need of help as someone who has been seriously injured by another’s neglect and wrongdoing. That is generally why most injury attorneys only take their fees out of the money that they win for their clients.

            However, it is sometimes difficult for most people to really understand why they need an injury lawyer after an accident. This is because the insurance agencies will normally always rush to contact then after an injury, and act like they are on your side and even tell them they don’t need a lawyer.

            Why the Insurance Agencies are NOT on Your Side

            Imagine if you were a fly on the wall at a board meeting of one of the major national insurance agencies. What do you think the major topic of conversation would be? Would they go around the table sharing happy stories of all of the people that they have helped that quarter? Maybe they would have a PowerPoint slideshow of folks with big smiles on their faces giving thumbs ups because they are so happy with their enormous settlements awarded by the insurance agency!

            While that idea seems nice enough, we can assure you that there is no talk about helping people at these board meetings. The one and only thing that is discussed is money. They talk about how much money was made or lost that quarter and why that money was made or lost. These companies are not in business to help anyone but themselves. Every policy and procedure that they implement is to make themselves more money, and that’s it.

            So, after you have been injured in an accident and someone else is at fault, the insurance agency will do everything in its power to pay you as little as possible for your injuries and suffering. That is how these companies make money, and that is how each member of that board have three vacations houses, a yacht and who knows what else.  (7 Things Your Insurance Adjuster Does Not Want You to Know, n.d.)

            How the Insurance Agencies Will Try to Shortchange You

            One of the first tricks that the insurance agency will try, is to send out an insurance adjuster directly after the accident. This adjuster will surely act very friendly and try to get you to believe that he or she is on your side. They will use very comforting language to try to make you feel at ease. In fact, these adjusters have been trained to try and make you think they are your friends. They will tell you that they want to get you as much money as possible, so that you can get back to your normal life.

            They will reach out to you as soon as possible with the hopes that you will not have retained a lawyer yet. This is because the first thing they will do is tell you if you fill out this simple statement about the accident, and if you do, they will be able to get you your money faster, and you won’t even need an attorney! Sounds great right?

            The fact is, that the “statement” that they will give you is full of tricky, leading questions with the purpose of attempting to get you to admit that you are responsible, or even partially responsible for the accident that led to your injury.

            If you fill out this statement, it will be used as a crucial piece of evidence against you during settlement negotiations, or in court so that the insurance agency will not  have to pay you a fair amount of money for your injuries and suffering.

            How a Lawyer Will Deal with the Insurance Agency for You

            If its possible for you to retain the services of an experienced injury lawyer, before the insurance adjuster has a chance try to sink their hooks into you, its likely the lawyer will tell you to not even say a word to the adjuster. Your lawyer will take care of any and all communication that needs to take place with the insurance agency.

            This will ensure that none of that communication can be used against you and your case when it comes time to negotiate a payout. Your lawyer will fully understand each and every trick the insurance agency will try to use, and will know how to turn those tricks around so they actually will work in your favor.

            Evidence and the Demand Letter

            One of the first things that your injury attorney will do, is to start to accumulate all of the evidence surrounding the incident that led to your injury. This evidence will be things like doctors and hospital bills to show how much the treatment for your injuries have cost, statements from doctors regarding any long term disabilities, and even police reports and witness statements if available.

            This evidence complied will be as complete as possible. Even the evidence that isn’t in your favor will be gathered. This way your lawyer will be fully aware of any evidence that could be used against you if the case ever went to court. Depending on the circumstances, this gathering of evidence may take months to complete.

            After your lawyer is sure that all evidence has been acquired and reviewed, they will then draft a “demand letter,” that will include all of the evidence showing just who was liable for the injury causing incident, and just how much it has cost you in hospital bills, doctors bills, therapy, as well as a estimated dollar amount for pain and suffering and even lost time with friends and family. The demand letter will demand a certain dollar amount to be paid to you from the insurance agency, by a certain time, or the lawyer will file a formal complaint in court.

            The Negotiation Process

            After the insurance agency has received a demand letter, it will be forwarded to their legal department. This branch of the insurance company is staffed by lawyers whose job it is to review the included evidence as well as try to obtain evidence that can be used in their favor. Then they will calculate their chances of winning, and how much it would cost, if the case ever went to trial.

            Personal injury case trials are ridiculously expensive for both sides. Regardless of how favorable the evidence is for either party, a trial can sometimes last a whole week, and the legal fees alone tend to make it not something anybody ever wants to go through with. Its for this reason that the majority of injury cases will settle outside of court.

            Naturally, the first settlement offer that the legal department of the insurance agency will send to your lawyer will be rejected. This is when the negotiating ability of your lawyer will really shine through. Your lawyer will send a counter offer to the agency, that will normally be much higher than the number that they actually want, and after much negotiation, your lawyer will hopefully have gotten you a fair and equitable settlement.

            Conclusion

            In nearly every instance where you have been injured and someone else’s negligence is at fault, immediately hiring a personal injury lawyer will ensure you get a bigger settlement. These reasons for this include:

Your lawyer will run interference with the tricky tactics the insurance agency will try to play to pay you less.Having the power to subpoena in order to gather evidence in your favor.Use the threat of filing a complaint in court as leverage in negotiating a settlement,And most importantly, they will take care of your case while you focus on recovering from your injuries.

 

References

7 Things Your Insurance Adjuster Does Not Want You to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved from O'Connor & Partners: https://www.oconnorpersonalinjury.com/what-insurance-companies-wont-tell-you/

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