Reasons You Should Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
After a car accident or other personal injury event, one of the first questions many people ask is: Do I need a lawyer? You have the right to pursue your legal claims on your own, without representation. You can negotiate with insurance companies, track down your own evidence and witnesses, fight with defense lawyers, and even take your case to court. But is it your best option? Below, we discuss a number of advantages you’ll have if you hire a seasoned Illinois personal injury lawyer to help you with your personal injury claims.
Focus on Your Recovery and Your Life
A serious accident can derail your life. If you have suffered a serious injury, you might miss time at work, struggle to take care of your daily chores and activities, and have to replace your car or other personal property. Meanwhile, you may be facing mounting medical bills while you try to get some sort of compensation from one or more insurance companies. Let a dedicated personal injury lawyer handle the legal side of things while you get your life back on track.
Your personal injury lawyer can handle communications with your insurance company, investigation of your accident, collection of evidence, filing legal claims, negotiating with defense attorneys, and fighting for your right to compensation. While your lawyer deals with all of the legal aspects of your accident, you can focus on recovering from your injuries, getting back to work, being with your family, and otherwise getting your life back to normal.
Procedural Mistakes Can Cost You Your Rights
The law is complex, and pitfalls abound. When you are injured in an accident, for example, you have a certain time limit within which to file a legal claim. If you wait too long to file a claim, your case can get dismissed as untimely. Special cases, such as claims against a government agency or medical malpractice cases, may have different time limits and procedural requirements.
Even once you’ve brought your claim, you’ll need to adhere to court rules and the rules of evidence. If you make a mistake, you might lose out on the right to make a certain argument, pursue certain types of damages, or even see your case through to the end. Defense lawyers and insurance companies know that unrepresented plaintiffs do not know the rules of the game, and they will try to exploit that and get your case dropped or reduce its value. A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer will ensure that your case does not fall through the cracks.
Your Lawyer Knows the Law, the Evidence, the Arguments, and the People
The law is a profession for a reason. It’s complex, and there are a lot of moving parts. Successfully pursuing a legal claim requires knowing the law, knowing what evidence matters and how to get it, knowing what arguments matter in court, understanding court procedural rules, and having relationships with police, defense attorneys, and the court. An experienced Illinois personal injury lawyer will know how to build your strongest case for maximum compensation. Your lawyer will be used to responding to the arguments made by defense lawyers and insurance companies, they’ll have a better understanding of the actual value of your claims, and they’ll know how to present the best arguments at the negotiation table or in court.
Accident Victims With Lawyers Get Paid More
All of these advantages add up to one thing: When you hire a lawyer, you’re likely to get a much bigger recovery. Defense lawyers and insurance companies know that unrepresented plaintiffs are willing to settle for less, that they may make mistakes that undermine their cases, and that they do not have the legal experience necessary to bring the strongest claims. The reality of personal injury settlements bears this out: Personal injury plaintiffs with lawyers get more money.
A study from the Insurance Research Council, for example, found that 85 percent of personal injury settlements involved a lawyer. Accident victims who hired a lawyer were thus much more likely to reach a settlement and get some kind of recovery. The Council looked at a large number of insurance settlements for auto accident claims and reviewed the statistics therein. The study found, in fact, that settlement payouts for victims with attorneys were a whopping 3.5 times higher on average than settlements for victims without attorneys.
If you want to maximize your compensation, hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to help with your case. Your lawyer can shoulder the burden of the legal headaches while you focus on getting your life back on track. Your lawyer will ensure that you fulfill all appropriate legal and procedural requirements, and through your attorney’s knowledge and experience with personal injury law and the legal system, you are likely to get a much larger recovery.
Call an Experienced Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you’ve been in an accident in Chicago or the surrounding area, you need a dedicated legal advisor on your side. AFW Law Group can connect you with an attorney who is ready to fight for you and will stand by your side every step of the way until you get the compensation you deserve. Call our Illinois personal injury law firm today for a free initial consultation.
