So far this year, there have been over 250,000 injuries from car crashes. No matter the severity of your incident, if you hire a car accident lawyer for a minor car accident, he can help you avoid the pitfalls that can devalue your claim or give the insurance company a reason to deny financial recovery.

Even the Playing Field for Your Minor Car Accident Claim

Insurance companies have teams of professionals working for them. You might feel at an unfair disadvantage if you try to take on all of these people without a lawyer by your side. It can be intimidating to deal with people whose job is to pay you as little money as possible. When you hire a car accident lawyer for a minor car accident, you level the playing field with the insurance company.

Losing Your Right to Compensation Because of a Technicality

You might think that you should get the compensation that you deserve if you have a case of clear liability. No matter how badly you were hurt and how strong the evidence is against the defendant, you can lose before the court even gets to the merits of your case.

Insurance claims and lawsuits have a multitude of rules that you must learn and follow to avoid giving the defendant a procedural ground to get your case dismissed. When you hire a car accident lawyer for a minor car accident, you can avoid this outcome.

Knowing the Deadlines for a Claim

Florida has a short statute of limitations for lawsuits from car accidents. This concept means that you only have a brief window for filing a lawsuit seeking money damages for your losses. If you miss the deadline, you will not get the opportunity to go after compensation. Insurers know this fact. They often string people along, pretending to negotiate in good faith but then “ghosting” once the deadline passes.

Car Accident Insurance Adjuster Tactics

You can get caught up in the snare of tricks that insurance adjusters use when processing claims from car accidents. Here are a few examples:

  • Accepting a low-ball offer: if you do not work with a lawyer, you might not know how much money you should collect for your injuries. When the adjuster makes an offer, you might be tempted to settle your claim quickly. People who do not work with a lawyer often find out later that they should have gotten much more money.
  • Not explaining how a settlement works: the adjuster might not tell you that you will have to pay your medical expenses out of that one settlement check. Sometimes, people discover that there is no money left for themselves after they pay doctors.
  • Settling too early: you should not settle your case before your doctor tells you that your treatment is complete. Until all the procedures and physical therapy are done, you do not know if you will have residual impairment from your injuries. Your doctor might need to perform additional treatments, even operations, to maximize the return of your function. If you already settled your claim, you might have to pay for the surgery yourself.

These are but a few examples of the things that can go wrong if you do not work with an attorney on your car accident case.

At the Montero Law Center, we help injured people rebuild their lives. Call us today at (954) 767-6500 for a free consultation.