After an accident or personal injury, you might not know what to do about your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. Is it worth hiring a personal injury attorney to handle your case? An accident injury attorney will handle the claim for you, but will they get you more money than if you filed a claim without a lawyer?
An important thing to remember is that the insurance company for the other party has a team of insurance adjusters, lawyers, investigators, and claims representatives working to protect it from liability. Their sole job is to avoid paying full value for a personal injury claim.
If you do not hire a personal injury attorney, you go up against an insurance company alone. The company has unlimited resources to fight your claim. Do you have the resources, expertise, and skills to fight for a fair settlement amount?
Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer for a Minneapolis Personal Injury Case?
When you hire a Minneapolis personal injury attorney, the insurance company knows it cannot take advantage of your lack of knowledge about Minnesota personal injury laws. The insurance company knows it is dealing with an experienced injury lawyer who will aggressively represent your best interest.
Furthermore, the insurance company should contact your lawyer instead of contacting you. Therefore, you do not need to worry about dealing with aggressive insurance adjusters or tactics designed to hurt your case.
In addition to protecting you from an insurance company pressuring you to accept a low settlement offer, your Minneapolis personal injury attorney:
- Investigates the cause of your accident or injury
- Gathers evidence proving fault and liability
- Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of your case
- Handles all matters related to the insurance claim
- Researches case law and statutes applicable to your case
- Identifies all parties liable for your damages
- Documents your damages, including your economic and non-economic damages
- Determines how much your personal injury case is worth
- Negotiates with the insurance company for the maximum value of damages
- Files a personal injury lawsuit and represents you in court, if necessary
A personal injury lawyer protects your best interests. Someone is always looking out for you and working to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve for damages caused by negligence, intentional torts, or other wrongdoing.
When to Hire a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer
A minor personal injury case might not require an attorney if the insurance company accepts full liability for your claim, you were not severely injured, and the company agrees to compensate you for all damages. However, that is rarely the situation with a personal injury case.
In most cases, injured victims benefit from having an experienced personal injury lawyer in Minneapolis handling their claims. However, if you are still unsure whether to hire an injury lawyer, consider these questions:
Did You Sustain Severe Injuries?
Personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries are complicated. Catastrophic injuries can include, but are not limited to, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, severe burns, paralysis, amputations, and internal organ injury.
These cases often involve substantial damages, including demands for future damages. Therefore, you might need to hire expert witnesses and medical specialists to determine the extent of your losses and how much your damages are worth. A personal injury lawyer has the resources necessary to hire expert witnesses and pursue high-value injury claims.
Are You Being Blamed for Causing the Accident?
A common tactic for decreasing the value of a personal injury claim is shifting the blame for the accident to the injured party. Under Minnesota comparative fault laws, you cannot recover money for damages if you are 51% or more at fault for the cause of your injury.
If your blame is below 51%, your compensation is reduced by your level of fault. Therefore, you could lose a substantial portion of your compensation.
Insurance companies often unfairly blame injured victims to avoid paying claims. A lawyer protects you from this tactic by gathering evidence to prove you were not at fault for causing your injury.
Was Your Child Injured in an Accident?
Child injury cases are also complicated personal injury claims. A child’s injuries could significantly impair their development. You might not know the extent of your child’s injuries without seeking advice from medical specialists and other experts.
A Minneapolis personal injury lawyer can help you locate specialists to correctly diagnose your child’s injuries and impairments. Your attorney also understands the special laws governing settlement agreements for child injury claims.
Do You Understand the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim?
The insurance adjuster will not tell you if you are demanding an amount that is less than your personal injury case is worth. Therefore, unless you are familiar with the types of damages you are entitled to receive, the insurance company could cheat you out of a fair settlement.
Your personal injury lawyer works with you, your doctors, and experts to document your damages. Damages in a personal injury case include economic damages to reimburse you for financial losses.
You can also receive non-economic damages to compensate you for intangible losses, pain, and suffering. Your attorney also evaluates your case to determine whether the evidence supports a claim for punitive damages.
Are You Sure You Know Who Is Liable for Your Injury?
There could be multiple parties who are responsible for your damages. Identifying all parties is essential for recovering maximum compensation for a personal injury case. Only the parties who contributed to the cause of your injury are liable for damages.
At-fault parties do not willingly step forward to claim responsibility for causing your injuries. Instead, you need an experienced Minnesota personal injury lawyer to investigate the cause of your injury to ensure you pursue a claim against all liable parties.
Do You Know the Deadline for Filing Personal Injury Claims in Minnesota?
Minnesota has statutes of limitations that restrict the time you have to file personal injury claims. The deadlines can vary based on the type of personal injury case and the parties involved in the case. If you do not file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, you lose your right to legally enforce your claim in court.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyers
Contact or call Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Minneapolis personal injury attorney at (800) 292-1979. We will evaluate your claim and explain your legal options. Our lawyers are also upfront and honest about whether we believe you need to hire a lawyer for your personal injury case.
