When you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any other damages you’ve suffered. However, securing a fair settlement from an insurance company is often an uphill battle, as their primary motivation is protecting their own profits.
Large insurance providers employ teams of lawyers, claims adjusters, and other professionals whose sole purpose is to minimize the payouts they have to make on personal injury claims. They will look for any opportunity to lowball, deny, or delay your claim in the hopes you’ll become desperate enough to accept an unreasonably low settlement offer.
Dealing with a profit-driven insurance company on your own puts you at a major disadvantage and significantly reduces your chances of recovering the full compensation you’re entitled to receive. To truly level the playing field, your best recourse is to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Why You Need Legal Representation for Your Personal Injury Claim
While the insurance company has an entire staff dedicated to protecting its financial interests, you’ll be going it alone if you attempt to negotiate a settlement without an attorney advocating for you. Even if your injury claim seems straightforward, insurance adjusters are trained negotiators who will try to take advantage of your position.
Some of the key reasons it’s unwise to take on a big insurance company alone include:
They’ll Use Your Words Against You
Insurance representatives will look for any statements you make, even in passing conversation, that could be twisted to imply your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim or that you were partially responsible for the incident. A skilled injury lawyer knows what to say and what not to say when dealing with adjusters.
Undervalued Settlement Offers
An insurance company’s first settlement proposal is virtually always a lowball number based on reducing their potential payout as much as possible. Without legal counsel, it’s difficult for an injury victim to accurately calculate the true value of their claim covering long-term damages.
Policy Provision Interpretations
Insurance contracts are filled with complex legalese and specific provisions that allow them to deny or underpay claims based on how they choose to interpret the language. An attorney understands these nuances and can counter their self-serving interpretations.
The Ability to Take Your Case to Trial
When negotiations stall or the insurance company simply refuses to make a reasonable settlement offer, your only remaining legal option is to pursue your claim through a personal injury lawsuit. Only an experienced trial lawyer can effectively represent your interests in court.
The True Value of Your Injury Claim
One of the most important roles your personal injury lawyer plays is calculating and aggressively pursuing the full value of the damages you suffered, which may be much higher than what meets the eye. Comprehensive compensation in an injury claim often includes:
Medical Expenses: This covers all current and future costs related to treating your injuries, including hospital stays, surgeries, medications, medical equipment, rehabilitation, in-home care, transportation to appointments, and any other injury-related expenses.
Lost Income: You may be entitled to recover income you’ve already lost from being unable to work while recovering, as well as compensation for any loss of future earning potential if you’re left with a disability.
Pain and Suffering: This refers to the physical and emotional distress, trauma, loss of life enjoyment, anxiety, depression, and other psychological impacts caused by the injuries. Since these are subjective damages, a lawyer is vital for presenting evidence supporting their full extent.
Loss of Consortium: This covers the loss of family relations and any negative effects your injuries have on your relationships with your spouse or immediate family.
Permanent Disability or Disfigurement: When injuries result in permanent disabilities, disfigurements, or loss of normal functions, you may be entitled to additional compensation to cover future losses and diminished quality of life.
Punitive Damages: In cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the at-fault party and deter similar future behavior.
An insurance company will do everything they can to assign as little value as possible to your injury claim. An experienced personal injury attorney understands how to accurately calculate and prove the full extent of both your economic damages and non-economic damages, giving them the leverage to fight for the true value of your claim.
Standing Up to Insurance Bullies
Far too often, injury victims who take on insurance companies alone end up settling for far less than their claim is worth because they felt pressured, overwhelmed, or simply couldn’t go through the process alone any longer.
A dedicated personal injury lawyer essentially serves as your buffer against these unscrupulous insurance company tactics and allows you to heal while they handle all details and negotiations on your behalf. With contingency fee agreements, you pay no upfront costs, and they only get paid if they secure your financial recovery.
There are never any guarantees on the outcome in legal matters. However, hiring a proven personal injury attorney provides you with the best possible chance of standing up to profit-hungry insurance companies and recovering the fair compensation you need to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and other losses.
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