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Should I Hire a Car Accident Attorney After a Bad Wreck

No one wants to be involved in a car wreck of any kind, especially one that leads to serious physical injury. But even the most careful drivers cannot always control the way others behave behind the wheel. They sometimes end up in serious accidents that leave them wondering if they should contact a car accident attorney to collect the compensation they deserve.

If you have experienced a collision or accident on the road and are wondering if you should contact a car accident lawyer, consider these benefits to legal representation:

A Car Accident Attorney Works on Your Behalf

A personal injury attorney helps a client work through paperwork.

Everyday life is busy enough, and investigating the accident, negotiating with insurance companies, and defending yourself throughout the process are not tasks you probably want to add to your already full plate. Plus, if your accident led to injury, you should not have to take on the workload to get what you deserve while also trying to heal.

By hiring a lawyer for your car accident, you can hand all the responsibilities over to the experts who have the time and energy to look into your case, advocate for you, and fight for the best achievable outcomes.

 A (Skilled) Car Accident Attorney Has Experience

Unless you are a personal injury lawyer yourself, it is unlikely that you investigate car accidents often or negotiate with auto and health insurance companies on a regular basis. Navigating through the claims process following a car accident is a learned skill that only comes with years of practice.

If you choose to explore your options for representation, you may encounter a few personal injury or car accident attorneys who are just a few years into their careers and have not strengthened their investigation or negotiation muscles enough. Ideally, you will want to find a personal injury lawyer with decades of experience handling auto-related claims and who has won cases to help their clients successfully move on from the incident.

It takes education and experience to know how to investigate accidents, evaluate evidence, and talk to insurance companies. And if your case requires litigation, your legal team should know what it takes to advocate for you in court, as well.

By partnering with a seasoned, successful car accident lawyer with years of experience tackling complex or challenging cases, you are passing that responsibility on to the highly experienced and setting yourself up for more successful outcomes.

A Car Accident Attorney Optimizes Their Resources

When you partner with a skilled lawyer following a car accident, especially a significant or complex accident, you not only gain access to your attorney and their legal team—but you also gain access to a network of resources. Attorneys often rely on sources like private investigators, medical professionals, accountants, other financial professionals, and additional specialty experts knowledgeable in relevant facets of your case to bolster your case and fight for your best outcomes. Together, your legal team and the people they turn to for expertise can carry your case further than you might be able to on your own.

When Is the Best Time to Contact a Car Accident Attorney?

Sometimes, you might not realize you need legal counsel following your car accident until a few days or even a few weeks after the incident. But the sooner you reach out and establish a partnership, the better off your case will be. If you need a car accident attorney to handle your case, the most ideal time to reach out is the day of the accident.

Time matters to the progression of your case for several reasons, including:

Ensuring Evidence Preservation

The outcome of your car accident claim can hinge on the quality and/or existence of the evidence. Photos of the damage, security camera footage, and roadway evidence (like skid marks, tire tracks, and vehicular debris) can all help clarify the full story of what happened.

But over time, security footage may get erased, roadway evidence may fade, and photos may not do the best job of portraying the aftereffects of the wreck. By partnering with a lawyer soon after the wreck, your legal team can gather as much evidence as possible while it is still fresh, preserving it for use to build your case. Your team may work to obtain security camera footage before it is erased or document roadway evidence shortly after the accident.

Optimizing Witness Testimony

People who observe an accident can recount what they saw fairly easily in the hours or days following the event. However, memories fade, and stories unintentionally change or warp after a while. The sooner you have a legal team on your side and working for you, the higher their chances are of gathering witness testimony while it is still fresh in the minds of those who saw the accident.

Ensuring You Meet Deadlines

Legal cases almost always include deadlines for action before you are unable to file a claim or pursue compensation for your damages. There are statutes of limitations to consider, as well as deadlines set by your insurance company or ante litem deadlines if your case involves a government entity. Missing any deadlines in the process of filing your claim could prevent you from even trying to pursue a claim. The sooner you side with a quality car accident attorney, the less likely you are to miss a deadline or encounter unnecessary hiccups or obstacles in your pursuit of compensation.

Have you been in a car accident and have wondered if partnering with a car accident attorney is the right move for you? Talk with the personal injury and car accident lawyers at Clark, Smith & Sizemore.

Our car accident lawyers have fiercely represented drivers injured because of someone else’s reckless or neglectful driving. Whether you have sustained injuries because of a drunk driver or you have suffered significant damage following a semi-truck accident, the team at Clark, Smith & Sizemore will fight for you to receive fair compensation and the benefits you deserve.

Call us today for a free consultation: 478-254-5040.

Thanks for checking out part 4 in our 6-part series about personal injury. Stay tuned for all of our personal injury articles, which include: