Mistake #7 Waiting to Hire an Attorney

Your Injury Lawyer is Your Ally

Just as the insurance company fights these battles every day, so does your personal injury lawyer. The lawyer is your advocate and ally who fights in the trenches against insurance companies on a daily basis, helping injured victims just like you receive the fair offers you deserve. Every trick an insurance company tries to play is best countered with proven legal strategies and actions based on the counsel of a Rhode Island lawyer who understands Rhode Island personal injury laws.

Mistakes Your Lawyer Will Help You Avoid

If you hire a lawyer early on in the process, he or she will help keep you from making mistakes. Giving a recorded statement, signing a medical release, or talking about the case on social media are all things your lawyer will warn you about.

All of these mistakes can hurt the value of your claim, and finding a good lawyer is your best safeguard against making them. Your lawyer will not get paid until you do, and the offer you will receive is likely to be higher than an offer you might receive if you try to represent yourself. Why is that? You don’t have the benefit of legal education and years of experience handling insurance claims.

For example, if you have to take a couple weeks off to recover before returning to work, those two weeks off can count as lost wages for which you can receive compensation. This is standard information to a practicing personal injury lawyer, but an accident victim would have no reason to know that if this is the first accident they’ve been in.

They may not know to track their time off work for recovery or time taken off to visit the doctor, but your lawyer will tell you about all the steps you can take to help maximize your compensation. Such small steps may not be obvious at first glance. Your lawyer will help you avoid not only major mistakes but also these small mistakes.