Car Accident Attorney in Medford

There are few sounds more terrifying than the metal-grinding crunch you hear when your car collides with another. Even if you are lucky enough to get out of the accident without injuries and your car is relatively unscathed, the fear can last for hours, days, or even longer.

And if you aren’t so lucky, that fear is entirely justified. A serious car accident can result in horrifying injuries that require years of medical treatment.

If this happens to you, how will you pay for the medical care you receive? What will you do for money when your injuries prevent you from working? These are also reasonable questions that a caring car accident lawyer in Medford, MA at Morgan & Morgan can answer for you.

It is our mission to help victims of car accidents return quickly and comfortably to the lives they knew before the crash. We do everything in our power to ease your suffering after an accident and to get you the money you need to fully recover from your injuries, no matter how serious.

If you have been seriously hurt in a car crash, don’t wait another day. Contact our law firm today to schedule a free case evaluation with a Morgan and Morgan car accident lawyer in Medford, MA.

Never Trust Insurance Companies

All too often, clients contact us because they have been swindled by a car insurance company. They assume that because they pay their premiums on time and follow all the appropriate procedures, the responsible car insurance company will pay them compensation without difficulty. Unfortunately, this is rarely true.

Car insurance companies are corporations. This means they exist for only one purpose: making money. And a car insurance company makes money by limiting the amount of money it pays out in claims.

Even if you have a legitimate claim, the company is looking for any excuse possible to undervalue your claim or even deny it. And it has a wealth of tools to limit the compensation it pays you.

The Claims Process Is Complicated

The first obstacle to getting money is the claims process. Even though technology has made this process simpler in the past few decades, it is still filled with lots of red tape.

You need to provide large amounts of information on a specific schedule. If you miss a deadline or give the wrong information, your case will be delayed. In the worst-case scenarios, you may have the entire claim reset to the beginning of the process or your claim might be denied.

A car accident lawyer in Medford, MA, prevents you from running afoul of the complicated claims process. Your attorney understands the process and will navigate it smoothly and quickly.

You Likely Don’t Know What You Can Claim

One of the biggest advantages the insurance company has is that it has to consider only the claims you make. If you don’t claim lost wages, for example, the insurance company won’t volunteer to pay for them. And it definitely won’t tell you that those lost wages are something you can claim.

Without even being dishonest, the insurance company can effectively deny you thousands of dollars in compensation just by not correcting your mistakes. And there are plenty of things that you may not realize you are eligible for. Some common damages that people don’t know they can get are:

• Lost wages or salary
• Compensation for services you would have performed without help, like transportation or cleaning
• Occupational or physical therapy
• Psychiatric treatment
• Lost opportunities

A car accident lawyer in Medford, MA, has experience dealing with these types of cases. Your attorney will advise you about what types of damages you can get money for and will ensure that you don’t miss out on any money because you failed to identify a loss or expense to the insurance company.

The Company Could Add an At-Fault Surcharge to Your Premiums

If you aren’t at fault in a car accident in Massachusetts, the insurance company can’t increase your premiums after you file a claim. Unfortunately, the insurance company can independently investigate the accident and determine who is at fault.

In some cases, in an accident involving multiple insurance companies, all companies could determine that their claimant was more than 50% at fault for the accident. This is ridiculous, but it allows all of the companies to charge higher premiums to try to make back any money they pay for the claim.

The reason this works is that each insurance company investigates independently. And the investigator can focus on evidence that shows you are at fault while ignoring evidence that mitigates your liability.

A car accident attorney helps you avoid this by doing a separate investigation of the accident. Your attorney will uncover evidence that shows you aren’t at fault and provide that evidence to the insurance company. The amount of money this can save you in premium increases is easily worth the cost of an attorney.

The Insurance Company Will Undervalue Your Claim

Typically, you would assume that determining compensation is simple. You send the insurance company a receipt for services you require, and your insurance pays you an equal amount of money. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the way it works.

Often, insurance companies will attempt to independently determine the value of your claim. And even if you have a receipt for services, it may determine that it is only willing to pay hundreds or thousands less for those services.

For medical treatment, for example, many insurance companies use set rates and are unwilling to pay more than those rates, even if the doctor or hospital charges more. Similarly, an insurance company may rely on an estimate from a doctor it trusts that isn’t consistent with how much you paid.

By hiring an attorney, you can prevent these unfair practices. Even if your case doesn’t go to trial, the fact that you are represented by a lawyer lets the insurance company know that you are willing to go to court.

If the insurance company has any concerns about losing at trial, it will negotiate more reasonable rates of compensation. Instead of leaving you at the mercy of the insurance company’s methods of determining value, your car accident lawyer in Medford, MA, can negotiate a fair settlement.

When You Should Hire a Car Accident Lawyer in Medford, MA

As previously noted, too often clients come to Morgan and Morgan only after their case has been denied, or they have received less money than they should. This makes it much more difficult for our attorneys to get them the compensation they deserve for their suffering.

The best time to hire an attorney is before you even inform the insurance company of the accident. This means that, if possible, you should contact us while you are still at the scene of the accident. The earlier you contact us, the faster we can start working on your case.

Also, once you contact us, we can guide you through the insurance process. Do you know what type of evidence will best help you maximize your compensation and avoid paying a premium surcharge? We do, and we’ll help you collect that evidence while you are at the accident scene.

Furthermore, if you are seriously injured, the last thing you want to do is deal with an insurance company. You need to focus all your effort and attention on recovering from your injuries. Dealing with an insurance company is the type of stress that just slows down the recovery process.

But when you are represented by a car accident lawyer in Medford, MA, you can forget about the insurance process and let your attorney do all the work. We’ll continue to give you regular updates when your pain has subsided enough for a meeting.

Even if you aren’t certain that you want a car accident attorney immediately after an accident, you should take advantage of the free case evaluation and consultation. During this consultation, you will learn about your legal options and we will determine the approximate value of your case.

Typically, clients who hire a car accident attorney early in the process get significantly higher compensation than people who wait to hire a lawyer or don’t use one at all — and that’s even after attorney fees are included in the total. If your goal is to recover quickly and comfortably, ensuring you get the money you need is critical to that goal.