12 Reasons To Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Phoenix

When you get involved in an accident with another driver or some other negligent party, you have to reach out to their insurance company to settle your damages. This includes any damages to your personal property and your injuries. Did you know that the average settlement amount for an auto accident is about $15,000? Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could receive more. To ensure you get the compensation you deserve, you should reach out to a personal injury lawyer in Arizona.

But how do you find the right attorney, and what are the benefits of having one on your side? Continue reading below to learn about the 12 reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer and who you can contact for more information.

What Is a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Personal injury lawyers provide legal representation to those injured in an accident. This can be an auto accident, truck accident, and motorcycle accident. They also represent those involved in aviation accidents or pedestrian incidents.

1. Offers Legal Advice

When handling a personal injury claim, you want to know your rights. Most people don’t know they have the right to retain counsel for their injury claims, and even more so, some don’t even know what compensation they could receive. The personal injury claims process can be tricky, so it is best to reach out to a reputable personal injury lawyer who can advise you of your rights and how to best proceed with your specific situation.

2. Can Represent You in Court

Most personal injury claims are handled outside of court. In some instances, severe injuries or complex cases do make it to the courtroom.

If your case makes it to that point, you should hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you. Unless you have extensive knowledge of navigating the courtroom, you should reach an attorney to help you.

3. Offers Objectivity

After you sustain an injury, you most likely want to rest and focus on getting your life back to how it was before the accident. When you’re in this state of mind, how are you sure you’re making the right decision for your claim?

A personal injury attorney can offer you that objectivity because they can separate facts from emotions. They can evaluate your claim and fight for the right compensation that you deserve.

4. Protects Your Interests

When going up against an insurance company on your own, the adjuster will see you as vulnerable and willing to accept any offer that sounds decent. They will make it seem like their offer is fair when it is below what you deserve to receive.

At the end of the day, their job is to save their employer money and protect the company’s interests. To make sure your interests are protected, it is best to partner with a Phoenix personal injury lawyer.

5. Negotiates on Your Behalf

Negotiating with an insurance company can take weeks, if not months if you aren’t sure what you’re negotiating. These adjusters also use specific tactics when negotiating to make you feel like you’re at their mercy.

When you hire an attorney to negotiate on your behalf, these adjusters know they can’t use those same tactics. Instead, your attorney can negotiate the best settlement offer for your case.

6. Network of Professionals

Handling a claim on your own is no easy feat. You must provide the insurance company with evidence to prove your innocence in the accident. This includes any police reports, photos, witness statements, or surveillance. Gathering these pieces of evidence can take time, and it will interfere with your daily life.

Personal injury lawyers have a network of professionals they can use to obtain that information on your behalf. They also use crash investigators who can help paint the picture to show what really happened in the accident.

You can also rely on your attorney to connect you to high-quality healthcare professionals if you have injuries. They work with a network of physicians who can help you get back on your feet.

7. Handles the Claims Process on Your Behalf

As mentioned earlier, handling the claims process on your own is a daunting task that can take time out of your day. This is incredibly inconvenient, especially when you have to work, visit the doctor, or tend to important family matters.

Your attorney will use their resources to handle the claims process on your behalf. This includes gathering key evidence and ensuring you don’t miss any critical deadlines.

8. Determines What Damages To Claim

In personal injury claims, you can claim two main types of damages. Special damages and general damages. Special damages are those that have a price tag assigned to them, like medical expenses, property damage, and lost wages.

On the other hand, general damages are a bit more complex and difficult to calculate. These types of damages are pain and suffering and mental anguish.

When working with an insurance company, they may honor a settlement payment for pain and suffering, but it most likely will be less than what you deserve. To ensure you get what is yours, a knowledgeable attorney will handle calculating both your special and general damages.

9. You Have Injuries

If you or your loved one sustained injuries in the accident, it is best to have a lawyer handle your case. The insurance company won’t provide you a settlement until you finish treating your injuries, and if you want your compensation now, you may be tempted to stop treatment for the sake of payment.

It is recommended not to stop treating so you can receive a payment. Instead, reach out to your attorney to handle the settlement process. If you need continued treatment, your attorney can fight for your current and future medical expenses to be paid in advance.

10. Fault Is Divided

If there are multiple parties involved in the accident and the adjuster advises that you share negligence in the claim, you should reach out to an attorney. Arizona is a pure comparative state. This means that if the insurance company states you are 10% at fault, you can only claim 90% of your damages.

If you believe you are not at fault, your attorney can work on your case and gather the evidence needed to prove your innocence. If the result stands that you share some liability in the case, your attorney will still fight on your behalf to ensure you receive your fair portion of the claim.

11. The Insurance Company Isn’t Being Fair

It isn’t uncommon for insurance companies to provide you with less than you deserve. As mentioned earlier, their job is to protect the interest of their employer.

Some adjusters do purposely delay the claim or participate in unfair claim practices. You may or may not be aware of the adjuster acting in bad faith, but your attorney will.

They can step in and take over the claim process, making sure the adjuster acts in good faith. If they catch the adjuster acting in bad faith, your attorney can raise a bad faith claim, awarding you even more than you would receive from your personal injury claim.

12. Increases Your Settlement

In general, clients who hire a personal injury lawyer to handle their claim receive more than the average person. This is because these lawyers have experience handling claims similar to yours, so they know exactly what types of damages to claim. They also know how to evaluate your claim properly.

If this is your first time going up against an insurance company, you may not necessarily know what constitutes a reasonable settlement. As mentioned earlier, the adjuster may make it seem like their settlement offer is fair when it is not. So to ensure you get what you deserve, reach out to a knowledgeable and reputable attorney to represent your case and handle the entire claims process on your behalf.

Get the Compensation You Deserve

Handling a personal injury claim on your own is exhausting, especially when you’re trying to heal and get back on your feet. Not only do you have to argue with an adjuster about the worth of your case, but you also have to provide them with endless evidence to prove your innocence in the matter.

Instead of going back and forth with an adjuster about your claim, you can hire a reputable personal injury lawyer to take care of that on your behalf. If you need to hire a lawyer for your injury claim, contact us for a free no-obligation case evaluation. We are here to answer any questions or concerns you have about the injury claim process.