The decision to hire a personal injury lawyer solely depends upon the situation that you are in after the auto accident. Insurance companies, as a rule, try to settle the claims as quickly as possible without going into lengthy litigations. In addition, insurance companies often try to settle the claims by calling the claimant and trying to offer certain compensation for the injuries and mental trauma that the claimant has undergone, as a result of the accident. It is in this situation that a lawyer should be contacted, as you might need a legal representative to manage your negotiations with the insurance company. This legal asset becomes especially important when you are confronted with the hardball tactics and the complex legal jargon of the insurance claim adjuster.
The decision to have a personal injury lawyer represent your interests depends on whether you feel as though the compensation you are being offered is fair considering your injuries. In order to lay claim on more money as compensation, you will have to hire a lawyer for yourself. At this point, it might be necessary to consider a lawyer who works on a contingency basis. Some lawyers charge their fees by each consultation session, whereas other lawyers charge the fees on a contingency basis. Hiring a lawyer on a contingency basis might be a good idea because you can be sure that your lawyer is motivated to win the case, considering he/she does not get paid unless the case is won. However, after you have won the case, you need to be ready to pay a hefty percentage of the money won to the lawyer to serve as the contingency fees. It is important to discuss and agree upon the percentage of your claim money that the lawyer will receive as contingency fees before the case. Discussing this beforehand establishes a bond of mutual understanding between the lawyer and the client.
At this point, you might want to consider how much money you are receiving from the insurance company. If your calculations show that the money that you are receiving by accepting the settlement offered by the insurance company is more than what you will get after deducting the lawyer’s fees from your claim money, you might not want to hire a car wreck lawyer after all. It all depends on the type of claim you are making and how much money you are expecting to make out of the claim.
