Being involved in a car accident is a stressful and frightening experience. When it happens, we generally want to wrap it up as soon as possible and try to get on with our lives. We fight through injuries, struggle financially with bills and lost wages, and try to get a vehicle back on the road as quickly as possible. Sometimes, we think that involving an attorney will only prolong the process without providing any real benefit. However, the exact opposite is true. An experienced accident injury attorney will help you bounce back faster and more fully from an accident. Here are four major reasons why.
Bills Will Accumulate
If you’ve been in an accident, you tend to take the expenses at face value. You know that you should recover costs for repairing or replacing your car. Medical bills should also be covered. However, other costs will accumulate as well. Outpatient treatment like physical therapy could go on for years after you accept a settlement. You could lose wages indirectly by missing opportunities for promotions or commissions. In short, there are many costs that you haven’t thought about that an attorney can help you recover.
An Offer Will Be Made
If you think you are in a hurry to be done with the accident, the other driver’s insurance company is even more motivated. They’ll come to you quickly with an offer, and with so many uncertainties about what’s ahead financially, you may be unsure if it is fair. A competent car accident attorney will have enough precedents to review to know if you are getting what you deserve.
Evidence Will Disappear
If there is any doubt to who is at fault, you need an attorney immediately to watch out for your interests. Your lawyer will subpoena records, block destruction of wrecked vehicles, and ensure that the event has been thoroughly documented. This process will take place while you’re probably still recuperating from your injuries, with no time and no experience to do it yourself.
Witnesses Will Scatter
Apart from the physical evidence, there are eyewitnesses. These people provide an excellent, objective point of view that can support your recounting of events. The longer you go without finding and interviewing them, the harder they are to find and the less likely they are to remember exactly what transpired. And once again, this critical time is while you may still be hospitalized or homebound.
An attorney is not the cause of complexity or delays. They are the solution! Your lawyer will help to guide you through the process of recovering physically and financially from your accident, helping you put it behind you as quickly as possible.
