A car accident can be minor or tragic, depending on the collision impact. Whether it’s a head-on collision, rear, side-impact, run off the road collision, or rollover, you may need to consult a personal injury lawyer to ascertain your rights and help determine your legal options, such as filing a claim.
Learn more about the important reasons as to why you may require hiring a lawyer after an auto accident below:
1. Avoid Serious Criminal Penalties
You might think that your physical injuries are minor and your car only has minor dents after a side-impact collision. Also, you might avoid reporting the incident to your insurance company and decide to work with the other party to resolve things amicably without a lawyer.
It’s not, however, advisable to take a shortcut when you’re involved in an auto accident because it can result in serious criminal penalties. You need to contact your lawyer, who will most likely advise you to deal with the at-fault driver’s insurance company instead of taking the matter yourselves.
You can also visit this page to determine how you can potentially avoid future auto accidents.
2. Help Gather The Right Evidence
One of the aftermaths of a car accident is gathering pieces of evidence, in which the primary evidence can be found in the incident scene and through the police report. Gathering the right evidence to prove your claim can be time-consuming and physically exhausting, especially if you sustained injuries caused by an accident. Therefore, hiring a car accident lawyer makes sense to ensure the following:
- Preservation of evidence
- Proper documentation of evidence
- Gather all possible evidence related to the case
- Submit required documents and paperwork to prove substantial evidence
- Record witness interviews properly
3. Focus On Your Recovery
If you sustained serious physical injuries after a car accident, such as a fracture, the recovery time could take months. And facing the legal aspects of a personal injury case can be physically and mentally stressful at the same time. So, it’s imperative to hire a lawyer to take good care of your case’s legal aspects.
With the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer, you can entirely focus your attention on the recovery process and gain the following physical and psychological benefits:
- Faster healing
- Peace of mind because an expert is handling your case
- More time spent with loved ones
- Ability to focus on resuming back to work after recovery
4. Determine Your Legal Options
A personal injury lawyer will help you in determining your legal options, which may include any of the following:
- Settlement: Your lawyer can demand a certain amount of compensation from the insurance company for a quick settlement. If the insurance company denies your personal claim or doesn’t agree with the amount, your lawyer can take the matter to court.
- Litigation: The litigation process includes filing a lawsuit, discovery, mediation, and settlement negotiations. Filing a lawsuit involves providing a written complaint to the court with other paperwork, paying a filing fee, and serving the other party’s legal papers. Discovery refers to a formal process wherein parties involved share evidence, documents, and additional information.
- Trial and Appeal: While most personal injury cases get resolved before the trial stage, your attorney may recommend taking your case to court, especially if you have strong evidence to prove your claim to obtain full compensation.
5. Save Time, Money, And Energy
Hiring a lawyer can save you plenty of time, money, and energy, unlike resolving the matter independently. Just imagine the expense of delays due to incorrect information or error in the paperwork submitted to the insurance company or the court, lengthening the legal process.
Resolving your case on your own can be time-consuming and tedious. And if you don’t have any legal background, you might end up settling for a lower amount of compensation, running the risk of financial burden, especially if you need long-term treatment due to disability. You may not need to undergo all of the stress, hassle, and costly expenses by hiring a lawyer. Your attorney can also contact your creditors to notify them of your current situation so they’ll stop bugging you to collect payments while you can’t still work.
Conclusion
It’s important to seek professional help after an auto accident. A personal injury lawyer is your legal representative who will gather the much-needed evidence to prove your claim. Your personal injury lawyer will help you deal with the insurance company, your creditors, investigators, witnesses, and all legal aspects of your case. In this way, you can focus on your recovery without getting too stressed with too many things concerning legalities.