2 Benefits Provided By Hiring An Auto Accident Attorney
ShareOne of the most important things that you can do to make your situation easier after an auto accident is hiring an attorney, mostly because he or she can help you in a variety of ways. An auto accident attorney is going to be most useful when it comes to helping you with settlement offers and ensuring that you do not take the blame for an accident that was not your fault.
Help With Settlement Offers
One of the riskiest parts of an auto accident case is dealing with a settlement offer. This is because settlement offers can be quite tempting, usually because they are guaranteed money if you accept. The problem with this is that the settlement offer is usually only going to be in the best interests of the insurance company representing the person who caused the accident.
In many cases, the settlement offer may not be enough to pay for your medical expenses following an accident, despite how generous the offer may seem. This is a major problem because you cannot sue for more money after accepting a settlement because you have to agree to drop your lawsuit and your right to sue in the future if you accept the offer.
An attorney is going to be vital in this scenario as he or she can sit down with you and help you determine if your case is strong enough to reject the offer. If your case is strong, an attorney will often recommend that you continue the lawsuit to get more money, or hold out for a larger settlement offer.
Ensure That You Do Not Take The Blame
When you sue someone following an auto accident, it is not uncommon for that person to attempt to blame the entire accident on you. In many cases, he or she is blaming you in an attempt to avoid having to pay for all of your accident-related expenses or to avoid increased insurance premiums.
Thankfully, you attorney can help you fight back against this strategy by investigating the accident and the responsible party. For example, your attorney can look into the responsible party's driving record to see if he or she has a record of driving negligently or recklessly, which can be used to show a pattern of behavior in court. Your attorney can also check to see if the person who caused the accident was distracted while driving by check his or her phone records to see if he or she was on a call or texting someone around the time that the accident occurred.
Speak to an attorney, like those at Swartz & Swartz P.C., as soon as possible following an accident in order to discuss your options.