Should I Get A Lawyer For A Car Accident That Wasn’t My Fault?
It’s upsetting and very disorienting when you’ve been in a vehicle crash caused by someone else. Not only is your property damaged and you may even be injured, but then you have to deal with police reports and insurance companies.
You may be wondering “should I get a lawyer for a car accident that wasn’t my fault?” The short answer is “yes.”
The reasons you should get a lawyer, even though you’re not at fault, include the following:
1. You could face the risk of financial losses without an attorney
2. You could receive less compensation for vehicle damage from your insurance company without a lawyer.
3. You may be pestered with phone calls and letters from the other person’s insurance company.You can direct all of those to a lawyer if you have one.
4. You won’t have to deal with nearly as much financial and legal paperwork if you have a lawyer to handle it for you. That way, you can quickly put the crash behind you and get on with life.
It’s important to look out for your interests even if a car accident wasn’t your fault. Finding a skilled and experienced accident lawyer is a great first step. If you’d like to speak to an attorney at Slack Davis Sanger to find out more about how to protect yourself, we’d be glad to answer your questions. We offer a free initial consultation, so call us at 972-534-2867.
WHY SHOULD I GET A LAWYER FOR A CAR ACCIDENT THAT WASN’T MY FAULT?
You want to make sure you’re protected in case things go sideways. Also, you don’t want to spend a lot of time and effort handling paperwork, and you don’t want to leave any money on the table when it comes to settling with your own insurance company. An aggressive lawyer can help you with all of these things, which makes your life a whole lot easier.
Preventing financial losses – It’s the insurance company’s job to pay you as little as possible for the damage to your car. Yes, you will receive some reasonable amount of money to repair your vehicle or cover medical costs, but the insurance company does not voluntarily offer the best possible settlement amount of their own accord. Often it takes pressure from an attorney to achieve the top payout from an insurance company.
Eliminating Phone Calls, Paperwork and Other Distractions – An attorney is trained to handle communications swiftly and efficiently, thereby lifting this burden from your shoulders. Also, insurance paperwork can be laborious and technical, requiring a lot of time. Since the accident was not your fault, why endure the inconveniences of paperwork, emails and phone calls?
DO YOU NEED A LAWYER WHEN THE OTHER DRIVER IS AT FAULT?
You are not required to have an attorney, but what have you got to lose? You will probably receive a better payout from your insurance company for the damage to your car if you have an attorney. Also, if it turns out that your physical injuries are greater than they seemed at first, then you will have a skilled attorney on your side who can file a claim to seek financial compensation from the other driver’s insurance company. Sometimes the severity of injuries takes days or weeks to show up, and if you incur medical bills because of the crash, you want to make sure you are not stuck paying for them — especially if the accident was due to the other driver’s carelessness or negligence.
Hiring an attorney is really about protecting your own interests. It’s about being able to move on from the accident without worrying about financial setbacks. If there’s one thing for sure, you should never be worse off after a crash that was not your fault than you were before the crash happened.
Also, it’s about protecting your family. What if your injuries do turn out to be more serious than you thought? Then what? You could be off work for days or weeks, and that could mean reduced earnings and missed wages. How will your family buy groceries and gas and pay rent? These are all questions you need to ask yourself when considering whether you need a lawyer when the other driver is at fault.
Making that first phone call to an attorney doesn’t mean that you’re committing to anything. It just means you’re gathering more information, getting answers to your questions and finding out what your legal rights are.
There can be a lot of unknowns when you’re involved in a car crash that was not your fault. How will you pay for the damage to your vehicle? Will you need a rental car? If you sustained injuries, how will you pay the medical bills?
Not only are you inconvenienced and must deal with police reports and insurance claims, but you could also be facing some follow-up medical care and physical therapy. All of these take time and money, which are things that are in short supply for many of us.
When you hire an attorney to represent your interests, you’re able to move on from the crash more quickly. A lawyer can advise you of your rights and discuss your legal options. While you focus on recovering from the crash and getting on with life, your attorney can handle communications with insurance companies and file any legal paperwork that may be necessary.
The firm handles cases involving catastrophic personal injuries and deaths. Our work spans three decades of handling airplane and helicopter crashes, truck and car accidents, oilfield and construction accidents, and other devastating accidents. We try lawsuits throughout the country in both federal and state courts and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. To date, we have handled or tried cases in 47 states, read more about our attorneys and firm.