Learn about the kinds of complicated cases that always merit the attention of an expert personal injury attorney.
If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you absolutely should consult a personal injury attorney for advice. You can do this for free, so there is really no reason not to. For example, at the Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we offer free case evaluations to injured individuals and their families to help them decide how to move forward.
The fact of the matter is, while you need to consult an attorney in all cases, you do not necessarily need to hire one. You might choose not to hire an attorney if:
- You are happy with the settlement offered by the insurance company
- You are already receiving the maximum amount offered by the liable party’s insurance coverage
- Your case evaluation indicates your claim is weak and litigation has a slim chance of success
However, there are some cases where you will almost certainly want to enlist the aid of an attorney. If you do not, it may be impossible to secure the level of compensation you actually deserve.
3 Signs You Need an Attorney
Serious Injuries: If you have been seriously injured in an accident, two things are likely to happen. 1) you are likely to have very high medical bills exceeding the amount of insurance coverage held by the defendant and 2) you are likely to have life-long effects from the injury which deserve extra compensation. This means you will almost certainly have to fight to receive fair compensation. At the very least you will need someone to negotiate aggressively for your interests during settlement talks, and you may very well need an attorney to take your case to court as well.
Complex Liability Issues: In California, it is possible to split liability for an accident between multiple parties. This has benefits and drawbacks. The benefit might be that you might have more than one defendant (and their insurance) to pursue for compensation. A drawback might be that you could be named as one of the liable parties. However, so long as you are less than 50 percent liable for the accident, it is still possible to recover damages, though your damages will be reduced according to your share of the liability. These cases can get extremely complicated and all sides will be presenting their version of events. It is important to have an attorney working for you to make sure your side of the story gets told accurately and with convincing evidence.
Corporate Defendant: One final scenario in which you would want a legal expert on your side is if you are going up against a corporate defendant. This might occur if you were injured in a slip and fall accident at a business or in a car accident caused by a company vehicle. Whenever corporate interests are involved, there is the potential for extra resistance to your claim plus extra-sophisticated legal arguments. You need a personal injury attorney like Fernando D. Vargas who can keep up.
In any case, before you make your final decision as to whether or not to hire an attorney to handle your claim, be sure to call us at 909-982-0707 for your free case evaluation.
