Why Hire an Attorney After Being in a Car Crash?

My general rule of thumb for potential car crash clients is to encourage them to try and settle their case on their own, especially when the crash was clearly the other driver’s fault. However, having handled car crash cases in Missouri and Kansas for over 15 years, in certain situations I advise potential clients to hire a lawyer.

Here are those situations:

• You don’t have the time or patience to deal with the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

Negotiating and working with an insurance company can be perilous. They are sneaky and will try to trick you into signing something that will end your case. You have to put every communication into writing and put time limits on all your requests. You also need to be aware of your own time limits so you don’t miss the statute of limitations.

There are many other rules for dealing with insurance companies. If you don’t have the time or desire to follow those rules, then you should hire a lawyer to handle your car crash case.

• There may be liens or reimbursement claims from your insurance company, or some other provider.

Some health insurance plans, and Medicare or Medicaid plans, require that you reimburse them for what they paid for your medical care if you get a settlement in your car crash case. There can be significant consequences if you don’t. If you think there’s a lien on your car crash case, or that you’ll have to pay someone back out of the money you get, you should probably hire a lawyer.

Generally speaking, you do not want to fail to pay a lien or reimbursement claim when you settle your case. A lawyer is usually better suited to handle those issues.

• There are multiple claims or responsible parties from your crash.

Sometimes the at-fault fault driver doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your losses and you need to make a claim for the difference under your own insurance policy. Sometimes, more than just the driver who hit you can be responsible for a crash, like if the traffic signals were out at an intersection, or there were multiple cars in a crash. Things can get tricky under these circumstances and you don’t want to do something to hurt your claims. In situations like these, you should probably hire a lawyer to handle your crash case.