Do I need an attorney for my auto accident?

Short answer: Maybe.

Long answer: Whether or not you need an attorney for your auto accident claim really depends on many factors.  Do you have any experience handling these claims?  Do you have time?  Are you so injured that handling your own claim would be too taxing on you?  Do you work full time and have a family, so is adding more responsibility and duties to your workload really something you’re looking for?

One way I’ve approached this question is from an injury/treatment perspective.  My rule of thumb is that, generally, if you have more than one health care appointment it makes sense to have an attorney handle your claim, but if you only have one, then it may make less sense.

How so?

This comes from the value of the claim.  The value of the claim comes from several factors, but two of the main factors are health care costs and pain and suffering.  When you have multiple visits, you have higher costs, which makes your claim worth more.  When you have multiple visits, you tend to have more severe injuries that take you longer to recover from, which makes your claim worth more.

So why do you need an attorney more when your claim is worth more?

There are several reasons for that.  First, the more your claim is worth, the more you risk by letting an amateur (that’s you!) handle it.  Second, the more “meat on the bone” the more the attorney has to work with in terms of maximizing the value of your claim.  If you give an attorney a one urgent care trip kind of accident, it’s hard to argue a lot about your pain and suffering.  But if you give him a case where you go to the urgent care and then have three months of chiropractic, he can help you document your pain and suffering better and make a professional and persuasive argument about the value of that pain and suffering.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.  Broken ribs are horribly painful and debilitating injuries, but they are normally only associated with one visit for a diagnosis and that’s it.  But because of the intense pain of that injury and the way it affects one’s daily life, there’s  fair amount of “meat on the bone” to work with, so I would take on that case.

Generally speaking, though, it’s a good rule:  One health care visit, meh.  More than one, me.

So if you have an accident claim involving injuries, reach out to an attorney.  I’m one, so I count.  Call me!  919-929-2992.