Car accidents are a global hazard. Much like you may have been surprised to learn in high school geography class that the Earth experiences 100 lighting strikes per second, you may be surprised today to learn that 3,700 people die each day on the roads across the world (with an unrecorded number of injuries).
If you are injured in a car accident…
When people are injured in a car accident that wasn’t their fault, they may take one of several routes forwards.
First, they may believe that any kind of personal injury compensation claim will be handled on their behalf and that they will automatically begin to receive notifications of proceedings.
Second, they may not wish to pursue a claim because they were a passenger in the car that caused the accident (for example, if the accident was a side impact collision caused by the driver of your vehicle running a red light).
Third, they may decide to try to handle their own claim for personal injury compensation.
The issues are that, firstly, nobody else’s lawyer is going to handle your claim for you. You should consider your own car accident lawyer. Next, you do not need to worry about leaving a friend or family member out of pocket as your claim is paid by the insurer, not the person. And finally, handling your own claim is drought with pitfalls (for example, failing to file essential paperwork on time can derail your claim).
So… is there a fourth way?
Benefits of a car accident lawyer
In the days following your car accident injury, you may be emotionally vulnerable. If you try to handle your own claim, insurers operating on behalf of the third party responsible for your crash may attempt to either ignore you or pay a minimal settlement amount. Unfortunately, some people make the decision to take this lower pay out, only later to realise that the ongoing and mounting costs such as medical bills, child care, time away from work, and vehicle repairs are not fully covered by the pay out. A car accident lawyer can be there to ensure the process is seen through in full, such that any personal injury compensation settlement is representative of all losses.
In short, the people working for the third party driver responsible for your car accident will work tirelessly to devalue your claim – a car accident lawyer can balance the playing field.
In closing…
Remember, you wouldn’t want to give your money away to somebody for free, and neither do the insurers of the third party driver responsible for your car accident. A car accident lawyer can impose due process upon the third party, meaning your claim will not be side lined by the guilty party’s tactics, which may attempt to pay out as little as possible.
