If you’ve recently been injured in a car accident or truck crash, you may be wondering whether you could benefit from speaking with an attorney about your situation. You may have heard from the insurance company’s adjuster already. They might seem nice, and they express concern for your situation.
Best of all, they may have told you that they will be happy to work with you to provide a settlement offer that is fair. They’ll let you know that your offer will put some money in your pocket. And they’ll top things off by telling you that hiring an attorney is not in your best interests because you can avoid having to share any of that fee with a lawyer.
All of this news sounds like a big relief to you. After all, you’ve never had to hire an attorney before, and your would not even know where to start if you had to hire one. And you may have heard horror stories about attorneys and think that they are self-interested, greedy, and not interested in helping you.
Then you get the offer from the insurance company, and it is somewhere between stunning and insulting. You see that, even though you incurred perhaps thousands of dollars in medical expenses, the insurance company cuts several of the charges and expenses, claiming that they are unreasonable for one reason or another. Then they keep pressuring you to sign a release even though your instincts are wondering whether this is a good deal.
Or, perhaps your story is a little different: the insurance company promises you that they will provide a settlement offer to you, but they then repeatedly delay giving you that offer. This keeps happening despite promises that it will be coming. Next thing you know, you are running up against the statute of limitations for resolving or filing your personal injury claim.
If either of these scenarios describes your situation, our experienced personal injury lawyers can help. Many of our clients come to us not because they are trying to get rich or profit off of the really terrible experience they had. Instead, they come to us because they correctly feel that the insurance company is undervaluing their claim.
If you’re thinking about meeting with a lawyer to explore your options, know that you’re contemplating a very empowering step forward. Gathering information that will help you to make truly informed choices about your options – whatever those options may be – is a great way to ensure that you don’t look back on this moment in time with a sense of “What if?” and possibly even regret. This becomes even more important if your injuries are serious and potentially permanent, or if you are suffering large pocket book losses as a result of the crash.
For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100
If you are still unsure of whether moving forward with a lawyer is the right move to make, here’s something really important to keep in mind: you don’t have anything to lose by at least having a free consultation. The initial consultation is free, there is no commitment – except perhaps the investment of an hour or so of your time – and you get to speak with an experienced paralegal or lawyer about your crash. If you are not confident after that initial consultation that our attorneys can help you, or if we suggest to you that you are better off just accepting the offer from the insurance company, then you will feel much more comfortable and confident in the decision you make regarding your case.
Virtually all personal injury attorneys who handle car accident cases offer free consultations. This means that, by scheduling a case evaluation at no cost, you’ll be able to ask questions and receive personalized feedback in a free, risk-free, and confidential environment.
Preparing for a Consultation
As an experienced car accident lawyer from MartinWren, P.C. can confirm, consultations tend to be the most productive when accident victims take a little time to prepare for them in advance. This is because legal assessments and advice can only be personalized to the extent that an attorney has been given specific information about an accident victim’s case.
Say, for example, that you walk into a lawyer’s office and tell them that another driver hit your car with their car from behind. The lawyer will be able to give you a generalized assessment of why “follow” drivers are held liable for rear-end accidents far more frequently, but will likely not be able to tell you much more than that. If, however, you come prepared with a copy of the accident report, information about your car insurance policy, information about your health insurance (if you have it), and photos from the crash site, the attorney you’re meeting with will be able to give you a legal assessment and guidance that is far more tailored to the unique ins and outs of your individual circumstances.
Essentially, you’ll want to write down any of your questions and concerns in advance. This effort will allow you to focus your energy on the meeting itself, not on trying to remember what you wanted to say. Additionally, you’ll want to walk out of your consultation feeling like you have all the information you’ll need to make decisions about your next steps. Writing down your questions and concerns in advance will be empowering in that you’ll be more likely to feel like you’re ready to make some decisions at the end of your meeting.
Additionally, take a few minutes to gather any information about the specifics of your crash or injuries that will help a lawyer understand what makes your case unique. This effort will help to ensure that the guidance you’ll receive at your consultation is unique to your case and your case alone.
The personal injury lawyers at MartinWren, P.C. have helped hundreds of clients receive many millions of dollars for their injuries. We offer free consultations and would be happy to see if we can help you in your particular case.
Call us today for a free, no-obligation consultation
Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form
