If you mostly use your car for short trips, you should know about the findings of a recent survey. In that survey, 39% of car accidents occurred in just the first 10 minutes of driving time. Consequently, even on short trips, you have a significant chance of sustaining a serious injury in a collision.
Following an automobile accident, it may be tempting to accept a low settlement offer from the insurance company. Doing so, though, may not be in your personal, legal or financial interests. By working with an attorney, you likely boost your odds of receiving fair compensation.
Foster meaningful negotiations
Before filing a lawsuit, most injured individuals negotiate with insurance companies. Not all settlement negotiations are the same. That is, a meaningful negotiation requires some experience.
Accordingly, you may simply lack the skills necessary to bargain for the settlement you deserve. That probably is not the case with the attorney you hire, especially if you pick an experienced one.
Collect relevant evidence
Settlement negotiations may only get you so far. If your attorney cannot reach an acceptable agreement with the insurance company, you may need to bring a legal cause of action.
In preparation for trial, your attorney can probably help you gather the following items:
- Police reports, expert opinions and other crash-related data
- Medical records, injury accommodations and other health-related items
- Any additional crash-related information
Assembling this documentation can be challenging for a few reasons. Most significantly, it can be difficult to know the difference between useful and extraneous evidence.
Because your attorney regularly works with injured individuals, he or she can be invaluable in identifying which evidence most helps your case.