Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer: 3 Common Myths Exposed
Hiring a personal injury lawyer can prove extremely beneficial if you have been injured in any type of accident. Unfortunately, far too many people ultimately choose not to reach out to an injury attorney because of one or more common myths that tend to be widely accepted as fact. Today, you will learn the truth behind three of these common myths.
Myth #1: Injury Lawyers Only Take Cases That Involve Serious Injuries
People often believe that a lawyer will only take on their case if they have suffered injuries that either result in permanent disability or that were otherwise horrific. However, the fact is that injury lawyers help people everyday that have suffered common injuries such as broken bones and soft tissue damage.
What determines how helpful an attorney can be in settling your case is not necessarily the severity of your injury but rather how severely this injury has impacted your life. For example, while most people would not consider a broken pinkie finger to be a serious injury, this otherwise minor injury can have a huge impact on a person who works as a violinist. If the injuries you suffered have impacted your life either for the short or long term, hiring a personal injury lawyer can help to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.
Myth #2: Legal Fees Will Leave You With Less Money Than If You Settle On Your Own
This is perhaps the most widespread myth of them all. This is really quite unfortunate because this myth causes many people to try and settle their own injury claims and ultimately end up with less money than they truly deserve.
While it is true that legal fees will be deducted from your settlement amount if you choose to hire a personal injury lawyer, this does not mean that you are walking away with less money. When comparing the average settlement of individuals who are represented by counsel against those who choose to settle their own claims, the average person still walks away with more money when choosing to hire a lawyer even after legal fees are deducted.
Myth #3: You Cannot Seek Compensation If You Were Assigned Any Fault
Just because the insurance company has chosen not to readily accept 100% liability does not mean that your right to collect compensation has been taken away or that you cannot benefit from the services of a personal injury lawyer. As long as the insurance company has accepted liability and assigned at least half of the fault in your case to their insured party, you retain the legal right to collect compensation.
In the event the insurance company has assigned more than half of the fault to you, you may still have the right to appeal this decision. Contact a personal injury lawyer to schedule a consultation.