Do I Need a Lawyer for a Car Accident?

While it’s never required to retain an attorney, their involvement can offer numerous benefits that can help your situation immensely. First and foremost, they can use their legal experience to help you navigate through the process and discover which path works best for you. Their advice is priceless after a car accident, as many people have little to no experience in car accident litigation and won’t know which steps to take to solidify their compensation in the future. By retaining one immediately after your car accident, they have more time to operate and come up with a solution, which is much more advantageous than retaining them after you’ve run into a problem while trying to solve your problem individually.

If you do choose to move forward with your lawsuit individually, you might find yourself running into some pretty significant roadblocks. Unfortunately, insurance companies and large organizations often see someone without a lawyer as weak—even if they aren’t—and will attempt to bully you into accepting their terms. Without anyone by your side, you likely won’t be able to thwart off their tactics, and you might leave the table defeated and disappointed with your compensation package, which is terribly untimely when you have expenses looming overhead. Rather than gamble with the future of your case, it’s best to retain an attorney as soon as you can following your accident. Like mom always said, “it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Those who don’t plan on filing car accident lawsuits can also benefit from retaining an attorney. As mentioned previously, their legal advice can be the difference between success and failure, as they’ve seen your situation before and can help guide you to where you need to be. Whether you’re only filing an insurance claim, or if you’re uncertain whether you qualify for a lawsuit or not, an attorney will be able to help you figure out your options and decide which avenue will yield the best outcome.

A car accident lawyer can help you with all aspects of your case, from filing your insurance claim to advocating for your rights in the courtroom. A skilled attorney will have seen your situation before, meaning that they have experience in the same situation and can use their background knowledge to avoid potential pitfalls and help push your case towards the best possible outcome. When we receive your first call, our team will:

• Determine your eligibility and establish a path to move forward: First, our attorneys will review your case and the surrounding circumstances and determine whether or not we can help. If you’re only visiting for legal advice, we can display your options and show you which path would be best for you and your situation. If your case calls for a lawsuit, our team can begin to establish a foundation for the future.
• Collect evidence and all other applicable documentation: Next, our attorneys will begin to collect all the available evidence for your case. Police reports, your medical records, photo/video of the accident itself, and eyewitness reports will all serve to make your case as strong as possible, so we’ll make sure to leave no stone unturned. Additionally, our team works closely with subject matter experts across the country, and we can use their testimony to further strengthen your case for the negotiation phase.
• Negotiate with the at-fault party: Once we’ve built a strong case, the next step is to bring all our evidence and information to the negotiation table. Here, we’ll attempt to reach a settlement through negotiation. We’ll display your damages, advocate for the severity of each, and establish a dollar amount that you’ll receive as your total compensation. The at-fault party can accept our terms and pay you in a timely manner, or they can refuse to settle, arguing against one or multiple of our damages. 
• Prepare for trial: While most car accident cases resolve themselves through negotiations, it’s possible that neither party can agree on a settlement. In these cases, the only option left is to bring your case into the courtroom and litigate in front of a jury, but not every law firm can handle a case in this setting. Other firms fear for a case to go to trial because they know they can’t reach a successful outcome, so they’ll force their clients into accepting a lower settlement offer to avoid the repercussions of a failed trial. On the other hand, Morgan & Morgan’s car accident lawyers relish the opportunity to advocate for the rights of our clients in the courtroom, and we often reach multi-million dollar verdicts that other firms can only dream of achieving.

Car accident victims can expect to recover the damages they sustained in their accident through a lawsuit, but your specific recovery will depend on the circumstances surrounding your case. Here are a few common damages that victims seek for recovery:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Repair costs
• Mental/emotional anguish
• Funeral benefits (in the case of wrongful death)

Some of the previously mentioned damages, like pain and suffering, are difficult to advocate for the severity of because the majority of the damage is internal. A third party won’t be able to look across the table and understand how your injuries are affecting you, which may cause them to diminish your compensation as a result. If you are suffering after your accident, you need compensation to help support the treatments and therapies you need to cope with the condition, so you can’t afford to accept a lower amount in your lawsuit. Fortunately, our attorneys have a proven track record of recovering the full extent of these difficult-to-prove damages, making us an undeniable asset in your pursuit of rightful restitution. 

You might be apprehensive about retaining an attorney because of the stigma that lawyers are exorbitantly expensive to hire and eventually cost more than the accident itself. While this belief does apply to some firms, the ones that embody the stigma often make their money solely from their client’s legal fees. They know that they can’t see the case through to the end and reach a successful conclusion, so instead, they’ll drag it out as long as possible and shackle you with as many fees as they can. Unfortunately, they care very little about your situation and how it affects you, which is ironic considering you walked through their doors looking for help.

At Morgan & Morgan, we chose to take the path less traveled and create a contingency that offers nothing but benefits. When you team up with us, you pay nothing out-of-pocket, and we’re only paid when we win your case. Rather than further burden you with legal fees, we take our fee from the favorable settlement or jury award to allow anyone to afford our proficient representation, regardless of their financial status. Not only does this keep the costs low on your end, but it also centralizes everyone around one singular goal: getting you the best possible results for your car accident case.

In the most difficult moments of your life, Morgan & Morgan has your back. Car accidents are traumatic experiences, some that may take years to physically and financially recover from. Even minor fender benders can change the driver’s life forever under the right circumstances, so it’s best to team up with an attorney to protect your future compensation and ensure your case ends successfully. You could choose to proceed without a lawyer, but do you really want to gamble with the outcome of your case? You never know what unethical tactics the at-fault party or your insurance provider will employ when you walk through the door, which is why it’s always a good idea to stay one step ahead and retain a trusted car accident attorney.

If you or a loved one were injured in a car accident, our firm has some of the best attorneys in the business. Contact us today for more information on how we can help your situation.