Top Ten Reasons you should hire a Baltimore Car Accident Lawyer.
After a car accident, you may not think that you need an attorney. After all, car accidents happen all the time, and your insurance company’s going to handle everything anyway, right?
Don’t count on it. Being self-reliant can be a virtue, but in many cases a car accident victim’s lack of knowledge about applicable laws and refusal to reach out to an attorney can affect how much compensation a victim receives.
Check out these ten things a car accident lawyer can do that you probably can’t:
1. Stop You from Admitting Fault.
A. When clients first call my office to explain how their accident took place, they will typically do a poor job explaining what happened and why the accident was the other drivers fault.
B. Clients do not know what details are important to discuss and what details are important not to mention.
C. Some clients tend to talk forever about what happened without explaining in simple terms why the accident was the other drivers fault
D. Most clients are unfamiliar with the rules of the road that the lawyers and adjusters use to decide liability
E. An accident must be described in great detail
F. When a client calls regarding an accident that took place in an area I am not familiar with, I will search google maps for the intersection in question and go over in detail what happened so that I feel it is like I am there at the scene
G. Clients need to detail what direction all of the cars were going
H. Clients needs to detail how many lanes each way and whether the lanes are turning lanes or travel lanes
I. Client must state what traffic control devices are involved, (red light, stop signet.)
J. Finally, then client must explain in such detail what happened so that the lawyer can write it in a format so that when he calls the insurance company they will understand what happened and why the accident was their insureds fault
K. If the accident is complicated, I will often ask the adjuster to open up google maps while I explain the accident to them.
L. If this kind of detail is not provided to the insurance company, then they are more likely to rely on their insureds version of the accident
2. Keep You from Accepting Terrible Settlements.
A. Insurance companies will do anything to keep the injured party from obtaining a lawyer because they know the case will be a lot more expensive to settle if the injured party gets a lawyer
B. Insurance companies will often offer small sums to injured parties in order to get them to sign a release closing out their claim before the injured party is able to determine the extent of their injuries.
C. If you call a lawyer immediately he will be able to explain the true value of your case and why you should not accept the low offer the insurance company will make.
3. Easily Obtain a Police Reports, medical records and medical bills
A. Unfortunately obtaining police reports, medical reports and bills can be costly and time consuming. Hospitals and Doctors offices can be very difficult to deal with. Lawyers deal with all of these offices on a regular basis and know who the correct people in each office are in order to obtain the necessary records.
4. Professionally Collect Evidence.
A. Send for police reports and interview the police
B. Get recorded or written statements from all of the witnesses
C. Locate witnesses who may have seen the accident
D. Have accident reconstruction expert give scientific explanation of accidents
E. Go to the scene and take pictures
F. Have private investigator locate witnesses, take pictures and investigate the parties and alleged witnesses involved in the accident
G. Have the data located in the black box located in your car as well as other cars involved in the accident analyzed
H. Have each of the cars looked at by an appraiser
5. Deal with Insurance Companies, Investigators, and Adjusters.
A. Insurance adjusters can be very difficult people to deal with
B. Insurance adjusters often do not answer their phone or return phone calls
C. Insurance adjusters are not usually lawyers and usually do not know the law as well as the lawyers
D. Insurance adjusters are usually lazy and need a lawyer that will stay on top of them
6. An experienced Baltimore Car Accident lawyer knows the value of a claim
A. By having settled thousands of claims and having trials of many other cases, the experience car accident lawyer learns what the insurance company is willing to pay and how much the case will be worth if it goes to trial
7. An experienced Baltimore Car Accident lawyer can file suit on your behalf and take your case to trial if the insurance company offer is unfair. The insurance adjustor knows the unrepresented claimant cannot do this and will therefore give lower offers.
8. An experienced Baltimore Car Accident lawyer can get you an appointment with any type of Doctor you need to see usually the same or next day. If you try to see a specialist on your own it could take several weeks or months
9. An experienced Baltimore Car Accident lawyer can get a Doctor to see you without paying for the visit upfront. Most doctors will not see you unless you have insurance or pay before the visit starts.
10. If there is a compromise settlement an experienced Baltimore Car Accident lawyer may be able to pursued the health care provider to compromise their bills. With no lawyer you will always owe the entire bill.
Please see our dedicated car accident page, CLICK HERE.
