When is it better to get a lawyer, or settle with an insurance company directly, in an injury accident?

Question

My daughter was hit in a crosswalk by a car and slightly injured. she was lucky. The driver was cited and now their insurance company has contacted me. Should I get a lawyer? Will they take 40%,like I was told?..Her medical, hospital, ambulance, bills are under $2,000. What do I do?

Answer 1

yes the lawyer will get 40 % but  they will also get all the bills reduced and try to get her more money from the insurance but they will put the money in a trust fund and she will not receive it till she is 18  my lawyer got my daughter 100,000.00 and after everyone was paid she had 30,000.00 and now when she turn 18 she will start receiving checks at 18,25,28, 30 years of age with a total of 132000.00  so yes lawyer is the best way to go just over a broken leg

Answer 2

You say she was "injured slightly".... If they have made an offer, you are the only one to judge whether their offer is enough for you or not.  Paying a lawyer 1/3 + expenses may eat up any more that he could obtain for you.  In short; It's your call.

Answer 3

>>  My daughter was hit in a crosswalk by a car and slightly injured.

My wife had similar incident.

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>> should I get a lawyer?

Oh yes.  Without it, you can kiss any settlement good bye. The insurance company will delay any kind of settlement until it is too late for you to file a law suit, then when the time expires they will deny your any kind of settlement (will just write you a small check to get rid of you - like few hundred dollars).  At which point you have absolutely no choice because you can't file any law suit anyway.

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>> Will they take 40%,like I was told?.

They usually take 1/3 + expenses.

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>> Her medical, hospital, ambulance, bills are under $2,000. What do I do?

Mmmm... that extremely low.  If there's was NO real injuries (broken bones, loss of limb, loss of bodidly function, etc.) you might not get any compensation (outside of medical) with OR without lawyer.  That's a toughy.

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Don't get me wrong, by law, the insurance company will pay the medical, ambulance, etc. no matter what.  We are talking about pain and suffering.  For that you need severe injuries (like broken bones, etc.)

Good luck...

Answer 4

the lawyer will take alot of your money...if the insurance company is working with you and willing to pay all your bills then why would you need an attorney?

Answer 5

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I was injured once when a van backed over my foot at work. My employer tried to settle with me fast because I knew they were try to get me to sign some papers to release them from responsibility. I called a nearby lawyer in my city who provided me great advice and I was able to get a justifiable settlement to cover my hosptial bills that weren't covered by my work insurance. I'd suggest you find a lawyer in your area. http://www.accidentlawyerlocator.com My personal injury lawyer was willing to answer any and all questions I had because they hope to make some money from any potential case. Try visiting a lawyer to see if they can help.



Heop everything works out.

Answer 6

You say they contacted you. AND? Is their insurance going to pay the $2,000?? Yes? then get the $2,000.

Is their insurance going to pay the $2,000?? No? then write to them and say that if they don't agree to pay $2000 within a week you'll get a lawyer and sue them for $5000. Chances are they'll send you a cheque and that will be it.

If not, then it seems that the driver didn't admit fault. Did the driver admit it was his fault? was the police involved? Uhm I admit I don't know enough about this...

Answer 7

For a small claim like this -- better to NOT have a lawyer.

The insurance adjuster will evaluate the claim based on the injury. The adjuster will not pay more just because you have a lawyer. It's your decision to hire an attorney. So it's your responsibility to pay him. All getting a lawyer does is mean you have to give him 1/3 of your settlement.

Your best bet is to work directly with the insurance company. Give the adjuster a chance to work directly with you, If, during the process, things break down and you decide it's worth it to get a lawyer and give him a huge chunk of any settlement - you can do it then.

But the vast majority of claims I handle are settled amicable with out an attorney.

Now - assuming your daughter is under 18 (a minor)-- depending on the amount of the settlement, the insurance company may have to get a court to approve it. That means a judge signs off on the deal. Not every claim with a minor requires this. There is a threshold. If the claim exceeds a certain amount you have to court approve. If it is less, you can settle directly with the parents. Your adjuster will be able to explain to you if your situation requires court approval or not.

If court approval is required and you do not have an attorney-- the insurance company will pay all the costs associated with it.