When Should A Personal Injury Lawyer Be Used

You should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer whenever you've been harmed or injured due to the negligence of another person or business. The role of a personal injury lawyer is to protect their client's rights and seek financial compensation for wrongdoing. Personal injury lawyers at Morgan and Morgan can also protect your best interests. When in disputes with aggressive insurance companies and combative businesses, we know their goal is to diminish your damages and undermine your credibility so that they can pay you less for their wrongdoing. We don’t let that happen.

Are you asking yourself, "When should a personal injury lawyer be used?" If so, you might be undecided about getting legal help and have concerns. That's natural since some claims don't necessarily need a lawyer's help to resolve. However, getting some insight from a legal professional through our free case evaluation can be constructive. The aim of this article is to provide you with the information you need so you can make an educated decision.

Every personal injury case is unique, with factors that will affect if the claim is valid and your likelihood of recovering compensation. Here are some of the most common reasons that indicate you'd be best served by getting a professional personal injury lawyer on your side:

Six Scenarios Where a Personal Injury Can Make a Significant Difference

In the following scenarios, you may need the help of an attorney to have a successful claim:

Liability for the accident is disputed - In almost every case, you'll need to prove the other party is liable for your injuries through negligence or some other wrongdoing. The exception is a workers' compensation claim since it's a no-fault program. For example, suppose you slipped and fell at a grocery store because the floor was wet. In that case, you have to prove that was the reason for your fall and that the store owner didn't do anything to ensure customers were safe. If you can't prove that, there is no way to recover compensation.

Suppose the grocery store owner says they aren't liable for your injuries. In that case, a personal injury lawyer can conduct an investigation to gather the evidence needed to prove the other party is responsible and develop a solid legal strategy to win your claim.

The other party insists you are partially responsible - Many states have contributory negligence laws that reduce compensation for claims where the plaintiff has some blame for their injuries. Even if the other party recognizes they have some liability, they may argue that since you were also at fault, they shouldn't have to pay the claim's full value. For example, suppose you're at a restaurant with stairs, and when you're finished with your meal and go to leave, you lose footing on the stairs because of a broken tile. The owner of the restaurant may say you were partially at fault for your fall because you'd had a few glasses of wine with your dinner.

With an argument like this in a state that recognizes contributory negligence laws, your claim may be reduced proportionally to the percentage of fault that you're assigned. An easy way to explain this is if you're assigned 50% of the blame, the value of your claim is cut by half. With a personal injury lawyer fighting for you, we can counter this argument to prove the defendant is 100% liable.

There are multiple parties involved - Personal injury claims are far more complex when numerous parties are involved. Injuries that result from commercial truck accidents, product liability claims, and medical malpractice will often have more than one party to go after. For example, in a commercial truck accident, it could be the driver, the trucking company, a truck part manufacturer, and even the company responsible for loading the freight onto the truck that needs to be investigated. Likewise, in a medical malpractice claim, it could be the doctor, the hospital, and the hospital staff.  

Multiple-party claims require a personal injury attorney who understands these complexities and knows how to best handle your claim. Hence, you get the maximum amount of compensation possible. When multiple parties are involved in an injury, it's often possible to recover more money for our clients. As a result, multiple-party claims can be lengthy and challenging to win because a lot of money is at stake.

You have a catastrophic injury or suffered permanent disability - Severe injuries can require ongoing medical care and may impact your ability to work. For example, suppose you're a construction worker and broke your back, falling off unstabilized scaffolding. In that case, you're not likely to be able to return to your trade, or you may have chronic pain and are unable to work at all. In that case, you may need a personal injury attorney to fight for the maximum in a workers' compensation claim.

Ongoing medical care for catastrophic injuries can be extremely costly. It's critical to ensure you have someone on your side with the experience to factor the cost of future medical care and other future financial losses, such as diminished earning capacity, into your claim. An insurance company may try to pressure you into a settlement that doesn't provide enough to cover your future financial needs. We can make sure that doesn't happen.

Insurance companies will ferociously fight catastrophic injury and permanent disability claims because they often result in high-dollar settlements. They will work against you to wriggle their way out of paying a fair settlement so they can protect their bottom line. You don't have to settle for less than what your claim is worth. We can help.  

The insurance company is using bad faith tactics - Insurance companies have a legal obligation to pay policyholders' legitimate claims, do proper investigations, and process claims within a reasonable period of time. When they renege on these duties, they may be acting in bad faith, which is against the law.

An insurance company might be acting in bad faith if they misrepresented coverage when you purchased the policy. Furthermore, bad faith insurance tactics can include misrepresenting policy language to avoid paying a claim or making unreasonable demands of proof of loss or injury. Another tactic bad faith insurance actors use to avoid paying claims is dragging the timeline out. They do this hoping you'll give up, or the statute of limitations will expire, which will make it impossible to file a lawsuit.

When you have legal representation during the claims process, an insurance company is far less likely to engage in underhanded behavior. That's because they also know the law and understand they could end up as the defendant in a bad faith insurance lawsuit.

Suppose an insurance company is refusing to pay your valid claim, does not do a proper investigation, or is misrepresenting the terms of your policy. In that case, you may be able to sue them for bad faith insurance. At Morgan and Morgan, we are well versed in dealing with corrupt insurance companies and can use bad faith insurance laws to make them pay.

Your claim involves a government entity - Claims involving government entities, whether at the city, state, or federal level, have different rules that will impact if you can file a claim and how to handle it. That's because of a legal doctrine known as sovereign immunity. The government has to give consent for individuals to file legal claims and can choose immunity from civil litigation except under certain circumstances, which the courts handle. These types of claims are exceptionally complex, and the statutes of limitations are far shorter than regular cases. If you believe you have a claim for injury or harm that resulted from the actions of a government employee or the government's implementation of a plan, contact a personal injury lawyer right away.