Handle Your Own Claim
It can be extremely beneficial for you to handle your own injury insurance claim.
With some basic knowledge about how the accident claims procedure is set up together with some basic organization you should be competent to handle your own personal injury claim without needing to use a lawyer. An added bonus of this could be that your insurance company does not unfairly deny or reduce the compensation you are entitled to. Therefore you could receive considerably more compensation for your injury due to the fact that you will not need to pay extortionate fees to lawyers.
Types of claims you can often handle by yourself include:
- automobile, bicycle, or pedestrian accidents
- slips, trips and falling accidents
- accidents at your place of residence
- accidents due to handling products that are defective
Obviously there are times when the services of a lawyer can be very useful or necessary. This can be particularly true in situations involving severe or permanently disabling injuries as well as paricular types of complicated accidents. Medical malpractice incidents and exposure to toxic substances are a couple of examples. See When You Need a Lawyer.
However, there are many cases when you should be able represent yourself.
It is a Simple Claims Process
In spite of what the insurance industry and many lawyers would lead you to believe, dealing with an injury claim through an insurance company is very often quite simple. Most claims consist of a few short letters and some telephone calls invilving an insurance adjuster who is a lay person without legal training. Therefore you have no requirement to understand technical language or complex legal regulations. The truth is fact that your right to be compensated quite often depends on commonsense observations about who was careful, who wasn't careful and the seriousness of your injuries.
The Compensation System Is Well Structured
In compensation cases, the amount of any claim is not thought up by lawyers and insurance companies. Instead a number of factors like the type of accident, the scale of any injuries and associated medical costs are taken into account to ascertain the monetory value of the claim. The compensation an insurance company will be willing to pay very often falls into a quite narrow range regardless of whether a lawyer has handled your claim for you.
You Know Your Claim Better Than Anyone
You know better than any insurance adjuster or attorney how the accident occurred. You also know better than anyone what injuries you suffered and what your physical situation has been since. Most of the time these are the most important things to understand when trying to settle an injury claim.
Save Money on Legal Fees
Except in very serious or complicated cases, a lawyer will probably only be able to negotiate for you an extra 10% to 25% above what you could obtain for yourself once you understand the claims process. However, a lawyer will take 33% to 40% of your compensation as a fee and in addition charge you for costs. These costs would be charges for administrative services such as making copies of documents and holding conference calls as well as any fees associated with a lawsuit which lawyers very often begin sooner than is necessary. If you take away the lawyer's fees and costs from the extra amount of the settlement a lawyer might be able to get for you, you will understand how much better you will be able to do on your own.