Why to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

People that have been hurt by others are sometimes unsure about whether or not to hire a personal injury attorney after suffering the injury. After an individual suffers physical or emotional injuries, hiring a personal injury attorney is often an afterthought and may seem like an intimidating process, but it is an important decision. While receiving medical treatment should always be the priority, there are many good reasons to hire an attorney shortly after suffering an injury:

• Experience – When you are injured, it is usually the first time you have dealt with the situation and all the surrounding issues and problems. After experiencing a traumatic experience like a car accident or any serious injury, the last thing you want to do is to figure out insurance issues, how to get a car fixed, how to get police reports, how to get medical treatment paid for, etc. An experienced personal injury attorney has dealt in these situations many times and can guide you and many times handle these issues for you and your family.
• No Fee Unless Recovery – Most experienced personal injury attorney’s work on a contingency basis which means that they only get paid based on a percentage of the recovery. This means that your attorney wants to maximize your compensation to maximize their own and that you do not take any risks. If an attorney charges any costs or fees that are not on a contingency basis make sure to ask them during a consultation to explain exactly how any settlement will be broken down.
• Free Consultations – Personal injury attorneys generally provide free consultations to prospective clients. This means an attorney will provide a free analysis of the case including the strong points and the weak points. As a prospective client, use this consolation to ask all the questions you may have and get clear answers. Make sure to ask if the attorney will be handling any property damage claims. If you would like a consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in California, please click here now.
• Get Your Car/Property Fixed Faster – If you are involved in a car collision, a lot of times the most important issue is getting your car back on the road so you can continue to work, study, etc. Insurance companies try to take advantage of unrepresented individuals and take longer than normal to repair vehicles because they don’t worry about a loss of use claim. An experienced personal injury attorney should help you take care of any property damage for free as part of the case and should pressure insurance to repair or replace any damaged property quickly. If the insurance takes longer than allowed, a personal injury attorney should help to submit a loss of use claim in order to compensate for any time lost.
• Coverage Investigation – An experienced attorney will be able to investigate all coverage to make sure a claim is filed with all possible responsible parties and against all insurance coverage that is available. In some cases the person causing the injury may not have insurance coverage, in these instances it is especially important to have an experienced personal injury attorney review the case to see if any other coverage, such as uninsured motorist coverage, may apply to the incident.
• Medical Bills – After experiencing an injury, whether small or catastrophic, there are usually medical bills that need to be paid. Sometimes medical insurance will cover a portion of the medical bills sometimes an injured individual is left with thousands of dollars in medical bills. An experienced personal injury attorney can help with medical bills in several manners. First, an attorney can try to find insurance coverage that will cover the medical bills. Second, an attorney can negotiate with medical provider to reduce the amount owed for medical treatment. Third, an attorney can make sure medical providers understand that a case may be pending and therefore they should hold off on any collections for medical bills. If you are injured, the last thing you want to deal with is medical collections, which is why a personal injury attorney is beneficial for almost anyone that has been injured.
• Medical Treatment Options – A personal injury attorney can make sure that if you are injured, you receive the type of medical treatment that will actually make you feel better even if you do not have health insurance. Many healthcare providers work on a lien which means they will provide the care with a signed promise from an attorney that if there is any money recovered in the case, the attorney will pay the bills out of the money recovered. This system allowed personal injury clients to receive treatments that may not be covered by normal health insurance such as chiropractic treatment, acupuncture treatment, cupping therapy, etc. An experienced personal injury attorney can help talk to providers and arrange a lien contract so that the injured person can receive medical treatment quickly instead of waiting for insurance payment before receiving treatment. If you are injured but are worried about getting treatment due to the costs, it is especially important to discuss the matter with a personal injury attorney.
• Protection from Insurance Adjusters – As soon as an insurance adjuster begins speaking to an injured party, they start taking down information that can later hurt a claim. Many adjusters try to settle a case very early on for very little money in order to prevent a claimant from speaking to an injury attorney about the case because they do not want to pay the full value of the claim. It is very important not to settle a case with an adjuster until there is full evaluation of the case and a full evaluation of any injuries. The attorneys at Corrales Law Group strongly suggest speaking to an attorney before settling any injury claim with an insurance adjuster, since consultations are free, you have nothing to lose.
