If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you might be wondering exactly how an attorney can help you. In this article we’ll cover what a car accident lawyer brings to the table, including:
- organization and analysis of key evidence and records
- a network of investigators and experts who can help strengthen your case, and
- negotiation skills that will get the best outcome for your car accident claim.
What Will My Car Accident Lawyer Do?
While much depends on the specifics and the complexity of your car accident case, in general a lawyer can:
- communicate with the other driver’s insurer
- obtain the necessary evidence with respect to fault for the accident
- organize your medical records and bills
- communicate with your health care providers to obtain missing records
- work with your doctors to make sure they provide the medical information you need so that you can prove damages in your claim
- organize and present the evidence in order to prove liability and damages
- negotiate with lien holders on your claim (such as health, disability, or workers’ compensation insurers) to potentially reduce the amount of those liens, and
- negotiate a satisfactory settlement with the insurance adjuster or defense attorney.
Let’s look at a couple of these things in-depth.
Communicating with the Other Driver’s Insurer
Your lawyer will establish contact with the insurance adjuster for the other party (or parties) involved in any personal injury case. The adjuster is in charge of the money, thus strong communication and a good connection with the adjuster are essential for a plaintiff’s lawyer.
Obtaining Necessary Evidence of Liability
A qualified lawyer can assist you in obtaining all of the evidence necessary to establish liability in a vehicle accident lawsuit. Despite the fact that you may have previously taken photographs of the accident scene, your lawyer will most likely return to examine what it looks like. While a picture is worth a thousand words, witnessing the situation in person is worth a thousand photographs.
The lawyer will make certain that all accident or police reports in the case are obtained, and he or she will frequently speak with the investigating officers and witnesses. When it comes to acquiring evidence of responsibility, a good lawyer will leave no stone unturned. Find out more about proving liability in a car accident.
Obtaining Necessary Evidence of Damages
This is where a good lawyer can be essential to your case, especially when you’ve suffered significant car accident injuries.
It is critical to obtain all documentation related to your injuries, but it isn’t always easy to get your hands on those records and bills from health care providers. Although the records are technically yours, and you have an absolute right to them, sending medical records to patients and lawyers is just not a health care provider’s first priority.
Small doctors’ offices may lack the manpower or time to respond to medical record requests promptly. In order to react to medical record requests, large institutions may have unique protocols that must be followed. They simply will not react to your request if you do not follow their procedures (which they frequently do not publicize effectively).
The records may then be incomplete when the health care provider responds to the request. Any lawyer’s secretary or paralegal will tell you that they frequently have to request the same records multiple times and must follow up with the provider’s office incessantly.
Finally, it may turn out that the doctor did not use the “magic words” as to causation, prognosis, and disability in his or her notes. In order to successfully prosecute any type of personal injury claim, you must be able to prove, through medical evidence,
- exactly what your injury, disability, or physical limitation is, and
- that it was caused by the defendant’s negligence.
Doctors often don’t mention causation and extent of the injury or disability in their medical records. If this happens in your case, your lawyer will write the doctor and ask for a special letter in which the doctor gives his/her opinion that the accident caused your injury or disability and that, as a result of the accident, you will be hindered or disabled for a specific period of time.
Negotiating With Lien Holders
If you received benefits from a health, disability, or workers’ compensation insurer, that insurer will have a lien on your claim. A lien means that the lien holder gets paid before you do, out of any settlement or judgment you receive. A good lawyer will work with the lien holder to try to get the lien holder to reduce its lien. This is important work. Every dollar less that the lien holder takes is one more dollar that goes into your pocket. Learn more about health care provider liens on personal injury settlements.
Negotiating With Insurers/Defendants
Negotiation is a very specific skill (some might even call it an art). A personal injury lawyer is always going to be far better at settling a car accident case than a layperson would be. A good lawyer knows how much the case is worth and knows how to work the case and conduct the negotiations in order to arrive at the best outcome for the client.
When Can I Handle a Car Accident Claim Myself?
If you weren’t hurt all that badly, if you’re comfortable gathering necessary evidence and documents, and (most importantly) you’re ready and willing to engage in the settlement negotiation process, you can certainly handle your car accident claim yourself. But there’s really no substitute for a skilled legal professional’s help. Learn more about the advantage of legal representation in our personal injury reader survey results.
If you’ve been involved in a car accident and you’re ready to discuss your options, you can use the chat and case evaluation tools on this page, or get tips on finding the right lawyer for you and your case.