Hire an Attorney or DIY?

Should I hire an Attorney or can I handle my auto accident claim on my own? What are some of the factors I should consider with regards to auto accident personal injury matters? It all depends.

One consideration is the nature of the injuries you sustained. If you sustained very minor to negligible injuries that do not require treatment or you are not willing to seek medical treatment within a reasonable period following the accident, or perhaps you only had one or two doctors visits and no physical therapy and no Hospital (emergency room) or urgent care treatment, then experienced personal injury attorneys may not accept your case. This would be a situation where the victim could consider discussing a settlement directly with the insurance company. On the other hand, if you sustained soft tissue injuries and were referred for physical therapy or received emergency room or urgent care treatment, you should consider consulting with a personal injury Attorney.

Another consideration is whether your accident is a high impact accident or a low impact accident. In some situations, insurance companies may summarily deny a claim primarily when the impact of the collision is deemed (by their adjuster) to be low. For this reason, some Attorneys may decline to accept auto accident claims where there appears to be negligible property damage (for instance less than $500) - paint scratch type damages. Does this mean that the victim does not have a case? Not necessarily. However, it may lead to a situation where the victim may have to deal directly with the insurance to reach a resolution.

Notwithstanding, given that personal injury Attorneys generally offer free phone and in person consultations, and considering that making a determination of 'good cases' from 'poor cases' is not always a straightforward process, it is always prudent to contact an experienced personal injury Attorney when injured in an automobile accident. In many low impact accident and minor injury situations, we have routinely won tens of thousands of dollars for our clients. Although we do not accept every case, we certainly speak with everyone who calls us and we provide them as much information as we can during the consultation to assist them in making an informed decision. Do not hesitate to contact us if additional information is needed for this article or any other matter you may have.