Why You Should Hire a Personal Injury Attorney and not Settle on Your Own

Personal Injury Attorney – Making the Right Choice

Before finalizing your decision about whether you need to hire a personal injury attorney or lawyer, you first need to be familiar with a “Personal Injury Case”. Most personal injury cases focus on negligence. This is where someone owes you a duty of care and breached that duty, causing injuries or wrongful death. There is a complex system of claims, duties, rights and damages that an injured person or family who lost a loved one should be aware of.

Sometimes, these rights conflict, overlap or work together, and making the wrong move could jeopardize your entire claim or part of your claims. For example, a settlement with an at-fault driver in a car accident case could bar you from making a claim against your own underinsured motorist insurance company if you sign a release with the at-fault party without getting a waiver of subrogation from the underinsured motorist carrier.

Don’t Go It Alone

While you can handle an injury case by yourself and without hiring a personal injury attorney, it may not be worth the risk. You can talk with the person responsible for your injury and try to reach a settlement without having to involve the legal system, but if the person at fault has insurance, they have the right to turn the matter over to their insurance company. If they chose to do this, then you are right where you may not want to be: You have to deal with the insurance company without experience, knowledge or understanding of the personal injury system against an insurance adjuster who adjusts claims for a living.

Insurance companies aren’t generally willing to give you a settlement as large as you are entitled to. They often want to settle low, quickly and save money, sometimes for pennies on the dollar. Remember that insurance companies are professionals. They have handled all sorts of cases like yours, they know the ins and outs, and will likely do whatever they can to save themselves money. They typically have their own legal departments and in nearly every case they will probably outmatch you if you try to handle the matter yourself. To challenge the insurance companies, you should have an experienced personal injury lawyer to fight for your rights.

What Does A Personal Injury Attorney Do?

A personal injury attorney looks out for your best interests. They have seen cases like yours, know the law, and know what sort of compensation you are entitled to. You focus on getting better while personal injury attorney will investigate your case and will build a strategy to get the most compensation for your injuries that you deserve. An attorney keeps your rights in mind and will work diligently to protect you and make sure that your rights are protected. An incentive for the personal injury attorney is that you would not have to pay the attorney money out of your pocket. Instead, they often work on a contingency fee, which means the more they get you, the more they get themselves, and typically waive all fees and costs if there is no recovery.

Choosing The Best Personal Injury Attorney

When searching for the “best personal injury attorney in Florida”, it is a very subjective query. There is no official list of the best lawyers in Florida, and attorneys have focused practice areas or specialties, and different levels of experience. For example, Super Lawyers publishes a Rising Star list each year which lists no more than 2.5% of lawyers in Florida who receive this honor.

Most experienced personal injury attorneys will give you a free consultation, at no charge, and work on a contingency fee, which means they waive all fees and costs if there is no recovery. Some attorneys try to get a retainer for fees or costs, or will try to modify a fee arrangement where you pay lower fees out of pocket in exchange for a reduced percentage. Be careful with these arrangements, as some attorneys may focus more on how much you are paying them then on how much they can get for you.

Your personal injury attorney should have significant experience in personal injury law. Florida presently does not recognize a Board Certified Personal Injury Lawyer. Look for an attorney with the knowledge, skill and experience to guide you through your personal injury case, who can fight to get you the compensation you deserve!