I’m sometimes asked, “Why do I need a lawyer? Why can’t I handle something on my own when I’m injured in an accident?”
And I always say this: if you can do it on your own, that’s fantastic. But the problem is you have to deal with the insurance carrier. You have to deal with somebody whose sole job is to protect their company, protect their business, and protect their corporation.
The insurance companies have attorneys working with them and training them to do just that, which is minimize your injury, minimize your damages, and minimize how much that insurance company has to pay.
They know every question to ask. They know every trick in the book, for lack of a better word. And they’re trained to get a case resolved as quickly as possible, frankly, for as cheap as possible.
Your average person injured in an accident, who a lot of times has never been through anything like this before, doesn’t have the experience necessary to deal with that adjuster. They may seem very nice on the phone and ask how you’re doing, but they just want that file closed, and they want it closed cheap.
An injured party doesn’t know the full extent of their injuries or the full extent of their damages until some time goes by. The insurance companies and their attorneys are trained to resolve something quickly.
So, consult with an attorney and see what all of your rights are. Remember, the insurance company may be very polite and very friendly on the phone, but it’s not their job to volunteer to you, as an injured party, everything you may be entitled to.
Are you entitled to the cost of getting back and forth to a doctor? If your car is damaged and you have to pay for a taxi, well, yes, you are. But they’re not going to volunteer that information. And that’s just one example.
So, experience is important. While you may think you can do a very good job speaking to a carrier yourself, there are so many little things that go into our law in New York in any type of accident, whether it’s a fall or an automobile accident.
Since the insurance company has a real team of attorneys on their side working for them, you should really have somebody working for you as well.
So, I always recommend speaking with an attorney right away. It’s what we get paid to do. It’s our job. We’ve done it before, and let us try to help you.