After a car accident, injured persons need to focus on their recovery. The first few days are extremely hectic – especially if you suffered severe injuries that require surgery and complex treatments. But soon enough, you have to face the reality: your medical care costs are accumulating, and your wages have stopped coming in.
You know that you have the right to recover these economic damages from the person responsible for your crash. The question is: do you file the claim on your own, or do you hire an Atlanta car accident lawyer?
Many people have the impression that they will need a lawyer only if they have difficulty in settling their accident claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. They wait patiently while the claims process is clearly going nowhere. In the end, they get a very low settlement or the answer that their claim was denied.
Instead, you should get in touch with an Atlanta car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Time Is Not on Your Side in Any Personal Injury Case in Georgia
While the average person may be aware of their rights after they suffered a car accident or any other type of personal injury incident, they do not know all the legal requirements and limitations. One of the most important issues they are not aware of is the statute of limitations.
In Georgia, personal injury victims have 2 years starting from the date of their accident to take legal action against the at-fault party. An Atlanta car accident lawyer knows that this is not a lot of time – especially if you will spend a lot of time in a hospital and in a rehabilitation center.
And this is something that insurance companies know, as well. This is why they will try to delay settling your claim for as long as possible if they notice that you do not have a lawyer. Once they realize that the statute of limitations is close to expiration, they will hit you with a claim denial or a lowball settlement.
You Should Hire an Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer from the Beginning
Thus, when it comes to the best moment to hire a lawyer, the answer is: as soon as possible after your car accident. Any case has two potential outcomes:
- An out-of-court settlement negotiated with the insurance company
- Personal injury lawsuit finalized with a jury award.
An experienced Atlanta car accident lawyer will strive to reach the first outcome and obtain the highest possible settlement amount with respect to your actual damages. However, in some cases, the insurance adjuster believes that they can win the case in court and not have to pay anything. Therefore, your lawyer will need sufficient time to prepare your case in order to secure a victory in court.
Here are some of the most important reasons why you should retain legal representation as soon as possible after a car crash:
1. You Will Not Have to Speak to an Insurance Adjuster on Your Own
Insurance adjusters are notorious for the fact that they make an appearance in an injured person’s hospital room to discuss their claim. This is simply taking advantage of a person’s vulnerable state. Unfortunately, it is not illegal to do so.
The main purpose of this visit is to ascertain whether you will file a claim and if you have legal representation. Once the adjuster realizes that you are on your own, they will try to persuade you to sign a settlement release in exchange for a lump sum of money – which definitely does not cover your damages.
Having an Atlanta car accident lawyer protects you from the risk of signing away your right to file a claim or lawsuit and the stress of answering misleading questions which could lead to self-incriminating statements. In this situation, all you have to do is give a brief description of the accident and say that your lawyer will be in touch with the insurance company to discuss your insurance claim.
2. You Will File Your Insurance Claim Correctly and in a Timely Manner
An Atlanta car accident lawyer at our law firm will help you fill in the insurance claim forms correctly and will make sure that you attach all the required supporting documents. These include:
- Hospital bills
- Medical care bills and receipts
- Estimate from the car shop for the repair of your car
- Pay slips to justify the amount of lost wages you want to recover
- Other receipts for out-of-pocket expenses related to your accident.
3. Your Lawyer Will Seek Relevant Evidence to Support Your Claim
Proving the other driver’s fault is not always easy. Sometimes, there are no witnesses to a car accident, if it happened very early in the morning or late in the evening. The other driver may lie about the circumstances of the accident in the statement to the police and to their insurance company.
For accident victims, looking for evidence to support their claims is very difficult. You don’t know what to look for. In some cases, you are not allowed to access specific types of evidence as a private individual. For example, only an Atlanta car accident lawyer can request the driver’s phone log from their carrier to prove texting and driving.
4. Your Lawyer Knows How to Negotiate with the Car Insurance Company
Insurance adjusters know the law and how to manipulate it against you. They will not bat an eyelid when it comes to stretching the meaning of a specific legal requirement if they realize that you are representing yourself.
When faced with an experienced Atlanta car accident lawyer, they will definitely not try such tactics. And, for each argument they bring, your attorney will have an adequate counter-argument in your favor. You can rest assured that we will fight for your rights until she wins every dollar and cent you are entitled to collect for your economic and non-economic damages.
5. Have Sufficient Time to File a Lawsuit
An experienced Atlanta car accident lawyer knows when negotiations are going nowhere. In some cases, threatening to file a lawsuit is sufficient to reach a settlement. In others, you really have to go to court to win your compensation for economic losses, pain, and suffering.
If this is the case, your lawyer will not waste valuable time. We will instruct you to file your lawsuit with plenty of time ahead to collect all evidence, prepare you for the deposition and fulfill any other legal obligations and procedures.
Injured in a Car Accident? Let H Groves Law Help You Win Your Claim!
When you contact H Groves Law, you know that you will benefit from the best legal advice for your car accident case. There are no upfront fees and we don’t get paid unless we deliver a settlement or a win in court.
If an Atlanta accident lawyer determines that your case has merits, you can rest assured that we will fight for the maximum compensation you deserve. So, do not waste time, schedule a free case review as soon as possible after your accident by calling 770-329-1868!
