How an Attorney Can Help
There are several important ways that an experienced car accident lawyer can help you get the attention, care, and fair compensation you deserve. Here are just a few of the major ones:
Medical Treatment
Getting prompt medical care, seeing the right specialists, and following through with your treatment plan is critically important—not only for your physical and mental recovery, but also for your personal injury lawsuit. By getting timely treatment, you will accumulate the medical records you need to prove your injuries were caused by the car crash. And by attending all your appointments and checkups and following your doctor’s orders, the insurance company will find it harder to accuse you of exaggerating your symptoms.
At Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers, we pride ourselves on our medical knowledge and the relationships we’ve built with many of the best medical providers and specialists throughout Chicago and Illinois. We are happy to provide you with medical referrals should you need them and check in with you regularly to ensure you’re still getting the quality treatment you need. In short: we care deeply about our clients’ health, and that care can result in better health outcomes and larger financial recoveries.
Proving Fault and Liability
A good car accident attorney knows how to investigate car accidents and figure out who was really responsible. We work with accident scene investigators and reconstructionists who can obtain and review photos of the crash, the police report, eyewitness testimony, and other potential sources of evidence to build a strong case. By taking over negotiations with the insurance company, we also protect clients from falling for traps and inadvertently damaging their own personal injury claims.
Calculating Damages (and Fighting for Fair Compensation)
You’re entitled to compensation for past and future monetary losses due to your car accident injuries. That includes future medical treatment, such as future surgeries you’re likely to need or ongoing therapy. It includes not only your lost wages so far, but future income reductions due to not being able to return to work full time, or not being able to continue working in a lucrative profession with opportunities for promotion.
When we calculate future monetary damages, we often need to talk with doctors, economists, life care planners, and other experts to get an accurate estimate. And that’s just the financial losses. You also deserve fair compensation for losses that are harder to put a price tag on, such as pain and suffering, emotional trauma, or loss of enjoyment of life.
Most car accident victims have no idea how to even begin calculating a truly fair settlement. Insurance companies know this, and they won’t hesitate to make the lowest offer they think you might accept—rather than what’s really fair. When you get a lawyer for a car accident case, you significantly decrease the risk of settling for far less than you deserve.
Legal Paperwork, Deadlines, and Potential Lawsuit
While it’d be nice if all personal injury cases could be resolved through negotiations alone, some insurance companies simply will not offer a fair settlement unless you sue them. Once you do, that begins a complex legal process that builds toward a potential trial. While you are legally allowed to do this on your own, your chances of a successful outcome without experienced legal help are extremely slim.
Peace of Mind
In addition to handling all the difficult legal work and negotiations on your behalf, your car accident attorney can help you in all sorts of other ways. We’ve already mentioned how we help our clients get great medical care. We can also help you set up medical liens so you stop getting harassing phone calls from hospitals and bill collectors, or connect you to support groups and resources that can help you get back on your feet.
You shouldn’t have to shoulder it all alone. Your attorney is there to make the process as simple and stress-free as possible.
Addressing Common Concerns
As you can see, there are some compelling reasons to work with an experienced car accident attorney on your claim. But are there any potential downsides? Here are some of the most common concerns we hear from potential clients:
“I can’t afford a lawyer.”
That said, different car accident attorneys may charge different attorney fees. Sadly, some Chicago attorneys end up making more money from car accident cases than their own clients do. At Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers, we believe in transparency and providing a fair and affordable service to all our clients, so we promise never to charge attorney fees greater than what our clients earn. That’s our more lawyer, less fee guarantee.
“I’ll save money if I represent myself.”
For complex cases, with difficult damage calculations and thorough investigations, you’re almost certainly better off financially by working with an attorney. And that’s before even considering the value of your time.
“I don’t want to go through the hassle and stress of a lawsuit.”
But in the long run, the temporary hassle of going to court is far easier to deal with than accepting a small, unfair settlement that isn’t nearly enough to provide for you and your family. Accepting a lowball settlement offer will not make the problem go away. It just delays a bigger problem.
In the meantime, a good lawyer will do everything in their power to take as much stress out of the process as possible.
“I trust the other driver and the insurance company to do the right thing.”
And regardless, it’s the insurance company’s money on the line, not the other driver’s. Even if it seems clear that the other driver was at fault, the insurance company can reduce the amount it owes you by arguing that you deserve some of the blame, too. If that doesn’t work, they can still try to argue that your injuries aren’t as bad as you say, and that they don’t owe you as much as you demand.
In short, even if the other driver and the insurance adjuster seem incredibly nice and honest, you should never assume they have your best interests at heart. Speaking with a lawyer as soon as possible helps you protect yourself.
“My case isn’t complicated enough to require an attorney.”
Again, see above. Even cases that seem entirely straightforward—clear liability, clearly the cause of your injuries—are almost never as simple as they appear.
When You Might Not Need to Hire an Attorney
So, as we wrote near the start of this blog, not every person involved in a car crash needs to hire an attorney. You always have the right to represent yourself, and you may be able to do so successfully under certain conditions. For example, you might not need an attorney if:
- Liability is not being disputed
- You only suffered property damage, or your injuries were very minor and healed completely with no lasting effects
- You didn’t miss more than a few days of work
- Your total damage claim is less than $10,000 (this is the maximum allowable in small claims court in Illinois)
That being said, even if you think you might not need an attorney, call one anyway. Request a free consultation. You have nothing to lose by reaching out to a reputable law firm and asking for some no-obligation legal advice.
At Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers, we always put car accident victims first, not our own bottom line. If it’s pretty apparent you don’t actually need us and we think you’d probably take home more money by representing yourself, we won’t hesitate to let you know.
Contact Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers Today
So, is it worth getting an attorney for a car accident? In most cases, the answer is a resounding, “yes.” But either way, the first step is to reach out to an experienced car accident lawyer today. To request your free consultation with Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers, call us at (312) 477-2008 or complete our easy contact form today.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
