There are many reasons to hire a personal injury attorney, but this article discusses three of the most important reasons to hire a personal injury attorney, if you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence (poor choices), in something like a car accident, motorcycle wreck, 18 wheeler crash, or vehicle v. pedestrian collision.
1. Personal Injury Attorneys read A LOT!
I feel safe in saying that I have NEVER read as much, as I did when I was in law school. I am an avid reader and have been since I first learned how to read. When other kids were asking for extra TV time or extra Nintendo time, I was asking for extra time to read, before bed! I was the kid that took their book and flashlight to bed! That passion for reading continued all the way through college and into my adulthood, so to say that I have read a lot, would be an understatement. You might be thinking, Mary, why do I, an injured person, care that you have read a lot? If so, great question. There are CONSTANT changes in the world of personal injury and civil litigation. Not only changes to laws, be it by statute or case, but procedures change, processes change, insurance company requirements change, I could go on and on with the list of the things that can change, related to personal injury claims. How do we learn about these changes? Sometimes on the news, but most of the time, through research and what do you have to do, when you research…read! Read, read, read!!! Constantly increasing their knowledge base, through reading, makes a personal injury attorney valuable to an injured person, as they not only have their past knowledge and experience to rely on, but also the constant consumption of new information, to protect the injured.
2. Personal Injury Attorneys know THE LAW!
Besides reading about changes in procedures, regarding civil litigation, processing of insurance claims, and requirements of personal injury claimants, personal injury attorneys spend a great deal of time reading about the law! Old law, new law, potential new laws…we currently have SEVERAL proposed laws, before our senate and house of representatives, that could greatly affect a personal injury victim. If you want to educate yourself, regarding some of these proposed laws, check out the website texaswatch.org.; it is a great source of information! Below is a list of some of the proposed laws currently before the Texas house and senate:
· House Bill 19 and Senate Bill 17…These are both proposed legislations to protect commercial trucking companies and take away protection from Texans, and any drivers, who drive on Texas roadways.
· House Bill 1617 and Senate Bill 207…These are both proposed legislations to limit patient access to care. Texans are already greatly limited in their ability to receive medical care and if either of these bills pass, it will only make it worse.
· House Bill 1131…This is actually proposed legislation that would be to the benefit of a car wreck victim, regarding property damage. If passed, this law will not allow property damage adjusters to “require” the use of sub-standard parts in the vehicle repair process.
· House Bill 359 and Senate Bill 1935…This proposed legislation is also for the benefit of injured victims, specifically, those involved in uninsured/underinsured motorist claims. If passed, this legislation will require first party insurance carriers to step up and do what their clients have paid them to do and pay claims, without requiring their insureds to go to trial, against the uninsured/underinsured negligent driver.
These are just a few examples of potential new laws, that could affect a personal injury victim. Laws, passed by our house and legislature, are not the only laws that effect personal injury victims. There is also case law that personal injury attorneys must know about. Prior to COVID, new cases were being handed down daily, that steadily changed how personal injury claims were handled. A personal injury attorney must keep up with all of this law, all of these changes; a personal injury attorney must know new law, old law, and old law that is no longer in effect. There is such a great deal of information that must be known to properly handle a personal injury claim and a personal injury attorney was trained, in law school, to gather, digest, and process this information.
3. Personal Injury Attorneys Have Time!
The most important thing that personal injury attorneys have, when it comes to handling a personal injury claim is time. When dealing with adjusters, time is a necessity. It is rare that you get through to an adjuster on your first call. It is rare that you get a return call from an adjuster on your first voicemail. There are times, more often than not, when a follow up voicemail, follow up email, voicemail to a supervisor, and follow up email to supervisor are required to get one thing moved forward, in a personal injury claim. When an injured victim is trying to treat, work, take care of their children, take care of their home, deal with the pain, and just do life, it is rare that they have the time, to deal with this kind of ludacris follow up. Not only is it time consuming, but it is frustrating. Personal injury victims already live on edge because they are in pain, so any additional stress or frustration makes life so much more difficult. It is a personal injury attorney’s job to do the required follow up. To leave the 5 voicemails, working their way up the chain, to talk to someone who can move the claim to the next step. It is the personal injury attorney’s job to follow up, as often as necessary, to make sure the injured victim is not victimized, again, but this time, not by a negligent driver, but by an adjuster trying to hold on to the insurance company’s money just a little bit longer.
Like I said, in the beginning of the article, there are NUMEROUS reasons to hire a personal injury attorney, following a car wreck, motorcycle accident, 18 wheeler crash, vehicle v. pedestrian collision, or any other personal injury, but three of the most important reasons are a trained ability to take in and process information (lots of reading), a knowledge of the law and how it effects the personal injury claim and claimant, and I would say, most importantly, time; personal injury attorneys have the time necessary to force an insurance adjuster to move a claim forward.
As always, stay safe!
