Accidents by nature are unexpected and can disrupt your life for weeks or months. After an accident, you may be dealing with injuries, lost wages, property damages, and the like. People often wonder if they really need to hire a personal injury attorney in order to handle any claim arising from an accident. It isn’t rocket science after all, or is it?
While attorneys are always going to come down on the side of hiring a Tampa personal injury attorney rather than handling a claim on your own, the reasons why may surprise you. Hiring an attorney early in the process can help in a number of areas. It is a smart thing to do and can often result in a better recovery. This is true in all settings involving personal injuries.
Liability May Be Complicated
Your recovery depends on a finding that another person is at fault for your accident. Whether you are involved in a car accident, a slip and fall, a product liability, or another tort case, if another person is liable for your injuries, you may be entitled to compensation.
The bedrock of liability in personal injury is grounded in negligence. Negligence involves breaching a duty of care to another to whom you owe a duty of care, resulting in injuries to that person.
In a perfect world, liability is easy to determine. In the real world, liability isn’t always clear. Take, for example, a rear-end car accident case. In most cases, when car A rear-ends Car B, Car A is liable for any damages caused. Car A had a duty of care not to follow Car B too closely. In hitting Car B, Car A breached that duty. However, sometimes Car B causes the accident. Let’s say that Car B cuts in front of Car A and then immediately slams on their brakes. Car A then hits Car B. Car B is liable, in whole or in part.
Florida is a comparative negligence state. That means that when both parties are at fault, the amount they recover is reduced by their percentage of liability. Liability can become very difficult to determine when multiple parties are involved. This is often the case in multi-car accidents and product liability cases. Having a Tampa personal injury attorney can make it easier to determine if you have a claim and who to file a claim against.
Gathering and Preserving Evidence
Personal injury attorneys know how to gather and preserve evidence crucial to your claim. Evidence can include photos, medical billing and reports, documents, eyewitness statements, digital data, and testimony.
When not gathered quickly, evidence has a way of disappearing. Memories can fade, documents get thrown out, accident site locations are changed and cleaned up. Your lawyer can help you gather and keep evidence before it is lost. The more evidence you have, the stronger your claim.
Getting Compensated for Your Injuries
Liability is the first hurdle. Proving damages is the second. Every case is unique because every person’s damages are unique. The law governs the issue of what damages are compensable. You may want compensation for damages that the law may not allow. Or you may have damages that you do not know are compensable.
Knowing when and how to negotiate a settlement is a critical part of any claim. Any demand needs to ensure that all ongoing treatments and injuries will be considered in any settlement. Negotiating a settlement takes experience and a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of a case. Your personal injury attorney will have both.
Handling Claims Can Be Stressful
When people have been injured in an accident, they are often dealing with multiple stressors simultaneously. Pain, loss of income, unexpected medical bills, property damage, time out of work. Handling a claim on top of these stressors can feel overwhelming. A personal injury attorney handles the claim, deals with claims adjusters, opposing counsel, and all the aspects of resolution so that you can focus on healing.
Speak with a Tampa Personal Injury Attorney
Get help when you need it most. We at Matthews Injury Law provide thorough and compassionate legal services to our clients. Call or contact us today to see what we can do for you. In Tampa, call our office at 813-530-1000 or fill out our contact form today to learn more.