The short answer is yes, you are more likely to net more in a settlement if you hire a personal injury lawyer than if you try to settle your case by yourself.
People often wonder if getting an injury lawyer after a car accident, dog bite, slip and fall, workers’ compensation, or other accident claims in Massachusetts is “worth it.” The answer is a resounding “Yes.”
Injury victims who hire personal injury attorneys get 3.5x more in settlement compensation than other people injured in accidents who don’t hire an injury lawyer, according to an Insurance Research Council study. This 3.5x settlement increase is specific to people injured in car accidents due to other drivers, or manufacturing or government negligence.
Of all the injury cases insurance companies do settle, 85% of the claims involved injury attorneys, according to the report. Compared to the 15% of injury cases settled with insurance companies without injury lawyers, that would mean your injury case is nearly 6x more likely to settle if you hire an injury lawyer rather than attempt to settle your injury claim on your own.
How A Massachusetts Injury Attorney Can Get You Better Results on Your Case
There are several reasons why a Massachusetts injury attorney can get you a better settlement result on your injury case than if you handle the case on your own.
1) Injury lawyers know how to make your injury claim a fair fight
Insurance companies will make you fight for your rights, and a skilled injury attorney will make sure it’s a fair fight. It’s important to have an advocate on your side fighting for each one of your rights after an injury.
Remember: insurance adjusters don’t work for you, they work for your insurance company. Their goal is not to make sure you’re taken care of and that all your legal rights are protected. The insurance adjuster’s goal is to close the case while keeping as much money as possible in the insurance company’s pockets.
Often, insurance companies will try to dissuade people from pursuing an injury claim with an attorney by telling injury victims that they were partially at fault for the accident, or that the effects of their injury will be too difficult to prove in court, or even that the medical opinion of the doctor they saw after the accident is insufficient.
The insurance company will try to get you to settle for something less than you deserve. If you hire an injury attorney, however, they will be able to fight for you to recover the money you actually deserve after an injury. The fact that an injured person has an attorney alone can automatically increase settlement offers because the insurance company knows that the attorney is aware of what fair compensation is for your injuries.
2) There is a Method to Calculating Pain and Suffering after an accident
There is more to a Massachusetts injury claim than the injury itself and any accident costs. For example, if you were in a car crash, you are entitled to more than simply compensation for your medical bills and the damage to your car. After being injured in a car accident, you’re also often entitled to compensation for pain and suffering.
There are two types of pain and suffering damages you may be entitled to: physical pain and suffering and mental pain and suffering. These types of damages are in addition to any actual damages from your injury, such as any property damage, medical bills, lost wages if you were out of work, and more. Calculating pain and suffering damages requires experience and skill, as there is no set figure to refer to. A personal injury lawyer will know how to best present your case to the insurance company and if necessary in court to ensure your pain and suffering evidence is properly considered and you are fairly compensated.
If you try to settle your Massachusetts injury case without an attorney, you may only get a fraction of what you deserve in a settlement offer.
3) Injury Lawyers know how to determine who is at fault in an accident, and will hold that party responsible for your injuries
In many injury cases, determining who is at fault isn’t always an easy matter. It’s always possible - whether a car accident case, slip and fall, or nearly any other type of accident - that there could be more than one negligent party who is at fault for your injuries.
Settling an injury claim on your own without an attorney when there are multiple negligent parties involved in your injury will most likely mean that you are missing out on compensation that you’re entitled to.
The great thing about hiring a personal injury attorney like Spada Law Group is that you hire more than an injury attorney. You also get the benefit of our team of medical experts, accident reconstructionists, investigators, and more. Hiring an injury attorney means that you’ll have a team of people assessing the case and looking at all of the details to ensure that any and all negligent parties are held accountable for your pain and suffering.
4) We have access to expert witnesses and experience to know the long-term effects of injuries
After being injured in an accident, some of your primary concerns might be paying your medical bills, getting reimbursed for any lost work time, and making sure you have resources for any continued medical care you might need.
If you try to settle an injury claim with an insurance company on your own, you might miss out on being reimbursed for any future costs due to your injury. Even in a low-impact car accident, for example, you may have to go to the chiropractor somewhat regularly for the rest of your life to treat any neck or back injuries and to make sure your body gets the support it needs to age well - no matter how old you were when injured in an accident.
A trusted Massachusetts injury attorney has handled hundreds of cases before and has the resources and information needed to be able to determine the potential future costs of your injuries.
5) If the Insurance Company Won’t Play Fair, We Can Take Them to Court
If you try to file an injury claim on your own, know that it is a time-consuming process, and the likelihood that you’ll actually get the type of settlement you deserve is slim.
When you hire a Massachusetts personal injury attorney, you’re trusting your case to an expert on the state’s injury laws. This expertise means we know the relevant statutes involved, all of your rights, what you’re entitled to in compensation, and much more.
Additionally, an injury lawyer can litigate your case. If you try to settle an injury claim on your own, and you’re not getting the results that you want in your negotiations, you have very little power to try and persuade the insurance company to cooperate with what you think that you’re entitled to. An injury attorney, however, can always commence litigation if a favorable settlement isn’t reached in negotiations.
Injured in Massachusetts? Spada Law Group’s Injury Attorneys Offer Free Consultations
If you were injured in any type of accident in Massachusetts, we recommend contacting a personal injury attorney. The insurance company will not represent your legal interests, but Spada Law Group will work to protect you and can negotiate with the insurance company for a more effective and fair settlement than you can on your own.
If you were injured and received a settlement offer, give Spada Law Group a call to review the offer before you accept. You are more likely to get a truly fair offer with the help of a lawyer than you will by yourself.