Why You Need a Lawyer for a Major Car Accident

When a car accident occurs, one of the most important things a person has to figure out is what to do next. Unfortunately, this is a step that many drivers in Las Vegas and around the country often get wrong, because they don’t always think to consult an auto accident lawyer when an accident happens.

When you don’t take the time to consult a car accident lawyer, not only are you putting your physical recovery at risk, but you could be putting your financial recovery at risk as well. That’s because if you don’t know what you’re doing with when you deal with insurance companies, you could end up leaving a lot of money that you’re entitled to on the table. Here are a few reasons why your third call — after calling the police for documentation and your family to let them know you’re OK — should be to a car accident lawyer when an accident occurs.

Complicated Situation

To most drivers, an auto accident seems pretty straightforward. After all, it’s usually pretty simple as to who was at fault for the accident, especially when driving in Nevada, which is one of the 38 states that does determine who was at fault in all accidents. But most car accidents are actually not straightforward at all, because the law is often far from straightforward for the average person.

The reality of the situation is that insurance companies don’t like to pay out claims, and they make sure to limit their risks by hiring the best attorneys that they can to defend their interests. If there’s a way that they can deny your claim, they’ll find a way to do it. That’s even the case if the other driver was clearly at fault in your collision, because a good insurance lawyer can make a case that the other driver had no choice but to swerve in order to avoid an obstruction in the road or establish some other reason why their driver shouldn’t be liable for your claim. If you don’t have the right lawyer fighting for your version of events, the courts will be left with two versions: the police officer’s and the insurance company’s — and that is trouble.

A good auto accident lawyer can help establish that your claim is valid and that you were the victim in the situation. The right lawyer can build off the analysis of the police officer and confirm that you were completely in the right when you were operating your automobile so that you can get the maximum compensation that you’re entitled to receive. Insurance companies know this, which is why they really don’t want their clients to seek outside counsel when a claim is filed.

Lowball Offers

This really can’t be made clear enough: insurance companies are not in the business of writing checks unless they have no other choice. Your insurance company would be very happy if you never had an auto accident in your life, because that would mean that they received thousands of dollars and never had to pay a cent to have you as a client.

But most drivers will find themselves in a car accident a few times in their lives, and when an accident does happen, the insurance company will do everything it can to limit the amount that it has to pay. One of the best ways that they do this is by giving injured clients a settlement offer that covers some of their medical bills, but leaves the victim in the lurch for the remaining amount. That’s because they figure that most people are so shook up by the accident that they’ll accept whatever offer they get from insurance in order to ease the financial burden of the accident and help pay for the immediate future.

However, in this scenario, what usually happens is that the medical bills end up being more than the consumer can realistically afford to pay, and the settlement offer doesn’t go nearly far enough in covering the victim’s financial liabilities. That’s where having a good car accident lawyer can make a world of difference, and in many cases, the right lawyer can get the insurance company to play fair simply with the threat of litigation. Insurance companies know that the cost of fighting against an experienced auto accident attorney in Las Vegas is rarely worth the time and expense required for a successful outcome, so if you threaten them with a lawsuit after a low offer, they’ll often back down and come up with the cash that you should have received in the first place.

If the insurance company isn’t scared off by the threat of a lawsuit, putting a good accident attorney to work is often well worth the effort. Most accident lawyers are happy to work on a contingency basis, meaning that they only get paid if the lawsuit is successful. When you’ve got a lawyer that confident, your chances of getting the right outcome greatly improve.

Protecting Your Rights

There’s a reason that a public defender exists in the case of a criminal trial. It’s because the Supreme Court held in Gideon v. Wainwright that the law is often so esoteric that the average person doesn’t really have a fair chance to win a criminal case without the help of an attorney. An auto accident isn’t quite as serious as facing a criminal trial, but it’s still a serious case, and chances are that you don’t possess nearly the same level of knowledge that an experienced lawyer can use to help you win your case.

Guess who does know your rights in this situation and exactly what they can do to limit the amount of compensation that you’re legally entitled to receive? That’s right, it’s your insurance company. Your insurance company always goes into every dispute with the best lawyers that they can find, and they’ll look for any possible way that they can deny your claim if their lawyers can find one. The only way for you to fight back against them is to equip yourself with the best lawyers you can find, and that means contacting an auto accident attorney as soon as you find yourself in such a situation.

A good attorney will know your rights and exactly how they can argue in court to protect your rights properly. A good attorney will also be willing to offer you a consultation so that you can plot out your strategy and get ready for a court case. Remember, most cases are won or lost long before you ever step into the courtroom, and one of the best ways that you can maximize your chances of winning in court is to know your rights and find an attorney who can properly argue for them when necessary.

Legal Discovery

One of the most important parts of the legal process is discovery, because our legal system doesn’t want there to be any surprises in court. When you file a lawsuit, the other party is legally required to turn over all of the evidence that it has related to the case, and that can sometimes lead to your insurance company having to reveal information that it had that could be helpful to you.

A good attorney can find that information and argue how it could be helpful in front of a judge, allowing you to receive the compensation that you’re entitled to from the accident. If you’re confused about why your insurance company would actually agree to do this, here’s why: the threat of being held in contempt of court can be an even more effective threat than the threat of litigation in the first place. Your insurance company might really hate the idea of losing a court case to you, but they’re a lot more scared of the idea of upsetting a judge. If a judge threatens them with legal punishments because they withheld information in court, that’s a tag that no insurance company wants added to their name.

If you’ve been involved in an auto accident, the first and most important thing to do is always to make sure that you and any passengers in the car with you are actually OK. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you’re entitled to just compensation, and an auto accident attorney can help you get the representation you need to show your insurance company that they have to play fair. As soon as the facts have been established by a trustworthy police officer, you need to call a reliable car accident lawyer in Las Vegas so that you can discuss your legal options and figure out what the best course of action is for your needs.

***Disclaimer: This blog is created by Heidari Law Group for educational purposes. This article provides a general understanding of the law. It does not provide specific advice. By using this site and reading through this blog, there is no attorney-client relationship created between you and any member of Heidari Law. Further, due to the constant change of the law, some parts of the information above may no longer be good law.