Occasionally, someone who has been injured in a car wreck or in some other manner because of a third-party’s negligence will ask me whether they “need” an attorney to resolve their legal claims for personal injury. My general response is that whether they decide to hire an attorney is eventually their decision, but that there are several risks and disadvantages they should be aware of if they decide not to hire a personal injury attorney. In my opinion, the risks and disadvantages of not having a personal injury attorney represent you substantially outweigh whatever perceived benefit the individual has of “going it alone” with the insurance company. I just recently reviewed an interesting article from Consumer Reports® magazine that also suggests a “do-it-yourself” approach to other legal matters is no substitute for having the benefit of a professional attorney.
It has often been repeated among lawyers and judges that “he who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” This can be difficult advice for many people who are determined, independent, and self-motivated – I am precisely that kind of person. Nevertheless, I know that there are certain areas of expertise in which my legal skills and knowledge will fall short of what is required to obtain the best results. In many situations, proceeding ahead without the proper skills and knowledge can have serious negative consequences. For example, I fully understand that when it comes to issues of health and medicine, I need to consult a competent and skilled doctor, and that if I fail to do so, there may be serious negative consequences. Likewise, when it comes to issues of personal injury law (or any other area of law for that matter), one should consult and hire a competent and skilled personal injury attorney; otherwise, there may be serious negative consequences.
There are several important reasons why you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after you have been injured to ensure that your legal rights are protected and that you do not inadvertently take a course of action that has serious negative consequences. You can be sure that the negligent party’s insurance company will have both experienced claims representatives and experienced attorneys helping it make decisions throughout the claims-handling process – after all, handling a personal injury claim any other way would simply be “foolish.”
If you have been injured because of someone’s negligent conduct and would like to schedule a free consultation with a Waycross personal injury attorney to discuss your legal rights, please call us at (912) 449-3000 or contact us using the form on our website.
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