Hire your attorney as soon as possible after a car accident—you incur significant risks in waiting to hire your lawyer. Attorneys step in to protect their clients from making harmful decisions, waiting to get medical care, and succumbing to other hazards that can harm their health and their case.
Your car accident lawyer will also take immediate steps related to your case. This includes gathering evidence. Let your attorney get to work by finding and hiring them right away.
How to Find a Qualified, Client-First Lawyer After a Car Accident
It’s easy enough to say you should hire a lawyer. To follow this advice, you must know where to find a car accident lawyer.
Some common ways that accident victims locate their attorneys are:
- The internet: The world wide web is likely the most common way for car accident victims to find a lawyer. This resource offers several benefits. Namely, you can research a law firm through reviews and investigate the firm’s site for case results and other important information.
- Investigating local or national advertisements: Many car accident lawyers advertise on television, radio, podcasts, benches, billboards, and publications. If you have seen such advertisements, you might call the firm directly or research that firm online.
- Asking friends, families, or other trusted people for recommendations: Before the internet, word of mouth was one of the most reliable ways to find trustworthy services. A recommendation from someone you trust is still a good way to find a capable car accident attorney.
Some car accident victims hire a law firm they used in the past. However, just because a law firm obtained money in the past does not mean it’s the best law firm for you. This is why it’s generally smart to research and find the most qualified firm for you today.
Criteria to Use When Picking Your Car Accident Attorney
The cost of a victim’s accident-related injuries can realistically reach six figures or more. This highlights the importance of finding a qualified attorney—you will place your financial case result in your lawyer’s hands.
With this in mind, some criteria you can use when finding a car accident lawyer include:
- The firm’s reputation among former clients: Nobody is a better judge of a law firm than a client. Those who hire a law firm know whether that firm treats clients well, goes to court for those clients, and delivers on promises made during the initial consultation. Take the time to review former clients’ reviews, as these experiences are priceless during a lawyer search.
- The firm’s results: Car accident lawyers obtain compensation for clients through settlements and verdicts (with settlements being more common). You can compare results between various law firms; this is some of the most important data you can access. Consider not just the size of each financial recovery but also the number of recoveries and how the firm got the results—if a firm goes to trial often, it is likely a team of client-friendly fighters.
- Where the firm is located: You need access to your car accident lawyer. While some attorneys are willing to travel long distances for their clients and cases, it’s generally better for a lawyer to be near you.
- How responsive and impressive the firm is when you contact them: First impressions matter when finding an attorney. If you call a law firm and it takes days for the firm to return your call, store this fact in your mental database. If a law firm immediately answers, is courteous, and makes you feel important, that matters.
- How the firm makes you feel: Trust yourself and your instincts during the search process. If two firms appear equal in terms of their results and reputations, you might choose the firm that made you most inspired or comfortable.
You should also find out which lawyer will handle your case should you choose a firm. You can research that lawyer and ensure their qualifications meet your standards.
Why You Should Never Wait to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
Lawyers don’t say “Hire us right away” just because they want your business. The present strong reasons to retain a car accident attorney as soon as possible, which include:
Securing Evidence Is an Urgent Step
Car accident cases often teeter upon the question of fault.
Your lawyer needs to prove:
- That you aren’t at fault for the accident
- That someone else is at fault for the accident
You must obtain evidence from your accident for your case, and much evidence will disappear with time. Your lawyer will obtain this evidence as soon as possible (after you hire them).
Even in states that use a no-fault insurance framework, you may need to prove fault. If you need to sue, you can hold the at-fault party personally liable for the plaintiff’s damages.
Insurance Companies May Work Against You
Auto insurance providers provide a financial safety net for accident victims.
Instead, countless accident victims find that insurance companies:
- Deny claims without valid reasons
- Pressure claimants to accept a quick, lowball settlement
- Lie about the details of an accident, policy, or other aspect of a claim
- Intentionally undervalue the cost of the claimant’s losses
- Make settlement negotiations difficult
Insurance companies protect their financial interests, sometimes in ethically questionable ways. An attorney will prevent any errors an insurer may seize upon. Your lawyer will also handle any bad-faith tactics so you don’t have to.
Car Accident Cases Come with Deadlines
Whether you’re filing an insurance claim or lawsuit, you must meet deadlines that could come in days, months, or years. Hire your lawyer as soon as possible to reduce your risk of a missed deadline (and potentially a missed opportunity to secure the compensation you deserve).
The Contingency Fee Structure Allows You to Hire a Car Accident Attorney Immediately
After learning why they should hire a car accident lawyer right away, some car accident victims ask: But can I afford one?
Yes, you can afford a car accident lawyer.
Most personal injury attorneys use contingency fees, which:
- Require the attorney to earn their fee, rather than receiving a guaranteed rate
- Only requires the client to grant a percentage of their financial recovery (settlement or verdict) to their lawyer
- Allows every car accident survivor, and anyone affected by a fatal car accident, to hire a lawyer
You and your lawyer must agree to the details of their fee beforehand, which means you will know how the fee agreement works. No matter how tough your financial situation is, hiring a car accident lawyer is within your means.
