Protecting Your Rights When You’ve Been Injured in a Car Accident
Often when you’ve been injured in a car accident, the facts and circumstances can seem pretty clear cut, giving you the false assumption that you can probably handle your claim without the assistance of a lawyer. That’s always a bad strategy, for many reasons.
Most importantly, you can expect that the other motorist will have insurance, and that the insurer will retain legal counsel to protect their interests. Don’t expect any assistance from the judge, should you try to go it alone. Your opponent will have a comprehensive knowledge of the laws and procedures governing personal injury claims. That will put you at a significant disadvantage.
In fact, even if you’re not planning on filing a lawsuit for any losses incurred, it’s a wise move to retain an attorney help ensure you get the benefits to which you are entitled from your insurer. Insurance companies have a vested interest in paying you as little as possible—it’s how they maximize their profits. Without competent legal assistance, you can expect delays, denials or attempts to pay you less than you should receive.
There are other clear advantages to hiring experienced legal counsel to handle your car accident claim:
- An attorney will make certain you file your complaint in a timely manner — The statute of limitations establishes how much time you have to file a personal injury claim. If you fail to bring legal action within the prescribed time period, you can lose your right to recover compensation. An experienced car accident attorney will know the appropriate statute of limitations and will ensure that you meet the deadline.
- A skilled lawyer will help you recover compensation for all your losses — In the aftermath of a car accident, you may have the right to compensation for a wide range of losses, including wages and income, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium or companionship, pain and suffering, and unreimbursed medical expenses. Unless you have legal training, you may not know that you can recover for all these losses.
- An experienced attorney will help you effectively prove the elements of negligence — Successfully bringing a personal injury claim requires more than showing that there was an accident and that you were hurt. To prove negligence, you must show that the defendant failed to act reasonably, that the failure to act reasonably caused an accident, and that you suffered actual losses in the accident. To complicate things even more, you must show two different types of cause—actual cause and proximate cause.
Contact Our Car Accident Attorneys
At the law office of Bailey & Galyen, we offer a free initial consultation to every client. For an appointment with an experienced Texas personal injury attorney, contact us by e-mail or call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. We will take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
