There may come a time in your life when you’re considering whether or not you need a personal injury lawyer. A personal injury lawyer can help you secure compensation after an accident but they aren’t right for every situation. Below are some questions you can ask yourself to determine whether calling a personal injury lawyer is the right decision.
Did You Receive an Injury?
The first thing to ask yourself is if you received an injury. The only time you’ll need a personal injury lawyer is when you suffered some sort of injury. This could be a broken bone, a sprained ankle, a cut to the skin, or something else. Often, the best way to determine if you actually suffered an injury is by consulting a doctor. They can perform an examination and let you know the extent of your injuries if there are any. If you do have an injury, you can then proceed to the following questions.
Was the Injury Someone Else’s Fault?
Next, you need to determine if someone else has liability for your injury. According to Attorney Todd Beauregard, a personal injury lawyer, “Personal injury is defined as the physical, mental or emotional harm caused to an individual due to negligence or the wrongdoing of another person.” For example, if you slip on your home’s sidewalk due to ice, there is no one else to blame for the injury. On the other hand, if you slip on ice outside a business, they may have liability.
In some cases, it’s easy to tell someone else has liability because they take responsibility for the accident. For example, they may make an official statement to the police after a car accident. In other cases, the answer isn’t as obvious, as there may be shared liability or the other person may refuse to admit culpability. In these cases, if you believe the other person is at fault, it can help to talk to a lawyer to determine if they had legal liability.
Was the Injury Serious?
In order to sue for personal injuries, the injuries must be serious enough. If you only received a few minor bruises from the accident, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to make a case against the person responsible. While every case is different, if your injuries went away after a visit or two to the doctor, or within a week or so, then they likely aren’t serious enough to call a personal injury lawyer.
On the other hand, if you’re suffering from long-term or permanent injuries, this is where a personal injury lawyer can help. Serious injuries require more complicated medical treatment, which in turn means more complicated legal work. Again, consulting a doctor can help you determine the extent of your injuries and how long symptoms from these injuries should last.
Do You Have a Complicated Case?
Some personal injury cases are more complicated than others. If you experienced some minor injuries, you may be able to resolve the case on your own working with the person liable and the insurance companies. As your case grows more complicated, though, you may need a personal injury lawyer. When there are serious injuries involved, multiple liable parties, or multiple people involved in the accident, a personal injury lawyer can help you navigate through the complicated legal process.
When Did the Injury Occur?
The recency of the injury may also impact whether or not you can use a personal injury lawyer. The more recent the case, the more help a personal injury lawyer can provide. If you wait too long, you may even miss the statute of limitations, which would prevent you from filing a case at all. So while you don’t need to necessarily call a lawyer from the scene of an accident, you’ll want to get a consultation sooner rather than later.
Is There a Way to Collect Money?
Finally, think about if there is a way to collect money from this case. Since most personal injury lawyers are paid through the winnings of the case, they will only sign on if there is a way to collect. Possible sources of money in a personal injury case include your insurance provider, a third party’s insurance provider, or a third party’s personal or business assets. If none of these are available in your case, you may have a hard time finding a personal injury lawyer to assist you, as there is no money to collect for compensation.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Many personal injury lawyers offer free consultations. So, if you’re still unsure if you should call one after answering the questions above, give one a call anyway. They’ll ask you for some specifics about your case, then let you know if they can help. Hopefully, between this guide and a free consultation, you’ll get the assistance you need and any compensation due to you.
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