The Importance of Getting a Lawyer Involved Early in a Car Accident
What are your top priorities after a car accident? You need to get your car fixed (or replace it if it was totaled), make sure you get checked out for injuries and report the accident to your car insurance company. But what about talking to an attorney? If you plan on hiring a lawyer to handle your case or you’re not sure if you will yet, this should be high on your to-do list.
Find out why it’s so important to bring an attorney in early. When you’re ready to get started on your car accident claim, call Peake & Fowler at 803-788-4370 to schedule a time to talk to our team.
Ensure a Swift and Thorough Investigation
A lot goes into a fair and full settlement. Before the insurance company will pay what you’re actually owed, they will need conclusive proof that their client is liable for your injuries. Your attorney can take the reins on the accident investigation, analyze the available evidence, and track down other pieces of evidence to figure out exactly what happened and who is to blame. This puts you in a better position to receive what you actually deserve from the insurance company.
Protect Yourself from the Insurance Company
Throughout this entire process, you must remember that the insurance company is not your friend. They don’t care if you have enough money to pay your medical bills. They don’t care if you have to spend months out of work because of their client’s negligence.
What they do care about is their profit margins and how little they can pay you because it looks good in their employee metrics. Everything they say and do is an attempt to drive down the value of your claim.
The longer you wait to talk to an attorney and the more direct contact you have with the insurance adjuster, the more likely you are to hurt your own personal injury claim. They will look at everything you say and look for ways to twist it. Their hope is to prove that you are to blame for the accident or that a preexisting injury is the root cause of your current pain.
On the flip side, hiring an attorney from the very beginning helps you avoid these missteps. They handle all communication with the insurance company, and they aren’t prone to the same mistakes as victims.
Evidence Won’t Be Available Forever
As soon as your accident happens, the clock starts ticking. Your car will only be at the crash scene for as long as it takes to tow it away or for you to drive it away. The broken glass, skid marks, and crumpled metal of the crash will be gone within hours, leaving the roadway safe for other drivers.
The rest of your evidence will weaken with time, too. Any eyewitnesses that offered their assistance will start to forget key details, remembering less and less until their testimony is useless to you. An attorney knows how best to use the evidence available to you and how to preserve it for use in your claim. Don’t put your attorney in a position where they have to build a case with minimal evidence, because your claim will suffer because of it.
Get the Time You Need to Cover Your Expenses
Shortly after you start treatment for your injuries, get ready for those medical bills to start rolling in. Care providers won’t wait forever for you to pay your bills, and if you don’t have a plan, you could end up with bills in collections. However, if you are working with a lawyer on securing a settlement, medical providers may be able to hold off on billing you until the process is complete. If you delay this at all, you could be on the hook for paying everything out of pocket.
Choose Peake & Fowler for Your Injury Claim
If you’re ready to start pursuing the compensation you are entitled to after a car accident, it’s time to talk to the team at Peake & Fowler. Take the first step right now by calling us at 803-788-4370 or sending us a message online. We can’t wait to talk to you.
