You might consider consulting with an experienced Personal Injury Lawyer for several reasons. Here are a few:
Your Claim Is Too Much to Handle
Your accident or injury claim may be too big or too complicated to handle without a lawyer. This may be because there are technical or legal complexities that make it very difficult for a non-lawyer to manage.
Or maybe your injuries are severe or permanently disabling, which makes the case more valuable and also means there’s a wide range in the amount of money you might recover. It becomes worth the cost of a lawyer to make sure that you maximize your compensation.
Even though your claim isn’t particularly big or complicated, you still may not feel comfortable handling it yourself. Hiring a capable personal injury lawyer can relieve your stress in addition to, probably, winning more compensation for you.
You’re at a Standstill With the Insurance Company
If you try to handle your case without a lawyer, you may do so comfortably and competently but still wind up wanting to hire a lawyer because the insurance company refuses to make a fair settlement offer. They may not take you, or your case, seriously. If you’re not willing to settle for a token amount and you believe your claim is worth more, consult with a lawyer to help you—and in these circumstances, the compensation a lawyer might be able to get for you, even considering the lawyer’s fee, would be better than settling.
There are two main reasons an insurance company might give for refusing to make a reasonable offer.
Denial of Liability
It is not unusual for an insurance company initially to deny that their insured was in any way at fault for an accident. Often it does this in the hope that you will believe it, or that you will quickly become so frustrated that you give up and drop your claim.
If the insurance company continues to deny all responsibility, you will need help from a lawyer. You have nothing to lose at that point. If an experienced personal injury lawyer can coax some money out of the insurance company, you will at least have received some compensation to pay for your medical bills. Most personal injury lawyers handle their cases for a contingency fee so if they get no compensation for you, you won’t have any lawyer’s fees to pay. You may also rest more comfortably knowing that you tried what you could to ensure a good result in your case.
Denial of Coverage
Another claim the insurance company might make is that the particular accident is not covered by the insurance policy. In this case, your first step should be to demand a copy of the insurance policy and read it carefully to see whether what the insurance adjuster says is true.
Even if you locate in the policy exactly what the insurance adjuster says is there, that does not necessarily end the matter. Many insurance policy provisions can be interpreted several different ways, and courts usually try to interpret them so that the injured party is covered. So, if an insurance company continues to deny coverage, consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. The lawyer may be able to force the insurance company to provide the coverage it has been paid to provide.
Government Immunity
The right to sue a government entity—a town, city, county, or state, or a school, transportation, or other local districts—for an accident caused by its employee is strictly controlled by specific laws in California. These laws establish the rules about when you are allowed to sue the government because of an accident, and the special procedures you have to follow before you may do so.
Even after completing these procedures, however, the government’s response may be to deny you any compensation, arguing that it is immune to claims in your particular kind of accident.
Due to the complexity of the rules involved, if a claims adjuster for the government refuses to make any settlement offer to you because of a supposed government immunity, you will almost certainly have to consult a personal injury attorney about making a legal attack on that immunity claim.
If your claim is too much to handle or if you’re at a standstill with the party at fault’s insurance company and need representation, contact us today.