Our potential clients ask us often, “Do I need a personal injury lawyer?” Here’s the answer. The more significant your injury, or in some cases death of a loved one, the more likely you need an attorney to represent you. The magnitude should go to the desire to get an attorney. The higher the magnitude of harm, the more likely you need an attorney. If it’s something you’re going to heal from, or get better, often a lawsuit isn’t the best way to solve the problem. However, the more likely the harm is significant, the more likely you are going to need an attorney to represent you or your family.
The reason is this. Insurance companies over the last 150 years or so have made it their business to pay out as little money to hurt people as possible. They don’t want to pay for medical bills, they don’t want to pay for wage loss, they don’t want to pay for things that change in your life. The reason is this. Every time an insurance company pays out it’s considered a loss. They collect premiums every month, but any time they have to pay out to anyone it’s considered a loss. It’s not uncommon to actually have adjusters call shortly after the accident, ask, “Are you hurt?” Then sometimes even offer to settle with you shortly thereafter.
For example, I had a client, had multiple broken bones, broken ribs, broken legs. An adjuster called him up shortly after an accident and said, “I understand your financial situation. Here’s $500.” If he would have accepted that he would never be able to bring a case. The case was over. The insurance company intentionally does this to try and minimize the amount they have to pay in the long run. They know if somebody doesn’t have very much money they can sometimes put enough money in front of them to settle the case early. This is not what you want to do. You have 1 chance to get recovery for your injury and that needs to be protected by an attorney that you hire.
