Debunking Four Common Myths About Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney
Personal injury attorneys are a crucial part of the civil justice system, as they make sure victims of other people’s negligence get the justice they deserve. Personal injury attorneys ensure that those who cause others harm because of their negligent acts answer for their actions or lack of them. After injuries occur due to another person’s negligence, one of the first things a victim is usually advised to do is speak to a personal injury attorney. Even if you have never found yourself in a situation where you have been injured because of another person’s negligence, the chances are you know about personal injury attorneys and probably even have an opinion on them.
Unfortunately, personal injury law is a widely misunderstood field of law. There are many myths and misconceptions about hiring a personal injury attorney that people keep falling for. Unfortunately, myths and misconceptions about personal injury attorneys can cause uncertainty about the value of seeking legal guidance. Because we want to make sure you don’t get confused if you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re injured due to another person’s negligence, we will debunk four prevalent myths about hiring a personal injury attorney.
“I Cannot Afford a Personal Injury Attorney”
This is completely false. Most personal injury attorneys work on a “No Recovery / No Fee” basis. “No Recovery / No Fee” is a type of payment arrangement also known as working on a contingency fee. Simply put, this type of arrangement involves a personal injury attorney getting paid for their work only if they recover compensation for a client. If they don’t collect, they don’t get paid. Therefore, if you hire a personal injury attorney who works on a contingency fee basis, you will only pay them for their work if they win your case.
“All I Need is an Insurance Adjuster”
Indeed, you can file a personal injury claim against an insurance company without the help of a personal injury attorney. However, people who negotiate with insurance companies independently almost always recover less than what they deserve. The truth is that insurance adjusters have been trained to save the insurance company money. Often, insurance adjusters employ dirty tactics to undermine victims’ claims. Insurance adjusters exploit the fact that you do not know the value of your claim. We do. In almost all situations, you will net more money even accounting for your attorney’s fees. In one situation, we negotiated (on the eve of trial) a $480,000.00 settlement. The insurance company originally offered our client $5,000.00.
All Personal Injury Attorneys are “the same”
Like any other professionals, personal injury attorneys possess different experience levels and specialize in different practice areas. This means that all personal injury attorneys cannot do the same job. For example, some personal injury attorneys focus on auto accident cases, whereas others focus on everything “i.e. jack of all trades”. If you needed heart surgery you would seek the assistance of an experienced cardiologist, not a 1st year general practitioner.
Personal Injury Attorneys Only Care About Money
Contrary to what many people believe, most personal injury attorneys genuinely care about the well-being of their clients. Indeed, there are a few personal injury attorneys who only care about money. Nevertheless, most personal injury attorneys do what they do because they genuinely want to help victims of negligence whose rights might otherwise be violated.
Talk to Lyons & Snyder Trial Attorneys
If you have suffered a personal injury in an accident, contact the Delray Beach personal injury lawyers at Lyons & Snyder for a free consultation to maximize on your compensation. There is no fee unless you win. Call us today.
Resource:
law.cornell.edu/wex/contingency_fee
