Should I Hire A Lawyer For An Accident Case?
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident in New Orleans, you might be wondering if you should hire a lawyer to represent you in an injury claim. The answer to that question is almost always yes. Personal injury attorneys handle all types of accident cases and know how to help clients maximize their financial awards.
Advocating For Injury Victims
Attorneys advocate for those who were injured because of someone else’s negligent or reckless conduct. When you hire an attorney, you can focus your energy on your physical and emotional recovery. Your attorney will alleviate some of your accident stresses by taking over all the legal responsibilities and requirements to succeed in your injury claim.
Accurately Valuing Your Accident Case
The only way to secure maximum compensation for your accident case is to value your losses accurately. Recoverable compensation depends on your injuries and damages, including past, ongoing, and future medical expenses, pain, suffering, long-term and permanent disability, mental anguish, and lost income.
If you lost a loved one in an accident, you and other surviving family members might be entitled to compensation. Depending on your particular circumstances, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your losses, such as loss of financial support, funeral expenses, and loss of companionship.
You might also be entitled to compensation for the injuries and damages that your loved one sustained in the accident. For example, in Louisiana, you and other surviving family members may pursue financial recovery for the pain and suffering that your loved one experienced and medical bills incurred before death.
Negotiating With Defendants And Insurance Companies
Defense lawyers and insurance companies are skilled negotiators who work to pay as little as possible for plaintiffs’ claims. However, personal injury attorneys work with insurance companies in most cases, and they know how to pursue full and fair compensation for their clients.
Cases can settle at any time before trial. A competent attorney will not back down to unreasonable settlement offers and will encourage you to hold out for an award that compensates you for all your losses.
Reports show that, on average, people who hire an attorney to represent them secure 3.5 times more compensation than those who pursue their claims without legal counsel. Accepting an offer too soon and without an attorney might leave you under-compensated and stuck with unpaid medical expenses and lost wages.
Preparing Your Accident Case For Trial
Ensuring that your case is prepared for trial is one of your attorney’s most important roles because when the defense knows that you are not afraid to go to trial, they will be more likely to offer you a fair settlement. Being prepared for trial is also necessary so that you do not feel pressured to accept a low settlement offer.
Part of preparing your case for trial is collecting and preserving evidence that proves the defendant’s fault and the extent of your injuries. Sometimes experts need to be retained to help strengthen and prove your case.
If you lost a loved one in a car accident, your attorney might hire accident reconstruction experts to help determine how the accident happened and provide testimony to support your claim. In complex injury cases, financial experts might be necessary to testify about the loss of earning capacity and future medical care needed with associated expenses.
Other types of experts frequently used in personal injury cases include manufacturing experts, structural engineers, medical experts, and mental health evaluators. An experienced attorney will have contacts with different types of experts to ensure that you can get the support you need to build your case.
Contingency Fee Representation
Most personal injury attorneys represent clients on a contingency fee basis. Finances are often tight after an accident, especially if you have significant medical bills and lost income due to your injuries.
Attorneys that take cases on contingency do not send clients monthly bills for their legal work. Instead, they take on all the financial risks by only collecting a percentage of their client’s settlement or jury award. If they don’t win your case, they do not get paid for their work.
Contact A New Orleans Personal Injury Attorney For Your Accident Case Today
After an accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. It is critical to promptly preserve evidence and begin preparing your claim to ensure that you secure maximum compensation for your accident case. Waiting too long after an accident to speak with an attorney can be detrimental to your financial recovery.
New Orleans attorneys at the Law Offices of Chip Forstall represent injured clients and families that have lost loved ones due to someone else’s misconduct. Call our office at 504-483-3400 or complete a contact form for a free consultation with a member of our personal injury team.
