After getting hurt in an accident, you might wonder whether you should talk to a lawyer. You might know a friend who got a settlement from the insurance company without using an attorney. What you don’t know is whether they could have gotten more money if they had worked with a personal injury lawyer, even after the attorney fees come out of the settlement.
A California personal injury attorney can answer your questions, such as, are there risks to hiring a personal injury attorney? Of course, there are pros and cons to almost every decision. California law does not force you to have legal representation on your personal injury claim, but it can be a smart choice to do so.
How Much it Costs to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
We never charge upfront legal fees or litigation costs on the personal injury claims we handle. You will not have to raid your savings account to get our help. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that we wait until the end of the matter and get paid a percentage of the settlement proceeds or jury award. We do not get paid until you get compensation.
Because we handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, you could say that we are betting our paycheck that your case will be a winner. Also, this fee arrangement means that we have a financial incentive to get you every dollar that you deserve.
Risks of Not Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
There are many risks to trying to handle your personal injury case as a DIY project. Unless you went to law school, have vast experience handling personal injury claims, and have access to the databases that provide information about jury verdicts in personal injury cases, you will have a massive disadvantage if you try to handle your own case without a lawyer.
Lowball Settlement Offers
The insurance company knows how much a jury in your area would be likely to award, but you should not expect them to offer anywhere near that amount of compensation to you for your losses. Many people who do not work with an attorney on their personal injury claim find out later that they should have gotten much more money.
Missing the Statute of Limitations
California limits the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for injuries you received because of someone else’s negligence. If you miss the deadline, the law can forever bar you from holding the careless person accountable for your losses. By working with a personal injury lawyer from the beginning, you can avoid pitfalls like missing the statute of limitations.
Merely negotiating with the insurance company’s claims adjuster does not satisfy the deadline. You must file a lawsuit to protect your right to seek compensation if your case does not settle before the deadline.
Sometimes, people who handle their own claims and do not know about the statute of limitations get tricked into missing the deadline. They think that the insurance company is negotiating with them in good faith, but in reality, it is a delay tactic to drag out the case until the time limit passes.
A California personal injury attorney can advocate for you and aggressively pursue the compensation that you deserve. Contact our office today for legal help with your personal injury case, we offer a free consultation.