What Your Car Accident Lawyer Will Do After You Hire Them
Attorneys don’t just “represent” the car accident victim. They take over every detail of their client’s fight for a fair financial recovery. This is a tall task, and a lawyer’s full-service approach helps clients recover.
Your car accident lawyer will:
Bring Their Experience to Your Case
While bringing their experience is not an act your lawyer will perform, it’s definitely an asset.
That your car accident lawyer has prior case experience will mean:
- They are not learning on the fly
- They can be confident in every aspect of your case
- They will not waste time in creating and resolving your case
- They have navigated the auto insurance claims process many times
- They are familiar with relevant laws and legal practices
- They will be qualified, perhaps more than any other, to lead your car accident case
Some car accident lawyers have been representing clients for decades. This type of experience is priceless during a high-stakes claim or lawsuit.
Obtain Definitive Proof of Who Caused Your Car Accident
Car accident lawyers do many things, and proving fault is one of the most important. Ideally, the party who caused your accident—typically a driver—will admit fault.
There’s a chance they won’t though, in which case your lawyer may prove fault using:
- Your statements about the accident
- Eyewitnesses’ statements about the accident
- Video footage (which can come from dashboard cameras, traffic cameras, mounted cameras, and other sources)
- A police report that summarizes the collision
If there is no video of your accident and fault is in dispute, your lawyer may hire an expert to reconstruct how the collision occurred.
Secure All Documentation of Your Damages
Car accident lawyers demand compensation for their clients.
The amount they demand is based on the client’s unique damages, so your lawyer will need to prove those damages with:
- Your testimony about pain and suffering (and a mental health expert’s diagnoses of your pain and suffering)
- Medical records for accident-related injuries
- Bills related to property expenses, such as vehicle repair costs
- Financial statements illustrating your lost income
Attorneys listen to their clients, lean on the experts, and make detailed records of the client’s accident-related damages.
Establish Your Case Value
Your car accident lawyer will determine the cost of your damages, which will determine the value of your case. Your attorney’s settlement demands will, most likely, match the cost of your damages.
Fight for a Settlement
Before they submit their demands to an insurance company or another liable party, your lawyer will thoroughly create those demands because:
- Once you sign an agreement with an insurance company or a defendant in a lawsuit, you typically release them from further financial liability
- Because you typically have only one opportunity to secure a financial recovery, your settlement or verdict must cover all future damages
- If there is any error in the settlement demands, the financial consequences can be catastrophic
These are all reasons why you might hire a car accident lawyer. You might otherwise struggle to determine how much money you deserve—and, just as importantly, to secure that money.
Without a Fair Settlement Offer, Your Case Could Go to Court (After Filing a Lawsuit)
Another benefit of hiring a car accident lawyer is the ability to file a lawsuit and even go to trial. While most claimants and defendants eventually receive settlements from their claims and lawsuits, a lawyer allows you to go to court if necessary.
Your Lawyer’s Goal: Fair Compensation for Each of Your Accident-Related Damages
Whether they are working on your insurance claim, lawsuit, or trial, your attorney’s goal will not change. Everything your legal team does will be to secure the compensation you deserve.
Some of the damages car accident lawyers often seek compensation for include:
- Pain and suffering: Examples of pain and suffering include acute and chronic pain, PTSD, anxiety, depression, scarring, sleep loss, and lost quality of life.
- Medical costs: Medical bills are a key feature of auto insurance claims and car accident lawsuits. The severity of your injuries will be one of many important factors in the cost of your medical care.
- Lost earnings: If you lose income, earning power, benefits, bonuses, or any other professional assets because of a car accident, your attorney will pursue compensation for these damages.
- Vehicle-related costs: If an accident damages your vehicle (or any other property), your lawyer will include repair costs in their settlement demands. When vehicles are totaled, lawyers include the replacement cost in their demands.
Your lawyer won’t know what damages you suffered until they investigate fully. Trust your attorney to document your damages compassionately and hold liable parties accountable for the pain, financial loss, and other harm you endured.
Involved in a Car Accident? Now Is the Time to Hire Your Lawyer
Hire your lawyer as soon as possible to meet deadlines, collect evidence, and protect your rights. Your health is another reason to let a lawyer lead your case. While they deal with the case, you can rest and follow your doctor’s treatment plan.
Hire your personal injury lawyer as soon as you find the right firm to lead your case.
Nicolette R. Nicoletti
Managing Partner
Nicolette R. Nicoletti is the founder and managing partner of the Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers. She was born and raised in New Port Richey, Florida. Nicolette attended Genesis Preparatory School and graduated salutatorian of her class. She then went onto Saint Leo University for her undergraduate education. She graduated magna cum laude from the Honors Program with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. While at Saint Leo University, Nicolette was President of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society), Secretary of Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice Honor Society), and an active member of Delta Epsilon Sigma (National Scholastic Honor Society).
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