If you were recently involved in a car accident that resulted in an injury, you may be wondering if you need to get a lawyer involved. After all, if the case is easy, handling the claim yourself will ensure that costs are kept to a minimum and maximizes your compensation. However, you will likely want to get an auto accident lawyer involved. Here's why.
The Type Of Accident
The first thing that you want to look at is the type of car accident that you were involved in. If your accident was fairly straightforward, such as being rear-ended at a red light, then you may think you don't need to get a lawyer involved. The law is going to be on your side with determining who was responsible for the crash, and you will not have much to prove in order to determine that you were not at fault.
However, things get more complicated when fault is not as clear. For example, an accident at a four-way intersection where it is difficult to determine who is the person that is responsible for the crash. Another unclear case is when multiple vehicles are involved. This is because the percentage of fault that you have will determine how much compensation you receive. If you are 40% at fault, for example, your compensation could be reduced by 40%. You'll definitely need a lawyer to be on your side to argue on your behalf that your level of fault was zero.
The Type Of Injury
You should also consider the type of injury that you suffered in the accident when determining if you want to hire a lawyer. If you have an injury that is simple and straightforward, such as a sprained wrist or a broken bone, then the medical bill should be relatively low and the recovery will be predictable.
However, the situation drastically changes when you have a complicated injury with a long recovery window. That's because the injury case may settle before your injuries are healed. A large part of the case is going to be estimating your recovery costs so that you have the money you need in the future. Underestimating and settling for less than what you deserve means that those costs end up coming out of your pocket. There is no way to then go back and open up the case to ask for more money after a settlement has been reached.
For more information about this process, contact an auto accident lawyer.