If you are the at fault driver, then your insurance company will defend against claims from the persons you injured and the damage you caused to their property. In this situation, you usually do not need to hire an attorney. However, if you did not cause the accident and have injuries and your property is damaged you should at the very least contact an attorney for a free consultation on your case. Most law firms, Including Wagner Law Firm, will discuss your case with you and provide a free opinion on whether or not you should hire an attorney.
Why hire an attorney? Because the person that hit you has an adjuster, in house attorneys and the insurance company working to pay you as little as possible on your claims. Insurance companies are in business to make money. They need to bring in more money from premiums than the pay out. You are on the pay out side of this business model , and the less they pay out, the more they can pay themselves and take trips to Hawaii. The motivation of the insurance company is to pay you as little as possible. In fact, a major insurance company made it part of their incentive pay program for the adjusters to receive credit for the amount of money they under paid each claim compared to the actual value the insurance company placed on the claim. For example, the insurance company evaluates your claim and believes it is worth $20,000.00 and the adjuster gets you to settle for $10,000.00, then the adjuster receives compensation at the end of the year on how much money they saved the company by not pay out the full value of claims.
Hiring an attorney levels the playing field for your claim. Hiring an attorney means you focus on getting well and putting your life back together while your attorney fights for your rights. Hiring an attorney on a contingent fee basis for your claim means you spend zero out of pocket and pay the attorney a percentage based on the amount of money the insurance company pays on your case. Hiring an attorney enables your claim to be managed to maximize your benefits and prevents mistakes in the processing of your claim that can cost you large amounts of money.