In the year 2015, there were approximately 52,000 car accidents in LA. In 2016, this number increased significantly by nearly 20%, to a whopping 55,350. If the recent statistics are anything to go by, it means that an average of one person gets killed in LA traffic accidents every 40 hours.
Now, in the aftermath of an accident, it’s not always that you will require hiring an attorney. However, there’re several circumstances where having car accident lawyers in Los Angeles is crucial.
In most cases, these circumstances are complicated for you to represent yourself. In others, the stakes are high, and an attorney might help to negotiate a higher settlement or even counter an attempt by your insurance provider to stop you from getting compensated.
That said, we shall look at the instances when you need to lawyer up after a car accident.
Accident Caused Serious Injury or Death
If an accident resulted in severe injury or even death, you need to contact an attorney right away because, in most cases, these kinds of accidents often result in a complicated lawsuit.
Also, there’s a lot at stake here, and it’s most likely that your insurance provider will try to lowball you.
To give you an idea of what a “serious” injury means, it doesn’t necessarily mean hospitalization or surgery, but even a broken bone or even a joint injury that might require several injections, long-term treatment, or anything that causes severe pain is classified as severe injury.
You’re Not Sure on the State of Damage
At times, you’re in a state of “limbo” where your pain isn’t subsidizing, or your initial treatment doesn’t seem to work.
In such cases, you might start to question whether you’re going to feel any better, and this is where an attorney comes in.
An attorney will not only help you to see the right specialist for your treatment but will hold your insurance provider accountable for the full long-term treatment costs, rather than what has been diagnosed so far.
You Missed Work
In the aftermath of an accident, you might realize that you were hurt to an extent where you were incapacitated to return to work.
In such cases, it’s always a good idea to seek the services of an attorney because they will not only get you compensated for the medical treatment but will also include several other elements, including the loss of work, emotional pain, and more.
An attorney knows how to calculate all the compensation that you’re entitled to under the California law and will ensure that you get the fair compensation that befits you.
Some of the people are injured severely that their earning capacity is impacted for life, and an attorney will help to ensure that you get fair compensation for all your missed workdays.
Multi-Vehicle Accident
If your case involves more than two parties, it can complicate the settlement scheme as well as the negotiation process.
In most cases, it can even lead to multiple lawsuits, and this can be quite a challenge to handle.
It is not to mention there might be additional parties wanting to rope into your cases, such as property owners and pedestrians.
Generally, a multi-level accident is challenging to handle on your won, but it gets easier when a lawyer has your back. An attorney will fight to ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve, while at the same time keeping your liability to other parties at a bare minimum.
Insurance is Blaming You
There’re several tactics that insurance providers use to deny you compensation, and if you’re not aware of these tactics, you’ll quickly get duped. For instance, some might claim that you failed to report your injury on time, or that you made your injury “worse” by not seeking treatment.
Either way, if you feel your insurance provider is not cooperative enough or probably doesn’t take your injury as seriously as they should do, you should consider seeking legal redress from an attorney.
Remember that a majority of the insurance companies usually don’t have your best interest at heart, and their job is to pay the least amount possible.
A lawyer, on the other hand, has your back and is there to represent your interests.
Conclusion
A majority of people always consider hiring an attorney, but most of them do not know when they need to hire one.
Fortunately, we’ve provided you with some of the circumstances that necessitate the need for hiring an attorney.
