Today lets talk about hiring a lawyer: Specifically how does a lawyer maximize my injury recovery?
Insurance adjusters will say, "Why hire a lawyer? You will just have to pay the lawyer out of the settlement." They leave out the part about how the insurance will pay more if you have a lawyer.
Think I am exaggerating?
Then why doesn't the insurance adjuster suggest you hire a lawyer? The lawyer does most of the work on the claim? Would be easier for the insurance adjuster.
The answer is simple, the insurance company has to pay more when you have a lawyer because you are aware of your options: take it to court, etc.
Lawyer adds value by negotiating with the insurance company
Hopefully, You don't get in a car wreck every day. But a lawyer the focuses on personal injury does negotiate on these type of cases every day.
Lawyer should know how insurance company value claims.
Lawyer adds value by finding additional insurance coverage
Many times, in policy-limits cases, my insurance investigation has revealed additional insurance policies that must pay
underinsured coverage, uninsured coverage, and liability insurance
No-fault, medical expense, PIP
there are many types of insurance even in a simple car wreck
Insurance companies will not contact you to tell you that their insurance policy may have to pay on your claim. You have to figure it out on your own. Lawyer adds value here by knowing where to look for additional insurance.
Lawyer adds value by taking you out of the process personally.
Was your friend or family member driving.
You want to make a claim but are afraid it will anger them?
Hire a lawyer and you can just say, "My lawyer is dealing with the insurance company." And leave it at that.
Lawyer adds value by negotiating with medical providers, health insurance companies and government entities like Medicare and Medicaid to reduce the amount they get paid back out your settlement.
This means more money for you in your pocket.
Lawyer adds value by delaying debt collectors and collection lawsuits until the settlement is completed.
This avoids ruining your credit
It is also important to get a lawyer involved early. To put it bluntly before you screw up your case. Once the insurance company's computer software puts a value on your claim, there is no way to change it. Even if the insurance adjuster agrees with you, they cannot change the initial value. It is best to hire a lawyer to make the best case for a higher value when the claim is first submitted to the insurance company.
This is why it is a bad idea to wait until the insurance company makes an offer before deciding whether you should hire a lawyer or not.
Can I just use my family lawyer that did my will or handled my paternity case?
When you go to your family lawyer and ask him if he has handled a case like your personal injury case before, he will say, "Yes, I have handled a number of cases like that." What he does not say is the number is zero.
It does not cost more to get a lawyer with experience in personal injury cases. You should get a lawyer that knows what he is doing.
If I hire a lawyer, do I have to file a lawsuit?
No, less than 5% of my cases end up as lawsuits.
Lawyer negotiates a settlement in 95% of the time.
But insurance company knows that lawsuit is an option when you have a lawyer, so they pay more money in settlement.
Best of all, with a contingency fee you do not have to pay your lawyer up front.
If you do not recover, you do not have to pay your lawyer at all.
And your lawyer's goals are aligned with yours, the more money your lawyer recovers for you, the more he makes for himself. Therefore, he will be working hard to get you more money.
Next week we are going to discuss: How to use Missouri Case.net
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and you will notified when the video comes out! If you have a suggestion for a topic, please post it in the comments below.
Visit our website: http://true-and-associates.com/
Visit our blog for other interesting videos: http://recentwrecks.true-and-associates.com/
See if your wreck has already been analyzed by the law firm: http://recentwrecks.true-and-associates.com/
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Follow on Twitter: @BurtTrue
Loading...
8:25
Speaking With Auto Insurance Adjusters After Your Accidentby mauslawfirm277 views
One third to 45% is the usual contingency fee. But the lawyer is taking all the risk on your case. If you lose, you do not pay any legal fee nor do you have to pay any of the lawyer's case expenses (which can be very high). Another thing to remember is that 45% of 0 is still 0. What I mean is you should not get hung up on the cost of a lawyer if you are not recovering any money without a lawyer. In most cases a lawyer will increase your recovery by more than his fee.
BurtTrue 8 months ago