• Coverage Disputes – Sometimes even your own insurance company will turn their back on you when you really need them. A personal injury attorney can look over your policy during a free consolation and make sure no claims are being erroneously denied. If your own insurance should be repairing your property or covering your injury claim but is not, please consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
• Law Compliance – If you are injured because of someone else, sometimes the law requires you to take certain steps; a personal injury attorney will make sure you comply with the law. In California, anyone in a car accident with property damage over $750.00 has to report the incident to the California DMV. In California, most personal injury claims must be submitted within 2 years of the incident. In other cases, other requirements may apply which is why it is important to consult with an attorney that can guide you through these requirements.
• Medicare/Medical/Medicaid Compliance – If a government insurance agency such as Medicare, Medical, or Medicaid has paid for medical bills that resulted from an incident where another person or company may be responsible, laws may require that the government insurance be repaid for the coverage. These requirements are very strict; the government does not want to pay for bills when another person or insurance may be responsible for payment. If you have been injured and one of these agencies has paid for medical services a personal injury attorney can make sure all necessary disclosures are made.
• Help with Full Recovery – Many injured individuals are unsure as to what can be recovered when they are injured. An experienced attorney will screen your case during a free consultation and make sure all proper claims are made for things like damaged property, lost wages, pain and suffering, lost opportunities, etc.
• Filing Lawsuits When Necessary – Sometimes cases cannot be resolved through discussions and an attorney will have to file a lawsuit to present the case in a court. This can happen when the person or company responsible for causing an injury denies responsibility or when they do not want to pay the full value of the damage. In these cases it is especially important to contact an experienced attorney that can file a lawsuit if necessary. Many attorneys do not file lawsuits because they are a lot of work and take experience but it is important to always have this option available for when negotiations break down. If you believe that an insurance company denied a claim when their insured was responsible, have the case evaluated by an attorney. Many times even when a police report puts one party at fault we have been able to collect for the party listed at fault. Insurance adjusters and police officers are not judges, consult with an attorney.
• Client Remains In Control – When you hire a personal injury attorney, you are still the boss in your case. An attorney is hired to help with the case, make the client’s life easier, and provide legal advice, but the client always has the final word. This means that a settlement cannot be reached without the client’s consent. This is why it is important to make sure you hire an attorney that is accessible and has good communication skills.
• Negotiations – A personal injury negotiates on many fronts for a client. A good personal injury attorney should negotiate to reduce medical bills for a client while negotiating to increase recovery from the responsible party all so that the final recovery to the injured party is maximized. Negotiations should be handled in the injured person’s best interest, but it should always be left up to the client to decide when to actually settle a case or file a lawsuit.
• Multiple Party Cases – In cases where one person is responsible for the injuries of many others, many times the people without attorneys will get compensated less than those who do have attorneys to negotiate for them. If there is only a small amount of coverage that has to be divided by many people, it is important to have someone advocate for you to get fair compensation and not be the one getting a small share only because others have attorneys.
• Help the Family of the Injured – In cases of serious injury or death, it is important to hire an attorney that can communicate with family members that need to be part of the decision making process. If a love one has been badly hurt or killed, an experienced personal injury attorney can help explain who can recover what in the family. In tragic cases an attorney can make all the difference by using experience to navigate through the difficult time so the family can focus on other matters.
• Prove Your Case – If your claim has been denied based on liability, often an attorney can help show who was really at fault. If a lawsuit has to be filed to prove liability, an attorney will usually forward the costs of any experts that can help demonstrate to the judge or jury who was really at fault. An experienced personal injury attorney will know the right experts to help prove your case.
• No Risk – There is nothing to lose by having a personal injury attorney review a case, if you decide not to sign an agreement at least you got free advice. If you do sign a contingency agreement then there is usually no payment required unless the attorney achieves some successful result in which case you both win.

The personal injury attorneys at Corrales Law Group have extensive experience in various kinds of personal injury cases and aim to achieve the best result for each client and family. Please do not settle any sort of personal injury case without first speaking to an experienced attorney; we have seen too many consumers getting taken advantage of. If you would like a free consultation from a personal injury attorney, please contact us. All communications are returned within 24 business hours by a licensed attorney. We believe in direct communications with our clients and you will always be able to speak to an attorney within 24 hours. If you are currently represented please feel free to contact our office for a free second opinion.

We also welcome in person visits, if you’d like to come in and speak to an Orange County personal injury attorney, our main office is located at 171 S Anita Dr. Suite 206, Orange, CA 92868