Personal injury disputes range from car accidents, to medical malpractice cases, to premises liability suits. While it may be possible to resolve a situation like this privately, it’s often better to hire a personal injury attorney.
In this post, we discuss six reasons why hiring a personal injury lawyer may be a good idea for you.
The law is extremely broad. While some lawyers market themselves as “general practitioners,” it’s important to realize that you’ll never get the same quality of representation from a jack-of-all-trades as you will from a specialist.
Personal injury attorneys spend their careers securing much-needed payments for accident victims. If you’re in this position, you want an attorney who knows how to give you the best possible chance of securing the money you need to get your life back on track.
An important aspect to this is negotiation. Contrary to what many people believe, the majority of personal injury cases never see the inside of a trial court. Before it gets that far, plaintiffs and defendants usually sit down and reach an agreement between themselves.
This outcome saves you significant time, expense, and stress. However, in order for it to work well for you, you need a lawyer who can price damages accurately and negotiate doggedly for the best possible settlement. Only a personal injury attorney can provide this level of service.
A personal injury is just that: personal. If you’ve suffered the physical and emotional distress associated with an injury (particularly if it was someone else’s fault), you may well lack the detachment you need to make the right decisions. According to studies, many people suffer with emotional dysregulation after these kinds of events.
While your personal injury lawyer will take your side and support you however they can, they will do so objectively. Any recommendation they give you will be based on their expert analysis of the legal considerations involved.
When the time comes to decide whether to file a lawsuit or accept a particular settlement, a lawyer’s input will help you keep your emotions in check.
Many people are reluctant to seek legal advice for financial reasons. However, when it comes to personal injury cases, this doesn’t have to be a concern.
The Cochran Firm in Philadelphia, like most personal injury practices, does not charge anything for initial consultations. Furthermore, we operate on a contingency-fee basis. This means that you won’t have to pay anything unless and until you receive a financial settlement.
The legal fees you’ll pay at this point will be a percentage of your settlement or verdict. The law firm will determine the actual percentage charged on the basis of a number of factors, such as the complexity of the case and whether it ends up going to trial.
Personal injury cases regularly involve detailed analyses of different circumstances. These analyses must often be carried out by expert consultants who work alongside the personal injury attorneys.
Good personal injury firms have strong networks of consultants like these. When you hire one of these firms, you can be confident they’ll have the connections necessary to build the strongest possible case for you.
This is particularly important in complex cases. If you’ve been the victim of medical negligence, for example, you might need to work with medical experts who specialize in various different areas of medical practice. You might also need to consult third parties with expert knowledge of nursing, hospital administration, rehabilitation, and disability care. These consultants can help to prove liability and accurately price the damages you need.
Filing a lawsuit isn’t always the best option for a personal injury victim. Litigation is an adversarial process, and, if it goes to trial, its outcome will be out of your control.
If this doesn’t sound like it works for you, your lawyer will be able to discuss alternative dispute resolution options with you. Mediation, for example, is a form of dispute resolution that allows both parties (and their attorneys) to come to an agreement with the help of a professional neutral party called a mediator.
As the American Bar Association (ABA) puts it, “mediation deals with feelings.” You’ll be allowed to share your own story and your own priorities moving forward, as will the other party to the dispute.
If you’d prefer to avoid the stress and uncertainty of a personal injury lawsuit, your personal injury lawyer will be able to tell you whether mediation or arbitration might be a workable option for you.
Everyone in the U.S. has the right to represent themselves in court. However, doing so is almost never a good idea.
If you hire a lawyer, you won’t have to worry about:
This is a very time-consuming process. If you have a full-time job or a family to take care of, you’ll struggle to find the hours you need in your schedule to put together a successful case. Furthermore, unless you have significant experience with the practice of personal injury law, you won’t have the expertise you need to do it properly.
If you need a personal injury attorney, contact The Cochran Firm in Philadelphia today. Call us at 1 (800) 969-4400 for a free initial consultation.
