When Don’t You Need A Personal Injury Attorney? 

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Many people need a personal injury attorney after a car accident or other mishap. But how do you know if you’d benefit from hiring an attorney for your case? 

If any of the points below apply, you might be able to handle the case yourself. Yet it never hurts to have a personal injury attorney review your situation; if the case isn’t worth pursuing, they’ll let you know. 

You Don’t Have Any Injuries

Some car accidents only involve property damage. If you’re sure nobody was injured, you don’t need a personal injury attorney; you can usually settle the matter with your insurance company on your own. 

It’s best not to talk to the other driver’s insurance company to ensure you don’t say something that can hurt your claim. The best idea is to have your insurance company talk to the other driver’s insurance company. 

Another possibility is your injuries are so minor that there isn’t enough money at stake to justify paying an attorney. But how do you know if your injuries are minor? 

It’s a good bet that it’s a minor accident if the injuries didn’t cause you more than a day or so of work. However, if it did, you might want to talk to an attorney. 

Fortunately, most personal injury attorneys offer free consultations. You can talk to them for free, and they’ll quickly figure out if the case is worth their time. Likewise, they’ll tell you if there’s no money in the case for either of you to bother filing a lawsuit. 

The Insurance Company Offers A Fair Settlement

Say you sprained your neck and have $2,000 of property damage in a stop sign accident. If the insurance company offers you full reimbursement for your car and $1,000 for your injury, this is probably a fair settlement. 

To be sure, you can run the case by a personal injury attorney, and they’ll let you know if the settlement is reasonable. But, on the other hand, if the lawyer thinks it’s a low offer, you may want an attorney. 

The Accident Is Your Fault

Say you run a stoplight and hit another car in the intersection, and you broke your wrist. If the accident is entirely your fault, you don’t have a case. But you may need a defense attorney to represent you if the other driver was injured. 

However, some cases might look like they’re all your fault, but perhaps they weren’t. For instance, you ran the traffic light, and the other car hit you, but the driver was going 15 MPH over the speed limit. 

If the accident is partially the other driver’s fault, then both drivers could be at fault. Depending on how the percentage of blame works out, you still may want to file a lawsuit. 

You Understand Car Insurance

The layperson can get taken to the cleaners by the insurance adjuster. But if you work in auto insurance, you probably know the game so you could represent yourself and come out on top. 

How You Know You Need A Lawyer

There also are accident circumstances where you almost certainly need a skilled personal injury lawyer and the police: 

• A person died in the car accident
• Your medical treatments and lost wages are more than $1,500 to $2,000
• There is disagreement about who was at fault
• There were more than two drivers in the accident
• One of the insurance companies won’t pay
• You have substantial pain and suffering from severe injuries
• You have broken bones, needed surgery, or stayed in the hospital overnight
• The crash happened in a construction zone

Now you know more about car accident law and when you need an attorney. So you should be prepared if you’re ever in an accident with injuries.